The AND 1 mix tape streetball tour started June 16 in New York City and runs through August 25 in Los Angeles. Streetball legend Troy Jackson, aka Escalade, an AND 1 tour fixture, loved by millions, now writes for InsideHoops.com. Here's his second diary update:

Sept, 2007: WOLVERINE won the 2007 AND 1 mix-tape tour contract!

ESCALADE DIARY: The Finale
September 2, 2007

We got to LA on Tuesday. Wednesday, we went to the Starlite foundation to visit a sick kid named Austin. That was cool. He played sauce 1 on 1 and he looks like he may be a baller someday. Today is light.

Tomorrow all the open run winners from all over the USA will play the LA summer league all-stars. Thursday, the guys going for the $25,000 dollars that Old Spice is awarding arrive. They are from NY, Total Package from Philly, Slinky from DC, Up's from Boston, Dave Bailey from Chi-Town, Stand Em Up from Motown, the Wolverine from San Fran, Ballaholic from Dallas, Hawk and from ATL, The violator. These guys first order of buisness here is to play the local street stars on venice beach.

The l-a team has an old friend of mine, Bone Collector and an animal named Big Dave Thomas. They put on a clinic against the old spice all stars. Only up's wolverine (who never stops competing) and total package play well. The other guys were a little nervous, it seemed. I'm so impressed I invite bone and dave to play in the and 1 game the next day and make the eligible for the contract. We need a guy who competes above all else because dudes come after us in every city. All these guys can play but I want a warrior.

Saturday. Wow, the tour is over. Today is a big game; the big-wigs from American Sporting Goods (and 1 parent company), espn, old spice and gatorade and wrigleys (our big sponsors) are all here today. The show is probably the best of the whole summer. A great game. Wolverine plays great, so does up's and total package. Team and 1 wins a close game.

Time to vote on the contest winner. The voting is as follows: the team has a vote, big mike has a vote, and I have a vote. After a lot of talking the winner of the 25000 dollars from old spice and the newest member of team and 1 is.............. I can't tell you! You gotta watch streetball (the TV show) for the answer to that one. I will hit u guys up in 2 weeks when we start the international tour in japan.

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ESCALADE DIARY: Bay Area Ballin
August 25, 2007

What up every body? I'm coming to you from the bay area this week. Man so glad to get out of hot Dallas. Kinda slow in oaktown this week. My self professor and baby shaq go to the san fran pro am championship game it was a great game a lot of the warriors and cal and stanford players play in this league the list of past m v p's is crazy j-kidd gary payton brian shaw antonio davis gil arenas and chris mullin just to name a few. We than grab some dinner with the god father of bay area basketball merv booker. He has seen everyone in this area hoop over the last 40 years. Listen to his stories never get boring. Wednesday we head to the oakland childrens hospital. We hang out with some kids play video games and sign a few autographs. I then do a sport radio show and call it a nite gotta do a local morning show at 630 am. Thursday I'm up at 530 by 10 am I have done 4 different shows. I then grab some lunch and head to petrero hill to speak at the boys and girls club. It was crazy this is the hood o j simpson grew up in. The have a million pics of him as a kid hanging up. Merv says the juice was a pretty good hooper back in the day. Friday is a off day. Which I need I relax and recharge my battery. The san fran team has ballaholic who has played on the tour the last few years and topper anderson who played at pepperdine and went to a few nba camps. Plus mo brown aka mo killa. Also a young kid from canada named king handles. He was unreal I think this kid has a bright future. the game is crazy. The crowd in oakland is on there feet the whole game. Shaq and mo go at it all day. Shaq is 2 much for him to handle silk plays his best game of the tour. He is the main reason and1 wins this game. He controls the tempo all game long. I swear sometime it looks like the ball is connected to his hand. Ballaholic gets about 40 infront of his hometown fans. But in the end team and 1 is 2 much for the locals to handle. Time to head to L A for the last game of the 07 u s tour. God Bless..... Talk to u next week. GOD BLESS!!

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ESCALADE DIARY: Big Texas
August 17, 2007

Howdy yall? That's my attempt at cowboy talk, lol. We are in Africa, excuse me, Dallas, where it's so hot it's unbearable.

We got here on wednesday the 8th and it's at least 105 degrees I hate it here already.

