Sports Then and Now

LeBron’s last game in a Cavaliers uniform?

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t expect their season to end this early, but now that it has, the 2011 season is already beginning for teams in the NBA.

It hasn’t even been a week since the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics, and everyone is already mentioning LeBron heading out of town. Within a week we have heard different rumors about LeBron playing for teams like New York, Chicago, New Jersey, L.A. (Clippers), and Miami.

Now there is a new rumor that LeBron wants a packaged deal with Coach John Calipari in Chicago. Just like all the other assumptions, this is only a rumor. Calipari said on Twitter that the statement was not true, and he has told the media that he will stay at Kentucky.

“I want to address this with the Big Blue Nation one last time, I will be coaching at Kentucky next year. Now let’s finish what we started!”    – UK Coach Calipari

Not even a week and there are all these speculations on where LeBron will go. Technically, no teams can reach out to LeBron until July 1^st. So the media has until July 1^st to think about what is to come of LeBron James and the future of the NBA. Behind LeBron in the free agent market this year are superstars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Both have been rumored to team up with LeBron for an NBA Championship in 2011. LeBron’s free agency journey has been the big talk for a couple years now, and it is still being analyzed more than the ongoing NBA Playoffs. Read the rest of this entry →

You can always count on LeBron James to put on a show at the All-Star Game.

Professional sports All-Star games are kind of like new pennies. They are too bright and alluring not to pick up, but you quickly realize that they aren’t really worth much.

Of the “big 3” sports, the NBA All-Star Game is probably the best, if only because the rosters are small enough that you have some of the best stars on the court from opening tip to final horn.

In recent years, the NBA has turned the concept of the All-Star Game into a star-studded three-day extravaganza where the actual game can almost be anti-climatic to all the events that precede it.

The idea of special events in advance of the All-Star Game actually dates back to the ABA when Julius Erving dazzled fans with his famous foul line dunk. The NBA created its own dunk contest in 1984 and added a three-point shootout two years later. The weekend now also includes skills and horse competitions, a celebrity game and a game between first and second year NBA players.

By the time the actual All-Stars take to the court on Sunday night, seemingly half the players in the NBA will have participated in one event or another. Read the rest of this entry →