Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They are members of the Pacific Division of the league's Western Conference. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, and have won 16 NBA championships, their last being in 2010. As of 2015, the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes, having an estimated value of $2.7 billion.

The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the state's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes". Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America and winning five of the next six BAA and NBA championships in Minneapolis after the NBA formed in 1949. The team was propelled by center George Mikan, who is described by the NBA's official website as the league's "first superstar". After struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikan's retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles (ⁱ/lɒs ˈændʒəlᵻs/ loss AN-jə-ləs or loss AN-jə-liss) (Spanish for "The Angels"), officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States after New York City, the most populous city in the state of California, and the county seat of Los Angeles County.

Situated in Southern California, Los Angeles is known for its mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, sprawling metropolis, and as a major center of the American entertainment industry. Los Angeles lies in a large coastal basin surrounded on three sides by mountains reaching up to and over 10,000 feet (3,000 m).

Historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The city experienced rapid growth with the discovery of oil.

First Take

First Take may refer to:

Shannon Sharpe

Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is a former American football tight end who played for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL), as well as a former analyst for CBS Sports on its NFL telecasts.

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and inducted on August 6, 2011. Sharpe played 12 seasons for the Broncos (1990–99, 2002–03) and two years with the Ravens (2000–01), winning three Super Bowls and finishing his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions (815), receiving yards (10,060) and receiving touchdowns (62) by a tight end until Tony Gonzalez surpassed all three of these records, including breaking his total yardage record on October 5, 2008. Sharpe holds the distinction of being the first tight end ever to amass over 10,000 receiving yards. Shannon was also named a member of the NFL's first team All-Decade team of the 1990s.

Early life

Shannon, the younger brother of former NFL star wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, grew up poor in Glennville, Georgia. He once joked, "We were so poor, a robber once broke into our house and we ended up robbing the robber." Sharpe graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Savannah State College (since 1996 Savannah State University). He commented: "I was a terrible student. I didn't graduate magna cum laude, I graduated 'Thank you, Lawdy!'" At Savannah State he played football and basketball and competed in track and field. In track, he competed in jumping and throwing events. He had personal-bests of 6.73 meters in the long jump and 14.73 meters in triple jump. He also got a top-throw of 42.06 meters in the discus throw.

Skip Bayless

Skip Bayless (born December 4, 1951) is an American sports columnist, author, and television personality who is best known as a commentator on the ESPN2 show, First Take, with Stephen A. Smith.

Early years

Bayless was born John Edward Bayless II in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and his father immediately began calling him Skip – his father also had called his mother "Skip", as in "skipper of the ship". The name stuck, and Bayless was never called John by his parents. He eventually had his name legally changed to Skip. His parents owned and operated the Hickory House restaurant in Oklahoma City, which specialized in barbecue. Bayless worked in the restaurant in his youth, but never considered it as a career path. His younger brother Rick Bayless carried on the family tradition and became a chef, restaurateur and television personality. He also has a younger sister.

Bayless' interest in sports began at an early age and he played baseball and basketball. Bayless was the salutatorian of Northwest Classen's graduating class of 1970. He was a two-year member of the National Honor Society and president of the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. He was also an officer in the letterman's club. At the urging of one of his English teachers, Bayless became the primary sports columnist for the school newspaper his junior and senior years. Prior to his senior year, Bayless represented Northwest Classen at Oklahoma Boys State. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Grantland Rice Scholarship (named for the sportswriter of the same name) to attend Vanderbilt University (Rice's alma mater). While at Vanderbilt, he majored in English and history, and graduated cum laude in 1974. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, serving two years as the chapter's "rho" (sports director). He was also the sports editor of The Hustler, the university's student newspaper, and spent the summer of 1969 interning under sports editor Frank Boggs at The Daily Oklahoman.