Title ( a work in progress)

Hey Y'all it's your favorite #SportsGeek, SportsGal89 In the Buildin'! I hope that y'all are doing amazing because I am.
  So I know that I talk a lot more about the games I watch and what's happening in the sports world. But today I wanted to focus a little bit on what it means to be a fan, and in my case in 2012 being a fan in a time where my teams are just eh, or there is no real benefit for the way that my teams are playing. I'll start with the Steelers since that seems to be where the most of my pain is right now. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE football. I have aspirations to one day own, yes that's right OWN a team. And not in the "Any Given Sunday" way, but in the I earned it and I know what I am talking about kind of way.
  Anywho, I love football, it is my Christmas all rolled up into the gridiron magic on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. The 2012 season like every other one gets me all excited to see my boys do great things. You get hopeful for a chance to make it to the playoffs and reclaim glory that only a few teams and fans have been able to witness in their lifetimes. I have been lucky,  that I got to see my team make it to the Superbowl at least 4 times in my life- 2 of which they won!, and my life is still far from over.  But here's the truth, even though I like every fan am so hopeful for a championship style team, I am also very realistic in my understanding that some years my team just wont have it. I felt it during the 2009-2010 season when we lost to the Packers and I feel it again this season. It doesn't help that our starting QB was recently injured and the likelihood of his return to bring us into the playoffs is slim. Now our 2nd QB was injured and we are down to our 3rd string and fighting to sign another QB in the middle of a season. Not to mention our team is just old, adjusting to the speed of other teams has been tough for a team as old as ours. The glory days of this team is starting to come to an end, and it will be interesting to see how our team and the organization rebuilds itself. The start is the resigning of PLAX! yup that's right Plaxico Burress is back in the Black and Gold. So to him I say welcome home!
    To continue, I am a diehard O-H-I-O Buckeye til I die, College sports fan (well Men's basketball and football). Due to a very poor decision of our athletes and our coaching administration, the Buckeyes this season have been forced to play for the sake of playing with no opportunity to play in a Bowl Game or the BCS Title Game. Part of the punishment that the NCAA bestowed upon us. We lost our beloved Tressel as well. Primarily because of his knowledge of our players not abiding to the NCAA rules and regulations of player behavior. Going into this season, I knew that regardless of the way they played, Buckeye Nation wouldn't be watching our team in what mattered the most to us, continuing to bring home an amazing legacy for our team and our state. This season though has been something of amazement. For one, we have a new coach. Mr. Urban Meyer has graciously come out of retirement to coach The OHIO State University Buckeyes Football team. Not only has he chosen to come out of retirement for us, but he has done it knowing that our team had no shot to make it to a Bowl game or Title Game. We are currently 11-0 for the season, our last game coming up against our RIVAL the dirty blue! With the last game of our season and the one against our rivals, it is going to be one of the most exciting games to watch. Throughout this season I have been fascinated with the energy that Braxton Miller and the boys continue to provide each and every game. This is what the game is all about, players playing to play. It's not about the money, the accolades, it's simply about the pure joy of playing a game you love.
  So as we enter our 12th game and our final one of the season, I look forward to a beauty of a fight. One where my team not only proves that they deserve to be one of the greatest teams in College Football, but that they are also not going to sit back and let others hate on their skills. This season for them was practice for what is yet to come.

That's all she wrote folks...

