A Busy Week

Roughriders' Game 2 at British Columbia (7/10/10):

After last week’s thrilling 54-51 OT home victory against Montréal, the Riders traveled west for a date with the 1-0 BC Lions. For the first time in nearly 30 years, BC will be playing outside at Empire Place (built on the site of the old Empire Stadium) as BC Place in downtown Vancouver is undergoing a major renovation from a bubble top to a retractable roof. Riders won the toss and started out at their 20. Durant moved the ball to midfield on a couple of passes to Fantuz and Cates. The drive stalled at the 52. Casey Printers and the BC offense started their first drive at the 13 but went two n’ out. The Riders took over after McCallum’s punt at their 36. Durant connected with Getzlaf over the middle for 14 to bring the ball to midfield once more. On second-and 10 from the 54, Durant found Wes Dressler for 29 yards and the Riders were in the red zone. After Cates carried for four, Luca Congi knocked in a 31-yard field goal to give the Riders an early 3-0 lead. Midway through the quarter, the Riders got the ball back at their 43. On second down, Durant hit Getzlaf on a 41-yard pass and the Riders were knockin’ on the door. Durant then hit Preachae Rodriguez for 12 and then ran it in from the 12, and the Riders were up 10-0 with 4:38 remaining in the quarter. The Riders had a chance to force another two n’ out, but DE Kitwana Jones was flagged for unnecessary roughness and gave Printers another set of downs. Not that it mattered, as BC’s offense couldn’t get untracked and the Riders got the ball back. But Cates fumbled the ball and BC’s Jeremy Gibbs scooped it up at the 36. Printers moved the ball to midfield on a pair of completions. From the Riders’ 32, Printers found Geroy Simon in the end zone as time expired in the quarter and BC was now back in the ball game, down 10-7. One bad penalty and one turnover changed the complexion of things in a hurry.

Durant successfully led the offense deep into BC’s end of the field on their next possession. They moved the ball to the 18 before Durant was sacked and they had to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Congi to put them back on top by six, at 13-7. Starting from their 31 on the offense’s next turn, Hugh Charles ripped a 20-yard run to move the ball into BC territory, but Dressler was caught for a seven-yard loss and the Riders had to punt it away. On third-and-1 from the 39, BC’s Robert Jordan carried for 13. Printers then connected with Derick Armstrong for 16, then Omarr Morgan was called for pass interference (again?), which brought the ball to the Riders’ 8. After two incompletions, McCallum knocked in a chip shot to make it 13-10 and the Riders were fortunate to escape with only a field goal. If they continue to hand an experienced quarterback like Printers opportunities, he will burn them. Late in the quarter, Durant attempted to get another score before heading in, but to no avail. The Riders should’ve went in at half time with a comfortable lead, but dumb penalties and the inability to close the deal on defense gave Printers and the Lions every opportunity to get back into the game.

Travis Lulay replaced Printers (injured) to open the second half at quarterback for BC and he was sacked by Mike McCullough on second down and the Lions punted away. On the Riders’ opening drive of the second half, Durant started quickly, hitting Fantuz and Rodriguez in succession to move the ball to midfield, but the drive fizzled and the offense punted away. BC started out deep in their end and moved the ball to the 45 on a series of passes and a long run of left tackle by Robertson. But they were set back by an off-sides call. On third down, McCallum faked the punt and took off running. He would’ve made a first down but a forward lateral penalty gave the ball back to the Riders. Starting at 53, Durant hooked up with Rodriguez on a 20-yard gain. On second and 10, BC’s Stanley Franks was called for pass interference, putting the ball on the 2. From there, Cates went off left tackle and the Riders were up 20-10. The Riders started their next drive at their 40 and moved the ball into BC’s red zone on a pair of long runs by Wes Cates and a pass from Durant to Cates as the quarter expired.

