Tidbits And Nuggets

Just a quick shot at some things I've noticed in the past couple days:

• The best NBA Bigfoot in the business Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports gave us a scathing story about how bad the LeBron-Spoelstra conflict has gotten, and that really Spoelstra is in a no-win situation even though the only thing he's guilty of is holding LeBron accountable. It really is amazing that for 8 years of being aware of who LeBron James is, we had no idea how much of a child he has always been. There is such a disconnect with LeBron's perception of reality and lack of overall maturity that it's scary it took us this long to figure it out. Thankfully we as Bulls fans aren't finding this out with James in a Bulls uniform.
• Here's a copy of the all the Free Agents this baseball offseason with up to the minute updates on who has signed where. There hasn't been much activity yet, but of those free agents that have signed, I noticed something strange. Not counting Omar Vizquel, 31% of the Free Agents who have signed are Ex White Sox players. Juan Uribe, Javier Vazquez, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, and Geoff Blum making up that 31%. I have no clue what that means, but I just find it interesting, especially since there are more Ex White Sox still on the market, namely Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Olivo.
• Speaking of Baseball Free Agents, I'm so SICK of the non-story that is the Derek Jeter-Yankees "will they or won't they" movie. I'm not even going to waste time writing about who's right or who's wrong and the reason is simply this. Any reasonable and rational thinking baseball fan knows, that Derek Jeter isn't even CLOSE to being the #1 most sought after free agent. Matter of fact, I wouldn't even put him in the Top Ten like Yahoo did. Forget that he's Derek Jeter for a second and pretend it was someone else who's 36 years old, just hit .270 with a .710 OPS and despite the worst Gold Glove ever issued since Rafael Palmeiro in 1999, is a butcher defensively. Would anyone who follows baseball care where that guy ended up? I didn't think so...
• Finally, I just wanted to share something I read that far better articulated my outrage at what a Scum Of The Earth program Notre Dame has become in the wake of Declan Sullivan and Lizzy Seeberg's deaths. Not only is the column well written by Editor In Chief of politicsdaily.com Melinda Henneberger, but it particularly gives me hope because Melinda is a Notre Dame grad, and it doesn't stop her from having Brains as well as a Conscience strong enough to be on the right side of this. Give it a read here.

Throwing It All Away...

I was meaning to get to this as soon as it came out, but I got a little sidetracked. Plus, I kind of hoped it would kind of go away but alas, it hasn't gone away, and actually it's been parodied a couple times, so I figure I might as well quickly give my two cents on the LeBron "What Should I Do?" commercial.

Many people think this was a very good or creative or ground breaking commercial. To me, it's a large window into just how disconnected LeBron James really is with reality. Point of fact, LeBron should have been asking himself this question years ago. James should have realized the totality of his decision to leave Cleveland to be a second banana on someone else's team, and he should have been surprised by zero of the backlash he's received.

Instead the opposite has happened. James is so hurt by the backlash that he actually admitted to having an "Enemies List" of people who spoke negatively about his decision. An Enemies List?! Really?! Pathetic LBJ. LeBron really didn't fully understand what he would be opening himself up to by doing what he did. Whether that's the fault of Maverick Carter or anyone else that surrounded him is immaterial. James should have been plenty self-aware to know that people's perception of him was going to be drastically changed.

This commercial is proof that he wasn't self-aware enough. This commercial is nothing more than "You People Aren't Kissing My Ass The Way I Thought You Were Going To, So I'm Going To Try To Make You Feel Bad About It". Nothing More.

What should you do LeBron? Well...you don't want to hear the answer because even if you win a championship, the answer is still the same. That answer is, what you SHOULD do, can no longer be done....

What......WHAT?!

So I'm sure you have all heard the bizarre nature of this equally bizarre story by now yes? To quickly sum up : It was on ESPN.com, then it was removed, Deadspin recovered it and made it available, ESPN gave a B.S. Spin Cycle answer of "it was inadvertently put on the server", as to why it was removed.
After reading it, I can honestly say it wasn't really that entertaining, or intriguing, or shocking for lack of a better word. By all other stories I've read or heard about celebrities or athletes in Las Vegas, LeBron's experience was incredibly tame, to the point where I'm convinced that I'M actually capable of partying way harder than LeBron when I'm in Vegas!

