Drew League 2012 – Week 1

The Game; Money Gang

 To view the pictures from Week 1, click on the photo above:

Now that I have a little more free time, I will be updating my blog with pictures and anything that comes up for the summer – Starting with The 2012 Drew League – the 39th Season. It’s the tournament everyone has been waiting for. They have moved their location to King Drew High school to accommodate all of the people who come every weekend to watch and participate in the games. Week 1 of the Drew had some familiar faces and some new faces. There are teams not only from Los Angeles this year, but from Chicago and San Diego. The Game has two new teams this year – California Republic and Money Gang. Other returning teams are LAUNFD, Kings of LA, C.O.A., Nova Stars, Blazers,  Cheaters II and more. Because the NBA playoffs are still in progress, there are some players who won’t be joining until later this summer

If you’ve never been to the Drew League before, it’s definitely worth checking out. You never know who will show up. Last year more than 40 NBA players played in the Drew League, including names such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dorell Wright, Brandon Jennings, Nick Young, DeMar DeRozan, Craig Smith, John Wall, Amare Stoudamire, Tyreke Evans and much more. The Drew League is more than a few NBA players. The overseas and college players play on such an advanced level, it makes every game worth watching.

Last week Nate Robinson stopped by to join Kings of LA. Even Christina Milian came to watch the games. This weekend there might be even bigger surprises that you wont want to miss. To stay updated with the latest news about game times, check out DrewLeague.com and follow the @DrewLeague on twitter

As for me, I’m the official Drew League photographer. I will be at the games this summer taking pictures (come say hi!). If you are a player and are looking to get some of the pictures I took, then send me a message and let me know. My website is CassyAthena.com , my twitter is @CassyAthena and my e-mail is cassyathena13@gmail.com

Thanks for checking out my blog!

01/05/12 – MBB: Cal Poly SLO at Long Beach State

 

Cal Poly barely loses in a very close game against UC Santa Barbara. They then come to Long Beach State and in a very close game, lost to the 49ers. These three teams dominated last year, plan on seeing that again this year! Click the photo above for the album.

01/02/12 – MBB: Long Beach State at UC Irvine

Long Beach State heads down to UC Irvine for the first home conference game for Irvine. Click the photo above to see the album.

 

Also check out this DUNK that Casper Ware got in the game!

12/29/11 – MBB: UC Irvine at Cal State Northridge

For the first CSUN conference home game of the season, Northridge hosts UC Irvine. Click on the photo above to see the album.

12/16/12 – Lakers Scrimmage

Click on the photo above to see pictures from the Lakers Scrimmage

This was the first and only official Lakers Scrimmage after this long lockout. It was held at USC. It featured a full roster of players, including training camp players. A Special shoutout to Malcolm Thomas – He helped take San Diego State last year go to the NCAA Sweet 16, then took his team to the final playoff game for the Drew League, and now recently just got signed to the San Antonio Spurs, playing alongside his college teammate, Kawhi Leonard.

11/20/11 – MBB: Long Beach State at San Diego State

Here are the photos from Long Beach State at San Diego State. Click on the photo above to see the album.

11/12/11 – MBB: Idaho at Long Beach State

Click on the Photo above to see the full album!

 

Many of you who have followed me covering the mens basketball games for the Big West know me best for my video highlights. This summer I got more into photography and plan to continue my photos throughout this season. I am still filming and taking pictures, but will be posting the pictures right away. Videos will follow if it is something big.

 

Backtracking a little, here are the pictures from the Idaho vs Long Beach State game. This was LBSU’s homecoming game. There was a surprise guest who will be showing up at the games this year – Clipper Darrell. He is by far the #1 clipper fan. If you’ve ever been to a Clippers Home game and heard the chants of “Lets go Clippers, Lets go!” that’s clipper darrell. This year he will be joining forces with Long Beach State and to support Casper Ware and will be getting the fans excited at the home games!! He is a very cool guy so be sure to go say hi to him.

Make sure to follow the big west this year – it’s going to be a great season!

 

LAUNFD: Baron Davis NBA Charity Game

Click the photo above to see more pics!!

