for the past 2 weeks I've been paying way more attention with the heat pre- and post- their Free agent bonanza. I've hardly thought about the phins. It's a rare combination of maybe the slowest time of year for the phins in terms of actual news happening and the biggest event in the heat's history, if you are a fan. I've always been 100x bigger phins fan than Heat (Heat are my favorite basketball team, but I just like NFL so much more), but for the first time ever, the phins are practically an afterthought. I know this will change as soon as training camp comes around soon, but I am wondering if this is happening to anyone else on here?

No. But I'm an NBA hater.

Give me college hoops any day.

Phinsfan2 Wrote:
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....
> for the first time in my life I now have to root
> for the Celtics


All right! Welcome aboard!

Lebron proved he's a tool and "all about me player". Hype the fact that the big three are going to band together and win multiple championships as one, then hold an hour long "press conference" seperate of the other 2 to announce where you're going. Jordan or most of the other all time greats would of never done that. (not sure why I even care because I can't stand pro ball ever since MJ left)

I'm slowly gettin back into the nba and I like the moves the Heat made. I am not a Lebron fan but have no problem w/ the way he henadeled himself. He did not owe the Cavs anything, he gave them a lt and now they will have to earn things on their own now. So what that's the American way? His co players had no problem w/ his televised event so why should anyone else? I can now root for the Heat as hard as I do for the phins? (not true but it sounds good)

Go Heat ! Cleveland is for losers lol

I agree they did ZERO to help Lebron, then actualy get upset with him leaving for another team, that is building to be a dynasty.

The Cav's owner is a douchbag, who actualy had the nerve to realy cut a man down, after he gave them some realy good years, and in return they never gave him a team to win around.

Eh pretty selfish act if you ask me, doubt Cleveland will win one before Miami but I hope he doesn't win one at all

Why? I'm not a fan of Lebron, but he hasnt done a whole lot to hate the guy, yeah he is a pri-madona, but you can blame Cleavland for that, they didnt mind when he was puting butt's in seats.

Phinsfan2 Wrote:
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> DolfanMike Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > No. But I'm an NBA hater.
> >
> > Give me college hoops any day.
>
> Amen to that.
Me too. Never liked the NBA and like it even less now.

Phinsfan2,
I usually don't get involved with College ball till close to the end of the season. But do like the Gators. The east coast teams seem to always have it together. I really don't care for the Calf. teams. The Colorado schools pretty much suck.

My son-in-law's father played for CU way back in the day. He was only 5"8 and was a walk on. Tells a funny story about playing against Wilt Chamberlin.
He is also one hell of a golfer. Won the Colo. State armature championship two years in row and played in Augusta.

The Heat will be a great team barring injury, however I'm not personally a fan of the sport of Pro Hoops because of the NBA's crooked refs and the 4th quarter Free throw shooting contests..BORING...



I'll Be watching the Dolphins in Fall-Winter and then find something to do until spring training starts up in Baseball.

Yeah I might watch during the playoffs, but Toko is right!

Not the funnest sport to watch all the time!!

It was 91 in Venice today.

NO
GO MAGIC!!!!!!

I will tell you what, after the whole Lebron, Wade, and Bosh thing. The backlash towards those 3 is more than I thought it would be. I thought after the "decision" it would be news for a few days, all the hurt parties involved would calm down and things would go away. It's not!!! It's only getting worse!!

Lebron gets KILLED by David Stern, Charles Barkley, then the "Real King" Jordan all within a week or so. They all speak out and all but call him gutless in not so many words.

Bosh is looked upon as a total joke in all this. Shooting his movie behind the scenes, his over the top pro wrestling entrance at the "welcome party" and then people calling him out on his stats and playoff resume saying why are you paying him all this money.

And now Wade who was the ONLY guy who came out of this circus looking like a prince and a great guy goes and compares his team losing games next year to the tragedy of Sep 11th and he losses all goodwill he had gained and now looks like maybe the biggest clown of the bunch.


The NBA could have had the month of a lifetime. Lebron stays in Cleveland or goes to Chicago or something. Wade and Bosh team up in Miami. The Eastern conference is back. Strong teams in Orlando, Boston, Miami, Cleveland, NY is even better with Amare. Strong eastern conference, strong western conference. Some rivalry's. The NBA is back. INSTEAD...you got a dead Eastern Conference with a super power in Miami. A meaningless regular season.And the NBA's biggest most marketable star flushing his legacy down the toilet at the age of 25. The 2nd biggest star comparing his teams losing to the death of 3,000+ people in a terrorist attack. And a bunch of NBA ALL TIME LEGENDS ripping the current superstars in the press for having no guts and trying to win on their own! The NBA can't get out of its own way. It's biggest stories are always OFF the court and not on it. And that is why the NBA is a pimple on the fanny of the NFL and MLB in this country!

