I miss Human Giant...

Shep Smith is dropping truth serum

So long George.

When the legacy of George Steinbrenner is decided many will credit him with the exorbatent spending of many ball clubs that has led to the current state of affairs that has his infield making more than the entire Kansas City Royals. Maybe you're right. What he should be remembered for is returning the Yankees to the mystique of being America's most hated team. After the legendary runs by teams from well the beginning of the MLB which ended after the heyday of players such as Mantle, Gehrig, Maris and Berra the Yankees were a team in limbo and subsequently baseball suffered. Don't get me wrong, teams were great but there was no Goliath to slay anymore. When he purchased the team in the 70's for a scant ten million dollars no one had any idea he would turn the team into the 1.5 billion dollar juggernaut it is today. So while you hear people yell it's no good for the Yankees to conduct business as they do just remember without them teams like the Marlins, Royals, and Pirates among others are possibly contracted. I'll end by saying that baseball will miss George, he was a true original and the last of the baseball men of yore.

My take on the whole Lebron decision

This isn’t going to be one of those rambling “Oh Lebron, where’s your loyalty?” posts. I am going to be up front about being biased as a Bulls fan and wanting him to join my team. Now with that said last night’s announcement by Lebron James that he was going to play for the Miami Heat disappointed me.

It disappointed me first of all because as I said before I am a Bulls fan and look forward to the day we hold the Larry O’Brien trophy once more and he would definitely be a good fit. But I think what disappoints me the most is that this generation of players have no assassins, no cut throat guys willing to win. Everyone now wants to be friends and sing Kumbaya around a campfire. Would Jordan or Bird or Magic tried to set up a super team? No. They took pleasure in beating the best of the best.

“But Brian, didn’t those guys have great players as well?” You bet they did. But they were built through the draft. Magic was brought in to be the 2nd fiddle to Kareem, Bird was the centerpiece and aging former stars who became role players such as Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish became his cast. Jordan did it alone until management drafted Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, and traded for Bill Cartwright.

I’m not knocking Lebron as cowardly, pathetic, or a quitter ala Dan Gilbert, but a lack of history of the NBA. If he is as concerned with his legacy as he claims he is does he wants to be remembered as an ancillary piece on D-Wade’s team? I get it that a ring is a ring, but for a player who based his entire persona on personally leading a team to a title this appears to be a curious choice.

As a Bulls fan though allow me to say this, I’m not worried. We’re a young team with a core of players all under contract. While the number of players under contract for the Miami Heat return include such all stars as Mario Chalmers, deadeye shooter Mario Chalmers, and fantastic bench player Mario Chalmers.

Did he do it for money? Did he do it because he believes it gives him the best chance to win? I can’t answer that. What I can say is that he’ll never be able to compare himself to Michael Jordan or any of his heroes. They didn’t need help from their boys, they took pride in beating them.

Check it out!

Back when the Chocolate Puma was a mere Chocolate Cub he attended Kenwood Academy. While there I met a great young writer who I am proud to say is still my friend today and has just published his first book "Lincoln Stone-The Return Of The Grim Reaper."

"Hidden away by father for his own protection, Lincoln Stone was raised in a orphanage since an infant but for years he has been hiding a secret from everyone that he knows, he has developed super human abilities. Now he is embarking on a quest to find out where he comes from, but the answers he wanted soon come to find he in ways he never expected as he is thrown into the battle of good and evil to stop a being of incredible evil...his own mother."

An interesting read, so if the mood strikes you, you can purchase a copy of this soon to be runaway hit at: http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/lincoln-stone--the-return-of-the-grim-reaper/11594019

JB Smoove is amazingly hilarious

The Best of Leon - watch more funny videos

For real basketball fans only

After watching the Lakers repeat as NBA champions the talk immediately turned to talks of Kobe Bryant’s legacy. More to the point, the innevitable comparisons to Michael Jordan began anew. The biggest knick on Kobe right now appears to be that he is not as good as Michael Jordan. Well, who is? Jordan is the greatest player in the history of the league, and to use it as a negative when comparing the two is to diminish the impact that Jordan had on the league.

While there have been athletes who made more of a social impact such as Ali, Jim Brown or Jackie Robinson, Jordan was the first commercial athlete. A crossover star that had fans who didn't even follow basketball. Before Jordan the league was star driven, but those stars had to have a nemesis. The biggest stars of course being Magic and Bird. They saved the NBA from tape delay hell and put it back on primetime. But it was Jordan who’s style of play and his marketing of himself off the court is what took the game global. We all grew up wanting to be like Mike, and Kobe is no different. He grew up emulating the man, and honestly why hate him for that? He’s the closest facsmilie to Jordan the league has ever seen, but he is not the original. And that’s not a negative.

After a game 6 loss it was rumored Bryant went on a tirade against his teammates. It was said Jordan would never do that. Wrong, Jordan went off on teammates all the time. Remember when he punched Steve Kerr in the eye for beating him a game of 21 in practice? Constantly referring to Toni Kukoc as soft? Even forcing guys to play poker with him until he won. The two are wired the same. Jordan is just better. Period.

The question I pose to the Kobe haters is this, your life is on the line. Who would you rather have with the ball in their hand? If he’s not the one, he’s definitely in the conversation. Skp Bayless has gone on haraungs recently stating Jordan never needed a game 6. True. But we’re not talking about Jordan, were talking about Kobe.
The talk of his 5 titles aren’t as impressive as Jordan’s six, it’s more like two. No, it’s five and guess what he was one of the main reasons they won five.

You can’t measure a player’s greatness by the amount of rings he has. If that’s the case Rusty Larue is a better player than Jerry West. And no disrespect to Mr. larue but Jerry West is the logo, the fact he won no rings does not diminish his greatness it just shows how hard it is to win a title.

I guess the point of this whole rant is, if you hate Kobe, fine. But to knock him because he’s not Michael Jordan is ridiculous and it shows a lack of knowledge of the greats of the game. He’s the best player right now, not all-time. And you know what, there’s nothing wrong with that.