First thing, We go do radio, which is cool. Leave there and go to a summer league championship. Good game, but I didn't see anyone who we could use. I call it a night.

Up early Thursday, me, Professor and Baby Shack head to the big brothers and big sisters club and hang out with the kids. Leave there and go to practice then go do a retail apperance. We then grab some grub at a TGI Fridays. And check out Rush Hour 3. Great movie.

Friday morn I'm up early. Gotta do tv and radio interviews. We than head over to get a workout at the ymca then call it a day early.

It's too hot here to do much.

Did I mention it's really hot?

Saturday game day it is blazing outside, and by game-time the heat on the court is 116 -- that's right, one hundred and sixteen degrees.

The Dallas team is not as strong as the last few cities but they've got my boys Hawk and White Cloud who have played on our tour before. They both play well. Hawk does a crazy dunk from a step inside the foul line early. And White Cloud is hitting 3's from all over. There's a big dude named The Building who ain't bad. Team AND 1 is dominating. Everybody is showing up. Sauce looks good for the second game in a row. Shack is killing again and 8th wonder is a force inside. Team AND 1 runs away with this one from the start. And wins by about 30.

It's too hot for me here. Gotta head to a cooler city. Talk to you guys next week from Oakland. God Bless......es.

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ESCALADE DIARY: It's Windy Outside
August 6, 2007

What's up folks! I am in the windy city this week -- that's right, Chi-town. I love this place. I get to town on Wednesday and immediately go to an in-store signing. I'm promoting this mixtape I did with Akon and his crew. Shout-out to Qwes over at Konvict. He has been great.

I leave the in-store and go to the Chi-town Pro-am game. Ex NBA player Paul McPherson is out there killing.

Thursday morning we go do radio followed by a retail apperance. We head to a gym to get a workout. We stay for a couple hours and then head to a Chicago Cubs game. That was cool -- I've never been to Wrigley Field. Great place.

That night I speak at a banquet for an AAU team a friend of mine coaches.

Friday morning I'm up early to go to a TV interview. In the lobby of our hotel I run in to hip hop legends Whodini, Doug E Fresh and UTFO. They are on a old school tour. I'm good friends with Whodini -- I go back a lot of years with them. It was good to see those guys. It's funny, Professor and Helicopter are with me and they have no idea who these guys are. Damn I feel old - LOL.

After breaking down hip hop history to the kids, I go speak at the Boys and Girls club on the south side. We then have practice.

Word is Team Chicago is stacked. Big Mike and myself have been trying to get the best each city has to offer. Practice is cool. We got the rest of the day off.

Up early Saturday -- game day. I grab some food with fess and Gerry our bus driver. Then head over to the venue. It's looking like rain, and hot as hell at the same time. The Chi-town team has a few notables but mostly overseas guys. Real players. This young kid named Zo is very athletic. Shakey Sean is a shooter. All day long he hits big shots for Team Chicago. And old friend Bob Smith, aka Stand Em Up, who was in the running for the contract a couple other times, puts on a show. He gets at least 30. Baby shack is killing as usual. So is Springs. But Chi-town is up big at the half -- 14 points is a lot to make up. But team And 1 cuts it to 4 with a quick run. Chi-town responds with their own run and pushes it to 12.

Stand Em Up and Shakey Sean, along with Mr. Chicago, aka Old School, take over. They score every time down the stretch. Finally, team And 1 takes its first loss of the year. I think Stand Em Up was Chi-town's best player. He should be at the all star game in LA later this year.

Next up is Dallas, texas. Talk to you guys next week. God Bless......es

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ESCALADE DIARY: Detroit Rock City
July 31, 2007

What's good everybody? I am coming to you this week from motown! Detroit rock city. Home of my man Springs. We got here on Tuesday night. Wednesday is light and not to much to do.

Thursday I do a few radio and tv interviews. Then I head over to Cadillac headquaters. We are trying to close a deal between myself and Cadillac. It's a no brainer for Escalade to endorse escalades. Shout out to Adam and Frank and the good folks at Don Gooley for all the love!

I test drive the 08 Escalade -- it's crazy. Can't wait until it hits the street.

After that me and my teammates hit a club called The Apartment. It was at packed and at least 150 degrees in there. My boy Springs is the man in the D. He knows everybody here. And they all show him love.