Luca Congi banged in a field goal to put the Riders up 23-10 on the opening play of the fourth quarter. On BC’s next possession, they were able to move the ball to the Riders’ 40, where McCallum knocked a coffin corner punt into the end zone for a single, 23-11. On the Riders’ next possession, Durant bootlegged off left end for a first down and Cates picked up another with two straight rushes. Dressler then went for 9 on an end around to the right. After Cates carried for another first down, Hugh Charles went off left tackle to the 10, then took it up the chute to the 3. On second-and-goal, Durant found Prechae Rodriguez all alone in the center of the end zone and the Riders went up 30-11 with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Lulay was able to get the Lions’ offense untracked late in the game, but he was sacked by DE Brent Hawkins, fumbled at the 45, Hawkins then scooped up the loose ball and raced into the end zone to make the score 37-11. Lulay was sacked again Luc Mullinder but then connected with Geroy Simon on a long bomb for his second touchdown of the game (placing him 6th all-time in CFL history). BC attempted an on-sides kick, it had the distance but was caught on the fly by a Riders’ player. With 1:30 left, BC got the ball back desperately looking for another score but Lulay threw a couple of incompletions and the Lions turned it over on downs. The Riders ran out the clock from there and walked away with a convincing 37-18 win. The defense really clamped down in the second half and chased Lulay all over the field.

Revs’ Match 15 v. LA Galaxy (7/10/10):

MLS-Best LA Galaxy (11-1-3-36) made their way to Foxboro for a date with the reeling Revs (3-9-2-11). Earlier in the week, Shalrie Joseph called a players-only meeting where the emphasis was placed on showing a little heart out there on the pitch. Considering the Revs’ freefall, there wasn’t a bad crowd at Gillette. LA’s top gun, Landon Donovan, remained away from the squad after having finished World Cup play. His days on this side of the pond are probably numbered anyhow, as he played in the EPL on loan over the winter and the best Americans aren’t playing for peanuts in MLS anymore. The Great Beckham was also absent, as he blew an Achilles while playing for AC Milan in January.

Revs came out with a lot of energy, but Galaxy were patient and had a couple of early chances. In the 13th, Nyassi carried into the box to the goalkeeper’s left, but stopped and fed the ball back to Sinovic at the top, but the pass wasn’t crisp and a great opportunity went by the boards. Griffiths went out in the 27th with a knock and Joseph Niouky replaced him. Moments later, Alston came into LA’s end and delivered a nice cross that just went wide. LA’s coach, the redoubtable Bruce Arena, was chirping at the referee throughout the first half, complaining about Revs’ physical play. Reis made a nice save in the 44th on a hooking shot from Buddle. In the closing moments of the half, Revs buzzed around LA’s goal but nothing of substance materialized. All in all, the difference from last week was as night and day.

Revs maintained their high intensity well into the second half. Nyassi was chopped down on a nice rush in the 64th, setting up a free kick, but Marko Perovic’s kick went into the wall. A hand ball was called against LA and Perovic’s second try squeaked through a hole in the wall and past the goalkeeper’s right. Revs then went up 2-0 in the 74th on a nice goal by Nyassi. In the closing moments, Galaxy desperately attempted to get on the board, but left themselves open for the Revs to counter. The Revs chose to rope-a-dope and denied LA any real chance to get close to Reis. In winning their first match since mid-May, Revs played with passion and effort throughout.

World Cup Final (Spain v. Netherlands)

