I'm entirely new to this blog, but I wanted to share a piece I recently wrote on LeBron James and Babe Ruth. I've included the beginning of the article below...you can read the rest of it on my blog, Devout Fanatic .

In October 1923, on the eve of the World Series, one figure commanded the public’s attention, and took responsibility for much of the ink being spilled on the nation’s sports pages. George Herman “Babe” Ruth towered over the American sporting world of the early 1920′s, his legacy built on mammoth long balls, barnstorming tours through small-town America, and a reckless, salacious lifestyle in the Big Apple. Though only twenty-eight at the time, The Babe’s home-run hitting prowess had already proved an electric shock to the sport of baseball, winning Ruth and the Yankees legions of new fans, while at the same time upsetting baseball traditionalists everywhere who venerated small ball. With The Babe and his New York Yankees preparing for their third straight World Series appearance against rival New York club, the Giants, the debate over Ruth’s legacy in the game faced a defining moment. Would Ruth finally defeat the wily, small ball-oriented Giants and silence the critics who said his long balls and bombastic personality were but a passing fad, or would he come up short for the third straight year and risk cementing his reputation as a postseason choker?

One needed to look no further than Babe Ruth’s opponent in the 1923 Fall Classic, skipper John McGraw and the New York Giants, to find some of his most vocal detractors. The Giants had shut down the mighty Babe the October before, winning the Series in five games, giving old man McGraw a welcome opportunity to crow about Ruth’s impotence (2-17 during the Series): “I signaled every pitch to Ruth…We pitched only nine curves and three fastballs to Ruth during the entire Series. The rest were slowballs [changeups], and of twelve of those, eleven set him on his backside.”1 The undisputed batting king of the regular season, Ruth flopped in 1922 and failed to lead his Yankees to a World Series title. Not only had they lost two straight World Series’ titles to their crosstown rivals, the Giants, but Ruth’s long ball philosophy appeared to have no substance when confronted by well-executed, fundamental small ball. As a Detroit paper opined, “McGraw came as near to perfection in his strategy as man probably ever will come in baseball.”2

More personally, newspaper columnists derided Ruth in the aftermath of 1922 for his poor Series’ showing, labeling him an “exploded phenomenon” and a “flat failure.” Though no one could argue with his regular-season dominance, all agreed with Arthur Robinson of the New York American, who wrote, “A man of a thousand successes, the Babe has since his ascendancy as a home run hitter been a World Series jest.”3 In more sweeping terms, Baseball Magazine contended, “It is almost certain that Ruth can never be restored to anything like the position he held in the minds of the fans…Ruth is no longer a youngster, except in disposition, and bids fair to become a liability to the NY club instead of its best asset.”4

To continue reading, head on over to my blog, Devout Fanatic.

Many would argue that the Bulls playing D. Rose to a pulp was very defensible...

......but can anyone defend what happened to J. Noah?

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If you saw Game 3 Sixers / Bulls and have some common sense, you may have been thinking the following as The Noah Event:unfolded:

1) Ankle joints are strong but this looks like a nasty bend involving a seven-foot tall barreling-train of a man. Remember, FORCE = MASS (times) ACCELERATION (i.e.., F=MA) = Dude isn't playing the rest of this game.

2) AT THE VERY LEAST, this is a lateral ankle ligament sprain and even if there is no sprain the soft-tissue is likely going to be extra-irritated and swollen in a few minutes, regardless! = Dude isn't playing the rest of this game.

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Anyone COMPETENT in sports medicine and ankle joints may have also been thinking:

3) Extremely unnatural-inversion on that foot vs. that ankle. OMG, This could be a WORST CASE SCENARIO* of Talar Dome / Cuboid Fracture plus Lateral Ankle Ligament Tear plus Lateral Ankle Fracture as characterized under the Lauge-Hansen Classification System (e.g., http://orthoanimations.com/ankle/index.html ) = Dude isn't playing the rest of this game.

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"Dude isn't playing the rest of the game" screams loudly in most conceivable scenarios that my poor little brain can think of. Why was Noah out there playing? "Because Noah wanted to play" is an admirable testament to Noah's character but an ultimately unwise decision to leave up to the player. If anyone has a reasonable "excuse" for the Noah Event, please share.

