PREVIEWING THE LOVE DOCTOR'S BIG DAY

"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing and be nothing." -Elton Hubbard

"5=1." -Larry Brown staple belief

"We want to play fast....that does not mean we want to shoot fast." -Seth Greenberg

"He's a "late passer" -- guy who looks for his move first and does not see the open man at the right time." -Kevin Eastman



Hey peeps. Hope everyone is having a good week. I know that for many who view this blog on a regular basis, the weekend cannot come soon enough. The wait is winding down. Anticipation is sky high. The Super Bowl of weddings for the year 2009 is finally here. Pete Moran, the Love Doctor, will be tying the knot with his beautiful bride Christina Saluan this Saturday. In a strange summer, that is sadly winding down, this is for all intents and purposes the biggest event and a great way to begin the month of August.

Now we all have high expectations. With a guest list of this caliber, it is very difficult to imagine anything except a day and night of total euphoria. The day will begin with a touching wedding that is sure to bring many to tears. I expect a classy ceremony that will make both the Moran and Saluan families extremely satisfied. The flowers and decor will look great. The bridesmaid dresses will be pretty. I expect Pete's tuxedo choices for himself and his groomsmen will be top notch. Hopefully the priest will nail a short and sweet message to the bride and groom. The whole nine yards.

Then we move into the early stages of the reception. This is a great part of any wedding. The drinks start to flow a little bit. Everyone gets settled in. You get to make your rounds and talk to some people you have not seen in a while. You scout out the dance floor. You scout out the music selection, or get a read on the DJ. You eat some crab cakes. You scout out the female talent. You grab another beer. Somebody hits a great one liner and brings the house down. It's all great stuff. And as you sit down to eat, you can feel that the night is still very young, but it has been great already. THEY GOT DRAFTS!

The best man speech, a crucial point in any wedding night will be key. This really dictates where the wedding will go. It sets the tone. He/they can push it to a level once thought unreachable, or it can put a sudden damper on the eating hour if by chance the best man bombs (no pressure). Needless to say, I am very anxious to see how that will be handled. Sources close to me have informed me that the brothers Moran will be handling the speech. 3 Moran brothers for the price of 1. I like the idea. I like where this could go. Learning that, I am fully expecting a great speech. A 5 or 6 belly laugh speech. I'll really be looking for Matt Moran to push the envelope with his language and subject topics. I expect him to be the catalyst. He'll be the star of the show. A Jason Pejak speech would have been phenomenal if Pete chose to go that road. It could have competed with the likes of Matt, Pat and Joe. But putting it in the hands of Matt is a pretty good play, and I hope he uncorks the potential that is gonna overflowing in that room. I hope someone has the bleep button ready.

BUT NOW, the night really gets going. THE HEAVY HITTERS start to come out and play. This is why you want to get invited to weddings. This is where the fun begins. And when I say heavy hitters, I mean heavy hitters. This party will be full of them. The Derek Smiths. The Anthony DeMicheles. The Jon Franks. The Dave Gibbons. The Drew Salatas. Fast company to say the least. This is when the character of any wedding is defined. Where is this party gonna go? Who is gonna take this party to the next level? How drunk are people willing to get in front of people they love? Those are the kind of questions everyone is asking themselves. WHOSE GONNA MAKE A PLAY? ASK YOURSELF: DO I HAVE THE STONES TO MAKE THIS WEDDING BETTER?

Morning Line Favorites:

Best Dancer: Alex Koltsov--Alex provides the crowd with a perfect mix of seriousness and fun in the way he dances. His patented backpedal in place coupled with his stare has been making the women wet for years. He also probably knows the electric slide and other dance staples of weddings. Huge bonus points. I expect him to be a tone setter. Other notable dancers include: Drew Salata and Tony D.

