Manns Medium

America quickly forgets about those celebrities that actually does more for a community than they do on their chosen field of battle.  Hit several  home runs  and get the cover of a Wheaties box but donate your hard-earned cash for a worthy cause like actually helping those less fortunate and it is only useful to raise your image.  I still remain bothered by athletes and professionals who release a story only when their like numbers begin to fall and only seem to be photographed doing something good when their publicist determine that it will be good for their image.  Want to impress me, follow the example set by one of my most liked and respected favorite.  Read closely this article titled “ LeBron James Will Pay For 1,100 Kids To Go To College ” written by Lucy McCalmont, Sports Editor for The Huffington Post In the article she reports that “ for each child that completes his “I Promise” program, they’ll be awarded a scholarship to the University of ...

For as many years as I can remember, people have always sought a savior to save them from certain impending doom and when their chosen savior fails or refuse to oblige them, they lash out as if what they demanded from others was somehow their right to receive.  I guess Christians are spoiled by the reading of the Old Testament where the Israelites cried to God to save them from the Egyptians and God answered by sending Moses.  I guess we think the same should happen by screaming for LeBron James to sit out a few Cleveland Cavaliers games to effect change of the grand jury on indictment of the officers who were involved in the Tamir Rice shooting.  Really people, have we gotten so lazy, shiftless, selfish, cowardly and weak that we have to seek, find, secure and demand a savior at each and every turning point in our lives.  How about we stop asking others to do a job that we are and have been granted the authority to fix for ourselves.  Now for all you who think...

Much is being made about the video showing LeBron James pushing coach David Blatt during the loss to the Phoenix Suns but I find it quite amazing that more attention was not focused on the lack of calls by the referees or the obviously slant on them favoring Phoenix.  Either way none of this is the point. The point is that as soon as LeBron James stepped foot in Cleveland, the visions of an NBA Championship has been dancing through the heads of all who call Cleveland and Ohio home.  Sad because that amount of expectation weighs heavily upon those on the court and especially those sitting on the sidelines.  This unseen but clearly present pressure is where many on the team awaits to see if LeBron will step up and take over the team while LeBron is attempting to stay humble and not become the saving grace of management.  By his style of play last night, I believe that LeBron James is about to make a decision if being that floor general is the role he must take in ...

It didn’t take long for me as a novice, to see that in order for the Cleveland Cavaliers to make a run at anything this season, they were going to have to do four things.  Get rid of Dion Waiters, re-educate Irving on what a true point guard is, get first year coach to stop just showing up on camera and start coaching and bring a little more hustle after loose balls to their play.  With the new article as evidence, apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought that way.  The article is titled “ Cavs Acquire Shumpert and Smith in Three-Team Trade ” and it appears that two maybe three of these concerns have been addressed.  Now it’s  Show Time . The article reports that “The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guards Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks and a protected 2015 first round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder. In exchange, the Cavs will send guard Dion Waiters to the Thunder, and Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and its own 2019 second round ...

Never let it be said that some people do not know how to exit the stage in style.  Yes, I must agree with those that said his exit from Cleveland was not the most compassionate way to leave but his stay in Miami was worth all the trash and crap he had to take because of it.  His temporary stay in Miami brought that city the glory that they so craved and now he has decided to finish what he started some time ago.  LeBron James has decided to go home. Look out Cleveland, the King is returning so all of you who burned his jersey and spoke nothing but ill-opinions about him are now about to eat your words and more.  You see, King James is not only returning to bring Cleveland a long awaited championship but he is there for a few more important reasons.  Now this is me talking not him so do not make it sound like he said all that I am about to say.  I honestly believe that if management listens carefully to what he says and not what they want to hear, Cleve...

An article from and Unknown Author and Publication reports that “LeBron James is opting out of his contract in part to threaten Pat Riley and the Miami Heat — “you need to upgrade this roster or else.  But that’s the thing about a threat; you can’t make it unless you are willing to follow through. You have to mean the “or else” part.  Does LeBron really mean it?  Maybe. Starting July 1 he is a free agent and you can bet 30 teams will make some kind of move to see if there is interest, but only a few have a real chance.”   It further reports that in order to get that upgrade “LeBron was threatening Pat Riley to upgrade but there is another key thing LeBron knows — Pat Riley couldn't upgrade unless he, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all opted out and made a financial sacrifice. For example, if LeBron and Bosh take $17-$18 million a year and Pat Riley can convince the aging Wade that he will get more money long term if he signs ...

