MUMBAI – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Mahindra Group, one of India’s largest and most respected companies, today announced a partnership to launch a new multi-city community-based recreational basketball league. The new league for boys and girls ages 14 and up will tip off in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Mumbai, in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

Mahindra will be the title partner of the new recreational league, Mahindra NBA Challenge, which will run for seven weeks annually in two divisions: youth ages 14-17 and adult 18+. The BFI will work with the NBA to implement and oversee league operations across all markets. The Mahindra NBA Challenge will provide basketball enthusiasts and newcomers to the game the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the game and apply their skills in a fun, competitive environment.

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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) – Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has agreed to buy a controlling interest in the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, majority owner Bob Johnson said on Saturday.

“He (Johnson) has signed a definitive agreement to sell the majority interest of Bobcats Sports and Entertainment to Michael Jordan and MJ Basketball Holdings LLC,” a statement said.

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DALLAS (Reuters) – The NBA could lose around $400 million this year because of the flagging economy and a crippling labour agreement, according to commissioner David Stern.

Stern told a news conference on Saturday that players’ union representatives negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement had been shown figures outlining the NBA’s current economic circumstances.

“And basically what those numbers showed, give or take, was this year we are projecting a league-wide loss of about $400 million,” he said.”

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SINGAPORE – -The Singapore Slingers have announced that the world’s largest package delivery company UPS has become the title sponsor of the Singapore Slingers 2009/2010 playoff series: “Slingers ABL Playoff Series 2010 brought to you by UPS”

The sponsorship is effective immediately with signage and sponsor benefits to be in place for the Slingers first home game during the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Finals. Special items in place would be a “Best Delivery presented by UPS” where Slinger fans can vote for the best Singapore Slingers play of the season. UPS will also present the UPS Community award to a professional player of the Singapore Slingers who contributed his time and effort to Singapore community involvement.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – A Michigan investment firm has finalized a deal to sell its 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers to Albert Hung, bringing LeBron James’ team a step closer to adding the National Basketball Association’s first big Chinese investor.

A Cavaliers spokesman declined to comment, but Cavaliers vice chairman David Katzman, whose Camelot Venture Group owns the stake being sold, said an all-cash deal was reached and should be approved by year end. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – The National Basketball Association on Monday announced the launch of its first-ever online and mobile sites designed for fans in India.

The sites, which includes live games, video highlights, select Hindi content, player blogs and columns from two India-based columnists, is being introduced with marketing partners Hewlett-Packard Co and Adidas AG’s Reebok.

The sport has more than 4 million active participants in India, according to the NBA, which cited data from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Lakers not only won the National Basketball Association title last season, but seized the crown as the U.S. sports league’s most valuable franchise.

However, for the first time since Forbes magazine began tracking the finances of NBA franchises 11 years ago, the average team value declined this year.

The value of an NBA team, on average, fell 4 percent to $367 million and 12 of the league’s 30 teams were estimated to have posted operating losses last season, according to Forbes, which released its annual list on Wednesday.

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SHANGHAI (PRNewswire-Asia) – At a symbolic signing ceremony today on the banks of the Huangpu River, leading pioneer automobile brand Mercedes-Benz became the naming rights partner of the arena currently under construction in Shanghai. The arena, which is being jointly developed by world-class culture and sports entities Oriental Pearl Group, AEG and the National Basketball Association (NBA), will be the first arena in China to have a naming rights partnership.

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PHOENIX (BUSINESS WIRE) – Today Best Western announced it is renewing its sponsorship of the New Orleans Hornets Bookmobile, an interactive library-on-wheels that has distributed more than 90,000 free books to students in southeastern Louisiana. Since 2007, the World’s Largest Hotel Chain® has been presenting sponsor of the Bookmobile, which supports the NBA’s Read to Achieve initiative. The renewal agreement is for two more years — a $110,000 commitment.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York State lawfully seized land needed for the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, the state’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.

The project, which includes plans to build a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets alongside office and apartment buildings, has been repeatedly delayed by lawsuits and financing problems.

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