What it means to be a SportsGal

Hey Y'all it's your favorite (I hope) sports fanatic, Sports Gal89 in the buildin'. Normally I take a more conventional route and recap games, and athletes, but today I decided to talk to you a little bit about me, and how I came to be the fan that I am and what it means to be a fan in 2012, particularly as I reflect on my teams.
  So it is the 2012 season and I am a #SportsGeek! Let me recap why. My father, yup I am a self-proclaimed "Daddy's Girl." I have grown up around sports for much of my childhood, with my dad coaching High School football when I was younger, playing soccer and coaching men's women's soccer. I spent time with the football players in and out of our house for team meetings, I was the water girl at game days for soccer, and even assisted my father while he coached little kids in our summer leagues.
  I myself, played soccer, some softball and was a cheerleader for my elementary football teams. When I was in middle school, "Friday Night Lights" was the true heart of my growing up. Spending each Friday night at the High School Football game, where literally the entire town shutdown to be out at the game. My time in the stands razzing the visiting team from time to time.
   I loved watching sports, spending time in Pittsburgh at Pirates games. Going to a Steelers Game, driving with my dad on trips to NY and coming back to visit the Football Hall of Fame- our stop EVERY TIME we returned home. Sports literally courses through my veins. I love sports and I can't ever let it go.
   When I was in High School, unfortunately my love of sports was left to what was on TV as my HS was not large enough for a sports team of any sort. So instead I focused on the local teams that played on TV, at the time Stanford, Cal, Santa Clara etc. When I started college however, the whole scope of my understanding of the games changed. I entered college and my friend base were the athletes. My friends were the starters for our college football team, the starters for the basketball team, played volleyball or water polo. That was my crew. So I was at literally EVERY game, for one season straight my friends and I planned our work schedules based on the football games. We traveled with the team and watched them make it to the championship game. I would talk to the guys after games running through their weak sides and just talking with them. The respect of my crew was simply that "Keesha knows her ish." Some of my friends would joke, we play the game and you know it better than we do. Ha Ha.
  The love of the game came full circle in watching my teams play live. Going to a Lakers game, watching the Steelers play the Raiders, seeing the A's that was my real training. Watching live games AND studying them on TV.
  Literally all of this over-saturation of the games, created a MONSTER. So now here I am 27 years of life, with a sports blog and just this love of sports that I don't know where it comes from, but also recognize that as a female it has its limits. Why? I get a lot of comments from people that they'll say- "Wow, Keesha, you know A LOT about sports and it scares me." I have had guys tell me that I intimidate them with my knowledge. One, because I can get gully with the rest of them, when they talk about teams and games. Two, because when the game is on, I am focused. I am cheering, I am screaming at the TV, I am going in. I am a fan, I can't get it out of my system and honestly I don't know if I would have wanted it any other way.
  So if I could get on my high horse for a minute and speak to the ladies who are fans like me. Stick with it, we need more of us being vocal and proving that we have value as fans that isn't superficial. I think one of my favorite moments, is clowning the idiot who thinks that because I am a girl, I must not have any idea what is going on in the sports world. I let you think that for a second and then I just lay it all down and make you look STUPID. Sometimes it's not about me proving that I know what I am talking about more than it is me proving that I worthy of being listened to.
  So this is why I blog. I hope you like what you have been reading and continue to stop by and share my story.
  Thanks for indulging! That's all she wrote!

Money + Ego= greatness destroyed...

Hey Y'all it's your favorite #SportsGeek, SportsGal89 in the buildin'!! I know, I know it has been TOO long since I have dropped a line on the sports world. And I promised that I would get better and devote a little more time to you all but I am here now so, forgive me for my transgressions and let's move on to the real reason that I am writing.. SPORTS!

  You ever have a moment where you feel that someone you looked up to is tainted, like you just were able to see them as human instead of the super human being that you thought they were? I had that moment a few games ago with the Steelers when Emmanuel Saunders had this horrible flop to buy time for the Steelers. Some of us have this image of sports greats- Barry Bonds, even though I am not in that category, or Lance Armstrong, Reggie Bush or USC. It's those moments that you saw them as pure, untouchable, that no matter what shade someone threw on them,that shade was just another point you could add to your argument about why they were great. 

Y'all know, if you have been following since I first started this blog, that I am a HUGE Lakers fan. My fan "purity" for lack of a better word has been something that I have had to defend for a long time. But it is something that I recognize I end up defending for a series of reasons and not just because the Lakers happen to be my team. The Lakers in my eyes could do no wrong, win or lose I love that team. I know that Kobe's days are numbered, I've been there through his ego and running the team long enough to appreciate his growth and his leadership even though many tend to think that it is a little much. I know that the Lakers are a big market team and I get that money talks in the NBA and clearly it talks for the Lakers organization when you have a guy like Kobe to build a team around. I am not naive to think that money doesn't speak volumes, but I still have this idea that no matter what the money is there is still skill on the court that got them the championships they have and the often hated image that they have- but in my mind- Hating on greatness doesn't stop them from still being great!... Until today!

Today the Lakers front office decided to fire Coach Mike Brown. Let's look at the landscape- Mike Brown came into the Lakers Season as a head coach last season. In this change, the team showed their ASS in one of the most embarrassing moments, in a very public, botched deal to get Chris Paul from New Orleans. In this power move, the Lakers dropped a notch in my integrity ruler, due to the fallout of how they treated Odom. As if he hadn't been a part of the team, wasn't voted the the NBA's 6th Man and hadn't worked hard to do what he could for the organization. Neither here nor there. Odom finally exited stage right. The Lakers under Mike Brown for the 2011-2012 season went 41-25. They made it to the Western Conference and yes, they lost to OKC in game 5. 

