Hmmmmm where is @LarryAngeles ??? Lol7:09 PM Feb 3rd

He left in the middle of the season with no warning. Teammates found out via facebook and via text messages from friends or Facebook and perhaps the news or coaches by phone. Coach Roy Williams got a message to call Drew Sr., who then informed him that his son is leaving/left. 2 1/2 years and you just up and leave and don’t have the decency to tell your coaches, teammates, roomate, friends?  I rather not bad mouth Drew, so I’ll just share this pic that does the kid justice. Enjoy!

Drew II is a quitter

We sometimes treat complete strangers better than we do family. It’s true. We might not want to admit that, but sometimes just the fact that we can count on our family members makes us so comfortable and we often overlook and take one another for granted. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them or appreciate them, just that you may not always display or express gratitude you would  friends, acquaintances, or strangers even. 

We’re all guilty of it. It doesn’t make us bad people, we’re human. Sometimes, I catch myself doing it and other times I notice it being done to me. It annoys me whenever it happens, but I get over it. I do wish it weren’t that way though. 

Ultimately. We are responsible for how we treat one another. Life is short, after all.

NC had a tax free weekend earlier this month and I took advantage of it by finally taking the plunge and bought an iPad 64G + 3G. It took a long journey here. It shipped fron Shenzhen China, thru Taiwan and Anchorage AK. It arrived on Monday. Needless to say, it was a long 2 1/2 weeks! First off, the screen quality is just stunning. The interface takes some getting used to being that I’m used to PCs and I don’t own either iPhone or an iTouch. I’m slack at updating my iTunes software, so it prompted me to update it to be able to Sync the iPad to my Laptop. That took awhile as I downloaded the 32 bit version when I needed the 64 bit one. Afterwards, it was rather painless doing the sync to get all my music and photos.

The first app I downloaded was Farmville(Free). I play Farmville way too much. Not sure if it soothes my OCD or just enables it. First few times it wouldn’t work. I think it takes some time for it to load everything. When it finally worked, it worked well, but I really found it to be incomplete. Certain features of the game are disregarded with the app, but you can do most of the stuff. It’s great if your on the go, but I wouldn’t recommend it to play the game full-time.

The one app I kept seeing on the commercials was The Elements: A Visual Exploration($13.99). I went and downloaded that. It turns out that it’s 1.7GB, so with my dsl, it took almost 3 hrs! It was well worth it though. That app is worth every penny if your a nerd like I am.

Amazon Kindle App(Free) worked really well. I really liked the customizable pages and fonts. It might even get me to read more!

Netflix (Free) is awesome! The interface is flawless and the video quality was stunning. I watched an episode of Dexter with no problems!

Dish Remote Access (Free) is pretty cool. You can manage your DVR and basically use the iPad as your remote. If you have a Slingbox, you can even watch remotely! I don’t have one and I’m still waiting on the Thin Sling that’s supposed to come out soon.

Calculator XL (Free) is a really good free app if you just want the standard calculator which functions similarly to the one that usually comes with Windows. It’s sufficient for my use and it turns the iPad into one megasized expensive calculator!

Swirlicity(Free version) is the neatest thing. It’s a fun particle drawing, swirling and twirling app based on the physics of fluid dynamics. You have this black screen and you draw on it and it has all these different colors. Then you have tools like attract or repel and move. It’s somewhat trippy though and you can even save pics and load them.

Overall, I’m really enjoying my new iPad. Right now the only problem I forsee is filling the screen with too many icons from all these cool apps.

After the announcement. I was wondering what nickname LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh should go by. I came up with 3 6 1 Miami Mafia. I thought it had a nice ring to it!

NOTE: It was originally 3 6 4, but then Bosh decided he went with No.1. I did hear a pretty cool nickname today though, “Run DLC”

It all comes down to this. After not just days, weeks, months, but years of waiting, the 2010 summer of where LeBron spends perhaps the rest of his career is down to it’s last 13 hours and change. Speculations ran rampant. The latest has him joining forces with D Wade and Chris Bosh. There’s also the tweets by Jared Dudley, DeJuan Blair, Jay Williams, and Chad Ochocinco suggesting that The New York Knicks will be The King’s new home. Of course there’s always the possibility that he’s been home all along and his heart belongs to Cleveland.

