Tag: Magic Johnson

South Carolina says yes ‘oui’ can in win over Notre Dame in Paris

The South Carolina Gamcocks and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish played the first-ever NCAA regular-season basketball game in Paris.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish played the first NCAA women’s basketball regular-season game in Europe. The Gamecocks walked away with the win, defeating Notre Dame, 100-71, in Paris, France.

“It was really a blank canvas,” said Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley, who posed in front of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Mona Lisa at the Louvre a few days before the game. “But the chemistry that they’re building is very special.”

South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso had 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, and freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley had 17 points. Five Gamecocks finished in double figures. For the Fighting Irish, Hannah Hidalgo, in her collegiate debut, posted 31 points.

The game drew the attention of notable names in basketball, including Magic Johnson and Kevin Durant. Other notable players and former Gamecocks legends such as Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke also tuned into the game.

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What did Magic Johnson think of the Commanders’ win over the Patriots?

Magic Johnson was proud of everyone after the Commanders’ win over the Patriots.

After every Washington game this season, fans anxiously await the thoughts of minority owner Magic Johnson. Johnson, one of Josh Harris’ limited partners, is known to go to Twitter — or X — when discussing one of his teams, through the good or bad.

Johnson often talks about the Dodgers and Lakers, but since officially jumping on board as one of Washington’s owners, Johnson weighs in on the Commanders’ latest performance.

Usually positive, Johnson was none too pleased with Washington’s embarrassing performance in a Thursday night loss to the Bears in Week 5.

After Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots, Johnson was pleased with his team, specifically mentioning head coach Ron Rivera, offensive coordinator, quarterback Sam Howell and rookie defensive back Jartavius “Quan” Martin.

Johnson on the coaches.

He gives some love to his quarterback.

Johnson loved what he saw from Washington’s wide receivers, too.

He didn’t forget about the offensive line, either.

Usually, Magic has one tweet for the game, but he was apparently feeling really good about Sunday’s win.

Things are much tougher next week as the Commanders are back on the road in Seattle to face the Seahawks.

 

 

Magic Johnson remembers the late Bobby Knight recruiting him in high school

Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson remembers being recruited by Bobby Knight.

On Wednesday, Bobby Knight passed away, the legendary college basketball coach being eulogized far and wide for his impact on the game. One of those voices remembered the man was that of  Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson.

While Johnson never played for Knight, he remembered a time in high school when the coach was trying to recruit him to Indiana. It was a recruiting visit that Johnson said made waves throughout the school.

Johnson, who graduated from Everett High School (Lansing, Michigan) in 1977, remembers Knight coming on a recruiting trip in 1976. Knight had just coached his team to a 32-0 record and the NCAA Tournament title that spring.

Never short of swagger, Knight’s arrival on campus created buzz.

 

Of course, Johnson didn’t pick Indiana, instead taking his magical talent to Michigan State. It worked out pretty well for Johnson, winning the NCAA Tournament in 1979.

Knight won three NCAA championships with Indiana. He then went to Texas Tech where he built up the Red Raiders into a nationally recognized program.

In his seven full seasons in Lubbock, he took Texas Tech to the NCAA Tournament four times.

Lifetime, Knight had 902 wins.

 

Lil Wayne snubbed Shaquille O’Neal on his Lakers Mount Rushmore

Rapper Lil Wayne momentarily put Shaquille O’Neal on his Lakers Mount Rushmore, only to replace him a few seconds later.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had so many superstars and transcendent players over the decades that at least one has to be left off certain lists of the greatest to play for the franchise.

Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are certainly on just about everyone’s Mount Rushmore of Purple and Gold greats. But the question is, who deserves that fourth spot?

Is it Shaquille O’Neal, who gave the franchise eight of his best seasons, not to mention three straight NBA championships? Or is it LeBron James, who is now in his sixth year with the team and may be able to add a second ring to his Lakers resume?

Rapper Lil Wayne momentarily put O’Neal on his Lakers Mount Rushmore, only to change his mind and include James instead.

