This blog spot is the home to my ramblings. I am a free lance writer. Most of my work goes on Associated Content. Sometimes I write what is on my mind, sometimes I plug some of my writing, and sometimes a combination of the two. So, sit back read, enjoy, and we will see where it goes.
My A to Z Challenge of athletes and teams has fallen into a streak of basketball. L is for Lebron James who some think is a serious challenge for Michael Jordan's supposed GOAT status.
Lebron's Top 35 plays
King James has been named the NBA MVP four times and has been an All-Star 18 times. He has earned four Championship Rings. Is Lebron James better than Michael Jordan? If Jordan or James are not the best players of all time who is?
Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He was on an NCAA National Championship team with the North Carolina Tar Heels.
College Highlights
In the NBA he won six NBA titles. he was a 14 time All Star, the league's MVP five times, and needless to say had a Hall of Fame Career.
Allen Iverson left the Georgetown Hoyas after his sophomore season. That season he was named an All American. In the NBA he was named Rookie of the Year, he was an 11 time All Star and the league MVP in 2001. After his career he ended up in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Here is someone's list of his top 10 plays
Allen Iverson is the Athlete for the letter I. Tomorrow the letter is J so stay tuned.
When I hear the name Wes Unseld the Washington Bullets/Wizards comes immediately to my mind. Part of it might be for the time I spent in the DC area, my age but the majority of it would be due to Wes Unseld's contribution to the organization.
His entire career in the NBA as a player, coach and executive was with one organization. The Baltimore Bullets, the Capital Bullets, Washington Bullets, and Washington Wizards. The organization changed locations and even names but Unseld was a constant.
As a player Unseld made an impact right away earning the Rookie of the Year Award and NBA MVP Award in 1969. He was a five time All-Star. He was on an NBA Championship team and was the NBA Finals MVP. His number 41 was retired by the organization and his play on the court allowed him membership into the NBA Hall of Fame.
Highlights from one of his games in 1973 against the New York Knicks...
His NBA Career was proceeded with his college playing days at Louisville. He was a three time first team all conference player. He was a two time first team All-American. His college number was retired at Louisville. His number in college was 31.
After his playing career ended he was a vice president for the organization, then a coach for seven seasons, after coaching he was the team's general manager for several years.
He made an impact on and off the court. He will be missed in the community, by the fans, and his friends and family.
Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter and others passed away in a tragic helicopter crash yesterday. Today the Basketball Hall of Fame said he was joining them this year. I thought I would pay tribute to him on my blog.
According to ESPN Kobe Bryant is the fourth highest scoring player in NBA history with 33643 which ranks him ahead of Michael Jordan and below Lebron James.
Kobe was an 18 time All-Star. He was the MVP in four of those games.
He won five championships, was the Finals MVP twice, and the leagues MVP once.
Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in one game...
Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest basketball players in history. Outside of the game he wrote a book, was active in the music business. He died to soon at the age of 41. The loss of his daughter is perhaps a bigger tragedy as she was just 13 and had her whole life ahead of her. The story is the same for the others in the helicopter.
It was reported yesterday that Michael Jordan's net worth had reached the billion dollar mark. Today he turns 53 I suppose that is a great way to celebrate! Jordan rose to fame due to his basketball talents.
Ten of his top plays...
His Hall of Fame showcases his competitive nature..
Player, championships, endorsement magnet, to owner his career has been achievement after achievement. We wish him a Happy Birthday!
NBA Hall of Famer Moses Malone past away at the age of 60. He was the leagues MVP three times. In 1983 he led the Philadelphia 76ers to the championship and was the finals MVP. He was a 13-time all-star and his jersey has been retired by the Houston Rockets.
Here are highlights from one of his biggest games..
The news from ESPN Sportscenter...
Highlights from Game 3 of the NBA Finals in 1983 that he won..
Mose Malone had a great career playing for the Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs. We thank him for the memories on the court and he will be missed by his fans, friends and family.
Darryl Dawkins nicknamed "Chocolate Thunder" passed away this week. Known for his powerful dunks which included breaking two backboards in 1979. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Nets, and Detroit Pistons.
Here is a compilation of 20 of his best dunks..
