LeBron is Burning

Well, my Puddlers, I am sure that you have all been waiting for me to weigh in on all things basketball in the wake of “The Decision.”  I was at a party the other night and someone asked me to give my opinion of “The Decision.” I went into a long discussion of the different theories of basketball and what this means for the league next year, when the person I was speaking to asked:

 “But what do you think of the actual delivery?”

The only way I could respond was to say the following:

“Well, I consider myself a history buff, so I have to say that the TV special was the worst thing of all time.”

Now, of course that is hyperbole, but – is it?

I am going to split this post up into my play-by-play account of watching “The Decision Special” with my own thoughts on the actual decision itself and what it means for basketball as well as the legacies of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.  So, lets get to the night of “The Decision” shall we?

9:00

- “The Decision” begins with an introduction laying out the fact that LeBron James is about to make a decision.  There is a strange voice narrating that makes me sweat.  Oh, wait, my apartment is literally 99 degrees, that’s why I’m sweating

- Jon Barry compares waiting to LeBron James to the movie Trading Places when they wait for the crop report.  This is nothing like that. LeBron James was not part of two rich men’s elaborate $1.00 bet in order to switch places with a pompous rich stock broker.  Although, the rise and fall of the MSG stock on the day before and the day of “The Decision” does have some tie-ins.

- Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry and Stuart Scott go through the relevance of LeBron James’ decision to Cleveland. Depressed city. Depressed fans.  The city will die if he doesn’t come back.  Classic sports stories that deserve to be aired on national television.

- Stuart Scott narrates the failures in LeBron James’ career. Wait, if the entire show is going to be like this, well, then this IS my kind of “Must See TV.” Anything to make people remember Wade is better.

- Camera shows LeBron preparing in the gym of the Boys and Girls club. Wow, reminds me of wrestling a lot.  I really hope we see a chair shot tonight. LeBron chooses Cleveland, then rips off his shirt, revealing a Heat jersey (my sources say) gives Jim Grey a chair shot and puts on sunglasses while his NEW music plays.

- Stuart Scott goes through the free agent signings so far. A lot of bad deals. Tons.  This is the NBA.

- We come back to the studio and Jon Barry says that Chicago is the best situation for LeBron.  Young, talented point guard, great defensive center, good low post scorer, nice complimentary role players.  Duh.

- Chris Broussard says that LeBron will pick the Heat.  Chris Broussard made his name during the past two weeks. He has had all the inside and breaking news and has been right about basically all of it. He is the one who really cashed in.

- Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon discuss the makeup of an NBA team when you have three stars as opposed to one star.  They discuss the merits of staying with one team.

- There is a graphic of LeBron James in different jerseys of the teams that have been courting him.  I think he does look good in the Nets and the Bulls jerseys.

9:18

- Broussard with a great line, “My heart says Cleveland, but my sources say Miami.” This man MADE HIS CAREER this past week.

- There are more delays and graphics before we actually go to LeBron.  I have seen so many multi-colored graphics depicting the U.S. and how they are voting about LeBron this week.

- Now we get to see old high school clips of LeBron.  Yeah, we know.

- We get a replay of LeBron’s first NBA game in 2003.  I mean they are really toturing Cleveland fans right now.  I’m getting slightly uncomfortable and now it’s not the stifling heat of my apartment.

- Finally, we are kicked to Jim Grey and LeBron.  Jim Grey makes a limp joke about LeBron’s powder and then asks the obvious joke question, “What’s been going on?”

- This pre-Decision interview is completely bizarre.  Jim Grey is so out of touch.  He is just stringing a TV audience and a tortured fan base along. Is this journalism? What is this?

- I caught a shot of the little kids in the back who are watching. It’s so surreal.  Jim Grey references Barack Obama’s desire for LeBron to play in Chicago.  Mr. President, I love you, but for these next two years, please keep your nose out of the NBA and other sporting events. Just stick to the multitude of political problems we have – thank you.

- LeBron claims he made his decision this morning.  He says his mom helped him make the Decision.  Oh, mom buffer.  This is going to be bad.
- LeBron says he changed his mind in his dreams. Dreams? DREAM TEAM? SPOILER ALERT?

- Jim Grey is just a master at dragging this interview out.  However, to be fair, this whole situation has been dragged out entirely too long.

- LeBron James: “I just want to be in the best opportunity to win.”

9:27

- Grey asks the question.

- LeBron James: “Next year, I will be taking my talents to South Beach where I’ll be playing for the Miami Heat.”  There it is!  LeBron breaks everyone’s heart on live, national television. Ohio is snapped in two.

