La Furia Roja

The World Cup has come and gone, and man, will it be missed. Soccer is one of my favorite sports, but it is routinely put on the back burner here in the United States. But hopefully, after this edition of "La Copa," America will come around and realize how great this sport truly is. This tournament gave us the incredible, the horrible, the unfair, the hilarious, and the heart-wrenching. Let's recap.

Yes, Spain won. Yes, they were the favorites, but they didn't make it easy on themselves. They squeaked by in most of their games on the crunch-time heroics of David Villa, and losing the first game shocked the world, but that wasn't the only shock. The reining champion Azurri of Italy didn't make it to the elimination round, and even more bizarre, the French squad was such a disgrace, the country's president felt the need to intervene when they got home.


Nigeria's President banned the country from participating in international soccer for two years due to a "shameful" performance; they were one meter and a missed shot away from a chance at the elimination round.


There were beautiful goals all tournament: from Van Brockhurst of the Netherlands, Maicon of Brazil, and of course, Landon Donovan and "the goal." There were goals that weren't goals (*cough, Tevez*) and goals that were never called. I'm sorry Frank Lampard, but that's the way the cookie crumbles with FIFA.


As I said in my preview post, "This World Cup is chock full of great players and stories to be had." However, many of the biggest stars failed to shine. Just take a look at Nike's "Write the Future" advertisment and tell me how these guys did. (Hint: they didn't).

We all watched and were amazed as Germany scored goals seemingly at will with their furious counter-attack. We watched the heartbreak of Ghana as their World Cup hopes and dreams were taken away by a Suarez handball (oh, wait, actually it was a Gyan penalty kick...)

The Netherlands went deeper than many had thought, though I can't imagine why. Their squad was solid and Robben's return in the second round only served to solidify an already potent attacking squad. Argentina had all of the circus and fanfare that comes when you pick Diego Maradona to be your coach, but the show failed to do anything against the Germans when their glaring lack of defense was painfully obvious. PS - where was Messi?

My Brazilians had an earlier exit than expected, thanks to the gifted (read: sarcasm) abilities of Felipe Melo. I can't even talk about this yet. I just hope Melo has a nice place to live other than Brazil, because I guarantee he's not very welcome there right now.

And now, we have to wait four more years for this magical month of sports to grace our televisions again. The next edition: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There is nothing that could prevent me from going. Ah, World Cup, you will be missed.

What was your favorite World Cup memory?

The Aftermath

There are no shortage of people talking about "The (infamous) Decision." It passed Bill Simmons' "Mom Test." It passed my "Dad that doesn't care about sports" test. And finally, it passed the "Female coworkers who REALLY don't care about sports" test. Everyone had something to say, an opinion, a thought, a comment, a suggestion. I do too.

LeBron James captivated a nation (and possibly the world) last Thursday night and held them captive for 28 agonizing minutes (let alone the previous week and a half, and after promising only 10) before announcing simply that he was "taking his talents to South Beach" and the Miami Heat.

Enough has been said about the "basketball" nature of the decision. Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and Cleveland all had their pros and cons, but Miami had friends, sunshine, and no income tax. Whatever, that aspect of the decision can only be analyzed retrospectively. We won't know the basketball ramifications until we see these teams on the court. There's been a lot of movement; many teams won't play anything like they do this year - the comparisons and match-ups will be very interesting to learn and watch develop across the league. But right now, it's all speculation.

The one thing we can analyze now is how this spectacle took place and how arguably one of the world's most popular athletes imploded his image faster than anyone since Tiger Woods... okay that was pretty recent, but you know what I mean. The backlash was immediate and sustained, turning "The Decision" into "The Catastrophe." A couple things stuck out to me -

1) The incredible lack of respect for the city of Cleveland, OH:

A friend (correctly) noted that LeBron James "does not owe Cleveland a damn thing." The Cavaliers got lucky with that draft pick, it's true. But he does owe the fans of Cleveland respect. And that respect demanded honesty and good faith, neither of which was exhibited in "The Decision." LeBron apparently failed to answer a single phone call or text message from Cavs ownership dating back to the end of the season. He left them hanging all the way to the end, and you can't convince me that he was entertaining going back. When Tom Izzo came to visit the Cavs, LBJ didn't even go to the meeting. During the announcement his comments regarding the fans back home was minimal, but he did manage to refer to himself in the 3rd person several times and indicate that he asked his mom what she thought would make him "happiest." C'mon son.

2) Immaturity isn't the right word, and I don't know what is, but Rick Reilly said it best in a short column today:

"James loves to have fun. He's not a killer, like Michael Jordan. He's not a harping-on-the-court-coach, pain-in-the-rear like Kobe... The fake camera shots, the dancing, the chalk. He was like that in high school and he's still like that. So why should anybody be surprised when he wants to play with his friends in a city that's 97 percent fun?... Wade can be the killer... James will just dunk, swat layups and do his Kid n' Play impressions."

Back in May I said, "Lebron couldn't will himself or his team to fight anymore, and that is a big question mark." Now he doesn't have to. He's got Wade now. Reilly continues, "You may want him to be something else, but he's not. What are you going to do, sue?"

The Alex Rodruigez/LeBron James analogies are fascinating. Phenomenal talent, can't do it by himself, goes somewhere else to be in the shadow of a city's giant for the purpose of winning a championship. Took A-Rod a while - let's see how LBJ does.