There are any number of theories as to why it was pulled from the website. Everything from, "It makes LeBron look like a child" to "It looks bad if it seems that many NBA players go to Las Vegas all the time because of the gambling availability" and so on, are all perfectly good enough guesses. If I had to come up with a reason as to why, I would guess that it's mainly because it specifically names Maverick Carter as the man behind "The Decision" idea, and it makes ESPN look like they are subservient to superstar athletes, rather than jouranlists.

If that's the case than it just further shows how completely out of touch ESPN really is. Everyone with a three digit I.Q. already knows that ESPN is nothing more than a well-oiled P.R. Machine with zero journalistic integrity, and if they didn't before "The Decision", they certainly know it now. Anyway as I said, the story and the way it's been handled is bizarre, and if it gives people like me another reason to hate LeBron so be it?

Now if I could JUST get confirmation of he juicy rumore I heard that someone went up to Dwayne Wade and asked "How does it feel to be Scottie Pippen?", and that there's now tension between Wade and LBJ...

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Where to begin? How about getting the obvious out of the way and confirm that I'm going to share my feelings with plenty of bias. LeBron has decided that he wants to play for the Miami Heat and his buddies Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh next season. The news broke earlier this morning, and James himself confirmed it on that silly ESPN "The Decision" special this evening.

I'm going to go on record right now and say that the Miami Heat will not win a championship with this group of three players next year, or ever. I am confident when I say that for the following reasons. First, the lack of depth on the Heat roster - to which my brother astutely pointed out that all 3 will have to average 44 minutes per game. Second, the last time I checked there is only one basketball on the court. LeBron has been case as a "facilitator" in his style of play. That will ultimately be put to the test this season as he will more than likely be expected to defer to Wade in tough situation which leads me to my third reason. Third, this is STILL Dwayne Wade's team! By LeBron joining the Heat, he is either blind to this, or he really believes he will wrestle control away from Wade right away in terms of being The Face of the Miami Heat.

LeBron has made a huge mistake by not signing with the Bulls. He and his camp have also conducted themselves in a very unprofessional manner, and his stock has been permanently affected in terms of his legend status - even if he DOES manage to pull the rabbit out of the hat and win a ring. It won't be "LeBron's Championship", it will be Wade and his supporting casts championship.

Brains & Balls

Well the Chicago Bulls decided to turn it up a notch today, and not a moment too soon. The day started ominously for the Bulls with the news that Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will be together in Miami Heat uniforms for the upcoming season. Wade and Bosh also had plans of trying to lure LeBron down to Miami as well.

Not a good start to say the least. It certainly didn't get any better with multiple reports of LeBron heading to the Knicks, which also included little nuggets like MSG stock trading through the roof today with the understanding that LeBron to the Knicks is a done deal. There was also news of the Nets being very close to signing Carlos Boozer in an effort to lure LeBron to signing with the Nets. The Bulls pursuit of LeBron seemed to be on life-support, as well as their plans to at least walk away with one splashy free agent signing. Just when it seemed like it was all over...the Bulls sprang back to life.

They managed to do so by not only indicating that they haven't been told "no" by LeBron and his camp yet, but also by stealing away Carlos Boozer and signing him to a 5 year, $75-$76 million dollar range! Carlos Boozer, in my opinion, is a much better fit for what the Bulls are going to do this year. Tom Thibodeau is a staunch believer in defense, and Boozer is much more committed to defense, aggressive low-post play, and while not the scorer Chris Bosh may be, isn't exactly Joakim Noah with the ball either.

What does this mean for the Bulls signing LeBron? Probably nothing, especially with late word out of Miami that LeBron is meeting with Pat Riley, but at least they've done something smart and gutsy. At worst case scenario, the Bulls got a Two Time All-Star who is a really good player and a really good fit for what they want to do. Boozer has also said he will try to lure his one time teammate to signing with the Bulls as well. So maybe this signing will either directly or indirectly get LeBron to sign? It's still anybodys guess but at least the Bulls showed they are NOT out of the running.  

