LeBron James Update:The Verdict is...Miami

written by:stacia_doss.
LeBron James made the decision to leave his hometown of Cleveland Thursday morning, he said in his official announcement on ESPN later that night. Several Cavalier fans were upset with his decision. Ultimately, James chose playing on another team with other NBA stars for the hope of winning a championship over the money Cleveland had to offer him. He will join Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat in the upcoming NBA season. The only question at hand is whether or not these players,(who are used to being the "main men" on their home courts), can put their egos to rest and allow each other to take turns stepping up during games.

What I'm thinking the team is hoping to achieve is a group like the '07-08 Boston Celtics, or maybe even the '03-'04 Detroit Pistons team. Both teams had great players and there wasn't always the same,constant leading scorer. With each game, the teams worked together and different leaders stepped up to do their individual parts towards the goal of winning.

I'm excited for the '10-'11 NBA season. We'll see where the Miami Heat ends up and I'll be sure to keep a lookout for pre-season team performance.

James: Should he stay or should he go?

written by:stacia_doss.

Will LeBron "King" James have a new city to reign over? All the buzz has been about whether or not James will stay in his hometown to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers or start again with another team.

There are many advantages to staying in Cleveland, but critics fear that the NBA star could be held back from winning championships if he stays with his current team. Thus, preventing him from being in the ranks of other basketball greats like former player Michael Jordan and current player Kobe Bryant, both of whom James is often compared.

Teams across the league have been trying their best to up their salary cap in order to accommodate James and make the financial factor more attractive for him. The last I checked, though, Cleveland can still offer him the most money.

My question is, is it really about money anymore though? With the sizable salary and numerous endorsements James has under his belt, money may be a smaller factor than the public would think, at this point. Anywhere he ends up, he's going to be making much more than an ample amount.

The New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls were the top teams that had been more than rumored about wanting James, but with New York's huge sign with Amare Stoudamire yesterday, I believe they are out of the running. The Miami Heat have now emerged as possible front-runners to sign James.

Thursday night, on ESPN, King James will officially announce who he is signing with for the next season and beyond suring an hour-long special. Who will it be? Will he stay in his hometown or venture to another team?

I do it for NBA L♥ve.

written by:stacia_doss
If anyone reading this shares my love for basketball and my (now) "like" for the NBA, you should know that the 2010 NBA Draft will air tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The first pick will likely be John Wall of Kentucky...this was predicted forever ago. But what I'm interested in seeing is where Elliot Williams will go.

Williams is a former guard for my Alma Mater, The University of Memphis, who transferred to the U of M last fall from Duke University.

The ex-blue devil and now ex-tiger has been predicted by some to go number 20-something in tomorrow night's draft. Time will tell.

I'm also curious to see who my former employer, the Memphis Grizzlies, will obtain and with that, who they could lose.

At this point, anything could shock me.

Although the referees slightly upset and disappointed me in the 2010 playoffs, the NBA still receives my love. If nothing else, I do it all for the love of basketball. =)

Basketball's Over...Are you ready for some football?

written by:stacia_doss.
All I have to say about last night's NBA Championship Playoff Game 7 is that I was impressed by the determination and hard-work put forth by the Boston Celtics. Even with the absence of center, Kendrick Perkins, and blatantly terrible calls by the referees, the team still did an amazing job.

That was likely the last time we saw that roster of players, as similar to what it was in 2008. Will Rasheed (Wallace) retire?...and how about Ray Allen? Time will tell...

As for the Los Angeles Lakers...well good for them.

Stay tuned for NFL updates...pre-season is on its way!

This series has gotten interesting...3 wins for Boston, 2 for LA.

written by:stacia_doss
So..the 2010 playoff finals have panned out to be pretty interesting if I must say so myself.

I haven't mentioned anything for the past few games, because I wanted the series to progress a little. I wanted to just to see if this was really going to be the competition I'd hoped it would be. It has been.

For the past five games, we've had to watch both teams fight through terrible calls from the referees. Nonetheless, each game has been entertaining. The Lakers and Celtics pretty much kept fans on the edge of their seats.

From the Los Angeles Lakers, we've seen about the same effort as usual, but the last two games did not show the benefits of their actions. Even with 30-plus points from Kobe Bryant, the team is still going to need help from teammates like Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, and the rest of the crew if it has any intentions on gaining a championship ring.

