In early mid-April (the 12th to be exact), when asked as part of an ESPN.com 5-on-5 roundtable which NBA star would have his legacy enhanced the most in the 2011 Playoffs, I wrote:

“The health of Andrew Bynum won’t affect Dirk Nowitzki’s hunger, but Nowitzki’s stomach did just growl. One could argue that Dirk’s legacy has the deepest hole from which to climb. Since blowing a 2-0 series lead on Miami in the 2006 Finals, the Mavericks have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. A championship isn’t wholly necessary to repair Dirk’s playoff legacy, but if Dallas fails to make the Finals, he may have to live with the label of a regular-season MVP who can’t come through in the postseason.”

Now, I’m not here to exactly toot my own horn as a prognosticator of all things basketball — seeing as I predicted last year’s Wizards to achieve 34 wins (only off by 11 wins), and the bastardly 2009-10 Wizards to achieve 55 wins (yes, I was off by a whole 29 wins here… like I said, “bastardly”) — however, in the same ESPN poll, in reponse to a query on the most surprising thing that would happen in the Western Conference playoffs, I wrote:

“It won’t be surprising when each of the top four seeds in the West move into the second round with relative ease. Nor will it be surprising when the conference semifinals and finals all get pushed to seven games. What will be surprising is when the Dallas Mavericks come out on top in the West and Mark Cuban holds a party for all his friends in the media.”

Read more »

[Editor's Note: Before we all complain about the inundation with all that is LeBron -- with coverage good, bad, overall, and everything in between -- consider the fact of how such a unique character provides an opportunity to relish in how influential sports figures have become. That is to say, at least all of this is not boring. Ben Standig (Twitter: @BenStandig) writes about DMV sports all over the web, CSNWashington.com amongst them. In a TAI guess piece below, Ben breaks down a commonality between LeBron and Mike Tyson, who, by chance, is being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame today. -Kyle W.]

Once upon a time, Mike Tyson was legitimately the baddest man on the planet and in that era he delivered one of the best quotes – both figuratively and in his case, literally – depicting the nature of intimidation in the world of sports. When told before a fight that his opponent had a plan to beat him, Tyson brashly countered that “everyone has a plan, until they get hit in the mouth.”

This quote is pertinent to the NBA Finals because up until a few days ago, most of the basketball world surely would have slotted one LeBron James into that role of baddest of the bad. Not that he would land an actual haymaker to an opponent’s cranium or was the one guy in the league you wouldn’t want to cross, but his physically imposing ways surely put fear into the hearts of opponents. That physicality certainly blinded the observing world.

As it turns out – and as I suspected – James is showing that his persona indeed resembles some aspect of that quote. But not as the harasser, rather the foe to whom Tyson was referring.

Read more »

{image via Internet/Aaron Josefczyk – Reuters}

The Miami Heat may very well win the 2011 NBA Finals, but regardless of triumph or defeat, LeBron will still be the villain. It’s OK.

Washington Wizards fans almost like to gloat that they were amongst the first to whom LeBron exposed himself to — the epitome of privilege that always asks for more and will resort to less-than-savory tactics to get what it wants. So what.

LeBron is a villain, and I’ve spent a lot of pixels communicating this. And I will continue to do so. LeBron is a fact of life.

Of course he’s making you love him as a basketball player, passing exuberantly, rebounding above all, defending with no restraint, astounding with power that compresses rim paint to the point of cracking. He’s no basketball dummy. The only thing that really dwarfs his instinct for the game is what he can do with that freak of a Karl Malone-sized body that he’s in.

Yes, we know LeBron seemingly “checked out” of game four, according to DeShawn Stevenson at least, but does that mean all other memories of amazing are stricken from the record? In a contribution regarding LeBron on HoopSpeak.com (last entry at the bottom), I essentially opined that the hubbub over game four might be a tad premature. But if the Heat don’t win the championship, memories of LeBron’s basketball excellence will certainly be vastly muted.

