The NBA is gearing up to be back by the end of the month, and this means that Miami Heat are preparing to run for their third straight title, which is about as safe of a bet as there is in sports today. But is this what is “best for business”? Yeah, there’s LeBron James and the spotlight of having maybe the most famous athlete in the world, playing at his absolute best, in leading the charge from pole to pole for the year. But is having an inevitable conclusion what the game really needs?
Dynasties are something to behold, and the Heat are on the verge of becoming a legit, bona fide basketball monarchy. This happens more often in the NBA than in any other sport, simply due to the fact that there is no other league where having the best player on your team means more. But it also scripts out how the flow of the year will go. There is legit competition in Oklahoma City and San Antonio, and over on the other side of the league, there are the Knicks and Pacers remaining, as well as the return-to-form Bulls and the all-in New Jersey Nets. But despite all of this, it’s a skeptical at best idea that they are stopping the Heat from yet another title.
This predictable nature reeks of another “competition,” only one where there are an actual script and story line that have other options, in theory, but very rarely strays from the chosend path: the WWE. And the LeBron James of the WWE is John Cena. He’s the face, the spokesman and the merchandise king of wrestling. And he is also the champion that everyone has grown to hate. He overcomes every obstacle, including ones that are more desirable than him, no matter what, and the crowd has grown tired of the same old thing. It’s predictable, feels inevitable and worst of all, is forced on the viewer no matter what. When possibility is taken out of the image of competition (whether it is real or not), people are going to react eventually.
Really, nobody likes being told how good something is while having no choice but to accept it.
This is what the Heat are on the verge of becoming, being Cena. It’s not that they are no good or that they don’t deserve the title, but they are so dominant that it has become old hat. Unlike other recent dynasties, such as the Kobe Lakers, Kobe and Shaq Lakers and the Spurs, which were pushed often before overcoming, there are not many teams that can stay in their class over a series. The Heat got pushed once, and lost, and then basically have owned the NBA with a steel fist the two years since.
And there is also no shortage of people who have a reserve of hate for the Heat, LeBron, Dwyane Wade and company for a variety of individual reasons. The tide is going to shift against them soon, or the “Champ Being Here” is going to wear real thin with a lot more than just the fans of their opposition, but fans of competition period.
Outside of that, here is what else is going on in the world and sports, and both at the same time:
Ricky Williams lives in a college dorm, has Spider-Man sheets on his twin bed – USA Today
Roger Staubach has Tony Romo’s back -- Pro Football Talk
He's in for a treat! Mariah Carey tweets busty photo for husband Nick Cannon's 33rd birthday – Daily Mail
Cowboy Up: Marcus Smart Is Back For More – SLAM
Yankees owner says Robinson Cano will get ‘solid offer’, not 10 years – Sports Illustrated
Northwestern, the Would-Be Ivy – Wall Street Journal
The Ghost Of Speedy Cannon – Sports Illustrated
In Game 4, Mark One Down For Matheny - I-70 Baseball
50 Years Ago, Vin Scully Calls Don Larson’s Perfect Game – MLB.com