Friday me, Go Get It and Professor make an apperance at the big brothers and big sisters of detroit. It is jammed full of kids when we get there. We talk to the kids, give them the good word, sign autographs then head for the door - just then a few high school players challenge us. So we play a few 3 on 3's, and of course we kill. Go Get It is dunking all over the kids. I catch a flashback and put the ball around a kid, spin off of him and throw it down. Felt good. Haha. Fess shut it down. He made this big kid look like a fool. It was time to go after that.

We head to practice for about a hour and a half. Then I do Detroit sports radio. I call it a night early.

Up early saturday -- it's game day. Me and fess go grab some breakfast and when we get there are about 100 summer camp kids there. They spot us and go crazy. We spend 30 minutes taking pics and signing autographs. The game is packed again. The Detroit team is stacked. They have a dude name Navigator who Bad Santa said reminds him of me when I was younger. And they have a beast named Mr. Germany. They also had a dude named Wolverine who could really hoop. My man Rasheed Wallace is at the game for like the 5th year in a row.

This is the closest game yet. Springs is putting on show for his home crowd. Hot sauce is killing early; he has 10 points in the 1st half. Silk is killing again. His handle is so smooth, man. Baby Shack is dominant again. In my opinion he is the best player in street basketball right now.

We win a close one and are now 6 and 0 this summer. I really do think this is the best team we have had. I haven't made any comments about the split and people ask me about it all the time. The guys who left And 1, they were all great players. I miss some of those guys. You can't be with guys day in day out for years and not develop some real friendships. I wish Ball 4 Real well and I mean that! Some guys live for drama. I refuse to allow negative people to bring me to there level. I sincerely want both tours to prosper. But I'm with And 1 and I chose to be here out of loyalty to the company that invested in me. And 1 is a great company. I can't speak about the way others were treated. They have always been honest and fair with me. I will not make any more comments about this so don't ask.

Oh by the way my new official name is Escalade R. Bloomberg..... The mayor of streetball. Thanks to Adam, Frank and John Hock for that one.

Talk to you guys next week from go get it's home town. Chicago. God Bless.....escalade.



ESCALADE DIARY: THE NATION'S CAPITAL
July 25, 2007

What's up everybody? I am in the nations capital this week. I love D C. It is a great city. For the most important political city on Earth it is surprisingly ghetto! Which I love!!

We got there wednesday the 18th and go right to work. Me, Baby Shack, Professor and Silk go to DC Childrens hospital. Man that was tough. I hate hospitals but to see the kids smile changes your whole outlook.

After that we go to do radio and tv interviews. We grab some dinner and then me and springs hit the club. Thursday the 19th another day with the kids and doing media. We go play some ball at the run and shoot. Great run. Dc has ballers; always has!! I head to virginia to do a in store autograph signing at a record store. I'm just starting to promote this mix tape I'm doing with Akon and his crew over at konvict.

Friday the 20th me and hot sauce go to the Washington Nationals game against the Colorado Rockies. I'm a huge baseball fan. So this was a treat. We were guests of the team so we were on the field and in the dugout before the game. I was surprised at how many of the players knew me and sauce. It's still shocking sometimes at how famous we've become. Duke tango even gets to hand in the lineup card.

We leave there and head to the Goodman league to catch the all star game. For those who don't know, the goodman is DC's answer to the rucker. And it's just as good. The games take place at Barry Farms which is so hood it's crazy. Helicopter and Baby Shaq absolutely kill - they both get 40 at least. Greg Jones and Prime Objective play for DC. They are legit playground legends. Who have been killing for years. The AND 1 team wins a close one.

The next day we play the real game. And 1 asks me to run the contest and pick the players to play against the and 1 team. So the last few cities I've coached the opposing team. The game is packed as usual. We have had a great crowd in every city except NY.

Team and 1 kills dc shaq dominates for his home crowd. He gets at least 40 again. Springs and some other dude go at it and springs embarasses the dude. Professor catches the best dunk I've seen him catch. It was hot it will be on the show. Go Get It dunks on a guy and it does not even look real. Prime objective looks like the old prime and a dude named young zo is a beast dunking all over the place. This dude named myron has crazy hops he was my pick for mvp of the DC team. Team and 1 wins easily.

