Schedule UPDATE: Albany to round out schedule

According to an outside source, the Mount will travel to Albany on Dec. 18 for the 30th game on its 2010 - 2011 schedule.


The Great Danes play in the America East conference and are coming off of a 7-25 season in which they fell to Stony Brook in the quarterfinals of their 2010 conference tournament. The Mount and Albany had multiple common opponents last season including the New York school's fellow America East member Vermont, who the Mount will face again this season.


Albany beat American 51-50 and Robert Morris 71-66, with losses coming to Central Connecticut State 70-68 in overtime, Vermont 71-54 and 64-46 and Boston U. 79-58 and 68-53.


With the addition of Albany to the schedule, the Mount will still only have three non-conference home games this season - with only one of them coming in December or later - against Florida A&M, Navy and American. Here is the schedule in full:

CORRECTION 9:21 p.m.: Mount men's basketball 2010 - 2011 schedule

CORRECTIONS IN NEC SCHEDULE. St. Francis (N.Y.) and Long Island games were home and away at wrong times on schedule. Teams were also flipped in second meeting near end of February.


Thanks to my previous knowledge of our schedule for next year, a couple Northeast Conference connects, and some friendly SIDs at bigger schools, I've rounded up almost all of the Mount men's basketball schedule for the 2010 - 2011 season.


For those living in the area, it isn't any more pretty than last year as far as home games. I've only confirmed three non-conference home games, but hope we can get one more, though there's not much room left on the schedule.


The ridiculous attempt by the NEC to force a rivalry week down the throat of a bunch of schools that have as much significant history with each other as they would with say, conference newcomer Bryant, continues. And as luck would have it, the conference still finds it appropriate to match us up with the Seahawks of Wagner for back-to-back games in that rivalry week, which is now later in the season. (Whoopie!)


A final note is that the league has returned its women's games to Saturday-Monday instead of Thursday-Saturday, which is the weekly format the men will continue to play, with few exceptions. This is significant because the absence of Thursday doubleheaders now means that men's games will not be at the mercy of a women's game that may go into overtime. Additionally, this makes the amount of time a men's team can take to warm up before a game virtually unlimited, as they were limited to roughly a half-hour in most cases last season. The only situation where this would still apply is Saturday doubleheaders, though most teams will probably still elect for four-hour gaps between scheduled tipoff times.


Without further ado, I give you our schedule.

Report: Travis Taylor to Xavier

Travis Taylor, the talented post who left Monmouth this offseason, will transfer to Xavier University, according to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com.

Parrish Tweeted this from his account @GaryParrishCBS about an hour ago:

"SCOOP from a Delta flght: [sic] Monmouth's Travis Taylor transferring to Xavier, source told CBSSports.com. Averaged 17.9 ppg last year."

Taylor was easily the Hawks's best player and is one of a number of players to leave coach Dave Calloway's program this offseason, only one of which was due to graduation.

In the last year of his contract, Calloway will likely need a solid regular season and a deep run in the Northeast Conference tournament to earn a new contract.

MLB Network schlop doesn't know he's still on air

While doing some work for Patch and waiting for my DirecTV technician to arrive and install my HD Dish and receiver, this gem fell into my lap. I was watching a 2009 episode of "Studio 42 with Bob Costas" featuring Willie Mays (did I mention that nothing was on TV?) and they broke the show for an Alex Rodriguez 600th home run watch. While AAAAA-Rod, failed to drop an AAAAAA-Bomb, what happened after his groundout was entertainment enough. The fun starts around the 0:41 mark.





Of course we should be disappointed that this guy, who isn't even listed on the MLB Network Web site under On-Air Personalities, didn't start waxing poetic about scotch. Or even better, drop a bunch of comments about banging Cindy from accounting last night. But for a Saturday during the dog days this wasn't a bad find.


What about my HD dish and receiver, you ask? Well DirecTV just called and said my technician was in a car accident and won't be able to make it. Too bad they don't have the same guarantee that Domino's used to or I'd be getting a free installation.

UPDATE: BREAKING: Nagro to be named new softball coach

Anna Nagro will be named the Mount softball head coach, a source tells Mount U.

The class of 2007 St. Bonaventure graduate comes to the Mount from D'Youville College in Buffalo. Although it's name sounds like something from a Dr. Seuss story in a parallel universe, D'Youville is a private institution in Buffalo, N.Y., where Nagro has been the coach since early February 2008.

