Yes, NBA players get nervous before they play, the reason they are pro is they don’t let the nerves hinder their performance.

ESPN sponsored an NBA chat for this year’s Finals. Here are the questions from the fans and my answers. Check out my thoughts on which team I would play on, Finals predictions, best player and more.

Mark (Canton,Oh): Mr. Mashburn, If you could come back and play or a team in the playoffs right now, who would it be and why?

Jamal Mashburn: I would go with the Boston Celtics. Reason is they are short-handed on forwards with Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe out, and I was versatile enough to play down low. And I was also a good scorer, so I could help out there.

Rajon Rondo is also a Kentucky guy, so that would be a good match to work with him. And Doc, I like the way he connects with his players, because he used to be a player.

paul (ohio): your finals prediction…which teams, who wins, in how many games?

Jamal Mashburn: I have Cleveland and the Lakers. Cleveland has been very dominant at home and they’re 6-0 in the playoffs. Mo Williams has taken a lot of pressure off LeBron with his shooting. Delonte West and Ilgauskus are also there helping out.

The Lakers were bounced last year, and the knock on them was whether they were physical enough. But I think they’re showing that they’ve got that with this Houston series.

It’s only right if we see Kobe and LeBron going at it. I think the Lakers will take it, though, because of their talent and they’re too deep. You have to remember they’re one of two teams to beat the Cavs on their home court this year.

Cameron (Tracy,California): Can the Celtics reach the NBA Finals without Kevin Garnett?

Jamal Mashburn: That would be a tough one because they’re now down 2-1 to the Magic. They’re not playing the same type of defense without Kevin Garnett. He was their big communicator on defense and could score on pick-and-rolls with Rajon Rondo. They’re going to miss his production and passion on the court.

Hedo Turkoglu has stepped up his game and they were able to beat the Celtics without Rafer Alston. Ray Allen has struggled, ans although Eddie House has stepped up off the bench, he’s really the only one. It will be difficult for them to reach the Eastern Conference finals, let alone the NBA Finals itself.

steve (my house): is lebron james the best player in the nba?

Jamal Mashburn: He’s definitely deserving of the MVP and he’s also first-team defense. He still has some holes in his game, but he’s only 24.

But I think Kobe is still the best player. His offensive game is great. Kobe is still the best, but LeBron is closing in. But if I had a last shot, I’m giving it to Kobe.

Dylan (Atlanta): whats your take on the Hawks-Cavs game tonight? can Atlanta win?

Jamal Mashburn: Yeah, the Cavs. They’re on a mission. Whenever you have your best player setting the tone, it becomes pretty easy. They had a bunch of days off, and the Hawks are pretty banged up. Even if they were healthy, it would be tough on their home court. It probably won’t be a blowout, but I like the Cavs in Game 3.

FlaMarcus (NY): Do you think the Nuggets will sweep the Mavs or can they win at home today?

Jamal Mashburn: I think they can get a game or two. But the Nuggets have too much depth and they are too physical. Denver has a better bench, even though the Mavs have the Sixth Man of the Year with Jason Terry.

But the Nuggets have J.R. Smith and Chris Andersen. I don’t think the Mavs have enough, especially with Josh Howard banged up with his ankle issues. Nene is playing great basketball and scoring 24 ppg this series.

Denver seems to be showing people what type of talent they have on defense and while still scoring big numbers.

James Upham (Asheville): Was Ron Artest`s flagrant 2 foul on Pau Gasol really a flagrant 2?

Jamal Mashburn: I didn’t think it should have been a flagrant. It was just a hard foul, but his reputation gets in the way some times. If it was the early 2000s, it would have just been a regular foul. Artest has grown up a bit and really kept his cool. So I don’t think he should have been ejected.

Justin Behling (Boyceville, WI): What is your prediction for game 4 of the HOU-LAL series?