MikeO Wrote:
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> I will tell you what, after the whole Lebron,
> Wade, and Bosh thing. The backlash towards those 3
> is more than I thought it would be. I thought
> after the "decision" it would be news for a few
> days, all the hurt parties involved would calm
> down and things would go away. It's not!!! It's
> only getting worse!!
>

I don't follow the NBA very closely, and I *certainly* don't follow the press reports about it, especially in the offseason--so what I'm about to say is pure conjecture, but here goes:

1) It's the offseason. The true test of whether this dies down will be when the NBA season is close to re-starting. Any press is good press at this point in the year.

2) All of this backlash by retired NBA stars could backfire on them as jealousy. Are Jordan and Barkley jealous that LeBron is getting named as a billionaire as a result of this new contract? Who knows, but it could come off that way with public perception. What's more, Barkley and even Jordan aren't without their own controversies.

3) Stern's whining about this makes him look like he has no control over the league he is running.


Just my opinion. The real test will come with ticket and merchandise sales in a few months.

Stern has no control over his league. Never has and never will.

Jordan ain't got nothing to worry about. He has more money than Lebron. And with Lebron making himself a sidekick and no longer a lead star he probably always will. Lebron's "first billionaire athlete" days are over now. That ain't ever gonna happen now. Jordan has the largest NBA legacy, so by Lebron leaving actually helped Jordan's legacy and made him look stronger for how he did it. And took away one of the two guys who will challenge Jordan's legacy. Now only Kobe has a chance to top it.

Heat merchandise and ticket sales will be good. For most of the other teams (especially the eastern conference) they will dead. The regular season became meaningless on July 8th.

And the "any press is good press" isn't the case. Has the NFL had "good press" this offseason with Big Ben, Vick, the Miami Dolphins. Trust me, any press isn't good press in the offseason! Not even close.

MikeO Wrote:
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>
> Jordan ain't got nothing to worry about. He has
> more money than Lebron.

If he hasnt' gambled it all away, yes. Even with his gambling habit, I'll bet Jordan is still more responsible than LeBron will be in the money management department. It's just that LeBron is being tagged as the "First NBA Billionaire" whether true or not. Will that make Jordan jealous? Who knows.


> Jordan has the largest NBA legacy, so
> by Lebron leaving actually helped Jordan's legacy
> and made him look stronger for how he did it. And
> took away one of the two guys who will challenge
> Jordan's legacy. Now only Kobe has a chance to top
> it.
>

You do have one good point here...it seems like Jordan isn't particularly jealous about Kobe exceeding his legacy so maybe he isn't the jealous type after all. Still the best part of Jordan's legacy is the overall way is his character image, which was better by default.


> Heat merchandise and ticket sales will be good.
> For most of the other teams (especially the
> eastern conference) they will dead. The regular
> season became meaningless on July 8th.
>

To a lot of people, the entire regular season had been meaningless for about 20 years.

> And the "any press is good press" isn't the case.
> Has the NFL had "good press" this offseason with
> Big Ben, Vick, the Miami Dolphins. Trust me, any
> press isn't good press in the offseason! Not even
> close.

But you're comparing the NBA with the NFL. I think they're two different animals. The NBA has such a drawn out season that a lot of people don't even pay attention until the post season. The NFL with its fewer number of games has fans like us scouring for every bit of info during the offseason. It's also why NFL fans go nuts for the draft, and also why there's a fairly successful NFL Network cable channel broadcasting all year long. If there is an NBA channel, I haven't seen or even heard of it.

1) Lebron is being tagged as the "First Billionaire Athlete" someday. He was on that course. Well, that was gonna be Tiger but obviously he fell out of the running. Now Lebron took himself out of the running. And Lebron's endorsements are gonna dry up. I mean he will always have NIKE, but the rest are gonna dry up. Nobody gave Pippen endorsements. MJ got them all. Lebron is now in the Pippen role. He ain't in Cleveland anymore. He killed his "brand" and his endorsements won't totally go away but they won't be like it was. He will lose a bunch.

2) Jordan don't gamble that much. He lost a lot in the divorce but Jordan doesn't gamble that much. He's still the KING! Plus Jordan is old and he is still doing spots for Haynes and other companies. Not sure Lebron will have that longevity after he retires. Jordan was beloved as a player. Lebron is the polar opposite now. Jordan will be doing commercials til the day he dies (much like Peyton will). Lebron won't.

3) NBA TV was the very 1st of the "sports/league owned" channel. Been around for years. Before the NFL Network and MLB Network and NHL Network. The NBA was actually a visionary when it came to that so I can't knock them in that regard.

MikeO Wrote:
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>
> 2) Jordan don't gamble that much. He lost a lot in
> the divorce but Jordan doesn't gamble that much.

Posted on many sites, but here quoted from the CBC (Canadian brodcasting corporation)

"There was definitely reason to be concerned. A businessman named Richard Esquinas claimed Jordan lost $1.3 million to him in golf bets during a 10-day period in 1991. He had cancelled cheques as proof. In 1992, during a police investigation into the death of a man named Eddie Dow, three cheques from the superstar totalling $108,000 were found – more gambling losses"

1.3 Million isn't "much" to him, I suppose. But to me I'd say it's a bit more than penny poker


> 3) NBA TV was the very 1st of the "sports/league
> owned" channel. Been around for years. Before the
> NFL Network and MLB Network and NHL Network. The
> NBA was actually a visionary when it came to that
> so I can't knock them in that regard.