The backboard breaks..
An NBA finals fight..
Do you have any favorite Darryl Dawkins memories? Feel free to share in the comments. It is sad a former professional athlete passing away at the age of 58. I'll be back with a new post soon!
Billy Donovan has resigned from being the men's head basketball coach at the University of Florida.
One really can't blame Donovan for leaving to try coaching at the next level the NBA. After a sub par season with the Gators last season he was going to have a challenge there. Likewise with the Oklahoma City Thunder he will have a challenge. You can read about him joining the Thunder here from an article by USA Today.
I wasn't taking a shot at the Coach. As a college basketball fan I have nothing but respect for the man. As a Gator fan I love what he has done with the program. I feel sorry for the Gators next coach. It is always a difficult challenge to follow a legend and that is exactly what the coach will be doing.
At the college level and mostly at Florida Billy Donovan has had a Hall of Fame career. He certainly has become a legend. In 21 years of College Basketball head coaching he has compiled a 502-206 record. His first two seasons were with Marshall Thundering Herd.
His stats are quite impressive at the University of Florida. In his 19 years at the school he delivered two National Championships and four Final Four Appearances. In the 77 years of Gator basketball before Billy the Kid arrived they had only gone to one Final Four and zero National Championships. Before Donovan the Gators had only won one Conference Championship and zero conference tournament. Billy guided them to six SEC Championships and four conference tournament championships.The best stat for his legacy might be that he averaged 24.6 wins a season in the 77 years before him the team averaged 11.5.
Beyond the stats Billy Donovan knew the game and spoke intelligently about it. He developed nine first round NBA picks. He was a coach who delivered and as a fan you always had hope for your team with Billy Donovan being courtside. Donovan turned a football school into a basketball power. The Blue and Orange of Gator Country will certainly miss him! I look forward to see how he meets his next challenge and wish him the best of luck with the Oklahoma City Thunder!
An assignment I had for an article was to name the top five athletes of the past five years. You can read my article here. My explanations are in my article. Any list like this leaves off other athletes who could deserve to be on a list like mine. However, these are my choices but I enjoy the debates, the comments, suggestions after all an article like this should stir some up.
One thing I couldn't add to my article was highlights and videos. Hopefully, I can pick out some entertaining ones. So sit back and enjoy!
Lindsey Vonn
Usain Bolt
Lionel Messi
Peyton Manning
LeBron James
Check out my article. It appears I am writing some sports articles again. However, they are coming from a different angle so I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for a special post soon!
Congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant. He is the first person from an Oklahoma City NBA team to win the MVP award. The first person to win the award not named LeBron James to win the honor in three years and only the second person besides LeBron James to win the award in six years.
The Other Hardware:
Durant has already won an NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an Olympic Gold Medal, four NBA scoring titles, and has been named an All-Star five times.
The numbers..
Leading the league in scoring by averaging 32 points a game is a great argument for the MVP Award. Averaging 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists also helped. Leading his team to the playoffs with one of the best records in the NBA is icing on the cake!
I like Kevin winning since Oklahoma City is a smaller market team. Now we have to wait to see who ends up being the NBA Champs!
In 2010 I wrote an article about the reasons Michael Jordan could be considered the best NBA player of all time. You can read that article here. There are some in NBA history who can challenge Michael Jordan for that top spot. Kobe Bryant is putting up a career that would challenge MJ's and Lebron James could best him when his career is over.It would be a true statement to say Michael Jordan is the best player in my memorable lifetime so far. If he was the best or not could be argued but one thing that is certain is Michael Jordan is an all time great of the NBA.
Here is a collection of some of highlights:
If you like dunks this is for you:
To this NBA Hall of Fame, NBA great, and current owner I say happy 51st!
I wasn't really excited to go see John Tesh. My wife wanted to see him. Why wasn't I excited to see him? I like Big Band Music and jazz. Guys we should like him he was a sportscaster for a time. He wrote music for the Olympics and for the NBA on NBC.
I don't know why. However, I can give some reasons why! His band is really good and Tesh is talented. He comes off as a nice guy, funny, and humble. You can read my review of his show here.