Firm yet fair, has anyone else ever heard of this?   How about, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander?   Nothing fuels hostilities more than officials being seen as favoring one team over another.   Many will point to several instances where the Miami Heat has gotten some pretty favorable calls in their history but that is not the whole story. According to The Sports Xchange in their article titled Heat's Haslem suspended for 1 game, Pittman for 3 it is reported that “the NBA has suspended Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem for one game and Heat forward Dexter Pittman for three games for their retaliatory flagrant fouls in Tuesday's Game 5 of their series against the Indiana Pacers.    Haslem hit Hansbrough across the face and shoulder with both arms in the second quarter of the Heat's 115-83 victory and the 6-11 Pittman leveled Pacers guard Lance Stephenson with an elbow in the final minute of the game.”    But the one thing that was qu...

It became apparent in Game 5 that the Miami Heat was lacking something.   It was not the “killer instinct” that many experts talked about nor was it impressive scoring from LeBron James in the 4 th quarter that everyone else likes to point the finger at.   What the Miami Heat was lacking was the reserve tank required to win an NBA Championship.   The Dallas Mavericks did not have it when they first attempted to win the title but this series, it was on total display. You heard the Heat players and some of the coaches always referenced how they played during the regular season and that in itself was the problem.   How a team performs during the regular season is not how they should perform during the playoffs.   Each playoff game needs to show something different in a team, a bench guy who suddenly comes to age but doesn’t start the next game.   An aging player coming off the bench who has not seen much game time but is only needed for a few minutes at t...

It’s time to face facts, the Miami Heat has been playing lately like they did during the season and while it may have served them well during that time, but this is no longer the regular season.  The difference between regular season games and the playoffs is the players, coaches and staff needs to up their game.  The last five games against the Dallas Mavericks have made that abundantly clear.  Dallas has raised theirs but Miami hasn’t.  As a strong Miami Heat fan, it pains me to say this but maybe Rome was not built in a day and the Miami Heat needs to go all the way only to lose this series.  It is my wish that they win the final two games in Miami but last night made me see some things I had never seen before.  I am by no means an expert in the field of basketball but I am also not blind. The Heat lost Game 4 not because of them not having heart or wanting that game as much as the Mavericks but because of two simple things.  The first was not bein...

As a Heat fan, you can bet there were several times that my television came very close to being seriously damaged.   My children probably heard daddy say some things that they had never heard before but what happened at the end brought tears to my eyes. High points of my night was captured best in an article by Dan Devine titled Video: Dwayne Wade remains good at ludicrous no-look flip shots .   In it he mentioned “Wade was unstoppable in the first half.”   “Miami took over late, limiting Boston to just 14 fourth-quarter points and holding Doc Rivers' team scoreless for the final 4:28 of the game.”   But the low points were the defensive miscues and the turnovers that plagued my TV set last night.   There were several instances where you could feel that someone was going to break out and my hope was that it would be the Heat instead of the Celtics but the best part of the entire game came at the very end. Even though I did not care too much for nearly the ...

After watching the first two games of this series, I often had to check myself to make sure that I was watching the same two teams yesterday.   Miami stepped on the floor and as soon after tipoff became a team of novice 1 st year players mired in mud.   Their shot selection and even fear of taking the shot was so evident.   Chris Bosch was more a uniformed players running up and down the court with one-eye than he was relevant.   They played like they had been paid by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to lose the game in order for them to make bigger revenue on extending the series than a team looking to advance. The article by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press titled Rondo returns and helps Celtics beat Heat 97-81 puts it best “Miami led 46-44 at the half, but the Celtics scored nine of the first 10 points, capped by Rondo's first basket of the game, a driving layup with 3 minutes gone in the third that gave Boston a 53-47 lead. In all, the Celtics s...

While I am a big fan of LeBron James, I can still not accept sloppy play.   The game is a full four quarters and if players wish to cruse then they should make sure that they are thirty plus points ahead with less than two minutes left in the game. On TNT tonight it was the first of two games featuring the Miami Heat against the Orlando magic in Orlando.   When the game started it looked as if both teams were still getting to the arena long after the game had started.   It was a rough going for all of them except LeBron.   I was quite happy to see him get hot and stay hot until he got his points before he started to really get the others involved.   The Magic was no joke tonight as well but they still had a hard time finding their three pointers and short range jumpers until after the first half. Miami took the lead at the beginning of the game and never relinquished it.   This was something to watch until time winded down past the two minute mark in the ...