2012 NBA Finals and The Champion Miami Heat

Via PizzaandBeer

I started following the Miami Heat when Pat Riley moved from New York, suffering through the first Juwan Howard to Heat Salary Cap fiasco and enjoyed the Alonzo Mourning led Heat squad brawl with the New York Knicks.  

I was also one of those guys, like Skip Bayless, who thought Dwayne Wade was better than LeBron James. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Dwayne Wade fan despite his struggles this post season, but just as Wade admitted that the current Heat are Lebron's Team, so must we.   And I have to admit my skepticism about combining the talents of LeBron James and Chris Bosh with Dwayne Wade was all for naught.  

Not only are the Heat Lebron's team, it would seem the NBA is Lebron's League, it would seem like the NBA Championship and the MVP Award are for him to lose every year.  So it was fitting that this image embodied the NBA Finals.

LeBron James with the Larry O'brien Trophy

 Dwayne Wade was quoted as saying "I've never been happier to see another man succeed in life."  And I agree with the sentiment.  Never has an Athlete been so polarizing as LeBron James.  An athlete who has never committed any crime, has done everything by the book been so criticized.  While I agree that James should have reconsidered The Decision, I was amazed by the backlash it received.  I understand the people of Cleveland feeling betrayed, but the rest of the league?

LeBron James Looking at the Larry O'Brien Trophy

It would seem that LeBron would no longer have to look longingly for the NBA Championship.  He could now cradle the trophy in his arms and say that he is a champion.  He has earned it. The guys just seems like he was genetically engineered to be the best basketball player in the world!  Before these season and this finals, like so many genetically engineered characters in the movies, books and comic books all he needed was the Heart.  

He tried filling his heart with hate in 2010-11 Season, he was not complete.  Funny how he says now that it was his love for the game that made him stronger, much like how we imagine our lead actors and characters finally figure out how to beat the last enemy monster.  This post is about admitting how wrong I was about LeBron and how happy I am for the Miami.  

Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Shane Battier

Lebron James and Dwight Howard

Mike Miller

Mostly I am happy the Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Juwan Howard finally got their rings.  As happy as I was that Dirk Nowitzki finally won his last season. The only bummer last season was that it was the expense of the Heat.

I'm also happy for Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra, despite all the criticisms and doubts that he could lead a team of superstars to an NBA Championship and despite all the hurdles of the King bump and the Wade altercation, Spoelstra has proven himself a capable coach.  So after the Bump come the Hug right?

The Hug?

That is not to say that the rest of the heat are not worth mentioning, Udonis Haslem, Norris Cole, James Jones and Mario Chalmers contributed as expected and I am happy that they got their championships as well.  But undeniably this the time for LeBron James.

LeBron James artwork NBA Champion

Kevin Durant and the Thunder will have their time.  But it may take them longer to get to it than we all think.  Just as Hakeem Olajuwon waited for Michael Jordan's first Threepeat to make a run for the Larry O'brien Trophy, maybe other contenders for the championship will have to wait for LeBron James and Miami Heat's run to end to have a shot at being NBA Champions.

Kevin Durant 2012 NBA Finals Artwork

Of course Kevin Durant and the Thunder will be hungrier and more experienced next year.  They will be better, and so will a lot of other teams.  But guess what?  So will the Heat.

Miami's Big Three Win it all!

The Big Three finally delivered on their promise of winning a championship, but will they be a dynasty?  Dwayne Wade may have to miss the London Olympics to rehabilitate his knee.  If everything goes right, the Miami Heat will be in the chase for their dynasty.  If everything goes wrong, then Miami fans like me maybe in for another roller coaster season.

Lost in the euphoria of the championship were the subtle changes made by Erik Spoelstra in the game  plan, the acceptance of Lebron that he is a big man who can play all positions, Chris Bosh accepting his role as the Heat's Center and Anchor on defense.  But Mike Miller and James Jones may be retiring, and Chalmers is still inconsistent.  But one thing is certain, the Miami Heat has grown as a Team and that should help them become better next season.

The rumors that Ray Allen and Steve Nash are considering joining the Heat seems promising, but will they really take pay cuts to join the championship core of Wade, Bosh and James?  We will see soon enough. So I will leave you with this NBA Game 5 Micro Movie to ponder what the Heat could be when the next NBA Season opens!

