Take the Money and Run

So as I get older and wiser, I am becoming more and more like the cranky old guy down the street that would not let you into his yard to get the baseball that accidently landed back there. The same old guy who compares current events to "back in my day".

Was anyone else annoyed with the whole drama surrounding where Lebron James would sign during this recent off season? I mean, how many websites, blogs, billboards, etc. were dedicated to tracking his every move? Analyst who analyzed every word Lebron spoke - trying to decipher if he was leaning one way or the other. So many rumors, all settled with a live 1 hour televised circus in which he announced his decision to the whole world.

Sure there were other free agents - Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh come to mind. But the world revolved around one player who was gonna take his team to the glory land - a NBA Championship. It was all about "The King".

And then there was Kevin Durant. He was the NBA rookie of the year in 2008, and the league scoring champ for the 2009-2010 season. He wears the #35 to honor his former AAU coach and mentor Charles Craig who was murdered at the age of 35. While all of the hoopla was surrounding the free agents during this summer, he ever so quietly let the world know of his decision to re-sign for 5 more years with the Oklahoma City with a 139 character tweet.

I'm not saying Durant is better than Lebron, or that I really care all that much about the NBA. But i fully appreciate the way Mr. Durant handled his business as much as I despise the way Mr. James handled his decision. Can anyone imagine MJ calling up Karl Malone to join forces? Can you imagine Jordan bolting from the windy city to join the Jazz to have a better chance to win a ring? He would rather crush Karl that unite with him. In the end, sports is becoming more and more about the business of sports vs. the purity of sports. It's all about the benjamins, the glory, and less about competing to be the best you can be.

And please don't get me started on ESPN ....