The Super Bowl is Super for a Reason

Football has taken over as "America's Game" which is sad to me, and other baseball fans, but it is true. The hype around the NFL is enormous and nothing is bigger and better than the Super Bowl. After the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers treated us to a great game at the biggest venue down in Big D, it is obvious football has never been more popular. The NFL is the most lucrative league in the world yet there may not be a season next year. What would a Sunday be like without football and only NBA games to watch at noon? Kind of like Los Angeles without the Lakers-you still have something to watch but it's just not as good because it's the Clippers. As the league now shifts their full attention to the collective bargaining agreement let's look at why the Super Bowl is the greatest sports championship we have today.

March Madness is definitely the best playoff system in sports but the Super Bowl is the best championship game. 103,219 turned out to watch this year's big game and it could have been more had 1,000+ seats not been ruled unsafe because of weather damages. According to the Nielsen ratings 111 million people tuned in to FOX to watch the game and that includes men, women and children of all ages. People who don't watch football at least watch a little bit or attend a party where the game is on. Super Bowl parties are tradition in America and that's why non-NFL fans will tune in for this game. The chance to eat big, hang out with friends and watch football just seems American.

The Super Bowl also has an electric halftime show that brings in more viewers because people may not be huge football fans but they could be a devoted fan of the Black Eyed Peas or Tom Petty or even...Justin Timberlake. This year the Black Eyed Peas put on an outstanding performance that wowed the crowd with light shows, dancing and surprise appearances. Sure, the singing may not have been the best but the point is, people got excited for it and it entertained them. It almost looked like the NFL wouldn't put on a halftime show after the "wardrobe malfunction" of Janet Jackson but, instead of cancelling it, they went a new direction and signed acts that were respectable. This year the fans got a nice surprise when Slash, guitarist from Guns N' Roses, came out to play "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Usher dropped down to help will.i.am with the song "OMG." How's that for a side show to the game?

Earlier I mentioned that the Super Bowl is the best championship game and here's why: consider that of the six major sports fans watch only two have a playoff that results in a one game, winner-take-all matchup. College football has the flawed BCS system which never allows the fans to see who truly is the champion and the NBA, MLB and NHL all have lengthy playoff series that last over a month. By the time those three leagues reach the actual championship the general fans are almost burned out. They know that there could still be seven games left before a champion is crowned. This also discourages throwing parties for the game and non-fans to tune in because in a series who knows what game will be the deciding game. Ticket buyers may have a seat at Game 5 but the champion may not be crowned that night. With the Super Bowl we know that when the Steelers and Packers run out of the tunnel one of them will leave a champion. There is something to be said for a winner-take-all game. There are no mess ups or do-overs the next night and a team can't say, "well we're only down one game." With the Super Bowl it's one chance, bring your best effort and you will get the trophy at the end. 

That's why the Super Bowl is super.

The Bulls are Back

He drove right with Bryan Russell guarding him, stepped back (maybe a push-off) and drained the game winning shot to beat the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. That was Michael Jordan's last shot as a Bull and it also signaled the end of the Chicago dynasty. After that sixth title Jordan retired from the game, Phil Jackson left for Los Angeles and Scottie Pippen signed with the Rockets. The following year the new-look Bulls drafted Elton Brand out of Duke and Ron Artest from St. John's. For years the Bulls suffered through losing seasons with terrible draft picks (i.e.- Marcus Fizer, Eddy Curry, Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl) and frequent head coaching changes. It was a nightmare in Chicago.

In 2003 the Bulls hired Scott Skiles and, along with some smarter draft picks made strides. However, after awhile Skiles was fired and the next coach, Vinny Del Negro, met the same fate. In 2010-11 its obvious that former Number 1 pick Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah are a solid young core and new head coach Tom Thibodeau seems to be the right man for the job. The Bulls also had one of the best offseasons of teams not named the Miami Heat by signing Carlos Boozer, a low post scoring threat they have desperately needed. Sharpshooter Kyle Korver and slasher, Ronnie Brewer also signed in Chicago.