Drunkest Guy at the Wedding: Tie, Rudy Kirbus, Rory O'Neil-- For Rudy, this is a relative no brainer. He'll be blitzed 2 hours before the wedding ceremony starts. In past weddings involving ex-JCU ball players Rory has not disappointed. He has been a catalyst in single -handedly bankrupting whoever is paying for the alcohol at the weddings he has been privy to. However, I regret to inform everyone that Rory will not even be attending. There were huge question marks surrounding how much he would have had in the tank anyway. This is the kind of category where the favorite never wins. This is Vegas' cash cow bet. You always have your favorites, and then a young upstart comes to the wedding and blows everyone out of the water. But for now, it's Rudys to lose. THE STREAKS ARE HOT!

Best Dressed: Derek Smith--There is no doubt in my mind that Derek will be the best dressed guy at this party. And if this is the kind of reception where sunglasses are being worn, it will only add to his look. The only question is which $200+ pair he will choose to wear. Add it all up, from the gelled hair to the shoes, and his sartorial splendor will trump the field. HURT ME!

Drunkest Dancer: Derek Smith--If there was ever a dance floor to swoop on, this is the place. This will be prime pickings for him. And I expect him to take full advantage. Whether it be moms, bridesmaids, cousins, wives--Sweet D is not going to discriminate. SHE WANTS IT!

Steady/Consistency Guy of the Night: Tony DeMichele, Terry Walsh--It's unfair to call Tony and Terry sleepers. They rarely disappoints. But I think it's appropriate to slot them here. On a night with high expectations, it will be easy to fall under the radar. I think when we look back at the efforts put forth throughout the night, their performance will stack up against everyone's. This is a road game for Tony, so I expect his focus to be high. You know what you're gonna get from Tony D. A great floor game. Making the extra pass. Getting the loose ball. With Terry you are going to get heavy production and a wise understanding of the game. A guy who will be ready to take the big shot.

Sleeper of the Night: Pat Prosser--There are few guys in the John Carroll community who have the inane ability to raise the level of their game when the occasion asks for it. This is one of those guys. When the money's on the table, he comes and plays at a high level. I dunno what his RSVP status is, but God I hope he is there. Thinking about it, the level of this reception rests heavily on his presence. It's on his shoulders. When the focus is dwindling, and Derek Smith has sunk his teeth into a 31 year old slumpbuster, I think it will only be Prosser who can convince him to ditch the girl and head to bar for greener pastures. Time will tell. But if you read this Coach Prosser, I expect you to be there.

Mixed Prop Bets:

Pete Crying on the Alter 1:2

Coach Moran crying at the ceremony 1:2

Conor crying at the ceremony 1:3

Jason Pejak hooking up with a bridesmaid Off the Board

Derek Smith hooking up with a bridesmaid 9:4

Dicky Reynolds in attendance 20:1

Damon Goodwin in attendance 40:1

Derek Smith hooking up with a woman over 35 years old 5:1

Bob Morris in attendance 100: 1

Chris Zajac asleep by 9pm 4:1

Alex Koltsov eskimo kissing a co-ed 5:1

Random nipple slip by bridesmaid 8:1

Matt Moran dropping an F bomb in the best man speech 4:1

John Curran passed out by 9pm 5:1

Rudy arguing with me about who had the better grade school basketball and football team 3:1

A fist fight between the brothers 10:1

Coach Moran's hair being messed up and disheveled by 6pm: 4:1

Pete throwing cake in Christina's face first 1:2

Christina throwing cake in Pete's face first 3:1

Rudy finishing the night past out in the backseat of Coach Stavole's car 8:1


In closing, I would just like to congratulate Pete on his big day. Pete has been a great friend to me since the first day I met him. He was a great player and teammate, and I loved playing with him and being a part of some great teams. He taught me things like "the sleeper," "the math problem," and the story of the Little Cub. He blew minds of any guy or player who came into contact with him. His advice on sports betting and how to approach and treat women will stand the test of time. His life principles, such as why he eats meat on Fridays during Lent are an inspiration to many of us. I couldn't possibly do Pete justice in this closing tongue and cheek paragraph. I am looking forward to celebrating the night with Pete and all our friends. It should be a great night. LET'S GET DIRTY!