In short, I blame the media for allowing this television debacle happen. I blame every public relations profession in LeBron's camp who knew this was a bad idea and didn't speak up and say "Hey guys, have you ever considered that this may be a bad idea?"And if that person doesn't exist then I blame LeBron James' camp. I also blame the state of American sports and the perils of "fan-dom." We care too much, as evidenced by silly blogs like this, and the American sports industry feeds off of it.

When it really comes down to it, I really don't know what to think. I completely understand LBJ's decision. He's going to have a helluva time playing his game with his friends in South Beach, but the pressure is on. He has got to win and win soon. I simply cannot comprehend the methodology. Nothing indicates that he "made the decision" that morning - everything points to premeditation.

Let's assume for a moment that the LBJ/Bosh/Wade trifecta was concocted way back at the 2008 Summer Olympics as put forth by some writers. Let's imagine then that LeBron, knowing this was the plan, actually did quit in the Boston series, an idea put forth by many, including Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and myself. Now put "The Decision" in that perspective, and it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It would be as if the NBA were turning into the WWE. Conspiracy theory, I know, but what if?

Side note: while Dan Gilbert was more than likely out of line in the above-linked letter, let he without the sin of overreacting after feeling extremely betrayed and cheated throw the first stone. I don't agree, but I can't judge.

As sports media agonize over this "LeBacle," David Ortiz won the Home Run Derby last night and had this to say afterwards (paraphrased): "I wanted to do this for the fans, that's why we're here. They come to see us, and I'm happy we were able to put on a good show." Wow, now that's what I'm looking for! A stark contrast to "LeBron's gotta do what LeBron's gotta do." We care so much for no discernible reason whatsoever, and that just feels good. Alas, maybe I'm asking too much.

I Am A Witness

I've been looking forward to NBA free agency for a while now - it's been building up ever since one of my roommates in college who spent exorbitant amounts of time on ESPN found an article in the 38th page of NBA news that quickly noted that the most talented and widespread group of free agents were becoming available on July 1, 2010.

That date has come and gone, and teams are now doing their best to convince the best to come to their town. Whether it's the fans, the prospect of winning, the city life, or the money, all free agents this year have a lot to consider, because frankly, the 2010-2011 season hangs in the balance.

First up, we have the Atlanta Hawks who decided that a guy who isn't in the same league or breath as the headliners (we'll get to them in a minute) and who's miserable play forced an early playoff exit via sweep by the Orlando Magic was worth the maximum amount of money that they could offer him. Joe Johnson handed the Hawks 12.3 pts/gm during that series as the "leader" on the team, and the Hawks handed him $119 million dollars. Huh?

Of course, the big news today is Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade uniting in Miami. Speculation continues that they will bring on Lebron James on as well, but I don't see it happening (more on this later). This will be a force to be reckoned with, especially if some of the other halfway decent players on this team can pull their weight: see Exhibit A, 2010 NBA Playoffs. With a legitimate post presence in Bosh and a ruthless, determined Dwayne Wade leading the charge, look out Eastern Conference, basketball is back in Miami.

Amare Stoudemire ran out of Phoenix faster than Lindsay Lohan went back into prison (too soon?). This was disappointing for me - a lot was said about the team chemistry and poise that the Phoenix Suns showed in last year's playoffs, gritting it out against a hated rival (Spurs), and taking the Lakers to their limit. And true to everything we've ever thought about Amare, he bolted. Now he's back with Mike D'Antoni and praying for LeBron James to come to New York. But he's not going to... not yet.

LeBron James has always been an on the fence kind of guy for me. I respect his talent, unquestionably. Anyone who is 6'8" and 275lbs. and still the fastest guy from the arc to the basket is clearly gifted. He drives the lane better than anyone in the NBA. But he's clearly lacking in maturity in areas and that clutch gene hasn't made enough appearances. One shot against the Magic (in a series the Cavs lost) does not make him a clutch shooter. And then there's the off-the-court stuff.

He is a larger than life person; his marketing/branding/PR people are very good at what they do. The question is what trumps in the mind of LBJ: the basketball player or the icon? We are all witnesses, the commercial tells us so. But of what? An incredible player leading a mediocre team to varying levels of the NBA Playoffs and winning no championships? He's very fun to watch, but it's tough to reconcile the notion that he doesn't have what made Jordan and Bill Russell special: a certain "I don't care what it takes, I'm not letting you beat me" attitude, day in and day out. As the free agency season drags on, we are getting closer to understanding the truth.

He wants to be an icon.

LeBron has scheduled an event on ESPN for this Thursday (7/8/2010) at 9PM to tell everyone what his decision is. It will be a 1 hour special to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. LBJ will probably wait until 9:59PM before saying quickly into the screen, "I've chosen... the New Jersey Nets. Thanks for coming tonight, everyone." Jay-Z will stand up from his front row seat and give him a Nets #6 jersey, Mikhail Pokhorov will give him his first year salary in seperate suticases held by beautiful women, a la "Deal or No Deal." All will be right in the world of LBJ... and then in two years, the Nets move to Brooklyn.

If he wants to win championships, he will prove me wrong and go to the Chicago Bulls and live with the fact that he will never be Michael Jordan but will constantly be compared to him for the rest of his life, more so then than ever. Regardless, free agency continues on, and tomorrow night, I can't wait to be a witness.