Nagro, who is from Buffalo, played catcher and finished seventh all-time with the Bonnies in at-bats (422) and fifth in doubles (tied, with 23), home runs (eight) and RBI (65). She served as a team captain and was a physical education major at St. Bonaventure and then began pursuing her masters in sports administration from Canisius College while coaching D'Youville. It is unclear whether she completed her masters.

The hiring of Nagro will mean athletic director Lynne Robinson has met her self-imposed deadline of Aug. 1 for finding a new head coach.

The Spartans were in the North Eastern Athletic Conference for Nagro's first two seasons as coach before joining the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for the 2010 season.

Nagro also served as an assistant athletics director and the senior women's administrator at D'Youville.

The position has been vacant since former coach Larry Alvis was fired by the school in late May due to apparent player complaints. Alvis left as the winningest coach in school history.

Update 7/22/10 - 8:14 a.m.:


Mount U has obtained an e-mail sent to the players regarding the hiring of Nagro. It was written by an athletic department administrator other than athletic director Lynne Robinson, who is on vacation.


Excerpts from the e-mail:


"I am excited to let you know that we have offered the Head Coaching position for softball to Anna Nagro and she has verbally accepted our offer ...


"I know this process may have taken longer than some of you may have anticipated but it is very important for us and the department to find the right person to lead our softball program.  We feel after receiving everyone’s input that was involved with the interview process and after conducting our due diligence with background and reference checks, we have the right person for the job.


"Once all of the final paperwork is complete, we will announce the hiring of Coach Nagro to formally introduce her as a member of the Mount community. We hope to have Coach Nagro on campus by the early part of August, but she will no doubt be contacting all of you in the near future."


Nagro will turn 25 on Sept. 23.

Top 15 moments is a great idea

These hot summer months, hotter than the collection of female team MVPs from various Mount teams this year, are as fertile for fresh stories as they are for planting corn. Fortunately a hot male MVP, if I may say so myself, (and I'm talking about myself, before you think I switched teams) continues to find loopholes.


This week it's the fact that MountAthletics.com is unveiling the "Top 15 Sports Moments" (no hyphen between top and 15) from this past academic year. While Nos. 15, 14 and 13 were revealed on Monday, Tuesday and today, respectively, there's still plenty of time to predict what Nos. 12 through one will be as the countdown continues Thursday.


Before I get to that, I want to throw my support out in front of the countdown. This is a great idea and a nice summer token for the fans other than schedule releases and personnel changes. I sense a pattern in the countdown already, but I'll get to that later.

First (no pun intended), I hate to ruin to for you, but the No. 1 moment is more of a lock than the Baltimore Orioles missing the playoffs. (I went to Sunday's 10-1 loss to Toronto - it was ugly. Amazing triple-comeback last night against the Rays, though.)

Any time you can put the words "buzzer-beater," "tournament MVP," "game-winner" and "championship" in the same second of the same moment - that's your winner of just about any countdown unless it involves Oprah or Beyonce - for completely unrelated reasons.

Then-freshman Andrew Scalley scored the game-winning goal for the men's lacrosse team in the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game as the buzzer sounded and he was named tournament MVP. What makes the goal even more special is that it was the last game to be played by the Mount in the MAAC as it will join the rest of the school's sports in the Northeast Conference next season.

After that selection I have three picks that are all great individual accomplishments (No. 1 was Scalley's "moment", but it was more of a team accomplishment than these next three), but a step below the rare combination provided by the top moment. At the same time, these are all certainly a step above any other Mount moment I can recall this year. If I'm wrong I'll put my foot in my mouth.

No. 2, in my opinion, is the dual accomplishment of rising redshirt senior Tom FitzSimons winning the decathlon in the Penn Relays as well as IC4As. Although FitzSimons did not qualify for nationals, he is surely expected to do so in his final two seasons of outdoor. What makes this an even greater accomplishment is the fact that FitzSimons was plagued by a stress fracture in his foot for parts of the last two seasons (outdoor in his sophomore year, indoor in his junior year) that caused him to redshirt unexpectedly.

