Marbury looking forward to playing

Newsday.com BY GREG LOGAN July 10, 2006When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.'Smiling and joking his way through his first interview since the Knicks fired Larry Brown and ordered team president Isiah Thomas to replace him as coach, point guard Stephon Marbury looked like the 'after' picture in a before-and-after ad.Marbury spent a good part of last season feuding with Brown and ended more than a few games sitting on the bench with a towel draped over his head, framing a gloomy expression. But Marbury's happiness was .evident when he spoke with Knicks beat writers late Saturday night at a Vegas Summer League game.'They couldn't surgically take the smile off my face,' Marbury said.Asked if that was his reaction when he heard the news of Brown's firing, he said: 'No, I'm talking about how I feel now. I'm talking about Isiah being the coach. I wanted him to be the coach before all of this. I used to beg him, 'Why don't you coach?' Because I know that he knows how to coach.'Marbury said his teammates welcomed the coaching change primarily because they got tired of losing during a 23-59 season that seemed like a forced march toward the end. 'People ask me, 'Why don't you ever smile?'' Marbury said. 'I say, 'Because I never was happy.' Period.'When you're losing, it's not fun. When you win, you all see me, right? I'm screaming, I've got the ball in my hand, they're showing me on the back page smiling. When I'm losing ... 'He didn't have to finish the sentence because the picture of a brooding Marbury became so familiar. There was a brief period in January when the Knicks won six straight and Brown lavished praise on his improvement and leadership. But it all fell apart after Marbury suffered a shoulder injury and struggled when he tried to come back.The Knicks acquired point guard Steve Francis at the trade deadline in February, but the anticipated high-scoring pairing never materialized as Brown seldom played them together. Their confidence gone, Francis and Marbury spent April in street clothes nursing injuries.'I think everything was under strain at the end of the year,' Marbury said. 'I don't think everyone was on the same page. This year, we'll have a different togetherness.'Under Brown, the Knicks had an NBA-record 42 different starting lineups, though Marbury was the constant when healthy.'It's kind of like when you put white clothes and yellow clothes and blue clothes and all different type clothes together when you're supposed to wash them separately,' Marbury said of the assorted lineups. 'When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.''If there's a particular change to which Marbury is looking forward, it's an end to the stream of public criticism Brown directed toward his underachieving team. 'I don't think any man on this planet would want the world to know what's going on in his household,' Marbury said. 'That stays in-house.'Marbury described Thomas as something of a 'father figure' because their families have grown close and their relationship goes well beyond basketball. Owner James Dolan has given Thomas one year to show 'significant progress' or be fired, but Marbury said he welcomes the pressure and believes the Knicks should be a playoff contender.As a two-time NBA champion and a Hall of Fame point guard, Thomas commands the players' respect. No one wants him to survive more than Marbury, who said, 'You want to go out there, and you want to do it because it's like you want to impress.'Copyright © 2006 Newsday.com, All Rights Reserved.

