31/07 - And1 Mixtape Tour - Atlanta
The And 1 Mixtape Tour rolled through Atlanta this weekend, and our correspondent DeMarco Williams was in the house to take it all in…Before I go into my And1 game summary from Sunday, I wanna give a shout out to Mandy Murphy, the do-everything media relations head at the shoe company who took care of me lovely at the game. Going beyond providing choice tickets for me, my lady and my lil’ cousins, Mandy allowed us onto the floor, VIP-style, to meet the guys and take a few pictures. The kids loved it all so much that the 40-minute ride out to the Gwinnett Arena (in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth) became an afterthought when Escalade handed them some complimentary rally towels. Good lookin’, And 1! ..read more.

31/07 - And1 Mixtape Tour - Atlanta Open Run
The most grievous sin had been committed by a man in a black tank top. He had allowed an opponent to dunk over him, a challenge of manhood if ever one existed. On the And 1 Mixtape Tour - a traveling team of basketball high-fliers and showboats that came through the Gwinnett Center on Sunday night - such a crime cannot go unpunished. He was escorted from the makeshift basketball court by a man shouting into a microphone, "Tell him where to go! Tell him where to go!" So it went during the tour's "open run," a tryout held before the actual game to fill out the opposing team's roster. ..read more.

31/07 - And1 on Sportskool coming soon
And1 will be launching their own segment on Sportskool which is a video on demand channel hosted by Chuck D and Walliy Dixon aka the Main Event of Team And1. Launched by Rainbow Media in 2004, sportskool is the first television network dedicated to delivering in-depth sports expert instruction and coaching for a wide range of sports and athletic activities. sportskool helps athletes of all ages take their game to the next level by offering guidance and insider tips from the world's best athletes. ..read more.

28/07 - And1 Mixtape Tour - Louisville
The rim got bent - literally. In most of the basketball-playing world, a goal tilted at almost a 45-degree angle would quickly stop the action. On the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour, the show goes on as it did yesterday just outside of Freedom Hall. With the way the street-ballers attack the goal with regularity and ferocity, sometimes the rim has to absorb punishment. In many ways the difference between regular basketball and the style executed during the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour is like the difference between traditional sports and the X-Games. Style and fun are always the biggest calling cards to flocking young fans. ..read more.

25/07 - And1 Mixtape 9 Area Codes - Now Available
Every city has ballers. Every city has rappers. In Volume 9:[Area] Codes, we've tried to let them tell their stories " one city at a time. You'll see: The Return of Hot Sauce; Straight up ball from NYC, Philly, D.C., L.A., Dirty South, and the Midwest; Crash the Courts at Barry Farms, D.C., and Kingdome, NY; The Come Up: The Air Up There, Sylk, Assassin, Bad Santa; The Best of the 2005 Kingdome and Barry Farms summer leagues; The Best of the 2005 Open Run and Mix Tape Tour; and The Soundtrack is banging at you in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and is bringing that true mix tape feel with over 20 artists represented. ..purchase.

23/07 - Live at the EBC All-Star Game
Last night Dime was in the building ' Madison Square Garden ' for the Entertainers Basketball Classic all-star game and celebrity game. Throughout the evening we kept notes for a Smack-style recap. The celebs were the undercard to the all-stars. Zab Judah, Ne-Yo, Jim Jones (Dipset), Michael Bivins, Bobbito Garcia, Joe Budden, Jae Millz and Mysonne all suited up ' Not a lot of memorable highlights. Mysonne has some handles and a quick first step, and Ne-Yo shocked us when he got a steal and breakaway layup. Seriously, we saw Ne-Yo tossing up jumpers at a charity event a while back, and let's just say he doesn't seem like much of a ballplayer. ..read more.

23/07 - The And1 Tour Stop - Inhumanly Possible
There are some things human beings just aren't supposed to have the power to do, but Taurian Fontenette has proven that he's capable of at least one of them. At first glance, one might view the oft-circulated internet video of Fontenette (a.k.a. "Air Up There") and his 720 Dunk as a forgery. A Powerade commercial of Michael Vick throwing 100-yard passes and knocking receivers out of their shoes with fireball passes makes this dunk, in which Air Up There spins around two full times before dunking, seem computer generated too. ..read more.

21/07 - Who is Pat Da Roc? DVD
The Who is Pat Da Roc DVD is now available for $15 through their website, www.patdaroc.com .The 45 minute long DVD features exclusive footage from the And1 tour, China, Africa, Indonesia, Dominican Republic and NBA All-Star weekend. As well as bonus footage a special music video has been made for the DVD. Cash or Check orders can be made out to Charles Harris, P O Box 1173, Prince Frederick, MD 20678. ..watch trailer.