Four years ago, the Italy-France final was an absolute thriller that came down to penalty kicks before the Italians prevailed. This Cup final was tame in comparison. In fact, there were several matches in the group and knockout stages that were far more compelling than this year’s final at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. Netherlands came out in their traditional all orange kits while Spain appeared in all blue with red and gold trim. In the 5th, Spain had a free kick from about 30 yards out but Stekelenburg made a really nice two-handed stop. In the 12th, David Villa had an opportunity to Stekelenburg’s right but his volley hit the side of the net. Puyol was yellow carded in the 18th for a hard tackle on on Arjen Robben. The ensuing free kick never got near Iker Casillas. Orange had a couple of corners in the 21st that were headed out of danger by the Spain defenders. Van Bommel was carded in the 22nd for a rough tackle from behind then Sergio Ramos was carded moments later for a trip (questionable call). DeJong was carded in the 26th for kicking Xabi Alonso right in the solar plexus while attempting to kick the ball away. There was a small scrum between the sides thereafter and the referee intervened. In the 37th, Netherlands had a golden chance on a pass from a corner but misfired. Casillas was dead to rights. A glorious chance went by the boards. A collision between Sergio Busquets and Wesley Sneijder late in the half left both players down for a few minutes. Robben’s low, right blast in extra time was deftly pushed away by Casillas. It was a pretty dull half, as the sides remained tentative.

Spain had a corner early in the second but this time, Joan Capdevila misfired on what was a tantalizing opportunity. In the 54th, Van Bronckhorst was carded for a rough knee collision. Xavi’s subsequent free kick went wide right. Villa went down after a rough tackle from behind and Heitinga was carded. The referee (Howard Webb) was handing out yellow cards like candy. In the 58th, Robben’s free kick was deflected away from Casillas at the last moment. Pedro was replaced by Navas in the 60th and momens later, Robben broke in alone on Spain’s goal and tried to tuck the ball to Casiillas’ left but the keeper slid and turned the ball away with his legs. That was the best chance of the match so far. In the 70th, David Villa picked up a rebound directly to Stekelenburg’s right and fired the ball over the net. In the 77th, Ramos’ header from a corner was a rocket that sailed just a bit high. Robben had another chance in the 83rd, but was tackled, stumbled (hooked by an arm, actually) and Casillas came out and made the stop. The referee didn’t see the arm tackle. Robben was furious, chasing after the referee and screaming as the play went back upfield. Alonso was replaced by Fabregas in the 86th, and the sides played through the remainder of regulation time without anything of note having occurred. After 90 minutes of football, it was a whole lot of “meh”. At least the world got another 30 minutes of football to make up for it.

On to extra time, still scoreless. Both sides had flank runs in the early going that were quickly picked up by the defense. Xavi was tackled in the box setting up a corner by Spain, and he was vocal that a penalty was not called. Fabregas had a small break into the box in the 95th that Stekelenburg turned away without difficulty. Iniesta rushed the box in the 99th, but Van Bronckhorst smartly kicked the ball out of danger. Fabregas had another great chance in the 101st, when he took a ball from Villa, broke into the box and kicked the ball into the side of the goal. Fabregas came back in the 104th with another low shot that went just wide right. Van Bronckhorst came out in the 105th in favor of Edson Braafheid and the sides took a quick break between the extra time periods.


Fernando Torres replaced Villa at the start of the second a.e.t. John Heitinga picked up his second yellow in the 109th, so Big Orange were forced to play a man down. Gregory Van Der Wiel was then carded a minute later for rough play, but Stekelenburg sniffed out the free kick and punched the ball back up the pitch.
Sneijder’s free kick in the 115th bounced off the wall and nearly ricocheted into Spain’s goal. Spain then methodically worked the ball down field and scored in the 119th! Iniesta picked up a rebound from Torres in the box to Stekelenburg’s left and blasted the ball into the wide open corner. Orange bitterly complained that the play was offsides. A replay indicated that Iniesta was in the right spot at the right time. Players on both sides were near a state of exhaustion by this point. And that was it: Spain 1, Netherlands 0.

The one-month tournament itself was a beautiful spectacle, the final not so much. Spain had been gearing up for this tournament for years and came in as European champions. It’s hard to say that they were clearly the better team on this day. Orange had their chances and didn’t capitalize. They had a great tournament as well and should be commended. The South African people were wonderful hosts (though we could do without the vuvuzelas), but a gnawing fear throughout was when the dastardly bastards would attack. Our fears were realized in Uganda when the murdering Neanderthals killed 67 innocent people who had simply gathered to watch the final at a sports bar. The “ideology of peace” strikes yet again. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the innocent victims.

