NBA Finals: LeBron's Legacy vs. Dirk's Redemption

In just a few hours, the Miami Heat will square off with the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of an NBA Finals that are dripping with juicy story lines.

Sure, we may not find LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki guarding each other throughout the entirety of the series, but the narrative of these finals will be dominated by each player's pursuit of his first NBA championship.

While LeBron and Dirk are seemingly in similar positions, as both seek to exorcise the demons of past Finals and validate their Hall of Fame credentials with championship rings, I can't help but view the two super stars in differing lights

For LeBron, we've nearly come full circle since last July, when he announced on ESPN he'd be taking "his talents to South Beach." As controversial as his 'decision' may have been, he made the move from Cleveland to Miami for the sole purpose of winning rings - a handful of them.

He sacrificed money and stats, not to mention a previously squeaky clean public persona, for the chance to play with Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and win multiple titles. And here he stands, on the precipice of winning that first championship and taking a giant step toward basketball immortality.

LeBron has always been hyper-aware of how the public views him, and at no time was that more evident than during the fallout from "The Decision." No matter what LeBron or anyone else says, he cares about how people perceive him.

I'm no psychologist and I'm not tapped into The King's brain or anything, but I feel that LeBron doesn't just want to be the best, he wants to be considered the best.

The prospect of having a legacy equal to or greater than Michael Jordan tantalizes and motivates James. Surpassing Michael Jordan as the game's greatest player can only be achieved by winning five, six or how every many championships it takes and THAT is why LeBron is wearing a Miami Heat jersey.

It's as if LeBron has been fixated on championship No. 8 before he's even lifted trophy No. 1.

The Big 3 at the Heat's "victory" party
at AmericanAirlines Arena in July. 

Who knows, perhaps I'm the one who's out of touch, but I would value winning just ONE championship in Cleveland and being 'The Savior' more than winning multiple rings with the D-Wade and Co.

And that's where Dirk – the NBA's anti-LeBron – figures into all of this.

If the smooth shooting power forward can lead his Mavericks to four more wins, he will do something that LeBron didn't have the shoulders to do in Cleveland: win a ring as 'The Guy.'

Last summer Nowitzki, who has played his entire 13-year career in Dallas, had the opportunity to leave for greener pastures. Instead, the affable 7-footer stayed put in Dallas by inking a four-year, $80 deal and eyed a return to the NBA Finals.

Dirk's decision flew under the radar. It was overshadowed by the likes of LeBron and other big name free agents who chose to sign with new teams. But here Dirk stands, like Lebron, only four wins away from that elusive ring.

Sure, he's not going to win six-plus titles like LeBron aspires (and very well may), but Dirk's legacy will be that of loyalty - not to mention an indefensible fall-away jumper - if he can deliver a championship in Big D. 

Dirk, whose Mavericks blew a 2-0 series lead to the Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, knows how difficult the road to a championship can be. For that reason alone, don't think for a second Dallas' go-to-guy is worried about his own legacy or winning multiple rings.

In a recent TV interview Nowitzki told ESPN's Mark Schwartz, "I never worry about my legacy and, 'What's going to happen if he doesn't get a ring?'"

Sure, there's nothing wrong with setting your sights high, as LeBron did at the Heat's ridiculously lavish introduction party in July. But don't such lofty ambitions trivialize just how hard it is to win one championship?

And LeBron, of all people, should know that.

Drama Queens

Fred Wilpon and the Mets would be perfect for Bravo's
next reality series, "The Real Housewives of Queens."

Over the last five seasons, being a New York Mets fan has been more like watching "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" series.

Forget baseball, it's all about drama, drama, and more drama for the Mets.

For five seasons now, the Mets have been less of a baseball team in the country's biggest market and more of a sideshow circus. This Mets fan has just about had enough of it.

The latest example of Mets disfunction came from owner Fred Wilpon, who in a lengthy profile in The New Yorker, was highly critical of the team's star players, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and even the face of the franchise David Wright.

(As an aside, I actually agree with Wilpon's assessment of the three players. If it had been a fellow Mets fan or a sports talk radio host who made these critiques, I'd have no problem with it. But when these comments come from ownership, it's a complete embarrassment for the three players and the entire organization.)

