In honor of the occasion, they will be joined by celebrity guest Regis Philbin to preside over The NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell. In addition, ESPN NBA Analyst Jamal Mashburn will be in attendance with students from their alma mater, Cardinal Hayes High School.

More info after the jump.

Where: NASDAQ MarketSite – 4 Times Square – 43rd & Broadway – Broadcast Studio

When: Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Webcast: A live webcast of the NASDAQ Closing Bell will be available at:
http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx

About Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope:
Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope began in 2002. Since its inception, the program has raised more than $20 million to benefit children, families and communities in need. For more information on Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope, please visit www.fourseasonsofhope.com.

Lakers had too much talent and experience for the Orlando Magic. Role players such as Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza played to a higher level in this year’s Finals. Pau Gasol in my mind answered the question: “Is he tough enough?” He guarded and out-played one of the best big men in the game: Dwight Howard. Can’t forget Kobe, winning his first title as the undisputed team leader, 4 rings for Kobe and his 1st Finals MVP award. Lakers have a young team (excluding Fisher), their window is wide open to win multiple titles in years to come. Questions for them to address in the off season in order to remain a championship contender will be the future of head coach Phil Jackson: “Will he return?” He’s won his 10th championship. Will he ride into the sunset as the best coach in NBA history? Who will the Lakers keep Lamar Odom or Trevor Ariza? They are both free agents and valuable pieces to the core of the Lakers.

Here’s my Fresh Take on the NBA Finals for 2009. Hosted by Trey Wingo.

See the highlights and link to the full transcript, after the jump.

[1:04] …” and you surround them with three  point  shooters he and Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis in the world — Austin. There to force the — answer hello I’m sure it was so tall yeah it also makes”…

[2:27] …” this round this policy three people but Michael Jordan was the catalyst. LeBron James — understand that. He’s going to have a long career in the day it’s gonna take time. People don’t get it on”…

[3:32] …” cement yet tremendous yet lot of equity obviously built into that that LeBron James Brian. It from a former players suspected illegal who NBA playoff series. It’s a grind it out as physical as a lot”…

[4:14] …” experts — throw it planned against Charlotte Hornets or it’s playing the Miami Heat. What — is what that was my former team that’s old we are you rumors the Charlotte Hornets used a fish if”…

[4:54] …” that when the finals. Outlets that he went to games that’s because Dwight Howard in this small forward — it was — let’s and he — presents matchup problems Los all right so your prediction for”…

Transcript

Unbelievable game winning 3 point shot by Carmelo Anthony in Dallas to put the Nuggets up 3-0 over Mavs. It cost the Mavs a chance to get back into the series.  What were the refs thinking about not calling foul? Oh, my bad, the refs are never thinking.

See my ESPN SportsCenter video response above (3:10).

More info here:

Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks - Recap - May 09, 2009

Hello, I just wanted to say that I was this year’s recipient of your scholarship and I just wanted to let you know how much of an honor it is being able to participate in your program and now I get to enjoy all the benefits of a college education without having to put my family through financial stress. This scholarship is a true gift and I can’t possibly thank you and your board enough for allowing me this opportunity.

Many Thanks,
Zach Monk

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