Jay-Z Gives the Nets a Makeover; Pat Riley Still Lurks

This article is from the archive of our partner .

Today in sports: Jay-Z gives the Brooklyn Nets a black and white makeover, Pat Riley is still quietly making the Miami Heat less likable, and Jeremy Lin sends his regrets to Stuyvesant High.

The Brooklyn Nets introduced their aggressively joyless new logo and black and white color scheme on Monday. If it seems like something that would be more appropriate for, say, the Gotham City Nets, log your complaints with part-owner Jay-Z: the team says the new "brand identity" is his baby and was inspired by "the signage of New York's unparalleled subway system." Let this be a lesson to aspiring graphic designers everywhere: a little bit of that film noir look goes a long way. [via Gothamist]

Miami Heat president Pat Riley hasn't big-footed a head coach or published a book of his motivational credos in recent years, but have no fear: at 67, he's still active behind-the-scenes, serving as a kind of "spiritual Buddha" for the Heat, a "lurking but elusive" figure who played a key role in Miami's emergence as the most booable NBA team in recent league history. When the team was meeting with LeBron James in the summer of 2010, for instance, Riley "brought his championship rings in a cloth bag and dropped them on the table" and went on not to say much for the rest of the meeting.   [The New York Times]

Larry Brown has been the men's basketball coach at SMU for less than a week, but he's already managed to cut four players from last year's squad, including starting point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas. Fearless! In Brown's defense, he has never put his championship rings in a cloth bag to try and impress someone. That we know of. [The Daily Campus]

Jeremy Lin had to turn down an invitation by Stuyvesant High School students to speak at graduation, because the Knicks are in the playoffs and really need his help. But he had the good sense to apologize for not being able to attend in a self-effacing Web video that shows why Linsanity will continue to thrive, so long as the point guard never forgets his brainy base. [via NBC New York]

Shares of Adidas briefly hit an all-time high on Monday following news that the company unexpectedly trounced rivals Nike and Puma in China during the first quarter of the year. [Reuters]

The NHL and NBA postseasons are exciting, but very, very long. The good news is that baseball -- slow, meandering baseball -- is making an effort to speed things up with a new playoff format in which the extra wild card team in each league will determined via a one-day, one-game playoff. Sounds almost as exciting as hockey in June. [The Wall Street Journal]

From the curious timing department: word is that Joe Hummel, the NFL's director of investigations, submitted his resignation on Friday. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio notes Hummel had been "running" the league's investigation of the New Orleans Saints bounty program. Hummel will apparently stay on the job through the end of the month. Meanwhile, penalties for players who participated in Bountygate are expected to be announced this week. [PFT]

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.