Marbury looking forward to playing

Newsday.com BY GREG LOGAN July 10, 2006When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.'Smiling and joking his way through his first interview since the Knicks fired Larry Brown and ordered team president Isiah Thomas to replace him as coach, point guard Stephon Marbury looked like the 'after' picture in a before-and-after ad.Marbury spent a good part of last season feuding with Brown and ended more than a few games sitting on the bench with a towel draped over his head, framing a gloomy expression. But Marbury's happiness was .evident when he spoke with Knicks beat writers late Saturday night at a Vegas Summer League game.'They couldn't surgically take the smile off my face,' Marbury said.Asked if that was his reaction when he heard the news of Brown's firing, he said: 'No, I'm talking about how I feel now. I'm talking about Isiah being the coach. I wanted him to be the coach before all of this. I used to beg him, 'Why don't you coach?' Because I know that he knows how to coach.'Marbury said his teammates welcomed the coaching change primarily because they got tired of losing during a 23-59 season that seemed like a forced march toward the end. 'People ask me, 'Why don't you ever smile?'' Marbury said. 'I say, 'Because I never was happy.' Period.'When you're losing, it's not fun. When you win, you all see me, right? I'm screaming, I've got the ball in my hand, they're showing me on the back page smiling. When I'm losing ... 'He didn't have to finish the sentence because the picture of a brooding Marbury became so familiar. There was a brief period in January when the Knicks won six straight and Brown lavished praise on his improvement and leadership. But it all fell apart after Marbury suffered a shoulder injury and struggled when he tried to come back.The Knicks acquired point guard Steve Francis at the trade deadline in February, but the anticipated high-scoring pairing never materialized as Brown seldom played them together. Their confidence gone, Francis and Marbury spent April in street clothes nursing injuries.'I think everything was under strain at the end of the year,' Marbury said. 'I don't think everyone was on the same page. This year, we'll have a different togetherness.'Under Brown, the Knicks had an NBA-record 42 different starting lineups, though Marbury was the constant when healthy.'It's kind of like when you put white clothes and yellow clothes and blue clothes and all different type clothes together when you're supposed to wash them separately,' Marbury said of the assorted lineups. 'When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.''If there's a particular change to which Marbury is looking forward, it's an end to the stream of public criticism Brown directed toward his underachieving team. 'I don't think any man on this planet would want the world to know what's going on in his household,' Marbury said. 'That stays in-house.'Marbury described Thomas as something of a 'father figure' because their families have grown close and their relationship goes well beyond basketball. Owner James Dolan has given Thomas one year to show 'significant progress' or be fired, but Marbury said he welcomes the pressure and believes the Knicks should be a playoff contender.As a two-time NBA champion and a Hall of Fame point guard, Thomas commands the players' respect. No one wants him to survive more than Marbury, who said, 'You want to go out there, and you want to do it because it's like you want to impress.'Copyright © 2006 Newsday.com, All Rights Reserved.

Marbury looking forward to playing

Newsday.com BY GREG LOGAN July 10, 2006When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.'Smiling and joking his way through his first interview since the Knicks fired Larry Brown and ordered team president Isiah Thomas to replace him as coach, point guard Stephon Marbury looked like the 'after' picture in a before-and-after ad.Marbury spent a good part of last season feuding with Brown and ended more than a few games sitting on the bench with a towel draped over his head, framing a gloomy expression. But Marbury's happiness was .evident when he spoke with Knicks beat writers late Saturday night at a Vegas Summer League game.'They couldn't surgically take the smile off my face,' Marbury said.Asked if that was his reaction when he heard the news of Brown's firing, he said: 'No, I'm talking about how I feel now. I'm talking about Isiah being the coach. I wanted him to be the coach before all of this. I used to beg him, 'Why don't you coach?' Because I know that he knows how to coach.'Marbury said his teammates welcomed the coaching change primarily because they got tired of losing during a 23-59 season that seemed like a forced march toward the end. 'People ask me, 'Why don't you ever smile?'' Marbury said. 'I say, 'Because I never was happy.' Period.'When you're losing, it's not fun. When you win, you all see me, right? I'm screaming, I've got the ball in my hand, they're showing me on the back page smiling. When I'm losing ... 'He didn't have to finish the sentence because the picture of a brooding Marbury became so familiar. There was a brief period in January when the Knicks won six straight and Brown lavished praise on his improvement and leadership. But it all fell apart after Marbury suffered a shoulder injury and struggled when he tried to come back.The Knicks acquired point guard Steve Francis at the trade deadline in February, but the anticipated high-scoring pairing never materialized as Brown seldom played them together. Their confidence gone, Francis and Marbury spent April in street clothes nursing injuries.'I think everything was under strain at the end of the year,' Marbury said. 'I don't think everyone was on the same page. This year, we'll have a different togetherness.'Under Brown, the Knicks had an NBA-record 42 different starting lineups, though Marbury was the constant when healthy.'It's kind of like when you put white clothes and yellow clothes and blue clothes and all different type clothes together when you're supposed to wash them separately,' Marbury said of the assorted lineups. 'When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.''If there's a particular change to which Marbury is looking forward, it's an end to the stream of public criticism Brown directed toward his underachieving team. 'I don't think any man on this planet would want the world to know what's going on in his household,' Marbury said. 'That stays in-house.'Marbury described Thomas as something of a 'father figure' because their families have grown close and their relationship goes well beyond basketball. Owner James Dolan has given Thomas one year to show 'significant progress' or be fired, but Marbury said he welcomes the pressure and believes the Knicks should be a playoff contender.As a two-time NBA champion and a Hall of Fame point guard, Thomas commands the players' respect. No one wants him to survive more than Marbury, who said, 'You want to go out there, and you want to do it because it's like you want to impress.'Copyright © 2006 Newsday.com, All Rights Reserved.