Despite losing the weekend Subway Series to the Yankees, I had actually begun to believe in this current Mets team. No, I had no illusions that this team, which is currently without Wright, first baseman Ike Davis and center fielder Angel Pagan, could compete for a postseason berth. Nonetheless, I had begun to warm up to this squad, from its passionate manager Terry Collins to the host of minor leaguers overachieving at the Major League level (see Justin Turner).

If nothing else, I could once again feel decent about the Mets. After starting the season 5-13, the team has gone 17-11 in their last 28 games and doing it with a glorified minor league roster.

Then again, this isn't some well-oiled machine of an organization -- these are the Mets, the poster boys for disfunction. While Wilpon made the comments about his players back in April amid the team's brutal start, the timing of the article couldn't have been more fitting for the franchise seemingly always embroiled in drama.

So now instead of talking about the job manager Terry Collins has done or the surging Turner, I can't help but place Wilpon's comments right there in pantheon of Mets blunders.

So let's briefly recap the turmoil that has engulfed the team over the last five seasons or so:

After wining 97 games in 2006, the team inexplicably lost Game 7 of the NLCS to the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. The following season brought the team's epic collapse, as the Mets blew a seven-game divisional lead with 17 to play. A similar choke job followed in 2008. The 2009 season was one few fans will forget - no matter how hard we try - as the team suffered through a rash of injuries en route to a 92-loss year.

Then last season, the Mets got off to a surprisingly good start but melted down during a second half that included season-ending surgery for Johan Santana for the second straight year.

And lets not forget former GM Omar Minaya's public relations disaster in '09 when he embarrassed the organization by accusing Mets beat writer Adam Rubin of angling for his job. Or how about last year, when closer Francisco Rodriguez was arrested after going all Gary Busey and knocking out his own father-in-law in the Mets club house.

But perhaps the most damning turn of events came recently, when the trustee for the victims of Bernie Madoff's ponzee scheme filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Wilpon, alleging the Mets owner knew of the scheme and profited from it.

Wilpon even admitted in an upcoming Sports Illustrated article that the organization is "bleeding cash" and will likely shed $64 million in payroll next season. As a result, Wilpon will sell a $200 million stake in the team, while GM Sandy Alderson will likely have to trade Reyes later this season.

But what the hell, Fred. Things are quickly going south for you anyway, so why not throw dirt on your own players and once again show the rest of the sports world how much of a joke your franchise has become. (Me bitter? Really? No way!)

My point to all of this? Just when you think things can't get any worse, it always gets worse. Something I've often tried to explain to friends who are fans of other teams is that whenever things appear to have hit rock bottom for the Mets, the organization is sure to find a way to lower the bar for itself.  So good job Fred, way to show you're Met pride.

If nothing else, Wilpon's comments and the ensuing fallout once again remind us of the team's tragic nickname.

Here's a hint, it rhymes with 'chess.'

Nick Swisher: He's the Man...man!

Swishaliscious 

Is Nick Swisher the coolest baseball player in the Big Leagues?

Calm down. No, I’m not converting to the Dark Side and taking up residence in Yankees Universe.  As a fan of that other New York baseball team – you know, the one that's in dire financial straights, the one that's become the butt of all baseball jokes – I despise the New York Yankees with the best of them.

But then again, you certainly won’t see me spewing my Yankee Haterade on the team’s right fielder, Nick Swisher, who has become one of my favorite sports personalities, right up there with the likes of Chad Ochocinco and Giants closer Brian Wilson.

Known for his exuberant personality, mo-hawks and general life-is-good-I’m-married-to-smokin’-hot-actress-Joanna-Garcia mentality, Swisher has given the Yankees a nice facelift since arriving in the Bronx in 2009. He’s been credited with loosening up the team’s traditionally stuffy clubhouse and is a big reason the team gelled effortlessly during its run to a 27^th World Series title.

Joanna Garcia-Swisher

In March, when Yahoo! Sports blogged about the most followed athletes on Twitter, Swisher was the only baseball player on the list, coming in at No. 10, with 1,273,939 followers. That number is now over 1.3 million. 