Read more »

When LeBron James complains about fouls, it’s not about his size, as he would gladly have you believe. Neither is it about there being a presumed double-standard from imposing basketball specimens like himself and Dwight Howard. Sure, there are reasons to take notice, but let’s be honest, it’s about politicking through the gladly willing media.

Said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after Wednesday night’s game versus the Wizards:

“He absorbs a lot more contact than people realize. He’s big and tough enough that he shrugs it off. But you go in there and see him in the locker room, and he’s got ice on pretty much every part of his body.”

So do 5’11″ guards who live in the lane. So do a lot of NBA players. It’s a tough game. And when someone like LeBron, who has the sixth highest usage rate in the NBA at 31.4-percent, gladly uses his abnormal physique to gain an advantage, it certainly is going to feel like he’s being handled more physically, at least to him. But it’s all relative.

It’s hard not to take whining for what it is, whining, but LeBron is doing more. He (and Spolestra) are preparing for the playoffs. He’s peppering the subconscious of referees and league officials. He’s doing the same thing superstars who feel entitled have been doing for years. LeBron and Spolestra want whistles in their favor, simple as that. It’s no different from the incites of Phil Jackson every season, except Jackson can be funny.

Read more »

Links, pictures and commentary… (Worth noting: I’m not into April Fools’ Day jokes, in case you were wondering.)

Sure, new media darling Othyus Jeffers got dunked on by LeBron James on Wednesday, but…

…Othyus took it like a good sport, getting a good smile out of it before LeBron even landed on the ground. Ask Jeffers about it (I didn’t), and I bet he’d honestly say, “It’s just basketball.”

And in that, he is right. Getting dunked on is bound to happen, no biggie (if you’re comfortable with being immortalized on the Internets). Life needs good sports, and Jeffers is just that. Can’t say the same about the perpetually crying and bitching LeBron. Can’t believe Ted Leonsis let him endorse his book with a quote.

Read more »

{flickr/Keith Allison}

I managed to catch up with LeBron James in the visitor’s locker room before tonight’s Wizards-Heat game. He had plenty to say, on topics ranging from the Orlando Magic, to Justin Bieber, and even Yao Ming.

His most interesting answer was just one word — two letters. When asked if winning games will ultimately change people’s perceptions of both LeBron and the Miami Heat, LeBron responded:

“No.”

Well, I guess not everybody loves a winner. What can he do? What should he do?

Here are more sound bites from the King himself…. Read more »

A D.C. pic, links, commentary and tickets for free ….

The Portland Trailblazers are in D.C. tonight to take on the Wizards … and guess what? They’re giving away John Wall bobble-head dolls to the first 10,000 fans. So if you want one, you best show up on time. What else are you going to do on a cold Friday night in D.C.? Watch Miami (Ohio) take on 25th-ranked Northern Illinois in college football? Sure buddy. Plus, if the game sells out, there’s a chance you could see Ted Leonsis do the “Dougie” … which would most certainly be better than Wolf Blitzer’s “Dougie” (who did it on ‘Soul Train’ of all places? Weird).

In any case, check out my column at the DCist this week where I ponder if the Wizards are still worth watching?

And from the other side, Portland fans have it pretty bad too, Wizards fans — just admittedly not as bad as Wiz fans, at least according to one Trailblazers blogger. Check out what the Portland Roundball Society has to say about tonight’s game.

GIVEAWAY: Wizards-Heat Tickets, December 18, 2010

A big congrats goes to Sarah Cook of Arlington, VA for winning TAI’s first ticket giveaway to the Wizards-Heat game on December 18th. Sarah writes about her Wizards fandom: Read more »

The Washington Wizards play the Miami Heat in Florida tonight, and the division rival will make a return trip to Washington on December 18th. Read below to win tickets to that game.

I’m relatively apathetic toward LeBron James. It’s not that I no longer don’t like him in a double negative manner. It’s just that after he further exposed to the national scene what Wizards followers knew the whole time, his villain status lost value in my eyes. LeBron is not really worth caring about, although one would most certainly rather him lose.