  Great teams are not always going to be great forever- The 75 Steelers weren't going to continue their legacy forever, it took us 2 decades to make it back to the Super Bowl and another decade and some change before we actually began winning again. Even the Yankees have fallen. What about the 49ers who just started to get good again. Athletes move, organizations change their systems as their coaching changes and as their players change. You do your best to stay innovative but it's a poor expectation to think that you don't have some learning to do, or that you can keep playing the same cards and ALWAYS get the same results. Mike Brown came in after a very talented Phil Jackson, arguably one of the, if not THE best coach to grace the league. He proved that he could make a championship team no matter where he went- GOOD for PHIL! 

  Let's begin with the 2012-2013 season. The Lakers probably had one of the best shifts of the season- FINALLY getting rid of the dead weight in Bynum- YEAH I SAID IT.. And bringing in Steve Nash (which I am still questioning, and honestly ANY REAL Laker fan would question that move too) and Dwight Howard. Steve Nash is old. His days in the game are numbered. Dwight Howard is coming off of back surgery and coming out of a team where he was the superstar. Then you have new players, or reused players in a different fashion, but in your pocket you have a chance to be innovative and rely on the head coach and his system to change the play and rebuild a different Lakers organization when you know Kobe is on his way out too and you will have a new generation of players taking over.

  But let's got to this season. Preseason the Lakers ended 1-7. Okay, duh, did you not just read the last paragraph, new team it takes time to jell. And, to expect that pre-season is where you have to prove yourself is a it's preseason and in an 82 game season you might as well have it be training camp.  Then begins the regular season and as of this morning's firing the Lakers were 1-4. 5 games in and yeah, even I had to "check my face" after some sloppy games and loss after loss of my "super human." But the same factors are still at play now as they were before the season started- Nash is old, Howard is still healing and the team is still jelling. The one thing they had in common was that the team was FINALLY listening to Brown's wisdom. As late as yesterday, Kobe was saying how he respected Brown and recognized his strengths. And then all of a sudden, Brown is out. I argue that it was way too soon and here is why...

Yes I will agree that the Lakers are sucking, and it's a combination of things, but coaching is not the only factor.  But, you just got a squad together. Even if they are the best of the best, it still takes time for the players to adjust and get into their rhythm as a team- case in point Miami two seasons ago. Regardless of whether or not they lost all through the Preseason- the point is that you learn to be a team together. That takes patience. You are also having to teach a different level of basics, you have to teach players to be innovative. I mean let's be real the LakeShow is getting old so you have to deal with the players changing bodies AND a whole new team. And I get it he had a year and still didn't produce- part of this could be a fault on his end, don't take off more than you can chew.. the Lakers are the Lakers for a reason don't jump in the ocean if you aren't confident you can't catch a wave. But in Mike's defense, the Lakers players ARE NOT the easiest to manage. You have to win their respect (and by their I mean Kobe). 

But all that aside, this is my fundamental issue with the firing of Mike Brown- the organization. People hate on the Lakers because they think we are a bunch of money chasers-- with the Chris Paul botch, yeah I can see that among other reasons where I might give them credit for the thought. But in this moment, WE (I'll say this as a fan, because right or wrong I still stick to my team) showed that our ego was bruised. We showed our ass like a sorry bunch of punks. We are the LAKERS!! one of, if not the greatest organization in NBA history. It doesn't mean that we are going to be great every season, it doesn't mean that we aren't going to have to learn to change and adjust to the changes in the league. It doesn't mean that sometimes we have to change direction as an organization and deal with the new systems etc. I don't think Mike Brown was the worst. I do think Mike Brown had some horrible moments, but I also think that Mike Brown deserved a little more time to get his system going. I mean let's be realistic 5 games in an 82 game season. You couldn't have waited until game 8 or until the end of the next 6 games when we are home each game. You couldn't have waited until December? I feel it was a bad call, For Shame Lakers, For Shame. In my opinion the organization just wasted a great opportunity to be leaders in the big market league and be innovative. Changing the way that they played and adapting to the new youth in the league today. Instead, greatness was tainted.  

