Many of my female readers tell me that they can’t relate to what I write about. They don’t get the sports aspect of it, some don’t get the movie stuff either, and so they don’t want to read through for the one time I write about a broad topic. In an effort to combat that problem I’ve decided to mix up my thoughts and try to jump from one sport related thought to a non-sport related though. Here goes:
1. In a surprising turn of events, the Boston Celtics handily beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in games 5 and 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. So we all know what that means, right? The question on everyone’s mind will now become “What will LeBron do?”My buddy Brock wrote up a good piece about this (http://brockangeles.tumblr.com/). I agree with most everything he says, but as an NBA die hard I really hope LeBron stays in Cleveland (and I’m a Knicks fan). Why? Because I think it sends the wrong message to all the people who look up to him. Nowadays, so many athletes/famous people do what is in their best interest. Rarely do you see someone who recognizes that with that talent and god given ability comes a certain responsibility to those who root for you and look up to you. And while my buddy Brock might reference Kevin Garnett (and what happened to him when he stayed too long and was too loyal to Minnesota) when arguing why LeBron should leave, I would say look at MJ. Everything worked out for him, but there was a point in time during the late 80’s when people doubted him. Maybe it was a different time, and if MJ were playing today, he’d pack his bags and sign with the team with the most money or the biggest market (then again Chicago is a bigger market than Cleveland – but that aside). But MJ didn’t do that. MJ pushed through and had to wait for his turn. And he had to work for it and earn it. The key for him was finding the right supporting cast (coach, management, and players to play with). LeBron arguably has none of that. Management might be trying, but they aren’t doing a good job. For example, I think they made the first wrong move in keeping Coach Mike Brown and the Shaq pickup was a horrible one. LeBron needs his Pippen and he needs his Phil Jackson.
Now; most people would say, “That’s a stupid argument to make.” - go for the money or go to the bigger market. There is no room for loyalty, being a nice guy, or worrying about anything but your legacy, your money, and your glory. In my opinion, these people are what is wrong with this world. They are the greedy, disloyal, and uncaring few. Because you know what, Lebron’s got plenty of money, a few million more won’t matter (and Cleveland can offer the largest contract). A championship is not guaranteed whether he stays or leaves, so who is to say he’ll win in Chicago, Miami, Dallas, or New York. And he’ll gain some more “home” fans, but lose Cleveland fans just like Brett Favre lost many Green Bay fans when he left. But what do I know…maybe I argue this because I’d like to believe I am a loyal person: Loyal to my friends, family, and loved ones. So maybe it’s a good thing, I don’t have to make the decision. And I’m kind of glad I don’t have to.
Another thought…nobody has an idea what Lebron will do. And maybe he wants it that way. Because if you don’t know who Lebron James is by now, you will know who he is over the course of the summer.
Lastly, in trying to think of the proper comparisons for what Cleveland and LeBron will go through I could only think of a few examples of current players:
If Derek Jeter left New York before winning a world series. Jeter grew up in New York, was drafted by New York, and is the embodiment of home grown. Say he came close a few years and then decided to bolt for another team (say the Boston Red Sox).
If Tim Tebow was drafted by Jacksonville, became a great QB, went to many playoff games, but never won a super bowl…and then leaves for New England.
If Sidney Crosby were drafted by a Canadian team (Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, or Edmonton), didn’t lead them to a championship before leaving for Detroit or Chicago.
2. Twice I’ve bought gifts for my girlfriend where the counter person said something in the form of, “Women would die/kill for this!” Seriously…I better watch my back. Otherwise you all might see a front page story that says, “Yeung man killed for pair of shoes and luxury face cream.”
3. Worse second round NBA playoff series ever?
Let’s recap: Three four game sweeps. A few good close games, but no upsets in those series sweeps (Lakers vs. Jazz has a good one, Suns vs. Spurs has a good one too). Only one series that went six games, but none of those six games were decided by less than 8 points. Pretty much the two most memorable moments of the second round series were Steve Nash playing with one eye in game four and finally beating the Spurs, and the LeBron James stinkbomb that was thrown up in game five. Let’s hope for better conference finals.
4. I don’t normally link to other sites, but my friend Rich sent me this video yesterday. Wait for the end to see what the anchor says.
a. http://www.abc26.com/news/local/wgno-beauty-breakthroughs-g-shot,0,2355202.story
b. PS – My new goal in life is to find a reason to say this to someone with a straight face.
5. Fantasy baseball review:
Who is Tyler Clippard? He’s a Washington Nationals reliever with a 7-1 record on the year. That basically means he’s headed for 30 wins or 8 wins for the whole season. My guess is on something close to the latter, but I’d still rather have him than most closers.
Not sure if Jose Contreras will pick up saves or even pitch well, but he’s got SP eligibility in Yahoo! if you wanted to throw in six relievers with save potential in your roster on any given day.
Not sure if you can say Matt Kemp is better than Andre Eithier right now. Eithier is playing out of his mind.
6. Last week’s recap
Iron Man 2 made only $128mm last weekend, which was pretty disappointing if you ask me. I thought it’d clear $145-150mm no problem (and only $7.5mm on midnight showings Friday morning). I’d say it was headed for a $350mm final tally. The one thing it has working for it is little competition; Robin Hood looks like a bomb – more on that later, Shrek 4 and SATC 2 will open big, but the wild card is Prince of Persia. I have a feeling that Iron Man 2 will end up being the second highest grossing movie of the summer.
I was way off on my NBA playoff predictions. I predicted two game 7 series, there wasn’t even one! I thought San Antonio would win 2 at home, instead they lost both. At least I was right about Orlando…
In my list of potential summer jams, I should have included “Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris – Break Your Heart”. In the words of Chris Rock, “That’s a catchy ass song.”
I hope you all watched Friday Night Lights – the season premiere was well done (not great, but a good solid episode). I see the beginning of some fantastic story lines and predict this is going to be a great season. The best since the fantastic first season. Also, the Vince character will be the new Matt Saracen – the one character you root for that surprises you with his football ability and his heart. One more thing, you cannot listen to that opening theme song and not be inspired. How the guitar strings hums along so quietly at the beginning, then the music picks up right around when the names “Taylor Kitsch” and “Jesse Plemons” appear in the credits. Whew. It gets me every time.
7. By catching an early screening of Iron Man 2 (w/o trailers), I missed the new teaser for J.J. Abrams new flick, Super 8. All I can say is I have no idea what to expect, it had me at Spielberg, and Abrams can put together a teaser trailer better than anyone in the business (see Cloverfield and Star Trek).
8. Robin Hood looks headed for the award of first box office bomb of the summer. I predicted this in my summer movie preview (go ahead, check it out. It’s in the archive). Robin Hood won’t recoup its budget domestically (estimated to be around $155mm), but it’ll do well overseas. These types of movies always do.
9. If you are looking to me for movie advice, well then watch Fantastic Mr. Fox – it’s a great movie with snappy dialogue and amazing visuals. Fair warning, the movie is in stop motion animation. But to me, that makes it all the more incredible.
10. Congrats to my friend, Navid (aka “The Champ”) on graduating from med school.
And my friend, Sean McBride, will be performing two nights at Caroline’s Comedy Club (Monday, May 17th @9:30pm and Wednesday, May 19th @ 9:30pm). He’s one of the funniest guys I know and puts on a great act. Go check him out if you are in the area and like to laugh (and who doesn’t?).
Thanks for reading this week. Have a great weekend. I promise to write something for the ladies, maybe a Sex and the City 2 review.
8 years ago
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