Jamal Mashburn: It really depends on Yao Ming’s health. When he scores 20-plus points, the Rockets’ offense really moves, as he sets up all the shooters on the outside and Shane Battier and Ron Artest. When you take a 7-3 guy out of the game, it really makes a difference. They have a lot of system guys, so depending on Yao’s health, I’m going to take the Lakers. It’s tough to beat a defensive-minded team on their home court, but I like the matchup with Lamar Odom on Luis Scola. So I’m going with the Lakers.

Cornfed_Juggalo (Lorain, Ohio): Do you think the Cavs will lose more then 3 games in this post season?

Jamal Mashburn: I’m not sure Atlanta is going to get a game, but we’ll give them a game. We’ll say Orlando gets out of their series, and they could definitely take two or more. But to me, it’s all about advancing.

The Cavs are not invincible, and the Cavs got full of themselves earlier in the year and lost some games. But I don’t think they’ll get put out in the East and be on their way to the Finals against the Lakers. They’re capable of losing a few games but I don’t see them losing a series on the way to the Finals.

Source: NBA’s 65 in 65: Jamal Mashburn

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Miami, Florida. December 21, 2008 – Well known athlete and social visionary, Jamal Mashburn, has launches his website (http://www.jamalmashburn.net). Mr. Mashburn’s site contains his past accomplishments, and upcoming new projects, highlighted by videos, articles and a podcast.

Mr. Mashburn’s web development mission is to ensure his site encompasses not only his online and offline activities, but continues to expand as a portal for his social vision of affecting change surrounding the issues of families in need, and community empowerment.

Mr. Mashburn’s experience in sports and media is instrumental in the concept of this dynamic, and integrated multimedia site. His site presents information about his career in the NBA, his philanthropy endeavors, his business projects and literary works. In addition, Mr. Mashburn’s online presence is now boosted with a podcast. Audio and video content is available on iTunes. Users can also view and download content from his site.

Mr. Moss, a consultant to Jamal Mashburn, provided a lot of direction to MQube, the web development company behind Mr. Mashburn’s site. He said, “Mr. Mashburn has the opportunity to affect change through his ideology of family empowerment, and community development. Thus, the mission moving forward was effectively getting the message out, and creating over time a web presence that could lead to accessible change for those choosing to engage.” Mr. Mashburn agreed, “The business of affective and effective change is the business of providing information. The website assists me in doing exactly that. Community development, and family empowerment aren’t simple executions. This is about quality of life, and in some cases saving lives, so we’re creating a place where people will be able to find that assistance”.

With the launch of his site, Mr. Mashburn stated that this is just the beginning of a new era in his illustrious and diverse career. MQube and Jamal Mashburn have already outlined new upcoming features. Watch www.JamalMashburn.net for these exciting new developments.

About Jamal Mashburn
A premier NBA player for many years, Mashburn epitomizes the realization that being a player, while an important aspect of his development, is never a mandate for long-term success or development.
“Purpose,” adds Jamal “is an exercise in discipline, and vision as it applies to overall character development or lack thereof in come cases.”

Contact Information:
Mashburn Partners LLC
mikael@jamalmashburn.net
http://www.jamalmashburn.net

Contact Information:
MQube Inc.
Jason Mikael Pittam
mikael@mqu.be
408.538.0497
http://www.mqu.be

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Original press release: http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/former-nba-all-star-espn-analyst-and-entrepreneur-jamal-mashburn-launches-website

World’s largest coffee and baked goods chain plans to open 17 area restaurants;
Offer fast, fresh and affordable foods and beverages to keep locals fueled any time of day

CANTON, Mass. (March 12, 2008) Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chain, is bringing its renowned coffee, beverages and bakery items to Central Kentucky. Today the company announced plans to enter the region with approximately 17 new restaurants over the next several years, with the first store scheduled to open this spring. The new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants will include a variety of designs and venues, including free-standing stores, sites within shopping centers, and convenience stores and other retail environments.

