Another Weblog.

I don’t have anything clever to say, I just wanted to say that I’m so fucking excited for Mad Men tonight!!!!

Inception

It’s been 12 hours and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I think its the best movie I’ve ever seen.

Lebron

Lebron is being criticized for two things: 1. Leaving Cleveland on national television. 2. Signing with a team that already has an alpha-dog. I understand it, but I don’t agree with any of it.

Number 1 only seems to bother Cleveland fans. I understand why they’re upset, but let’s be clear: the guy had every justification to leave.     On a basketball level, he’s played there for 7 years. He’s played with 1 All-Star, Mo Williams. For those of you who aren’t fans of basketball, Mo Williams isn’t good. He’s averaged 14 pts and 5 assists a game over his career, and he’d be the 5th or 6th best player on the Lakers or the Celtics. The team had 7 years to find a second banana for him, and they couldn’t do it. He had to be spectacular every night for them to win. Kobe went 6-24 in Game 6 of the Finals. The Lakers won. If Lebron had a game like that, the Cavs were sunk, because the rest of the team was terrible. We’ll all get to watch how terrible when this team plays next year. Enjoy Antawn Jamison.

On a personal level, why should loyalty to a billion dollar corporation trump his right to live and work wherever he wants? He’s a free American, is he not?

So that’s argument number 1 against him. But that isn’t the reaction of an average sports fan. The average sports fan has reacted with a visceral negative reaction at the thought of Lebron leaving to be part of a team rather than the team’s leader. In other words, Lebron is being criticized for not being macho enough. This incenses American sports fans. To be absolutely clear, Lebron chose the team where he will:

1. make less money in salary. 
2. make less money in endorsements.
3. receive less credit for each win.
4. win more championships.

Why is he being criticized for this? Isn’t this a pretty honorable decision? I think he’s redefining success in sports. Lebron is saying ‘you can take my  MVP’s, my scoring titles, my endorsements, hell, you can have my home town- all I want is to win championships.’ 

Lebron couldn’t win. If he chose NY, it was about the money, if he chose Cleveland, he’d be criticized every time his undermanned team fell short,  If he chose Chicago, he’d be in Jordan’s shadow. I think if he’d gone to Chicago the complaints would’ve been the similar, and would’ve boiled down to the same thing: he doesn’t care enough about getting credit for wins. He doesn’t care enough about his individual legacy. He only cares about winning. 

He’s literally being dinged for joining too good a team. Did we criticize Roy Halladay for wanting to play for the Phillies? What about when Karl Malone and Gary Payton signed with the Lakers? Was that evil the way this is?

He picked the Heat because he cares more about winning than about anything else. He wants rings more than money, adoration or being a “global icon.” Everyone seems to see this as an admission of gutlessness. How could anyone actually think that?

Speculation

This is going to be moot in 3 years. Dwyane Wade is headed for a flameout early if he keeps trying to be “the man” on that team. He’s 28 years old with a serious injury history, he’s undersized and he takes the ball to the basket harder than anyone in the league. In two years this team will be Lebron’s, and Wade will be his James Worthy or his Byron Scott or his Manu Ginobili: an excellent scorer, but not the team’s leader.