Erin Andrews, The Crawford Dunk, SEC Media Day, The TO Show

"John Kuester took into the equation what players could do and tried to put them in positions where they could be successful" -Chris Jent

"The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds." -JFK

"My role is to really manage the staff, morale, discipline, really determine the direction that we want the ship to go in." -Coach Dabo Sweeney

EA

I dunno where I have been over the last couple days, but the Erin Andrews peep show video just came across my desk. And to be honest, I think it is something we should all be very sad about. I know I am pretty bummed out about it. It kind of ruins everything about her. She had this untouchable mystique about her. This unmatchable beauty that you were never gonna be able to see. I am really bummed out for her. She deserved better. This was a woman who was pitching a perfect game in terms of her mission to remain and become a credible sports journalist. You couldn't find one picture anywhere on the internet that showed anything remotely scandalous.

For many of us, including me, she was #1 on our big boards in terms of celebrity crushes. She was the hottest chick in all the land. She was right there with Megan Fox. Olivia Wilde. Alba and Biel. It's really sad that it came to this. It wasn't time for it to come to this. I dunno where she goes from here. It's gonna be so difficult for her to work now. College football stadiums aren't going to be an ideal working environment. The taunts and jeers by drunk males can now go from fun to terrible. The 250 "Erin will you marry me?" comments she hears each night will turn into much worse. The "Erin will you go to prom with me?" will turn into much worse. People will be terrible to her. And for what?

I will interested to see where it goes from here. She's making her rounds on the news media shows. She's promised to prosecute the guilty party as much as the law will allow her to. There is really no simple solution. I see her taking a couple months off, possibly a leave of absence from ESPN for a couple months. College football season could be up in the air. It depends on how she chooses to handle it. She could try her best to just play through it, but I see that being hard. She has no reason to do it. She is Erin Andrews. She'll have plenty of opportunities. To be continued I guess. But I think fully embracing it and doing Playboy should be in her thought track.

Jordan Crawford

Staying on the topic of internet videos, I caught the Jordan Crawford dunk this morning as well. WOWWWWWWWWWW! Pretty good smash. MONSTERRRRRRR dunk. I was really impressed. That was awesome. But I mean, it was what is was. It was a pickup game where everyone in the game, LeBron and the 9 other zero's on the court were playing at a slow speed. They all were going half go unless they had the ball. And in this case, Crawford got the ball on a baseline out of bounds gotta little rub screen where his guy got hit a little bit, turned the corner ready to get busy and he made that drive count. Strong left leg plant. Huge two hand hammer dunk. LeBron was in a bad spot and got caught. He didn't realize the rate of speed Crawford was coming with. I don't think anyone did. But from the way I saw it, Bron wasn't totally mailing it in. He went up high enough where his hand was over the rim. It looked to me that he went up at 65% go. So he wasn't totally not trying. He got dunked on. Courtney Lee dunking on him in Game 2 the ECF was better, but he got dunked on again nevertheless. But the point is that it really should have never come to this. Bron should have just low keyed it. Made a joke about it. Admitted that Crawford got him. Jordan already created the "I'm so cutthroat that I'll destroy a tape that shows me looking bad on a basketball court" persona. Bron should have laughed and smiled. And he will. It's just 3 weeks late.