On a side note, ESPN has really embarrassed themselves by deciding to air this special tomorrow. Think about it, if you are supposed to be one of ESPN's Inside Reporters (say for the sake of argument Rick Bucher) and you get a lock-down-money-in-the-bank confirmation that LeBron is definitely signing with Team X...you cannot report it because ESPN is in the conflict of interest position of trying to drum up television ratings for tomorrow night! Yet another nail in the coffin for the Worldwide Leader's Journalistic Integrity. Shameful...

LeBron Update Part IX : It's All On The Table...

So here we are. The cards have been laid out, and for the respective players - including the King himself - it's their move. This entire process has certainly been the circus that everyone expected. There have been some surprises and wrinkles scenario wise, some unexpected second meetings, and overall the only certainty is that it's anybody's guess on how this thing ends.


It's virtually impossible to keep track with all the developments in terms of what team made a good presentation, what team made a bad one ( btw that would be the Knicks being unprepared), and what team made a goofy one (Cavs using Family Guy, Pat Riley waving his rings in front of LeBron), and what team "put 'em on the table" (Bulls doing THIS). It's also tough to really keep track of possible scenarios with anything from Sign & Trades for Chris Bosh, or from Wade joining LeBron in Chicago or with any other team, or from LeBron going to the Knicks to join the recently acquired Amare Stoudemire.

With what I've been able to retain so far, I'd say it's coming down to a photo finish between the Bulls and the Cavs. We all know why Cleveland would be attractive to LeBron. I also must give the Cavs credit. They knew the magnitude of their chance to make their best pitch, and they handled it surprising well to the point where if LeBron had a good idea that he was leaving before all this began...he might be re-thinking it now.


Bottom line : it will come down to what LeBron wants/values more. Behind Door Number 1 is staying loyal, being well compensated while staying loyal, and remaining beloved in his hometown while they "gee, golly, gosh darn will TRY to win". Behind Door Number 2 is leaving home to go for his best chance of winning championships, expanding his brand to unprecedented heights in China (where all the merchandising money is), and run the risk of being hated more than Jim Thome in Cleveland in the process.


The way I feel right now? I think he's staying in Cleveland. I don't know if James is really that calculating or ruthless deep down in terms of positioning himself marketing wise by winning championships regardless of personal feelings. I'm not going to pretend I know the guy, but LeBron has always come across as someone who just wants to have fun more than anything. I think that leaving home to go for rings might be a major obstacle to him having as much fun as he's had in the past. Then again, who really knows? I mean isn't Delonte West still on the Cavs despite bringing the wood to LeBron's Mom?!


I've been wrong before, but I'm lowering the LeBron Clock to 50% after this weekend. The Bulls still have a chance because a lot can still happen, but my confidence is certainly not as high as it once was.

LeBron Update Part VIII

I'm getting itchy about the LeBron situation...This report in the New York Times didn't help my itchiness subside any either as it basically says that Maverick Carter confirmed that any team which listened to World Wide Wes in their plans to woo LeBron was foolish to do so as Wes will not even be PRESENT when LeBron meats with potential suitors! That's really bad news for the Bulls if they were in fact going with World Wide Wes' information and insights into what LeBron wants. Not to mention Dirk Nowitzki opting out of his contract muddies things up even further in terms of possibilities and these supposed summit's that ended up NOT taking place after all really don't help.

All of it leads to a feeling of uneasiness as the Free Agency Storm starts to really pick up steam. Rather than give into panic, I'm going to keep the LeBron Clock at 60%, but I doubt very highly it will raise between now and Thursday...

LeBron Watch Part VII

I was going to listen to Rossi's suggestion of raising the LeBron clock and then I came across these two articles. The first one is a rather disheartening article regarding the ulterior motives of World Wide Wes in his efforts to get LeBron to leave Cleveland - none of which have anything to do with LeBron's personal interests. The second one has to be B.S. because Wade already questioned the "loyalty" of the Bulls organization, and it would really be hard to believe that he would have a change of heart that fast.

