Holler Back: Streetball Legend Troy Jackson (“Escalade” From AND1 + Mark Jackson’s Bro) Dies

Streetball Legend, and former AND1 Mixtape Tour fixture Troy “Escalade” Jackson has passed away. Escalade was the brother of former NBA baller and current TNT analyst Mark Jackson, and was different from most of the other AND1 “Streetball Legends” because he actually had some game.

The crazy thing is, I feel like I just saw the dude a couple of nights ago walking around LA Live right across the street from Staples Center. Then again, I thought I saw A.C. Green rocking a beanie walking down Grand Ave., only to catch him on TV at the LA Convention Center playing in the All-Star celebrity game

At 6-foot 10 and damn near 400 pounds, Escalade’s game resembled that of his smaller, older brother, who was a natural point guard. I got the opportunity to play with Escalade during the summertime out in Los Angeles about 6 or 7 years ago (along with some solid cameos by Mark Jackson as well) and can vouch that his game was respectable on both the street and in the gym.

Normally a dude from AND1 dying wouldn’t necessarily be deemed worthy of a JerseyChaser article, but when you come from a basketball family like Escalade did, game will always recognize game.

A legendary video of Escalade trying to sing “Angel of Mine” during one of the AND1 Mixtape Tours after the jump…

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Who is Troy Escalade Jackson?

The streetball and basketball family lost a great person last night. Troy Jackson aka Escalade died in his sleep last night. Escalade was a leader in the streetball world and I’m really sad to see him go. I called Grayson Boucher aka “The Professor” this morning to confirm the reports of his passing. My thoughts and prayers are with the Jackson’s and the streetball family.

Troy Escalade Jackson was born in Queens on January 11, 1976 and played basketball in college and was featured on the And1 Mixtape Tour. More recently, Escalade played for the Ball Up Streetball team. Escalade is the younger brother of Mark Jackson and attended the University of Louisville.

I spoke to Escalade a few times and really enjoyed getting to know him. I always wanted him to be a part of Streetball.com and what we’re trying to build. He really understood the game of basketball in all facets. R.I.P. Escalade, you will be missed but always remembered.

Here are some great pictures of Troy “Escalade” Jackson.

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The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business

The fact that we are as excited as we are about the return of our favorite reality show is somewhat explained by the concept – the genius! concept – behind this season’s go-round: Awesome teams that totally crapped out their first time are given a second chance to win!! Yes!! The CowBros! The Globetrotters! Zev and Justin! The sisters who lost because she had to pee in China! And not so great to see back: the cheerleaders; the deaf kid and his mom. I wish they had brought back the Clowns – I loved those guys – and those brothers who were liberal and conservative.

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It's Black History Month and also Valentine's Day

It's Black History Month and also Valentine's Day. Wanda Sykes is a stand-up comedian and actress who came out for the cause of love. What can be more romantic than that? She is also one of the few Black gays or lesbians in pop culture to come out. Today we salute Wanda Sykes.

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Wanda Sykes: Black History Month

It's Black History Month and also Valentine's Day. Wanda Sykes is a stand-up comedian and actress who came out for the cause of love. What can be more romantic than that? She is also one of the few Black gays or lesbians in pop culture to come out. Today we salute Wanda Sykes.

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Wanda Sykes Picks The Wrong Moment To Try Out Her Parkinsons Material

Disease research benefits can be delicate affairs; one false step at an amfAR evening and an emceeing Sharon Stone can find herself addressing a roomful of black-ties sobbing into their sorbets. So we have to hand it to Wanda Sykes, who instead of tiptoeing around the subject at a recent Michael J. Fox Foundation benefit, decided to tackle it head on:

"She was onstage talking about duct-taping her uncle to a chair and she started imitating him, shaking a lot," a witness at the Waldorf-Astoria told Lowdown. "Everyone kind of hesitated and looked around before they laughed." Sykes' PR rep insisted: "She did tell an offbeat joke about him, but she didn't imitate him or act it out." The spy claims that Fox himself was laughing, but the actor's rep claimed ignorance.

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Daytona 500 Start Time 2011

Tomorrow Sunday, we have the much expected Daytona 500. We have already brought you the Daytona 500 starting lineup and now we give you more details on the Daytona 500 start time!

The start time for Daytona 500 has been set for 1:00 pm, time when the race officially starts. Coverage of the event, however, will begin earlier, at 12:00 pm and you will be able to watch the event via FOX on February 20th.

Yesterday the Daytona 500 2011 lineup was announced and we learned that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have to start the race from the back. During practice he suffered a crash which forced him to change cars, and according to rules this change makes you start in the back on the race.

The start of the event will surely be tough for Earnhardt, who will also be remembering the 10th anniversary of his father’s death.

So now you know the start time, there’s no excuse for missing the Daytona 500 race!

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2011 Daytona 500: Start Time, TV Schedule, Lineup And More

Good morning and welcome to race day for the 2011 Daytona 500! Since NASCAR's biggest race is upon us, we've put together a brief viewer's guide that will help you navigate the day.

If you're wondering what time the race starts (in other words, you want to skip all the pre-race show fluff), here you go: The green flag is scheduled to fly at 1:19 p.m. Eastern time.