SEC Media Day

I DVR'd SEC Media Day on ESPNU the last two days. It is about as entertaining as watching a Tribe game when Cliff Lee isn't pitching, but for a diehard college football fan, it can be valuable to watch. I am not a diehard fan by any stretch, but I enjoy watching and learning how coaches speak and I was curious to learn about what kind of things they would stress with their hour with the media. There was a couple guys that I wanted to hear speak. Namely, Lane Kiffin at Tennessee, Dan Mullen at Mississippi State, Les Miles at LSU, and of course Urban Meyer at Florida and Nick Saban at Alabama. The latter two were the guys that I focused the most on. The Nicktator is a polarizing individual and he lives up to that gloss as a speaker. I love listening to him speak. It's straight out of the Belichick playbook. Simple. Smart. No non-sense. Gives nothing away. He's the boss. Meyer is very similar in his approach, although he is much less hostile than Saban. Here's a couple of Saban quotes:

"It's important that you have a group that is responsible for their own self determination in terms of doing their job. "

"We don't have one individual on our team that can make our team great. But we do have one individual, any one individual, who can destroy the team chemistry and destroy all these things that we're talking about by being a blinking light and making bad choices and decisions. And we had an example of that in our bowl game."

But the thing that I saw up and down the board the last two days is how good of a fit these guys are as SEC coaches. It feels like all these guys came out of their mother's wombs with visors on yelling "you're gon ha to gimme better effort there son, God Almightyyyyy!" They all pass the eye test. They pass the test of "can a deeply southern 71 year old woman get behind and support this coach?" If they weren't coaches they would mayors of southern states. They all pass the test. The only one who doesn't is Urban Meyer.

The TO Show

DVR'd the pilot of The TO Show on VH1. To be honest, it was much better than I thought it would be. The writers and producers did a helluva job making TO seem like a regular person. He seemed like a pretty normal celebrity athlete. There was things that showed how weird he was--hung out with no one except his bodyguard, wearing a hood and sunglasses inside his hotel room. But in my opinion, TO comes out looking pretty normal. Macks it with a couple ladies. Scores an Asian real estate agent. Goes out to South Beach. Not terrible. Expected worse. The real crime is that these idiot (had the c word plural but changed it to idiots) publicists are probably gonna enjoy a boost in their livelihoods because of this show despite being untalented and unbearable. I mean I know that's what the script tells them how to behave, but it's silly. Show way less of them. More of Drew Rosenhaus talking about the world. Much more of the smoking hot white chick that TO hangs out with for seemingly half the season (showed her a lot in the "coming up this season montage), and much much more of TO's ex-fiance, who just seems dynamite in all areas of life. WOW, he really screwed that one up. But I would say this is not worth having in your DVR schedule. It's more of a "just happen to catch it and watch it for 20 minutes" type thing.

Talkin NBA, Rules of Thumb and Entourage

"He didn't really impress me. He wasn't very assertive." -Walt Frazier on Thabeet's summer league performance

“I always ask myself, 'Are we playing hard?' If so, I can evaluate defensive schemes. If not, your scheme can’t be evaluated.” -Jeff Van Gundy

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” -Dale Carnegie

Peeps, Happy Tuesday. Wanted to start out with a couple thoughts from the book I am reading. It is called "Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business without Losing Yourself," by Alan Weber. Weber was the co-founder of Fast Company Magazine. It is a compilation of rules and observations Weber has come across and developed along the way of his journey. Here are a couple tidbits I have come across in my reading:

Rule #3: Ask the last question first. --When you are attacking a problem, or handling an issue, ask yourself: what's the point of this exercise? What is my definition of victory with this given problem? By answering the last question first, you can really get started. If you fail to answer that last question, how do you know that you won? How do you know how to allocate your time and resources? How do you know when you're done? And you really have to take some time with this. The answer isn't "to make a lot of money." It's not "all of the above." Take some time thinking about this. Your first answer is usually the wrong answer.

Rule #5: Change is a math formula. --Change happens when the cost of the status quo is greater than the risk of change. It's not enough to be convinced you're right. Because the other side also thinks they are right. You have got to be very clear in your own beliefs that you are in this for the long run, not staking your life and career for a short term victory. Whether you are trying to switch jobs, trying to move to a new city or switching majors, whatever the cause if you care enough to fight you have got to care enough to stay and fight.