ASG Notes:

…I remember being a kid and staying up into the wee hours when the All-Star Game was played in this venue in 1967. It was one of the rare times we had a “functional” television growing up. The game went into the 15th inning before Tony Perez homered to give the NL a 2-1 victory. Favorite ASG Memories? Reggie Jackson’s light tower bomb in ’71 at Detroit. Pedro striking out the side in ’99 at Fenway. Pete Rose crashing the plate in Cincinnati in ’70.

Big Papi won the Home Run Derby on Monday night, besting Florida’s Hanley Ramirez. He put on a big show for the crowd and hit several serious bombs, or “taters”, as George “Boomer” Scott used to call them. While winning the HRD is a nice honor, it generally doesn’t bode well for the winner’s post-ASG ability to knock the ball out of the park when it truly matters in the second half. The Sox have a $12M team option on Ortiz at the end of the season. In April, it seemed obvious that there was no way they’d pick it up. Now Ortiz is talking about wanting a multiyear extension…(whoa, Papi).

Is there ever a cloud in the sky in Anaheim? Nah, the folks at Disneyland probably wouldn’t allow it. With Buck and McCarver behind the mike it was appropriate to hit the mute. The world’s most sophisticated and and powerful bullshit detector would be unable to withstand all of the gushing tributes to “The Boss” which are certain to eat up about 95% of the broadcast. Buck can only be tolerated in very small doses over long periods of time. McCarver is unlistenable on any occasion there is a Yankee player on the field.

Why can’t we have a rendition of our National Anthem performed with solemn dignity as done in years past? You don’t need a symphony orchestra or a tenor from the Met, but a little respect would be refreshing. The young lady who performed the anthem (had some feedback problems) decided to improvise certain parts, wailing in various keys that Francis Scott Key most likely hadn’t considered. Maybe I’m old school, but the Anthem is a pretty sacred tune, giving honor to the land, our Consitution and the brave souls who fought and died to preserve and defend it. If you’re going to sing it, at least perform it in such a way that honors the composer and America. The pre-game festitivities took but a mere…50 minutes as MLB honored a number of citizen-volunteers from across the country and had a moment of silence for Steinbrenner.

First pitch at 8:50. Tampa Bay’s David Price (12-4, 2.42) started for the American League and has turned into every bit the ace the Rays hoped he would be when they drafted him first overall out of Vanderbilt in 2007. Hanley Ramirez weakly grounded out to Cabrera at first to start things. Atlanta’s Martin Prado grounded out to Cano, who bobbled the ball but quickly recovered to throw the runner out. Pujols lined one into the gap in right center that Ichiro (fighting the sun) snared to end the inning.

Ubaldo Jimenez (15-1, 2.20) started for the National League, who were looking to win for the first time since ’96. Remember back in the day when the NL won something like 20 straight All-Star Games? Payback is a…Ichiro led off with a pop out to Ramirez at short. Jeter was announced over the PA by the Ghost of Bob Sheppard and Ubaldo sent him some chin music, but it didn’t frighten away the Mighty Jeter, as he reached on a walk. Miggy Cabrera followed with a looping single over the second baseman’s head and Jeter took third on the play. But Hamilton hit into a 1-6-3 double play to kill that chance.

