I received the following email from a friend of mine from our days in Seattle. Perry Travis (pictured in the background facing the camera) has been working with teenagers for years, but well before then he was part of the 1982 Little League World Series. Check this out:
“Below is information on the Premier Viewing Night of a documentary that Red Line Films and ESPN did on our Kirkland National 1982 LL World Series team. The team will be at a Sports Restaurant holding a silent auction in Seattle to raise money for disadvantaged little leaguers (4pm Sports Restaurant & Bar 140 4th Ave North-across from the Space Needle). Then the ESPN airing of the documentary will be shown. If you are available, desiring to go, and in a donating mood, check out the contact information below.
Perry and Lisa
The link for the film’s page on the 30 FOR 30 website is http://30for30.espn.com/film/little-big-men.html. This provides updated & additional broadcast schedule info for the film. There is a trailer and more media too.”
So where were you when LeBron made “the decision”?
I doubt (and hope) that last night’s television spectacle doesn’t become one of those moments we all talk about the rest of our lives, and I hope it doesn’t become the norm for future “breaking news.” I have to admit I was riveted to the radio in my car (and then to the television once we made it back from dinner). Honestly, in spite of reports all day that he was leaning towards choosing the Miami Heat, I was completely shocked that he chose to play there. In spite of all the backlash he is getting, here are 5 reasons LeBron impressed me:
1. LeBron said he wanted to win and choosing to play with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh seems like a wise choice, but how often do guys actually make their decisions based on what they say they will?
2. LeBron left alot of money on the table to go to Miami. Often guys say it isn’t about the money. This time it seems that LeBron meant it.
3. If LeBron, Wade, and Bosh do win a championship (or more than one), he will never be as respected as Michael Jordan or even Kobe Bryant because he needed help to pull it off. Even still, he humbled himself and damaged his brand to join a superteam and pull off a plan that apparently these friends came up with back in 2006.
4. LeBron left his hometown. It would have been easier to choose Cleveland. Everyone would have understood, and even if he never won, we would have all blamed it on the city more than on him. Choosing Miami took guts. He is now a villain to his hometown, his home state, and many NBA fans. (If you haven’t already, read the scathing letter from the Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert).
Very few of us will cheer for the New York Yankees of the NBA. We usually like to cheer for the underdog which is one of the reasons we cheered for the local kid playing for his local team-the Cleveland Cavaliers. It takes chutzpah to switch from a hero to a villain (and this is the real world and not WWE wrestling)!
5. For the “Miami Heat experiment” to work, LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will have to play more like they did for the U.S. Olympic team and less like normal NBA superstars do. Their statistics, minutes, and roles will be reduced. This is great news for my fantasy team since I don’t have any of these three in my keeper league. 🙂 Check out this great article : “There Has to Be No ‘I’ in Super Team” by Michael Ventre.
All that being said, here are 5 reasons LeBron did not impress me:
1. LeBron announced his decision on a television special with hand-picked interviewers. It seemed way too self-indulgent. Sure money was raised for the Boys and Girls Clubs, but couldn’t that have been done by LeBron writing a check or him filming a free commercial? It seemed like the Boys and Girls Club of America was added on to make him look less selfish rather than being the reason for the television special.
2. LeBron left a team that hadn’t pulled it off to go to one that has to do so. Michael Jordan didn’t leave the Bulls. He built the team into a dynasty.
3. A local hero added “the decision” to a long list of sad events to the “cursed” history of his hometown Cleveland. That city just cannot seem to catch a break! The one break they did get (winning the NBA draft lottery in order to draft a local phenom) has now ended in sadness (as usual).
4. LeBron will still make a ton of money, especially without state income taxes. Sure, he could have made more per year, staying in Cleveland or even going to New York, but a lower salary in Florida equals about the same in those other places. See this article on “Lebronomics.”
5. LeBron didn’t call anyone at Cleveland to let them know of his decision? This is real life and not a “reality show”! Even calling the others who pursued him to let them know his decision would have been appropriate. Yes, that would have probably ruined the secret and the drama, but he should make decisions with maintaining relationships and common courtesy as more important than a television special called “The Decision.” (See “Issue Isn’t Why James Left Cavs, It’s How” by Ian Thomsen).
Should be a very interesting NBA season this fall! Go Lakers and Go Clippers! But especially, Boo Heat!
Last night I watched “The Two Escobars” a documentary created for ESPN’s 30×30 series. It follows the story of a drug dealer and soccer hero who were both killed during the horrific violence that took place in the early 1990s in Colombia. They were not related, but they both had the last name Escobar. It was a powerful and tragic story.
After the disappointing finish, Andres Escobar wrote a beautiful article encouraging his countrymen. He wrote: “No matter how difficult, we must stand back up. We only have two options: either allow anger to paralyze us, and the violence continues, or we overcome, and try our best to help others. It’s our choice. Let us please maintain respect. My warmest regards to everyone. It’s been a most amazing and rare experience.”
With a message bigger than the game of soccer, he ended the article with these tragically ironic words: “Hasta pronto, porque la vida no termina aqui” which when translated means: “See you soon, because life doesn’t end here.”
Though his life tragically ended, to me Andres Escobar was a hero for lifting his country to a high (leading up to the 1994 World Cup) they had never experienced before nor since and because of the way he sought to overcome his mistake by comforting his people rather than leaving Colombia for a safer place.
What you may not know, is that just before that remarkable and rare play, Bruntlett made an error and dropped another ball that could have gotten at least one out or even a double play.
Had he made at least one of these plays, he would never have been in position to make an unassisted triple play to end the baseball game.
So, even when we mess up, we should never give up because you never know what might be right around the corner….
As a sports fan living in Southern California with many friends who cheer for the Angels, I was pleased to see a SoCal team at the top of ESPN’s list of best sports franchises. Even though the Dodgers are my favorite team, I have to admit we enjoy an Angels game in Anaheim every year or so. They have a great relatively new stadium and the food and drinks are really affordable, and of course, the Angels seem to be fighting for 1st place every year. I should also acknowledge I still think that the Angels should be known as the Anaheim Angels or Orange County Angels of Anaheim rather than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. If ESPN had created a list of the worst names for sports franchises, the Angels would have topped that list too. The Angels left Los Angeles 40+ years ago and Anaheim is 45+ minutes south of L.A.!
“Other Southland teams on an ESPN survey of the four major North American sports leagues include the Dodgers at No. 50 and the Lakers at No. 51. The Clippers are last at No. 122.”
Even if food and parking are expensive ($15 for far away & $35 for much closer) and the stadium is 40+ years old, the Dodgers are still #1 for us! With Manny Ramirez back, the rest of the season should be fun to watch.
Even though I cheer for the Clippers, I’m not upset they are last on this list. I am just glad they even made it on there at all! Now that the lottery ball bounced our way letting us draft Blake Griffin, maybe we are ready to turn things around. Nowhere to go but up!
I received the following email from a friend of mine from our days in Seattle. Perry Travis (pictured in the background facing the camera) has been working with teenagers for years, but well before then he was part of the 1982 Little League World Series. Check this out:
Last night I watched 
