Lebron, I apologize....

So, lately I have gotten into a bad habit of doing some things like ESPN and just ripping Lebron when things aren't ALWAYS his fault. I feel like an apology to him is necessary...

Dear Lebron "The Prince" James,



I am sorry for blaming you for everything that goes wrong with your team. After watching you actually try in tonight's game, I realized you aren't good enough to win by yourself, and I don't think you are ever going to be Michael Jordan, but I do still think you are one physical specimen that is freakishly beastly. IF I recall correctly though, and that is a capitalized IF, did you only have one dunk tonight? Like over 5 hours ago now, on your first possession? That is disappointing with how much of a spark you can give your team with a huge one, and how much you can quiet any crowd with something impressive. One thing I did enjoy watching during this series was Shaq continually getting the ball in the post and everrrr soooo slowlyyyyy back down his defender only to miss a shot. Did your front office actually think Shaq would be a big enough difference maker to get you a ring? The only thing he was able to accomplish was to slow down your team and take away touches from other players. Some things you can't control is how poorly your teammates play and how out coached your team gets when it gets to a series where coaching actually makes a difference. Between this year and last you have been out coached by a Van Gundy and a Doctor....at least this year the coach who beat you doesn't have the most annoying voice God could create. Even after posting a triple double tonight, and every triple double is impressive, you still disappointed me. Seriously, would it have been that hard to turn the ball over at least once more and complete the quadruple double? That would have been the ultimate way to cap off your season as the MVP. But hey, we shouldn't talk about you so much because you didn't really lose the series, the Boston Celtics won it. They were the better team throughout the six games and their depth is beyond belief. Plus, who can complain about watching a passionate and energetic Kevin Garnett do work? He is magical, and that turnaround fadeaway jumper he has is a work of art. Congratulations on another MVP and for shaking hands with Boston after the game tonight. I know it was a hard step to take for you.

Yours truly,

Aaron "The Real Deal" Haugen

P.S Pictures like this are why I love twitter

P.S.S Even though I may post at some point, on the topic of free agency for those select NBA stars who may find themselves in a new home in a couple months, I really don't care about talking about it 24/7 like ESPN will. I probably won't care until July 8th when contracts are available to be signed. Therefore, Deadliest Catch is on right now and I am more than happy with this decision

Lebron Back Isn't Quite Strong Enough to Carry the Weight the Cavs Placed On Him

I don't like Lebron James. But for the MVP of the NBA...could you please at least look to take a shot every once in awhile?! Instead of just swinging the ball around the perimeter a few times and chewing up the shot clock until someone else has to chuck up a desperation shot, why don't you try and create a shot for yourself and carry your team on your back? Maybe if he would have gone to college he would have learned how to create a shot for himself...I understand wanting to get your teammates involved at times and having 4 or whatever assists after tonight's first quarter is good, but when your only bucket in the whole first half is a cherry picking dunk, the MVP's game is too passive.

Tonight's game showed why he was chosen as the MVP though, and it also showed me why he won't win a title with the Cavs. If Lebron has any sort of off night, they lose. If he is on but has a few too many turnovers, they lose. He has to play his best ball every night for them to have a chance and if he doesn't, all those 'stars' they brought in to keep him around town and to help him get a championship can't get it done without his best game. On the other hand I did like to see him throw off his elbow sleeve tonight in the 2nd half so the poor announcers could start talking about that all over again. I think if Lebron was in perfect health, just had an average game, and the Cavs lost, those announcers would have nothing to talk about. Especially if Rajon Rondo is having a statistically quiet night as well, we might as well have our tv's muted and have the Twins on the radio at the same time as the basketball game.

The Track and Field season is in full swing right now and I found myself going to youtube to watch one of the most awesome, disturbing, painful events I have ever seen. Here is that video...make sure you watch the slow motion section of the video so you can see for sure what happens to this poor guy. I hope he came out of it in one piece.

Car > Human.... Usually

If any of you caught what Derek called me out for in his last post...I did get hit by a car last Tuesday. Not really bumped either...like full out collision style. The worst part of it was that I wasn't even on the road. I was standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross the road and a car jumped the curb from my left and took me out, then took out a stop sign, and took off. Yeah, he didn't even have the guts to stop and face me. I would have taken him on! Not really....once I got hit I was knocked unconscious for 30 seconds and next thing I knew I woke up on the road with a bunch of people around me. Anyways, I am recovering at home now with a bunch of scrapes and bruises, 6 staples in my head, and a messed up knee. Not too shabby, considering what happened. That's my story though...hopefully I can get back on the golf course soon enough, not too mention get back on the softball diamond for summer, and living the lake life...there are just too many things I can't do with this dumb immobilizer brace on my knee!

The weird thing is, I think I came out in better shape than the car. I don't know how much damage I actually did to the car but from what I've heard the front of the car has more dents in it now than I do, but the majority of those are probably from the stop sign, not me. Even though the guy (or girl) took off, the police have a suspect so I'm hoping they catch that person soon enough.