Here is the NBA tune...
Here is a sample of his Big Band...
John Tesh go ahead and check him out! He might surprise you.
Congrats to Lebron James and the Miami Heat for winning the NBA Championship. Many felt Lebron needed a ring to be considered one of the greatest ever. In today's sports do you need titles to be considered among the greats? I consider Dan Marino one of the greatest quarterbacks ever but he never one a championship.
Lebron thinks so. Modern greats do have rings like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. I blogged about Lebron nearly 2 years ago on July 10, 2010. I'm still not a fan of the way he left Cleveland. I'm sure there are people in Cleveland who aren't either. But I don't hate him. I am just one of those folks who think he is a great player but I am not on his bandwagon.
However, I am glad his road to a championship wasn't easy. I am glad Lebron was the MVP of the playoffs and a dominate player during the championship series. Winning a championship wasn't all Lebron needed to do, but winning one and playing great helps his case.
He is young enough to add on to his NBA resume. It will be interesting to see ow he ranks up in time. However, he deserves credit for making great strides.
I know the Miami Heat are only down one game. However, what happens if they fail to make it to the NBA Finals. The team which was built for a championship could come up short. Lebron James is a great basketball player with tremendous physical assets. Would he fall a bit farther from greatness? Would people in Cleveland celebrate his failure? Yes it is only one loss so far but Miami has to be feeling the Heat.
Okay, the Heat must have read my blog since they won tonight.
Sorry for your loss Cleveland. I'm sure it stings. Don't be a hater, he gave you seven years. Sure he turned down the most money in Cleveland, but I am sure he plans to recoup his losses in increased endorsement. His hyped moved is setting the NBA World on fire, like his jersey in the streets of Cleveland.
Miami wasn't a front runner when I wrote my article on where Lebron James might wind up. Like the Cavaliers I guessed wrong.But everything changed when the Heat re-signed Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch agreed to play for them. Lebron joined a real contender and an organization which is run by Pat Riley, a man who knows a thing or two about contenders.
I'm not a big fan of the way Lebron had his ESPN special to announce where he was going. Wasn't needed. A simple statement would have done the job. However, the sports world is all about hype and the special did add the drama and fed the hype machine. According to the hype machine the Heat and King James are already in the 2011 NBA Finals. But there is a difference between reality and the hype machine. In reality you have to play the game. In reality there will be challengers like the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. There are 82 games first and then the playoffs. There is a lot of reality to be played. There is a lot of hype too. Can the hype become reality? We will see starting this Fall.
So many choices of what to write about with a lot going on. Even in the NBA, there is he Lakers winning the Championship, Manute Bol passing away which is very sad he was only 47. However, I will stick with the NBA Draft and throw in some suggested plugs to help your draft day.
First I didn't think Washington would get the first round pick when I wrote this article. So, the Wizards have a new owner, the first, the 30th, and 35th picks in the 2010 draft. Welcome to your new team Washington. They might select John Wall, okay they probably will.
DeMarcus Cousins will he be a star or will he flop? He will need some coaches. A top pick but not a safe pick. It should be an interesting draft.
A little late on getting this out here. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning the NBA Championship 4 games to 1 over the Orlando Magic. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson for his 10th NBA title as a coach. Some may knock him, that he won the titles by being surrounded by superstars. The Jordan Era Chicago Bulls, with Jordan and Pippen sure had their superstars. The Kobe-Shaq Lakers and now Kobe Lakers had at least one superstar. However, I give him credit to be in the right place at the right time. I give him credit for being able to manage superstars in a way to win championships, and his latest team had fewer superstars. Superstars help and anyone would admit it.
On the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins gave their city their second championship of the year in major sports by winning the Stanley Cup 4 games to 3 over the Detroit Red Wings. Hats off to both teams. The Penguins are a very good hockey team, which I have blogged about a couple of times when they were playing the Capitals in the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings same to always have a winning team.
Now baseball takes center stage. The Major League trade deadline is July 31. The Atlanta Braves have made a trade already with the Pittsburgh Pirates for OF McLouth. The Braves have also made news by saying no thanks to Tom Glavine. More sellers and more buyers coming up.