Superstars like Bosh, LeBron and Wade were available this summer and LeBron and Wade expressed interest in the Bulls. At the beginning of the summer I was hoping and wishing that one of them would come to Chicago to team up with Rose and Noah and I was disappointed when LeBron said he was taking his talents to South Beach and not the Windy City. However, as the season goes on it is more and more apparent that the Bulls don't need one of those superstar scorers. When the trade talks started heating up for Carmelo Anthony it has been said that Chicago is one of his preferred destinations yet you won't see Bulls fans throwing out the Welcome mat for him. These days Bulls fans are pretty content with their team. Rose has shouldered much of the scoring load, averaging 24.4 points per game but the offense is fluid and moves through everybody before a shot goes up. The Bulls do not have a player who stalls the offense such as a LeBron or Carmelo. Signing one of those players would hurt the chemistry Chicago has because once the ball gets in their hands the offense stops and it becomes a game of one-on-one. In the NBA teams need a guy who can go one-on-one at the end of the shot clock and the Bulls have their man in Rose but at the same time he understands to move the ball.

The signing of Carlos Boozer has given the Bulls a low post presence that they needed and, although they haven't been on the floor together that much, he has meshed with Joakim Noah nicely. Boozer has missed 18 games due to a broken wrist and an ankle sprain while Noah has been sitting out since the middle of December. Together the two average nearly 22 rebounds a game and complement each other well. Boozer rebounds and does the scoring while Noah is content with rebounding, bringing energy and being a defensive presence. Those two along with solid backups Kurt Thomas, who scored 20 points in a game this season for the first time since 2005, and Omer Asik make up a group of big men that can contend with Boston and Orlando in the East. Boozer's offense down low will be very valuable come playoff time when the team must play series and Rose can't do it all by himself.

And then there is Rose, the former Number 1 pick who graduated from Chicago's very own Simeon High. We are watching him improve every year and now in his third season D-Rose looks like a frontrunner for the MVP, an award that hasn't been in Chicago since 1998 when Jordan won his fifth. Derrick Rose is everything a superstar these days is not. He is humble and always looks at his accomplishments as a team. He deflects praise because he knows there is still work to done. As far as this Bulls team has come there is still a great journey ahead and Rose, despite being only 22, realizes that. He works hard on all areas of his game and it shows. For example, Rose shot 22% and 26% from 3-point land in his first two seasons. He averaged just 0.8 attempts from downtown last year but this year that number is up to 4.2 and he is hitting better than 37% of those.

A championship team needs a leader and Rose is that guy for the Bulls who are still a young team compared to perrenial greats such as the Lakers and Celtics. Boozer is a proven low post scorer and rebounder while Noah is the energy player who does everything in between. Chicago has a deep bench and good role players. At 33-14 the have one of the best records and Noah isn't even playing. The Bulls are back among the NBA's elite but now the question is: when will they win that 7th NBA title?

The Never Ending Argument on Running up the Score

At what point should a coach stop scoring on a team if there opponent is obviously no match for them? In my mind that's a trick question because one team should never completely stop scoring. Some people believe that once a team is up by a certain margin they should stop scoring and just waste time. However, my stance on the issue is that a team should never stop scoring completely because that's not the way the game was meant to be played, no matter what sport it is. There are things that can be done to slow down the scoring such as running off thirty seconds before taking a shot in basketball or not throwing the ball in football but the goal of the game is to score and that's what teams should do until the final whistle blows.

The argument on what should a team do when they are ahead by a big margin came to me when I heard the story of Coach Phil Washington, the 8th grade boys basketball coach at Highland Junior High School here in Anderson, Indiana. The 8th grade team is undefeated and heading to the state tournament. During the season they have pounded teams by 30 and 40 points routinely and now Coach Washington's job is being threatened because of it. Apparently he is not allowed to beat teams by that much and he could be fired immediately or at the end of the season. The team has rallied around their coach and many wear t-shirts that read, "I Support Coach Washington" in hopes that school administration will keep him on the bench.