- Biggest double cross since the nWo. This OOZES of wrestling. There have been rumors of this conspiracy since the 2008 Olympics.  The meeting on the beach was rumored and it came true.  The actual decision came true.  LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh; Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash.

- In this instance, the LeBron/Wade competition and legacy has totally shifted.  I would have loved them to be on different teams.

- I gotta say that the post-Decision speech was very articulate.  It’s probably the best he could do after all of that.

9:31

- We go back to the studio.  Broussard is gone? Oh, getting a raise and his own show?  He NAILED the 2010 Free Agency period.

- Reaction shots: In Miami they are happy. In Cleveland, they are sad. Right before they show the reaction, Jon Barry goes, “Oh, no.” This is classic trainwreck TV.

- Back to LeBron James in the gym.

9:38

- My head is spinning. I am so confused legacy wise.

- LeBron says championships are championships.  Really interesting. He is feeling his mortality at 25.

9:44

- LeBron is doing well in his interview with Michael Wilbon.  I do buy what he says about great players making others better.  OK, Bulls  had some GREAT roleplayers when Jordan played.  But there were literally a ton of scrubs on each era of championship teams. Jordan and Pippen made a lot of those guys better.

- Wilbon wants to talk turkey.  How much money in the contract?

9:48

- They are burning LeBron’s jersey in Cleveland.  That is an image we will always see for years to come.  Iconic. Yes. Terrible. Yes.

9:56

- We get one more moment with LeBron.  He says that he hasn’t turned on his phone since the Decision.

- Stuart Scott says Cleveland is devastated. LeBron makes the point that he is going to be taking less money. Ok, notes.  But, come on – one hour, back-stabbing TV special? That ain’t no pay-cut.

- Jon Barry is asking hard-hitting questions about sharing the ball.  LeBron says that they will all probably have less points per game.

- LeBron makes one mistake by not using himself as being downgraded.  He says, “I’m not going to down-grade D-Wade, D-Wade isn’t going to downgrade Bosh.”  We’ll give him a pass after this extra brutal hour.  That was terrible for everyone.

- Wilbon asks the Olympic conspiracy question. LeBron says it was in the making. Yes!  I knew that one NBA conspiracy theory was right. He calls it a “dream come true.”

- The one fan question we get is, can LeBron beat Obama in HORSE? ARE YOU SERIOUS? NOOOOO! MR. PRESIDENT!! Why?  I blame Obama for everything. For The Decision.  What a softball for LeBron to hit out to end the show.

10:05

- I thought this ended at 10:00? Oh, Lebron makes the announcement of the charity donation figure.  There is good in this after all. And that philanthropic gesture segues us fluidly into SportsCenter for some over-analysis.  This is the American Dream.

So, that was my play-by-play of the night as it happened.  I have had quite a few days to ruminate on what occurred on July 8, 2010 when LeBron made his decision to move to the Miami Heat from the Cleveland Cavaliers. As you all know, I love the NBA, so I believe that this was one of the best things that could happen to the NBA.  Although, the league is in danger of a lockout after the 2010-2011 season, this makes the storylines heading into the 2010-2011 season more interesting than they could have been otherwise.  Sure, the common sense side of me says that if LeBron had gone to Chicago to play with Rose, Boozer, Noah, Deng, and Gibson, he would have been a much more natural fit and their roster would have been extremely deep.  They would have become the favorite to win the East and most likely the NBA Championship, except that they still don’t really have the size to match the Lakers.  The East would have been interesting because the Bulls would have been a great team; Bosh and Wade and the higher-quality free agents they could have signed in Miami would have been a great team; the Celtics, getting the band back one more time, this time with a full season of chemistry and a Rondo who knows he is the best player on the team, are a great time looking to avenge their loss; the Magic are a spurned team that is feeling overlooked; the Hawks are headcases that are talented and can excite; the Bucks are quietly better; the Knicks might make the playoffs.  All of these things are exciting storylines and they are just happening in the East. In the West, you get Oklahoma City looking to stake a claim as the second best team; the Mavericks looking to capitalize on the end of Dirk’s prime; the Lakers looking to three-peat; and now that Stoudemire and Boozer and other free agents have moved East, the West is suddenly even more wide open than it has been in the past.

