You Gotta Have Swagger

“You Gotta Have a Swagger…Build a foundation…You gotta step on some toes!” Chris Ramirez/Basketballbeat.com [Establishing yourself in the media industry]

I first met Chris in the late 1980’s while we both worked at Elmcor Youth and Adult Services of Elmhurst/Corona Queens, NY under the direction of the legendary Cecil Watkins [National Pro-Am City Leagues] and my partner in crime Cedric Dew. Chris was a few years younger than myself, but his knowledge of site procedures, table administration was only over-shadowed by his recall of game history, player stats, and trivia. He could name the names and remember the schools and match-ups from contest that had occurred before he was born in some instances. I never was much of a stat recall man, and I could always give Chris a call to point me in the right direction when I was researching a piece I was writing. I caught up with Chris in Phoenix via landline and here’s a portion of our convo…Mention a subject for Chris he’ll run with it…Check it!

Lahh: So Chris, when and how did you get started in community sports, recreation?

Chris Ramirez: I got started with Elmcor in 1982…I played some sports and eventually worked with Derrick Pinnock, Mr. Watkins…and Lloyd Campbell…there were basketball games outdoors in the park at PS 127. It was formerly the Ray Felix Tournament [NY Knicks] I played some sports, little league baseball, and watching basketball and football at home…I remember watching players like Kenny Patterson [DePaul], Jerry Ice Reynolds [Orlando Magic] Dwayne Johnson [Marquette]…Back then there was the Newsday Classic at the Nassau Coliseum…Monte Christi became St John’s Prep…Bernard Rencher [St John’s], Tony Red Bruin [Syracuse]….As a matter of fact Kenny Patterson was pretty nice! [Stop-Chris is on a roll, he could do this for days!]

Lahh: Fast forward 25 years, past your high school years at All Hollows and BA in Sports Administration at St Thomas Univ. [Florida], Masters Degree-Education [Univ. of Phoenix], eventually working on stats and production assignments with NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, The New York Knicks, John Starks B-Ball Camp [Chris Mentions, “John was cool. He was down to earth.”] and the Harlem Globetrotters…eventually creating www.basketballbeat.com

Chris: Well, a few years back, I put my hands on a site called HoopsTV…They had some Hip-Hop in it and I also enjoy Slam Magazine, it’s one of my favorites. So what we do at www.baskeballbeat.com is we cover future draft picks. We look to 2009, 2010, 2011. We work with NBA scouts, recruiters to tell the stories of the up and coming players. Not as much of the NBA, back to the basics, your high school player, AAU, college, BCI, the NBA drafts, facts and opinions. We will also cover the Nike and Adidas special skills camps and the D-League. We’ve got some great writers on the site!

Lahh: Last question and what are your plans for 2007?

Chris: We look to cover more events, more details, more radio, and make the site more entertaining…We got a lot of work to do this year and we’ve got the skills to get it done!

Whether it’s street-ball or organized, dunk or lay-up…Chris is on the scene with the basketball-beat reporters. Chris can be reached at info@basketballbeat.com

-Peace