In the first four games, the most action for major points for the Boston Celtics came from Ray Allen, with some contribution from Rajon Rondo. When Allen had an off night, the other big-play shooters like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce did not come through to deliver. Nate Robinson tried to help offensively, while Kendrick Perkins and Glen "Big Baby" Davis helped defensively. But to win the championship, they cannot afford "off nights" from KG and Pierce. Last night, the two of them (Pierce and Garnett) played better than I think I've seen this entire series, and in the first half, Doc Rivers had a good strategy inputting three men on Bryant instead of one.

If Boston can keep up the energy that Pierce and Rondo had last night to win game five, I think they have a chance of closing this thing out in game six. The Lakers have to find a way to combat the Boston defense and reduce turnovers. If they can do that, there could be a game seven.

Boston leads the series, but, realistically, it's still anyone's game.

NBA: And the two meet again...

written by:stacia_doss

Two years ago, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers battled it out in the NBA Finals for the 2007-2008 championship. Tonight, they will do it again.

The two teams made up of fresh faces as well as arguably some of the best veterans in the league to ever play, will go head-to-head in Game 1 of the playoff finals from the Staples Center in L.A.

ESPN analysts weighed in to compare the '07-'08 Lakers and Celtics teams vs. the '09-'10 teams. While the Celtics won the championship after six games in 2008, experts say it won't be so easy for Boston this time around.

Even though the Celtics are back with once again with the even more talented point guard and team leader, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers could have something in store for veteran players like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, according to some ESPN sources.

I feel that stopping some of the bigger guys like Pao Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom could be difficult for the Celtics. In the series against the Orlando Magic, the primary rebounder for Boston was Glen"Big Baby"Davis. The Lakers, however, have multiple rebounders that have more height than anyone on the Celtics' roster. It puts L.A.at an advantage in that aspect of the game.

I said in my last NBA post that the game would be interesting if it ended up being these two teams..and it did. I'm satisfied.

I'm not even going to discuss the pre-season or regular season stats for either of these teams. We've seen it too many times before to know that when it comes to the playoffs--the past means little to nothing.

I can't wait to see how this first game pans out.

Oh Mama! Gossip is a Beast.

written by:stacia_doss

I thought I would take a few minutes out of my day just to discuss how gossip, word-of-mouth, and assumptions can get a little out of control...especially in the world of celebrities.

Most recently, sources confirmed to the public that singer-songwriter Alicia Keys(left in right picture) is pregnant with the her first child with rapper-producer Swizz Beatz, her fiance`. Before the announcement was officially made, blogs and gossip sites across the web were criticizing 29-year-old Keys on her relationship with Swizz Beatz, claiming that the two were involved before the rapper had even filed for separation from his wife, Mashonda. Bad press continues to surround Keys and Swizz Beatz now, especially with the announcement of pregnancy.

The couple began dating in 2008, which was post-separation from Swizz Beatz' wife. However, the media claims from friends of Mashonda and herself that the two were still happily married when Keys began dating him, labeling Keys a "home wrecker". All is speculation. We, the public, can only believe what is said, and all that is being said is negative. Relationships are private matters, and what happened between the three is only truly known and understood by them. The scrutiny and name-calling being thrown at the two of them isn't fair...but then again, I guess that's just life.

Another similar celebrity has also come under the same invasion of privacy. 40-year-old Mariah Carey(right in picture above) has constantly been in the news recently with rumors speculating that the singer could be pregnant with husband entertainer, Nick Cannon. Assumptions came from recent photos of Carey and Cannon spotted leaving a fertility clinic. The singer-actress also announced last month that she would no longer be starring in writer-producer Tyler Perry's upcoming film,"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.”

With all the pressure from the media, Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon, said the following on his Twitter page yesterday:

"If & when my wife is ready to make ANY announcements about private matters she will do it personally."

All this morning, (not-so-reliable)news reports have circulated across the web, insinuating that from Cannon's statement on Twitter, he has confirmed that his wife is indeed pregnant. But once again, this is another speculation. I believe that the statement simply addressed the privacy of such a matter as pregnancy. It is between the husband, wife, and their family. The issue of whether or not she is pregnant or has been having trouble conceiving is a private matter. If she is indeed pregnant, Mariah will reveal that herself. This is not the type of issue that should be "dug-up" by the pressuring media.