LeBron And Cleveland Has To Learn How To Win

Its Not All His Fault

The Cavs crushing lost is not all LeBron's fault. The Cavs have failed him in a few areas as well. But first I am going to touch on a few things about LeBron that I noticed. LeBron never has learned how to win and college could have taught him that. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar touched on this earlier this week when he spoke about the quality of play in the league today. The benefit of players going to college is they learn how to deal with adversity and how to win. Most players who turn pro in team sports, go to a minor league and develop and learn the nuances of the game. The NBA's D-league is not yet a functioning farm system, therefore its rare you actually see anyone come up and make a huge impact. Lebron's talent is great but he was handed the NBA and has to go through growing pains on winning. Michael did it, Kobe did it and now Lebron is having to figure out how to win. Lebron never got in any one's face or he didn't try to fire his team up. Its area where college would have helped him figure out how to motivate not only himself but his teammates.

No Chip

Something the great ones always have and majority play with. That's a chip on their shoulder. Michael Jordan got his by the freeze out in the All-star game. Kobe repeatedly tells himself he's better Shaq and wants to prove he is a leader of a team. D-Wade's chip is LeBron, Chris Bosh, Darko and Carmelo were all chosen ahead of him. Tim Duncan is everyone thought his game was boring. But its that one area or thing that drives a player to be great and I don't see that with LeBron. Think about this he breezed through high school and was already given the name " The Chosen One" and " King James". ESPN was televising his high school games. At 17 and 18 the world was his oyster. Everything has been given to him at such a young age and with all the hype he hasn't used anything to motivate him daily. Maybe this loos will drive him to be great. The funny thing is people are talking more about his impending free agency than his poor play. I know the elbow was hurting him but this was his chance to cement his legacy in Cleveland and he looked disinterested for much of the series.

Danny Ferry Is Not Innocent Either

The Cavs will most likely drop Mike Brown. When your team gets blown out in three or the four games and defense is your speciality, then the team will probably show you the door. However, Danny Ferry should not be far behind. Ferry has not surrounded LeBron with the talent to win either. The Cavs have had opportunity to build through the draft but Ferry has chose to trade picks and bring in role pieces instead of developing a players. Mo Williams is not really a point guard or a two guard. Varejo is limited offensively and the Big Z was aging and nothing was done. Ferry just keep to plug in holes instead of fixing the issues. The Cavs are in trouble because teams like the Magic, Bucks, Grizzlies and Thunder are building teams the right way, through the draft. When you are small market its easier to build that way and try to keep your own free agents than trying to trade away valuable picks. Its interesting because Ferry became a GM because he was so highly thought of with the Spurs. He should have used their model because they had Tim Duncan and drafted Parker and Ginobli and won 3 more titles. The Bulls had one great player but Scottie Pippen is also a hall of famer. You need at least two studs to win in NBA.

I wrote last year that I thought LeBron would probably stay in Cleveland. But I like most people feel that after this series, I think he is gone and that will be devastating to that city. I doubt he goes to the Knicks because he said he wants to win and they aren't close to winning. That leaves Chicago, Miami, Portland and Dallas in a sign and trade and Cleveland. If home is truly where the heart is then LeBron will stay. However sometimes its good to leave home and see what else the world has to offer. The city of Cleveland needs their native son to stay home so they can keep their identity.

NBA Playoffs So Far

I've been down with an ear infection so my apologies for not updating. Here are some of my thoughts on the NBA Playoffs:

Know Your Officials

What turns most people off to the NBA is the isolation's plays that some teams run for players, but even bigger than that is how the officials dictate the game. Look its bad when I can name Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, Joe Forte, Steve Jave off the top of my head. Name another sports where you know the referee's by name. There has always been that suspicion that the games are fixed. The league dodged a big pr nightmare when Tim Donaghy got busted for gambling but I think it really confirmed what most people believe, the league tries to setup its championship games for ratings. At first I was a skeptic but now I am coming over to that side. You want all the exposure that you can get so people are talking about your product. No one will talk about the finals if San Antonio or Utah makes it. Its all about star power or bigger market recognition. That's why rooting for a team like Orlando to knock off Cleveland, even though Dwight Howard is a star in his own right.