For the moment though, let's ask ourselves what Bulls' fans may be thinking:

1) Is there something wrong with the training crew?

2) Where was the Supreme and Holy Medical Override from the Doc(s)?

3) Is the on-site Medical Staff composed of a basic general practitioner or is there a genuinely-competent** practitioner present at all times?

4) Where's the "Err on the Side of Caution"?

5) WHO THE H CLEARED NOAH TO PLAY?

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Okay, I never even knew this existed. I mostly post on basketball forums but I never knew this existed. I've been lurking for the past week and I finally registered. I like what you guys got here and I can assure you I'll be a frequent poster here.

Its been a good couple of playoff games so far and I really Dwyane can get his deserved second ring and LeBron his first this year. I have faith in this team.

In the meantime, LET'S GO MIAMI!!!!

UPDATE: Chris Bosh is expected to play tonight after the birth of his son early this morning.

The series moves to New York tonight with the Heat up 2-0 in the 7 game series. Thus far, the Heat have absolutely dominated the series getting contributions from everyone on the team. LeBron James has been tearing shit up averaging 25.5 ppg, 56% FG, 6 asts, and a paltry 27.5 PER. The bench has stepped up major, with Shane Battier playing suffocating defense on Carmelo Anthony, while also hitting open trey's. Mike Miller is back to form and UD is bringing the intensity. The big news entering the game on the Heat side is that Chris Bosh will not be available for this game. His wife is expected to give birth and Bosh will be with her. And where do I begin with the Knicks? They are a mess right now. Amar'e Stoudemire is out of this game, and presumably the series, with a severely lacerated left hand after smashing it against a fire extinguisher glass case in frustration following Game 2. Melo has had his struggles in this series. In game 1 he was fronted all game and only managed a disgusting 11 points on 3-15 shooting. Game 2 was a little better for him, scoring 30 points (15 in the 1st quarter) on 12-26 shooting, and grabbing 9 rebounds. While the Heat defense has been tremendous on Melo, Mike Woodson hasn't done anything to try to make it more difficult on us. He has just allowed Melo to stand there calling for the ball and then play hero ball once he manages to get the ball. He has not been making cuts, no pin down screens, or using him as the screener in PnR. In game 2 the Knicks had him bring the ball up, but that wasn't very effective. You cannot go one-on-one on LeBron all game long, he will wear you down, and as we saw Melo completely lost his legs by the end of the game. And of course the Knicks are also dealing with the loss of their best perimeter defender Iman Shumpert who blew out his ACL while trying a crossover move, on a non-contact play, and Jeremy Lin who had knee surgery a few weeks ago. MSG is sure to be rocking tonight, but our superstars thrive in this building, with Bron and Wade having some of their best games in this building.

The loss of Amar'e may be a blessing in disguise for the Knicks. He has missed a ton of games in the regular season, and the Knicks performed much better without him. The Knicks went 14-5, scored more points, allowed less points, and Melo's scoring shot up. Melo could be moved to the 4, as he was when STAT missed regular season games, forcing mismatches. Additionally, their defense improves as STAT is a notoriously poor defender. As for our starting lineup, I say it should be: Rio, Wade, Miller/Battier, Bron, and UD. Our 3 point defense will be tested in this game. With Amar'e out the Knicks are very good at spreading the floor with their prolific 3 point shooting. Our defenders are going to have to be disciplined and stay on their mans to avoid getting lit up. Steve Novak is the best 3 pt shooter in the league and JR Smith can certainly get hot at any moment.

Other News: Baron Davis tweaked a back injury and is expected to receive some diminished playing time, which means more Bibby (HAHA)...Tyson Chandler was announced as the DPOY

a lacerated left hand. How did this happen you ask? Well, after a tough loss STAT was understandably upset, so he decided to take his frustrations out on a.....FIRE EXTINGUISHER....encased in GLASS. HAHAHAHAHA, so to add to Shumpert's ACL, Chandler's flu, Lin's knee, and the Heat's dominance, the Knicks lose the only low post threat that the Heat had to worry about. i have a tendency to punch things in frustration, usually softer objects such as a couch, or a wall, but never am i dumb enough to punch glass. The freak injuries in this post season continue to mount, when will the madness stop? And who will be the next victim?

with derrick rose getting hurt and lebron james dominating the playoffs the Heat seem to be on their way to the finals. Barring injuries there is pretty much no way they can be stopped. i think they will play oklahoma city so i made a highlight preview of the games they played this year.

