Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers

How Scarborough’s NBA’s ‘WAL’ rankings shook out

I’ve gotten a couple of e-mails over the weekend wondering how the Spurs’ “watched/attended/listened” rankings compiled by the Scarborough Sports Marketing Group compared to others across the league. 

These questions were a result of a story in Saturday’s paper where Bill Nielsen, Scarborough’s vice president of sales,  said the Spurs should be in position to endure the lockout better than other NBA franchises because of their traditional strong support.

The good folks at Scarborough were willing to share their most recent “WAL” rankings for the NBA and the other major sports.

It’s a ranking that determines what percentage of fans in a market have either watched a local team on television, attended a game in person or listened to one on radio in the last year.

The ranking provides a pretty accurate glimpse of the NBA’s best and worst American markets. Toronto isn’t included in their compilations.

Here’s a look at the NBA from 1 through 29 for their most recent figures of this season. The number is parenthesis is where the team ranked in Scarborough’s last rankings.

(1) San Antonio Spurs:            61%      (1)

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers:          58%      (2)

(3) Boston Celtics:                     50%      (6)

(4) Utah Jazz:                              47%      (3)

(5) Phoenix Suns:                      45%      (5)

(6) Los Angeles Lakers:           44%      (10)

(7) Oklahoma City Thunder: 44%      (17)

(8) Portland Trail Blazers:     43%      (7)

(9) New Orleans Hornets:      41%      (8)

(10) Denver Nuggets:              40%      (12)

(11) Dallas Mavericks:             39%      (9)

(12) Chicago Bulls:                    39%      (15)

(13) Detroit Pistons:                 38%      (4)

(14) Memphis Grizzlies:          37%      (13)

(15) Miami Heat:                        37%      (18)

(16) Houston Rockets:             37%      (11)

(17) Orlando Magic:                  33%      (14)

(18) Milwaukee Bucks:              33%      (19)

(19) Indiana Pacers:                  30%      (16)

(20) Sacramento Kings:           28%      (20)

(21) Atlanta Hawks:                    24%      (24)

(22) Charlotte Bobcats:             24%      (23)

(23) Philadelphia 76ers:           23%      (22)

(24) Golden State Warriors:     20%      (26)

(25) New York Knicks:               18%      (27)

(26) Washington Wizards:        18%      (25)

(27) Minnesota T’wolves:         16%      (21)

(28) Los Angeles Clippers:        12%      (28)

(29) New Jersey Nets:                 11%      (29)

These numbers indicate a couple of different findings. It can be argued that the markets at the top of the list have been the league’s best over the years. I’m also intrigued with the way that Oklahoma City’s market is getting excited about the Thunder for obvious reasons.

And as teams take these numbers to potential advertisers, even the larger markets at the bottom of the list like New York, New Jersey and the Los Angeles Clippers all have markets of millions of potential customers.

Here’s a listing of the best and worst teams in Scarborough’s most recent rankings for Major League Baseball.

The best:

(1) St. Louis Cardinals:       73%      (2)

(2) Cincinnati Reds:            70%      (7)

(3) Minnesota Twins:         70%      (3)

(4) Boston Red Sox:            69%      (1)

(5) Philadelphia Phillies:   69%      (4)

 And the worst:

(25) New York Mets:             36%      (26)

(26) Los Angeles Dodgers:  34%      (25)

(27) Washington Nationals: 33%      (28)

(28) Los Angeles Angels:      29%      (27)

(29) Oakland Athletics:         28%      (29)

 And here are Scarborough’s most recent WAL rankings for National Football League franchises.

The best:

(1) New Orleans Saints:      87%      (2)

(2) Green Bay Packers:       84%      (1)

(3) Pittsburgh Steelers:      82%      (3)

(4) Indianapolis Colts:        75%      (4)

(5) Minnesota Vikings:       73%      (5)

And the worst:

(28) Miami Dolphins:           43%      (28)

(29) San Francisco 49ers:  42%      (29)

(30) New York Giants:         40%      (30)

(31) New York Jets:              37%      (31)

(32) Oakland Raiders:          28%      (32)

These ratings show

Tiago set to play for Brazilian national team after insurance arranged

After concerns about who would pay for his insurance to allow him to play, Spurs forward Tiago Splitter has joined the Brazilian national team in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Argentina.