19/07 - Bad Karma Streetball Crew
Straight out of Seattle/Tacoma comes Bad Karma streetball crew with some of the sickest ball handlers and dunkers in the game today. Formed in 2002 by original members "Secret Weapon", "Pay Per View", "Nightmare" and "Prophet" the crew started of small and gradually grew by picking up players like Da Promise, GameTime, Summin Special, Speechless, Golden Child and Mad Bomber along the way. Bad Karma is currently the state slam dunk champions for 1st and 2nd place and with help from their sponsor blacktophustler.com managed to take the 2006 Hoopfest Championship. A DVD is currently in the works as well as a dunk contest against Dime55. ..click to watch trailer. comment..

19/07 - Chicago Rockstars to sign "Go Get It"?
The ABA Chicago Rockstars have been talking with AND1 streetball star Tony "Go Get It" Jones about the possibility of playing with the team this season. The AND1 mix tape tour landed in Chicago this past weekend and "Go Get It" was one of its featured stars. Jones, a native of Chicago, attended Chicago State University, the home of the Chicago Rockstars. Jones also played this past Sunday in the Chicago Pro AM summer league that the Rockstars are participating in. "Tony looked very polished and his basketball IQ was very good," said owner Marques Sullivan. "I was impressed with the intensity Tony played with on the court," said head coach Kenny Williams.. ..read more..

18/07 - ETB Mixtape - Street Dreams
Street Dreams, whether its on the basketball court or on the microphone. We all have street dreams to make it big. Come take a trip with ETB as they explore the dreams of the Best Streetballers in the world, (New York, Flordia, Bahamas, North Carolina and more). The hottest Rappers videos out right now, Including Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, and Troy Ave. DVD is only $5.00, well worth the price. Support the movement. Click here to order and view trailer.

17/07 - Q & A with "Air Up There"
We can't seem to keep Taurian Fontenette, aka "Air Up There" from the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour, off of our Dimemag.tv website. A couple months ago we posted a video of Air Up There pulling off a between-the-legs 360, a dunk that ESPN "City Slam" finalist High Rizer told us only two people in the world can do (Rizer being the other). Then last week we got our hands on a video of Air Up There rocking a 720 dunk from the Mix Tape Tour’s recent stop in Houston. You can check out the video for yourself right here. . ..read more..

17/07 - Taurian "Air Up There" Fontenette interview
Fans know Taurian Fontenette better as Air Up There, from the And1Mix Tape Tour. He became a sensation after he completed a 720-degree dunk June 28 in Houston. We caught up with Fontenette, who's scheduled to appear with And1 on Thursday at Cobo Arena. But a thumb injury will prevent him from playing. Question: Is this your first trip to Detroit? Answer: I was there last year during the tour. Hopefully, this year will be a whole lot better. ... I was so focused on the game. Didn't want to do too much to mess up, so I just chilled. Hopefully, I'll get to go out and do more different things. ..read more..

14/07 - And1 Tour - Indiana
Deion Boyd sat in the front row at Conseco Fieldhouse, knowing exactly why he came. "I like the tricks, the moves," said Boyd, 14, from Ben Davis High School. He saw plenty of both Thursday night during the AND1 Mix Tape Tour's stop at Conseco Fieldhouse. A celebration of the way the game is played on the streets, the tour has a Harlem Globetrotters showtime style with a playground edge. Alley-oops, crazy dribbling exhibitions and trick moves all play out to the background of music and an announcer who roams the court functioning as part play-by-play voice, part court jester and part head trash talker. ..read more..

13/07 - Jones goes and gets dream on And1 circuit
The boy's effort began when his father set up a Nerf hoop in his room, a self-imposed daily diet of jump shots and dunks, spins and struts. The effort continued at courts near Lake Michigan and at playgrounds on his native South Side, through high school at Chicago Vocational Tech and junior college basketball in Arizona, through his playing days at Chicago State and his workouts with Michael Jordan's Washington Wizards. The effort intensified just more than three years ago when Tony Jones, now a young man trying desperately to hold on to a childhood dream, followed eight-hour days working in a warehouse. ..read more..

