I watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals with a sense of resignation. From the opening tip the Heat looked hungrier, meaner, and better than Oklahoma City, much like they had the previous three games. Mike Miller’s knees remembered how to function for 48 minutes, as his play created the separation vital to a Heat victory and championship. At the end, LeBron James hugged the trophy with the same look a puppy gives a chew toy. He reveled in the triumph, a winning performance complete with his first triple-double of the season.
For a long time the sports world has ridiculed, scrutinized, criticized, condemned, and judged LeBron James. Choke, selfish, lazy, and arrogant are all words I’ve used to describe him privately during his time in Miami. The litany of terms used by the full sports media would take up a phonebook. Some of that scrutiny abated this year, with many in the sports media giving up on irrational LeBron haters and focusing more on his accomplishments as one of the best players in the game’s history. Seriously, listen to ESPN Radio during the Finals and many hosts spent an hour at least talking to LeBron haters via phone and doing their best to undermine those sentiments.
My position will continue to be the same: I never wanted LeBron to win with the Heat. The collusion in Beijing, the lack of any sort of bench, the Decision, and subsequent pep rally all drew my ire from the early goings. While all understand he made a business decision, the manner could not have been more unprofessional, sacrificing transparency with the Cleveland fans who invested in him for the auspices of a charitable event (when he could have just written a check) that ultimately proved more of a one-man circus than anything remotely involved with charity. He made it sound so easy on that Miami stage to win more than one championship, when many greats would give a pound of flesh just to play in a Finals game. In a word, disrespectful.
And yet, that was two years ago. During that time, LeBron James has epitomized the model NBA citizen. He speaks with the media always, doesn’t trash teammates in public (unlike Kobe), and plays as hard as he can. His time in the league has been truly revolutionary, as his physical talents could apply equally well to any sport you can name. Were LeBron to retire tomorrow his career would still garner a Hall of Fame berth. Three MVPs, one Finals MVP, and the fastest player to 15,000 points all mean he would prance into Springfield.
And that’s precisely why I am happy for him: all the greats need at least one championship. While many consider Charles Barkley to be one of the better forwards ever, he cannot claim to be a champion. People are more likely to know him for outlandish analysis on TNT (or lack thereof if discussing his awful attempts during the NCAA Tournament) despite his incredible play during his prime. The same goes for Karl Malone, one of the best players ever but one kids would not know if they perused the list of NBA Champions. At the end of the day, we as fans must know that winning makes all the difference in the world. Lombardi famously quoted “winning isn’t everything but it’s the only thing” and in a sense he’s right. We must prioritize winning as much as sportsmanship, because prevailing in competition cements legacies and strikes pointedly at why youngsters even begin to play sports. Competition means very little without the chance of beating your opponent.
Henceforth, LeBron apologists can breathe easier. Winning a championship makes greatness much easier. While Dirk Nowitzki (last year’s champ) may not go down as one of the greatest players ever, his lone championship in conjunction with his stats will forever put him on the fringes of that conversation. If we as a culture don’t establish winning as a pathway to greatness, the ability to determine which players are great and which are not becomes infinitely more difficult. Anyone watching LeBron can agree he deserves to be part of that conversation forever.
Another great reason to be happy for LeBron however, is he won in such a way to silence all but the craziest of his critics. I wrote a piece here after the All-Star Game and in Round 2 of the playoffs begging readers to be careful before calling LeBron a choke artist. His efforts in the final two rounds mean those critics have no further leg to stand on. His momentous Game 6 in Boston while facing elimination will likely go down as one of his best performances ever. The bank shot he hit in Game 2 of the Finals off the wrong foot at a critical time sealed that victory for them, as did his three-pointer in Game 4. These are both clutch shots, even if the clock read only one minute remaining or more. He fully dominated the games in the Finals, ending it all with a triple-double to win the NBA Championship. If you can imagine all the people who dislike you in your life, wouldn’t it be great to achieve personal greatness in such a way to prove their contentions baseless? If you can’t relate to that, maybe you don’t know how many critics you have.
And the best reason to be happy for LeBron…we can now stop discussing it. No longer will the conversation be “what’s wrong with him?” It will take a much more positive tone, more like “how many more can he win?” The guy who paints curbs for a living and calls into the radio shows dissing LeBron will finally have his calls screened. I’m excited for that prospect, even if I wanted the Thunder to win it all.
