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One of Detroit's biggest sports fans is interested in joining the city's bid to land a WNBA franchise. Eminem, the 15-time Grammy-winning rapper, has had discussions about joining the high-profile investor group that already includes Pistons owner Tom Gores, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Fab Five legend Chris Webber, former Piston Grant Hill and Denise Ilitch, among others.
A spokesperson confirmed Eminem's interest to The News on Wednesday. "He has expressed interest, and there have been discussions, but nothing has been finalized," said Dennis Dennehy, a longtime spokesperson for Eminem, 52, a big Detroit sports fan who regularly attends Lions games.
Redick has always been “a connector” as McConnell calls it, able to bridge gaps between people. “When we were in college, he got big into rapping and writing rhymes,” Redick’s former Duke and Magic teammate Chris Duhon recalled. Duhon and Redick would freestyle rap together with their Duke teammates. Redick would imitate his favorite rapper Eminem, out-rhyming Duhon and the others. “He wasn’t bad,” Duhon laughs. “He was decent.” Redick has a long list of passions. He started writing poetry in junior high. He’s a big fan of Hemingway. He has at various times become obsessed with high-end watches, wine, and golf. He has taught himself how to rise to the top of the NBA media sphere and build a podcast empire. “It goes to show you how smart he was and how creative his mind is,” Duhon said. “He knows how to relate to people.” “He’s a smart guy with a lot of interests, so he can talk about a lot of things,” said Van Gundy. “He cared about his teammates. It wasn’t all basketball all the time.”
Kevin Love mentioned Spoelstra showing a documentary that had clips of FC Barcelona. “That level of professionalism and respect for the game is something that really resonated,” Love said. Tyler Herro was struck by a video that Spoelstra showed them about “Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Eminem and how they started, and the manager they had and he was the one rallying the troops, which is Spo [for the Heat]. Spo does [this type of thing] every year, but this year has been a little bit more with how up and down the season has been.”
On if there’s something surprising about him, like, he enjoys classical music: LeBron: You know what’s funny that you say that, I love classical music. If you happen to pull up to the side of me when I’m not in the dark, dark tint car, you could catch me at a (traffic) light listening to some old Beethoven or Mozart … (but before the game) I’m listening to something to get the blood flowing a little more, for sure. It changes. I’m listening to a lot of hardcore hip hop. Either Wu Tang, or some early DMX, some N.W.A. or even Eminem when he was doing his thing at a high level. I tap into a whole other mode … I’m not the father at home with the kids LeBron when I tap into that mode. I’m like, get the hell of my way, I’m ready for war.
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Today, you’ll find everything from $5,000 Air Jordans to a $70,000 Louis Vuitton x Supreme Trunk on StockX. The result? StockX Revenue: 2019: $239 million 2020: $400 million Furthermore, the company has added celebrity investors like Mark Wahlberg, Scooter Braun, Kalie Kloss, Steve Aoki, Marc Benioff, Eminem, and more. The craziest part? StockX raised $275 million at a $2.8 billion valuation in 2020, meaning Dan Gilbert’s third business is now worth almost 2x the current Cleveland Cavaliers valuation.
With the Jordan Bulls 10-part documentary series “The Last Dance” recently premiering on ESPN, stories of the Hall of Famer have been popping up in recent days. In an interview with Sway on SiriusXM Shade 45, Eminem shared the story of how a comment he made to Jordan created an awkward tension. The two celebrities were apparently in talks at the time to collaborate on a sneaker design, and at first Eminem said everything was going well. “We were talking, and everything was cool — and he’s super cool — and everything was good,” the rapper said of his talk with the former Bulls superstar. “Until we got the end of the phone call, and I said, ‘Yo, man, when are you gonna come to Detroit so I can dunk on you?’ And it was crickets… And I remember getting off the phone going, ‘Oh my god I think I might have just blew it.'”
In case the NCAA is keeping tabs, Rich Paul is eligible to produce music. The head of the powerhouse agency Kluch Sports will make his producer debut on rapper Fat Joe's upcoming album, "Family Ties," which is scheduled for release on Friday, Dec. 6. Among a tracklist featuring heavy-hitters Eminem, Lil Wayne and Cardi B, Paul received production credits on the song titled, "Hands On You," alongside Boi-1da, who most notably produced smash hits for Drake.
Green, a Saginaw, Mich., native, recalled some lyrics from Eminem, Detroit’s famed rapper, as a rebuke to all the critics who wrote him off, who used his struggles earlier this season as proof he was done, who were ready to cash him in for younger, future pieces. “How Em say it? Nowadays everybody wanna talk like they got something to say. But nothing comes out when they move their lips. Just a bunch of gibberish. And motherfuckers act like they forgot about Dray.” You know who didn’t forget? Warriors owner Joe Lacob. “He’s Draymond Green,” Lacob said. “I wasn’t worried. I want Draymond Green to be here forever. He’s as Warrior as they come.”
What's the most you've spent on a pair of shoes? Thaddeus Young: The most I’ve spent was about $4,000 on the Yeezy Red Octobers. But someone actually made me an offer on them, so I ended up selling them for $6,000. I was like, “Sure, why not!” Then, I ended up getting another pair of those for about $2,000. Those joints were so hard to come by, it was crazy. But it worked out! Another pair I spent a lot on were the “Legend of the Summer” Jordan 2s, which are also all red. Those were $4,000 too, but I’m keeping those! My “Eminem” Jordan 2s were just under $4,000 too. But yeah, $4,000 is the most I’ve spent.
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For a Pistons team that spent almost three decades playing at the Palace of Auburn Hills and before that at the suburban Pontiac Silverdome and got used to playing in front of lighter crowds the past few years, the jolt and energy in the sparkling building were unmistakable -- both in the way the team played and in the way the events of the night unfolded. "It was hype, man," Pistons swingman Tobias Harris said of the atmosphere, led by Eminem's opening remarks. "It was crazy. I ain't going to say I thought I was at 8 mile, but I kind of thought I was at 8 mile."
"I thought just having Eminem up there was great as a Detroit guy," Van Gundy said. "But I thought it was great of Tom, and if Adam Silver was involved, to think about that. I think without making any statement they were able to make a statement by involving Eminem in it. I thought that was great. I thought the whole thing, in terms of what happened before the game, was extremely well thought-out, well done, and I enjoyed it -- not as much as I enjoyed the win, but I enjoyed it."
Jamal Crawford: Eminem the great!
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