Industry warned over ticket touts The entertainment industry has ...

Industry warned over ticket touts

The entertainment industry has been threatened with possible law changes if it does not tackle the problem of ticket touting by next summer. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said "targeted action and changes in legislation" could be considered to stop exploitation of "genuine fans".

Ms Jowell also announced an action plan after talks with industry leaders.

This includes allowing people to return tickets and the setting up of a website to allow exchanges at face value.

"The innocent victim of ticket touting is the fan who has to pay through the nose for a vastly overpriced ticket to see their sporting, stage or musical hero," said Ms Jowell.

"These are the people we must protect."

After the minister's third meeting with industry figures on the issue, she said "good progress" was being made.

The action plan includes the following:

An industry agreement to introduce a policy allowing the return of tickets at face value to original seller

The Concert Promoters Association to set up a website allowing fans to exchange tickets at face value

Development of a kite mark system for ticket sales websites

The drawing up of a code of practice for primary and secondary ticket sellers "The industry should consider itself on notice," said Ms Jowell.

"If it hasn't come up with a workable solution to stamping out the most unscrupulous touts by next summer, where there is clear evidence it's needed, we may consider targeted action and changes in legislation to ensure genuine fans are protected from exploitation."

'Hard look'

Auction website eBay has blamed promoters and organisers for helping create a secondary market for tickets, pointing to "the shambolic way they distribute tickets through jammed phone lines and crashing websites".

They needed to take "a hard look at the way that they allocate tickets to sponsors and agencies, and at the way they price tickets to fill the house and maximise merchandise sales", said eBay's Richard Ambrose.

Some ticket agencies, venues and promoters want touting banned on websites like eBay.

Mr Ambrose said that 90% of ticket sales on the site in the last year had been people selling five or fewer tickets.

"The vast majority of people selling online are selling for personal reasons, normally because they cannot attend an event," he said.

Profiteering

Stuart Galbraith, managing director of events company Live Nation, said eBay was "actually allowing people to buy tickets that they have no intention of using whatsoever, and making it more difficult for people who want to buy face value tickets in the first place".

"There are numerous examples of shows on eBay where people are being sold tickets when there are actually legitimate tickets, very available, in the marketplace at face value.

"And they are actually making people pay more then they should be."

Mr Galbraith, who is also a member of the Concert Promoters Association, added: "The secondary market will always exist.

"What we are looking to do though is to stop the enormous proliferation that has come about, with the advent of the internet, of people that are buying tickets purely and simply with a view to making profits out of genuine concert-goers."

The government has no plans to make touting illegal but is looking to identify ways of making it unattractive for touts to operate. Source>>>

Marbury looking forward to playing

Newsday.com BY GREG LOGAN July 10, 2006When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.'Smiling and joking his way through his first interview since the Knicks fired Larry Brown and ordered team president Isiah Thomas to replace him as coach, point guard Stephon Marbury looked like the 'after' picture in a before-and-after ad.Marbury spent a good part of last season feuding with Brown and ended more than a few games sitting on the bench with a towel draped over his head, framing a gloomy expression. But Marbury's happiness was .evident when he spoke with Knicks beat writers late Saturday night at a Vegas Summer League game.'They couldn't surgically take the smile off my face,' Marbury said.Asked if that was his reaction when he heard the news of Brown's firing, he said: 'No, I'm talking about how I feel now. I'm talking about Isiah being the coach. I wanted him to be the coach before all of this. I used to beg him, 'Why don't you coach?' Because I know that he knows how to coach.'Marbury said his teammates welcomed the coaching change primarily because they got tired of losing during a 23-59 season that seemed like a forced march toward the end. 'People ask me, 'Why don't you ever smile?'' Marbury said. 'I say, 'Because I never was happy.' Period.'When you're losing, it's not fun. When you win, you all see me, right? I'm screaming, I've got the ball in my hand, they're showing me on the back page smiling. When I'm losing ... 'He didn't have to finish the sentence because the picture of a brooding Marbury became so familiar. There was a brief period in January when the Knicks won six straight and Brown lavished praise on his improvement and leadership. But it all fell apart after Marbury suffered a shoulder injury and struggled when he tried to come back.The Knicks acquired point guard Steve Francis at the trade deadline in February, but the anticipated high-scoring pairing never materialized as Brown seldom played them together. Their confidence gone, Francis and Marbury spent April in street clothes nursing injuries.'I think everything was under strain at the end of the year,' Marbury said. 'I don't think everyone was on the same page. This year, we'll have a different togetherness.'Under Brown, the Knicks had an NBA-record 42 different starting lineups, though Marbury was the constant when healthy.'It's kind of like when you put white clothes and yellow clothes and blue clothes and all different type clothes together when you're supposed to wash them separately,' Marbury said of the assorted lineups. 'When the white clothes came out, you were like, 'Damn, why did I do that? That was a mistake.''If there's a particular change to which Marbury is looking forward, it's an end to the stream of public criticism Brown directed toward his underachieving team. 'I don't think any man on this planet would want the world to know what's going on in his household,' Marbury said. 'That stays in-house.'Marbury described Thomas as something of a 'father figure' because their families have grown close and their relationship goes well beyond basketball. Owner James Dolan has given Thomas one year to show 'significant progress' or be fired, but Marbury said he welcomes the pressure and believes the Knicks should be a playoff contender.As a two-time NBA champion and a Hall of Fame point guard, Thomas commands the players' respect. No one wants him to survive more than Marbury, who said, 'You want to go out there, and you want to do it because it's like you want to impress.'Copyright © 2006 Newsday.com, All Rights Reserved.

