Archive for June 2nd, 2010

WATERCOOLER CHAT: LEBRON LIKES CLEVELAND, THIN CHESTED LAKERS, END OF DONTRELLE

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the LeBron James drama is just as hot as the NBA Finals.  He will appear on Larry King Live on Friday to discuss his future.  Well, apparently, in a preview of that interview, LeBron James publicly stated that Cleveland, his current team, has the edge to sign him.  LeBron said the fans in Cleveland made him feel comfortable over the last 7 years and that he is comfortable there.  Of course, nobody really knows what his intentions are, but there is no doubt that LeBron James has a sincere loyalty about him.

Elsewhere in the NBA, with the Finals set to begin Thursday night, some very interesting news has come out about the Lakers.  During the season, Phil Jackson called his team “thin-chested”, implying that they are soft when taking charges.  Well, against the Celtics, the Lakers are going to have to turn up their defensive intensity.  If they want to win, they will have to play 10x more physical then they’re accustomed to.  So, as incentive, the players are (supposedly) getting paid a $50 cash reward to take charges.  Remember, taking a charge call, while it may hurt a bit, gets your team the ball back.  And that extra possession might just be the difference between winning by 1-point or losing by 1-point at the end of the game.

BASEBALL

And in baseball, Dontrelle Willis was once one of the most exciting pitchers in the league.  He had an electric charisma about him, and a high kick off his wind-up that always made the highlight reel.  His glory years were with the Marlins, and he then he was traded as part of a blockbuster deal to the Detroit Tigers.  He was supposed to be their eventual ace.  Well, that experiment didn’t exactly work out, and yesterday marked the end of the Dontrelle Willis era in Detroit.  They traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Billy Buckner and cash.  Perhaps Arizona is the place for Willis to get his swagger back.  Pitchers go through serious slumps, but some do rebound to become fantastic performers in clutch playoff situations.

Share
No comments