Posts Tagged ‘dating’
Cool back-to-school treat — LeBron, CP3 and friends
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Cool back-to-school treat — LeBron
CP3 and friends
All across the country
kids are returning to classrooms. Rather it be elementry schoolers
bratty high school tweens or college students
kids are gathering their Jansports
Lisa Frank folders and Trapper Keepers for another year of tutelage. As anyone who’s ever attended school knows
to make a good impression year after year
having fresh gear is of the utmost necessity.And when it comes to super fly
super dope
super fresh gear
there’s not much better than the NBA’s current MVP and a bunch of his NBA buddies showing up to ball out. That’s why we have to consider the Miami Hurricanes the coolest kids in school. From the Associated Press:LeBron James went back to school Thursday
working out against the Miami Hurricanes.The NBA’s two-time reigning MVP and some of his new Miami Heat teammates made a surprise stop at the university’s basketball facility for some informal scrimmaging against the Hurricanes. James
Udonis Haslem
Mike Miller
Patrick Beverley and New Orleans guard Chris Paul — a close friend of James — played pickup for more than an hour.”Just left ‘The U’ hooping with the team … Great runs! Needed that
” James posted on Twitter after the workout session.Some of Miami’s players hadn’t been told beforehand that James and his crew would be popping in for a workout. James and the NBA players
including injured Heat guard Mario Chalmers
stayed afterward to pose for pictures.Not a bad surprise
and I’d bet the intensity of the Hurricanes’ pickup games was turned up a few notches. Of course
if all those NBA guys ended up on the same team
they probably weren’t the fairest games in the world. I mean
college kids can definitely shut down LeBron and CP3 with ease
but asking them to handle Udonis Haslem’s 12-footers on top of that is quite a chore.As for the Heat
it’s good to see all these disparate parts getting a chance to familiarize themselves with each other on the court. It’ll be hard to get used to playing with the far superior team if they’re going to compete for an NBA title
so it’s good they are getting some summer runs in together. Next up for the pseudo-Heat — David Rivera’s Pscyhedelic Sons of Funk
the University of Miami’s intramural champions. Just a tuneup
really. Oh
and in case you had somehow forgot
Chris Paul and LeBron James are still best friends who love playing basketball together. Do with that what you must
conspiracy theorists.
Japan’s Abe seals Leicester deal
Leicester complete the signing of Japan defensive midfielder Yuki Abe after he is granted a work permit.
Tracy McGrady isn’t washed up
according to Tracy McGrady
Just a few years ago
the Pistons embodied the hard-working
defensive-minded
rugged basketball that Detroit made famous during its two titles runs in the late 1980s. Now
they employ Ben Gordon
Charlie Villanueva and Tracy McGrady. A bit of a change in philosophy
Plato would probably say if he were not dead for more than 2
000 years and was aware of basketball.Though the new Pistons are moving further and further away from the ideals of the old Pistons
one of the oldest Pistons swears he’s going to play like a younger version of himself
from before he was a Piston. If that’s confusing
this quote from the Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis will clear some things up.Despite the talk among plenty of fans and in NBA circles about him being washed up
the Pistons are quick to recall that McGrady is only 31. The thinking is if he is fully recovered from microfracture surgery on his left knee
McGrady has plenty left in the tank.”I’m not changing anything
” McGrady said at his introductory news conference on Aug. 16. “I’m only 31 years old. I’m not 44 or 41. … I might not be dunking on anybody like I used to
but I’m going to put the ball in the hole. Who was that
(Mehmet) Okur
I dunked on in ’03? I might not be doin
g stuff like that … but I still can put it in the hole.”One sure-fire sign of washed up-ness? Defending yourself about being washed up by bringing up dunks from seven years ago. Not to mention
there are comment threads dating back to November of 2008 about Tracy McGrady being washed up
and that’s before a knee surgery that cost him an entire season. He might not feel washed up
but his legs might disagree.However
according to Ellis
the Pistons do have a couple of good reasons to believe McGrady isn’t totally a waste of money. The first is the very definition of looking on the bright side of things. For all the comparisons to 2004 when the Pistons obtained Antonio McDyess
who was recovering from similar surgery
the difference is night and day. McDyess had two screws inserted into his knee and he had a series of catastrophic injuries that have not befallen McGrady.OK
I guess “less injured than Antonio McDyess” is a good thing
and it’s certainly better than “more injured that Antonio McDyess.” Fine reason
I suppose. Whatever helps you sleep on a large pile of money at night.The second reason the Pistons can be excited for Tracy McGrady? That’s the hilarious one.McGrady doesn’t have a lot of mileage on his body because he has yet to make a deep playoff run. Ouch. I mean
Ellis is right — McGrady has only played 38 playoff games in his 13-year career
and he hasn’t played in a non-first-round series ever. But if that’s a reason to think McGrady isn’t washed up
then you’re really struggling for good reasons. Might as well go with “He only played 30 games last year
so he’ll have fresh legs” if you’re scraping the bottom o’ the excuses barrel. Yikes.So just to review
the Pistons signed Tracy McGrady
who insists he won’t be changing his game even though he admits he won’t be able to do the things he did when he was younger. Furthermore
the Pistons should be OK with this because he hasn’t had as many bad things happen to his legs as Antonio McDyess did and he’s never played deep into the playoffs. Weird reasoning
all around. Then again
if Ellis and McGrady and Joe Dumars are all right and McGrady’s legs aren’t nearly as bad as they’ve appeared for the past
oh
three seasons
the Pistons will have quite the steal on their hands. He still won’t play defense or try hard every game
but that’s not really a Detroit thing anymore.