Yet, LeBron chose Miami. He chose a storyline with more drama – such an abundance of drama that it feels completely manufactured as if it were some kind of storyline concocted by Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff back in the nWo days. So, you get all of the above terrific NBA storylines (the Bulls are still going to be a damn dangerous team with Boozer and now Korver and possibly Reddick for Rose to drive and dish too. Plus, they will play even better defense, and they weren’t bad at all at the end of last year), plus the intrigue of the Heat.  The fact that these three stars are looking to conduct what is the equivalent of an NBA science experiment.  They are basically putting forward the thesis that the Secret of Basketball (as Bill Simmons said) is knowing your role on the court, filling that role, and playing unselfishly. So far, they have all said the right things. They are sacrificing money, they will sacrifice numbers, they will make each other better and round out each other’s games, they will raise the games of the teammmates around them.  Other players are going to be tempted to take less money to play with them (Udonis Haslem made that decision today, Mike Miller is pending). The way they even fill out the roster is going to be an intriguing story.  Who will be the rest of the players on this team? They only have five players as of today. Can they make Mario Chalmers a serviceable to better than average NBA point guard by taking so much attention and pressure off him that he can just focus on his outside shooting and defense and eventually get overpaid when he forgets that Wade, LeBron and Bosh made him better than he was.  Can these three guys make players who are over the hill seem relevant and vibrant again by setting them up to succeed? Can they make a rookie a household name?  This is all stuff I want to find out as an NBA fan. I want to have these theories proved to me.  That anyone can thrive if they play with talent and if that talent plays unselfishly and within the roles of the team, within the perameters that allow for success.

Now, we get to the actual nitty gritty. To what I want to talk about.  I have been an unabashed Dwyane Wade fan and out of this whole situation, Dwyane Wade has emerged as the winner.  Even as recent as this past spring, it was looking like there was no way to stem the tide on the public’s perception of LeBron James as the best player in the NBA, as the most talented, and the fact that he would forever overshadow Dwyane Wade, who was in most cases his equal and in some areas his superior: most importantly in the category of championships.  Now, after one night, LeBron James has forever put himself beneath Dwyane Wade in the spectrum of the NBA and its greatest players. Wade will always have one more title than LeBron and people will always wonder why LeBron would want to have played with Dwyane Wade.  In the subsequent days since the Decision, we have seen the trio on TV and in public and Wade always appears at the center with LeBron and Bosh flanking him.  Wade is better known as a finisher and his game is the closest we have seen to Michael Jordan’s.  LeBron has always been praised for his passing and his well-rounded game, the fact that he contains so much Magic Johnson in him.  He has never had that killer instinct to take over a series that M.J. had or that Kobe has.  You could never picture him turning a series on its head, like Wade did in the 2006 NBA Finals  or dominating a series like Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals, both against teams that were better (Kobe has still never really done this). So, by choosing to play with Wade, by joining forces, LeBron has in some way acknowledged that he would feel more comforable facilitating. I am not saying he will be a Pippen role, it will be something we haven’t seen before, but he will not be the killer.  I usually agree with Bill Simmons about teams needing an Alpha Dog who will take the lost shot, and I think that this team will have an Alpha Dog (Wade) but I think they will redefine how limited those roles are.  They will still keep the structure that leads to success, but they will change how we view it. I think Simmons has gotten a little carried away in his naysaying of this Decision and how the Heat are going to proceed. And if he reads this and puts me in my place, I would be more than happy.

I am not going to harp on LeBron for seeking help.  I don’t want to compare him to Jordan or compare Wade to Jordan or compare Kobe to Jordan (he would like that too damn much). I don’t want to do it because now, I can finally, truly see, how unique of a HUMAN BEING Michael Jordan was.  Not just a basketball player.  He had some kind of psychological disorder of competitiveness.  I know that most players back in the 80’s and 90’s were more competitive and antagonistic towards each other, but Jordan (as we have seen in his HOF speech) took it to another level. His ability to raise a conflict, to create a challenge at the expense of whoever was in his way or even in his peripherary was extraordinary and also frightening. I was watching old footage of Jordan recently and realized there was no way to compare him.  Even Kobe on his best days, even if he wasn’t a dick, would never make us say his name the way people used to say “Michael Jordan.”  LeBron had the chance, I’ll admit – even more than Wade.  However, it is an different era and LeBron isn’t like Michael Jordan – no human being really is and I argue they shouldn’t be.  Michael Jordan’s ability, his name, his drive and nearly insane desire touch something within us that is hard to define, it gets at a part of human nature that not all of us want to know, that part of us that wants to succeed no matter what it costs and to make others feel foolish for even trying to stop what was inevitable.  It is a powerful force and element of the human soul and sometimes I don’t understand how he was able to personify it with such athletic beauty and grace.