That's all she wrote!

Penalties, flags and REPLACEMENTS? .. Oh my!

Hey y'all it's your favorite SportsGal89 In the Building.... The last few weeks of football have been interesting. Not so much because of the games themselves, or the "Any Given Sunday" moments that happen, but simply because of the oddities that have occurred on the field due to calls and craziness, we have to really wonder if this is what we want to see.
   So what am I talking about? The Replacement Refs.. there is a current lockout between our Regular Refs and the NFL. And who has suffered, the fans and the players and the coaches.
   I understand that people are concerned about their money and what that means, but when the INTEGRITY of the game is at risk, when will we come to an agreement of what needs to be done.
   Why is this a big deal, tonight was Monday Night Football with the Packers and the Seahawks.. 8 seconds left and a 38 yard play by the Seahawks QB down 12-7. The last play QB Wilson throws a beauty to the corner of the Endzone to Tate and a field of Green including Jennings.. Jennings clearly had the ball, but the officials rule it as a TD on Tate.
  Not to mention the offensive pass interference that Tate had pushing off of one of the Green Bay Players to go up for the catch. A series of events that have sort have been the icing of the cake for frustrations of fans, players, coaches and commentators alike.
  But here are the larger questions:

•        What will the NFL do about it? The Integrity of the game is on the line. 
•         Can the NFL actually turn over the ruling on the field and what does that do moving forward?
•         Why can't we settle these disputes?  The players get hurt, but the Refs are people too. We need to make it different, we need to make it better because the game should be bigger and better then the money.

Moving forward I think we all wake up tomorrow morning with a sour taste in our mouth and now the NFL has to figure out how to get us back. It's one thing when you have the nail biters happen, but those shouldn't be based on the calls that are made on the field.

   At the end of the day, we'll talk more about this call then we will about the game and what skill was left on the gridiron-- and that's the part that will suck and will forever taint MNF.

FAN Loyalty: More than just points and wins

Hey y'all it's your FAVORITE SportsGal IN THE BUILDIN'! I hope that I still have some followers even though I have definitely been slacking. Please forgive me.. With school behind me I have committed more to making sure that I post once a week if not more. Particularly after MNF, but today I had to post and YES this one will be about the Steelers, but not in the way you think.

Today/tonight I watched the Steelers play the Raiders.. My last time in Oakland for a Raiders game was when the Steelers came to town. The Raiders won and I STILL got harassed all the way to my friend's car. So going into this game I knew it was just going to be exciting.

   The game was beautiful, despite a Steelers loss, it was exciting all the way to the end. BUT here is where I begin my post:
     #29 Ryan Mundy collides helmet to helmet with Raiders player Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey lays on the ground for who knows how long, but long enough for the fans, the coaches, players and everyone watching the game to pause and pray.
 Commentators are worried about the fact that replacement refs didn't call a flag for the helmet to helmet and I am sitting here wondering what that matters in this moment. When you are staring at a player on his back, not moving, with medics surrounding him and worried about whether or not he's okay. While you are watching, you are looking for some sort of movement, a thumbs up, eyes open something and those seconds turn into minutes and into what seems like forever. In those seconds it's not about whether the right call was made, at least right away. It's about making sure the player that needs the love is getting it.
   In those minutes it's not about fault, because believe you me, the player who hit him is praying, pleading that he didn't just end another person's career, let alone life.
  In those moments that seem like forever fans across the country hold their breath, knowing that could have been one of their own.
   It's not the time to point the fingers, it's not the time to worry about who messed up. At that time it's OUR collective responsibility to make sure that the game we love does better at ensuring the safety of the people who put their lives and bodies on the line each Sunday to make sure that we get enjoyment out of what they do.
   Shortly after the game concluded, I was filtering through some fan pages that I follow and someone posted "It's not over, til it's over. I'm sure Goodell (as in Roger Goodell, as in NFL Commissioner) is going to pick his pocket for that one." EXCUSE ME! I am a Steelers fan, you know that. And yes I don't like to see bad calls or penalties against my team, but can I go back to something I said before, it's more than just entertainment. As fans we have to remember that more than just points and wins, we have to make sure our players are safe, or their won't be a game. Yeah maybe fining isn't the best thing to do, but when that money goes back into funds for players who have been injured, and funds to continue research on spinal injuries etc, I am not sorry that MY player is getting fined. Steelers fan or not a hit to the helmet is UNACCEPTABLE.. I like Mundy and I don't think that ANY player intends to lay someone out and put them in a hospital, but as a fan if you are just worried that "it's not over" because you think someone is going to get fined, YOU DON'T GET THIS LIFE!! 