The race will be broadcast on FOX, which has an hour-long pre-race show beginning at noon. Speed's "NASCAR Race Day" runs from 9 a.m. to noon, and ESPN2's "NASCAR Now" airs from 9 to 10 a.m.

Some other quick facts about today's Daytona 500:

– Pre-race concert: Brad Paisley

– National anthem: Martina McBride

– Grand marshals: Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and director Michael Bay from the upcoming Transformers movie

– Defending champion: Jamie McMurray

– Distance: 200 laps (2.5 miles around the track)

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Daytona 500 Start Time 2011, TV Info & Starting Lineup

The 2011 Daytona 500 is just hours away, with an official start time of 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 20, 2011. Television coverage begins at Noon on FOX, which will carry the race.

The 200-lap, 500-mile race, Nascar's biggest and most prestigious, takes place at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

Bleacher Report notes that this year's race marks 10 years since Dale Earnhardt's tragic death after crashing in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Here is the official starting lineup for the 2011 Daytona 500:

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The Best of Kim Kardasian

Kim and her two sisters, Kourtney and Khloe, opened a hip clothing boutique in their hometown in 2006, and sometimes the gals even walked the red carpet together. Now, thanks to their hit E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, they're all Hollywood hotties.

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NBA Feet: 2011 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

With the exception of the main event itself, the Slam Dunk Contest is without a doubt the most anticipated event during the NBA All-Star Weekend. We’ve seen some memorable showdowns in the past – Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Steve Francis putting on an amazing show in 2000, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins redefining gravity in 1988, Nate Robinson defying the odds in three separate occasions – and 2011 was poised to be one for the history books with Blake Griffin, Demar Derozan, Serge Ibaka, and Javale McGee slated for slam dunk showcases. Each player rocked a pair of sweet sneakers to accompany the flashiness of their aerial assaults; Serge Ibaka of the Thunder wore the adidas adiPure in Sun Yellow and Demar Derozan sported a tonal-red colorway of the Zoom Kobe VI iD. Washington’s Javale McGee showed off a number of different Peak colorways, and eventual champion wore a red/black/translucent outsole colorway of the Nike Air Max Fly By. Check out a complete visual recap from the 2011 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest after the jump and stick with Sneaker News for a NBA Feet feature from the All-Star Game! via Yahoo!.

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Blake Griffin Wins 2011 Slam Dunk Contest After Dunking Over A KIA

Blake Griffin won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Saturday after dunking over the hood of a KIA Optima SX in the final round. Fans gave Griffin a 68-32 margin over Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee in the final round; Griffin's other finals dunk involved going off the backboard and hanging from the rim at the elbow. McGee pulled off two soaring but less spectacularly set-up dunks, a baseline 360-degree dunk and a head-at-rim off-the-glass jam.

Griffin's KIA dunk involved a choir singing at midcourt while Baron Davis sat in the driver's seat of the car. Griffin leaped over the hood of the car as Davis lobbed the ball through the KIA's sunroof. The dunk was nothing spectacular, but Griffin finished it with rare power.

McGee had the highest score after a magical first round. McGee's first dunk involved a second rim placed adjacent to the stationary stanchion. McGee proceeded to dunk a ball through each hoop on one leap, going off the glass on one of the balls. It was a spectacular show of creativity and skill, and earned the night's only perfect 50 from judges. McGee's second dunk involved dunking three balls on one rim, one of which was lobbed by teammate John Wall.

DeMar DeRozan was arguably more impressive than Griffin in the first round. He had an absurdly difficult Isaiah Rider off the stanchion from a pass from teammate Amir Johnson that earned just 44 points from a stingy panel of judges. (Other than McGee's two first-round dunks, that DeRozan effort might have been the most physically difficult dunk of the night.) Griffin dunked off the side of the backboard, but without coming from behind the stanchion along the baseline and without going through the legs. Griffin earned a 46 on his version to thrust him past DeRozan and into the finals.

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Sandy Bentley: Sunday Celebrity Profile

Sandy Bentley is not someone you usually see in the headlines, but she deserves her moment of fame this Sunday, for taking the trends by storm. The famous Playboy cover girl and former live-in lover of the world’s most famous bachelor, Hugh Hefner, is today one of the top Google trends, for no other reason than being blond, beautiful and being associated with Mark Yagalla, a New York Ponzi schemer, and Michael Tardio, the victim of a gruesome 2002 murder.

Sandy Bentley reportedly received nearly $750,000 worth of jewelry from Yagalla, who was her lover in the summer of 1999. The jewelry connects Yagalla to the gruesome 2002 double murder of Michael Tardio and Christopher Monson, who were found shot to death, in a burning Mercedes SUV on Sept. 2, 2002, in Studio City, Calif, however he is not a suspect. Sandy Bentley, who was dating Michael Tardio, is not a suspect either. The sudden interest in these two characters can also be explained by the fact that they were the subject of the “48 Hours Mystery” show Saturday night.

This was not necessarily the ideal comeback for Sandy, who, together with her identical twin sister, Mandy, was one of the Playboy’s acclaimed “Bentley Twins.” The sisters lived with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion, – both as his lovers. Back in 2000 they appeared on some of television’s most popular shows, like “Sex and the City,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and on “Two and a Half Men,” where they played party girls. Since 2000, however, the world media focused on other blond beauties – the glory of a Playmate is usually short lived.

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