Howcver, besides Jordan’s singular ability, we live in an era of basketball that is very much informed by the AAU culture of organized, nationwide, youth basketball.  Many of these players have known each other in some way or another since they were younger.  They are friends, they have grown up friendly and want to remain that way. Wade stayed at LeBron’s house when the Heat and Cavaliers would play each other.  That would have never happened in the past with Michael or Charles or Larry or Magic.  In a league that has over-expanded, where too many players have set the precedent of playing for a paycheck or for deferring to players who are better than them, where roleplayers hardly ever seek out the moment to help support the star, these stars would rather trust each other for the bulk of the work rather than wait around for a team to fit into place.  We would all rather work with our friends rather than strangers that we can’t trust.  So, I don’t blame any of these guys. Sure, those of us that love sports and that love the history of sports want our stars to seek out greatness.  Charles Barkley has criticized this decision.  Charles Barkley never won an NBA title and was a terrible defensive player and a bit of a headcase himself. I love Charles Barkley, but he is wrong in many ways.  However, judging Charles because he didn’t win a championship is wrong because championships aren’t everything, because they are very often born of circumstance and organization and things beyond the control of the player. The player or players can seize their destiny when they have the chance and very often Charles couldn’t, but he wasn’t often put in a situation to do just that.  However, championships do make up most of what a player’s legacy is.  Now, LeBron, Wade and Bosh have taken control of their destiny. They have chosen to give up individual accolades; they have given up the chance to carve out an individual identity in the historybook of the NBA; they have decided to make their reputation on themselves as a team, as three players who wanted to bring themselves to the championship at the cost of what it might mean to them as players – this is the ultimate gesture of team and that’s why I want to watch.  They have the talent, they have the situation they want.  The players will come to play with them.  Riley will get them the roleplayers.  It’s just up to them to deliver on their word and all the posturing it took for them to get their ideal situation. 

They should be able to do it, because they don’t have the shadow of Jordan looming over them – no one should anymore. 

LeBron Saves

I’m listening to “Oh! You Pretty Things” by David Bowie on repeat, so bear with me here if I veer toward the dramatic.

Those of you who read this blog in order to obtain knowledge about basketball or at least my passion, understanding and thoughts on the game, most likely know that last night, the Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. You will all most likely know that that loss may have been LeBron James’ final game playing in a Cleveland uniform. This fact will be pointed out you numerous times over the next week by NBA Insiders on ESPN that go by the names of Chad Ford, Rick Bucher, Chris Broussard, Jamaal Mashburn, Avery Johnson, Matt Legler, Michael Wilbon, etc. This list will go on and on and that is not even counting online insiders from Sports Illustrated, CBSSportsline.com, ESPN.com, as well as Cleveland beat writers and any other basketball mind from a city such as Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Newark (love them NETS!), or this New York.

The speculation will continue under various scenarios: What if Chicago hires John Calipari? Will LeBron want to play with Derrick Rose? What if Chicago works a sign and trade with Cleveland giving them Luol Deng and Kirk Heinrich for LeBron James? What if Chicago can convince Phil Jackson to come back and coach LeBron? What if the Nets get the first pick in the draft? What if they draft John Wall and then work out a sign and trade for Devin Harris with another team? What if Wade, LeBron and Chris Bosh all arrange a meeting on South Beach as they have said they will in order to coordinate how the free agency period is going to work? What if Spike Lee launches his master marketing campaign as he has hinted he is about to do? What if New York Magazine continues to publish pointless articles about getting LeBron to come to New York like they just did this past week?

Perhaps what will be lost in all of the speculation and posturing will be the sheer absurdity of this situation. Maybe the absurdity will be appreciated, who knows? What I do know is that this is a singular situation in sports history. Basically, we have our generation’s equivalent of Michael Jordan (not in talent, style of play, success or anything else, but merely in media attention and marketing capability) entering a situation (he has already slightly entered it, but now the magnification begins) that is unprecedented. With all due respect to Kobe Bryant, no one ever cared enough about Kobe to create this much speculation. Kobe held the world at arm’s length, never seemed to be likeable and never seemed to really invest in being liked by the outside world. He didn’t want to allow any privileged glimpses into his human heart. There was no hugging of the Larry O’Brien trophy and crying like Michael Jordan did upon winning his first title or the Father’s Day Collapse after Michael won his first title since his father’s death. Kobe wouldn’t allow that, so no one truly invested in Kobe as a media figure, as a means of transcendence. LeBron on the other hand was warm. He welcomed the media attention, he welcomed the position he found himself in as the next savior of the game of basketball, he relished the opportunity to become the first sports billionaire. So, in an era of hyper saturated media, we latched onto him. He has a square jaw and is a handsome man with charisma. He is young, he has exceptional talent and grace as well as a flourish for style: these are things that are not just held as the pinnacles of virtue in America, but perhaps throughout the entire world.