People's lives are on the line EVERY time that whistle blows and until you watch someone you care about not get up, you won't get what that means... 

I think that as fans we have a responsibility for the game that we love to do a better job to petition EVERYONE involved in the NFL to do a better job of player safety. This means Refs (replacements or not) have to do a better job of controlling fights, they have to call the penalties and the flags, even if that means  it's against the team you like or love. The coaches and the players have to train better, teach themselves how to hit differently do what they need to do to make themselves play a game that is more sustainable, for their health while they play and their health after. The NFLPA and the NFLCA and all those involved in research etc, need to do a much better job at petitioning for swift moves that encourage player safety. And yes the fans, y'all are even responsible for not getting butt-hurt because your player is going to be "fined". How about if it was your player on that field, your friend, your family? At what point would you want to have "Goodell pick [their] pockets?"

Player Safety FIRST and FOREMOST! 

  To this I hope Heyward-Bey is okay... It's time we all take a knee and pause and remember it's bigger than those seconds and minutes.. Sometimes it's forever. 

It's that time of year again...

Hey Y'all it's your FAVORITE (well hopefully) #SportsGeek, SportsGal89 in the Buildin'!! It has been a while and if I am writing you know what that means--- Football has begun and I have much to chat about much.
  Where to begin, well y'all KNOW I'm a Steelers fan, yup yup and we are still en rout for that "Stairway to 7." First team to 6 and we want to be the first team to 7 NFL Championship Titles. I say "we" because I am a through and true member of the STEELERSNation!
    So the 2012-2013 season is underway and my team is 1-1. I am getting excited for another great season and all the crazy antics that are ensuing. For instance, the officiating team- we have newbies on the field. They are being called "The Replacements," It's unfortunate because EVERYONE is giving them a hard time, commentators, coaches, players and fans. Some of it well deserved and some of it, well I guess we have to give them time to handle the situations as well. They are calling amazingly INACCURATE penalties that is driving everyone nuts. While they are learning, they take too much time to review plays that drags on games. It is so frustrating, I can only imagine what it is like being at the game, while you are sitting around already due to commercial breaks and then you have to sit around some more because of the refs needing to check the plays and the calls they are making. But I must say it is easier to judge while you are not actually in the game itself.
   The other part that is making this year SUPER exciting, is FANTASY FOOTBALL. In year's past I have participated in Fantasy Football, but have sucked royally at it. Instead this year, I still suck (I pretty much picked the ENTIRE, Steelers Team on both sides of the ball and set myself up to lose each week) but I am getting the hang of it and with that said trying to diversify my team a little bit. There are people I am going to have to give up to get a better core of players, but the part that I enjoy is that it is easy to learn.

  I don't know if I am getting more excited about watching the game or if I am getting more excited about seeing me lose in Fantasy. Lol, I get excited when I see the points come up, but when I am finding out that the teams I am up against are beating me by 11-12 points something has seriously got to give!
  Hopefully I can make some trades soon and pick up some better players and make some more amazing plays.

Coming Full Circle

Hey y'all, hopefully I am still your favorite SportsGal! But it's me SportsGal89, In the Building!

 I know that I have fallen off the blog post radar, and for that I apologize. But I couldn't let this opportunity to slip away, to comment on what got me started on this blog in the first place.
   Let me recap a little bit and then I'll  hit you with my main point...After regrouping from the realization that #TeamLakers were not going to the Finals, I had to rally my support around a team that I knew could go far.. #TeamThunder, here are the reasons:

1.          I've said it before and I will continue to say it- I am a fan of the game first before I am a team fan. With that said, IF your team is crazy enough to beat the team I believe in my heart is the champ, then I have to support you all the way. Why? Well if my team gets beat, I would hope that the team that beat them is a good enough competitor to take the whole thing. I don't want those what if moments--- what if the Steelers D was able to stop that impressive Tebow pass that sent them to the next round of the playoffs?  What if the Lakers were actually cohesive enough to beat the Thunder? What if the Buckeyes, actually played strong consistently through the last game of their Final 4 run? These are the questions I don't want to have to worry about, so I put my fan spirit behind the team that I think can make it, the team that beat my champs.
2.  DEREK FISHER!!!! D-Fish has been my Ace on the Lakers. He is a class act an incredible athlete and a great man off the court. The story of his daughter's illness, his drive to still play knowing she was sick etc. has been a fascinating example on and off the court. Not to mention we share a birthday! 
3. KD! I love that kid, he is phenomenal. Currently living in DC, I have come to know this hometown hero- not personally of course. But through his love of this city, and his constant presence during the off season etc. Someone that young, that efficient on the court is a BEAST to be reckoned with! I will continue to appreciate his spirit, his flare and his ability to make the game look seamless no matter what the other team is doing to defend him.
4. Going into the series- Lakers vs Thunder, watching the Lakers play almost too tired, inconsistent, made me question our ability to go all the way. Friends say that I am an emotional sports fan, and that's true. I've been around sports so long, that I am pretty good about reading the emotions of the teams, who wants it, who is fighting for it etc. I know when my team isn't playing up to par and are risking championships SuperBowl 2010-2011 Steelers vs Greenbay. My team wasn't ready, they kept getting lucky throughout the season and it destroyed them when they needed to fight for it the most.

So those are my reasons, now on to the big piece. It seems as if my blog is coming full circle, one of the first blogs I wrote about came on the heels of the Cavs 4-2 Series loss against the Celtics. Winning game 6 would have given the series a 3-3 run, and the Cavs having yet another chance to head to the Finals. What do I attribute to this loss- LEBRON! Why? I felt he gave up, but don't take my word for it now, head back to my earlier blogs to check out my feelings. Disappointing was Lebron's typical 4th quarter breakdowns. But that didn't push me into blog writing madness. What pushed me was the controversy that started shortly after that last buzzer. Sports analysts were questioning what would become of Lebron James, where was he off to. Speculating his next team and the choices that he was bound to make. Rumors of a run in Chicago, possibly to lead the rise of the Brooklyn Nets, Miami even? My issue, the season wasn't officially over yet and the BIGGEST story was Lebron James, an athlete who in my opinion was afraid of his own success.

Well spring forward to a press conference that no one really cared to listen to, and Lebron is off to Miami (we knew that). In my head I wondered if Lebron could ever own a championship that was truly his, I mean Miami making a beautiful, calculated transition that included D-Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron as the team's leaders, would definitely taint what could be considered the best decision this young athlete could have made. Bring on the first year of his season in Miami and Lebron played the ASS on and off the court, yeah Miami went to the finals, THANKFULLY they lost. But still, Lebron wasn't the "hometown" hero anymore. He allowed his ego  to get to him. The reality, Lebron wasn't in Ohio anymore. Nothing he did was going to be patted on the back and excused. Now he is in Miami, a city that is used to its fare share of celebrities that come and go. Lebron is just another superstar in the list that may come and go as often as the hurricanes do.
  So year two comes around, I can't say that I forgave Lebron for the way he left Ohio. I mean, for me I could care less. I think it's incredibly naive for any city to think that one man is going to stay there without ever winning a championship. I think it's unrealistic for fans to think that loyalty is something athletes are expected to live up to. They are in the game to make money and win championships, that is their end goal. We can't force them to stay where they aren't able to do that against their will...
   But now this blog is getting long so here I go to the why it's come full circle. NBA Finals, year two of Lebron's ride with Miami, finds #OKC and #HEAT at it. The Heat win despite OKC's valiant run, but it came down to something Magic Johnson said "One team WANTS to win, another team KNOWS they can win," I'll let you figure out which team is which on your own.
   Despite being annoyed that Miami won, well annoyed that Lebron finally got his ring, I was glad that we could say finally. Okay Lebron, you left Cleveland, made an ass of yourself and got your redemption, good for you, now your 15 minutes is up. Well, my sentiments toward Lebron changed. In his speech after receiving the MVP and holding the Championship trophy, Lebron finally owned up to his role in disappointing the basketball fan in me and the Lebron fan I once was. Here's what he said:

  Now it might not seem like a lot to you, but it shows a changed man. From someone who cursed at fans, got angry for losses, just acted down right annoying and big headed, I appreciated this version of Lebron recognizing his own growth.

Who knows what comes next in his career, but at least now I can put my frustration with Lebron to rest--for now.. In the meantime, congrats to the Heat for the win and OKC there will be a next time.