With regard to the World Wide Wes article, I must start off that I've been wary of him from the start. I still can't for the life of me why anyone like Jordan, LeBron, or Allen Iverson would ever hang out with a guy like this, let alone allow him influence any decision making. From what I can tell, Wesley has no discernible skills other than talking a good game. It's also disturbing to read this knowing that the Bulls listened to Wesley too and hired Thibodeau within 48 hours of Wesley whispering his name as a possible coach LeBron would like to play for. Bottom Line : this article really muddy's up who World Wide Wes is, not to mention if this article is accurate it's a bad sign for the Bulls that they will have to cater to this guys every wish should they land LeBron.

As for Wade, I'm still not interested as a Bulls fan. I personally don't think Wade's best days are ahead of him as a player, not to mention he's an OLD 28 wouldn't you agree? The loyalty thing really put me over the edge too, and I have to believe Wade meant it when he said it. So I'm not counting on him really being interested in the Bulls despite the report. 

I'm going to keep the clock at 60% for now, as I don't think the Bulls chances have necessarily been affected, even though things are a little murkier perception-wise. Can't wait to see what the B.S. Rumor Mill brings in tomorrow... 

LeBron Update Part VI

Saw this report on the Chicago Tribune website via the N.Y. Times. I'm now raising the LeBron clock to 60% as we get ever closer to July 1 Bulls fans. Again it might not just be LeBron the Bulls walk away with too. I have no idea if it will mean Bosh as well, but I was also encouraged by this report by the Boo-Yah's that the Knicks are willing to offer the full boat to Joe Johnson, meaning the Bulls wouldn't waste money on the aforementioned Johnson.

Starting to get really interesting now...

LeBron Update Part V

For as much as I like to go toe-to-toe with my guy Rossi and his Notre Dame delusions of grandeur, he was the first to tell me that Izzo has rejected the Cavs offer today. Izzo rejected it mainly because he was unable to speak with James. You may recall that just yesterday I saw the potential talks between Izzo and James as a big obstacle in the likelihood of James becoming a Bull, lowered the LeBron Clock to 25%, and stated that if Izzo takes the Cavs job it's a certainty that James will stay in Cleveland.

Well now I'm happy to say I'll be raising the LeBron Clock up to a new high of 50%! I'm raising it not only because of Izzo's decision to stay at East Lansing, but also because of the report I heard on the Score today. The report mainly said that the press conference where Cavs owner Dan Gilbert went out of his way to say that LeBron will not be involved in the Cavs coaching hire whatsoever, really didn't sit well with James. LeBron allegedly has taken exception to that bit of grandstanding by Gilbert, and this maybe yet another reason for LeBron to feel he needs to move on from the Cavs. While that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to the Bulls, it certainly doesn't hurt the Bulls chances does it?

Oh what a difference a day makes...

LeBron Update Part IV

Tom Izzo isn't as dumb as I thought. He's pretty much made it clear that he won't take the Cavs job until he speaks with and is assured by LeBron James that he will return to the Cavs next season. According to many reports like this one, they have not spoken yet. Adding to the confusion is LeBron himself who said that he would "100%" endorse Izzo as coach of the Cavs - take your guess on what that's supposed to mean?

I know LeBron has said a lot of things since his team was eliminated, each one more contradictory than the previous statement. Once again, LeBron has not tipped his hand in the slightest, and has given no clue as to where he is leaning. His people, most notably World Wide Wes have given various winks and nods obviously, but that in no way should be taken as LeBron Gospel even though it would appear that the Bulls have done exactly that with the hiring of Tom Thibodeau. One thing that does appear important to him is winning the championship. If it were all about money, LeBron would just stay in Cleveland where he stands to make the most, and none of this would be happening right now. So the fact that he hasn't re-signed with the Cavs is telling in and of itself.

That said, I'm reducing the LeBron Clock to 25%. I just don't like that Izzo will be able to talk to LeBron before taking the job, and/or that they can talk each other into signing with Cleveland. I'd like to think that tampering rules would prevent this from happening, but if you believe other reports out there, the league would have to suspend itself if it knew what was happening under the table, tampering wise.

Out of all the uncertainty though, this much is clear. If Izzo takes the job, it's a foregone conclusion that LeBron will be back with the Cavs and the Bulls will need to wait until 2013 to make a big splash free agent wise.