12/07 - No Mercy Streetball Tour
Patrick Killip (left) of Whitefish and Jackson Holm of Columbia Falls are taking their game to the streets. The two basketball enthusiasts are promoting streetball, an offshoot brand of basketball, up and down the West Coast. Holm, Killip have high hopes for streetball tour/product line. Streetball may have its origin in big city U.S.A., but two Montana boys hope to become the driving force behind promoting this offshoot brand of basketball on the West Coast. Jackson Holm of Columbia Falls and Patrick Killip of Whitefish, with financial backing from Jason Prone in California, have laid out plans for the No Mercy Streetball Tour. ..read more..

11/07 - Playground Legends in the Making at Rucker Park
On a recent Saturday afternoon in Harlem, a bus stopped at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue, dropping off dozens of tourists at what is perhaps the world's most famous asphalt arena. Gregory Marius, the chief executive of the Entertainers Basketball Classic, was soon holding court at Rucker Park, regaling visitors with stories of the great games and colorful names that have filled his summer tournament the past 25 years. "We've come a long way," he told the crowd. Many were taking pictures of the magical, windswept stage located across the street from the site of the Polo Grounds, where a housing complex now covers the same ground that Willie Mays once did for the New York Giants. ..read more..

10/07 - EBC @ Rucker: Week 3
Has an Entertainers' Basketball Classic player ever been nicknamed "The King of Poland" Not terribly likely ' but, if he keeps this up, Chudney Gray might soon be wearing the royal moniker. "I've been playing for AZS Koszavin in the Polish Elite Division,' the 6-4 St. John's swing man of not-so-long-ago related at halftime of the Certified-Long Island's Finest game at Rucker Park. "Last year I led the league in scoring with 24.6 points per game, was second in assists, first in steals, and MVP of the All-Star Game. It's fun to be there -- the money is good -- experiencing a different culture and everything that goes along with that. The money is good, too. ..read more..

09/07 - 15-year-old takes praise in strides
He's already been labeled the next New York City phenom, compared to the likes of the city's legends like Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Rafer Alston. Pretty heady stuff for a guy still about two months shy of his 16th birthday. But Lance Stephenson seems to be taking it all in stride. "I like to hear that stuff," the 6-foot-5 combo guard said this week at the Adidas Superstar Camp. "It's very flattering, but I can't worry about that stuff. If you worry about that, you'll play bad. The rest of that stuff will take care of itself. ..read more..

07/07 - And1 Tour - Minneapolis
The main goal for a player showing up for the AND1 Mix Tape Tour tryout Thursday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis was to get a pink bracelet. Forget about being fashionable. That was the only way you could get a shot at playing the AND1 streetball legends that night in Target Center. AND1, a sports shoe and apparel company, began endorsing playground basketball nearly a decade ago, and now these streetball players have their own video games, shoe commercials and movies, and they travel the world like the Harlem Globetrotters. But becoming the next AND1 streetball legend might be as difficult as becoming the next LeBron James. ..read more..

06/07 - Hip-Hop Hoop
At Drew Middle School in South L.A., the games can best be compared to New York’s legendary playgrounds. From the street, the South Los Angeles school appears vacant on a Sunday morning. But walk deeper into the heart of the small campus and sounds resonate from within the banana-yellow gymnasium. The screeching of shoes. The chatter of young men. The cheering of fans. The pulsating rhythm of a ball against hardwood. Basketball is being played here. Only the games barely resemble anything seen in the NBA playoffs or the NCAA tournament. This is the trash-talking, ankle-breaking variety that's more hip-hop and Neo soul than jump-stop and pick-and-roll. ..read more..

04/07 - The People's Courts - Venice Beach
Pickup games at Venice Beach and Laguna Beach have some great atmosphere - and rosters. New York has its legendary playground basketball spots - the hardscrabble courts at Rucker and "The Cage" at West Fourth Street in Manhattan. Southern California? We have the beach, where, on any given day, the problem putting the ball in the basket is less the defender in front of you than the tricky ocean breeze at your back. The courts at Venice Beach and at Main Beach in Laguna Beach attract some of the most competitive street ball players around. ..read more..

02/07 - Whole New ballgame
The AND1 Mix Tape Tour has made streetball big business, and its talent. In the middle of a layup drill Wednesday, players from the AND1 Mix Tape Tour ran off the floor to get a glimpse of a video highlight from a game last week in Houston. One by one, they huddled up to the team's general manager, Lisa Fusco, who replayed a 720-degree fast-break dunk by their newest teammate, Taurian "Air Up There" Fontenette. It's a dunk that you had to see a few times to believe. "That's crazy," said Phillip "Hot Sauce" Champion, who is among the AND1 streetball legends in town this week to match their skills tonight against a group of local players at Target Center. "I missed that dunk on ESPN. Hey, can you send it to my e-mail?" ..read more..