Anyone miss Joe Mauer right now? I guess I miss him as a legend, but that is it. We sit down last year's MVP and bring up a guy who decides to come in and hit nearly .800... The farm system of the majority of the MLB teams can't be compared to the Twins. Plus, it doesn't hurt to be a little lucky sometimes.

To say the least, I was quite disappointed with The Prince's performance against the old and run down Celtics last night. The past couple of days on First Take (yes I do watch ESPN occasionally still) Skip has been talking about having this imaginary item that allows others to feel actually how hurt pro athletes are when they come public with injuries. Lebron has one of those injuries right now that I would love to know how he actually feels. If last night has any indication, he either has lost any desire to win basketball games or he is actually hurt. I really really don't care for him at all, but nevertheless I still enjoy watching good basketball and his attitude and performance during last nights game still disgusts me. I guess after last night I should just tune in to watch Steve Nash for the rest of this year because he played like a man on a mission. He had passion and fire and took over the game with an intensity that I didn't think we would see from him ever again. Too bad we aren't watching Kevin Love do that to other teams right now ;) haha. LET'S GET IT!!

Random Rumblings

Been a while since I put up a post so I thought I would post on some of the recent happenings. Maybe I've just been in a stupor since Duke actually escaped with the championship but looking back, that was an amazing game and perhaps I would enjoy it more if Heyward would have sunk the shot. Butler is going to be the team to beat next season if no one enters the draft and will finally get the chance at being a favorite in one of the games. The Heels should be back strong next year and hopefully my Gophers will make the tournament as well. I was nervous that Tubby was going to leave but it is great he is coming back. Justin Cobbs and Paul Carter are both set to transfer to other schools. Its too bad that Cory Joseph is going to Texas but it seems like he is going to go the Longhorn way and be a one-and-done player. Its too bad because he could have fit in perfectly in the back court for the Gophs.

I think that Phil Mickelson may have passed Tiger as the most popular golfer in the PGA. With all the hardships for him (uncreated unlike Tiger's problems), it is remarkable how well he played at the Masters. Tremendous win and so far in the Quail Hollow tournament, he is looking very strong again. Callaway Golf has to be the happiest company in the world with Father's Day quickly approaching. When a wife is searching for a nice golf gift for the hubby or a child for their dad, Callaway is going to be the equipment of choice over Tiger's Nike. This could be the first time in 10 years that Tiger isn't the highest grossing athlete for the year.

The NFL draft was certainly interesting and there were two teams that really stood out to me as failing. The Jags and the Broncos. The Jags just screwed up the first round and the Broncos got a 3rd round player in the 1st round. I enjoy my FSU Seminoles so I'll try to keep this as unbiased as possible but what were the Broncos thinking? Tebow, even with his "new and improved" throwing motion, still is inaccurate, has a slow throwing motion, is small in NFL standards, isn't that fast, and won't get by on athletic ability like he did with the Gators. It is just shocking to me that a high character guy like Tebow is a first round selection because he is a great guy yet Myron Rolle, a genius and great guy in his own rights, was a 6th round pick. If he had come out last season, he could have been a late first to second round pick but because he went to Oxford for a season, he is looked at as a high risk pick when players with high character problems are 1st or 2nd round picks. Absolutely foolish. My prediction for Rolle this season, he starts half way through the season and competes for Rookie of the Year awards and is an eventual Pro Bowl player within his first 5 seasons. Great pick by the Titans.

On to the Viking's selections. A good call moving down in the first round and they got a player that they wanted in Chris Cook. I think that he will be a solid player and has a bright future in the league. Toby Gerhart was my favorite selection and if he wasn't white could have been a first round choice. This man has wheels and hits like a car. You can ask Aaron how that feels (get better soon). Everson Griffen was a solid value pick and should contribute if he gets his ego in check and becomes a great team player. Speaking of Griffen, he helps show some of the reasons why I despise USC football - Pete Carroll and the rest of the coaching staff. Carrol and his crew were so hellbent on selling to recruits that USC makes them great pro prospects that they completely forget about the kids. Carrol, now head coach of the Seahawks, passed on Taylor Mays in the first round to take a different safety even though he told Mays that Mays was the choice if he fell to him. Here is a great article on what I'm talking about. USC players are rarely prepared for the NFL yet they keep selling it to the kids. Griffen, Mays, and Joe McKnight are players that also have been affected by Carroll's irresponsible preparation. Also, for some reason I have a feeling that Lane Kiffin won't change that now that he is coaching USC.

The Minnesota Twins are off to a great start and I have to say that Target Field is absolutely stunning. I was lucky enough to get tickets for the opening series from a friend's dad. It is great to actually feel the sun and wind rather than the fake lights and fans from the Metrodome. Let's hope that the Vikings can soon escape the Teflon baggy soon enough as well. Back to the Twins. Liriano is back to looking like the Franchise that he was back in his rookie season and the acquisitions of Hudson, Hardy, and Thome are all paying off nicely. Here's to hoping they keep it up and we can find out what baseball is like with snow come October and November.

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Well that's all I've got for now and with classes almost done for the summer, hopefully I will be able to post more actively. Until next time...