MSG’s Martin gets comfy on Celebrity Row
The Garden transformation changed a lot of the arena’s ambiance, but Celebrity Row still is alive and kicking with MSG Network’s Jill Martin back doing “Live from Celebrity Row’’ at halftime. Her most noteworthy moment occurred earlier this month when Giants receiver Victor Cruz taught Martin the salsa on the Garden sidelines during a halftime bit.
“I can dance, but never the salsa,’’ Martin told The Rumble.
During the NBA lockout, Martin hardly wasted away. Already a fashion reporter for “The Today Show,” Martin became the New York correspondent for “Access Hollywood” in September and has embarked on her third fashion book.
Referring to her Knicks Celebrity Row gig, in which she picks out one star to interview at halftime, Martin said, “All those three worlds collide at a Knicks game.”
On game days, she often works from 5 a.m.-11 p.m. and confides she doesn’t have much time for a social life. She does, however, sneak off to South Beach, Fla., her former haunt. A former Miami television reporter and sideline reporter for the Heat, she is close with Miami owner Mickey Arison. She is also friends with new TNT broadcaster Shaquille O’Neal from their Miami days, and he convinced her to start using “TOUT’’ at the Garden — a video version of Twitter. That was the vehicle Shaq used to announce his retirement.
Before each game, Martin and her upcoming celebrity guest tape a 15-second clip summoning questions from fans and send it via “TOUT.’’ Martin’s second fashion book, “I Have Nothing to Wear!’’ came out in the fall and featured a back-of-the-book plug from the ever-fashionable Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire, who wrote, “Jill knows her stuff whether she is talking about fashion or sports. This book is a must-have for every woman looking to step up her game.’’
Packers WR teams up with Jeter
Perry Fewell’s defense will be thinking about All-Pro receiver Greg Jennings and how to stop him today. The Yankees’ Derek Jeter and Jennings both hail from the same hometown, Kalamazoo, Mich., and high school, and both take their captaincies as serious as they do their work in the community. It is part of a growing relationship between the two, which saw Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation start to work more closely with The Greg Jennings Foundation on projects not just in Kalamazoo, but around the country as well.
“What Derek has done to better the lives of kids is amazing, and it is exactly what we are trying to replicate and inspire young people with through our foundation,” Jennings said. “I spoke at his ‘Jeters Leaders’ event in Tampa, and I’m looking forward to working together to see how two guys from Michigan can have a bigger impact on kids around the world.”
To learn more about Jennings’ off-field work, check out his website, gj85.com.
High school hoops showcase on horizon
The SNY Invitational has been a slam dunk success for metropolitan area high schools and high school basketball fans and students since its inception in 2008, and the coaches lucky enough to participate in the prestigious event can’t wait to showcase their dream teams at Long Island University’s Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center Jan. 27-28.
“I think the biggest thing we got other than obviously playing two games is the scholarships available for some of our kids and their commitment to the different schools,” said Bob Hurley, coach of the defending champion St. Anthony team. “Our school benefits from this more than anything else we do.”
Each year, the competing schools are selected by SNY in consultation with Competition Director Bobby Hartstein. Each participating school gets a $5,000 donation. SNY and MetroPCS also give out $50,000 worth of scholarships to students in the tri-state area.
“We wanted to set the standard,” Steve Raab, president of SNY, told the Rumble. Asked what he is most proud of, Raab said: “Realizing the vision we had of using our resources to not only create a great tournament and great content, but making a real impact on the schools.”
For ticket information, visit http://www.snyinvitational.com