If you have followed this blog, you are well aware that I do not particularly care for LeBron James. I prefer Dwyane Wade. LeBron carries a certain childishness about him that seems out of character for someone who is supposed to be a leader and a winner. Dwyane Wade is all business. For lack of a better comparison, Wade carries more of the Michael Jordan gene in competition, though not nearly as intense. Although Michael was the ultimate killer, he made himself seem transcendent and luminous rather than dour and forced as Kobe has. Wade shares much more of Michael’s traits. Wade fills the stat lines just as much and as well as LeBron does, but he continues to be overlooked even though he has already won a championship – this is mainly because his teams have been terrible and uninspiring for the past three years.

I do not want this to turn into a Wade and LeBron comparison because I could go on and on about how much I love and appreciate Dwyane Wade’s basketball game. What I want to say is that after last night, I finally feel for LeBron James. He is blessed with freakish size and strength for a basketball player, which has been paired with exceptional talent. His blend of skill and ability has not been seen before in the NBA and that is why he does receive more attention that Dwyane Wade. Last night in Game 6, LeBron James had a triple double. It was perhaps the quietest triple double by a superstar NBA player, in the playoffs, in the history of the NBA. LeBron finished the game with 27 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists. So, to be clear, not only did LeBron put up a triple double last night, he also nearly put up a 20 and 20 as well. Yet, when we look back on Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, it will not be remembered for those stats. It will be remembered as the second pivotal game in a row, in a series that may have altered his career, that LeBron James seemed to lack a competitive fire. He played terrible in Game 5. That is undisputable. And the fact that he put up the numbers he did last night and still seemed uninspired is a testament to his talent. The effort that LeBron appeared to put into the game, his final stat-line and the outcome of the series are all incredibly baffling to me as a person who has followed sports, especially the NBA, for nearly his entire life.

What the big crime in all of this is the intense media scrutiny. Now, granted, declaring one of your aspirations is to be the first billionaire in the history of sports is a tremendous way to attract media scrutiny. LeBron has always embraced the lofty dreams and hopes that sports fan have foisted upon his image and with that acceptance comes the left hook, which is that when you are down, when you do not succeed to a level that is commensurate with the faith and trust the people put into you, you are going to be hit and hit hard – especially, if the effort you put in does not appear to be heartfelt and full of soul, if it does not appeal to the hardworking, Puritanical core that lies inside of each beating American heart, no matter how much we may disguise it with a professed admiration for grace and a breezy, Daisy Buchanan/Great Gatsby elegance.

The almost 48 hours leading up to Game 6 were a brutal feeding frenzy of speculation and admonishment on the image and achievment of LeBron James. It is only going to get worse in the next 48 days until July 1, 2010 when LeBron James finally makes his decision on where to play basketball next year. We are going to hear about LeBron every day until he actually makes a decision. The media coverage may eclipse what could be two entertaining Conference Finals series as well as a possible Lakers vs. Celtics Final. Kobe may gain his fifth NBA Championship in the process. In this time, we are going to see LeBron denigrated by some media outlets, by men and women with a mouthpiece who are trying to garner attention and accolade for their opinions. I’m not better than any of them as I even provide my own speculation on this blog. All I know is that at one time I would have revelled in LeBron James’ failure. I would have reveled in it because I envied the ease in which he was able to achieve such great feats, I envied the attention he received over a player who I believed deserved more accolades, I thought he lacked the high-seriousness that a successful athlete should have. People said similar things about Magic Johnson, but Magic Johnson always won and Magic figured out how to kill – if only later and reluctantly. Maybe the same things will happen for LeBron. But today, as I listened to “Oh! You Pretty Things” on the subway and saw people holding newspapers with LeBron’s image on it with headlines that reveled in his failure and headlines that pounced on the possibility that he might come and save New York, I no longer thought that it would be fun to hate LeBron James. I understood, in my own way, the pratfalls of his position and the responsibilities that come with his level of attention and desire for success. Yet, with newspapers littered on the subway floor and sticking out of trashcans and over the tips of commuters’ fingers, I didn’t feel like joining in on the fray. I merely thought of those newspapers being ripped to shreds, those cover pages with LeBron’s image and felt like I needed to get home and have a strong cup of coffee.