Rule #14: You don't know if you don't go. --There is no substitute for genuine experience. Let go of control and let new people and experiences penetrate your bubble of security and habits. Get out of your comfort zone. Buy a magazine you never would think of buying instead of Sports Illustrated. Eat lunch with a different group of people at work. Saying yes is so simple and can open up many great doors that you don't even know are there.

Entourage

My buddy Kelly hit me with a text Sunday night calling that episode of Entourage a top 10 candidate. Obviously that was a little strong by Kelly. But again, it is that kind of emotion and energy that an episode of Entourage creates. It is such a great show. Even when it's weak. And I think for the most part, it's been pretty weak. I don't think you can look at a single plot line right now with any type of excitement. Aside from Drama, who is carrying the show in my opinion, the plots are all played out. Do we really need the Bill Lumburgh plot line where he is stepping out on his wife? Wow, high powered rich people in today's culture stray from their wives and fall for young skanks? Didn't know that. That's a stupid take. Same thing with Turtle's plot line. I am already tired of Meadow Soprano and the famous celeb falls for normal person plot. It's weak. And E's situation is boring too. Not crazy about the new girl in the love triangle, but I am sure she will grow on people. She wouldn't be on the show if she didn't have "grow on you hottness". The guys who run the show are way too smart to let that happen. They are actually getting a little cocky with it. They probably just sat around and said, "you know, we have hit home run after home run with girls on this show, let's mess with people and put a skinny bug-eyed freak on the show for a couple weeks, who guys will be outraged about but then learn to think is hot before we cut her in episode 7." Again, to close this, like I said last week, they are hitting on very real topics in Hollywood and regular life. We can all relate to E in some way or the other. We see the cheating husband all the time. I would just like a little more innovation in what they choose to cover. Show me things that I don't know about Hollywood and the business. But great show. Great part of my Sunday.

The Cavs

Don't look now, but Shaq Diesel is set to start a new reality TV show over the fall, where I guess he is going to challenge other sports celebrities in the sports they play. Sounds like a real winner. Looking forward to the Michael Phelps episode. That's gonna be riveting. But I mean here you go diehard Cavs fans, where do you come out on this? Defend this for me. I have been a little critical of this move and I am not gonna re-hash my arguments against it. But this is what you get when you bring in a guy like Shaq. This is all part of it. In for a penny, in for a pound. I would much rather hear that he is busy doing knee and back stability exercises 5 times a week, doing on court workouts 3 days a week, and doing plenty of cardio. Obviously, we would be dreaming if we thought any player in the NBA would be doing that.

Haven't really said much about Anthony Parker but I will now. I like that move. It's a good move for a good player. Parker is a very good offensive floor player, and a great corner 3 point shooter. He adds a little length on the wing, and doesn't need the ball to play. He has never been asked to play defense the way Brown is gonna ask him to do it, but he is plenty capable of doing so. I hope that he can continue to shoot at the level and percentage that he has in the past. He will have to adjust to being very wide open when he shoots, which has seemed to be an adjustment for some. But he is a journeyman pro. He's been overseas and back. So I hope that he has a strong mental focus and can be ready to help us.

Kind of a slick move by GM Danny Ferry sneaking out an offer sheet to swingman Jamario Moon. He was a guy that I championed earlier this season as a fantasy sleeper. In his rookie stint with the Raps, he was a dynamo with his patented 9 points 8 rebounds 3 assists 4 steals 2 blocks 2 dunks type games. He stalled a little bit this season when scouts and teams realized he wasn't very good. But he is the kind of guy who can be very valuable to a good team. He can easily be lost in the shuffle and make a lot of valuable plays when he's the 8th best guy on the team and gets lost in the scouting report shuffle. He's a guy with a lot of length who can guard most 2's 3's and 4's at an acceptable grade. I think he fits the Cavs a little better than a Matt Barnes could. Barnes, a better player, but needs the ball to move a little more freely, and needs to run the floor all game to be effective. Moon can kind of play in the slow half court scheme that the Cavs are going to have to play this season with Shaq in the middle.