Obviously, as one could imagine, O’Neal wasn’t happy, but it was merely a matter of Lil Wayne’s opinion and not necessarily objective fact.

Lakers great Magic Johnson is now a billionaire

Magic Johnson, arguably the greatest Lakers player ever, has attained a humungous milestone in his entrepreneurial career.

Along with Boston Celtics superstar Larry Bird, Magic Johnson established himself as one of the greatest NBA players ever in the 1980s, rescuing the league and making it into what it is today.

He transformed the Los Angeles Lakers from a bridesmaid franchise into the gold standard of basketball, leading them to five world championships in his first nine seasons. Along the way, he was the central player in the cultural phenomenon that became known simply as “Showtime.”

Since retiring for good in 1996, Johnson has become a business mogul. After decades of hard work that began during his playing days, he is now a billionaire, according to Forbes magazine.

What makes his net worth unique among pro athletes is that, unlike fellow Lakers superstar and billionaire LeBron James, a minuscule amount of Johnson’s wealth comes from his actual basketball career.

Via Yahoo Finance:

“Johnson joins fellow NBA superstars Michael Jordan and LeBron James, as well as Tiger Woods, to join the exclusive 10-figure club,” wrote Orianna Rosa Royle.

“But most of the 64-year-old former Los Angeles Lakers guard’s wealth doesn’t come from sports — he only earned a total of $40 million during his 13-year career with the Lakers, a far cry from LeBron’s $480 million.

“Even during his prime playing years, Johnson only pulled in some $2 million-$4 million per year in endorsements, according to Forbes estimates at the time.

“Instead, much of his fortune has come after his 1996 retirement, thanks to some smart investment moves outside of basketball.”

Johnson’s business portfolio includes and has included a number of fast food and Starbucks franchises, a chain of movie theaters, investments in healthcare and life insurance companies and stakes in multiple pro sports teams.

About a decade ago, he headlined an ownership group that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers while turning them from a perennially struggling franchise to a perennial World Series contender. Earlier this year, Johnson teamed with billionaire investor Josh Harris to purchase the Washington Commanders from the controversial and troubled Daniel Snyder.

He also was a part-owner of the Lakers starting in the mid-1990s, and he sold his stake in the franchise to physician Dr. Patrick Soon Shiong in 2010.

In building his business empire, Johnson has managed to create many jobs and career opportunities for many disadvantaged Black individuals.

Magic Johnson: ‘It’s hard to win in the NFL when you only score 7 points’

Magic Johnson keeps it simple with his reaction after the Commanders’ loss to the Giants.

Washington Commanders minority owner Magic Johnson has quickly become a favorite poster on Twitter — or X — for the team’s fans. Johnson often posts a thought or two about the most recent game right after the game goes final — win or loss.

Johnson is often encouraging, but he was clearly not happy with the Commanders’ performance in the Week 4 Thursday night loss to the Chicago Bears.

How would Johnson react if the Commanders lost to the reeling 1-5 Giants in Week 7?

Well, the Commanders did lose, 14-7, to a New York team down several starters, including quarterback Daniel Jones. Afterward, Johnson kept it short and sweet.

It doesn’t take a lot of reading between the lines to understand how Johnson feels about that loss. And that’s a good thing. He and managing partner Josh Harris and the rest of the new ownership team spent a lot of money to buy the Commanders.

Johnson, who has won at everything he’s ever participated in, from college basketball to the NBA, MLB, WNBA, soccer and business, made it clear in his introductory press conference that he came to Washington to win. This wasn’t an ego trip for the highly successful businessman and NBA legend.

While Washington’s ownership may stay quiet on the team’s coaching staff right now, they are evaluating everything.

Magic Johnson praised Washington fans after Commanders’ win over the Falcons

Magic thanked Commanders’ fans for showing up in Atlanta.

When the Washington Commanders introduced new ownership in July, Magic Johnson made it clear he invested in the NFL franchise to win — not for ego.

At the end of every Commanders’ game, Johnson tweets his thoughts from the game. When Washington was embarrassed by the Bears on Thursday Night Football, Johnson, like fans, was none too pleased.