The battle for the third spot is between two athletes of similar ilk. Kent Worthington allowed no hits (so yeah, he threw a no-hitter) in an 18-0 shellacking of NEC opponent Quinnipiac on March 28. Worthington's nemesis in this situation is rising junior Lizz Christiansen, who is the starting first baseman for the softball team. In her freshman season, Christiansen looked poised to break a number of single season records before incurring a season-ending leg injury while sliding into him during a mid-season game. Not quite 100 percent as the season began, Christiansen captured records that were inevitably going to be broken by the Harrisburg-area native.

In the May 7 season finale against St. Francis (Pa.), Christiansen belted a homer and knocked in five runs to give her single seasons records of 11 home runs and 50 RBI.

My nod goes to Christiansen for a number of reasons. Title IX probably won't allow us not to have a female in the top three of our countdown and she set two records in one game. Also working in her favor, and against Worthington's, is the fact that the baseball team won its game 18-0, so he had less pressure to hold a lead, and Quinnipiac was winless coming into that series (the Mount dropped the first game before taking the next three). So Christiansen's overall accomplishment was a season-long one, while Worthington's took place on a single day, although her moment was pretty big in itself since she truly "stepped up to the plate" (I couldn't resist) to get the record in the regular season finale.

To be fair, a couple things are working against Christiansen as well. The first of which, and most obvious, is that she plays softball. I'm sorry, but yeah, I said it. Secondly, the season finale against St. Francis (Pa.) was a make-up game, which neither team needed because they were about as far from the playoffs as the Orioles considering it was the last game of the season for both teams. I realize that is an unfair hit against her credibility, though, since the game was originally on the schedule and would have had to have been played if A. It influenced playoff scenarios or B. It hadn't been postponed in the first place.

With all that being said, both are great, unprecedented accomplishments as far as the Mount goes. When two moments are seemingly this close, you have to be critical to separate them. But let's not forget that they are likely top four moments for a school's entire athletic department in one season.

Outside of my top four, I can think of no other large-scale events that are locks for the top of the countdown. Two other moments stand out to me from the past year, but it's because I was involved in both of them and am completely biased.

(Skip ahead if you don't care about my first self-centered story.)

If I may wax poetic about my own accomplishment, I had a double eagle in the first round of the Rutgers Invitational in the fall. It was raining steady all day and I came to the fourth hole at +4 with six holes remaining. After hitting my drive in the right rough of the par five, I selected three iron from 229 yards as it was downwind and I didn't want to go over the green. I normally hit three iron about 200 yards to give you an idea of the wind and the rollout I was expecting.

At impact I immediately knew that I had executed the shot perfectly. That is, it was headed on a laser down my intended target line and I had hit the ball in the sweet spot. Exactly what happened next is anyone's guess because the front of the green is the upslope of a valley the begins in the last 50 yards of the hole and ends around the middle of the green. With the pin up front that day, I striped my shot, watched it disappear into the distant valley and walked down the fairway toward the green. When my two playing partners and me reached the green, we couldn't find my ball for two minutes. We searched probably 600 square yards of greenside rough without a trace of my ProV1X. Finally, the kid from Rutgers said I should check the hole. I insisted that was a bad idea as I'm very superstitious, and didn't want to unnecessarily look in the hole if my ball wasn't there. After my Judas-like denial of three times in succession, he finally checked the hole for me. Informing me my ball was at the bottom of the cup, I literally told him I would punch him in the face if he said it one more time and he was lying. Then he said it one more time and I found myself in a win-win situation: I was either going to have a double eagle - the rarest shot in golf - or get to punch a kid from New Jersey square in the face, probably multiple times, with no repercussions. It turns out he was not lying as the rain-filled cup yielded the blue markings on my ball indicating that I had in fact made an albatross. Just then my coach, Kevin Farrell, came walking through the trees of an adjacent hole like he was on the set of Field of Dreams. He just giggled that red-headed, potbelly giggle when I told him. Then I decided to yell across the course to Danny what had happened, except that it wasn't Danny it was Sage, who is considerably taller. I didn't really care, I had just hit the best shot of my life.

When we got inside for the round I found out some other bastard from Rutgers had made a hole-in-one on the par three 11th (ironically I had hit the pin on that hole earlier) and tried to steal my thunder. The next day, in the irony of all ironies, we were paired together along with the same kid from USC-Upstate that I played with in the first round. His name was Josh Gallman and he was a top 100-ranked amateur in the country. He shot 71-66 - always in the rain - and won the tournament going away. Suddenly the hole-in-one and double eagle didn't seem so amazing.

