The NBA has joined with Scholastic Inc., the publisher and
distributor of educational materials for children, in a "unique,
multi-national publishing partnership." This marks the first
time Scholastic has joined with a sports league, and the first
time the NBA has entered into a "comprehensive partnership" with
one youth publisher. Under the multi-year deal, Scholastic and
the NBA will create a publishing program for children involving
basketball in a variety of formats, intended to appeal to a wide
range of age groups and reading levels. The books will be
distributed in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In
addition, the two organizations will devise literacy projects and
supplementary materials designed to be both motivational and
educational. Both companies will build on their "strong
partnerships" with "Reading is Fundamental." The first stage of
the program will begin this fall with the launch of "Meet the
Chicago Bulls," and "Meet the Orlando Magic." Also planned: A
series of team-based books aimed at ages eight and up; a series
of "NBA Skills Books" to be launched in the fall. The books,
aimed at grades 3-6, will offer "multi-curricular lessons" for
students, incorporating NBA themes and players. Other series to
be launched include: "NBA Megastars"; "NBA Slam Dunk Champions";
"The Rising Stars of the NBA," a series of biographies starting
with "Passing Fancy: The Jason Kidd Story"; "NBA Action from A to
Z"; and "Dribble, Shoot, Score"; all in Spring '97 (NBA).
DRAFT GRADES: Rudy Martzke writes in USA TODAY that TNT
"earns the comeback award" for last night's draft coverage, as
last year, the network was "unprepared," with "few predictions on
picks and lifeless commentary." He graded the coverage a B+,
noting that TNT "showed it finally can pull off a draft close to
the level of ESPN's NFL." He notes the only "turnovers" for TNT
were "downplaying players' negatives," saying there were "too
many great picks in what was supposed to be a down draft," and
"too many questions players couldn't answer" (USA TODAY, 6/27).