On Sunday, the Commanders snapped a three-game losing streak, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 24-16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Johnson was watching and afterward gave a special shoutout to Washington fans who made the trip to Atlanta to support the Commanders.

While I don’t know the number of Washington fans in attendance, they always show up well in Atlanta. And on Sunday, that caught the eye of one of Washington’s ownership partners.

MLB fans had jokes after Magic Johnson’s stunningly basic explanation for the Dodgers’ NLDS loss

Truly some next-level analysis.

For the past decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been among baseball’s most dominant regular season teams. They’ve reached the postseason every year since 2013, won 100 games five times and have basically owned the NL West.

Yet, aside from the shortened 2020 season played at a neutral site, the Dodgers’ regular-season success has not carried over into World Series titles. And you know what — co-owner Magic Johnson might have cracked the code!

Following Wednesday’s Game 3 loss and series sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Magic took to Twitter/X and shared his thoughts on the series. Apparently, just a couple things went wrong for the Dodgers.

According to Magic, the Dodgers lost their series to the D-backs because they didn’t pitch or hit well. Hey, he’s not wrong. Dodgers pitchers posted a 6.58 ERA over the three games, and Clayton Kershaw couldn’t even record two outs in the Game 1 blowout. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman went a combined 1 for 22 in the series, and the Dodgers only managed one home run over the three games. That’s not a way to win a series.

So, it really was that simple: The Dodgers couldn’t hit AND they couldn’t pitch.

That didn’t stop fans from making jokes about the simplistic explanation from Magic, though.

Fanboy Ryan Fitzpatrick brought an absurd amount of merch for Magic Johnson to sign

Ryan Fitzpatrick is apparently a huge Magic Johnson fan.

When Magic Johnson wasn’t tweeting (posting) scathing criticism of the Washington Commanders on Twitter (X), he was visiting the set of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football, hanging out with the crew that included Ryan Fitzpatrick.

It turns out that Fitzpatrick is a huge Magic fan, because he wore the legendary point guard’s jersey and asked Johnson to sign it. That was fun, but then the ex-QB took out a bag of stuff from a hat to a football to a basketball for Johnson to sign.

It was a hilarious segment and Johnson took it all in stride as everyone else laughed or rolled their eyes:

Terry McLaurin: ‘That’s as bad as it gets’

Terry McLaurin reflects on another ugly loss and agreed with Magic Johnson.

Much like Jonathan Allen, Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been a part of some tough losses since entering the NFL.

After the Commanders were dominated by the Chicago Bears, 40-20, on Thursday Night Football, Allen offered a blunt assessment of Washington’s defense.

“Defense just played like s–t,” Allen said.

Remember, the Bears entered Thursday having lost 14 consecutive games and hadn’t won in almost a full calendar year. Like his fellow captain, McLaurin shared his thoughts on the latest disappointing defeat.

“That’s as bad as it gets,” McLaurin said. “The last two times we’ve been at home hasn’t been good.”

Two weeks ago, the Commanders lost to the Buffalo Bills, 37-3.

“A lot of people, myself included, we all got to get better.”

The Commanders get extra time off by playing on Thursday night before reporting back to work on Tuesday. While the time off is necessary for players to heal, it’s also a time for them to self-evaluate.

McLaurin was then asked how this loss compared to others he’s been a part of since entering the NFL with Washington in 2019.

“It’s been quite a few, but it’s definitely up there,” he said. “They came in and beat us, honestly.”

McLaurin was then made aware of Magic Johnson’s tweet that the Commanders played with “no intensity or fire.”

The star wideout agreed with Johnson.

“Probably say that’s pretty fair,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what your intentions are; it’s what you put out there on the field. I know we don’t have a lazy bunch; I know we don’t have a non-intentioned group of guys, but that showing is not reflective of us, but that’s who we are. We put that on tape, so I think that’s a pretty fair assessment.”

Next up for the Commanders is the Atlanta Falcons as Washington looks to snap a three-game losing streak.