I can speak from both sides of the spectrum. I have been drilled by 40+ points but there have been a number of games that I have won by a wide margin. I know how bad it feels to walk into the locker room after suffering through four quarters of agony, you feel so defeated. At the same time I always was angry with myself and my team for letting that happen to us. Maybe it's because my friends and I had that competitive fire in us but we never wanted to play bad enough to get beat like that and we certainly didn't want the other team to start taking it easy on us because that is the most embarassing thing ever. Imagine how it would feel in front of your home crowd to be down 30 in the fourth quarter and the other team starts playing Four Corners basketball and passing it around while you run around hopelessly trying to intercept a pass. That's no fun at all and I would rather keep playing real basketball.

Jimmie Johnson's Miami Hurricanes teams
frequently won big but Johnson said
he could only control his team.

My buddies and I recently watched "The U," which is about the heyday of Miami Hurricanes football and part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series, and in it former coach Jimmie Johnson discusses the allegations the his teams ran up the score on their opponents. He said, "I can only control one team and that's mine. I can control what my team is doing but I can't control what the other team is doing and if they can't stop us then they should get better." He has a valid point, especially at the college level where teams can recruit and bring in decent players. I understand that in junior high whoever lives in that town is who the coach is stuck with and it's much easier to be overmatched but Jimmie Johnson is correct, the coach can only control one team.

I think in today's world we have become a very soft society in the sports world. I'm not trying to be overdramatic but I feel that we live in a time when everyone must be happy and every kid should be an All-Star. Some schools don't cut kids because they don't wanna make them unhappy, Little League has created more All-Star levels so that everyone can be one and parents want teams to take it easy and not score so much because nobody wants to get beat by 30. This is all nice but very few kids have that competitive edge anymore because they have never learned what it means to be competitive. Nobody wants to get beat by a big margin but at the end of the day maybe we should just toughen up a bit. Maybe that's too overdramatic but I've heard it said before that if you don't like it, get better. I believe that 100%.

Should Coach Washington tell his kids to stop scoring? No he shouldn't. When those kids at the end of the bench who never play get in the game what does he tell them? Like I said earlier there are steps that can be taken to slow down the scoring but he should not tell his kids to stand there for the whole fourth quarter and not score. What Highland administration, teachers and fans should really focus on is this special season that they are witnessing instead of worrying about how badly they are beating teams. How often is it that a group of 8th grade boys goes undefeated and is invited to the state tournament? Not often so instead of worrying about the score let them just play ball.

Quitter or Not, Get Rid of Cutler

Sports is a place where heroes are born and legends are made and where men lay it all on the line just to win a game. Football in particular is a sport that requires maximum toughness both mental and physical. Sunday afternoon the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 21-14 to earn a trip to Dallas where they will meet the Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XLV. The Bears were so close yet, to me, seemed like they were so far away from winning the NFC Championship. Maybe I felt like that because the Packers are a great team with the top quarterback in the league right now. Maybe I felt like that because the Bears were always playing from behind. Or maybe I felt like that because quarterback Jay Cutler was sitting on the sidelines for the second half while Todd Collins looked like the Bad News Bears behind center and Caleb Hanie nearly became the hero that Cutler never will become. Yeah, the third reason is definitely why.

In one of the final series of the first half Cutler injured his knee and there talks within the Bears organization that he would not even take the field for the second half. However, he tried it and after one unsuccessful series retreated to the bench, which is where he would stay for the rest of the game. Todd Collins entered and left in the blink of an eye and then it was third-stringer, Caleb Hanie's turn. You know Hanie woke up that morning just excited to have a great seat for the game and wasn't expecting to even step on the field. Yet, there he was leading the comeback for the Bears and, had it not been for Sam Shields second interception of the day, perhaps could have tied the game up with under a minute to play. We can't fault Hanie's effort because he is a third string quarterback who was thrown into the biggest game of the Bears-Packers rivalry and told to lead the comeback, a Super Bowl birth on the line.

