NEWS: Former Atlanta Hawk Mutombo to join Basketball Hall of Fame / Long Island High Schooler Accepted by All 8 Ivy League Colleges / Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine Dazzles With Swarovski For 15th Anniversary

Eight-time NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2015.
Mutombo will be honored alongside 10 other classmates Sept. 10-12 during this year’s Enshrinement Ceremonies in Springfield, Mass. In addition to Mutombo, this year’s list includes 39-year NBA referee Dick Bavetta, two-time College Coach of the Year John Calipari, four-time NBA All-Star Spencer Haywood, seven-time NBA All-Star Jo Jo White and three-time WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie.
“We are honored to recognize the highly distinguished Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2015,” John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame said in a statement. “They have contributed a great deal to the game we all love, as players, coaches, teachers, mentors and more. They have dedicated themselves to their craft and serve as an inspiration to many. We look forward to honoring each of these inductees during the Enshrinement festivities in September.”
To be elected, finalists must receive 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The addition of the direct elect committees were incorporated into the election process to maintain a strong focus on keeping history on the forefront of the voting procedures and to preserve a balance between two eras of basketball, the Hall of Fame reported.
Mutombo is an eight-time NBA All-Star (1992, 1995-98, 2000-02) and a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001). He led the NBA in blocked shots for five consecutive seasons (1994-98) and blocks per game for a record three consecutive seasons (1994-96). He earned NBA All-Rookie Team recognition in 1992 and All-NBA Second Team in 2001. A native of Zaire, Africa, Mutombo attended Georgetown University and played in the NBA from 1991 until 2009 recording 11,729 points, 12,359 rebounds, and 3,289 blocks in eighteen NBA seasons. He received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. His legendary finger-wagging motion after blocked shots became one of the most recognized gestures in the game.

A high school senior on Long Island has a big decision to make: He has been accepted to all 13 colleges he applied to, including all eight Ivy League schools.
On March 31, when the official college decisions were posted online, Harold Ekeh logged onto his computer in Elmont, New York. The 17-year-old was shocked to discover he was accepted to all eight Ivies, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, New York University and SUNY Stony Brook.
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His mother was with him when the great news came in.
“Everyone was so excited and surprised,” he said. “The hard work paid off.”
Ekeh’s impressive high school resume spans from conducting scientific research, to starting a college prep mentoring program, to serving as editor-in-chief of the newspaper and vice president of Model United Nations.
But Ekeh’s true passion is medicine. He says he plans to attend medical school and specialize in neurosurgery.
“I knew I wanted to go to a really good school that would allow me to get into a great medical school,” he said.
Ekeh said he didn’t have a certain college in mind until he visited Yale with his high school’s Model United Nations team.
“I got to see how passionate people are at Yale,” he said. “That skewed me to start leaning towards Yale in my junior year.”
Wherever he ends up, Ekeh says he’s looking forward to college courses that “spark my intellectual curiosity.”
“And I want to learn things outside the classroom,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hands-on internships and travel abroad opportunities.”
“And definitely the student life,” he added. “The new friends that I’ll meet. I’m sure I’ll meet long-lasting friends there.”
So how will the high schooler make his big decision?
“I still have to make visits to other schools like Harvard, Princeton and MIT,” he said today. “That’s what I’ll do in the upcoming weeks.”
He has until May 1 to decide.

By Joan Stern in Style Women

15th anniversary is also celebrated as Crystal anniversary and Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine sure knows to make the best of the dazzling milestone. O, The Oprah Magazine, first published on April 19, 2000, is a monthly magazine founded by Oprah Winfrey.

Primarily marketed at women, the magazine’s cover has been dominated by Oprah only since its inception. Marking the glossy’s 15th anniversary, the cover features its founder in a dazzling Swarovski crystal-encrusted dress complemented by a sparkling “O” logo. Signed by Winfrey, the Crystal anniversary edition is adorned with over 1500 Swarovski crystals per issue. However Oprah played it modest on the occasion of the unveiling of O’s May cover by dressing up in a bright orange sweater with white piping, dark blue jeans and off-white sneakers bearing sparkles on the toe box.
The founder and the face of the magazine described the first-ever black-and-white Omagazine cover as “It’s very iconic.” The 61 year old media giant Oprah Winfrey raised a toast at the unveiling and added, “I won’t say 15 more [years]. Fifteen more of dragging me out, I don’t think so.” Though the commemorative edition will hit the stands on April 14, the exclusive May 2015 anniversary edition will be offered to only fifteen premier members of O’s Circle of Friends who can win a copy of the magazine. Lucky winners will also receive a selection of luxury beauty products worth $500 with the issue.