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Things I'm watching for:

1) How we continue to guard Melo?

• On Saturday Bron and Shane did a tremendous job shutting down Melo by fronting him. They refused to let him catch the ball, and when he did made his life hell and forced into very difficult shots. That all resulted in Melo shooting 3/15 for 11 points. To be sure, we won't see another anemic performance from him. I expect to try to get himself shots early and often in this game. How will the Heat respond? They know that the Knicks will be gameplanning for the fronting, do we continue with that, or do we come up with a new strategy? I would love to see if LBJ can match him one-on-one straight up, or do we go zone and have 2 guys converge on him. The chess match will be interesting to watch.

2) How is Tyson Chandler feeling?

• Chandler is suffering from the flu, and he absolutely showed it Saturday. The guy that demonized us in the Finals last year, looked like a zombie on the court, putting up a paltry 0 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 turnovers in only 21 minutes. Reports are he is feeling better, but still not 100%. I offer this from Howard Beck of the NY Times:

Tyson said his fever is gone and he's improving, but still not 100%. Frankly, he looked and sounded drained

3) Will the bench show up again tonight?

• Game 1 the bench dropped in 26 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 trey's. Do they put up similar numbers? A popular term normally reserved for Biology class has been floating around the Heat locker room the last few years. The term, Symbiotic Relationship, signifies a mutual benefit for both parties involved. The attackers and shooters thrived off each other in Game 1, a trend we need to see continue in Game 2. The shooters allow room for the attackers to drive the paint by spreading out the defense, and the attackers help the shooters by drawing in the defense for wide open shots. The relationship hinges on the shooters' ability to make their open shots which they were able to do last game, can they continue that trend?

4) What is LBJ gonna do tonight?

• He played like we have all come to expect from him in Game 1, dropping 32 points (10/14 FG, 11/14 FT), 4 rebs, 3 asts, 4 steals. And not to mention the OUTSTANDING shutdown defense of Melo I spoke of earlier. The offense is nice of course, but i love the defense even more. We gotta see more of that and turn Melo into a spectator once again.

Knicks fans are a sad and miserable bunch, let's add to their misery. The AAA is gonna be rocking yet again tonight, and the team is gonna be fired up against their long hated rivals. The Knicks have no shot against the HEAT!!!
Game 2 TONIGHT, ARE YOU READY?!?!


...wanted to write up a little more, but i'm pressed for time...i'll try to check in for the live thread tonight

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It was a great season. It was a special season with some ups and some downs. Take for instance that run where the Heat won three road games in three nights by double digits.

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The Miami Heat are embarking on a run for the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the 16th time in franchise history. The theme for this year's playoffs stays the same as last, White Hot. The Heat are encouraging their fans to come to home games donning white and it got me thinking of the Heat's history from a fashion standpoint. Some teams looks are iconic due to longevity like the Celtics, others made it iconic through greatness like the Bulls of the 90s, and other teams are constantly swinging and missing with their look like the Bobcats. For the Miami Heat the template has not changed much since 1988 with only a modern update and some special event jerseys taking place. Come join me as we take a stroll down memory lane

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I don't know about you guys, but the smell of the playoffs looming around the corner just makes me downright impatient. I can't for the Heat to blaze through the first two rounds, take the ECF to 6 or 7 and return to the NBA Finals. Though I doubt the Mavs will be waiting for us there to defend the title, and the prospect of revenge is a tempting situation that would most likely be the only satisfactory situation for the Heat to play in before winning again, just the thought of them winning a championship is orgasmic in itself that I can't help but shift in my seat, waiting for June.

That said, without stats and play analysis and visual aids, and with the help of tacky metaphors, I'll attempt to draw out a formula for the Heat, specifically, the duo of Wade and LeBron, to consistently dominate a game in the Finals. The plan is pretty obvious, but there is beauty in seeing how it works from another perspective.

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