When it comes to Cutler though, questions are raised about his effort. He hurt his knee, and his teammates and coaches have defended him 100% so far, but how bad was it? Was it bad enough that he had to sit out of the biggest game of his career? Because it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't stand on it or even ride the bike. He wasn't receiving any treatment and there was no brace or anything on it. He was just standing there with that look he always wears, one of disinterest and unhappiness. I'm not going to sit here and say that Jay Cutler quit because I don't really know how bad that sprained MCL was. The training staff wouldn't let him go but in my mind it didn't seem to affect him much.

Ronnie Lott had his finger cut off so that he could keep playing and Willis Reed took the floor with a broken leg. Phillip Rivers has played with a torn ACL and many players have knee injuries but they still play. I just think that if Cutler really wanted to play he would have done everything he could to get on that field. Good players compete in Playing Time but the great ones show up in Winning Time. The second half of that game was Winning Time and Caleb Hanie was under center. Keep in mind this wasn't just any game, this was the NFC Championship against the Bears biggest rival and this was only the second time the two teams had met in the playoffs. Cutler was coming off his first playoff game since high school, a win against the Seahawks and a win in this game would have elevated his status as a great quarterback in Chicago and in the league.

Sad thing is, he never gave himself a chance and that's why people will question him for the rest of his life. What if the Bears never get back to that point with him? In my opinion he won't be in Chicago too much longer and that means fans lasting memory will not be Cutler throwing the ball on the field; it will be Jay Cutler standing on the sideline, jacket and stocking cap on, watching as his team lose a chance to go to Dallas. Some franchise quarterback...

Packers vs. Bears and Other Great Games

On Saturday night the Green Bay Packers easily disposed of the #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons from the NFL Playoffs and on Sunday the Chicago Bears man-handled the sub-.500 Seattle Seahawks for three quarters and came away with an 11 point win. This coming Sunday is now an NFL fan's dream as the Packers will travel to Soldier Field for an NFC Championship matchup against their division rival. As a Bears fan I am very excited for the game as it is the only the second time that the two teams have met in playoff history. The Pack is hot right now with Aaron Rodgers looking like the best QB in the game but the Bears D has also looked good lately minus the 4th quarter against Seattle. As soon as the Bears won the Divisional Round game I got on StubHub.com and checked the tickets and the fact of the matter is, fans will be paying at least 500 bucks for a seat. I would love to be at the game even though the temperature will be below 10 degrees. This game got me thinking about what games I would have loved to be at in person so I compiled a list of five games in my lifetime that I wish I could have been at.

2004 ALCS Game 6 (Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees)- To see this game would be seeing history. The Red Sox tying up the series after being down 3-0. Led by Curt Schilling and David Ortiz's heroics, the BoSox went to the World Series to break the Curse of the Bambino. Schilling pitched seven innings with a torn tendon in his right ankle that was held in place by three sutres that connected the skin to the tendon and connective tissue. NYPD members had to take the field in riot gear after Yanks fans threw balls and debris on the field because they were unhappy with Alex Rodriguez being called out for interference. A-Rod slapped Bronson Arroyo's arm as he tried to tag him out and the umpires called him out. This game had it all and would have been an amazing game to be at.

1997 NBA Finals Game 5 (Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz)- "The Flu Game" is one of the most legendary stories of Michael Jordan's career. He woke up with a stomach virus on Tuesday and team trainers said there was no way he could play in Game 5 on Wednesday night. With the series tied at two games apiece and the Bulls playing on the road, Jordan took the floor and got off to a slow start but dropped 17 in the second quarter. MJ did little in the third as fatigue set in but in the fourth he had 15 points including a big three at the end. He played 44 minutes and collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms at the end of the game, which the Bulls won 90-88.

