Wanted to check in with a few thoughts.
I'm completely burnt out on all things LeBron, but I will say that with a lot of time now passed to digest the entire "Decision" ordeal, I can't really call myself a LeBron fan anymore, and it's a shame because he was one of my two or three fave NBAers. Articles have been written ad nauseum on the move to South Beach (telling that he said "South Beach" and not "Miami" or "the Heat" by the way). The "King" cannot win on his own and at 25 had a mid-life basketball crisis, becoming so paranoid that he'd never win in Cleveland, that he had to head for greener pastures as a complementary player on Dwyane Wade's team (Wade has already delivered a championship to Miami). My main thought in the whole soap opera isn't so much whether it was right/wrong/honorable/disloyal/etc. to leave the way he did as it is how can a guy that always seemed to be media savvy and conscious botch this so badly? You cannot go on worldwide television in a one-hour special to do anything but announce you're staying in Cleveland. Even in retrospect it's hard to fathom that LBJ did what he did. I'm sick of it so I will leave it at this: just remember that Kobe will be chasing the hallowed "MJ" ring #6 and Phil will be chasing 3-peat #4 so don't hand Miami the trophy just yet. No one will be more motivated than the Black Mamba. And Boston, along with every other contender, will be sta-raight hungry to shut the Heat down. If nothing else, I did get a hearty laugh at LeBron proclaiming that the Heat would get "not six, not seven..." championships. LOL. I predict one (and only one)--if indeed any--championship in the Wade/LeBron/Bosh 6-year contract era.
On a different note, on the heels of last night's Matt Garza no-hitter, I want to give a few thoughts on the no-hitter itself and when it is actually a notable accomplishment. Garza walked only one batter, who was then wiped off the ledger with a twin killing so Garza faced the minimum 27 batters. This is a dominant pitching performance. To contrast, Edwin Jackson pitched a "no-hitter" (in sarcastic quotes) last month with 8 walks. 8 walks! Of course he didn't allow any hits, he didn't throw many strikes. So while many or most no-hitters represent good (or better) pitching performances, not all no-nos are created equal. And in speaking of no-hitters relative to quality pitching performances, Armando Galarraga is not on the list of pitchers who've thrown no-hitters with his 28 out perfect game but guys with 8-9 walk no-nos are. Go figure.
Movie review: Inception. This movie is the rare gem that lingers long after the credits roll. The concept involves multiple levels of dream manipulation and the depth of scale was incredible as the viewer gets lost in level after level after level. The performances were money from the ensemble cast and Christopher Nolan's crisp pacing was perfect. The visuals were awesome as well. One notable part was where a dream construct of a cityscape created by Ellen Page's character folded over on itself, creating a "mirrored" effect. DOPE. Probably not since The Matrix has a movie bended my mind to this degree. And the ending joins the list of greatest movie endings with the "is the top going to stop spinning?/i.e. is it real?" interpretation (which if course only makes sense if you've seen it). One small criticism is that the engineering company that was mentioned early on (I can't even recall the name since it was only obliquely mentioned) wasn't fleshed out. It was an intriguing almost shadowy company that seemed like it could've played a bigger role in the story (especially as to the characters' motivation) and could've been explained a little more, even just through a few lines of dialogue. Regardless, Nolan is the man. Easy A for me.
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