I think if the Heat don't match the offer for Moon, it creates some depth and flexibility for the Cavs to keep listening to offers to upgrade the roster. I think this might create an opportunity where Mo Williams and Delonte West are now expendable. I don't think both are expendable. But I think you can now afford to put Mo and D in a deal and feel pretty good about it if it is going to help your team. And I think Ferry is definitely keeping his eyes and ears open to hook another big time move. The big thing in my eyes in the Zydrunas contract chip he has in his pocket. A nice little expiring $11 million chip. Let's hope he plays well, so there will be interest for him at the deadline.

Talking NBA

You know, I have to laugh at all these people-radio guys, TV guys, my friends who keep insisting that the Magic have regressed since losing Turkoglu. My buddy Josh champions this idea a little bit. In the words of Chad Ochocinco "child please." Since day 1, I have been way against this argument and I dunno why other people are still on the other side. They aren't happy that they lost MJT. He made some big shots and created a lot of opportunities for the team, but he did a lot of stupid shit too. And he peaked two years ago. It's a net neutral losing him. They are far and away the preseason favorite in the eastern conference. A healthy Jameer. D12. Bass, Barnes, Gortat. Vinsanity. Lewis and Pietrus. Anthony Johnson. Star-studded. A tough challenge for the Cavs, but a challenge I think they are going to be up for.

Next summer, when I have become a sports agent, and am representing a couple fringe NBA players, I can't wait to get to the Vegas Summer League. That's a great forum. I can't wait to spend a couple days at that place. I would love to see how those games play out start to finish. You get a couple highlights here and there, but it would be fun to see the kind of level and intensity that those guys play with. You would think that it would be high. Guys playing for their livelihoods. But at the end of the day, it's still a summer league. And I think more often than not, the guys treat it that way. But how bout Blake Griffin's tip dunk through about 6 guys in the key last week. Wow. And Anthony Morrow's 47 point game. Strong.

ENTOURAGE, NEVER BACK DOWN

Blake Griffin on his brother: "He can guard the 2, 3, 4 and occasionally the 5 because he's so strong and moves well."

Anthony Morrow: "You start out wanting to be the best on your H.S. team, then the best in the city, the state. You just keep pushing."

“All our acquisitions have been anticipating being a more up-tempo team. We wanted players who could play in transition." -Daryl Morey

"What we did last year wasn't good enough to get it done. You have to do the little things better; that's been our approach." -Matt Ryan


Hey guys. Hope all is well. Sunday night saw the return of Entourage. Great show. Everyone has an opinion on it. Mostly praise. Some negativity. But it always spurs debate because mostly everyone who watches it is a big fan of it. So it's something that guys and girls like to talk about. Many passionately defend it as the best show on TV, others discuss where they would take it if they were in charge, and some just depressingly concede that they are running out of ideas and are cashing in on their last gasps. It is amazing that they show is going into it's 6th season. That's unheard of these days. That's the beauty of HBO though.

I kind of fall between having a strong opinion about where the show should go, and conceding that it isn't as good as it used to be. And I think that's natural. Nothing will ever come close to the those first 10 episodes. Those were the gold standard (pardon my play on words). But those were far and away the best ones. There are certainly exceptions. Season 2 was very strong at points as well. And the last several seasons have had some high points. I feel proud that I was a entourage pioneer. I brought Entourage to my peer group. I was ahead of the curve. So I am naturally a little ahead of the curve in denouncing it as an elite TV show. Entourage for me is one of those weird shows. It's at a point to where I would like to be on the writing team because I think I can take it in good directions. It is also to a point where I am very disappointed every time it is over every week. And I look forward to it all week. I think that's when you know it's a great show. You know it's a great show when you're really disappointed when it's over and you have to wait an entire week to see it again. You know it's a great show when you have problems with what they did in the episode from a plot perspective. And you know it's a great show when you are looking at the clock and say, "o damn, it's 10: 51 already? Only two or three more minutes."

