Look at what I found in the closet

MIAMI -- Some of us have skeletons in our closets.

In addition to those, I've got old notebooks and tablets, too.

Buried in a suitcase in my wife's closet was pure reporter's gold -- or something close to it. Digging through one of the piles in there, I found a bundle of notebooks where I had kept daily entries from Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh's first preseason as Miami Heat teammates.

I had been wondering for months where they were, and figured I had left them somewhere in a hotel on the road during the season. The timing of this discovery was perfect. Exactly a year ago this week, the Heat lost their highly-anticipated season opener at Boston and won their home opener against Orlando.

It was a humble start for one of the most gifted and galvanizing teams in the history of professional sports. We know the story ended with Miami's six-game series loss to Dallas in the NBA Finals.

Yet, there's an urge to re-live the experience anyway. What else is there to do as we wait out what we hope are the last laps of this lockout labor dispute that has delayed the start of the season? Collateral damage from this lockout is everywhere.

Before my man card is temporarily suspended, please allow me to explain why I was even hanging out in my wife's closet in the first place. I had no choice. NBA commissioner David Stern and Players' Union chief Billy Hunter haven't done me many favors over the last 120 or so days.

I lost a bet. Or, perhaps I came up on the short end of an ultimatum. The wife and kids are tired of me hanging around the house waiting out this lockout. So about a month ago, I boldly claimed that if this lockout doesn't end by the date the Heat's season started a year ago, name the house chore. I'll do it.

So as I'm separating the high-heels from the sneakers, I get to a suitcase that was borrowed from my side of the closet. And there they are. Quotes, notes and anecdotes from the weeks and days leading up to the Heat's Oct. 26, 2010 showdown with the Celtics.

Looking back, it's amazing how prophetic some of the statements were from the Heat. Yes, you remember how it ended. But it's amazing how much may have slipped your mind from the early start.

Exact dates from these notebooks are sketchy, but these preseason details easily jar the memory. So I'll take a break from my own lockout labor and share 10 soundbites from this time a year ago that essentially projected just how hot the Heat's season would get.

• Forward Udonis Haslem (on his message from a team meeting before the opener): “This is going to be the toughest season any of us probably have ever encountered. We've got to prepare for everything.”
  
  Back story: Haslem couldn't have imagined it would turn out as grueling as it did. The Heat's co-captain dedicated the season in the memory of his mother, who died from cancer last year. He was also dealt another blow when he sustained a foot injury in November that cost him most of the season.
  
• Coach Erik Spoelstra (on reminding the team of its 2006 championship success during that same team meeting on the eve of the opener): “I brought out the Larry O'Brien trophy. Let it sit behind me. And for the first 10 or 15 minutes, no one looked at me -- which is good.”
  
  Back story: Wade would pull a similar move on the eve of the NBA Finals, when he brought out his championship ring, which he rarely removes from his home safe, during a team dinner. The Heat were on the verge of a reunion with O'Brien after taking a 2-1 series lead, but lost three straight games.
  
• LeBron James (on potential cohesion issues with Wade and Bosh): “I can't defer. I don't have to. I'm never in defer mentality. I'm always in attack mode.”
  
  Back story: Critics can feast off the juxtaposition of that quote and the position LeBron would find himself in some eight months later amid his fourth-quarter struggles in the Finals. Who could see this coming, especially with LeBron being most adamant among the Big 3 about not changing his game.
  
• Wade (on fallout from season-opening loss to Boston): “Least of our worries. This is one of 82. Sorry if everyone thought we (were) going 82-0. It wasn't going to happen.”
  
  Back story: The Heat wouldn't go 73-9 to surpass the Bulls regular-season record, either, as some rather outlandish analysts would suggest. In fact, they wouldn't even win 60. But 58-24 was enough for third-best in the league and ended up landing the Heat homecourt advantage in the Finals. But it was a money quote at a money moment from Wade at the height of his sarcasm.
  
• Heat president Pat Riley (on circus atmosphere he anticipated around the Heat from his training camp press conference): “I coached Showtime (Lakers). And I've been in New York. Frenetic was normal. Just let this team be what it can … or not.”
  
  Back story: That became Riley's private plea throughout the season. His embrace-the-process-and-disregard-the-madness mantra served the Heat well in controversies that ranged from Spoelstra's job security to injuries that claimed Haslem and Mike Miller to the LeBron-led shortcomings in the Finals.
  
• Spoelstra (on adjusting in training camp to LeBron's impact on the team): “We want him to feel comfortable. He's a two-time MVP. We want to incorporate that greatness into what we do. It's better when you've got two guys who can do that.”
  
  Back story: The MVP-level talent from LeBron and Wade would lead the Heat to a lot of victories. But there were also plenty of times when their games overlapped and led to questions about roles. It's one blessing/curse that remains an unresolved dilemma entering the upcoming season. Ultimately, Wade and LeBron must more sharply define their roles in key moments of games.
  
• Wade (on hamstring that set him back in preseason): “I'm not a stranger to minor setbacks. I'm a professional at that.”
  
