Where was the King?

(Picture courtesy of nydailynews.com)

I can't sleep. I've been running through the possibilities of what is going to happen this off season for hours now. I can't stop. The speculation and suspense is killing me. I can't run away from it. Every T.V., every headline, every sports radio station are all focusing on LeBron James and what these next four months will bring. I've watched the replay all ready and have thoughts as usual (which I will get too), but what do NBA fans take away from one of the biggest "choke artist" moments in the leagues history (and yes even with a triple-double, LeBron choked. I'll get into that later)? What do fans of the Knicks, Clippers, Bulls, and Cavs take away from this performance? Was LeBron's body language enough evidence to show that he's leaving, or is he hurt beyond anyone's knowledge? Are the conspiracy theories right about LeBron in the sense that his pain medication was making him depressed/tired/lackadaisical/slow/careless? Just more questions I know, but let's break them down.

Starting with the first question: What do NBA fans take away from one of the biggest "choke artist" moments in the leagues history? Based on LeBron's unwillingness to take over that game and inability to demand that the offense goes through him, he's got to be leaving, right?  How can you come back to that team?  The best team in the regular season, once again ousted early in the playoffs.  LeBron and his team choked flat out, end of sentence.

I get LBJ had a triple double and that's fantastic, big ups to LBJ on that, but I guarantee if you watched that game with the volume off, you had no idea he had accomplished that feat. It was the quietest triple double I've ever seen. The other night when Rajon Rondo had his triple double, everyone knew when they were watching. He took over that game, facilitated the offense, and controlled the tempo.  He touched the ball for what it seemed, like every time down the court.  LBJ did none of that last night. Sure he had 10-assists, but he also had 9-turnovers.  He didn't have a dominating performance like so many superstars have done in crucial playoff games.  He was absent for minutes at a time during that game, especially in the fourth quarter.

Sound the Alarm!

Attention all Big Ten basketball programs, this is not a test! This is an upset alert, a Hawk Watch has been issued in your area. That's right everyone, I am making the call right here and now, the Iowa Hawkeyes are on their way back. Now, before you get your little panties in a bunch, I want to clarify that I am not predicting some breakout season in 2010-2011. However, I must say that a corner has been turned and it's long before Fran McCaffery has even coached his first game for the Hawkeyes.

Pooping a brick (and another, and another, and another)

(Picture courtesy of nydailynews.com)

How do I begin a post about LeBron James a day after one of the biggest stinkers in playoff history? How do I write about a guy who is rumored to have "interest" in the Chicago Bulls a day after his team went down 3-2 at home? How do I write about a guy that went 3-14 from the field for 15-points in the embarrassing 32-point loss of an important playoff series? How do I respect an MVP that flopped down on the bench, raised his hands in disgust, took himself out of the game by standing at the three point line, and played awful defense by letting Paul Pierce and Ray Allen waltz around the Q Center's floor like Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke. How does any NBA fan comprehend the giant "poop" (keeping this PG) he took on his coaches, his teammates, his fans, and the league itself?

I guess by asking questions like that and hoping that some of our readers can answer some of them for me.

With every logical question I could think of out of the way, I do want to begin on why LBJ played like a middle aged, fat business man who joined his offices basketball league only to cherry pick and turn the ball over. Are the whispers of the off season getting to loud for him? Is the weight of being Cleveland's god send, to much pressure? Is his elbow much, much worse than he is letting on? Does he finally realize that his team is not good enough, and that nobody on that team can carry him if he has a game or two like this? Is it his coach, who couldn't make the right sub-in move if Phil Jackson handed it to him himself? Is it a mixture of all of this (I guess I had more questions).

Hawks Move On, Dismantle Luongo

That red Ferrari (see last article) popped the clutch last night and never looked back. Exactly 365 days after eliminating Vancouver from last year’s playoffs, this year’s Hawks didn’t disappoint. Controlling the tempo from the get go, Brouwer and the boys cruised fairly easily to a 5-1 victory and their second consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance.

Fast Start = Victory

Back to the West Coast tonight.  Hopefully when this one is over the Hawks will be heading south to San Jose for a date with the Sharks.  The game starts at 8:30 Chicago time, don’t be late.  The big thing to look for in this one is a fast start from our boys.  The Hawks have made it fairly obvious over the duration of the year that no team in the NHL can go shot for shot with them on a regular basis and come out victorious.  With that being said, the Hawks need to put themselves in a position to dictate the pace tonight.  I don’t care if it’s a deflection from center ice off of Kane’s skate or a triple deke from Patrick Sharp on the breakaway; the Hawks need to score first if they want to be victorious.  

Ben Roethlisberger Top Ten

(Picture courtesy of http://www.trueball.com/)

We here at The Manchise have not yet commented on the Big "Bathroom" Ben fiasco and his destructive ego. For that we apologize. Now that the topic is a little over shadowed by LT's un-Hall of Fameness (that might not be a word, but for the sake of this post, it is now), I'm not going to dabble in the he said, she said stuff. Instead I'm bringing back one of my favorite posts, the Top Ten.

So without further adieu, I give to you, The Top Ten things Bathroom Ben will be doing with all of his off time:

10. Big Ben is seen taking cruises around the Pittsburgh high ways without a helmet going 80-mph. After photos become released by TMZ, Big Ben gets interviewed by the local media where he explains that he was in fact wearing a helmet. He then points to his greased back, super gelled hairdo and swears it can withstand a 15-mph crash. I believe it.

Here We Go Again....

Just when you thought you could get away, the rumor mill goes and sucks you right back in.  After months of speculation, the Big Ten expansion talks had quieted for several weeks.  Until today, when WHB 810 AM in Kansas City reported that the Big Ten had extended offers to no less than four candidate schools to join the conference.  Oh boy, here we go again...

Bobby "Janks"

(Picture courtesy of http://www.nimg.sulekha.com/)

In grade school and part of middle school my friends and I used to play a little game. When one of us did something so inexplicably stupid, we would call them a "jank". It soon took on other forms such as Jank Bank and Jank-tastic.

If you go to urbandictionary.com and type in the word "jank" you will get a few definitions such as:

"A thing that is worthless or useless; shit"

"Negative. Crappy, shitty, stupid, etc"

"the universal term for everything. it can be placed into anything, as long as it is funny, or whenever you feel it is appropriate. Also, can be used [as a replacement name] for someone by the name of Justin" (I might go in and change this to include Bobby Jenks at a later date).

After looking up the true definition (and yes urban dictionary is going to be used as a creditable source), I realized how the word "jank" resembles a particular closer in the city of Chicago. A guy that has 151 career saves. A guy that has a World Series ring (just wanted to make sure everyone realized who we were talking about".  A guy whose last name could easily be pronounced "Janks".

Of course I'm talking about Bobby "Jank" Jenks.

Not So Sweet Home Chicago

I’d like to begin today in the world of baseball. Big shout out to A’s pitcher Dallas Braden for making Alex Rodriguez eat some crow. Braden pitched the nineteenth perfect game in MLB history this afternoon against the Rays. A few weeks back Braden was infuriated by A-Rod when he cut across the pitcher’s mound on his way back to the dugout. The ensuing war of words led A-Rod to tell one reporter, “Can we stop talking about this, it’s time for this guy’s 15 minutes of fame to be over.” Well guess what A-Rod, that ‘guy’ just did something more impressive than anything you’ve done in your career to date. You’re still one of the greatest to ever lace ‘em up but today is Braden’s day to shine.

With that digression out of my mind, let’s get back to why I’m really here, the Blackhawks.