After the game baby shack has a bbq in his hood. He bought the food and drinks. It felt good to just relax and kick back with my teammates. Sometimes I don't realize how stressful my job is. It's good to kick back every once in a while. Later that night we all go watch DMX perform. We had vip seats. Great show. Thanks to glenn at boost mobile for taken care pf us. Well I will talk to you guys next week from motown. God Bless.



ESCALADE DIARY: FROM PHILLY
July 17, 2007

What's up everybody? I'm baaack. Did you miss me? Haha. This week we are in philly. The city of brotherly love.

I arrive in town tuesday nite at 3 am after being home for a couple of nights after Atlanta. So I drive from NY to Philly and before you ask, no I don't drive an Escalade. I actually drive a Navigator. Lol.

I crash when I get there gotta be up and out early, 8 am, on my way to the Big Brothers and Sisters to hang out with the kids. That goes well; after that I go to speak at a camp in south Philly. Then check out the Philly Pro-AM games. Former nba player Dajaun Wagner goes for 58! Damn he gets buckets!

I then go to a riverboat to do a little gambling. I win a little bit and call it a night.

I'm up wednesday morning to go do radio. Then to Philly point guard camp to speak and sign autographs. Me and bad santa go watch the games at the Sonny Hill league. Good games. We leave there and call it a nite.

The next day we go play a lil ball at the playground. Then me, Professor and Springs go to Pats cheese steaks -- gotta get those when you go to Philly. Fess and springs go behind the counter and actually serve some customers. We then hit the streets and blow off some steam.

Friday morning we are all over the place again. We do radio tv and retail. The autograph signing at Sneaker Villa is crazy. The place is packed when we get there.

Game day is blazing hot again. We put the hurt on Team Philly from the start. Baby Shack is playing his best ball since he's been on tour. He is our MVP so far this year. Hot sauce looked like the old sauce today; he shut it down with his sick handles. Professor looked good again. Silk had a few crazy moves and Springs went thru the legs from the foul line again. When he jumps off one leg it looks like a video game almost. Team philly had a beast named The Finisher; he was doing his thing. A few old faces we've seen before, like Slinky and JK, looked good again and Smoke, who was in the running for a contract a couple summers ago, did his thing. But we win by 38. This is too easy!!!!!!

Talk to you guys next week in DC.

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ESCALADE DIARY: BALLIN IN THE ATL
July 2, 2007

It's monday the 25th and I got back to NY late last night. Had to be in Harlem early this morning for a TV shoot for ESPN with some of the biggest names in streetball. There's John Strickland aka Franchise, Kareem Reid aka Best Kept Secret, Reggie Freeman aka Hi-5, Duane "40" Woodward, Jamel Thomas aka 530, former St. Johns and NBA star Zendon hamilton, and Andrian Walton aka Whole Lotta Game. That goes well. It was good to see the guys.

Tuesday the 26th I'm on a flight to Atlanta. I get off the flight and I'm rushed right to radio for a call-in.

Wednesday the 27th I go speak at a Boys and Girls club. Play some 1 on 1 with the kids, then head to an autograph signing at the sports authority. The turnout is crazy! I sign for a hour. When it's time to leave the line is still out the door but the owner paid me for one hour, so the take me out the back door. Imagine having to take me out a back door to avoid fans. Sounds ridiculous, but that's how it is.

Thursday morning I'm all over Atlanta radio and tv. Me and Bad Santa go past a playground and a few locals challenge us. We accept and kill these clowns. Some fat dude thinks he's better than me. I beat him 11 zip and leave.

Friday morning we do radio again. At 7 a.m. I do the A-team morning show on hot 107 in the ATL, leave there and do the rude awakening show on wcnn sports radio. I leave there and go to comcast sports net to do a tv interview. We go to metro fitness to hoop. We hit the atl streets tonite. Man I love the ladies in the south!

Saturday the 30th is game day. It is at least 95 degrees, and around 2 p.m. the crowd arrives, 5500 fans, makes it even hotter. Problem: The people at the And 1 office send my uniform to the wrong address. It's in ohio somewhere. And of course there is nothing to fit me. I'm not mad, it's too hot anyway. The game is the best one yet. The ATL team has former NBA and LUS star Jabari Smith and a few local legends. Baby Shaq is playin as good as I've seen him play. He dunks on a guy so hard it looks like the rim is gonna come off. Professor shuts it down with like 5 crazy moves and Springs ends the game by going through the legs from the foul line and dunking it. Just crazy!