He finally did it, and now I’m going to revel in the relative silence that greets the end of the NBA season. The game’s best finally has a ring that he won while leading his team, not playing second fiddle to anyone. I didn’t want him to win but as I said, every great player deserves a championship. He’s got his.
Bit #1: Please hold onto the Cup-winning puck
I am so tired of this storyline, mainly because it makes me wonder why some athletic organizations can’t see the details.
After winning the Cup three weeks ago, the Los Angeles Kings announced today they don’t know where the Cup-winning puck has gone. Camera replays show Devils forward Patrick Elias picking the puck up at the end of the game, but nothing else has been fully determined. Based off a grainy homemade YouTube video, the Kings have asked the Devils to discuss with Elias where the puck might be, if he still has it.
This story is not new…when the Blackhawks beat the Flyers to win the Cup, that puck disappeared too. As did the pucks from the previous five Cup winners. Wayne Drehs of ESPN called each of the winners and learned none of them had the winning puck anywhere in their vaults or display cases. His saga of the Chicago puck makes for very interesting reading, since theories abound as to who might have taken it.
While I understand players don’t care about the small black rubber thing after winning the greatest trophy in sports, I’m shocked somebody wouldn’t find the puck immediately afterwards. I’m also amazed some of the Cup losers are vindictive enough to take the puck off the ice, after being beaten fairly at the highest stage. While it might be surprising how much value we attribute to such artifacts, those pucks mean a lot to franchises who will relive the glory days for as long as they can. Hopefully, next year’s Cup winner does better.
Bit #2: Another English penalty loss
By now, diehard English fans know where this is going. After their penalty shootout loss to the Italians yesterday in Euro 2012, the English are 1-6 in penalty shootouts in major tournaments. And what makes this loss so awful was the incredibly timid shot by Ashley Cole. He walked up to the ball, hesitated a little bit, and weakly went for the right side. Italy’s keeper Gianluigi Buffon might be the best international goalkeeper in the world…he’s always going to stop drivel like that. The previous penalty by Ashley Young might have hit the crossbar, but he stepped up and struck the ball solidly, knowing where he wanted to go with it. Cole’s shot sunk English hopes.
While England had no business winning this game, penalty shots at the highest level like that leave a bad taste in my mouth. I have to wonder if the best team wins in that situation as the result becomes so arbitrary. The NHL also uses penalty shootouts during the regular season, but the postseason features unlimited overtime, first goal wins. I support the same arrangement in soccer, as the World Cup matters enough to be decided on the field, not based on who hits the crossbar or mishits the ball into the goalie’s hands.
Bit #3: Boston stalwart leaving
Kevin Youkilis, a Red Sox player known for his amazing ability to get on base, was traded to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, ending speculation since April that he fell out of favor with Boston management and would be traded. While his batting stance suggests minor leaguer, Youk won the World Series twice with the Red Sox, ending the long Curse of the Bambino. Again, he does everything wrong at the plate, but he has a top-five on-base percentage since joining the majors. I think this move by Red Sox officials makes it clear that they are not willing to keep veterans that cannot play. Youkilis has flirted around the .200 number for his batting average this year and was unable to distinguish himself at third base compared to raw but talented Will Middlebrooks. Previous departures of Boston stalwarts like Terry Francona, Mo Vaughn, and Nomar Garciaparra all deeply affected Boston faithful, who take great pride in relating to their team. Youkilis embodied the blue collar, lunch pail attitude of so many Boston fans and will be sorely missed. Fans at Fenway, however, should get used to it as the champions of the 2000s gradually filter out of town.
Bit #4: June 24, 2012 – Mahut-Isner Match at Wimbledon
The Championships at Wimbledon begin today, one of the classiest affairs you’ll see in the sports world. All contestants must wear white at the All-England Club, eliminating the ugly neon colors we see at the U.S. Open. About this time two years ago, John Isner and Nicholas Mahut played the longest tennis match ever. Over three days, eleven hours and five minutes of playing time, and 183 games, Isner finally beat Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set. Amazingly, the first 118 games of the fifth, all played on June 23, took longer to play (7 hrs. and 6 minutes) than every other professional tennis match in history. And that’s just one set. Truly an epic, and a good Bit for the beginning of a great fortnight in sports.
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