Price got Ryan Howard swinging to open the second. The Mets’ David Wright reached on a grounder to second that Cano initially had but slipped out of his glove. Ryan Braun then hit into a ‘round the horn double play to end the inning. Vladdy whiffed to start the AL’s second inning. Longoria followed by lining a bullet that bounced off the leftfield wall on one hop. Mauer flied out to center and Cano grounded out to second, so Jiminez escaped the inning unscathed. Andy Pettitte was on the hill to open the third and promptly whiffed LA’s Andre Ethier and the Brewers’ Corey Hart. The Cards’ Yadier Molina then lined a single up the middle but Jeter made a nice diving stab of Ramirez’ grounder in the hole, flipped to Cano and the Nationals were out again in fairly quick order. The Marlins’ Josh Johnson picked up from Jiminez in the bottom of the third. Carl Crawford lined out to Pujols at third to begin the inning, Ichiro struck out swinging and Jeter got caught looking. Perhaps he thought he’d get the benefit of the doubt or something…by the fourth inning, the starters began shuffling out. Josh Hamilton hit a low liner to left that the Brewers’ Braun dove after and snagged with a backhanded stab. It was a highlight-reel catch that the BBTN guys will replay ad nauseam. David Wright singled to right off Verlander to open the fifth and stole second. After Braun struck out, Ethier lined a bullet into right. Wright was halfway around third before deciding it wasn’t worth risking so he returned to the bag. Corey Hart struck out swinging, leaving Atlanta’s McCann with a great chance to deliver Wright. McCann took Verlander to a full count before hitting a lazy fly to right and Wright rotted on the vine. The Dodgers Hong-Chih Kuo started the bottom of the fifth. He walked Longoria, then Mauer hit a routine grounder to Kuo’s right, but the Dodger pitcher’s throw to first was wild and the AL had runners in scoring position with nobody out. Cano hit a sacrifice fly to left and Longoria scored the game’s first run. Mauer was forced at third on a baserunning blunder when Crawford bounced to short, Heath Bell relieved Kuo and threw a wild pitch. Maybe Mauer could’ve scored if he hadn’t decided to make an ill-conceived break for third.

Jon Lester took to the hill in the top of the sixth, and quickly retired the side in order. Jeter started the bottom half against Halladay by blooping a pop single into no-man’s land in short right. He came out of the game at that point and the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus ran in his place. Andrus stole second but was called out when he over ran the bag and the Reds’ Phillips nailed him with a beautiful sweep tag. After Hamilton singled to right and was replaced by Toronto’s Bautista, Halladay was relieved by Washington’s hard throwing righty. Matt Capps. Ortiz entered as a pinch-hitter and was caught looking to end the inning. With one out in the top of the seventh, the Reds’ Scott Rolen singled off of Phil Hughes. Matt Holiday then singled up the middle and Rolen raced to third with a headfirst slide. The White Sox’ lefty Matt Thornton relieved Hughes at that point. He was able to get the D-Backs’ Chris Young to foul out to first and the Cubs’ Marlon Byrd walked to load the bases. McCann stepped up once more for a chance to deliver and this time hit a bases-clearing double to right to put the NL ahead 3-1. The A’s closer, Andrew Bailey relieved Thornton at that point and walked Furcal, but was able to strike out Phillips to prevent any further damage. With Wainwright now pitching and one out in the bottom half of the inning, the Jays’ John Buck hit a long fly to left that Holiday chased after but couldn’t hold, but the scoring chance went to waste on a force play and strike out. The Rays’ Soriano blew through the NL order in the eighth, as did the Giants’ Brian Wilson (not to be confused with THE Brian Wilson). The Tigers’ Jose Valverde struck out the side in the top of the ninth. Last call for the AL, with the Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton looking to close things out. Big Papi led off with a single, but Beltre swung at a pitch well out of the zone and sat down. John Buck hit a tricky fly to right that dropped in front of Byrd. Ortiz made a late break and was thrown out at second. One pitch later, the fame was over. Nationals win for the first time since 1996, 3-1.

In the end, this year’s version of the All-Star Game was every bit as dull as the World Cup final. The regulars departed way too soon and the replacements weren't exactly All-Star material. John Buck? An All-Star? C'mon...One memorable moment, a couple of missed opportunities and a whole lotta nothin’ in between.

Le Boss Est Mort, Vive Le Boss!

