July 2018


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Equestrian Camp at Hampton in Full Stride


The Hampton Roads Messenger 15


Details emerge in LeBron James' reported move to Los Angeles Lakers


Angeles Lakers, have a reason to


about be


four-year with


Courtesy of nba.com The Los


future. Reaching a


reported deal


agency -- will do that for a franchise. Unlike his two previous forays in free


James -- the news of which broke via Twitter by James' management


agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened. But how exactly did the Lakers go from contender for James' services to agreeing to a deal with him?


Campers enjoy riding at the newly renovated stables Photo courtesy of Hampton University


HAMPTON, Va. — Hampton


University’s Equestrian Summer Camp has officially started and the students are gearing up for a great summer.


Development & Enhancing Riding Skills camp


day program held at Hampton


University’s newly renovated 1360 N. Mallory Street stables first started in 2002. The camp is designed specifically for kids aged 7 to 17 with different levels of horse riding skills. Several students have gone through the program summer after summer to return as volunteers, assistants, and even camp leaders.


Eleanor Burrows, a high school student from Pennsylvania who has been attending the camp for nine years shares why she keeps coming back year after year. “I think most of all I like riding, and being able to play games on horseback. There’s a community here and I feel like I have a family here. I’ve had a lot of family tragedies I’ve dealt with the past couple of years and this really cheers me up.”


Patricia Bishop, who is known as Ms. Gail around the stables, works for Hampton University, takes care of the horses and the barn and has been helping with the program since


The Reading Interest (R.I.D.E.R.S.) summer


Jaiden Phillips receives first riding lesson Photo courtesy of Hampton University


the program. She advises those who are interested in the program to just give it a try. “Always try something new, you could come out here and end up loving being around the horses, they’re gentle, and it’s really good for


kids.” Larry University


Wheeler, alumnus,


a drove


Hampton all


the


way from Williamsburg to bring his granddaughter to the camp for her first time. “Jaiden is an animal lover so anything to do with the horses, she just loves horses,” said Wheeler. “She just started this year and has been looking forward to it for a long time.” Jaiden’s little sister is hoping to start


the program next year. "I am excited about the startup


of this year’s summer R.I.D.E.R.S' Equestrian


Program for youth at its


inception. Her favorite part about the program has been, “Watching the kids grow, because they mature, they get more responsible, confident, they’re able to exercise and get outside, and they find there’s a need to take care of something else other than themselves,” she said.


Ms. Gail’s granddaughter is an


alumna of the R.I.D.E.R.S. program and now assists the riding instructor. “I love interacting with the horses, riding them, I used to want to barrel race,”


said Cheyenne Keys, Miss Gail’s granddaughter and assistant for


Hampton University,” said Dr. Rodney Gaines, Camp Director and Assistant Professor in the Hampton University’s Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. “It is a scene of art, beauty, academics, and nature all working together as the staff, horses, and youth come together to experience the horses. I’ve received so many requests from the parents and faculty and staff about starting a program for adults, so I envision that for this coming fall and spring with perhaps an adult program for next summer! The sky is the limit and we have a treasure chest with the HU R.I.D.E.R.S program providing everyone


with tranquility and the


wonderful experience of horse riding on the Bay."


During the camp, the students


not only learn how to ride the horses, but actually muck the stalls and help clean the


barn, while also reading


and participating in traditional camp activities, such as arts & crafts and games. The camp ends July 13, 2018.


Jeanie Buss hired Magic Johnson to return the shine to the franchise her father left in her care. Late last night he looked LeBron James in the eye, and this is what happened.


James announced that he has decided to play for the Lakers on a four-year deal worth $154 million, with a short, subdued press release sent out on the Twitter account belonging to Klutch Sports.


Ganguli and Broderick Turner report on how a Saturday meeting between James and Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson helped James make his reported choice:


Under cover of darkness and all by himself, Magic Johnson arrived at LeBron James’ Brentwood house at 9:01 p.m. on Saturday.


he could look James in the eye and talk to him, they’d connect. They had too much in common for that not to happen.


what the Lakers’ future could be, according to sources not authorized to speak publicly.


Los Angeles from Anguilla, where he and his family vacationed last week. He spent the day at home. Minutes before Johnson arrived at his house, Paul George, another free-agent star the Lakers were targeting to return to his Southern California roots, shunned the Lakers. On a stage in Oklahoma City he announced he would return to the Thunder. He agreed to a four-year deal worth $137 million without even taking a meeting with the Lakers, the franchise with whom he’d publicly flirted for a year and a half.