Whatever he decides tonight around 9:10pm EST in his ESPN 1 hour special tonight, a lot of folks will be happy, but a lot more folks will be sad and disappointed. In the end, it’s what’s best for him and his family and his basketball future. You just can’t please everybody. As a fan, I really think he’ll be successful wherever he goes. It just depends on what level of success. Miami offers an almost instant and guaranteed Dynasty for the ages. They have a lot of work in front of them, but with 3 future HOFers and a bonifide HOF coach in Pat Riley who’s accustomed to winning, there’s just no reason to think those 4 pieces don’t put together strings of titles in the immediate future. New York is intriguing with Amare(this season) and the possibility of Tony Parker and Melo(next year) perhaps joining him there. And then there’s Cleveland. Say whatever you will, LeBron is going to struggle and play a solo Tug-O-war the next 13 hours and change.

Leaving home is never easy. Disappointing your hometown can’t be something you look forward to, and perhaps turning your back on arguably the most sports forsaken town can’t at all be pleasant, but at the end of the day, if that’s what needs to happen, then that’s just what you have to do.

The world will be watching, T-minus 13 hrs and change…TIC TOC!

I hate to break it to you LeBron, people will be dissappointed regardless of what decision you make. Whatever reason you have, whether it be money, winning championships, loyalty, the biggest stage, or ownership, you have to come to terms with the fact that you hold fans and cities hopes and dreams, as well as windfall economies that come with keeping or landing LeBron James. Think long and hard because this can literally make or break your career. This one could be THE MOVE—THE ONE that dictates LEGACY.

Think about it for a minute. You are in your prime making perhaps the biggest decision of your entire career. The next time you even speak of free agency you’ll be 30 or 31. As Michael Jackson put it, THIS IS IT! Cavs, Mavs, Nets, Knicks, Bulls, Heat, or God forbid, the Clippers! In the end, you have to decide what’s best for you and your family. Loyalty counts, but you can’t stay in Cleveland only because it’s home. You have to really believe that the future there will have Rings. Miami, Bulls and Dallas all look good cause with the right partners in crime you can win rings in the boatload. Knicks and Nets look intriguing because it’s building something out of nothing and if you can make it there as the song goes, my friend, you can make it anywhere. The Clippers, don’t even think about the Clippers. Not even for one iota of a second, unless new ownership takes over—nothing, say it with me, NOTHING good can ever come out of that! Please don’t let us be Witnesses to that!

So here we are, some 22 hours into free agency. Think, and think long and hard! When you’re the old grandpa LeBron of the LeBrons, you want to look back and say, “Yeah Boy! THAT was the move of moves and what a move it was, These rings sure are heavy! Ah, the summer of 2010, Lil LeBron! We sure made the right choice!” Pausing for a moment to reminisce on your Legacy of perhaps being one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball. Please LeBron, choose wisely.

Although sports can sometimes divide households and splinter relationships. In an era where high priced and perhaps overpaid athletes frequent the tabloids with scandals or have run-ins with the law, it’s nice to watch a movie like Invictus with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie is based on the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted by South Africa. Newly elected President Nelson Mandela rallies a country behind Springbok, the national rugby team previously thought as the team of white South Africa. The significance of which is much bigger than the game itself. It galvanized a nation torn by apartheid. It’s truly inspirational and uplifting.

It’s amazing when sports, a game, in this case a man’s game, but a game nonetheless can make such an impact. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to free agency, scandalous rumors, PEDs, and chest thumping. It’s sports without the garbage. It’s pure, it’s honest, it’s playing for a purpose or just for the unadulterated joy of it. It’s humbling in that we all have to grow old and joints and ligaments can only hold up for so long.

THE BULLS! If he does in fact leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, I’m guessing it’s for the Chicago Bulls! It’s not exactly a team I hope he ends up with, but with the New York Knicks not even having a first round pick, it does seem to be the likeliest destination. It sure would be interesting if the NJ Nets land the first pick. I think if that happens, the new Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov can dangle the new regime along with the prospect of playing with true point guard John Wall, an offer that LeBron has to at least sit down and listen to.

Earlier in the season, I probably would have said that he’s staying in Cleveland, but with the monumental playoff collapse to the Celtics it seems very unlikely. And I do say monumental, not because they lost, but just the way they did. That team had a supporting cast at least on paper, but all seemed to fade away when they were needed the most. There’s got to be at least a sense of “We gave it a shot and if I can’t win with that cast then I’m not sure we’ll ever get it done!”