The new restaurants will be operated by Fast Break Doughnuts, LLC of Lexington, which recently signed a deal with Dunkin’ Donuts.  The Fast Break Doughnuts ownership group is led by former University of Kentucky basketball players Jamal Mashburn and Walter McCarty, University of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino and Lexington businessman Rick Avare.

Fast Break’s first Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant, slated for a May opening, will be located in the new Main and Rose development at 333 Main Street in downtown Lexington.  Construction began on the new residential and retail development last year; the new Dunkin’ Donuts is expected to be one of the first retail outlets to open in the building.

“We are extremely excited to bring the Dunkin’ Donuts high quality coffee and baked goods to the busy people of Central and Southern Kentucky,” said Tom Wylie, chief financial officer, Fastbreak Doughnuts.  “We look forward to building strong ties to the community through excellent service, quality and convenience.”

The Dunkin’ Donuts central Kentucky launch, which will likely bring approximately 350 new jobs to the market, is part of an aggressive national growth strategy. The company is expanding in existing markets while entering new markets throughout the country.

According to Dunkin’ Donuts brand president Will Kussell, Dunkin’ Donuts will satisfy a growing demand in Central Kentucky for high quality coffee and baked goods that are available all day. “Dunkin’ Donuts is proud to energize Americans and keep the honest, hard-working, value-driven people of this country running every day — whether it’s in a boardroom, a schoolroom or a construction site,” Kussell said. “We look forward to being a vibrant part of the community and playing an important role in the daily lives of the people who live and work here.”

Page 2/Dunkin’ Donuts to enter Lexington

According to Lynette McKee, vice president of franchising at Dunkin’ Donuts, the company’s expansion into Lexington creates tremendous opportunities for new franchisees. “People are passionate about our products, our convenience and especially the quality we provide. Our strong brand, combined with an outstanding management team that has created one of the strongest franchisor-franchisee relationships in the industry, has fueled profits and successful growth in all of our markets,” she said. “As we continue our rapid expansion, this is a particularly exciting time for any restaurant operator or real estate developer to join our brand and help develop the Dunkin’ Donuts network.”

The updated store design is complemented by a new menu that will include dozens of varieties of donuts, baked goods and world-class beverages. Some of the exciting menu items created by Dunkin’ Donuts’ culinary team for customers to enjoy throughout the day include:

•    Made-to-order oven-toasted flatbread sandwiches available in three flavors: three cheese; turkey, bacon & cheddar and ham & Swiss
•    Personal-sized, portable pizzas topped with cheese, veggies, or pepperoni & sausage
•    An array of breakfast sandwiches, oven-toasted to ensure fluffier eggs, crisper bacon, and toasted breads
•    Bite-sized Hash Browns
•    Warm baked goods including a variety of freshly made muffins, croissants, and gourmet cookies

Dunkin’ Donuts has been serving freshly ground and freshly brewed coffee and bakery items for more than 58 years. The company sells more donuts and bagels than any other quick service restaurant in America, and is the number one retailer of hot and iced coffee, selling more than one billion cups of coffee a year in its restaurants throughout the country. Dunkin’ Donuts has set the standard for offering a superior grade of coffee, and the company sells more than one billion cups of hot and iced coffee every year. In 2007, AOL.com readers cited Dunkin’ Donuts as the “Best Overall” coffee. For the second year in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts ranked number one in customer loyalty in the coffee category by the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index.

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About Dunkin’ Donuts
Founded in 1950, today Dunkin’ Donuts is the number one retailer of hot regular coffee-by-the-cup in America, selling 2.7 million cups a day, nearly one billion cups a year.  Dunkin’ Donuts is also the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world and sells more hot regular coffee, iced coffee, donuts, and bagels than any other quick service restaurant in America. Dunkin’ Donuts has more than 7,900 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. In 2007, Dunkin’ Donuts’ global systemwide sales were $5.3 billion. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin’ Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

Contact:    Carrie Reckert
(847) 303-9001
reckertcomm@yahoo.com