  Back story: Unfortunately for the Heat, they were never a team that played at full strength during their first go-around last season. Wade's injury robbed him of the entire preseason and forced him to limp into the regular season. Miller was also lost to thumb surgery during that time, and weeks later, Haslem went down with foot surgery. From an injury standpoint, Miami certainly was no stranger to setbacks.
  
• NBA commissioner David Stern (on his reaction to learning where LeBron was headed in free agency): “It was before the 'Decision.' I didn't know how much was going to be written. It wasn't like, 'Who?' It was more like, 'Hmm.'”
  
  Back story: Stern actually said this last July at the Las Vegas summer league, but it's as obvious now as it was then that there would be league-wide discomfort and a level of disdain throughout the season. The “Hmm,” part of the quote said it all, didn't it? This lockout shouldn't be blamed on LeBron, but rest assured that how the 'Decision' went down is an episode the league doesn't ever wish to view again.
  
• Bosh (on prepping to visit Boston in opener): “They're supposed to hate you. You're the opposing team. And it's Boston. They hate people a little more than usual cities.”
  
  Back story: If I had a dollar for every time I'd hear or write the word 'hate' involving the Heat last season, I'd buy the New Orleans Hornets, move them to Seattle -- pending the construction of a new arena. Bosh certainly didn't hold back any punches on that quote. Don't count on him ever taking over for Kevin Garnett at power forward somewhere down the line for the Celtics.
  
• LeBron (on one of his missions as a member of the Heat): “It feels right … to be in this position. We're going to make the world know, not just the league, that the Heat is back.”

Back story: Courtesy of the much-maligned press conference pep rally the day Wade, James and Bosh signed their Heat contracts. LeBron's addition made the Heat relevant, viable, formidable and an annual favorite to win a title as long as they're together. Love them or loathe them, people will invest tons of emotion in the Heat. They'll always be the lead story. But will they earn championship glory?

Of course, that can only be answered once the lockout ends -- if it ends.

For now, it's back to being locked in the closet.
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You never know what you'll find in the midst of a potential season being lost.

Heat owner Micky Arison deletes tweet

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Micky Arison deleted a tweet on Friday night that could have warranted a fine from the NBA.

You can say this for Miami Heat owner Micky Arison: in a time where the NBA is heavy on rhetoric and soaking in veiled dislike he’s refreshingly honest. At least on his Twitter feed.

Arison looks exactly like you’d expect a Miami billionaire to look. He’s has a perpetual tan, untamed flowing hair and a constant smile. He wears his shirts untucked, jeans and leather jackets. He’s been fantastically wealthy his entire life and it shows.

He attends nearly every Heat home game and regularly comes to practices, though he never comes off as overbearing. He hired Pat Riley away from the Knicks -- bending the rules to do so -- and ended up giving him one of the best compensation packages in the history of sports executives to run his team. And he lets him do so and has generally been rewarded for it. Even when the Heat lose, life can’t be too bad, he’s still worth $4.2 billion and has 100 cruise ships.

Over the summer, Arison joined Twitter. For those who have followed him from the start, it has been a wonderful ride. For weeks it was pictures from various ships across the Mediterranean and Italian wine and cheese plates along the Amalfi Coast as he vacationed and conducted at-sea business in Europe. This is what it is to be one of the world’s richest men and Arison shared willingly while reminding followers regularly about how much fun they can have on a Carnival Fun Ship.

When Arison returned to the states, though, is where NBA fans should have started paying attention. Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban may use Twitter to give out financial options, Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert uses it to combat bloggers, Blazers' owner Paul Allen uses it to refute rumors and celebrate his various franchises and Warriors’ owner Peter Gruber uses it to send out articles and videos.

Arison uses it to keep it real.

After a long day of failed negotiations in New York recently, Arison said he was going out for a great steak.

After a setback that assured many of his Heat employees would have to take 25 percent pay cuts, Arison asked for restaurant recommendations in Seattle.

After Dwyane Wade back talked David Stern during a session, Arison let out a virtual laugh and branded it “a friendly chat.” Seriously, the stuff is gold because it seems to be exactly how Arison and at least some of his fellow owners feel about the NBA lockout dragging into its fourth month. These guys aren’t giving many interviews, after all.

Friday night, though, Arison hit some new heights in apparently blowing off some steam after a long week. Even billionaires do that on Friday nights.

In a series of tweets that he actually later seemed to regret a tad and might even get him fined by Stern, Arison continued to be himself while offering a valuable window into the cloudy world that’s currently obscuring the league.

When one fan asked: "How's it feel to be apart of ruining the best game in the world? NBA owners/players don't give a damn about fans ... and guess what? Fans provide all the money you're fighting over ... you greedy (expletive) pigs."

Arison’s reply might upset some people but, again, at least it seemed to come from a rare honest place: "You are barking at the wrong owner."

That one, which certainly seemed to confirm the union’s long-standing contention that there’s discord within the ownership ranks, Arison deleted a short time later. But not before plenty of people saw it as fellow owners, league executives and players zipped it around cyberspace and added their own, more private, commentary.
When another fan asked Arison what he thought about Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling, he replied with a simple “lol.”

