Brand Wade: Heat guard's business side keeps growing

Basketball Betting Lines

02/14/2007 -

MIAMI (AP) - Dwyane Wade will leave the NBA's All-Star festivities and enter a Las Vegas hotel Friday to meet some of his biggest fans.

Converse will be there. So will T-Mobile, Gatorade, Lincoln, Topps, Staples, Marquis Jet and more companies that he's aligned with - along with others that may want to soon start working with the Miami Heat's superstar guard and budding sports business giant.

It's called the Brand Wade Summit, the latest example of how Wade's drawing power isn't limited to the basketball court. Over 90 minutes, he'll thank those he's already working with and, perhaps more importantly, hear ideas on what might come next.

``You have a roomful of all my partners - all the people that care about Dwyane Wade and the Wade name and brand - together to talk and chat and see what direction they want to go in,'' Wade said in an interview with The Associated Press. ``I think it's going to be great. I'm excited about it. It's one thing I'm really excited about.''

And it's just one part of what Wade - last season's NBA finals MVP for leading the Heat to their first championship - calls an ``insanely'' busy All-Star break.

``It's all still crazy to me,'' Wade said. ``It's really not about the contracts and making money and doing commercials. It's about us all being serious about the direction we're all going, and doing the right things and making the right choices. That's what's important.''

Once he gets to Las Vegas on Thursday, there'll be multiple events with sponsors every day, multiple parties every night, league-mandated media sessions, and, oh, the little matters of defending his title in the NBA Skills Challenge on Saturday night and playing in the All-Star game Sunday.

``It's a challenge,'' said Henry Thomas, Wade's agent. ``I've been at this for 18 years now and I've had some star clients. But I haven't had anything like this. Any agent in the business would love to have the opportunity to represent a player who's become what Dwyane's become. Has all this come faster than we expected? Of course.''

The weeklong Wade business blitz started Monday, when T-Mobile unveiled its new ``D-Wade Edition'' Sidekick, which Wade helped design. To celebrate the launch, T-Mobile will have a ``wallscape'' in Las Vegas this weekend, a 56,250-square-foot image of Wade holding the wireless device on the side of the Mandalay Bay.

In Las Vegas on Thursday, he'll unveil his new line of Converse athletic apparel, a collection of T-shirts, shorts, fleeces, warm-ups, shooting shirts and more that will be in stores early next month. He'll also wear a new style of his signature Converse shoes - the Wade 2.0 - in the All-Star game.

It's the first time Converse has designed an apparel line around an athlete.

``I wanted mine to be different,'' Wade said. ``I wanted to make sure everything is great quality. I didn't want something that someone will wash one time and it'll be done. I want it to be perfect.''

Also Thursday, Staples will announce a $57,500 program to improve 14 parks in South Florida, with the winning park getting $25,000 and five winning online voters a chance to meet Wade.

On Friday, it's the Brand Wade Summit, followed that night by the release of his first solo commercial for Gatorade, a spot called ``Good Wade, Bad Wade'' that was filmed last fall in Miami and has Wade dribbling upcourt, trying to decide whether to shoot over a defender or dunk over someone. (It's easy to guess which decision wins.)

Saturday brings more events with T-Mobile and Topps - before Wade will defend his title in the NBA Skills Challenge. He'll start in the All-Star game on Sunday night, flying home to Miami to rejoin the Heat after the game.

So, there'll be no break during the All-Star break.

``I couldn't get a break,'' Wade said. ``I tried. I couldn't. There's a lot of things I want to do and a lot of things I have to do, so I'll just do my best to make it all work.''

Wade still remembers when all this was the stuff of his fantasies.

He grew up very poor and he and his wife often worried about how they would raise their son, Zaire, when he was first born five years ago.

But now, Wade can afford almost anything he wants - and afford to dream big, too.

He wants to be a movie star, build community centers in Miami and Chicago, keep reaching out to kids, all the while being mindful that his top priority remains trying to win another title or more with the Heat.

``I'm trying to do a lot of things, because I just don't want to play basketball and retire,'' Wade said. ``I want to touch lives.''

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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