(Stop skipping now.)

The other great memory I have this year in which I was involved was the men's basketball season finale against Robert Morris. Trailing by what felt like 30 (actually 13) in the early parts of the second half, we erased a seven-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining to beat the Colonials 63-61. It was an important victory for a rivalry that was headed toward life support due to RMU's recent dominance, but suddenly turned into THE best regular season game of my five years as manager. It also guaranteed us the No. 3 seed and a home in the playoffs.

I won't begin to rate my golf moment, but I think the RMU comeback victory has to fall in the top six or seven. I would say No. 5, but I'm sure the experts in the athletic department have a surprise up their sleeves for the next moment on the list. With only one team conference championship this season, there are a number of moments in the running.

Now back to the pattern I think I'm sensing already. The first three events in the countdown were women's soccer goalie Sadie Winship scoring in a game, Chelsea Johnson winning a bunch of tennis matches to become second all-time in singles victories at the Mount and the women's basketball team scoring 86 points in a win against Quinnipiac.

I don't mind Nos. 15 and 14 because, as I said, I wouldn't know what else to put there, but No. 13 is a little shady to me. The women's basketball team had its worst season in the NCAA Division I era based on the fact that it missed the NEC tournament for the first time ever. So a high-scoring road win is hardly a top-15 (hyphen between top and 15) moment for all of our sports this season. If it had to be included, I think it should be right at the end as the 15th-best moment.

Since it was included, though, what I suspect is that each sport may get a moment in the countdown since we have - ta dah! - 15 varsity sports at the Mount. There are, however, some holes in my own theory. First is the fact that there are two teams each for cross country and track, which could cause problems. Additionally, some sports probably didn't have any moments worthy of making the countdown (ahem, women's basketball - a team of which I'm a huge fan of its players and coaches, but they just didn't do enough, along with other teams.)

So assuming that is the case with each team getting one slot, and it very well may not be, here are my selections for the best team moments this year and what order they would go in.

Actual:

No. 15: Women's soccer/Sadie Winship, above

No. 14: Women's tennis/Chelsea Johnson, above

No. 13: I don't want to say it again.

Predicted:

No. 12: Men's tennis, something involving senior Thad Mostowtt or freshman Mike Salomon. It's difficult to pick a top moment for a team sport full of individuals whose points are all worth the same.

No. 11: Women's golf, Autumn Serruta finishes fourth at team's home spring invitational.

No. 10: Women's swimming, All swimmers allowed to wear two-piece swimsuits. Oh wait, that didn't happen. Uhh, something involving Jeanne Benedetti. If it were a two-piece announcement, we shouldn't complain.

No. 9: Men's soccer, Chris Wheeler's penalty kick conversion to beat Quinnipiac 4-3 in a shootout

No. 8: Women's lacrosse, something with senior Jackie Kearney, (possibly Ashley Johnson, though) maybe being selected for North-South All-Star game

No. 7: Men's golf, if I had to pick, yeah, I'd pick my own moment, but I'm randomly putting it at seventh so it's in the middle and I don't actually think we have a moment (as I don't think women's golf, men's tennis or women's swimming will either), so there's another hole in my theory.

No. 6: Men's basketball, RMU comeback

No. 5: Cross country, Freshman Megan Kinsella second at NECs

No. 4: Baseball, Worthington no-no

No. 3: Softball, Christiansen records

No. 2: Track and field, FitzSimons decathlons

No. 1: Men's lacrosse, Scalley game-winner

So there you go. I'll be honest, the only ones I'm confident about being included are one through four. The rest are based on my theory, and are shaky selections at that. I love the idea regardless, especially the fact that it's spaced out over 15 days. Again, great idea, and let the debate begin.

Me-ami Two-Three: Ego James and his LeBron

My dad walked into the living room and shook his head. "Why are we watching this?" he asked in reference to "The Decision" - LeBron James' hour-long special to announce that he'll be playing in "South Beach" next season.

I told him that one day he'll thank me for making him watch this narcissistic moment in history, much like he once promised me that I would thank him one day for grounding me. Besides, the announcement was going to be made within the first 15 minutes, I told him. At least that's what we were promised.


