REAL TALK 1-11-12

1. I am going to say what Pat Riley and the Heat are thinking, but are afraid to say. The Heat are better when LeBron is running the show without having DWade their to steal his thunder. LeBron plays better when he doesn't have to think the game, but just naturally react and Dwade doesn't afford him that luxury. When playing with DWade LeBron is more concerned with getting him the ball and playing the perfect compliment. Without DWade LeBron plays with Kobe's mentality of doing what he wants and letting the chips fall where they may. My criticism of LeBron was for leaving Cleveland to play with Wade instead of having Wade come play with him. His ability to close out games came into play with him deferring to Wade and settling for jump shots. Trading Wade for Dwight Howard or Rondo and Ray Allen would make the Heat even more deadly and LeBron could take his rightful place amongst the greats to ever play this game. Just look at the Heat's record and stats without DWade. Numbers don't lie people do.
2. In the NFL great players may encourage,inspire and up lift other players moral, but they don't make them physically better on the field. Tom Brady never made Randy Moss jump higher or Wes Welker run quicker. Brady is not responsible for the drafting of Hernandez or Gronkowski or for the offensive scheme the Pats run. He is a very important cog in the machine, but if it wasn't for Bellicheck's schemes, his pro bowl lineman protecting his ass and his tight ends creating physical mismatches all over the field how successful would he be. When analysts such as myself can't explain how a guy we never thought would amount to much suddenly succeeding we give credit to a teammate of theirs for to explain their success. Eli didn't create Victor Cruz and ARod didn't create Jordy Nelson. If this is the case then Ocho Cinco's lack of success is all Brady's fault too. Think about it and it will make sense to you.
3. College football is full of shit. They think they got the National Championship game correct, because Alabama played LSU. Granted the SEC may in fact be the best conference in football ,but that doesn't mean that two teams from that conference should play in the title game. What did LSU gain by beating the Tide in the regular season and winning the SEC Conference championship? A rematch with a Alabama team that they had already  beat  and in their building too I might add. As a matter of fact last time I checked Alabama didn't even make it to their  own conference's title game. If it was all about the two best teams on paper The Redsox would play the Yankees, The Colts would have played the Pats and the Lakers and Spurs would have been playing in championships every year. Why have divisions and conference titles if in the end you are always going to give the SEC the advantage? To me OSU earned the right to play LSU and there ain't a damn thing you could say to change my mind.
4. The Steelers got TEBOWED and they have only themselves to blame. Tebow did nothing special on Sunday so stop the dick riding. The Steelers should have whipped their ass, but Tomlin gambled on his crackhead secondary and lost.Give all credit and blame where it belongs on the Pittsburgh coaches and defense for having the arrogance to believe Tebow would cower and falter in their presence.
5. If your are not the Dallas Cowboys, Tim Tebow, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, or any team in New York you are not going to get the lead on Sports Center, or First Take or any other national sports show because it won't move the dial. Take the Ravens for instance. Ravens fans consider it a slap in the face that their team does not get the coverage that the Cowboys or Tebow gets. Hell the Packers went 15-1 and they don't get the coverage that the before mention subjects get. Packers fans or players don't give a damn about coverage or media exposure. Matter of fact they love it. Right now the Jets are in disarray and Mark Sanchez is having a nervous breakdown , because of the media coverage surrounding his team. If Sanchez were in Arizona he could date who he wants and grow as a QB like Andy Dalton is doing in Cincy. Having strong National Coverage is good for exposure, but last time I checked it don't win rings.
6. Why do we expect athlete's who are surrounded by losing, mediocrity, and buffoonery all their lives to wake up one day and win? When you play for dysfunctional and losing franchises like the Raiders, Cowboys, and Orioles have been, all you know is dysfunctional and losing behavior. Romo has been surrounded by Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett as leaders and players such as Pacman Jones and T.O. as lockeroom personalities. In order for a team to exhibit winning ways it starts with a commitment from mgmt. to not only make sound and smart decisions, but to bring in players who have the same mentality. Surround yourself with character guys, leaders, and winners and your culture and atmosphere will grow and your players will perform better. Moss fell in line because Bellicheck,Tom Brady, Teddy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, and Mike Vrabel weren't having any of the bullshit he displayed in Minnesota and Oakland. It had nothing to do with him all of a sudden waking up and becoming a better person.
7. I'm out like the Orioles playoff hopes before their season has even started.