Category: NBA

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Does Love Need a License (Marriage) to Be Real?

Love is Love, right?

The February  issue of Essence magazine features Miami Heat basketball star Dwyane Wade and Actress Gabrielle Union.  The internets immediately erupted in outrage that the unmarried couple was featured on the love issue of the magazine.  This made me wonder:  Does love need a marriage license to be real?

The charges against the couple being featured on a major publication range from the “they’re not married” to “she is a homewrecker/he is an adulterer”.  The second stance, (homewrecker/adultery), can be easily dismissed.  Yes, he was married and probably cheated on his wife.  I would reason that Gabrielle wasn’t the first woman Dwyane was with.  She is only the most famous.  We (the public) don’t know the timetable of Dwyane’s separation and divorce.  I believe some things should be private even for celebrities.  Bottom line, we don’t know these people.  The only thing we know for certain is that he plays basketball for a living.  We know she has been in some movies.  In essence (see what I did there?), we don’t know anything.

Okay, one thing we do know is that they aren’t married to each other.  So what?  According to the article, they have been together for three years now.  They profess their love and respect for each other.  By their own account, they are living together and co-parenting Dwyane’s two sons.  Sounds like love to me.  Why does society place so much importance on a marriage license?

I am a married woman and I wouldn’t love my husband any less if we weren’t married.  I bet a lot of married people would agree.  So what does that license really symbolize?   Could it be saying that two people have chosen to live together, co-mingle funds, and provide insurance for each other?  If a marriage license solidifies a business relationship, why do people claim it symbolizes the legitimacy of love?

I believe Gabrielle and Dwyane are deserving of  being featured on the cover of a magazine.  If they say it’s love, why should a license be required?

 

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Super Monday – Super Bowl Review

Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone. (Congratulations to the New York Giants.)   The only thing left now is the analysis of the event.   SportsCenter has that whole football review on lock so I won’t get into that.

I didn’t have a vested interest in who won the actual game so I focused on the commericals. Every year there is this big build up. And much like the game itself, this year’s batch were pretty lame until the end.

Here are my picks for the best of the bunch:

I was looking forward to the Ferris Bueller/Matthew Broderick ad.  It didn’t disappoint.

Another great spot from Volkswagon.

Gotta love Seinfeld.

Doritos nailed it with this one.

And my personal favorite, Betty White.

Until next year, enjoy!

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Report: Kobe Bryant to pay $75 million in divorce – CBSSports.com

Wow!  Someone is about to get paid.  I still say Juanita Jordan (Michael) wrote the book on how to get your money as a wife of an unfaithful athlete.  Vanessa learned well.

Report: Kobe Bryant to pay $75 million in divorce – CBSSports.com.

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My New Favorite Commercial

The NBA season is in full swing and I am enjoying watching my favorite team, the LA Lakers.  Kobe has been on a tear lately dropping 40 + points in several games.  I’m not sure how long he can sustain it or if it’s good for the long-term benefits of the team.  But I love this new commercial.  Where do you go from the top?  You go over the top!

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Chris Paul To The Clippers? Thank Goodness Someone’s Looking Out For Donald Sterling – SBNation.com

As if anything the NBA does nowadays makes any sense, here is further evidence…………..

Chris Paul To The Clippers? Thank Goodness Someone’s Looking Out For Donald Sterling – SBNation.com.

UPDATE:  The deal is off!  Who is running this league?  I think it’s time for David Stern to step down.

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NBA Lockout – One Fan’s Perspective

Somebody blow the whistle.  There has been a foul called on the season.  As a fan of the NBA, I call a flagrant foul on the part of millionaires and billionaires.  Why?  For arguing over percentage points of BRI (basketball related income) and forgetting that the fans provide a lot of that income.

If you have followed the lockout saga as closely as I have then  you know that the owners issued their “final offer”.  You also know that the players rejected said offer.  Now it looks like they are headed toward decertification of the union and a long drawn out fight in a courtroom.

