Morris Peterson of the NBA’s Oklahoma City franchise joined current and former athletes from several sports Wednesday to tell a state House committee they oppose the current version of “right of publicity” legislation.

“The hearing went well today, I was able to address the issue at hand and let them know why I feel that 5964 should not be passed” said Mr Peterson.

They say the measure would make it too easy for video game and souvenir manufacturers to use their likenesses without athletes’ permission.

The bill’s supporters say it is aimed at protecting attributes of a personality that have commercial value. The athletes said the current proposal has too many exemptions.

The House Judiciary Committee did not vote on the bill.
—
The legislation is House Bill 5964.

Flint native and NBA New Orleans Hornet Morris Peterson will team up with Reebok for the sixth annual MoPete Flintstone Basketball Camp.  The camp will take place on July 13-15, 2010 at Flint Northwestern High School, G-2138 W. Carpenter Rd.  This camp is free for youth ages 8-17.  There will be two sessions.  The morning session is for ages 8-12 and goes from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  The afternoon session is for ages 13-17 and goes from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  It will focus on building fundamental basketball skills, teaching the importance of teamwork, positive attitude and hard work.

Other sponsors include the New Orleans Hornets, Flint Community School District and Gatorade.

To register for the camp please download these forms and fill them out with the correct information and signatures from your parent or guardian.

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Leave a comment let me know what you think!

“Hey!” Cleaves screamed in the hallway lined with framed posters that promoted past teams.

“Mo!” sophomore Draymond Green responded.

Players come and go at all colleges.

Spartans come back.

They make a trip to the banks of the Red Cedar River to pop into coach Tom Izzo’s office and team up with former and current NBA players such as Magic Johnson — still called by his given name, Earvin, on and around campus — to take on collegians in the summer.

When the ex-greats can’t get back, cell phones keep the Michigan State basketball family in touch.

Izzo says that ranks No. 1 on his list of joys he gets from his job.

“Just about all of them have called or texted,” Izzo said Tuesday at his news conference. “Definitely a good time for me.”

On Monday, a day after Michigan State beat Tennessee by a point, Cleaves was making the rounds through the Breslin Center when Goran Suton knocked and barged into Izzo’s conference room with the subtlety of Kramer on a “Seinfield” episode.

“G!” Izzo said with an ear-to-ear grin, taking a break from breaking down videos of Butler to welcome a key player on last year’s runner-up team.

It was just another afternoon at Michigan State, where Izzo’s dream of building a family atmosphere and an elite program has come true.

Johnson put the Spartans on college basketball’s map in 1979 when he led the Spartans past Larry Bird-led Indiana State for their first national title in an epic game.

Cleaves, Morris Peterson and Charlie Bell — known as “The Flinstones” because they hailed from Flint — won the school’s second title a decade ago.

Michigan State will face the hometown Butler Bulldogs at the Final Four on Saturday.

“It makes me feel old and young at the same time,” the 32-year-old Peterson said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. “But most of all, it makes me proud that this team has carried the torch that guys like Steve Smith and Shawn Respert passed down to us.”

Johnson was in the stands in St. Louis, where the Spartans squeaked past Tennessee, and is expected to be in Indianapolis on Thursday to share his wisdom and enthusiasm.

Cleaves plans to be at Saturday’s game.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Cleaves said. “It was our goal to help build a big-time program and it has happened.”

Cleaves was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of drunken driving in Mount Morris Township and jailed in nearby Flint, then released.

Defense lawyer Frank Manley said Cleaves drove because of an emergency involving his son. He says Cleaves knows he’s a role model and hopes people reserve judgment until more facts come out.

Every player recruited by Izzo in his 15 seasons as head coach has been on a Final Four team.

Michigan State will play in its sixth Final Four since 1999. UCLA, North Carolina and Duke are the only other schools who have played in college basketball’s showcase at least six times in a 12-year stretch.

If the Spartans can beat Butler and get past the winner of the Duke-West Virginia game on Monday night, they would have three national titles to trail just UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana and North Carolina in NCAA men’s basketball championships.

Izzo has also steered his players into the classroom, graduating 31 student-athletes since 2000 and 84 percent of players who completed their eligibility on campus.

