Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 64

Intermediate Writing Feature Articles - Lesson Writing Feature Articles - Handout . a Name: ________________________________________ Date: ___________________ . a: Feature Articles Packet (page of ) NBA Star Sells $15 Sneakers New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury makes sneakers affordable by Mike Celizic, Today Show, April 5, 2007 As a kid growing up with six siblings, Stephon Marbury couldn’t understand why his parents couldn’t scrape together $150 to buy him the hot sneakers his heroes wore in the NBA. When he grew up and understood how much money that was and how little his parents had, he decided to do something about it. His solution? A $15 quality basketball shoe worn in games by the star point guard of the New York Knicks, Stephon Marbury. “Anybody who grew up in a household with a lot of brothers and sisters, they know how it is as far as, you know, everybody wearin’ the same sneakers – hand-me-downs,” he told TODAY correspondent Kevin Corke. The shoe, which comes in a variety of styles and fabrics, is called the “Starbury.” It’s made by Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, and, while it is inexpensive, it’s not cheap or shoddy. Marbury introduced them last August and has just introduced the Starbury II, still at the same affordable price. Mark Cuban, the outspoken billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, called the product "the biggest business story of the year." Steve & Barry’s has given no sales ?gures, but it has been reported elsewhere that in little more than half a year, some three million pairs of Starburys have been sold. That’s been enough to inspire Chicago Bulls star center Ben Wallace to join Marbury in wearing the shoes for the remainder of this year. Next year, Wallace will have his own Steve & Barry’s line —the Big Ben. © 2010, Teaching Matters, Inc. www.teachingmatters.org Page 223