Just refreshing truth. Everyone has always suspected Sterling’s peers laughed at him. Though as Sterling would probably point out if he owned the same type of Twitter honest Arison should be getting credit for, he’s always run his team at a profit and has done plenty of laughing back at them. But that’s another topic.

When one fan suggested that competitive balance among “all 32 teams” was an “unrealistic and stupid idea,” Arison re-tweeted it with a smiley face. Of course the only owner who currently has three All-Stars in his starting lineup plus the city of Miami on his side in future free agency would feel this way, everyone already knew that. But it was nice for Arison to verify it.
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He deleted that tweet, too, perhaps at an employee’s suggestion. Though later he clarified the smile was for the 32 teams mistake (there’s 30), not the competitive balance principle. It may have been the first bending of the truth Arison’s been guilty of on Twitter.

So if you want to get some of the best stuff going around on this lockout, by all means make sure to follow

NBA lockout not good for the shoes

When NBA rookie and Under Armour endorser Kemba Walker is asked if youngsters will keep buying basketball shoes if the NBA loses the season to lockout, he doesn't hesitate.

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  LeBron James' shoes during the South Florida All Stars Classc in Miami on Oct. 8.

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LeBron James' shoes during the South Florida All Stars Classc in Miami on Oct. 8.

"I think all my fans will," said Walker, the No. 1 draft pick of the Charlotte Bobcats starring in an ad campaign touting UA's entrance into the basketball showe market. "The kids are still playing basketball in high school and college. So they're still going to buy the shoes. As long as they want them, they'll get them."

But industry experts are not as optimistic. Basketball shoe marketers such as Adidas, Nike and UA, and national retailers such as Foot Locker, could lose up to $500 million in sales if the 2011-12 NBA season is wiped out, says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the worldwide market research company NPD Group. That's roughly 25% of the $2 billion basketball sneaker market, Cohen said.

About 33% of all basketball shoes are purchased to play basketball, Cohen said. That leaves 67% of the sales from consumers going for the association with an endorser such as Nike's LeBron James— or with the NBA itself, Cohen said.

"The impact would be huge," he said. " Out of sight, out of mind. If the players are not on the court, and the kids aren't thinking about them, they're not going out and getting their shoes."

Nike is thinking along the same lines. One of their TV spots, which aired before halftime of Sunday night's NFL game, is under the slogan "Basketballneverstops." James and Dallas Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki are among the featured NBA players in action.

"Like all basketball fans, we look forward to the lockout being resolved," Nike spokesman Brian Strong said. "But in the interim, we also know that basketball never stops. Through our campaign, we are celebrating the never-ending spirit of the game and the players who love it."

Matt Powell of sporting goods industry analyst SportsOneSource thinks the retail fallout from a lockout is overblown. Basketball sneaker sales were not badly hurt by the 1998-99 lockout, he said. He cites a different impact.

"Kids are still going to play basketball and they're going to need shoes regardless whether the NBA plays or not," Powell said. "Where brands could get hurt is exposing consumers to new styles."

Powell notes that Nike's Jordan brand controls 70% of the business, and Michael Jordan hasn't laced them up on an NBA court since the last lockout.

The company hit hardest, Powell believes, would be Adidas, which is about halfway through an 11-year deal as official outfitter of the NBA. Powell estimates Adidas could lose up to half of its $250 million to $300 million in sales generated annually from licensed NBA merchandise.

Despite the lockout, Adidas is seeing strong sales from endorser Derrick Rose's new signature shoe, the adizero Rose 2, company spokeswoman Stephanie Von Allmen said. Adidas' basketball business grew 25% in the company's last fiscal quarter, she said.

"We hope an agreement is reached as soon as possible. … The global game is bigger than ever before," Von Allmen said, "and the U.S. market continues to grow, with more than 28 million people playing basketball nationwide last year."

g NBA players as athletic endorsers have not taken a hit. For now. McDonald's, for example, is not re-evaluating its sponsorship deal with Miami Heat forward LeBron James.

"McDonald's relationship with LeBron James hasn't changed," company spokeswoman Ashlee Yingling said.

But for the league's national sponsors, including Nike, Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola, the lockout situation is tricky, said international marketing expert Al Moffatt, president/CEO of Worldwide Partners, the world's largest international network of owner-operated advertising and marketing communications companies.

Do sponsors pull TV commercials featuring NBA superstars such as Rose, James, Heat teammate Dwyane Wade or Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant? Do they cancel sweepstakes and other promotions planned for the new season?

The national TV partners will likely offer sponsors "make-good" spots for any TV ads scheduled to run in canceled games, Moffatt said. But he said they could be hurt financially if they were planning elaborate consumer sweepstakes promotions.

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Selena Gomez win the Teen Choice Awards

Selena Gomez win the Teen Choice Awards


Selena Gomez conjured five wins at the Teen Choice Awards.The star of “Wizards of Waverly Place” was selected as choice tv actress, female hottie and audio tracks set with her strap The Scene. The set also was awarded the choice individual trophy for “Who Says” and adore tune for “Love You Like a adore Song,” which the 19-year-old actress-singer done at Sunday’s ceremony at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Gibson Amphitheatre.

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