Speaking Of The Magic

Can someone please make the Atlanta Hawks disappear Has a team ever played so poorly but been in the playoffs? How can lose by an average of 29 points to a team with a 40 point blowout in the first game. This looks like a 1 seed versus a 16 in the NCAA tournament, but the Hawks are the supposed 3 seed and the Magic are the 2, the match-up should be closer. You can take any of the five starters from the Hawks and you would love them on your team but collectively they are awful. You can tell they have no clue on how to play together as a unit. Some of that falls on Mike Woodson the coach, but I put most of it on the players who have to recognize that the teams around them have better chemistry and understand how to play the game. Look for Joe Johnson to bolt and Mike Woodson to be let go. What should really happen is the management should give refunds to their fans for their teams pitiful play this postseason. That would send a real message to their team. (Two side notes to beat the Magic don;t let them hit 10 or more 3's because if they do it over. Also Dwight Howard shot over 80% in a series which basically sounds like no one guarded him. Tells you how pathetic the Hawks played)

The Suns Rise Again

You have to be happy for Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. They finally beat their long time nemesis the Spurs, and in a sweep which is shocking. The cool thing is no one expected the Suns to be here, the bad side is the Lakers should and will destroy them. This is a different Suns team from the ones in the past. Their bench is young and deeper which gives Steve and Amar'e some help. The only way the Suns beat the Lakers is by outscoring them. The Lakers are way too big and a half court game would end up just killing the Suns on the board. Nash deserves to be in a Finals before the book closes on his career. What I found great is last night Steve got his eye busted and with one eye scored 10 points and 5 assists!! That shows you how talented these guys are.

Cleveland Is Playing With Fire

When the stars align for you to win championship, you shouldn't mess around. But the Cavaliers are not taking the Celtics seriously and it could comeback to haunt them. The Cavs have no answer for Rondo who messed around and got a triple double. Putting Lebron on him could help a little or it could get Pierce, Allen and Garnett going. What I see in the Cavs is a team who relies completely too much on one player. They sit around and wait for LBJ to bail them out, and if they really want to be a great team, they better stop building their team like the Mavericks and get Lebron a solid Robin. What I mean is the Mavericks are built around Dirk and he can't do it alone. Mo Williams, Varajeo, Moon, Parker and now Shaq are role players, not a solid player that takes the pressure off Lebron. The other thing I noticed is the Cavs don;t have a sense of urgency, they have that feeling that they can turn it on at anytime. They better put the Celtics away in the next two games because if its goes seven, the Celtics will win it. The C's are now a dangerous "Big 4" and if they start rolling they are one of the few teams that can unseat the Lakers because of their physical style of play and their defense.

Also I will update where a part of my blog was mentioned on ESPN later on this week. Thanks for reading....

Football Draft Tidbits

Never Been A Gator Fan

But this is what i understand about leadership. Sometimes it can take one person to galvanize a team. One man can get a team to follow him through the ups and downs and lead them to victory. Tim Tebow did that for four years at Florida and led his school o two national titles and 3 BCS bowl appearances. So why is it that people are bashing him because of his faith and some may think it can be be divisive in a locker room? The one thing I know is college kids for the most can tell a fraud when they see one. Tebow's teammates never said one derogatory thing about the verses he put on his eye black or the prayers at the end. all they did was follow him to the promise land of championships. For writers and scouts to think this will be a problem is completely insane. One thing you are going to see repeated in this post is, "If he can play then the other players will follow." and that is the case with Tebow. He is as tough as nails, and has that "it" factor that brings a team together. I think a lot of scouts are fearful that if you are religious then that means you aren't tough. Just look at all the tapes of Tebow running over countless defenders and you can tell how tough he is.

Reverse Racial Profiling

Toby Gerhart is being overlooked as a 1st round running back because he is white. an unnamed scout (which is a lame way to be identified) informed Yahoo, that teams won;t draft Gerhart because he is white, not because he can't play but because the color of his skin. What type of people are scouting football players? Gerhart is a dynamic runner, who runs hard between the tackle. I think the issue is that white running backs have been at a premium over the last 30 years. When you think of white men running the ball they are mostly fullbacks. Gerhart can play both positions but if he was the feature back in a system, I believe you would see a white version of Stephen Jackson. If he can play then the other players will follow. Simple as that.