2009 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 6 (Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls)- Without a doubt the most epic game for the Bulls in the post-Jordan era, Chicago defeated the Boston Celtics 128-127 in three overtimes to force a Game 7. John Salmons led the Bulls with 35 points and Ray Allen's 51 was not enough for the C's. The Bulls took the lead when Joakim Noah stole the ball from Paul Pierce, dribbled length of the floor, dunked the ball while being fouled by Pierce and then made the free throw for a three point play. Derrick Rose, who finished with 28 points, blocked Rajon Rondo's potential game winner with 8 seconds left in the third OT.

2009 Big East Tournament (Syracuse Orange vs. UConn Huskies)- After 3 hours and 46 minutes of back and forth basketball the Orange defeated UConn at Madison Square Garden 127-117. The Orange's Eric Devendorf made a three at the buzzer of the regulation to win the game but the refs ruled that Devendorf didn't get it off in time. Jonny Flynn had a monster game for Cuse with 34 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 steals, and 1 block. To be at this game where numerous future NBA players were playing in a primetime game in the Big East tournament would be incredible to see.

2010 NCAA Championship (Butler Bulldogs vs. Duke)- Funny thing about this game is that my grandpa had tickets but sold them. It would have been the ultimate Cinderella story had Gordan Hayward's last second heave gone in. Instead the ball bounced off and Duke came away with a two point win in the one of the most thrilling national championship games ever. 70,000 fans were in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis where the hometown Bulldogs nearly upset the number 1 seed Blue Devils.

Sports produce some of the best drama in the world and there certainly will be some when the Packers and Bears clash with a chance for the Super Bowl. These are just five games that I wish I could have seen but there are countless others. So now its your turn, let me know what games you wish you were at in your lifetime.

Seeing Kobe In Person

I'll admit it: I used to be one of those Kobe-haters that hated the guy just because. Just because he was good and I hated people comparing him to Michael Jordan, my favorite NBA player of all-time. However, things have changed and I am no longer a Kobe hater and here is why: the guy is a winner and he plays the right way. Do I think he will ever be as good as Michael? No but I do think he is right up there and he is definitely the best player in the game today. Go ahead and make your case for LeBron but at the end of the day Kobe wins that debate.

Kobe is 32 years old and in his 15th season for the LA Lakers. He is going for his sixth ring this season and the Lakers look like the favorite in the West once again if they can hold off the Spurs. So far this season he is averaging nearly 27, 5 and 5 but rarely has the attention been focused on him. Instead, the media has flocked to Miami to cover the Big Three's every success and failure or headed to Denver to see when Carmelo will be catching a flight to New York. Meanwhile, Kobe and the Lakers have gone about their business out West, compiling a record of 19-7 which is good for first place in the Pacific Division.

What sets Kobe apart is his determination and want to win, which makes him like Jordan. LeBron just doesn't seem to have that. Kobe takes over a game with an assassin's mentality and plays through pain. Never has he allowed people to even think that he quit on his team like LeBron did last year in the playoffs. That could be the reason Kobe has five rings while LeBron is still in pursuit of his first and felt the need to go down to Miami and team up with Bosh and Wade. Much like Jordan, Kobe loves to be the man and relishes the moment when its time to takeover the game.

On Wednesday night I had the chance to go the Lakers-Pacers game down in Indianapolis and it was my first time seeing Kobe in person. In a word, it was incredible. He was quiet in the first half but then there was a stretch in the second half where you could just see him turn it on and by the end of the game he had 31 points and Conseco Fieldhouse was going crazy everytime he put another one in. Two plays stick out in my head from that game, the first being a three from the top of the key where he caught the ball and thought about shooting but then decided against it. He stood there with the ball for about five seconds and then in the blink of an eye he put it up and swished a three. Shooting a shot after thinking about it is not the easiest thing but Bryant made it look easy. Later on in the second half he caught the ball a good five feet above the three point line at the top of the key and without hesitation just drained it. He smiled and ran down the floor as if to say, "This is what I do everyday."

