Just recently, with the elimination of the Miami Heat, NBA fans were robbed of a chance to watch two former teammates and good friends compete against each other for a trip to the NBA Finals. While we didn’t get the Eastern Conference Finals matchup we wanted, we sure did in the West. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are battling it out for a trip to the NBA Finals, and it is must see TV.
The NBA has a lot of stars, but LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are on a level all their own. The trio has won seven MVP awards and will have a combined ten trips to the NBA Finals once they get underway. Regardless of the matchup, someone will be looking for revenge in the Finals. In 2012, LeBron beat Durant and won his first NBA Championship. Last season, Curry beat LeBron (without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving) and won his first NBA title (the first for the Warriors since 1975).
When LeBron James made the decision to stop chasing rings with buddy Dwyane Wade and return home to Cleveland, it became pretty clear to me that the only thing LeBron James cares about is making good on his promise to deliver a championship to the city of Cleveland.
At the time, LeBron had a better chance to win more championships and cement his legacy among the all-time greats by staying in Miami instead of bolting for Cleveland. They did just go to four-straight NBA Finals in his four years there. As unselfish of a basketball player that LeBron James is, he made the ultimate unselfish decision to leave the beaches of South Beach and return home to the cold and snowy state of Ohio. At the end of the day, this decision could damage his legacy and hurt him in the standings amongst the all-time greats when talking championships, but winning just one in Cleveland could trump the six that Michael Jordan won in Chicago.
Eight years ago this week, the Chicago Bears spent a second round draft pick on a largely unknown running back from the University of Tulane. Then Bears GM Jerry Angelo was well-known for two things: finding late round steals on defense and for being completely inept in selecting offensive players in any round.
When Angelo used the 44th overall pick on Matt Forte, just two years removed from major knee surgery, Bears fans all over the world groaned in unison.
But the player the Bears ended up with exceeded everyone’s expectations. In eight seasons, Forte became the face of the franchise.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl twice, set an NFL single-season record, and left the franchise second all-time in rushing yards and sixth in receiving yards.
In the video below, we spoke to Matt about his time with the Chicago Bears, what he remembers about his own draft experience, and teaming up with Verizon on the NFL Mobile App.
Sometimes, a person’s name says all you need to know about them. Steve Smith accomplished everything a basketball player could and was so smooth doing it that he never needed a nickname.
After growing up in Detroit, the 6-8 point guard attended college at Michigan State. He was named an All-American as a junior and senior, and hit a game-winning shot in the 1991 NCAA Tournament.
A couple months later, Smith was selected by the Miami Heat with the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft. His NBA career spanned 14 seasons. He was named an All-Star in 1998, won an Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Sydney games, and won an NBA championship in 2003 with the San Antonio Spurs.
In this video, the current NBA TV and CBS NCAA Tournament analyst spoke to us about his partnership with Harley Davidson and the Live Your Legend campaign, the experience of being an oversized point guard at Magic Johnson’s alma mater, running into the buzzsaw of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the late ’90s, and where he keeps his NBA championship ring.
2016 NFL Hall of Fame nominee and pro football legend Terrell Owens has teamed up with Butterfinger to make the Super Bowl bolder than ever before with the Bolder Than Bold campaign by asking players to bring back the boldest moves on the field – the touchdown dances. Butterfinger has offered to cover up to $50,000 for fines that may be incurred by any player boldly celebrating in the endzone.
In the video above, we asked T.O. about his potential Hall of Fame induction, if he ever used HGH or PEDs, and his favorite endzone celebration. Below are a few highlights:
Favorite touchdown celebration:
“My favorite was either the popcorn or the pom poms. I think those were two that were really kind of spur of the moment and impromptu. Sometimes, when you get in the moment, you have the best celebrations.”
Who gets into the Hall of Fame between him and contemporary Randy Moss:
“I’m definitely going to go with myself. I did it across the board, I did a little bit of everything. I did the little things, I did the intangibles. I blocked downfield, I played hard for four quarters, and with some people’s assessment of his play, he didn’t play 100% of the time.”
On Peyton Manning’s HGH/PED usage and if he ever used:
“No, man. What you see is a product of pure hard work, dedication in the weight room. I think (the speculation on Manning) is as ridiculous as Mike Martz’s comments about me leapfrogging his two guys (Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce) to get into the Hall of Fame. To look at Peyton Manning and think he’s on HGH? Really? He might be on some Butterfingers, but he ain’t on HGH!”
For more information on Butterfinger’s #BolderThanBold campaign, check out the YouTube Channel.
