The Philippine Online Chronicles

Cavs owner criticizes James

Now that Lebron James has left his hometown to play for the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert started criticizing James by claiming that he quit during the playoffs.

In a letter that was posted in the Cavs’ website, Gilbert states that it’s time for James to be accountable for all his actions. He also stated that people have been covering him up for such a long time and his decision to leave Cleveland should tell everybody of what he really is.

Gilbert accused James of quitting on the Cavaliers when they played against the Boston Celtics. As a result, the Celtics rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Cavaliers and advance to the next round to face the Orlando Magic.

In game five of the said series, the Cavaliers lost by 32 points and during the game, James appeared to be totally indifferent on what’s going on. When the Cavaliers’ coaching staff started telling the players to foul in order to get back into the game, James was seen glaring at them.

Aside from quitting in the series against Boston, Gilbert also believed that James did the same thing in game 6 in their series against the Orlando Magic in 2009. He pointed out that James took very few shots during these games. As a result, the Cavaliers were eliminated in both series.

Prior to James announcement, Cavaliers’ officials said that the two-time NBA MVP never returned any of their calls or text messages. In addition to that, they were never informed of the decision until he announced it in his one-hour documentary called The Decision.

Gilbert was appalled by James’ disrespect and he also said that it’s about time that athletes should be held accountable for all their actions.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Wade admitted that he was stunned and shocked by Gilbert’s comments. He said that he’s glad that he has Micky Arison as the owner while adding that Gilbert’s accusations should only make James feel better about his choice to bolt to Miami.

Before ending his letter that was posted in the Cavaliers’ website, Gilbert guaranteed that his team will win a championship before James does. He promised that the “curse” will follow James even if he’s already in his new team.

Bosh agrees to play for the Heat

Dwayne Wade has been waiting for a dependable sidekick since All-Star big man Shaquille O’Neal left the Miami Heat in 2008. Two years later, he will finally get his wish.

In fact, he’s not only going to get one, but two of the best players in the league today after two-time MVP Lebron James and Chris Bosh have announced that they are going to join Wade in Miami for the 2010-2011 NBA season.

James announced his decision on Friday morning while Bosh committed to the team a day before.

After months of speculation, Bosh and James have finally agreed to play together for the next several years. As a result, the Heat became instant contenders for the championship title not only this year, but for many years to come.

With Wade, James, and Bosh still in their prime, they have the potential to create a dynasty with the Heat.

Though everyone is talking about James’ decision to leave his hometown for South Beach, Bosh’s decision to leave the Toronto Raptors can never be undermined. In fact, many analysts believe that his role is just going be as big as Wade and James once they start playing together.

According to Wade, he won’t be re-signing with the Heat if he doesn’t get either James or Bosh. Though he agreed that there are so many talented players in this year’s free agent class, he thinks that James and Bosh complement his game well.

In the past season, Wade averaged 26.6 points for the Heat while Bosh led the Raptors by scoring 24 points and grabbing 10.8 rebounds a night. With James’ decision to joint the already formidable duo, they’ll be getting his 29.7 game output and many other intangibles on a daily basis.

In an interview, Bosh stated that his primary goal is to win a championship. With Wade and now James as his teammates, all is left is to fill the positions that are needed for the team to become really competitive.

On the other hand, it has been a very tough summer for Wade who had to deal with four lawsuits, a divorce, and custody over his children. Initially, he wanted to go to the Chicago Bulls, but when Bosh insisted on Miami, he finally decided to stay.

Wade thinks that being able to control his destiny is a luxury that most people don’t have. Because of that, he admits that being able to choose the situation that will give him the greatest chance of winning meant a lot to him.

Right now, James, Wade, and Bosh don’t know what’s inside their new contracts. Reports say that Wade is going to get around 126 millions USD for the next six years. However, he is willing to take a pay cut in order to accommodate the two newest members of his team.

Meanwhile, the Heat only have four players so far in Wade, Bosh, James, and Mario Chalmers. Michael Beasley is reportedly being shopped to the Minnesota Timberwolves so that the Heat can offer James the maximum contract.

To fill up the vacant roster spots, the team is already talking to several free agents such as Brendan Haywood, Mike Miller, Raymond Felton, and Udonis Haslem. All of these players have played with Wade in each of his seasons in the league.

For years, the Heat have prepared for this lucrative free agent class. They have risked winning and signing players that would let them spend money for the 2010-2011 season. Finally, the risk has paid off and by the end of this season, the Heat has a cap space of around 46 million USD.

Boozer now with Bulls

The Chicago Bulls may have landed the best free agent forward not named Lebron James or Chris Bosh after Carlos Boozer agrees with a five-year, 80-million dollar deal that the team offered.

With over 30 million dollars in cap space, the Bulls were one of the biggest destinations for big-named free agents such as James, Bosh, and Wade. Though they never landed any of the three marquee names, the Bulls made the second best thing by picking up Boozer.

The 28-year old power forward averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per outing with the Utah Jazz last season. In his entire career, Boozer has averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds each game.

For the past few years, Boozer has been the Bulls’ target. In fact, he nearly donned the Bulls’ jersey if the Tyrus Thomas trade didn’t fall apart in the last minute. With his arrival, he’ll be pairing up with Joakim Noah to complete the team’s frontcourt. Aside from that, he’ll be a solid pick-and-roll partner for up and coming superstar, Derrick Rose.

Instead of getting wingmen in Ray Allen or Mike Miller, the Bulls decided that getting the 6’9, 266-lb power forward is a better option. Though he was limited by injuries for the past three years, he contributed greatly to the Jazz last season by playing 78 games.

The Bulls gave themselves a chance to snare one of the superstars in this year’s free agent market by letting go of Ben Gordon and John Salmons. Earlier this month, they dumped Kirk Hinrich’s nine million dollar salary to the Washington Wizards to get two stars to play for them.

Donaire and Concepcion ready to take on foes

On Saturday, Filipino boxers Nonito Donaire Jr. and Bernabe Concepcion will be facing tough opponents in Puerto Rico.

Donaire who is the interim WBA super flyweight champion and the number four ranked pound-for-pound fighter by the Ring Magazine will be facing Hernan Marquez of Mexico. Donaire will be defending his title for the first time since he won it last year by beating Rafael Concepcion of Panama.

In an interview, Donaire acknowledged that Marquez is a dangerous opponent because he just came off from a loss. He knows that Marquez is a strong guy and because of that, he vows to fight smart.

Marquez on the other hand, is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision loss against up and coming Filipino fighter, Richie Mepranum. This is the first time that he’ll be vying for a title and the 21-year old Mexican is out to make a big upset.

Co-headlining the Donaire-Marquez fight is Concepcion, who will be facing undefeated Puerto Rican featherweight champion, Juan Manuel Lopez. This is Concepcion’s second title fight after losing to former champion Steven Luevano in August 2009.

Lopez is no walk in the park for Concepcion. An undefeated fighter who has beaten the likes of Gerry Penalosa and Daniel Ponce De Leon, Lopez is an offensive dynamo who can throw punches in all angles.

Lopez on the other hand, is not looking past Concepcion even if he’s scheduled to fight top featherweight fighter Rafael Marquez this August. In an interview, he said that Concepcion is a tough customer and underestimating him will only put his career and goals in trouble.

Photos Courtesy of: Flickr and Wikimedia Commons