What The Rams Won't Do But Should



The Rams will take Sam Bradford with the first pick. I have two other options for them but their brain trust won't do it but should. This team has a ton of holess to fill so dumping 45-50 million into one player is not the answer. Instead of Bradford, they should pick Suh. Suh would add to the depth of their defensive line and he would not cost the arm and leg in guaranteed money that Bradford would. Also with their second round pick they should draft Colt McCoy and he would be a perfect fit with this team. If you watch any tape on McCoy you can tell he is way more comfortable throwing the ball outside of the pocket and on the run more than Bradford, and with the Rams offensive line that would be a benefit. Drafting Mark Sanchez would have solved this problem as well but I digress. The Rams have had the worse drafting in the league over the last eight years. Drafting Carriker in the first round and then trading him for a vending machine shows just how awful the teams drafting has been. This is the same team that passed up the Eagles receiver De'Sean Jackson for Donnie Avery because they thought Jackson was too small. Avery is the same height. The other option would be to trade for a veteran qb like Big Ben and get a stud receiver in the 2nd round. Donovan McNabb would have fit great as well but the redskins jumped all over him. The Rams need to be contenders prior to 2014 because that is when they can opt out of their lease with their stadium. These next few years will be critical in keeping the team in St. Louis.

Too Smart To Play

Myron Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar who is up for being drafted this weekend. Rolle could have entered the draft last year but went to Rhodes because he has aspirations of being a surgeon after football. however, draft pundits think that Role could go between the 5Th round or undrafted because teams are afraid of him because they believe he's not a football first guy. Football is a physical game yes but a lot of it is mental as well. To think Rolle won;t go out and compete hard and that he will waste your invest is so far off base. A lot of these scouts have no clue and how to develop player and are using his intellectual prowess as a negative. I hope Rolle makes all the teams regret passing him up with a couple of All-pro type seasons.

Judging Someone's Character

Hero vs. Villain

Watching the Masters this weekend, it was nice to see Tiger playing again. For me it was good to see him a little more relaxed and smiling more. I am bugged by two things though when it comes to the coverage of Eldridge. One, his apology was not enough for some people. And two, writers are now doing something irresponsible by making Tiger the villain and Mickelson the hero.

Have We Not learned Anything

Mickelson moment with his wife was TV magic, especially with her battling breast cancer. A lot of writers and TV guys are taking this opportunity to make Phil out as the hero family man who does no wrong and Tiger as the evil one. Haven't we learned anything from the Tiger episode? You don't know these guys. You might interview them from time to time and watch them on TV, but to think you know these athletes personal lives is so wrong. We can root for these guys with their athletic achievements and be wowed by that, but that's as far as it should go. When you put athletes on a pedestal at some point they will let you down. Tiger should have taught us all that but apparently we haven't learned that yet. Tiger should not be painted as a villain. He made some mistakes and who among us is perfect. I'm not in anyway condoning what he did, but to make his out to be the bad guy is completely irresponsible among the talking heads. It just shows that once you make it big people always will try and find a way to bring you down. Think of this, all this drama about Tiger started not with the Thanksgiving accident but when Forbes said that he was first billion dollar athlete. Phil Mickleson will never reach the global hype and fame that Tiger has. With that said people will not try to dig up trash on him.

Double Standard

Think about this, Tiger is an athlete playing golf, whereas most golfers are not athletes. Tiger is in a difficult spot because Tiger is not from the country club world and that is what separates him from other guys. There is a certain type of decorum that you have when you grow up in that world. That is why a lot of the analyst an older players say he lost respect for the game by throwing his clubs and cussing, in that world that is unacceptable. Worse things are done and said on the basketball court and on football fields but now in golf. Golf is the gentleman's sport and you are "supposed" to have that type of restraint.

Part of me wants to believe that this is not just a black and white issue but I think race plays a part in this coverage too. Tiger has always tried to please everyone and that only works for a while. What happens is when you fall and you are a person of color, people only see that color. I found it interesting that the chairmen of Augusta had the audacity to chastise Tiger publicly. He said he wanted his grandchildren and children to grow up and be like Tiger. I completely agree with Charles Barkley when he said that man is lying. Augusta National is a course that openly discriminated against people of color so all of a sudden when the best golfer on the planet is black it becomes ok for black people to play there. And on top of that you want your children to grow up and be like him. No way and no how. Tiger was only accepted there because he won and he could generate income for that place.

What Phil did on Sunday for him and his family was incredible. What his wife is going through is more courageous. Butlet's not get carried away with how wonderful things may see now, because someday we may be disappointed.

