We all have that feeling of nostalgia at some point
in our lives. We wish for the days of yesteryear not realizing how good the
present really is. For LeBron, that moment came this past week. James decided
to take his talents back home, to Cleveland. If you're like me, your first thought
was "thank God that's over, now let's get back to some Rangers
baseball." (Kidding about the Rangers, they are terrible this year.
But I will still support them cause you can't be great every year, right Spurs
fans? Oh.)
Going back to Cleveland and signing a two year deal
for $42 million dollars, or just over what you would make in 25 lifetimes
working at a Lowe's, seemed strange at first. However, the collective
bargaining agreement (CBA) between the players and the NBA expires in two
summers and there are already talks of an impending lockout. By only signing a
two year deal, LeKing can put his signature on a max contract under the new
CBA. Oh by the way, he can opt out of his current two year contract next
summer, so don't be shocked if we hear all about this again in 345 days.
However, he has stated that he is committed to staying long term with the Cavs,
which is great, because who doesn't want to spend their adult years raising
their kids in Cleveland? Oh right, the rest of America. But Cleveland is home
for LeBron, no matter how pathetic the streets or industrial industry. He
is finally trying to do the right thing by bringing home a championship to
Cleveland. Over forty years have passed since the city claimed a title. That's
quite a few seasons, just horrible if you ask me. At what point do
Cleveland sports fans say 'Ok, we get it. We suck at sports. Let's just stick
to rock and roll.'
To wrap up free agency in the NBA so far, let's recap: LeBron goes to Cleveland and leaves Bosh and Wade in Miami where they think they actually have a chance without him, stay tuned for the shocking disappointment. Carmelo Anthony stays in New York where he gets the most money, I mean, has the greatest fans in the world. Luol Deng, who is underrated and a really good player, goes to Miami and says I can replace LePrince. Except he can't and Miami gets bounced in round two next year, also stay tuned. Chandler Parsons goes to the Mavericks, where he likes playing with washed up talent and talent that hasn't matured yet. The Rockets sign Trevor Ariza, who will replace Parsons and is actually a great role player for their offense. They won't miss a beat. Of course, everyone had to wait on LeBron to make his 'decision' before they knew where they were going. A lot of this has been blown out of proportion by ESPN and twitter hashtags, but it sure does make for an interesting summer when your favorite baseball team couldn't beat the Sandlot squad.
Every four years countries from around the world
compete in a soccer tournament to claim the title of greatest futbol country in
the world.What brings people together more than the World Cup? Religious
debate. Just kidding, it's politics, really. So as most of you know, whether
you want to or not, the U.S. made it out of the "group of death",
only to be bounced out in the opening round of the knockout stage of the
tournament. First of all, let's get real America. We were never going to win
the World Cup. We love the other kind of football here in the States. While
most kids grow up playing in youth soccer leagues, yours truly included, there
is not much development of the sport past that age. The sport isn't as easily
funded or respected at high schools like basketball or football. We should just
go ahead and lower our expectations for 2018, just a thought. But it was a great
achievement to make it out of group play, let's give the team that much at
least.
The tournament was the best that I could remember in my lifetime, with great games that included amazing goals and superb passing and ball control. While the games were entertaining, we haven't seen that much flopping since the Spurs and Heat went fishing together. I mean, seriously. I thought Brazil was haunted by ghosts that just wandered onto the field and tripped, punched, and kicked people. You're killing me, Smalls! There was more diving than in the last Olympics. I personally don't follow the sport enough to know why players go to such drastic effort to make it look like they were shot with a .50 cal from a hundred yards out, but whatever helps them win, right? Or does it even help? Who knows? Moving on. Germany beat Argentina in the final, one to zero. The most shocking thing since Jason Collins announced he was gay. We knew. Now we're just waiting on you, Bosh. Argentina had no realistic chance to win. Messi is perhaps the best player in the world, but then who was going to help him? Di Maria was on the bench injured. Germany had their way with Brazil, 7-0, and it wasn't just because Neymar was out. Germany is a great team. Possibly the best team since the Sandlot squad of '93. Well no, Germany didn't have Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez.