Hopefully, I’ll get to enjoy the rest of the basketball season in some modicum of peace that I can arrange for myself. This world is changing and so much our heroes when they fail. “Oh! You Pretty Things,” indeed.

Mother's Day Monday

Alright, we are back with a post-Mother’s Day Puddles of Myself update. I hope you were all kind to your mothers.  I had a great Mother’s Day with my family out at some of the vineyards on eastern Long Island. We tasted a bunch of wines, bought a bunch of wines, my dad purchased some spicy mustard and we ate delicious steaks at this random small place on the side of the road.

Besides from that, I spent the weekend sitting by the Long Island Sound in the sun, drinking beer and watching dogs run around on some hills. In addition to playing rounds of the classic beer drinking game caps, which I think I will need to do a detailed column about – seeing as the game sort of formed me in many ways as the semi-man that I am today.

The main occurrence from the weekend was the recording of the Puddles of My Podcast Gilmore Girls Podcast, starring Janelle Sing and Erik Lilleby. This podcast was a few weeks in the making, but it was well worth the wait. These two know all about the Gilmore Girls and the characters and story arches that inhabited the show.  This is a 70-minute plus podcast that will be going up on the blog tomorrow afternoon. Now, I do not usually show my bias, but this is the best podcast that has been put up here so far.

Some other events:

- My sister played this video for me yesterday.  I had forgotten about it.  Great stuff.

- Friday night, the Celtics put on one of the most horrific playoff performances I have ever seen in my life.  They just did not show up to play Cleveland and seemed to be relying on Lebron’s elbow being injured rather than jumping out and taking it to Cleveland immediately, especially when they had them on the ropes after Game 2.  To be fair, Lebron was shooting lights out all game and the refs were making some bogus calls.  However, it was painfully obvious once more, that Rondo can beat anyone on Cleveland off the dribble, but was very hesitant in doing so on Friday night.

- All that being said, on Sunday afternoon the Celtics showed up.  Rondo was absolutely in control of the game and put up an insane line of 28 points, 13 assists, and a staggering 18 rebounds. If you watch highlights from the game, Rondo instinctively knew where to be for each rebound – I had never seen something like that before.  Also, Rondo completely controlled the game by moving the ball around, dictating the tempo the Celtics and the Cavs would play at and just basically had his hand in everything throughout the course of the entire game.  He also was able to beat the Lebron Chasedown Dunk by pulling off a perfect behind the back pass that looked extraordinarily easy. Other players should take note in order to begin to debunk the ridiculous myth that is already starting around Lebron’s Chasedown Block, which many times should be called goal tending except that the referees haven’t seen anything like it before so they are hesitant to make the correct call.

- The Celtics/Cavaliers series is tied at two games apiece going back to Cleveland on Tuesday night for Game 5. Basically, the Celtics have to come out pushing the ball against the Cavaliers and try to get them on their heels early. They need to drive at Lebron and make him work on defense. Rondo especially needs to get in the lane.  If Lebron is going to guard him as is rumored, that is even better, Rondo can try to get him in foul trouble, wear him down and maybe even make Lebron exert that “injured” elbow even further.  Because you know that Cleveland crowd will immediately get quiet as soon as anything goes wrong.  I have no sympathy for those fans and their losing ways. They are fair-weather fans who have no concept of the “Get back in this guys” cheer that is so necessary for a successful franchise and playoff run.

- I really enjoy the Phoenix Suns and the way they are playing basketball right now.  The Suns have a tremendously enjoyable team to watch. They still play an untempo level of basketball that is leftover from the “Seven Seconds or Less Era” from earlier in the last decade. Now, however, they have some more grit and glue players like Jared Dudley and Grant Hill, who, thanks to his years of injuries, still has fresh legs at 37 and has managed to make himself over into a defensive stopper who can also score and stretch the floor when you need him to. He has molded himself into a  1997-1998 Scottie Pippin mold, which in many ways is as hard to mold into as the 1997-1998 Michael Jordan mold that Kobe has basically successfully molded himself into.  The Suns/Spurs series was extremely entertaining even though it was a sweep.  Each game was must watch basketball, it was played at an extremely high level, and you had two legends from this era and two of the smartest players of this era, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan facing off. I hated both of these guys at one time or another in their careers, but I have reached a level of maturity to now admit how terrific they each are.  It was a fantastic series to watch and I am rooting heartily for the Suns to come out of the West.