Everyone Wanted That Ball To Fall Except Duke Fans

Bedeviled Butler

When Gordon Heyward launched that 35 foot shot as time was expiring, everyone wanted that ball to go in. It really would have been Hoosier's 2, the Butler story. It would have rocked the sporting world. The Butler win would have ranked up there with Miracle on ice 1980 U.S. Hockey team, Namath's jets upsetting the Colts and Texas beating USC in the Rose Bowl. The shock wave through the sports world would have been mammoth. But alas, it hit the front rim and Duke escaped with Coach K's fourth title. Coach K wanted to talk about his team's amazing story but the game was and will always be about how Butler almost did the impossible.

A Little History

In the history of the tournament, the odds of a true mid-major making it to the Final Four and winning it is almost unheard of. True "mid-major" is a team that does not have any national name recognition, teams that haven't been true national powers. George Mason made the Final Four in 2006 and got blown out. Before that, Utah led by Andre Miller, Michael Doleac and Rick Majerus got run beat by UNC. I'm not counting UNLV because they had an all-star lineup when they run, Louisville is another national program as well as Memphis and Marquette. The "mid-major" has never really had a real shot of winning until last night and that is why this will sting a little more for Butler and all the rooters of the little guy.

Butler had their opportunities to win the game. They missed too many point blank layups and free throws. I said that they needed a Villinova effort to win and they did that on the defensive end, just not on the offensive end. For the hard core basketball fans, that game was an instant classic. You team defense, smart and efficient players who listen to their coaches. Both teams played the game the right way.

But you still wanted that shot to go in...

The Cartel And Execs Will Get What They Want

Just Irritating

Duke is not the bet team in college basketball. They are and have been completely overrated this year. However, as Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post calls the NCAA the Cartel, they made sure that they would have them in the Final Four and now they are playing in the national championship game. I know in basketball you have to hit shots, but there are still points in a game where the officials play a role in helping the other team. For as long as I have remembered Duke has been one of college basketball's biggest benefactors of calls.

How Do They Miss These Things

15 years ago Christian Laettner stepped on a Kentucky players chest right in front of the ref, and no foul was called. Christian should have been kicked out of the game, but instead he hit the last second shot and got Duke their second title. In last night's game, DeSean Butler got his knee tore up by Zoubek and while he is lying in pain with tears in his eyes, Zoubek is celebrating and the official calls a charge. This is where the Cartel and TV execs should be ashamed of themselves. What makes college sports so great is the purity of it. There are no big time shoe deals or huge advertising deals for the students. They are playing because they love the sport or to prepare themselves for a future in sports. The Cartel and the execs profit from these kids and sometimes you feel manipulate the sport to get the results the feel will work. This is especially true with NCAA tournament. You feel like when a lower seed win a phone call is made to the refs to make sure they turn a blind eye to some obvious calls. It happened last Sunday when Duke played Baylor. Scheyer threw his elbows around and Baylor player pushed another Duke player but on Baylor got called for the technical foul, which led to another Duke run. Sue West Virginia got to the free throw line last night more than Duke, but there were numerous illegal screens and over the backs by the Blue Devils that helped them outscore WVU by more than 15 in second chance points. No way could you have WVU and Butler in the champions game. Hillbilly U vs Hickory High, that is a network nightmare.

TV Role

CBS has made sure they have had star power since 2006 when George Mason crashed the Final Four and it was the lowest rated Final Four ever. No one wanted to see a "true" Cinderella go that far. In the four years previous there has been more one seeds in the Final Four than in previous years, until this year. Butler stands as the only team left to beat Duke. CBS will tout it as David vs Goliath. At least in that fight David had God on his side and no one else working against him. The only way Butler will win is if they pull a Villanova and shoot 70 percent from the field like they did against Georgetown. No one wants them to win from the Cartel to TV execs. They want their true blue blood and money making schools to stay on top.

I'm not mad that my pick lost in the Final Four, I'm just sick of Duke and the treatment they get and it has irritated me since I was a child. There was heartbreak in 90 when they beat that great UNLV team and glee when UConn destroyed Duke's best team in 2001. Maybe Butler can bring the anti-Duke Nation more happiness with a shocking win tomorrow night. What am I thinking, those scripts are only written in Hollywood and TV would never manipulate real life.

March Mania Standings

Here are the standings from our March Mania Bracket Challenge. Jaime McDonald is leading the way. Thank you to everyone for playing:


1
Jaime McDonald
461
46
461
2
st. petersville
308
38
308
3
BradleyMc
297
37
297
4
Momo's Maniac's
272
32
294
5
Missouri Tigers
261
35
261
6
The Freethrower
235
33
235
7
Cavemargem
225
30
225
8
The Cheerleaders
214
30
214
9
RileyMadness
213
29
213