Condolences to the the Yankees and the families of Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner who passed away this week. Mr. Sheppard was far more than a “PA Announcer” at the old Yankee Stadium. He was also a long-time speech professor at St. John’s and was the PA voice of the legendary Giants-Colts ’58 NFL Championhip game. He was an eloquent voice who was an integral part of experiencing a game there. In tribute, Derek Jeter will continue having a tape of Mr. Sheppard’s voice announce his name every time he steps to the plate at Yankee Stadium.

The son of a shipbuilding magnate, George Steinbrenner parlayed a minimal investment in 1973 into a $1.6B empire when he purchased the Yankees with a group of investors from CBS. At that time, the Yankees’ great dynasty had fallen on hard times, but he quickly became of baseball’s most visible owners and spent wildly free agency to bring marquee players to the Yankees (with mixed results). For every Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson, there were ten “Ed Whitson’s”. He also impetuously traded away youngsters like Fred McGriff and Willie McGee, who went on to stardom elsewhere while the Yanks periodically struggled. But during his time as owner, his teams won 11 pennants and seven rings. He resurrected the Yankee brand and brought it to unrivaled heights of greatness. While this is painful to any Red Sox fan, it’s nevertheless true. The tenderhearted souls over at BBTF were not as charitable as in here.

Steinbrenner was as complex and mercurial a character as we’ve ever seen in modern American sport. On one hand, his philanthropy was genuine and legendary. He had a heart as big as New York and most of his good works were done privately. On the other, he could be petty and vindictive, firing managers and staff like changing socks. He hired and fired Billy Martin how many times? (5) He was a central figure in “The Bronx Is Burning”, a book by Jonathan Mahler that was later turned into a miniseries that chronicled The Son of Sam, NYC politics and the Yankees’ daily back-page dramas. He was suspended by MLB for a few years, and the game wasn’t the same without him. Love him or hate him, no other owner did more to produce a winner on the field. Red Sox fans ought to miss him, as the more “hands on” he was as an owner, the more the Yankees’ performance suffered. When he allowed astute baseball executives to run the ship (Gabe Paul, Gene Michael and Brian Cashman), the Yankees won. In 2007, he ceded control of the team to his obnoxious sons Hank and Hal and was rarely seen in the owner’s box thereafter. Under his leadership, he went from a meddling owner who produced Yankee teams that Red Sox fans truly hated (“Bronx Zoo”-Era) into a guy who allowed professionals to produce teams that Sox fans respected as great rivals (“Torre”-Era). Thanks to him, the Yanks are presently ensconsed in their brand new palatial digs and field a team largely comprised of multimillion-dollar mercenaries who win with frightening regularity. Things seemed to be a lot more interesting back in the days when Steinbrenner was constantly feuding with Billy, Reggie and his GM du jour. The only thing he and Billy are still fighting about now is whether “it’s less filling” or “it tastes great”. The Sox announced that they will hold a moment of silence in Steinbrenner’s memory prior to Thursday night’s game with Texas. Hopefully the balloonheads in attendance can zip their traps for a few seconds and behave with a modicum of class.

Everyone from the worlds of sport, politics and entertainment offered opinions on Steinbrenner’s passing and his legacy. Most of the opinions sort of glossed over his warts. However, some would’ve been better off keeping their mouths shut. Rush Limbaugh bloviated, "That cracker made a lot of African-American millionaires . . . He fired a bunch of white guys as managers left and right." How very thoughtful. The last time Rush added his two cents regarding matters in the sporting world (McNabb/ESPN), he wound up getting his head caught in a hornet’s nest. Rush, there’s a time and a place for political commentary regarding influential people. The man is not yet cold in his grave, so please do everyone a favor and STFU. For whatever faults Steinbrenner may have had, the record tends to indicate that basing decisions on an employee’s race was not one of them.