I am a reasonable person.  I have looked at this from both sides.  The owners want shorter contracts, smaller salaries, and some assurances that their Superstar/All-Star player can’t decide he wants out and pairs up with another superstar (looking at  you, Lebron and Carmelo).  Small market teams want to be able to compete with the Los Angeles and New York.  The players want the same number of years for guaranteed contracts and more freedom (free agency) to change teams.  They feel like they have already given back to ownership with a reduction in BRI from 57% to 53%.

I know I have generalized the many moving parts of the NBA labor impasse.  I know its more than BRI, free agent movement and small market team viability.  But as a fan, this is what I know for sure.  None of it matters to me.  I just want to see basketball games.

I want to see if the Dallas Mavericks can repeat as Champions.  I want to root against the Miami Heat.  I want to see the up and coming teams of Memphis, Chicago and Oklahoma City.  I want to see if my beloved Lakers have another run left in them.  I want to see it all.

So, if it’s true t hat basketball doesn’t stop, who do I blame for taking the ball and going home?  I wish the owners and players would work this thing out and save the season.  I love basketball.  But like a jilted lover, if  the NBA breaks my  heart, they may never regain my love.

 

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Penn State – An Article I Agree With

 

Charles P. Pierce on the brutal truth about the crimes at Penn State – Grantland.

I read this article by Charles Pierce on the Grantland website.  Despite all the coverage of the Penn State crimes, this writer sums up my feelings on the matter.

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NBA standoff puts more games in jeopardy – ESPN

 

 

NBA standoff puts more games in jeopardy – ESPN.

 

I’m starting to believe that there will not be an NBA season at all.  And that makes me sad.

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NBA Lockout – My Thoughts

Good bye to this?

I love basketball.  I like to play it and I enjoy watching it.  The  hubby and I try to catch at least one or two NBA games a season.  (Those ticket prices are not for the faint of heart or checking account.)  And I think the majority of people will agree that the past NBA season was the most compelling in years.  You had the hate for the Miami  Heat, rising young stars, a likeable MVP in Derrick Rose and the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA finals.  What’s not to like?

Then we get to the summer and the expiration of the CBA, the lock out and talk of players going overseas.  When Billy Hunter, President of the Player’s Association said he wouldn’t bet on their being an NBA season I was disappointed.

Anytime you have millionaires and billionaires arguing about how to split up revenues you won’t get any sympathy from your every day working stiff.  What are they talking about here?  I think there are some things in this situation that we can all agree on:

  • Did some NBA owners give out bad contracts?  Yes.  I’m looking at you Washington (Gilbert Arenas/Antawn Jamison), Orlando (Rashard Lewis), Detroit (Richard Hamilton), Atlanta (Joe Johnson), Los Angeles Clippers (Baron Davis), etc.
  • Did some players fail to live up to expectations?  Yes.  Eddy Curry, Turkoglu, Ben Gordon, Michael Redd, Stojakovic and Vince Carter are just a few names that come to mind.

So, how can they fix this mess?  Let’s start with a more equitable split of revenues (the players currently get 57%), a hard cap to keep the owners from being stupid and reduce the number of years on guaranteed contracts.  I mean, if players are so eager to go play overseas for little money (by NBA standards) and no guarantees, why won’t they make some concessions?

Bottom line, I just want to see the games.  I want the NBA season to start on time.  I want to see if Dallas can repeat, if my Lakers have one more title run in them, and if the Heat is still the team to hate.  I want the NBA to continue.  Is that too much to ask?

What I’m Listening to Now: “Here and Now” – Luther Vandross
What I’m Reading Now:  “Cross Fire” – James Patterson

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>It’s Over for Now

>What’s Playing on the iPod right now:  “4Evermore”- Anthony David feat. Algebra (LOVE this song!)
What I am reading now:  “When the Thrill is Gone” – Walter Mosley

We knew it would end one day.  We just didn’t know it would end like this…………..

Swept by the Dallas Mavricks??!!!   It ain’t pretty getting old (Spurs gone, Celtics on the brink).  There will be a new NBA champion this year.  But the Lake Show will be back.

Peace.