Chicago is a big market city. It’s not New York, but it is big time! The biggest thing going for it is the cornerstone talent it has in young players Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Deng would more than likely have to be traded in a sign and trade to the CAVS  to  make the deal work. The rich tradition that Michael Jordan carved there could be too much to resist to truly be “The Air Apparent”  It’s a city desperate to revive glories past.

I personally think New York would be the best destination because of Coach Mike D’Antoni. I think LeBron needs someone who is reputable and knows his X’s and O’s. LeBron would benefit in that type of environment. The pieces are easy once you get the Kingpin in town, so I don’t think that’d be the issue. Going back to the Nets scenario. I would be shocked if Prokhorov doesn’t hire someone with credibility as head coach. I’ll be watching Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery as it may just determine who lands LeBron. I for one will be pulling for the NJ Nets just to make it interesting.

Not that this excuses game 5 by any means, but rumors are now surfacing regarding a possible Torn elbow ligament in LeBron’s elbow. FEAR THE SWORD has the article. Though it makes it more understandable, if one was to play through it, it doesn’t excuse the fact that not more effort was put into game 5. The desire might have been there to play, but if you’re really physically unable to play then it’s better to take yourself out of the game. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if he’s playing through that much pain, that’s tough as nails that he’s able to. I’ll give him that! The only thing is that if he knows he can only have the shot to numb it every 10 days and also that games with more rest let’s him come back feeling much better and playing better, wouldn’t it have been much better for the team with a 2-1 lead to rest him for game 4 and possibly back for game 5 and rest game 6 and hopefully play game 7? I think at that point it would have been smart to take games off in between to try and be more effective. If Coach Mike Brown(Who I don’t think is worth a darn, by the way) had knowledge of it and didn’t demand resting him, then it’s as much on him as LeBron and the organization. It had no guarantees that he’d be more effective, but it gave them the best chance given the circumstances.

LeBron’s stat line for Game 5 against the Celtics last night: 15pts, 6reb, 7 asts. Not bad, if you’re a role player. Those stats does not a superstar make. In contrast, Shaq who is 12 1/2 years his senior, 21pts, 4 reb, 2 asts, 4 blks—playing 26 mins to “The King’s” 41mins. It was by far THE single worst performance of LeBron’s EVER! So what was the problem? Who knows! I doubt it was the elbow since it didn’t seem to bother him anymore in Game 3!

It just seemed(I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt) like his heart wasn’t in it. Here’s a game, if not a season, that’s set for them—it’s their title to lose! They were the best team all year. The series is down to a best 2 of 3. This is the setup to the stage of what superstar dreams are made of. This was the night of nights that the Magics, the Birds, The Micheal Jordans are made of. This is when stars become superstars and superstars become Legends. AND YOU DON’T SHOW UP! Did we somehow warp into SpaceJam world, where the best NBA players skills were suddenly taken away? No? LeBron sure could have fooled me last night!

Is he already in New York? Broadway! The LIGHTS! MSG! Then where the heck was he? I’m a LeBron fan and I sure would like to know along with the legion of Cavs fans that for eternity has been tormented without a championship franchise. Adrian Wojnarowski has a great article about LeBron and his take of the situation. My favorite part being the quote, “I spoil a lot of people with my play. When you have three bad games in seven years, it’s easy to point them out.” That to me is inexcusable. The greats would never put it like that. They would own up to it. They would embrace it and they would relish the fact that they will come back even harder from it. They would assure their teammates that THEY GOT this and that he has their backs on this come next game.

LeBron needs to stop with the pity parties and man up! He wants to be king, yet he selectively acts like one. He has to be a king on the court instead of being Rondo’s practice toy.  This is the NBA’s MVP? I’ll be fair and say for the regular season he sure did deserve it—but the NBA Playoffs are what really count. Regular season is just to jockey for position. Playoffs is where it’s at and LeBron needs to stop just wanting Championships, but he needs to have a pressing dire need to have them. None of these foolish ventures or gimmicks. Game 6 is tomorrow. It’s do or die. No reason to think it should play out any different than the last game, but hopefully it does. If not, then it’s quite an embarrassing way to end your stay in Cleveland and ultimately not bringing the first ever Championship to the city is LeBron’s fault and LeBron’s alone. I can excuse playing bad, but playing with what seems to be no heart is inexcusable and hopefully something I never see again out of LeBron. He has what it takes to be Legendary, but performances like these  point to a different Legendary of sorts—not one he wants to be remembered for.