The Starters

The Starters (previously known as The Basketball Jones) is a podcast, blog and television program that analyzes, and often satirizes, the National Basketball Association. The show is written and hosted by Tas Melas, Phil Elder (J.E. Skeets), Leigh Ellis, and Trey Kerby, and it is shot, edited, and produced by Jason Doyle and Matt Osten. Kerby is also the blog editor.

Background

Melas, Skeets, Doyle and Osten met while attending Ryerson University’s Radio and Television Arts program in Toronto, Canada from 2001 - 2005.

Melas was the co-host of a talk show on SPIRITlive, Ryerson’s Internet radio station, called the “Sports Doctors.” Doyle produced the weekly program. Skeets also co-hosted a show on the station, though it was not sports related.

Upon graduation, Melas worked as a story editor at The Sports Network and Doyle worked as a sound editor for Super Sonics, an audio post-production house. Skeets worked at a physician recruiting firm and Osten attended law school at McGill University.

NBA Summer League

The NBA Summer League is a series of off-season competitions during which National Basketball Association teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups. Typically consisting of a mix of rookies, second year players, and unsigned free agents, the current summer league consists of three separate leagues: the Las Vegas Summer League, the Utah Jazz Summer League, and the Orlando Pro Summer League.

History

Summer leagues have existed for decades. Historically, there was not an organized structure, with leagues sometimes overlapping and not officially coordinated. In 2004, the league held the Las Vegas Summer League for the first time; it is by far the largest league, with 23 NBA teams plus an NBA Development League all-star team participating as of 2015.

The Orlando Pro Summer League has been held since 2001. The Utah Jazz Summer League began play in 2015, replacing the Rocky Mountain Revue, an event held from 1984–2008 before going on a lengthy hiatus due to declining participation.

MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International is a Paradise, Nevada based gaming, hospitality and entertainment company. It generated about $9.8 billion in 2013. It owns and operates 15 properties in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan, and has 50% investments in four other properties in Nevada, Illinois and Macau, China.

The company began operations in 1987 as MGM Grand, Inc., and became MGM Mirage in 2000, after acquiring Mirage Resorts. In the mid-2000s, growth of its non-gaming (lodging, food, retail) revenue began to outpace gaming receipts and demand for high-rise condominiums was surging, with median property prices in Las Vegas twice the national average. The company shifted its business model from fully owning and operating resorts and casinos, to being more real estate focused—launching the massive CityCenter mixed-use project. However, the latter's development coincided with vast overbuilding on the Strip and a global financial crisis, causing large losses and writedowns in valuation.

The Daily Show

The Daily Show (also known as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 until 2015, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah as of 2015) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program, which airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central and, in Canada, The Comedy Network.

The half-hour-long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 17, 1998. Jon Stewart then took over as the host from January 11, 1999 until August 6, 2015, making the show more strongly focused on politics and the national media, in contrast with the pop culture focus during Kilborn's tenure. Stewart was succeeded by Trevor Noah, whose tenure premiered on September 28, 2015. The Daily Show is the longest-running program on Comedy Central (counting all three tenures), and has won 22 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Describing itself as a fake news program, The Daily Show draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organizations, and often aspects of the show itself. During Stewart's tenure, the show typically opened with a long monologue, relating to recent headlines and frequently featured exchanges with one or more of several correspondents, who adopted absurd or humorously exaggerated takes on current events against Stewart's straight man persona. The final segment was devoted to a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to nonfiction authors and political figures.

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 franchised member clubs (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), and is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. NBA players are the world's best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.

The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with its rival National Basketball League (NBL). The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.