Big jabari and the Violator, who has played with us before, look good. Some guy named Mike Banks had a few crazy dunks. And Mr. Atlanta had a sick handle but it wasn't enough, and we win by 30.

I'm loving this team we have! For the first time since I've been here at And 1, there is no negativity. No one talking about other guys. No petty jealousy. Just a good group of guys who enjoy being around each other.

We'll talk to you guys from Philly. God Bless.

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ESCALADE DIARY: SECOND STOP IS BOSTON
June 24, 2007

It's Monday the 18th and I go watch an AAU team that my boy Skip 2 my Lou is sponsoring kill a team that another childhood friend, fellow Queens native and current LA Laker Lamar Odom is sponsoring.

I then shoot back to Queens to watch the unlimted games at Ajax park. There's something special about being back in Queens. I always feel good when I'm here. From my big bro Mark Jackson to the Kennys (Smith and Anderson) to Skip to myself to Run DMC to LL to 50 to Nas, there's just something in the water here.

On the 19th, I wake up early to do a commercial in Brooklyn for the espn show. The shoot goes well. I knock it out in just a few takes. Gotta shoot home to pack because I head out to boston tomorrow. We play out there on saturday. I'm dreading this trip. See, I'm a New York Yankee fan so I hate all things Boston. Problem: I miss my flight and I gotta be there to do radio this afternoon. The next flight is sold out so I take Amtrack. Smooth ride. I get in and go directly to the radio station, then hit the mall to do an autograph signing my manager set up at the last minute.

Thursday, for the first time in forever, I have a free day. Me and Duke Tango go have a few beers, but other than that I take advantage of the free day and do nothin.

Friday I get up at 9 a.m., grab some breakfast and go work-out with my teammates. My boy Hot Sauce looked better today -- he's been hurt, so havin him back is exciting. Say what you want about him, Sauce is the best showman there is. His handle is sick.

We leave the courts and go do radio, and inteviews with the Boston Globe and some other local papers. Then I go back to the hotel change and do a phone-in with new england sports radio. My dawg professor calls and says he's not sure if he will make the last flight out tonight because he has to film a few scenes late. He's so Hollywood right now!

I grab some dinner with my homie Sherise and call it a night. But then Skip calls me at 1 a.m. to get the address to a club in NY. Why he didn't call 411 is anyone's guess but hey, he's my best friend so I make a call, get the address and go back to sleep.

Saturday morning I'm up at about 10 a.m. Get a light breakfast. Gotta go meet the folks at the Starlight Foundation. I meet a kid named Teddy who's sick but is in great spirits. Its mind-boggling that a sick kid would want to meet me. But it's an honor and I'm happy to do it. His happiness is catching. I leave him feeling great, which is an incredibly rewarding feeling.

I head to the venue for the second AND 1 mix tape tour of the summer streetball tour, in Boston. It's blazing hot outside. The game is mad competitive early. We go bucket for bucket and find ourselves down 4 points at the half. Rapper Cassidy rips the half time performance. And we come out smoking. Before you know it we are up 15. Springs is putting on a show. He takes off further out than anyone I've seen. Helicopter is rebounding like Rodman. He gets a break and goes thru his legs and dunks it. Bad santa is dominating the game on both ends. I even catch a dunk. Yeah these old legs still show flashes some time haha.

My boy chris Herren coaches the Boston squad. A legit playground legend in boston, he went to Fresno State and spent some time with the Celtics. It was good seeing him.

My boy Assassin didn't make the game; he was out in Oakland working out for the Golden State Warriors.

AND 1 held it down and we won by 21, with Springs and Bad Santa stepping up big for us. On the Boston squad I liked the play of some streetballers named Slim Shady and Mini Me.

After the game I do a interview for Slam and another for Dyme (InsideHoops.com note: Dyme is a Boston-based urban, women’s interest magazine). And then I do a local TV interview and sign autographs for a solid hour.

I meet a girl who says she has had a crush on me since Louisville. Man I love my life!