But even as he continues to struggle at the plate this season, hitting a putrid .218 with just two home runs, the right fielder still seems to have a smile permanently affixed to his face.

Take for instance his post game interview back on April 27. After Bartolo Colon hurled eight innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win over the White Sox, Swisher provided a ‘swishaliscious’ answer when asked about Colon’s performance.

“You know he’s got a lot to prove still. And he’s definitely doing it, MAN. It’s just so fun to watch him pitch, MAN. Just the way he’s going about everything, that smile on his face, MAN. It’s been great. He’s done a tremendous job for us.”

His response to the routine questioning confirmed what I have been suspecting of Swisher for some time now: he can’t form a sentence without including the word ‘man’ as least 11 times. He simply can’t do it - and I love it!

I can't help but ask whether this guy is the right fielder for the most storied organization in American sports or the Fordham chapter president of the Bro Delta Bro fraternity?

How about when he joined WFAN’s Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts for a telephone interview back on April 11 and warmly greeted the hosts with this gem.

Swisher is like the Rob Dyrdek of Major League Baseball and Yankee Stadium is his Fantasy Factory.

In all seriousness though, perhaps now more than ever, professional sports are dominated by inflated egos and narcissistic super stars (do I really need to mention a certain 6-foot-8 small forward who took his talents to South Beach?), but Swisher is a breath of fresh air for us jaded sports fans.

So while you won’t see me trading in my Mets gear for a Nick Swisher jersey anytime soon, that doesn't mean he's not one of my favorite personalities in sports.

Even if he does wear those awful pin stripes.

The Gold Standard of HS Hoops

Last week, I had the opportunity to cover the St. Anthony High School boy’s basketball celebration dinner in Jersey City.

Not familiar with the tiny, cash-strapped catholic school? How about high school hoops in general, for that matter?

Led by Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, St. Anthony is the premier high school basketball program in the country. Despite seemingly always on the brink of closure, the small Jersey City school has churned out some the nation’s best ballers and finest teams.

Major League Baseball has the Yankees. The NFL has the Steelers. High school basketball has Hurley and his Friars.

Perhaps I'm being a bit hyperbolic, comparing the Friars to the Yankees and Steelers. Then again, St. Anthony has been the subject of a New York Times best seller and had a season chronicled in the superb PBS documentary "The Street Stops Here."

This past season, the Friars went 33-0, won their 26^th state championship (24^th under Hurley) and were named the nation’s No. 1 team for the fourth time in school history. The pivotal moment of the Friars' season came on March 9, when they played archrival St. Patrick, of Elizabeth, N.J., in the state tournament.

Other than a match-up of bitter rivals separated by a mere 14 miles, the game featured the nation’s top two teams, as St. Patrick was ranked No. 1 in the polls at the time, with St. Anthony dwelling in the No. 2 spot.

Played in front of 8,000-plus fans at the Rutgers Athletic Center, St. Anthony stunningly routed St. Patrick in the fourth quarter and won the unofficial national championship game, 62-45.

While current University of Kentucky coach John Calipari was there that night to watch his blue chip signee Mike Gilchrest, of St. Patrick, surely even coach ‘Cal must have left the Rutgers campus impressed by the Friars.

Even Hurley, who has over 1,000 career victories on his Hall of Fame resume, was taken aback by just how big of a spectacle the game had been.

“That wasn’t a high school game,” Hurley told me at the dinner, as we spoke about the historic game.

After casting St. Patrick aside, St. Anthony went on to win the Non-Public B state championship and then the Tournament of Champions, finishing as both the top team in the state and country.

So last Thursday, the national champ Friars gathered once more to celebrate with their families, coaches and the school community. The players received national championship rings and custom jackets.

When you cover high school sports, you often find yourself at lackluster soccer games in the pouring rain or on a football sideline on a Friday night, knowing that your friends are out bar hopping and having fun without you.

But when you cover a St. Anthony game, no matter when or where it is, you feel apart of something much larger than a mere high school sporting event. A tradition of excellence exists at St. Anthony that no other high school program can claim.

For a young reporter like myself, it doesn’t get much better than interviewing a legend like Hurley and writing about the Friars.

Congrats on another banner season.