 

While planning this basketball game, word spread on Black Friday that the NBA lockout had come to an end. This game was supposed to be one of the many amazing opportunities to see NBA guys play during the lockout, but instead turned into the last charity game of the lockout. I was excited that I got to be one of the official photographers for this game. The last big game I had been to was the Drew League vs Goodman League rematch game at Long Beach State, and the vibe of this game was a lot different. I was in the locker room for about 2 hours before the game started, just hanging out and taking pictures. All of the players were in high spirits that they would finally be getting to go play again. There were no media allowed in the locker room, no reporters asking about the lockout. It was just all of the LAUNFD basketball guys having a great time and ready to play one last lockout game for their hometown fans.

The game was fun to watch. I think it’s safe to say that DeMar DeRozan was the MVP of the game – he had so many cool dunks. All of the guys put on a show for the fans, and the game actually tied and went into overtime. In the end, the away team won by 2 points. After the game the fans all got to come down on the floor and take pictures and get autographs with their favorite players. Be sure to check out the highlights that ballislife posted, and check out all of my pictures from the game! I’m glad the NBA lockout is over but I had the most amazing summer/fall/winter taking pictures and meeting so many new friends! I’ll never forget it. Basketball Never Stops

The lighting inside the gym was not the greatest, but I did my best

LAUNFD: NBA Charity Event

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE THE ENTIRE ALBUM!

First of all, If you haven’t heard of LAUNFD already, you need to go check them out right now!!!

Tonight they put on a charity event for United in Harmony. “United in Harmony’s mission is to provide homeless and impoverished children with hope and opportunities to develop positive self-esteem through interactions with teenage and adult role models”

Everyone in attendance that made a $5 donation to United in Harmony would get to take a picture with Baron Davis and get an autographed picture. LAUNFD not only brought out Baron Davis, but they brought out Dorell Wright, Craig Smith, and Tina Thompson. The event was held at Fox Hills Mall in Culver city at 6:30. When I got to the event, there was already people lined up to meet them! Baron, Dorell and Craig came on stage to welcome everyone for coming. Baron talked about how important it is to give back and really help these homeless children have hope and an opportunity to succeed in life. All of the proceeds donated to the event went straight to the Charity and straight to helping these children directly. It’s really great to see these amazing NBA guys come out and support the community, despite all of the trouble going on with the lockout.

LAUNFD was kind enough to let me come and take some pictures of the event! I had a great time and it was nice getting to see everyone that came out to support and show love. Be sure to check out all of the pictures I got from the event!

Saturday: Flag Football – Brandon Jennings AIS vs Thurman Suttons Trim Squad

CLICK THE PICTURE ABOVE TO GO TO THE PHOTO ALBUM

Last Saturday was another game for Brandon Jennings and team #AIS. They are undefeated at 5-0 going into this game. Two players from Trim Squad – Thurman Sutton and Bizkit – played last week for DeMar DeRozan’s team COMP10, and this time they were back to get some revenge. Brandon and his team have set the bar high for all the other flag football competitors, so this was a game that Trim Squad had to win

Same rules apply – first team to 70 wins. The game was very close. TrimSquad entered the lead and AIS was having trouble catching up. This game was going on much longer than the week before. As is it was getting darker and darker, I realized I had been so into taking pictures that I didn’t know what the score was. I went to ask some people and no one seemed to know. This carried on throughout..when finally we realized no one could agree on what the score was. TrimSquad was definitely in the lead, but were they up by 1 or 2 touchdowns? The game stopped while the guys were trying to figure it out. During that time, a large truck drives onto the grass blasting music. Looking over, it was the famous krump dancer Tommy the Clown. Brandon had invited him on twitter for the halftime show, but after not seeing him at halftime, I thought he wasn’t going to show up. A lot of the spectators for the game went over to see Tommy and his hip hop dancers.

Although many of the fans there went to watch, the football field did not lose focus. Once they all agreed on the score, the game continued with TrimSquad in the lead. There were some contrivercial plays – like whether or not a player from Trim Squad was in bounds when catching the ball making a touchdown, or certain players not having flags or flags being tied. AIS came back and started scoring touchdowns- the game seemed to be turning around for them. Ultimately, team Trim Squad won the game by 1 touchdown. TrimSquad is now 1-0, while AIS is 5-1.

After the game was over, everyone went over to Tommy the Clown and had a big dance battle between AIS and Tommy’s crew. Make sure to check out the video! My last post has the full length video of everyone, and below you can click on the edited version that just has Brandon dancing.

Although AIS didn’t come out with the win, they are still the number 1 flag football team in Cali to beat! Right now Brandon is on tour with Under Armour to play different high school teams, so there might not be a game this weekend.