Nearly 30 minutes later, hand-picked interviewer Jim Gray finally swallowed his own ego and used what seemed like his 27th question to ask James where he will be playing next season. Meanwhile my dad was still watching while my mom even became engulfed in the drama. An hour before she was too appalled at the Gloria James baby daddy drama to worry about where said baby was going to play basketball next season. Now? Glued - to the television and the front edge of the couch.


This is what LeBrima Donna James did to an entire nation - he concocted a perfect storm of curiosity and drama during the past two years and culminated it with an anti-climatic announcement. Donning a shirt that looked more like a picnic blanket and a smirk that looked more like a smoking gun, James broke the heart of every non-vegetative citizen in Ohio.

It is important, though, to keep the decision (not to be confused with "The Decision") in perspective. As my friend Steve wrote on my Facebook wall, the NBA is a "BUSINESS" (he used ALL CAPS). What I mean to point out is that LeBron was free to sign with whichever team he wanted next season. If it was the Los Angeles Lakers, Harlem Globetrotters or Seattle Supersonics, I would not have held it against him.

James' final six choices of teams contained two that offer him the opportunity to contend for a championship immediately - the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. James left significantly more money behind in Cleveland to sign with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, and give himself what he believes is the best chance to win a title. He also forfeit the higher amount if money he could have earned in Cleveland, and he's taking an additional pay cut so that he, Wade and Bosh can help the Heat stay under the salary cap. (But also don't forget that there's no state income tax in Florida.)

Take away the extravagant visits - or tryouts - James hosted in Cleveland, the two-year build-up he created and ESPN ran with and the one-hour "The Decision" special, and LeBron did nothing wrong. Of course the Akron/Cleveland area fans would still be heartbroken by James' decision to leave, but it would have been strictly business. This charade we all "witnessed" since the NBA Finals ended, was not strictly anything.

If you and me both watched the same telecast Thursday night there's no way in Cleveland, I mean hell, that you can convince me LeBron isn't an attention-whore. First consider the fact that the supposed motivation for the entire creation of the broadcast (not to be confused with its purpose) was to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of America in various cities. Why, then, did we go the ENTIRE hour without a single mention of the words boy or girl? Let alone any club of which they might be a part. It was 10:05 p.m. when Stuart Scott, AKA James' biggest fan, threw it back to James in Akron for a "special" announcement.

At this point James would have needed the antidote for cancer in his back pocket to win back any non-Miami basketball fan. Instead he giggled before announcing the amount of money "The Decision" raised for various cities' Boys and Girls Clubs. (He failed to mention how much he was hoping to profit from the telecast.) It is baffling that his handlers, his Web site and even James himself, justified this entire night with the fact that the proceeds were going to charity, but that point didn't come up for 65 minutes.

So how do you, LeBron, explain the fact that you waited until the post-show interviews to take credit for the money you raised for charity? It's like a guy saying he's going to marry a woman because he loves her, and even though they could elope and be done with it, he wants to have a wedding to prove it. But instead of telling her he loves her during their vows, he waits until the reception, where, only when prompted, he confesses his love for his wife on the low.

And don't get me started on the Vitamin Water nonsense. Not only did James have his own Vitamin Water commercial air during the show, but there was a fridge full of the drinks in the background of the Gray/James interview. And don't tell me that was all ESPN because the entire time LeBron's people told the public that ESPN would allow the profits for the hour to go to charity. I'm not saying you can't have commercials, but you're telling me James had nothing to do with his Vitamin Water commercial airing during that hour? Or what about his McDonald's commercial with Dwight Howard and Larry Bird? Give me a break. (By the way, how ironic is it that the beginning of the Vitamin Water jingle goes, "I'm on the pursuit of happiness" and its a song by rapper Kid Cudi?)

As for the Vitamin Waters in the fridge, I'm sure if any of those kids in the background tried to snag one they would have been tazed by Worldwide Wes. Even worse, I bet that wasn't even real Vitamin Water. Just the bottles of urine James was preparing to pour all over Ohio. Oh the kids - right. The ones who were handpicked by someone, though it's difficult to say who. Because if they were not handpicked, then why did George Willis of the New York Post Tweet this Thursday night at 6:31 p.m.:

"They're kicking Boys and Girls off the grounds of the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich. #LeBron" 

This shuffling of children and the lack of recognition for the Club during the actual one-hour special was just one of the many examples of how unprepared for the entire night James was, which is ironic when you consider that he had been hyping and preparing for this moment (the announcement, not necessarily "The Decision") since 2008.