Industry warned over ticket touts The entertainment industry has ...

Industry warned over ticket touts

The entertainment industry has been threatened with possible law changes if it does not tackle the problem of ticket touting by next summer.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said "targeted action and changes in legislation" could be considered to stop exploitation of "genuine fans".

Ms Jowell also announced an action plan after talks with industry leaders.

This includes allowing people to return tickets and the setting up of a website to allow exchanges at face value.

"The innocent victim of ticket touting is the fan who has to pay through the nose for a vastly overpriced ticket to see their sporting, stage or musical hero," said Ms Jowell.

"These are the people we must protect."

After the minister's third meeting with industry figures on the issue, she said "good progress" was being made.

The action plan includes the following:

An industry agreement to introduce a policy allowing the return of tickets at face value to original seller

The Concert Promoters Association to set up a website allowing fans to exchange tickets at face value

Development of a kite mark system for ticket sales websites

The drawing up of a code of practice for primary and secondary ticket sellers
"The industry should consider itself on notice," said Ms Jowell.

"If it hasn't come up with a workable solution to stamping out the most unscrupulous touts by next summer, where there is clear evidence it's needed, we may consider targeted action and changes in legislation to ensure genuine fans are protected from exploitation."

'Hard look'

Auction website eBay has blamed promoters and organisers for helping create a secondary market for tickets, pointing to "the shambolic way they distribute tickets through jammed phone lines and crashing websites".

They needed to take "a hard look at the way that they allocate tickets to sponsors and agencies, and at the way they price tickets to fill the house and maximise merchandise sales", said eBay's Richard Ambrose.

Some ticket agencies, venues and promoters want touting banned on websites like eBay.

Mr Ambrose said that 90% of ticket sales on the site in the last year had been people selling five or fewer tickets.

"The vast majority of people selling online are selling for personal reasons, normally because they cannot attend an event," he said.

Profiteering

Stuart Galbraith, managing director of events company Live Nation, said eBay was "actually allowing people to buy tickets that they have no intention of using whatsoever, and making it more difficult for people who want to buy face value tickets in the first place".

"There are numerous examples of shows on eBay where people are being sold tickets when there are actually legitimate tickets, very available, in the marketplace at face value.

"And they are actually making people pay more then they should be."

Mr Galbraith, who is also a member of the Concert Promoters Association, added: "The secondary market will always exist.

"What we are looking to do though is to stop the enormous proliferation that has come about, with the advent of the internet, of people that are buying tickets purely and simply with a view to making profits out of genuine concert-goers."

The government has no plans to make touting illegal but is looking to identify ways of making it unattractive for touts to operate.
Source>>>

Araneta - Concert Central?

Lots of big concerts and events happening these coming weeks here in the Philippines:

Queer Eye For The Straight Guy Meet & Greet
Thursday, July 20, 2006 (7:00 PM - 8:30 PM)
Greenbelt 3
Ayala Avenue Makati, NCR

Black Eyed Peas Monkey Business Tour
Friday, July 27, 2006 (8:00 PM)
Araneta Coliseum

Pussycat Dolls Live in Manila
Friday, July 28, 2006
Arante Coliseum

INXS Switch Tour
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Araneta Coliseum