Next up is the ATL. Can't wait. I get to see Shannon who is my favorite person in the world.

Talk to you guys from atlanta next week. God Bless!



ESCALADE DIARY: THE TOUR BEGINS
June 17, 2007

What's good everybody? It's ya boy Troy Jackson aka Escalade. I'm a big fan of insidehoops.com so when my man Jeff suggested I do a online diary I jumped at the chance. This will be a 10 part series, covering the 10 markets the AND 1 streetball tour hits this summer.

The first stop is my home town, the NYC. I am serving as the host here since I'm the only NY guy on tour now. My teammates got here today (Tuesday the 12th). I had to do ESPN radio already this afternoon, then I do a newspaper Q&A with the Daily News. Then I get some dinner with my boy Rafer 'Skip 2 my Lou' Alston. We watch the spurs kill the cavs and argue: I say Tim Duncan is the best 4-man ever, Skip does not agree.

I call it a nite after that gotta be up early tomorrow. Wednesday the 13th I'm up at 7:15 a.m. By 10 a.m. I've spoken at three schools. I grab some grub at a deli, then I head to a show-room to look at some new AND 1 gear. We got some hot stuff coming out.

I get a call from my dog Professor asking what the weather is in NY, because he's still in LA doing his second movie of the year.

At 1 p.m. we go to play some ball at Barauch college, where I handle 7 or 8 media requests. Then by 3:30 p.m. I'm in a car service to SNY to do Daily News Live. I'm excited because Darryl Strawberry is there. I'm a huge yankee fan so we chat about baseball for a few, exchange numbers than depart.

Next, I go to ESPN radio to do the Max Kellerman show, but get caught in NY traffic and miss it. By now I'm exhausted so I hit bed at 10 p.m. Gotta be up at 6:30 a.m. to do Ed Lover's show on power 105.1 at 7:15 a.m.

By 8:30 a.m. I'm back to the schools for more talks. At 11:30 a.m. I grab lunch and head to Barauch to work out with my man Big Mike.

AT 4 p.m. I go to the Empire State Building to see my man Tut at Fubu/Coogi to get some free gear (free stuff is the best part of being a celeb), then it's time to shower and get dressed - I'm hosting a celeb poker tournament at 40\40 club.

MORE ABOUT ESCALADE

Troy Jackson AKA Escalade is co-owner of Industrial Park Entertainment, along with Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition). This winter they've got an artist-wide album coming out, plus watch for The Escalade Project DVD, telling the must-see story of Escalade. Also, in a few months Escalade and Rafer 'Skip 2 my Lou" Alston are opening NY's next hot club, so get ready to spend your nights there. Hit Escalade's myspace page. And keep reading him on InsideHoops.com.

It's crazy, when I get there John Starks, rapper Cassidy and singer Neyo are already in the building.

I do more interviews by 11 p.m., then I am beat. Must be getting old.

Friday the 15th is a light day. I'm in a car service at 8 a.m. headed to Bristol, Conneticut to film a segment for ESPN show First Take. A two-hour ride for a 10-minute shoot. I knock that out in 10 minutes, then just as I'm about to leave the set my dawg Shaq O'Neal shows up to film something. We talk for about a half hour. I then head back to NY to get some rest for tomorrow'ss game, the first game of the new AND 1 mix tape tour season, taking place in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Saturday the 16th I'm up by 8:30 a.m. Me, Helicopter and 8th Wonder get some breakfast and then head to the bus for the game. We get to coney island and the set up is sweet. Nice outdoor arena is in place. I sit in the green room with Skip and Big Mike and joke until game-time. We put on a clinic against some of NY's best playground legends. Springs takes flight a few times and shuts the crowd down. Silk and World Premiere (on NY's team) are going at it. Baby Shack is bullying guys as usual. DJ Clue keeps the crowd hype all day. Cassidy tears down the halftime performance.

The second half opens with us on a run. We put NY away early and then its showtime. Professor is hitting jumper after jumper and Assassin is dunking on everybody. We win by 22.

I do more media and then we sign autographs for a hour or so. I jump in the truck with skip and two lovely ladies. Time to go have some fun. Its been a hetic few days.

Talk to you guys next week from boston. GOD BLESS!

Talk about Escalade, AND 1 and streetball in general on InsideHoops.com's streetball forum.