What are the other examples? I'm glad you asked. From the jump, Gray asked James about his free agent experience and James said "I'm looking forward to it." Is this idiot thinking to "The Decision: The Heat is On - or Off? 2016" already?

Just minutes after James announced his choice to go to the Heat, Gray asked him, "How do you explain this to the people in Cleveland?" James responded: "It's heartfelt for me." What the HELL does that even mean? A nice prepared response would have sounded something like this:

"I know it's hard for them to understand right now, but I hope in time they realize that I chose what I believe is best for me personally in order to win a championship. The Cleveland organization and [owner] Mr. [Daniel] Gilbert have given me every opportunity and I will never forget that they helped get me to where I am now. I appreciate the way everyone in Akron and Cleveland and Cavaliers fans around the world recruited me, but in the end it wasn't about money, it was about going where I think I can win the most titles in the next five years. I'm sorry I wasn't able to bring them a championship [a la Donovan McNabb to Philadelphia fans] but I wish them the best of luck and I'll always be a Cavalier at heart."

Sure, people would have still been angry. And this telecast would have still been an ego-fest, but at least he would have shown some respect to a city that has given him a rim job since he was barely old enough to get it up. Instead he not only gave them the flaming-bag-of-s***-on-your-front-porch consolation prize of "it's heartfelt for me," but he also failed to thank them at any time during the hour-long show.

Instead he chose to repeatedly promote how much he thinks he has done for the city and the franchise. You want to know one thing he never did for same city and franchise? Bring home a ring. James also said, "I never wanted to leave Cleveland." That's like a rich parent putting a kid up for adoption and picking another one up at the same time. And just before slamming the door that parent says, "I never wanted to raise another child." Because that's exactly what LeBron did when he said, "I never wanted to leave Cleveland." At that point, if Gray way any kind of self-respecting sports journalist instead of a puppet not even worthy of a Jim Henson-produced cameo, he would have said, "Well good news LeBron, you haven't signed a contract yet and Cleveland has plenty of cap space." He could have smiled when he said it, even given a jolly little chuckle, but the point would have been made. You've been a huge douche about the entire thing for two years anyway, why not just stay in Cleveland since you claim you never wanted to leave?

James must have a map of Cleveland where Ohio resembles a giant toilet bowl because at this point he pulled his pants down to his ankles and dropped the Cosbys off in Cleveland. "I've done so many great things for the [Cavaliers]." Again, you mean like get swept in your only NBA Finals appearance? Or give up in this season's playoff series loss to the Boston Celtics?

Soon after, Gray finally asked a question with slightly more substance than a bowl of Jello (speaking of the Cosbys): "Ever want to go through this again?" James: "Uhh, it's tough." My head is going to EXPLOOOOODDDEEE! It's tough? You just led an entire city on for two years, cheated on it with five other cities for a week even though you were suddenly in an open relationship, then broke up with that city in front of the entire nation, and you know her parents and sisters were watching. That is going to be one awkward encounter when you run into that city again. Ohh, boy, I would not want to be you the day Cleveland walks by and you pretend not to notice.

That would have never been a problem if you were at least loyal enough to do this in a respectful manner and tell Cleveland you weren't staying with it as soon as you made the decision. Wait, what did you just say? "I know how loyal I've been," James said Thursday night. Oh did he? I know Michigan Wolverines fans who have been more loyal to the state of Ohio than James.

In the aforementioned post-show, which probably wasn't necessary considering the three consecutive hours of pre-show, plus all the hype leading up to it, James said something that is more scary to me than the notion of sharing a jail cell with JaMarcus Russell and two of Michael Vick's old dogs. When Scott was allowed to come up for air (yup), he and his hero got back to discussing the Boys and Girls Club. James discussed his hope for the benefits from the club down the road. "[We might] one day have another LeBron. Maybe. [Laughs]." For our sake, I hope he meant that about as much as all of the other rubbish we heard from him that night.