For now, the Big Three are doing their rounds on the Television Circuit, next up?  Oprah!

Oprah Winfrey, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh with the Larry O'brien Trophy

The Bourbon Room - Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages - Broadway

When I first hear that the Broadway Musical Rock of Ages, I was a bit skeptical.  Who could blame me? Most, movie adaptations of Broadway Musicals have just fallen short of the expectations.  The additional hype coming from having Tom Cruise headline the cast, with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin and Russel Brand just made expectations skyrocket through the roof!

Rock of Ages Official Trailer 

I have read early criticisms that some parts of the movie were disappointing, most of the criticism were directed at Cruise for being a good actor but "he is not a rock star."

In addition, the local production of Rock of Ages headlined by Filipino-Australian Broadway Star and Rockstar Finalist Migs Ayesa, Vina Morales, Jett Pangan and Nyoy Volante just made watching the movie more interesting.

Rock of Ages Movie

So it was with a little bit of expectation and trepidation that I watched the movie version of Rock of Ages.

After going through the entire movie without flinching, I would have to admit that this time, Hollywood got it right!  Maybe Rock of Ages was just the kind of Musical made for the movies, or maybe the directors and producers just had the right idea and made the transition from Theatre to the Silver Screen flawless, regardless of which you want to believe, the movie was truly an enjoyable experience.

It is one of the movies you would want to watch over and over again, you just can't have enough of the nostalgic music and mash up of beloved rock music from the 80's.

Watching the movie made me want to buy tickets to the local production of the play!

Tom Cruise played his role to perfection, you could not imagine anyone else playing Arzenal's Stacy Jaxx.

If you have the time, watch the movie in the silver screen.  It is just one of those movies that should be seen in the movie house.   Of course if you have a state of the art Home Theatre, you may want to wait for the Blu-Ray, but just the same, it would be a waste not to see this movie or play once, especially if you grew up listening to the music of REO Speedwagon, Poison, Journey, Styx and The Foreigner.

It is the kind of movie you want to watch over and over again, not because of the story, but because of the experience and nostalgia!  With that I'll leave you with the second official trailer for the movie.

Rock of Ages 2nd Official Trailer

Oh Manny! via Unforgotten!

A post we like and would like to share with you from Unforgotten!  We just copied the entire thing since we agree with it.  We do share their views and we hope they appreciate our sharing this post...

Last Saturday evening in Nevada (Saturday morning here in the Philippines), Manny Pacquiao lost via a controversial split decision against Timothy Bradley.  A decision that was so shocking that the judges were immediately labeled the Three Blind Mice (Well, I do feel sorry for the judge that scored in favor of Manny!).

Fans and Celebrities around the world wen to Twitter and Facebook to air their outrage.

Via Facebook Credit to the creator.

Like most people, we were shocked by the decision.  ESPN Boxing Headline that day read "What Were THEY Watching!"  Arum was quoted saying that Bradley admitted to him after the fight that he cannot beat Manny, yet he still won the fight.  

Fans were not content with just making their opinions known through their words, some were very creative and funny.

Pinoy Laugh Page

Others were just down right nasty which we will not include in this post.

While the controversial decision was stunning, what really stuck in our mind was the way Manny responded to the decision.  He praised Bradley's skill and while he believed he won the fight, he took the high road and congratulated Bradley even posing with Bradley for a friendly pose after the fight.

Manny Pacquiao take the High Road

Later we read from Productive Pinoy about the Two Things That Manny Won and Cito Beltran's article in the Philippine Star When Losing is More Like Winning.  And we realize that Manny Pacquiao has indeed matured as individual.

As Filipinos and as as Christians, we were afraid that Manny would lose his faith, indeed Cito Beltran was right when he wrote "why do bad things happen to good people?"  We were afraid that Manny Pacquiao would have backslidden and lost his new found relationship with Christ.

However, our fears were misplaced, he is a more mature individual than we thought he would be.  AND more importantly, he has made us believe, as well as some other skeptics, that his new found faith is real and not just for show.

Never have we felt that a boxer who lost a fight, won so much Respect for a loss as when Manny Pacquiao lost to Timothy Bradley on June 9, 2012, and deservedly so.  

We pray that you continue to grow in your relationship with Christ, and that you continue to give glory to his name in your words and in your actions.  May God's grace and mercy follow you all the days of your life!