Having said all that, I was happy with the first episode. Strong effort. 27 minutes. Drama as hilarious as ever. Gold with the Mad Men line. Mrs. Ari ass shot. Sloan. It was a good start. But you can see what it's becoming. It's becoming more and more about the internal struggles between the 5 guys. The life decisions that they have to start making as reality continues to set in on them. It's kind of depressing when you think about it. We are all heading there ourselves. But in typical Entourage fashion, I trust that they will do a good job of mixing in fun with the deeper meanings. The star studded list of celebrity cameos (Nash, Phelps, Brady) along with the partying as only they can really do it, will carry the show.

How bad does it suck that E gets the hottest chicks on the show? I hope that bothers a lot of people. Cause it bothers me. And it bothers me that Kevin Connelly runs around LA and gets the same kind of run with girls in real life that E gets on the show. It's absolutely ridiculous. Just more proof that life sucks. I realize that you gotta bring Sloan back in the show cause she is a smoke show, but why do you have to have her fawning for E? F that. Drives me crazy. Kevin Connelly is like 5'5. He's smaller than Earl Boykins. I digress.

We have a free preview of Starz this week. And I stumbled upon a showing of the movie Never Back Down. It stars the black guy from Blood Diamond. The bully from the OC. And some other guy named Sean Faris. Also a smoking hot broad named Amber Heard. For any of you who have seen this, you know it's fantastic. But for those who haven't I would advise that you invest an hour and forty-five minutes on when you have a chance. I don't wanna ruin it for you. I just wanna discuss it with you. And yes, I know that looked like one of the worst films ever made. But it has watchability all over it. Trust me on this.

WAIT A MINUTE, HE SIGNED FOR HOW MUCH?

"The behavior that you see on the field was either taught or accepted." -Jim Tressel

"You have to change each year. Your players change, their ability levels change, so we as coaches adjust." -Jeff Fisher

Wake Forest football coach Jim Grobe: "We're not looking for the best players we can find. We're looking for the best kids we can find."

“Leadership is a quality of those who earn the respect of others through the wisdom of the combination of their words and their actions.” - Walter Grant IV, former president, University of Redlands Whitehead Leadership Society


Let's first just talk about how big of a C word LeBron James is. I don't want to waste much time on this. It's a non-issue. But can you believe this ass hole? Some no-namer crushes one when you're in the area, and you're so image conscious, you're such an egomaniac that you make some suits confiscate the tapes? In the words of Chad Ochocinco, "child please." I just don't understand the process. This could have been a laugh. This could have been something Sportscenter could have shown for one day. And that would have been it. But LeBron is so worried about his image and his ego that he couldn't just smile and say something like, "hey, I was letting all these bums have their fun and Crawford snuck up on me but when he's in the league I'll try to get him back. I'll be lookin for you Crawford (smile and laugh)." LeBron just keeps getting worse and worse. What a chump. Don't expect to see any comment on this from our crack Plain Dealer staff. Or any radio or TV reporter in Cleveland. All those guys will have their mouths shut. Cause if any of us say anything negative about Bron, any criticism, whether it be constructive or not and he's just gonna take his basketball and go play somewhere else. Nike is smart. They are gonna find a way to spin this. They'll finally concede and show it I imagine sometime soon, and just say that they were going to show it all along. But all this could have been avoided if LeBron would have just conceded it. Jordan Crawford did a hell of a job on his press junket today. He just kinda shrugged it off and low keyed it. Perfect. Bron just looks really stupid.


CAVS COMPLEX 11:30 EST Wednesday Evening

Danny Ferry: Okay, what can we swing and miss on next?

Ferry Minion: This afternoon, we decided to tackle Andy's contract tonight.