The Spartans also get schooled in the summer, shooting hoops against Johnson when he visits his hometown of Lansing and other former college stars at what has become a state-of-the-art basketball facility in East Lansing.

“The pickup games get real competitive, especially because the old veterans foul us a lot and we don’t get any calls,” junior shooting guard Durrell Summers said with a chuckle. “It’s great for us. It means a lot to us for those guys to come back and take time out of their day to talk to us. It really shows that we have a Spartan family.”

Bell said he considers the Spartans who came before him older brothers and those after him little brothers.

“We have a common bond that I don’t see other guys in the NBA have with their schools,” said Bell, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. “We all bleed green.”

This article was originally posted by the Associated Press

Also, my teammate and good friend Chris Paul just threw together his own video. And being the competitive guy that I am (I mean you can’t spell compete with out Mo Pete), I wanna know which video you guys think is better. Check them both out and let me know in the comments which one you like more. Thanks!

New Orleans Hornets lifted by Peterson’s return to lineup

In one of his best performances since joining the New Orleans Hornets in 2007-08, shooting guard Morris Peterson was accurate from the perimeter and assertive rebounding Wednesday night. It came after the Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce tried cutting him off from getting through the lane and Kevin Garnett lunged to block his shots.

Despite the Celtics’ resistance, they did little to prevent Peterson from carrying the Hornets in the third quarter. He made four of six shots to score 13 of his 16 points, leading to a 93-85 victory Wednesday night before 14,848 at the New Orleans Arena. In 28 minutes, Peterson made five of 10 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds to achieve his first double-double since April 17, 2007, when he played for the Toronto Raptors. Behind Peterson and rookie point guard Darren Collison’s 25 points and nine assists, the Hornets (28-25) snapped a four-game home losing streak as they entered the All-Star break with needed momentum.

“I knew being down by 10 or 12 in the first half, we needed a spark, ” Peterson said. “I just have tried to play within the system, and we were able to push the ball.”

Peterson’s stellar play came after the Hornets had a second-quarter disaster, when backup Darius Songaila was their only player to make a shot from the field. Songaila made five of seven shots for 10 points, but the Celtics outscored the Hornets 28-14 to take a 55-43 halftime lead.

In the quarter, the Hornets made five of 18 shots and committed six turnovers. Besides Songaila’s scoring, forward David West made three of four free throws and Collison one of two.

But Peterson came to the rescue when the third quarter began. He scored five points in the opening minute to cut the Celtics’ lead to 55-48. Boston, taking advantage of its inside scoring, still led 60-48. But the Hornets established momentum and continued to surge after Peterson’s layup and free throw gave them their first lead, 67-65, since the first quarter. New Orleans closed out the third outscoring Boston 29-12 to take a 72-67 lead.

In the fourth, the Hornets withstood the Celtics’ rally after Marques Daniels’ layup cut their lead to 74-73 with 9:48 remaining. Behind Collison’s 13 points in the quarter, the Hornets prevented the Celtics from regaining the lead.

“Morris was definitely involved in that third-quarter run that gave us breathing room, ” Collison said. “We really needed Mo in this game.”

Peterson started the first five games this season before being demoted. He returned to the starting lineup for the first time since November when rookie shooting guard Marcus Thornton missed three games last week with a sore lower back. Thornton returned Wednesday night but came off the bench — he played nine minutes and scored two points.

“Mo is a professional, and he kept himself in shape, ” West said. “When his number got called, he stepped up and was ready to produce.”

In Monday’s 123-117 loss to the Orlando Magic, Peterson spent most of the game trying to guard Vince Carter, who scored a season-high 48 points. Peterson responded against the Celtics, holding Pierce, who finished with 15 points, to two points in the second half. Pierce’s only made shot came with 21.7 remaining in the game. Garnett finished with seven points and went scoreless in the second half. The Hornets forced the Celtics into 23 turnovers and outscored them 50-30 in the second half. It was the Celtics’ fifth consecutive loss to a team with a winning record. Boston has lost eight of its past 12 road games after opening the season winning 13 of 14. The Celtics were without starting shooting guard Ray Allen, who was sidelined with back spasms. Former LSU forward Glen Davis, whom the Celtics are rumored to be looking to trade, possibly to the Charlotte Bobcats for New Orleans native D.J. Augustin, scored nine points.

