Shining Stars

The SEVEN

June 21, 2011

I. Finally, Part 1

Congratulations...and it's about time! Countdown with Keith Olbermann, the champion of progressive TV, is back on the air at its' regular time of 8:00 p.m. on Current, channel 358 on DirecTV. MSNBC has some competition now...and I'm looking forward to seeing next week's ratings. Memo to Current: Hire Melissa Harris-Perry!

II. Finally, Parts 2 and 3

Congratulations to Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry, the Dallas Mavericks' veteran stars who have finally gotten a championship ring. And congratulations - quite frankly, on the other end of the success standpoint - to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who introduced Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio to the press today, a press conference two years in the making. I don't know if Ricky will be in the mold of Steve Nash or Rajon Rondo or J-Kidd (who Ricky shouted out in the press conference), but if he is anywhere near the type of player many say he can be, his presence should help the Wolves head back up the charts in the Western Conference, a conference in which many of the top teams - including the champion Dallas Mavericks - are veteran teams, creating opportunity for young teams to fill the void at the top over the next few years.

III. The Silver Goes To...

There's no shame in losing in the NBA Finals, as did the Miami Heat, especially given that twenty-eight other teams would have loved to have a chance to compete for the silver medal. With that said, I'm reminded of a situation with a team I coached, in which a player named Gene McCoy was upset about missing two foul shots with about a second to go which would have either put us ahead and likely enabled us to win the game (had he hit both), or tied the game at the least. Interestingly enough, Gene had just virtually saved us on two occasions; first he had gotten the defensive rebound down at the other end which gave us one more possession. Then, after our best shooter missed a jumper, Gene got the offensive rebound, pump-faked the guy up in the air and got to the line.

What Gene failed to realize in the midst of his disappointment is that despite the highs and lows of his last thirty seconds, he didn't lose the game on his own at the foul line nor would he have won it on his own had he made them. You win as a team, and lose as a team. Why, then, is LeBron James being blamed for the Heat's loss? Is it because he is, in the words of Biggie, "so paid?"

LeBron is by nature a distributor, a pass-first all-around kind of player. True, he and D-Wade must learn to work together better (as opposed to taking turns being better that their opponents), but by no means can the Heat's loss be placed on his shoulders.

IV. All Stars

Be sure to vote for the 2011 All-Stars at mlb.com by the end of the week or so...and when you do so, a few suggestions are Matt Kemp, Prince Fielder, Curtis Granderson, Lance Berkman, Adrian Gonzalez and, of course, Jose Reyes.

V. GOP No-Stars

Just a word about the GOP candidates and potential candidates. I heard some commentators say that asking about the Mormon religion of Mitt Romney (and just announced candidate John Huntsman) was not relevant or something that should be on the table. Well, if your religion feels Blacks are inferior in some respects, I believe that questions are warranted. If they questioned Obama about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, these guys need to be questioned about the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

VI. That's The Way of the World?

Why is it that I get emails from E-Harmony...especially in light of my upcoming twenty-third anniversary this week? Do they know something I don't know?

VII. Happy Feelings

I'm going to assume they don't, so in my next blog I'll be talking about seeing Earth Wind & Fire in Boston in celebration of the aforementioned anniversary.