I respect the way Kobe plays the game because he plays hard and plays on both ends of the floor. I have changed my opinions on him and without a doubt he is head and shoulders above LeBron or anybody else in the league. Scary thing is...Kobe is only 32 years old. There are many more years of this domination to come.

The Greatest Pitching Staff Ever Assembled

In the most surprising news of the baseball off season (sorry Jayson Werth, your insanely large contract with the Nationals that was a couple million too much isn't as big as this) Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for 5 years and $120 million dollars. Lee rejected bigger offers from the Yankees and the Rangers to join Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in arguably the greatest pitching staff ever assembled. The best thing about this deal is that Lee took a smaller deal even though the Yankees dangled more money in front of him. Lee had played in Philly for half a season in 2009 and loved the city. The Phillies let him go after that 2009 season and signed Halladay but Lee loved Philly enough to take less money; refreshing to hear in this day of "who can sign the biggest contract."

With the signing of Lee the Phils have four legit number one starters in one rotation. Some teams in the MLB would kill to have just one of those guys. With this signing, it cancels out the loss of Werth, and makes the Phillies the clear cut favorite for National League. Looking at the Phillies on paper is unbelievable. Here are some samplings from 2010 of the newly dubbed, "Phab Four."

Halladay: 21-10, 219 K's, 2.44 ERA, Perfect Game, Playoff No-hitter, NL Cy Young Award

Lee: 12-9, 185 K's, 18 BB's, 3.18 ERA, Led Rangers to World Series

Oswalt: 13-13 (7-1 w/Philly), 193 K's, 2.76 ERA

Hamels: 12-11, 211 K's, 3.03 ERA

Assuming that Zack Grienke is traded from the Royals in the last big deal of the offseason, the Royals number one starter at this point will be Kyle Davies. Davies is a 26-year-old righthander who posted an 8-12 record with an ERA over 5.00 last season. You think the Royals would love to have one the Phillies starters? The Miami Heat had an impressive offseason by signing Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh but the Phillies offseason may be more impressive with this one signing. It's that big of a deal.

 

Consider that in the NLDS, which the Phillies are almost sure to make, a team only has to win three games to move on to the NLCS. That means that if there was a sweep, Hamels wouldn't even see the mound. This is by far the most impressive pitching staff since I've been born but can they produce the results expected of them? The pressure is on but these four are hardly ever phased by it. Out of the four, Hamels is the only one with a World Series ring but Oswalt and Lee have both been there. Halladay has two Cy Young awards to his name while Lee has one. In the Phillies World Series year Hamels won the NLCS and WS MVP award and Oswalt won the 2005 NLCS MVP award. The group comes in with impressive credentials and it won't be surprising to see them rack up many more in years to come.

Why I Hate College Football Bowl Season

We couldn't get through a year of college football without a heated debate about the BCS vs. a playoff system and this year is no different. This year that one unlucky team that got left out is TCU who went 12-0 but never had a chance of being invited to the BCS Championship Game in Glendale because of all the factors working against them such as their weak conference schedule and their starting position in the BCS rankings. I am a huge college basketball fan and there isn't a better time of year than March Madness. 68 teams (don't ask me about that 96 team tournament thing or I'll get really mad) come together and play a tournament where anything can happen and teams like Butler can become a national sensation. College football doesn't have that and they never will. Bowl season lacks the suspense and the fun that college basketball brings to the table.