LeBron Update Part III

So after firing Vinny Del Negro and telling everyone that they wanted to hire a Head Coach with previous head coaching experience, they hire Tom Thibodeau...who has NEVER been the head coach at either the Division One college level, or the NBA. Ummmmm....OK? That kind of doesn't seem consistent, but whatever. I can't help but wonder if Tom took a page out of the Vinny Del Negro interview book, and did nothing but talk about how important defense is in the NBA, to sell himself to Gar-Pax? At least with Thibodeau, there is a much bigger body of work to show that he actually means it when he says it.

The only thing that really matters though, is how this will affect LeBron James decision to join the Bulls. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting that this coaching hire will really help the Bulls land James. The connection being that, not only William Wesley telling people that LeBron really wants to play for the Bulls, but also that Tom Thibodeau also signed with William Wesley's Creative Artists Agency (CAA). OK. On the surface it seems like a stretch that a middle man having the same agency as a coach would be enough to get the biggest superstar in the NBA to sign with your team. I will not discount however, the power and influence that CAA has, as well as Wesley.

We'll obviously see where this goes, but for the time being I'll raise the LeBron Clock to 40%, and hope like hell it becomes 100% less than a month from now...

LeBron Update Part II

There's been a little more news regarding the possibility of LeBron joining the Bulls. The first piece of news to hit this morning was Michael Jordan's former agent David Faulk going out of his way to say that Chicago is the last place LeBron James should go because "he will always compete with Michael Jordan...He should not play in L.A.; he will always compete with Kobe Bryant. LeBron needs his own identity." Thankfully John Jackson did most of my homework in terms of summarizing my reaction. I'm beginning to wonder if David Faulk has ever watched a sporting event, because that opinion is the most ridiculously illogical thought one could possibly offer about LeBron. Should Larry Bird not have gone to the Celtics because of the 5 MVP's and 11 championships Bill Russell won as a Boston Celtic? Or better yet, should Kevin Garnett not have gone to the Celtics because of the 3 championships, and 3 MVP's Larry Bird won? I won't even get into how many great players the Lakers have had over the last 50 years...

The second piece of news involves James himself being interviewed by Larry King. When asked if the Cleveland Cavaliers have the inside track he said, "Absolutely...Because, you know, this city, these fans, I mean, have given me a lot in these seven years. And, you know, for me, it's comfortable. So I've got a lot of memories here. And so it does have an edge." It's anybody's guess if he really means that, or if he's just trying to give himself an "out" by putting the ownership of the Cavs retaining him directly on the Cavs Front Office.

Either way though, James has tipped his hand one way or another. I still personally believe that the Bulls have a good chance to get him, but since he said what he said, I'm going to lower the LeBron Clock to 35%. Again though, as Doctor Manhattan pointed out in the film Watchmen "I would only agree that a symbolic clock is as nourishing to the intellect as photograph of oxygen to a drowning man."

Not So Fast My Friend - LeBron Update Part One

There's a certain type of freedom, that comes with being totally screwed. The Chicago White Sox have already let me know that their season is over. The Chicago Cubs have also decided not to be competitive this season either. So there's no real reason to watch either team with any emotional interest other than comedic value. Both Bay Area baseball teams are fine, but that's for another blog. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Bears are more than likely going to be awful next season as well. Were it not for the Blackhawks, I might have to suspend myself from sports for a while.

Since I can't do that, I still need something to occupy my time especially if/when the Hawks win Lord Stanley's Cup. So even though I know better than to get caught up in this, I'm going to cast aside my own personal misgivings on writing about speculation, and join in the circus with my feelings about the upcoming LeBron James Sweepstakes.

One of the main reasons I will be following this story closely is because it does involve the Chicago Bulls at some level. The Cavs season hasn't even been over a week yet, and that still hasn't stopped the endless speculation as to what LeBron wants, where he wants to go, how much money does he want, and what is most important to him. In terms of numbers, the Bulls only have $32 million dollars committed to 6 players for the 2010-2011 season. The only teams with less money committed are the Nets, Knicks, Heat, and the Wizards. Of those teams, the only one that has pieces that would rival the Bulls, is the Nets in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez.