Danny Ferry: Great, let's get after it. What are we thinking?

Ferry Minion: Well Mr. Ferry, we kind of lucked out. By opting out and becoming unrestricted, Andy has ended up costing himself money. Weird huh, this economy is really taking its toll, amidst several other fact-(cut off by Ferry)

Danny Ferry: (While watching game film of his senior season at Duke): Watch me, push this kid from Clemson in the back and make a layup. BOOM. Haha.

Ferry Minion: And Dan Fegan really misjudged the market. Currently, there are no other teams interested in signing Andy. We'd be bidding against ourselves if we decide to move on him now. And luckily today, Byrdman Chris Andersen signed last night. 5 years, $26 million. That's a pretty good basis to set our plan of attack. Byrdman is almost better than Andy in pretty much every category, and he plays way less minutes. In fact, if you look at their stats per 48 minu--(cut off by Ferry)

Danny Ferry: So $60 million over 6?

Ferry Minion: Well sir, the market is bearing much less than that. And remember, we are competing against ourselves. And sir, we have to be very conscious of the salary cap in the long run. The cap is really shrinking. Next summer is going to be the most anti-climactic event in the his--(cut off by Ferry)

Danny Ferry: Where are we on Charlie V and McDyess?

Ferry Minion: Those guys signed with some of our major competitors already. I reminded you to call their agents several times. (looks over to see Ferry hanging up the phone)

Danny Ferry (slams phone): It's done, 6 years, $50 million. We won the Andy sweepstakes.


As you can see, I am having a little fun at Andy's and Danny Ferry's expense. I think that contract is a little over the top. Very over the top. By far the worst contract so far in this fun little 3 week free agency period. Brian Cardinal's contract think Andy's contract is a little much. A role player. An energy guy. He now makes more than Trevor Ariza and Charlie Villanueva. He makes more than a ton of guys now. He makes more than a ton of guys who negotiated their deals in a good economy. AND FOR WHAT? Andy is a great player. He does a ton of good things on a basketball court. Intangible things. Things that we have yet to begin to measure effectively. 60 charges a year. Offensive rebounds. Tap backs to get an extra possession. He ruffles opponents' feathers. He's not afraid to put his chest on other teams' star players. He bothers people. All great attributes. Hell, some nights, he can make 7 outta 14 uncontested right handed layups. I just think that you cannot give a guy like Andy that kind of money. I think it's silly. The market was bearing much less than what we paid. There were no other teams interested in him. Energy guy, role players--you can find those guys everywhere. You just have to do a good job looking. There are guys all over this league that can do what Andy does. The scouts and the player personnel guys get paid to find them. I just don't understand how you defend giving this guy that much money for that many years. He hasn't improved in 4 years as a player, both offensively and defensively. He's the same guy he has always been. He held out last season and fucked up your first half of the season. So you were mediocre record wise and had to play Boston in the 2nd round last season. He can't guard Dwight Howard. He can't guard Rashard Lewis. The two areas where you need to improve your offensive and defensive talent. And the argument that he's gonna start and play 35-40 minutes is a complete joke. He's a 20 minute a night fan favorite energy guy. He's gonna play well enough to finish games for you down the stretch because of his defense and awareness. You know what he's gonna give you. All out energy. Effort on the defensive end and the offensive glass. A good perimeter screener who roles right down the middle of the key. You don't reward those guys with 50 million dollar long term contracts. I recognize the importance and value that Andy has had on this roster over the last 4 seasons. I realize that his intangibles are hard to find. I realize that it's a whole new ball game with Shaq in the middle, and a guy like Andy could prove to be ever more vital to this team. I just have a problem with the price point. Look it up. Energy role players getting paid big don't pan out very well. The Cavs overpaid. And that's fine. We have an owner with deep pockets. I just would have liked to see the Cavs get him at a better price. Or give that money to Byrdman Chris Andersen. He's better.