- The Lakers appear to be the Suns’ likely opponent in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers are basically outclassing the Jazz with Kobe, Gasol and the rest of their supporting cast. On Saturday, we saw the value that Artest adds to the team when he actually scores.  The Jazz are working hard to stay in this series, but the Lakers just have too much talent.  I think the Jazz might steal the game tonight, but the Lakers should win Game 5 in Los Angeles on either Wednesday or Thursday. Kobe has taken his game up a notch in this series after getting scared by Oklahoma City and looking slightly older.  He has really put on the late-era Jordan suit that he has flashed numerous times during the regular season.  We’ll see how quick the Lakers close out the series and if they can control the tempo against the Suns in the Western Conference Finals.

- In the other non-competitive series, the Magic just look dominant. Granted they are playing a headcase Hawks team that will probably be disbanded after this season, but the ease with which they are taking them apart is remarkable. The Hawks have talent and should have been able to win one or maybe two games to scare the Magic, but this one looks like a sweep that the Magic will complete tonight. If so, the Magic will have about a week of rest to prepare for the Cavaliers or the Celtics who will be playing a six game and most likely a seven game series.  It will be interesting to see if their easy route through the playoffs will have a detrimental effect on the Magic as it did to the Cavaliers last year.  This team seems focused and they have that dominant inside presence that the Cavaliers lacked, as well as their dangerous wing players – even Vince Carter seems to be trying.  This Magic team may be playing better and may in reality be better than the team that went to the Finals the year before.

That’s all the NBA chat for now.  We have the Gilmore podcast tomorrow afternoon and most likely a music column for Wednesday (thinking Kate Bush write-up) and then a podcast with my friend Jenna Morse and her boyfriend where we will be discussing movies, making movies, a good film, and maybe some sketch comedy favorite moments and do’s and don’ts.  So, as always, stay with me here because this blog is going to the top.  The top of what, I don’t know, but we’ll get there.

Have one on me tonight – hopefully the basketball isn’t too terrible.

Weekend

Alright, everyone, I am getting this second post up as I had promised earlier this morning/last night. I have started contributing to this website Brooklyn Exposed, and this article about Cobble Hill was one of the first column ideas I had pitched to them.  The actual article as it will appear will be slightly different from the way it will appear here, but I am going to put it up for your weekend enjoyment - you know, just something to think about.

Before we get to that, I just want to mention three things:

1. This weekend I will be sitting down with Erik Lilleby and Janelle Sing who has also started her own blog, Giovanni and Giotto and we will be discussing the popular television show Gilmore Girls. Both Janelle and Erik are old friends of mine and they are probably two of the foremost minds on the show Gilmore Girls in the United States of America. This round-table podcast has been in the works for a few weeks now, so I am looking forward to it and preparing diligently with my Gilmore Girl research to pose the tough questions to these pundits.

2. Monday will most likely see the next basketball column as there are some interesting storylines that are developing in each Conference Semifinal Series and I need to take the weekend to see how some of those storylines play out.  Tonight, should be a must see night of basketball as the Celtics and the Cavaliers square off on ESPN at 7:00 PM with their series tied at 1-1 and the series shifting back to Boston for two games.  There has been plenty of speculation about Lebron's injured elbow as well as the Celtics finally rediscovering that their team dynamic revolves around Rajon Rondo and the fact that he is now the best player on their team, rather than Pierce, Allen or Garnett.

The second game of the night will be the Phoenix Suns taking on the San Antonio Spurs.  The Suns are up 2-0 in the series, but now the series is going back to San Antonion for two games.  The Spurs have traditionally owned the Suns, but this year's Phoenix team seems different and will definitely be a tough out.  I think we are looking at a Lakers vs. Suns Western Conference Finals series, which I sort of hope the Suns win.

3. The podcast download battle between Nick Mencia and Erik Lilleby is now tied at 24 downloads a piece as we head into the weekend.  Who will get bored this weekend and push one podcast over the top? I have had two page visits that emnated from internet connections in Pakistan, will there be a third? And will that third one choose to download the voice of Nick Mencia? Or will it be Erik Lilleby? These are the suspenseful things you come to this blog for.  Who needs Lost when you have Puddles of Myself?

