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Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?
Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
“In Heath, we’ve found a partner who is passionate about developing communities and creating meaningful change for the better. This market has the unique distinction of mirroring the growth and expansion that is currently underway in our league, and I am confident that Miami will be an ideal home for our second Big3 franchise,” said the rapper and actor Ice Cube in a June 18 dispatch by SportsPro.com.
Basket bets
Heath Freeman, the high-rolling Wall Street investor behind the takeover of a raft of distressed American newspapers, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, is moving into the world of junk sports. “In Heath, we’ve found a partner who is passionate about developing communities and creating meaningful change for the better. This market has the unique distinction of mirroring the growth and expansion that is currently underway in our league, and I am confident that Miami will be an ideal home for our second Big3 franchise,” said the rapper and actor Ice Cube in a June 18 dispatch by SportsPro.com.
Freeman is backing a new team for the Big3, a professional three-on-three basketball league. Chimed in Freeman: “I am honored to join Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz at the Big3 and bring a new professional basketball team to Miami. Big3 is shaping the future of basketball; the gameplay is dynamic and nuanced and the product on the court appeals to the audiences in this incredibly fast-growing region. Basketball fans across South Florida can rest assured that this franchise will soon add to our great region’s winning sports pedigree.”
However happy he is to have Heath aboard, however, Ice Cube remains unhappy with the rival National Basketball Association. “They’ve been doing things behind the scenes that nobody can see. They’re discouraging networks from showing Big3, discouraging sponsors, those kinds of things. It’s terrible. And it’s been going on for six years,” he said in an interview posted in June 2023, by the Dallas Morning News.
“They don’t own basketball. They think they do, but they don’t. I like to say that nobody goes to their house and says, ‘Mom, I wanna play NBA.’ They say, ‘I want to play basketball.’ They just don’t like the fact that we’ve changed the game. All the stuff they’re doing behind the scenes — I believe they’re breaking a lot of antitrust laws — it has to stop.”
What role Freeman and his newspapers may have in taking on the NBA remains unknown. In the meantime, Freeman’s name surfaced in a Wall Street Journal story last week about the Professional Bull Riders League, under the headline “Meet the Billionaires Taking Over Professional Bull Riding.” Per the Journal, “Some are longtime sports investors, looking for the next big pro league, such as Nascar team owner Richard Childress and the Fisher family, owner of the Athletics Major League Baseball team. Others have serious Wall Street credentials. Avenue Capital bought a bull-riding team earlier this year, wagering that a big media deal would draw more deep pockets into the sport.” The paper described Freeman as “President of Alden Global Capital, an investment firm that gained attention for buying up local newspapers and slashing costs. He owns the Florida Freedom.”
Freeman and his fellow bull riding owners have found themselves in a tough new world. “PBR starts each event with a prayer. It is sponsored by the U.S. Border Patrol, has partnered with the U.S. Concealed Carry Association and often honors the military at events. Longtime PBR fans have noticed the crowd changing: Many point to sightings of cowboy hats worn backward, or the emergence of booing during events, which is taboo in bull riding.” Besides bull riding and basketball, Freeman has branched into professional volleyball, published reports say. No details have been provided about how he has paid for any of the deals, or whether he has any investment partners.
Pressure group
A controversial, Palestinian-leaning non-profit from Northern California picked up the tab for an aide to Democratic House member Scott Peters to take a free October trip to Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank with a cohort of fellow congressional staffers, per a November 14 disclosure filing. Jason M. Bercovitch and associates “met with various government officials, nonprofits, and families in the region,” says the document. “We also toured sites central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The cost of Bercovitch’s transportation during the nine-day roundtrip from Los Angeles to Amman, starting October 18, totaled $3875. Lodging ran $1394 and meals were $770. Other expenses amounted to $2466. The journey was sponsored by Rebuilding Alliance, which, according to a June 2024 account by National Public Radio, “has been lobbying members of Congress to pressure Israel to create a steady pipeline of medical evacuations and to lift restrictions on medical aid missions. After the war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack against Israel, Nisreen Malley, the group’s advocacy coordinator, said it was White House intervention that persuaded Israel to allow child cancer patients to leave for treatment and that pressure is needed again.”
Scott Peters
Last month, Malley spoke to Capital News Service at the University of Maryland about why the group paid for House staffer tours. “When you’re physically [visiting someone] who’s talking to you about how their home was demolished…it’s hard to ignore that when you’re thinking about your policies.”
The local food, as shown by Bercovitch’s trip itinerary attached to his disclosure form, also may play a role. “The Old Man and the Sea Restaurant in Jaffa, founded in 1999 by Younes Ali, is a well-known spot that offers fresh Mediterranean seafood, a table filled with salads, a captivating sea view, and a warm, friendly atmosphere where families, friends, and dignitaries come together to enjoy dinner,” says a group’s itinerary.
In an account of meetings held by the group on October 27, the itinerary says: “With Congress defunding [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees], it is important to understand the scope and scale of the work that they do.” Israeli officials have accused the U.N. relief agency of involvement in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but the Rebuilding Alliance itinerary maintains reductions aren’t called for.
“Instead of a cut in funding, if anything, the health centers need more money to deal with increased demand after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 10 official camps across Jordan, [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] also provides waste management services for more than 400,000 refugees, which is essential in preventing disease. The UNRWA operates 161 schools, serving more than 100,000 students in Jordan, UNRWA also provides vocational training to nearly 4,000 students who cannot afford university.
— Matt Potter
The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?
Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?
Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
“In Heath, we’ve found a partner who is passionate about developing communities and creating meaningful change for the better. This market has the unique distinction of mirroring the growth and expansion that is currently underway in our league, and I am confident that Miami will be an ideal home for our second Big3 franchise,” said the rapper and actor Ice Cube in a June 18 dispatch by SportsPro.com.
Basket bets
Heath Freeman, the high-rolling Wall Street investor behind the takeover of a raft of distressed American newspapers, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, is moving into the world of junk sports. “In Heath, we’ve found a partner who is passionate about developing communities and creating meaningful change for the better. This market has the unique distinction of mirroring the growth and expansion that is currently underway in our league, and I am confident that Miami will be an ideal home for our second Big3 franchise,” said the rapper and actor Ice Cube in a June 18 dispatch by SportsPro.com.
Freeman is backing a new team for the Big3, a professional three-on-three basketball league. Chimed in Freeman: “I am honored to join Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz at the Big3 and bring a new professional basketball team to Miami. Big3 is shaping the future of basketball; the gameplay is dynamic and nuanced and the product on the court appeals to the audiences in this incredibly fast-growing region. Basketball fans across South Florida can rest assured that this franchise will soon add to our great region’s winning sports pedigree.”
However happy he is to have Heath aboard, however, Ice Cube remains unhappy with the rival National Basketball Association. “They’ve been doing things behind the scenes that nobody can see. They’re discouraging networks from showing Big3, discouraging sponsors, those kinds of things. It’s terrible. And it’s been going on for six years,” he said in an interview posted in June 2023, by the Dallas Morning News.
“They don’t own basketball. They think they do, but they don’t. I like to say that nobody goes to their house and says, ‘Mom, I wanna play NBA.’ They say, ‘I want to play basketball.’ They just don’t like the fact that we’ve changed the game. All the stuff they’re doing behind the scenes — I believe they’re breaking a lot of antitrust laws — it has to stop.”
What role Freeman and his newspapers may have in taking on the NBA remains unknown. In the meantime, Freeman’s name surfaced in a Wall Street Journal story last week about the Professional Bull Riders League, under the headline “Meet the Billionaires Taking Over Professional Bull Riding.” Per the Journal, “Some are longtime sports investors, looking for the next big pro league, such as Nascar team owner Richard Childress and the Fisher family, owner of the Athletics Major League Baseball team. Others have serious Wall Street credentials. Avenue Capital bought a bull-riding team earlier this year, wagering that a big media deal would draw more deep pockets into the sport.” The paper described Freeman as “President of Alden Global Capital, an investment firm that gained attention for buying up local newspapers and slashing costs. He owns the Florida Freedom.”
Freeman and his fellow bull riding owners have found themselves in a tough new world. “PBR starts each event with a prayer. It is sponsored by the U.S. Border Patrol, has partnered with the U.S. Concealed Carry Association and often honors the military at events. Longtime PBR fans have noticed the crowd changing: Many point to sightings of cowboy hats worn backward, or the emergence of booing during events, which is taboo in bull riding.” Besides bull riding and basketball, Freeman has branched into professional volleyball, published reports say. No details have been provided about how he has paid for any of the deals, or whether he has any investment partners.
Pressure group
A controversial, Palestinian-leaning non-profit from Northern California picked up the tab for an aide to Democratic House member Scott Peters to take a free October trip to Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank with a cohort of fellow congressional staffers, per a November 14 disclosure filing. Jason M. Bercovitch and associates “met with various government officials, nonprofits, and families in the region,” says the document. “We also toured sites central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The cost of Bercovitch’s transportation during the nine-day roundtrip from Los Angeles to Amman, starting October 18, totaled $3875. Lodging ran $1394 and meals were $770. Other expenses amounted to $2466. The journey was sponsored by Rebuilding Alliance, which, according to a June 2024 account by National Public Radio, “has been lobbying members of Congress to pressure Israel to create a steady pipeline of medical evacuations and to lift restrictions on medical aid missions. After the war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack against Israel, Nisreen Malley, the group’s advocacy coordinator, said it was White House intervention that persuaded Israel to allow child cancer patients to leave for treatment and that pressure is needed again.”
Scott Peters
Last month, Malley spoke to Capital News Service at the University of Maryland about why the group paid for House staffer tours. “When you’re physically [visiting someone] who’s talking to you about how their home was demolished…it’s hard to ignore that when you’re thinking about your policies.”
The local food, as shown by Bercovitch’s trip itinerary attached to his disclosure form, also may play a role. “The Old Man and the Sea Restaurant in Jaffa, founded in 1999 by Younes Ali, is a well-known spot that offers fresh Mediterranean seafood, a table filled with salads, a captivating sea view, and a warm, friendly atmosphere where families, friends, and dignitaries come together to enjoy dinner,” says a group’s itinerary.
In an account of meetings held by the group on October 27, the itinerary says: “With Congress defunding [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees], it is important to understand the scope and scale of the work that they do.” Israeli officials have accused the U.N. relief agency of involvement in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but the Rebuilding Alliance itinerary maintains reductions aren’t called for.
“Instead of a cut in funding, if anything, the health centers need more money to deal with increased demand after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 10 official camps across Jordan, [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] also provides waste management services for more than 400,000 refugees, which is essential in preventing disease. The UNRWA operates 161 schools, serving more than 100,000 students in Jordan, UNRWA also provides vocational training to nearly 4,000 students who cannot afford university.
— Matt Potter
The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.
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