So, in honor of CyberMonday … and LeBron’s first trip to Washington, D.C. as a member of the Miami Heat coming up on Saturday, December 18th, Truth About It.net would like to send you to the game. And because you are likely shopping online today, why not get something for free (courtesy of the good folks at StubHub)?

>LeWho? The Miami Heat

>LeWhen? Saturday, December 18, 2010 – 7:00 pm

Read more »

[Links and a D.C. picture ... keep scrolling ...]

[Skate or Door -- 500 block of Florida Avenue, NW - Washington, D.C.]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Links!

First … Josh Howard is back in D.C.! Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports the details, and Mike Prada puts down some thoughts on the signing at Bullets Forever. I’ll have some more in-depth thoughts soon … but until then, I’ll say I love the move (especially at $4 million for one year).

Second … 17th pick Kevin Seraphin has signed with the Wizards after a buyout agreement was reached with his team in the French pro basketball league.
[Wizards Insider]

Joe Glorioso of Wizards Extreme wonders where Gilbert Arenas has been and thinks that Arenas should be making a public apology to the DMV during this basketball dead period. I’d have to agree.
[CSN Washington]

Read more »

Antawn Jamison doesn’t get Twitter. Neither does my 70-year old dad (okay, he’s 69, will be 70 next June).

He, my dad, was recently in town and Twitter came up in the dinner conversation. I tried to justify its relevancy by citing how it provides those in the media, bloggers, such as myself, the ability to extend personal branding (as HRO would call it), and even more so, how it’s great for late-breaking news, especially in the sports world. I trailed off and cut the list of merits short after seeing the look on my dad’s face, not mentioning how I’ve actually made friends with people via Twitter.

My pops, mind you, is not completely tech oblivious. He does have a ‘net book’. And I suppose Antawn is in the same boat.

Tom Sorenson of the Charlotte Observer has the first Antawn Jamison, ‘Here I Am’ article of the summer. Sorenson recently caught up with the Gentleman Jamison at his basketball camp in North Carolina. You should read the whole piece, but here are a couple select quotes:

But the Cavaliers crashed and burned in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston and crashed and burned again two weeks ago when LeBron giddily announced he was leaving Cleveland for the Miami Heat.

Read more »

“Having been from Cleveland and everything we’ve gone through, you’d like to see your hometown do well, so I’m disappointed from that standpoint.”
-Flip Saunders

Yep, ol’ Flip is from Cleveland. But you probably already knew that. The high school All-American and 1973 Ohio Class A Player of the Year averaged 32 points per game during his senior year at Cuyahoga Heights, a school located in the burbs of the Mistake By The Lake.

Actually, my bad. I shouldn’t make fun of Cleveland. Even though Cavs fans lined up by the miles to witness and laugh at the Wizards after the Arenas gun fiasco and the rest of the implosion (including gladly taking the Gentleman Jamison), I cannot laugh at them at this moment. I feel very, very bad for those guys. And with that I say, ‘Join me people of Cleveland, in your distaste for Lebron.’

One quick question … who’s now more indefensible, LeBron or DeShawn Stevenson?

What? Too soon?

Meh, here’s video of Flip Saunders talking about Cleveland and the whole James ordeal.

Read more »

Dammit. I did it. I used that LeBron fella’s name in the title of this post. I know, I know … I shouldn’t have.

If it’s any consolation, I refused to watch the “decision” when the option was offered to the awaiting media to do so in the Wizards’ family room (the usual press lounge was unavailable).

Oh, the “awaiting” media part … well, yea, we were all waiting to speak to John Wall after he’d gone through his first day of mini-camp with the Wizards. The team’s opening session went from around 6:30 to 8:30 pm on Thursday; it was well after 10 pm before Wall spoke. Can’t blame him, he had to watch his buddy Bron Bron and then ice down some sore muscles.

Which makes me step back and think … back in February, would you have ever imagined that by July Cavs fans would (likely) want to trade places with Wizards fans?