I guess I can't either, but I swear I never heard of 'em

$1.3 mill isn't much to a guy who probably takes home over $50 mill a year even in retirement

JC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Phinsfan2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> ....
> > for the first time in my life I now have to
> root
> > for the Celtics
>
>
> All right! Welcome aboard!

RESPONSE: As a Thunder-Laker fan I say that this comment is important because it puts things in the right perspective. That perspective is that before folks start talking about a Heat NBA championship, they have to remember that the Heat has to get past Boston first.

I think that the Finals this year proved that the Celts may not be better than the Lakers but they are just as good. Therefore, winning the Eastern Conference championship will be just as hard as winning the finals.

dolphaholic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lebron proved he's a tool and "all about me
> player".

RESPONSE: Separating what you said below which I have left on this post, and considering the "all about me," don't you have to admit that he gave up more money to win????? Or at least in his mind win championships? That is hardly typical of today's all about me athletes.
However the hype and special live announcement is consistent with that attitude.


Hype the fact that the big three are
> going to band together and win multiple
> championships as one, then hold an hour long
> "press conference" seperate of the other 2 to
> announce where you're going. Jordan or most of the
> other all time greats would of never done that.
> (not sure why I even care because I can't stand
> pro ball ever since MJ left)

I applaud the three guys, because why hasnt alot of other athletes in Basketball do this?

Mia1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I applaud the three guys, because why hasnt alot
> of other athletes in Basketball do this?


Because no team is willing to get rid of all but 2 or 3 players on their roster and try this. Because if they don't come you have no roster and will be bad for years in the near future.

Not about the players its about having a team who can take on 3 guys like this

Of course no team would get rid of their roster to try what the Heat did. The MH didn't do it either until the big three was a done deal.
LeBron, Bosh and Wade are close friends and they were hoping to accomplish this, since they won the gold in the 2008 Olympic games.

Yes, I do pay more attention to the heat. Can't wait for November. My first love is still football and the Miami Dolphins, but it's nice to have a second one. They are going to be exciting to watch!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2010 06:24PM by Teri.

I am so sick and tired of everyone judging Lebron.

I think the Cleveland owner is class-less and an idiot. He's a billionaire... why stoop to that leavel. The real reason he is angry is because of the lost funds that Lebron's leaving will cause. Also, no one clowned on the Celtics for doing the same thing. The only difference is that they're not considered as being in their Prime, but they're still a better team than anyone else in the East (well they were up until two weeks ago). Think about it, the first year the Celtics picked up the big three, they won the NBA Championship! First year! beating Kobe's lakers and without even have time to really gel. The 2nd year they had serious injury problems (specifically KG) and lost early in the pLayoffs. The third year (this past year) They won the East again in great fashion and took L.A. (who has an all-star team of their own) to a Game 7 in the NBA finals. So why isn't anyone complaining about them?

btw, Lakers team:
1 - Derek Fisher - Great Role player - could start for 75% of teams in league

2 - Kobe - Super Star - arguably the best player in the league

3 - Ron Artest - All Star - Best perimeter defender in the NBA

4 - Andrew Bynum - All Star (when 100%) Great Role player (when not 100% which is most of the time) - would start on 90% of teams in the league.

5 - Pau Gasol - Super Star - After Dwight Howard, can you name a center you'd rather have right now?!

6 - Lamar Odom - Starter ability that comes off the bench - Wow, He would start for definitely over 50% of the teams in the league, but since he plays for L.A. he comes off the bench because he doesn't have the size of Bynum.

Another thing, Anyone that took D-Wade's comments in a bad way must not have truly heard him or is just an idiot. I know I'm being harsh, but people are so quick to try to hang someone. D-Wade said that If Miami loses, it will be okay, it won't be like 9-11. In other words,losing won't be the end of the world... as in 9-11 was the end of the world. Just like when everyone jumped on Kellen Winslow Jr. for comparing football and his team to being Soldiers. I didn't understand what all of the agony was about. SPORTS ATHLETES HAVE BEEN COMPARING THEMSELVES TO SOLDIERS AND THEIR GAMES TO WAR SINCE THE BEGINNING OF SPORTS! Hell, when I was in highschool, we used to talk about how we were 'gonna go to war and murder' the opposite team.
I am a Soldier, and I don't know any of my teammates that have an issue with this.

Finally, I love sports. Football is definitely #1, but I love NFL, NCAA football, NBA, NCAA basketball, and so on. I Like the Heat and I am estatic that they were able to put this team together. Plus it made me look like nostradamus because I called this last year after a careful evaluation of Miami's enormous cap room when considering everyone they were trying to get rid of. I think its great that the city of MIA will have two huge teams...

Now.. If I could only get back iot enjoy it!...13 months and counting.. only a few more to go...