Brooklyn We Go Hard, We Go Hard!

    Minority owner Jay-Z and the New Jersey Nets have officially announced today that they will open a new arena and become the Brooklyn Nets.  This announcement came in front of their new building site for their $1 billion Barclays Center.  Depending upon the current NBA lockout, the Brooklyn Nets will open their new arena sometime next September with Jay-Z performing multiple concerts.  Jay-Z had this to say,"From the moment the Barclays Center became a reality, I knew this meant something significant for Brooklyn, this is where I'm from, I'll always be Brooklyn, and opening this arena will mean more to me than anywhere else.  I also look forward to opening night for the Brooklyn Nets.  We're going to create an atmosphere like only Brooklyn can."
    This is a huge move for the Nets franchise and for sports.  Brooklyn is the largest borough of New York City and was stripped of its only professional sports team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1958 when they were moved to Los Angeles.  Ever since then, the city has been thirsty for a professional sports team.  Thanks to Jay-Z, and new billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, Brooklyn will once again have a sports team playing in it's backyard.
    This move will certainly draw more interest to the team, even though they haven't been too good recently.  Jay-Z tried to get Lebron to come play there but we all know where he decided to bring his talents to.  I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of fans jump on the Nets bandwagon now that they have moved to Brooklyn.  The Knicks may look better on paper, but they haven't done anything since the Patrick Ewing days.  Even then they couldn't win a title and the Nets have made the finals twice since then.
    The Nets are a young up and coming team who possess an All-Star point guard in Deron Williams, who is reportedly playing overseas during the lockout.  Recently drafted, All-American shooting guard, Marshon Brooks, looks to add scoring depth to the team as he finished second in the nation in points per game last year while playing for the Providence Friars.  With his raw talent, athletic ability, and long wingspan, Marshon could have the most impact out of any rookie this coming year.  Keep a close eye and be sure to scoop up that MB2 jersey.
    It's too bad that the season is in jeopardy right now and a lot of players are going overseas to play competitive basketball.  You gotta feel for the rookies who were just drafted and have to deal with this lockout issue.  They have worked hard their whole lives hoping to get a chance to play in the NBA, and now that they're drafted, they still can't play or "associate" with their team.  It's almost like waiting until you're 21 to be able to go out to the bars and legally buy alcohol and next thing you know they push back the drinking age to 22.  No Nets players were present at the conference today announcing the name change as Jay-Z has the spotlight all to himself.  Hopefully the NBA owners and players come to an agreement sooner-than-later as they have millions of dollars at stake and millions of fans hungry for basketball.