Okay, back to Wall and mini-camp. He looked impressive during last 15 minutes of scrimmage the media was allowed to watch, or at least several notches above whomever was guarding him (okay, that was mostly Sun Yue and Abdulai Jalloh). On defense Wall struggled to fight through a couple picks, but Flip Saunders said he has a chance to be an “outstanding defensive player.”

Read more »

Flickr/next2landon

OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, you’ve accomplished some incredible feats.

You are a two-time league MVP; you won NBA Rookie of the Year; you’re a six-time NBA All-Star; a NBA Scoring Champion; one of five players in NBA history to average over 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in a season – which you have done four times; one of just three players in NBA history to average at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in a postseason series; and you hold the record for the most consecutive points scored for a team in a playoff game with 25 straight hero-points against the Detroit Pistons in 2007, just to name a few.

(For additional ego-stroking, click here)

If you would allow me to speak freely, you should stay far, far away from Miami.

For starters, oil from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe (surely, you’ve heard of this) is likely to keep moving east because of the so-called “loop current,” according to NOAA officials.  To make matters worse than they already are, the likelihood of the Gulf oil spill hitting the Keys and the southeastern coast of Florida is greater than the likelihood of you making a free throw (80 percent)!  I know.

And then, there is Bosh.  John Krolic of CAVS: the blog reminded us that he has fewer player of the month awards than you have MVPs.  You’re not even in the same league as Bosh. In fact, he has become part of the “LeBron-Wade-Bosh” trinity, triumvirate, chimera, in large part because he doesn’t have Amar’e Stoudemire’s baggage.  Bosh has also been adamant about his desire to play power forward, but on this Heat team, he is the default center.  Oh, and Brendan Haywood has been locked up by Dallas for years.

Read more »

I get it. You’re just about tired of hearing about LeBron James. Blah, blah, blah.

Nonetheless, you’re still reading about him and the whole ordeal still makes for fun conversational fodder. So deal with it. And besides, this post isn’t about free agency and LeBron’s “decision.”

So there’s a report out there today (via TMZ, of course … but I first saw it on Ball Don’t Lie) about how some dude filed a suit in Federal Court against LeBron and his mother, Gloria James, claiming that he’s the father of LeBron. The guy, Leicester Bryce Stovell, is trying to sue for millions.

As the story goes, according to Stovell’s suit, Gloria, from Akron, Ohio, was visiting a cousin who lived in D.C. in 1984. At the time she was 15-years old, but going to the club and telling dudes she was in her early 20s … at least according to Stovell, who was 29 at the time.

The club where they allegedly met was called “D.C. Space” — more on that in a second — and on the March night in question, Stovell took Gloria back to his home in Annandale, Virginia where the magic was supposed to have been made. So, LeBron wasn’t conceived, conceived within the boundaries of the District of Columbia, again, allegedly, but you get the point.

Stovell claims he next ran into James, again at D.C. Space, in June of ’84 at which point (after the club at Stovell’s new apartment within D.C.) she informed him that she was pregnant. The suit claims: Read more »

John Wall is the Summer’s big move according to Bethlehem Shoals of NBA FanHouse. I agree … potentially.

If you eat and breathe the Washington Wizards as much as I do, you’ve considered the slim chance of crazy scenarios like the Wizards getting John Wall (via winning the draft lottery) followed by LeBron coming to play with his boy Wall in front of President Obama in D.C., along with Gil, ‘Dray, ‘Vale, Quinton, Nick and Al, and also joined by some veteran free-agents willing to sign for cheap within the remaining cap space*.

After all, LeBron is boys with Caps/Wizards owner Ted Leonsis (well, at least LBJ offered a testimonial on the back of Leonsis’ book, The Business of Happiness) and he just might realize the potential benefits of playing in an international city and forming a basketball/hockey MVP conglomerate with Alex Ovechkin. It’s not like these three parties have met or anything like that though … oh wait, the picture above.

Then again, Delonte West is from the DMV area — and I won’t even speculate what that means. Read more »