The Brazilian publication globoesporte.com reports the to allow him to play with them.

Splitter is the first of the Spurs’ foreign-born players to get their insurance concerns resolved to play in the tournament. Both Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have said they most likely will not join their national teams unless their insurance is taken care of him.

Splitter will be participating in three exhibition games with his team, including two games against Mexico and one against an American team that consists of college players.

He was excited about his first day with his national team, but realized he had much to do to get in synch with his new teammates. Among those on the team are Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“First day with national team, not much to say but a lot work to do,” after the first day of practice. 

With the insurance questions resolved, playing with his team will provide some much-needed experience for Splitter this summer.

And with the lockout in place, there would be little for Splitter to do if he remained in America waiting for the 2011-12 NBA season.

Mitchell remembered for his community work

By Jerry Briggs
jbriggs@express-news.net

Long after the cheering stopped for one of the best players in Spurs history, Mike Mitchell tried to deliver a message of hope to troubled kids.

The former sweet-shooting small forward dedicated the last years of his life to that mission.

“He loved it,” former Spurs forward Mark Olberding said. “That was his passion. He had some personal issues he was going through as a player, and he turned (around) and gave back to the community, helping those at-risk kids.

“He did a great job. He’ll be forever remembered for that.”

Mitchell, a 1980s-era Spur, was memorialized in a ceremony attended by about 300 people Thursday night at the Antioch Sports and Community Center.

A San Antonio resident and longtime member of the Antioch Baptist Church, Mitchell died June 9 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 55.

The crowd at the service was an eclectic mix.

Several former NBA players, including former Spurs Olberding, Paul Griffin, Larry Kenon, Mike Gale, Keith Edmondson and Reggie Johnson, turned out.

They all sat in a section with some of the Baseline Bums, the team’s long-time fan group.

Also, former Cleveland Cavaliers standout Campy Russell made a trip from Cleveland, where he works as the team’s director of alumni relations.

Russell was a fifth-year player with the Cavaliers when Mitchell came into the NBA as a rookie in 1978.

“Today was the first day I realized that Mike was gone,” a tearful Russell told the group. “We were always close. We hit it off right away, and we played the same position — can you imagine that?”

Other less-familiar faces with important jobs in the San Antonio community also attended. One was Roy Washington, superintendent of the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center.

Mitchell, as CEO of a non-profit that focused on drug counseling for youth, often held court several years ago with kids at the Bexar County-operated Krier center.

“Mike was very personable,” Washington said. “Those kids paid attention to him.”

Mitchell had quite a story to tell.

He played professional basketball for 22 years in the NBA and in Europe, including seven with the Spurs from 1981-88.

A dashing talent with a 19.8-point career scoring average in 10 NBA seasons, he played with Hall of Famers George Gervin and Artis Gilmore on the Spurs. He dueled in the playoffs against the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers.

Afterward, he went overseas and thrilled fans in Italy with a feathery jump shot. Part of his story wasn’t so thrilling.

In 1987, Mitchell checked into a rehabilitation center, a victim of substance abuse.

“I wasn’t worried about him,” Russell said. “He had a lot of good people around him. That was really the greatness of Mike Mitchell. He was willing to change.”

Rehabilitation was an experience that prompted Mitchell to found the National Institute of Sobriety, Education, Rehabilitation and Recovery (NISERR), a non-profit designed to combat chemical dependency.

Starting in 2003, following a long basketball career in Europe, Mitchell went into schools and correctional facilities in San Antonio to spread the word. He was encouraging. He was upbeat.

He was loud.

“Mike was pretty dynamic,” Washington said. “He came in and with his height and that commanding baritone voice. He had their attention. He joked with the kids, and they laughed a lot. They apparently (listened to) everything he was saying because they would give it back to him.”