New York Knicks

1800 Tequila Shows Up In Twista Video, Soon To Be At Knicks Games

Last time we checked out 1800 Tequila, Michael Imperioli was promoting the brand, projecting an air of urbane cool. Imperioli still represents the brand but the video above shows that the tequila gets around, making an appearance in Twista's video for The Heat, featuring Raekwon.The super-premium tequila is pure, 100% blue agave tequila grown on family-owned ranches and bottled in Jalisco, Mexico. Each bottle of 1800® Tequila is double-distilled and matured in French and American oak barrels and bottled with a stopper that doubles as a shot glass.

The brand also just announced a marketing agreement with the New York Knicks (following fast on the heels of Stoli's deal with the Nets). The NY Times reports that the deal includes signs at courtside and on the scoreboard as well as a number of promotional activities.

Tags: 1800 tequila, michael imperioli, new york knicks, tequila, twista

More New York Temptations Promised For LeBron James

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Sports

Last week I wrote about a couple of chefs (Michael Symon from Cleveland and Jean-Georges Vongerichten from New York City) trying to influence LeBron James with free meals. Since then the deals have only gotten sweeter, at least on the New York side. Fans who want the basketball phenom, shown at right accepting the Spike TV Guy's Choice Award for "Unstoppable Jock," to come to New York and play for the Knicks just keep ladling out the promises. The NY Daily News rounds up a few more which include enough food offers to make sure that James never pays for a meal again. Bo Dietl offered a regular seat at Rao's, the chief cook of Smoke in Da Eye offered LeBron unlimited barbecue and Bob Bertrand of The Original SoupMan pledged free soup for life. That's not all, Bliss Spa has offered him treatments and the Palm Tribeca seeks to tempt him with hickory-smoked ribeye steak with jumbo Nova Scotia lobster for two.

Samantha Choi of the Classic Car Club Manhattan offered him an annual membership worth $10,000 and all sorts of New Yorkers filled up a trailer full of gifts outside Madison Square Garden so that they can be delivered to LeBron James in Cleveland. Hotelier Andre Balasz has offered LeBron a loft suite at the Mercer Hotel in SoHo and Alexandre Petrossian will send over a snack of Royal Ossetra caviar sandwiches. Sean Combs posted his appeal on Twitter promising LeBron James free Sean John clothing and Ciroc vodka for life. On the Cmon LeBron website, Iron Chef Mario Batali appears in video (after the jump) in a Cmon LeBron T-shirt upping Michael Symon's promise of an Iron Chef meal a month to an Iron Chef meal every two weeks in New York City.

What's next, will Los Angeles weigh in? Some rumors have David Geffen buying a share in the Clippers and bringing LeBron James to Los Angeles to enliven the much-maligned franchise. Could Chicago be far behind with promises of a lifetime of free deep dish. For LeBron, whose is facing a July 1 deadline, the culinary possibilities seem nearly endless.

Tags: bliss spa, ciroc, expire-images:2010-7-11, lebron james, mario batali, mercer hotel, michael symon, nbc, New York Knicks, Petrossian, sean john

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Chefs Offer Amazing Meals To Tempt LeBron James

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Sports

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Certainly some culinary-minded sports fans are hoping that is the case. While money and the possibility of an NBA title are probably paramount in LeBron James' mind as he considers where to play next, chefs are adding some incentives to sweeten the deal. Cleveland restaurateur and Food Network Iron Chef Michael Symon has said he will go to James' house once a month and cook a meal for his family and friends if James will stay in Cleveland with the Cavaliers. Sounds like a good offer but New York also wants him and among the luminaries tempting LeBron with incentives is chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten who promised free dinners as long as he wants if he moves to the Knicks. In NY Magazine he said "I'll feed him whatever he likes-double chickens." Double chickens? Sounds like LeBron James has some serious thinking to do.

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, lebron james, Michael Symon, New York Knicks

Knicks Player Faces Massive Personal Debt

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

You wouldn't think that a man making millions of dollars a year would have trouble paying his bills but New York Knicks Center Eddy Curry has got expensive tastes. A judge recently authorized a lender to seize three luxury cars owned by Curry because he's behind in loan payments. Curry has a $60 million contract but he has a hefty $570,000 loan from from Allstar Capital. The NY Daily News reports that Curry took out the loan in 2008 at 85% interest. Last Friday, Curry was ordered to pay $75,000 a month to the Las Vegas-based firm to start eating away at the loan which now tops $1.2 million with interest. Lawyers for both Curry and Allstar stated that they are working on a settlement.

Curry's free spending includes a $6,000-a-month personal chef, a Rolls-Royce and a $350,000 debt to fellow NBA player Juwan Howard. He has a mansion and children in private school. He also gives around $16,000 a month to relatives.

"Mr. Curry appears to be a very, very generous man," Allstar Capital attorney Donald David said. "He appears to have taken it upon himself to support every person named Curry on the East Coast."

This isn't Curry's first bout with financial woes. He has faced previous lawsuits and his home in suburban Chicago fell into foreclosure. He already has more than $207,000 garnished from his paychecks each month.

Curry is far from the first athlete to find himself in financial trouble. We've also chronicled the sagas of former athletes like Lenny Dykstra and Latrell Sprewell who have found themselves having to sell off their belongings to pay back debts.

Tags: athlete debt, eddy curry, new york knicks, sports player debt