The stylish Dwyane Wade

Forgive me for my foray into fashion, a topic usually reserved for my other blog (lifestylebygoldie.com) but I couldn’t help myself while watching the Heat-Pacers game the other night. As the game turned into a blow-out by halftime, I was pleasantly distracted by the sight of Dwayne Wade, who is nursing a foot injury, on the bench. Obviously, I know about his skill level but there he was in a beautiful gray three piece pinstripe suit with what looked like a corsage/brooch pinned onto his lapel. Admittedly I don’t follow men’s fashion but is this the start of a new trend? Similar to Jay-Z’s evolution, it seems like “ballers” have moved on from baggy jeans and baseball hats to full on GQ style. After doing some internet searching (all in the name of research), I found some more of Wade’s fashion statements…enjoy!

All photos by the Miami Herald except the last from the Associated Press

The aforementioned corsage

Channeling Kanye West

Look at the color coordination!

 

Attending the Kentucky Derby in seersucker and fedora (with no irony mind you!)

The Drama Has Ended!

I live over 4,000 miles away and I’m still tired of hearing about the saga over Carmelo Anthony’s “negotiations” with the Knicks and Nets. Amar’e Stoudemire may be happy his buddy is now a teammate but I’m not sure the majority agrees, including Donnie Walsh, supposedly the Knicks GM and Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks coach. In a sign of possibly very bad things to come, the organization was forced to issue a press release assuring everyone that Knicks management are all on the same page. Yeah right – who are they kidding? For some God awful reason that I can’t even begin to fathom, owner James Dolan has repeatedly turned to Isiah Thomas (currently coaching a 9-17 college team called Florida International) for basketball advice. It was apparently Thomas who urged Dolan to empty his coffers for the superstar.

The problem though, which will become apparent soon,  is Dolan took this advice literally and really did empty his roster. Let’s see, they lost Danilo Gallinari (an excellent shooter and ball handler), Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, 7-footer Timofey Mozgov, prospect Anthony Randolph, a 2014 first-round pick, two second-round picks,  and $3 million (bad sign when that amount of cash is an after-thought).  Stoudemire took the view that “Every team needs a 1, 1-A punch” which is exactly what they’re getting as there isn’t anyone else left on the team! Oh yes, there’s 34-year-old dynamo Chauncey Billups, also obtained in the Anthony trade, who will now run D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense. This is such a scary thought that D’Antoni told the New York Post “”We think we moved the rock ahead but don’t get carried away that we’re challenging Miami and Boston because we’re not.” Stoudemire, Anthony era set to begin – NYPOST.com

Sounds like a coach ready to jump ship right? Or, at the very least, consider changing his offensive style! Seriously though, his statement is correct at least in the short-term. Several New York area teams have tried to win championships (hello New York Rangers also owned by Dolan I might add) by “buying” expensive players in the vain hopes that they’ll gel enough to subdue their competition by star power alone. This is not how the current sports landscape works and the only hope now is that Anthony is actually a great player (averaging about 25 points per game). I can only hope as a forlorn Knicks fan that he settles down post-drama and buys in to the “team” mentality that Walsh and D’Antoni have fostered.  Otherwise, I see more rebuilding ahead…

Carmelo Anthony - photo courtesy of Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

A Moment in Time…Basketball Memories

As a disclaimer, I must admit that pro hoops is my least favorite of the four major sports which was not aided by the Knicks swan-dive into obscurity. However, there are some basketball moments that are forever ingrained in my head as I can remember exactly where I was when they happened (not easy now for my 35-year-old self!):

1)  John Starks’ dunk over Michael Jordan in the 1993 playoffs against the Bulls. Although they lost that series, who can forget the fake and subsequent baseline jam -with his left hand! – that left two Bulls in the dust. As Marv Albert said “Yes!” YouTube – John Starks dunks on the Bulls NBA Playoffs 1993 FULL

2) The Dream Team which played for the USA in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Although not technically an NBA moment, I remember watching that tournament and thinking it was the best team ever assembled regardless of sport – Jordan, Bird, Ewing, Magic, Barkley, Pippen, Malone, Stockton…I still can’t imagine how the late Chuck Daly decided who to put out there! Their average margin of victory was an astounding 44 points on the way to the Gold medal but the Dream Team was also the starting point for pros playing in future Olympics.

3) The “Malice in the Palace” otherwise known as the Pistons-Pacers brawl from the 2004 season was unbelievable on many levels. The most obvious was the involvement of fans as Ron Artest wanted retribution for having a cold drink thrown on him and stupidly decided to enter the stands. The subsequent arrests and suspensions not to mention injuries sustained by fans set off an era of increased security during games. I’m sure David Stern still cringes at the thought of it…YouTube – Malice in The Palace

4) Vince Carter’s 2000 all-star dunk contest appearance was, until yesterday, the best display of athleticism I’d ever seen. I can still remember sitting in a bar watching this with friends and being rendered speechless. In fact, I think the entire bar was silent. That between-the-legs windmill was even better to me that Jordan’s iconic foul line dunk which appeared on countless Nike posters. Even the other NBA players couldn’t believe it! YouTube – vince carter dunk

With that in mind, my Dad sent me a link to last night’s dunk competition as, being in London, I couldn’t watch live. Blake Griffin (who is unfortunate enough to play for the Clippers) reignited my interest in the NBA as that final dunk over the car was so outrageous that you can’t help but pay attention to a player like that. I can remember when his Oklahoma team lost to UNC in the NCAA tournament which the latter ultimately won. All the talk focused on the Hansbrough-Griffin match-up (Griffin’s stats were better) but a couple of years later, who are we talking about? I think Griffin has the potential to be his generation’s best player if only he can get away from the Clippers…

Once again, Clippers rookie Blake Griffin dunks over high expectations – Lee Jenkins – SI.com