Some question whether Steinbrenner is considered worthy for induction into the Hall of Fame as a result of his conviction for obstruction/funneling illegal campaign contributions to Nixon (later pardoned) and his liftetime suspension by Fay Vincent in the wake of his "investigation" (paying a gambler for “dirt”) of Dave Winfield's charitable foundation (later reinstated). From this point of view, there is no question. In baseball's modern era, no other owner even comes close to doing more to build a winning team. He certainly had the advantage of being in the world's biggest media market and committed a lot of errors due to his impetuous nature. But he was the persistent force behind the Yankees' success and rightly belongs the recognition due the game's greatest owners. He demanded excellence from his players staff and his record proves that he got it. Other than Frank Sinatra, there’s no one other than Steinbrenner who personified the old tune, “My Way.”

LeBron Redux:

Must we? We won't belabor things but for a *few* comments. As predicted, ESPN’s repuation took a hit for their coverage of “The Decision”. Truth be told, a whole cast of characters didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory in this tale. Not that it matters much in these days of 24-hour news cycles. It’s already old news and ESPN is already back to sniffing around Tiger again at the British Open. No one begrudges any athlete who moves on for greener pastures (except in Cleveland, where disgruntled fans are still burning his jersey in the streets). It’s not the “why” but the “how”. The “king” displayed no humility or sense of appreciation for his home area and the franchise that made him fabulously wealthy simply because he can run and jump and shoot a ball into an iron hoop better than others. The Globe's Tony Massarotti succinctly characterized LeBron's exit as "tactless". The "king" did not appear willing to submerge his prodigious ego to buy into a team game. If he wanted to play for another team, as was his right, he could’ve moved on quietly and had a brief press conference where he thanked his former team and their fans just like every free agent signee in every American sport has done before him.

The Cavaliers’ owner publicly blew a gasket by trashing the “king” in the media and on the team’s website. And he’s supposed to be a highly successful businessman? More like a dope if you ask me. He should’ve confined his anger to the boardroom and taken the high road in the public domain. How could he have forgotton Don Corleone’s words of wisdom? “Never let anyone outside of the family know what you’re thinking”.

Jim Gray permanently cemented his reputation as a world-class bumkissing sycophant after his nauseating performance as “host” of LeBron’s show. He’d have more credibility hosting infomercials in the overnight hours. Billy Mays is still dead, after all (though you’d never know it if you’re working the clicker at 4:00 am). The show played out exactly as Coach Van Gundy predicted.

Jesse Jackson also piped up out of his hole the other day mumbling something about “slave masters”…Jesse, with all due respect, Reverend King is looking down at you from Heaven shaking his head and wondering when and where you went wrong after that fateful day in Memphis. His lasting legacy was a message of inclusion. Yours? Let’s be polite and say that on your best day you couldn’t tie Dr. King’s shoes. Please go away. You have nothing positive to offer.

It’s nice that “the king” orchestrated things to play with his buds. The problem is that the “new big three” will eat up about 80% of the team’s salary cap. Last time I checked, teams need one ball, five players on the court and another seven in reserve. This could be problematic. While it’s nice to have a team built on stars, it’s more often the quality of the “glue guys” that determines whether said team is a champion or a wannabe. There is presently a dearth of role players on the Heat and not much available cap space to acquire them.

There are claims that he walked away from more money in Cleveland. Hah! A fallacious argument if ever there was. Florida has no state income tax and the revenues that the “king” and his buddies will generate for Nike and their other sponsors will dwarf anything he could’ve made in Cleveland. The Miami fans who greeted the LeBron/Wade/Bosh Vegas-like dog n’ pony show at the arena were giddier than schoolgirls at a Pop Warner pep rally. The funniest part of it was that it looked like a spoof but was a contrived reality. Now it is quite possible that the LeBron/Wade/Bosh troika can muster the team skills necessary to build a champion. However, this “dream team” could just as easily morph into a nightmare scenario if the lads fail to understand that only one player gets to shoot the ball at any given moment. Remember, there can only be one “king” sitting on the throne and the present occupant is Wade.