Starting on the 18th, bowl season will be off an running and it will last nearly a month, but the funny thing is only three days really matter. Nobody cares about the GoDaddy.com Bowl or the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. There are plenty of pointless bowl games and it has become so watered down that its really not even fun anymore. Boise State lost one game to this season to Nevada and because of that they weren't invited to a BCS bowl. Instead they will be playing in the Las Vegas Bowl...how prestigious. I also read that in Sports Illustrated this past week that Nevada cost each WAC school 1,000,000 dollars by beating Boise State because, had the Broncos made a BCS bowl, they would have earned roughly 10 million dollars for the conference which would have been divided evenly. So to me, Nevada punished themselves for winning a game. How dumb is that?

If I ruled college football there would be a playoff system of 16 teams like many have suggested. It makes more sense to give the top 16 teams a fair shot at the title rather than telling 14 teams to go play in another bowl with no reward except pride. Take Virginia Tech for example: they stumbled twice at the beginning of the year and never had a chance to be mentioned for the championship game but they reeled off 11 wins in a row and are playing some really good football. College football doesn't know the term "Cinderella" and that's because they don't allow themselves to. There is rarely a chance for the small school to beat the big school in a postseason game but in college basketball that is all the rage.

It's amazing how every professional sport and college sport has a playoff system but college football can't seem to figure it out. I hope they do soon though because teams will keep getting cheated year after year and the computers will decide teams fates unfairly. The game is supposed to be played on the field...why not let the athletes decide it out there?

Dissecting LeBron's Return

Thursday night on TNT LeBron James made his much anticipated return to Cleveland where he spent seven seasons before leaving the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. When LeBron announced his Decision on ESPN in an hour-long special with Jim Gray, there was an immediate backlash at James and fellow stars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. No team in my lifetime has ever received the press that the Heat have so far and, as one could imagine, with every loss comes more speculation as to why they aren't winning.

Of the Heat's Big Three no one has received as much hate as LeBron has since they joined forces. Why is that? Some say LeBron did nothing wrong because he is allowed to leave in free agency. That is true but there are so many reasons why LeBron is wrong. It seemed like a dream situation for LeBron and for Cleveland on Draft day back in 2003; the kid from Akron who had dominated the high school scene and taken over the nation already was going to be drafted number one overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a franchise desperate for a star player and wins.

LeBron lived up to the hype for the seven years he was in Cleveland, leading the Cavs to the Finals once and rewriting the franchise record books. At times it seemed like he was the only guy the Cavs had on the roster and he single-handedly would propel them to wins but then this summer...he left. He left Cleveland, the city that loved him with all they had. Go to Youtube and watch a clip of LeBron before a game when he was a Cavalier. Fans would mimic him as he threw the powder into the air and teammates would joke around and share a laugh before, during and after the games. With James in a Cavs uniform, Cleveland really did rock. Listen...I've been to Cleveland and it sucks. There's nothing to do and the city is just depressed but LeBron was that bright spot. Many in the city are unemployed, the Browns look like they will never be good again and the Indians seem to have forgotten what winning is but LeBron and the Cavs brought life to the city and to make it even better he was a hometown kid. He was a hero.

Few men have ever experienced the love that LeBron had in Cleveland. Sure, every city loves their star player but not like Cleveland loved LeBron. He was their savior. He was going to bring them a championship and he even went on the record saying that. He wouldn't stop until he got it he said and we believed him. Life was a party with LeBron.

Everything has changed. He betrayed the city and that's not an unfair assessment of the situation. He was a hometown kid who said he would bring a championship to the city and he made a mockery of the city and the team on national television by announcing his Decision for all in a truly selfish fashion. He deserved the chorus of boos that he received from his once loyal fans and he deserved the signs and t-shirts with anti-LeBron phrases and pictures. Never again will LeBron be accepted in that city and I'm not sure he understands that yet. Yes, he scored 38 points but he came out of Quicken Loans Arena a loser in my mind. Maybe he finally understands that the fans aren't joking and that their anger wasn't just one night. They really do hate him.

The hero that the city of Cleveland loved is suddenly the villain that the city of Cleveland hates with all their heart.