Anyway,  here is the article:

Stoop to Conquer: An Afternoon in Cobble Hill
By Matt Domino

Let’s say you’re 24 years old and it’s a beautiful day in late April; the sky is absolutely clear and you have recently resigned from an office job you detested in order to pursue your creative passions.  Let’s say this life decision has led you to save all the extra money you have in order to pay the rent in Williamsburg. With all of this established, how, you might ask, can one enjoy a relatively cheap day out in Cobble Hill?  This is precisely what my friend and I were able to accomplish a few Saturdays ago.

“Let’s get lost somewhere tomorrow,” my friend texted me on a Friday night.  The idea sounded fine to me and I had been meaning to wander around Cobble Hill ever since the winter weather had broken at the end of March.  So, my friend came over with a basket containing bread, cheese, soppressata and mint leaves.  The mint leaves were to be used to make mint juleps in preparation for a Kentucky Derby Day party she was putting on the following week. I bought the bourbon and we mixed a batch of slightly sweet mint juleps in an old lemonade bottle.  With all our supplies set, we hopped on a right on time G train heading south.  We got off at Bergen Street and walked east towards the water and Court Street.

After hitting the pleasant bustle of Court Street, my friend turned to me and said, “We should find a park.”  I’d been to Cobble Hill before, but I couldn’t remember a park.  However, walking down Congress Street and passing each of the regal and inviting brownstones, we came to the tiny Cobble Hill Park.  The park is located at the square of Congress Street, Clinton Street, Verandah Place, and Henry Street.  There is only a small plot of grass, but it is in a quiet square that is surrounded on one side by brownstones and on the other by colonial looking apartment buildings that might belong in Providence.   So, we sat and ripped pieces of bread with our cut soppressata and cheese and ate them as a lunch in the sun, with sips of slow warming mint julep.

We sat, talked and tanned in the park before getting antsy at the thought of discovering more of the neighborhood.  At the southwest end of the park, we went south on the sun-dappled Clinton Street, passing stoops that led to large well-kept wooden doors, the likes of which we do not often see in Williamsburg. We continued down Clinton, turning west on Union and then south onto Court Street. We stopped into G. Esposito and Sons Pork Store just to marvel at their selection of cured meats and other Italian delicacies that far surpassed our modest picnic.  My friend spotted a flea market on the side of P.S. 58, which is directly across from the playground at Carroll Park, where we milled around people selling Egyptian clothing and tiny, self printed baby jumpers, one of which our friend bought for a mutual friend of ours who is expecting.

The allure of Smith Street caught my companion and we doubled back north.  Friends of ours were going to join us for dinner so we wanted to scout ahead.  The best prospect we both agreed on was Grocery (288 Smith Street) with its take on the French bistro menu and its affordable prix fixe early dinner menu.  Smith Street is also packed with boutique clothiers and I found myself popping in and out of each one as my friend (a budding designer herself) wanted to view the goods.  We were both especially impressed by the clothes at Smith & Butler, which left us muttering, “Some day, some day” as we walked out to take tiny sips of mint julep.

We decided to do one more swoop through the neighborhood before picking a place to eat dinner, so we headed back up to Court Street by way of Warren and again admired the impressive homes.  We thought about a friend of ours who had just bought a house and wondered what it would be like to raise kids in one of these impressive and well maintained buildings with their stretching stoops and staircases.  At the corner of Degraw and Court, we spotted free samples of food outside of Sal’s Pizzeria. They were giving out pulled pork and jerk chicken on grilled pieces of flat bread.  At that point, I peeked in and caught a glance of what looked to be some tremendous looking authentic brick oven pizza.  My mouth was watering so I suggested we turn down Degraw back towards Clinton to escape all of the food.

The friends we were meeting for dinner called us as we walked along Clinton and suggested that we go to Prime Meats. I had heard that Prime Meats was a fantastic restaurant, although a bit pricey.  However, I decided that you are only young once and that I could scrounge up the rent money somehow.  I told my friend to come and pick us up so that we could all have a terrific dinner.

As my friend and I sat on the bottom step of one of the brownstone stoops, taking in some of the last light of the evening, I looked at one of the windows of a home across the way.  Again, I wondered what it would be like to live in one of these buildings.  With no job, a rent to pay and nothing but the freedom to decide how I would next make my income, I figured that I had plenty of time to find the best way to make it through one of these well lacquered wood doors and, that someday soon, I could peek my head past the lace curtains draped across one of these windows.

“Great day,” my friend said.

“I know,” I looked at her. “And we haven’t even eaten dinner yet.”