Paulus coaching an AAU team

Greg Paulus may not have been selected as a coach for the Mount, but he's finding work with an AAU team. Gary Parrish, who is covering the LeBron James Skills Academy for CBS Sports, offered this Tweet at 10:47 a.m.:

GaryParrishCBS http://tweetphoto.com/31480552 That's Greg Paulus coaching his ass off. In all seriousness, some college will be smart to hire him soon.


This is in no way a shot at Robert Burke's staff selections for the Mount. I support all of the new coaches and am excited to see them at work. This is just an update on Paulus since we were teased with the possibility of having him on staff for some time.

LeBrima Donna James

I'm on the side of the people who think that LeBron James is being extremely selfish and this Boys and Girls Club promotion is nothing but a cover-up. Or as Dan LeBatard said on Twitter yesterday:
"Get out of here with it's for charity. Boys and girls club, my ass. It's for his boyz. And to get girls. At the club.9:51 PM July 6th via mobile web"
So I won't go into any more depth than the linked column and pasted Tweet about why James is a prima donna. I'm just trying my turn at predicting and analyzing LeBrima Donna James' potential destinations.
I'm prefacing this analysis with two things; first is that no one really knows where James is headed and he could end up on any of these teams: Clippers, Nets, Knicks, Bulls, Heat, Cavaliers. Second is that I clearly have no inside information and am more or less doing this for fun.
When Baron Davis agreed to sign with the Clippers two years and one day ago, he thought he would be joining Elton Brand in Los Angeles. Four days later when Davis actually signed, Brand had left the west coast for Philadelphia in what has proven to be a non-beneficial decision for both players. As Davis got duped into signing with the Clippers by a player who didn't even stay in L.A., I think it would be poetic justice for James to give Davis the supporting star for whom he's been yearning. Add to that the return of last year's No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Blake Griffin, and you would have a legitimate playoff contender.
Unfortunately for Davis, this probably won't happen. James will be furthest from home in L.A., would have to share the city with five-time champion Kobe Bryant and New York City can offer just as much as L.A. in the way of celebrity attention and personal brand elevation. With that being said, the Knicks and Nets round out the top three teams that could offer James the increased attention he so strongly desires.
Beginning with the Nets, who still play in northern New Jersey but plan a move to Brooklyn, James would be more spoiled under the ownership of Mikhail Prokhorov than he would with any other team. The Russian business mogul knows no limitations for his budget and wants nothing more than an NBA title. Rest-assured that if LeBron didn't get the supporting cast he wants upon signing, he would have it within a couple years via ridiculous trades and free agent acquisitions.
The Knicks can't offer the same limitless luxuries of the Nets' owner, but it can boast the NBA's most storied arena, Madison Square Garden, in addition to the brightest of all the league's spotlights. Besides the fact that James tends to light up the Garden every time he plays there, he'll have the business world by the tail not only during his career, but upon retirement in 10 or so years. And let us not forget that LeBron wears a Yankees hat in what seems like every public appearance, including to a Cleveland Indians home game. The signing of Amar'e Stoudemire makes the Knicks even more attractive to James - or does it? Sure, he's a talented big man who has put up good numbers, but he's highly-vulnerable to the Steve Nash Syndrome that plagued Shawn Marion upon leaving the Suns. That is, it is more difficult to score when you don't have one of the best point guards in the league on your team. Add to that the fact that Stoudemire is injury prone with his bad knees and Oakley-protected eyes. Maybe if the Knicks had landed Carolos Boozer instead of Stoudemire, I'd be more inclined to believe that James might sign there.
Ahh, yes - Carlos Boozer. The unsung hero of this free agency class who signed with the Chicago Bulls. The same franchise that was home to the game's all-time best player, Michael Jordan. It appears that James' personality is more passive than killer, and the idea of competing with Jordan on a historical scale in the same city in which a statue of Jordan was erected (right outside the Bulls' arena) is hard to fathom. But it seems to be even less of a problem when you consider who James would have to work with in the Windy City. Derrick Rose is one of the game's great young point guards and only entering his third season in the league as a 22-year-old. Boozer is one of the more reliable posts in the NBA and won't reach 30-years-old until next November. Add to that the fact that he played for Jerry Sloan's disciplined Jazz team for six seasons, was James' teammate in Cleveland in 2003 - 2004 and wouldn't want to hog any of the spotlight from James, and suddenly you have a viable trio around which you can build a title contender in a basketball-supported city. (And though I cannot stand Joakim Noah, he's a maturing energy player who will continue to make great contributions.) Chicagoans are probably still a little disappointed that native Dwyane Wade stayed in Miami instead of coming home and this would soften the blow.