On Saturday night, James’ agent, Rich Paul, had conversations with the Cavaliers. He reportedly met with the Philadelphia 76ers in Los Angeles, too.


didn’t need much convincing nor elaborate proposals. He knew how much he loved living in Los Angeles, how his family enjoyed summers in Brentwood. He knew what the Lakers once meant to the NBA. He believed enough in this team’s future, its leadership and his own recruiting abilities to sign a four-year deal.


That conversation between Johnson and James were key in this decision James made. But so, too, were ones James had with those close to him, reports Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated.


What started with a root canal ended as he boarded a private plane to Europe. The story of LeBron to the Lakers, with a phone call to Kobe, a house call from Magic and a chance meeting with the presumptive


James's third free-agency decision governor. Inside LeBron


Facing his third free-agency decision, LeBron James traveled on a new path and picked the Lakers. The Crossover takes you inside the process that led James to join an iconic franchise and follow in...


Cavaliers faltered in the 2018 Finals, he had a root canal done and was recovering at home in Ohio.


of town for an AAU tournament, James was at his Ohio mansion pondering his next career move and how to top the champion Golden State Warriors, Jenkins writes. From there, James made a thorough- yet-quick decision in free agency, writes Jenkins:


Three days after James' Cleveland But after 15 years in the NBA, James On Saturday morning, James flew into They talked about basketball and He knew — he just knew — that if The Los Angeles Times' Tania LeBron


excited their


James held three meetings at home with his closest advisors, in which they attempted to peg free-agent destinations where he might be able to satisfy his family and eventually vault his nemesis. Their talks focused on the Rockets, 76ers, Lakers and Cavaliers. James instructed his agent, Rich Paul, to research those organizations and present him with feedback when he returned from a vacation in Anguilla.


two free-agent decisions, but from the moment his private plane landed at Van Nuys Airport in L.A. on Saturday, he was proceeding with unusual urgency. He met with Paul extensively Saturday and planned communication with the Cavs, Sixers and Lakers. But he was clearly focused on the new home team. He talked with Kobe Bryant over the phone and invited Magic Johnson to his house in Brentwood. Late Saturday night, Johnson walked through the door.


didn’t have either in hand. James explained that he was in no rush, even at 33, and did


not have a problem being the first headliner through the door.


On Sunday afternoon, James and his wife went back to Van Nuys Airport. They were flying east again, this time to Europe, for a couple’s trip. His advisors didn’t know if he’d pick a team before he left for Europe or after he landed, or even after he returned. They prepared an old-fashioned press release under the letterhead of Paul’s agency, Klutch Sports Group, but they weren’t sure if or when they’d distribute it.


James phoned Paul as he was boarding the private plane. “Call the Lakers,” he said... By Sunday


Europe, leaving the party behind. Expect no interviews, no videos, no elaborate explanations for at least a month. ... He is no closer to the Warriors than he was three weeks ago, except geographically. He


night, James was in Johnson, already jilted by George, James has slow-pedaled his last In the two weeks following the Finals,


embarks on a new road north, following the footsteps of legends.


All told, James is saying goodbye to the Cavs for the second time in his career. They drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with


winning just one title in the 11 years they had him. James isn't planning any more


comments and there won't be a welcoming press conference or celebration in Los Angeles, a person familiar with his plans told The Associated Press on Sunday night on the condition of anonymity. James will make his next public comments on July 30


in Akron when he opens a public school started by his family foundation.


The game's biggest star will now lead a young Lakers team - run by Johnson, a Hall of Famer and Lakers legend - that has been overmatched in recent years while rebuilding. But the Lakers will instantly rise with James, a three-time champion who after being swept by the Warriors in this year's NBA Finals said he is still driven and very much in ''championship mode.''


teammates and there has been a perceived rivalry between the pair of alpha males. They're now linked like never before and if James wants to prepare for his eventual life after basketball, who better to learn from than Johnson, who has made a fortune as a business entrepreneur, or Bryant, an Academy Award winner.


The massive Los Angeles market will also provide James with a grander platform for his philanthropy and social activism. He already owns two homes in Southern California and has a film production company.


This is the third time in eight years James has changed teams. After bolting from Cleveland in 2010, he returned in an emotional homecoming four years later, determined to make the Cavs champions. The 33-year-old had previously said he wanted to finish his career in Ohio, and although he's leaving again, Cavs fans are more forgiving after he ended the city's 52-year sport title drought in 2016.


While his wife and children were out James posted a three-photo tribute Shortly after the


Cleveland fans on his Instagram account. ''Thank you Northeast Ohio for an


Press was used in this report.


announcement, to


incredible four seasons,'' James wrote. ''This will always be home.''


Information from The Associated James and Bryant were Olympic


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16