The National Basketball Association is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, with 30 teams representing 28 US markets and one in Canada. It oversees the rules of the game and officiating, markets its teams and players, and regulates franchise ownership. The NBA also licenses broadcasting rights and collects revenue from corporate sponsorships. In addition, it operates the WNBA, a 12-team women's league; the NBA Development League for up-and-coming players; and NBA TV, a cable TV channel offering news, original programming, and live game broadcasts. The NBA was founded as the Basketball Association of America in 1946.

The NBA Development League serves as the in-house minor league of the National Basketball Association, boasting 16 teams each affiliated with one or two NBA franchises. Young players serving their first or second year in the pro ranks can be assigned to the D-League for development and training before getting called up to the NBA. The league stages its regular season between November and April, concluding with a playoff tournament. The D-League also serves as a training ground for referees, coaches, trainers, and front-office personnel. The NBA formed the D-League with eight teams in 2001.

Star Buffet is a leading operator of buffet-style restaurants with more than 60 dining locations in nearly 20 states. The eateries, found primarily in Florida and Arizona, operate under such banners as BuddyFreddys and Whistle Junction, as well as its flagship brands Barnhill's Buffet and HomeTown Buffet (franchised from Buffets Holdings). The chains offer a wide array of menu items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition to its buffet-style units, Star Buffet operates a small number of family-style restaurants under the 4B's banner, as well as a couple of WesterN SizzliN steak-buffet restaurants (franchised from Western Sizzlin). Chairman, president, and CEO Robert Wheaton owns more than 40% of the company.

Herbst Gaming operates about 15 casinos, hotels, RV parks, and slot routes in Nevada and the Midwest. Its flagship property, Terrible's Sands Regency hotel and casino in downtown Reno, Nevada has more than 800 hotel rooms and some 600 slot machines, as well as table games such as blackjack, craps, and roulette. It also houses restaurants, lounges, a gift shop, and a video arcade. Other Herbst properties are located in smaller towns throughout Nevada, including Henderson, Dayton, and Primm (where its Primm Casinos subsidiary operates). In addition, the firm has a handful of locations in Iowa and Missouri. Herbst Gaming is owned by brothers Edward, Timothy, and Troy Herbst. In 2009 the company filed Chapter 11.

Athletics Investment Group makes sure Oakland baseball fans get all A's. The company owns and operates the Oakland Athletics professional ballclub, a charter franchise of the American League that formed in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. Better known as the A's, the team moved to Kansas City in 1955 before settling in the Bay Area in 1968. The franchise plays host at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, which it shares with the Oakland Raiders football team; Oakland boasts nine World Series championships and 15 AL pennants. Los Angeles real estate developer Lewis Wolff (co-founder of Maritz, Wolff & Co.) has controlled the A's since 2005.The Athletics Investment Group owns the Oakland Athletics franchise, one of the most storied and controversial teams in major league baseball history. Located for 54 years in Philadelphia, and for 12 in Kansas City, Missouri, before moving to Oakland, California, the Athletics (A's) have won 14 divisional titles, 15 American League pennants, and nine World Series Championships. The team makes its home in Network Associates Coliseum (formerly the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum) although their future in Oakland remained uncertain. Sharing the relatively small Bay Area sports market with the National League's San Francisco Giants, the A's financial situation has long been unstable. For at least five years, The Athletics Investment Group has been searching for a buyer for the team. Still, the company realized an estimated $96 million in revenues in 2002.

Looking for red meat in the Carolinas? Claremont Restaurant Group (CSG) has just the place. The company operates about 25 casual dining restaurants under the Sagebrush Steakhouse banner in four states, mostly in North Carolina. The restaurants serve steak, seafood, and chicken entrees along with the usual assortment of starters and side dishes. Other CSG brands include Prime Sirloin Family Steakhouse, a buffet concept with locations in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; and Western Steer Family Steakhouse. Industry veteran and CEO Jim Peterson owns the company. CSG entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2010.

The Denver Nuggets professional basketball franchise was formed by trucking magnate J. W. "Bill" Ringsby in 1967 as the Denver Rockets (renamed in 1974), a charter member of the American Basketball Association. Since joining the National Basketball Association in 1976, the team has had little postseason success, although the signing of star forward Carmelo Anthony in 2004 has helped spur fan interest, giving a boost to attendance at the team's Pepsi Center arena. St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke will relinquish ownership to his son Josh Kroenke in 2010.

This company adds a little flavor of Belgique to the French palate. Leon de Bruxelles operates a chain of about 40 restaurants located mostly in and around Paris that offer a menu inspired by traditional Belgian foods. The chain is best known for its mussels and fries and its assortment of Belgian beers. Chairman Jean-Louis Detry owns about 25% of the company.

The first Fatz Cafe opened in a converted peach shed in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in November 1988. The idea was to secure a location with favorable terms; develop a varied, reasonably-priced menu; offer ample portions of quality food, and provide upbeat service in a comfortable atmosphere - in short, operate a fun, casual dining restaurant, concentrate on the basics with a heavy emphasis on value, and guests would come. They did! The restaurant flourished, and Fatz Cafe was born. Cafe Enterprises, Inc. was formed to serve as parent company to the new restaurant and others that would follow. In the early 1990's, the company set out to continue to build the success of Fatz Cafe by focusing on the attributes that have contributed to the restaurant's popularity. Armed with generous portions of great food served in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, Fatz Cafe has garnered a strong local reputation for value, quality and service that has allowed the concept to grow.Today, Cafe Enterprises, Inc. owns and operates 47 Fatz Cafes. With a strong group of restaurant operating partners and a support team of seasoned professionals, the company is poised for continued growth in the Carolinas and beyond.

Cafe Rio serves the most delicious, award winning food that will leave you craving more!!We’re up with the sun, squeezing limes and scooping out avocados, baking our fresh desserts and making our signature sauces and salad dressings by hand. We’re not complaining, though. It’s just what we do – kind of like hand rolling every tortilla from scratch, and buying only USDA Choice meats. With no freezers or Microwaves in our restaurants, we are proud to offer the highest quality, freshest food you will find anywhere.

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