So the Bulls are definitely an option for LeBron. Which means we now have to watch for signs between now and July 1 in terms of how interested LeBron is in becoming a Chicago Bull. Here's what I've heard so far:

• Despite what Deadspin has attempted to debunk here, Dan Bernstein of WSCR-AM has reported that there is truth to the Delonte West-Gloria James tryst and LeBron finding out about it recently. Also, as the rumor goes, this is serving as the final straw that LeBron has made up his mind to leave Cleveland.


• Charles Oakley is claiming to have an inside glimpse into LeBron's thought process and he states "Chicago or Miami, not New York".


• Bernstein has also confirmed that there has been "contact" between the Bulls and Phil Jackson. Obviously whatever contact has been made is limited at best since there are tampering rules in play here, but contact has been made none the less. I'm guessing it's Phil's agent doing all the talking.

So that's what I got so far. I have a feeling if baseball keeps being this bad, these updates will be coming daily...

Dong-Whipped

If someone would have told The Beard ten years ago, or fifteen years ago, or better yet twenty years ago, that the Bulls would be in the playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers...and the prospect of watching the series would seem like such a chore, that person would have won a lot of money from me.

Nevertheless here we are. The Bulls have made one of the most perfunctory playoff runs which - minus a few exceptions - is playing out the way it is supposed to with the Cavs taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. We've already discussed why this Bulls team has made a playoff appearance completely uninteresting - Vinny will be fired no matter what, the expiring contracts to free up money for free agents next year, blah blah, blah...The only thing left really is to point out the obvious even further.

The obvious being that the Cavs are simply a much better team. You get the sense that they are simply toying with the Bulls the past two games. Tonight's game really summed up this matchup pretty succinctly. The Bulls were down ten, then with superb efforts from Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Flip Murray, and Luol Deng, scratched and clawed their way back into the game, and had a lead in the second half at one point. Then with the score 85-82 Cavs, LeBron decided to be LeBron by dominating the fourth quarter on his way to 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.

The one thing that I will point out in terms of things I can look for, is that we're learning something about LeBron that the jury was largely still out on. We're learning just how much of a Killer Instinct he possesses, particularly against guys dumb enough to talk sh*t about him like Joakim Noah. Noah has dug his own verbal grave a couple times in this series with his opinions on Kevin Garnett and the city of Cleveland in general, but in case you don't remember, there was also an incident between LeBron and Noah in December this season and here's the video footage of it. Noah took exception to LeBron's frequent "rug cutting" that he's displayed over his career, and when Noah told him so, LeBron didn't appreciate the criticism.

With 4:30 left in the fourth quarter tonight, LeBron hit a 3 pointer over Noah, glared at the Bulls bench, and started dancing on his way to 11 straight points to close out the game. It's that kind of performance that tells me that LeBron does have the ability to turn on the switch and do what Doug Collins says the truly great players in the NBA know how to do - close out both the FIRST half and the SECOND half.

The Cavs Dong-Whipping of the Bulls will continue on Thursday night where it looks like they will complete the sweep on Sunday. The sooner the better in my odd little world because the sooner this season ends, the more interesting the Bulls will become as a subject.

Reaaaaaally? Nahhhh....Well?????

Normally I abstain from addressing rumors regarding possible free agent signings or reported trades, etc since 90-95% of them end up not being true. However, I couldn't help but notice this little gem in the New York Daily News, that states that the Bulls could be a "Dark horse" in the upcoming LeBron James Free Agent Sweepstakes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...Again, it's probably B.S., since it's been a foregone conclusion that he wants to go to the Knicks and the Knicks are going to throw everything they have at him. Still, as a Bulls fan, it does make your mind wonder on the possibilities. Not just because LeBron is LeBron, but mainly because this Bulls team is perfectly built as a supporting cast. It's just missing a superstar small forward who can score, pass, defend, make All Star Appearances, and take over games whenever he feels like it, i.e. LeBron.

Per usual whenever The Beard becomes aware of such rumors, they get filed under the "I'll believe it when it happens" label. However, if the unthinkable does happen, and LeBron ends up a Bull, Chicago will go nuts and Bulls games will become the "events" they used to be during the Jordan Era.