You can't blame Wade for staying in South Beach, though, since former Raptors forward Chris Bosh joined him on the Heat. Now Wade has filled the big-man void left by Shaquille O'Neal after the two won a title together in 2006. But here's the thing about Bosh - he's never won a playoff series, and that was on a team for which he has been the star for years. Add to that the fact that he was only named second-team All-NBA one time, and it's clear that he's not the mega catch that everyone made him out to be. An all-star? A worthy starter? Bosh is definitely both of those, and may turn into the league's premiere post while in Miami, but for now he may not be the big man Wade and James need if they want to win a title right now. Honestly, though, I'm probably splitting hairs with that point because Bosh is a good player. But if anyone has to take less money for all three to be able to play in Miami, it should be him. (Especially so they could keep Michael Beasley.) One legitimate reason for James to avoid Miami, though, is that he, like Bosh, would be a supporting player in the fans' minds. Wade has already brought the city its first title and as long as he is on the team I can't see how anyone else - even James - could become the top dog.
The one place where James undoubtedly holds the key to the city, and the ability to change all the locks whenever he wants, is Cleveland. It's essentially where James grew up, it's where he has already reached an NBA Finals series, and its where he will most unconditionally be loved. The problem is that the supporting cast is not only weak, but unlikely to get any better this offseason. Other stars simply don't want to play in Cleveland. Whether it is because they do not want to share the spotlight with James, or because they simply realize that Ohio, for the most part, sucks, no one will join James in his home city. Before signing with Miami, Bosh himself openly said he wanted to play with James next season, but wouldn't do so in Cleveland. If James does not choose Cleveland, and worse yet remains in the Eastern Conference, he will probably be shunned by his lifelong neighbors for, well, the rest of his life.
All things considered, I think James' best choice would be Chicago or Miami. The Bulls offer the reliable, humble Boozer as well as the young and talented Rose at point guard. Miami would be a great choice as well as Wade (who already has a title) and Bosh's talents speak for themselves. If LeBron truly, truly wants to win sooner than later - he'll be a Bull or a Heat. (That's how you say that, right? A Heat? Maybe a Hot?) But if he wants to be loyal, loved, and continue to build his own legacy, he'll stay in Cleveland, which is what I believe he'll do. I don't care what all the reports are saying - it has been reported as a done deal that James was going to multiple places since free agency began July 1. Until he announces his team tonight on his ridiculously vain hour-long special, and even further, until he actually signs the contract (free agents can't officially sign until tomorrow, July 8) I won't believe anything. Whether James already has his mind made up we cannot say. Where he is going is even less in doubt. The choice seems to be simple (although it is surely anything but): win now with Chicago or Miami, or stay the path with Cleveland. Some people are going to be thrilled with James' decision, others are going to be hurt and confused. I think James will be a mix of both.
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All the teams that cleared salary cap space for James and don't land him should do one or two things depending on who they sign. The teams who do sign a big name with the money they cleared (apparently the Heat, sort of the Bulls and Knicks) should strongly consider lowering ticket prices next season, and surely not increase them. You could let the Heat off the hook for this task because they got the other big fish in Wade and signed what many people believe to be the best supporting character in Bosh. But the Bulls and Knicks, who got Boozer and Stoudemire, respectively, need to make sure not to punch their fans in the gut anymore than LeBron could do tonight.
And for the teams who don't land one of the top free agents (Wade, Bosh, James, Boozer, Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki), they definitely shouldn't waste that money on a less-deserving free agent just because it is available. Lower your ticket prices and pursue someone like Carmelo Anthony next season. It's the right thing to do.
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LeBron's latest Tweet at about 10:05 a.m.:
KingJames 

Good Morning! It's your chance to ask me a question about my decision, use #lebrondecision to submit and I'll answer them tonight.

Really? Your own third person, vein hash tag of #lebrondecision? Give me a break.

My question: Is it true that Delonte West was nailing your mom?