“We played well in the first half, but they came out hard, and we didn’t get back on defense early on in the third quarter, ” Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. “We just have to get better. In the first half, we gave great effort and had a good lead going into halftime. In third quarter, we came out with a lot of jump shots and dribbling, which led to a lot of turnovers, then we missed seven free throws. It’s tough to win games when you turn the ball over and miss free throws.”

Collison easily got the Hornets into their offense, despite facing constant backcourt pressure from Celtics guard Rajon Rondo. Filling in for injured starting point guard Chris Paul, Collison achieved his fourth consecutive game of scoring 17 or more points. But Collison made 10 of the Hornets’ 24 turnovers.

“The turnovers made everything really difficult, ” Bower said. “Not only were we not getting shot attempts, but it put us in a hole trying to guard them.”

This article was originally published on Nola.com February 10th, 2010.

No.5 Morris Peterson

Mo Pete spent seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors, being drafted in the mid first round from Michigan State. A mature well rounded player came into a great situation, and was ready to provide. During his time with the raptors he was not known for being a scoring option but was a glue player and energizer.

Michigan State to retire Morris Peterson’s jersey

EAST LANSING — The retired numbers hanging from the rafters inspired Morris Peterson, as he led Michigan State to a national basketball championship.

From this day forward, Peterson’s No. 42 might have a similar effect on future Spartans.

In recognition of Peterson’s contribution to the basketball program, MSU will retire his number at a ceremony 20 minutes before today’s 4 p.m. game against Illinois at Breslin Center.

“I remember going into the Breslin the first time, looking up to the rafters and seeing all the great guys who have been through Michigan State,” Peterson said Friday. “To have my name mentioned with those guys is just a tremendous honor. It’s something I’m definitely looking forward to and definitely will remember for the rest of my life.”

Peterson’s number will hang alongside those of: Scott Skiles (No. 4), former teammate Mateen Cleaves (No. 12), Steve Smith (No. 21), Johnny Green (No. 24), Shawn Respert (No. 24), Jay Vincent (No. 31), Greg Kelser (No. 32) and Earvin “Magic” Johnson (No. 33).

The former first-round draft pick of the Toronto Raptors will leave shortly after the ceremony to join his current team, the New Orleans Hornets, for a 7:30 game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. A former All-American and Big Ten MVP, Peterson is the subject of one of college basketball’s greatest transformation stories.

He was recruited out of Flint Northwestern and out of shape when he joined Michigan State coach Tom Izzo’s fledgling program in 1995. Peterson said he could not run a mile before his first freshman practice and was a defensive liability. Izzo had difficulty playing him for extended periods of time.

“I started from the bottom, probably the worst (condition) a guy can come in with,” Peterson said. “I wasn’t real responsible and I had to mature. I didn’t really have high expectations and I never thought I’d have my jersey retired.”

The turning point in Peterson’s career came as a freshman when Izzo would not let him accompany the team to the season-opening Maui Invitational because he had missed an 8 a.m. class.

“I had set my alarm clock for 7 p.m.,” Peterson said. “When I came into the office, I knew I was in trouble. I stayed in the players lounge during the whole trip and I told myself that when the guys get back, I’m going to be a changed man. I think I never looked back from then.”

Peterson developed into one of the nation’s top all-around players in his final two seasons.

As a junior in ‘98-99, Peterson became the first nonstarter to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. Peterson was an All-American and All-Big Ten selection after averaging 16.8 points and six rebounds per game as a senior. He is ranked 10th on MSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,588 points, after playing on three Big Ten championship and two NCAA Final Four teams.

“If I look at who had an impact on my career and why I’m still here, Morris Peterson would definitely be one of the leading candidates,” said Izzo, who values Peterson’s occasional visits with the team and conversations with current players.

“The guys who came before me — like Steve Smith, Shawn, and Eric (Snow), and even Magic — kind of set the bar for me and us,” Peterson said. “It was important for me to see those guys being involved and I’m just trying to carry the torch on. I know how important that was for me, and I know how important it is for the kids who come after me because we have to keep this thing going.”

The original article was published on MSUspartans.com January 12th, 2010.

Morris Peterson

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