King Me

This cover from 6 seasons ago may actually be more relevant now,
should the Heat continue their winning ways.

Like many people, I never really cared for the title that LeBron James carried from the moment he entered the league. In seven seasons with the Cavaliers, James led them to the NBA Finals once and another additional trip to the Eastern Conference Finals - but was never able to win a title there. Granted, he didn't have the best teams around him, but elite players (no matter who is around them) get viewed strictly on their rings. The nickname "King James" hasn't been earned just yet.

But I feel that it is about to.

James and company are on the brink of making it to the NBA Finals, where they would likely face the Dallas Mavericks (barring a collapse). As long as the Heat make the Finals, I believe they will be a favorite over Dallas - despite the roll that Dirk is on right now.

And the main reason for them being the favorite is LeBron James.

James didn't win 2 MVPs in Cleveland on accident. He won them because he was the epitome of the award - the most valuable player to the Cavs, who would have never been in that position without him (this year's utter collapse shows how important James was to the Cavs).

To start this year, Lebron and company struggled to find a rhythm together and often had a tough time closing out close games - with none of the Big 3 stepping up to be "The Guy" in those situations. This includes three close games against the Bulls, games which didn't feature clutch shots by Wade or James, but rather Kyle Korver and Luol Deng. The Heat went 0-3 against the Bulls, losing by a combined 8 points.

The playoffs has been a new season for the Heat, who are now 11-3 in the playoffs and looking for their third straight 4-1 series win if they can close out the Bulls on Thursday. While James' averages don't necessarily show any big improvements from regular season to playoffs (outside of the one less turnover a game he is averaging), he is passing the eye-test as a leader down the stretch of games now.

There will be detractors who say that the Heat should be doing this and that James shouldn't get recognized for what he's doing. After all, in his ill-orchestrated "Decision", he did make a heel turn and join Pat Riley's suddenly "evil" Miami Heat to join fellow All-Stars Wade and Bosh. With that talent, everyone expects the Heat to win the title.

However a team may be composed, it shouldn't matter. Teams are designed through free agency, draft and through trades. People are annoyed that the Heat designed the core of their team through free agency, even though that really just applies to James and Bosh because Wade was drafted by Miami. And for the most part, at least under the Paxson era, much of the Bulls core was built via draft. The championship rings they get for winning championships don't change based on how you build you team.

The aforementioned early-season issues in the regular season were celebrated wildly by the public with each passing def-Heat. Many (including myself) questioned whether it would take a season or two for them to gel and get into championship form.

While they are still 5 wins away from that goal, I feel like they have a much better chance than I ever gave them credit for. And the reason for that is Lebron.

His reign may be about to be starting before the NBA's very eyes.

End of an Era: Bookmaker (2007-2011)

If you are reading this, you are likely friends with me on Facebook. Posted earlier today, I lamented on the loss of my sportsbook, Bookmaker. The US Department of Justice and Homeland Security seized its domain today, as seen in the image below:

Bookmaker's death sentence, as handed down by The United States of Big Brother

Tim Wolf first brought this to my attention yesterday, saying that Bookmaker already had an alternate site ready to use in the event of site seizure. The takeover was official today, leaving millions of gamblers such as myself looking for new ways to get the gambling itch fixed. Trust me - people will get their gambling done one way or another.

The seizure of their site (and other poker sites a month ago and I'm sure numerous other sites in the near future) begs the question: in a free country that proclaims democracy and freedom to make choices as individuals, why is it illegal for Americans to gamble on sports outside of Vegas? Some states (Delaware and Oregon for example) allow very limited sports gambling, but Nevada is the only state where sports gambling is legal.

The amount of money that other states could make from sports gambling is sick to think about.  I have at least 10 friends who would love having the ability to sit at a local casino and bet the sports that we have been betting online and through other venues for years - and we'd hardly be the only ones. Not only that, but we'd be modestly gambling when compared to the high rollers - if it's anything like Vegas sports books. In my trips to Vegas, it wasn't uncommon to see guys wagering 10 to 100 times more in a given bet than me. Considering my average bet in Vegas ranges from $50-200, we're talking about a very profitable operation, especially since the book makes money on any gambler that doesn't hit more than 53% of their bets.

Other sites are still in operation for gamblers to use, but it's a matter of time before they get shut down. From what I read, it appears as though Bookmaker's problem (as it was for the banned poker sites) was for money laundering, not for the act of allowing American gamblers to deposit money onto their site.

Nevertheless, this wouldn't be a problem if gambling on sports was legal!

I suspect that Vegas lobbyists and America's desire to limit freedoms (not expand them) as part of their Mommy/Daddy role they play with their citizens are the main reasons that sports gambling is not legal.

They'll say they're protecting the poor from losing their money, but they don't give a rat's ass about that. If people will not lose their money with sports gambling (the way the government has it now), people will lose their money through other venues, many of them just as self-destructive as sports gambling (such as drinking, smoking and many other unhealthy ways).

The government tried Prohibition (didn't work); they've tried "Say No to Drugs" (many people "Said No to Nancy Reagan" and did and continue to use drugs anyways); they continue to try stopping people from being gay by attempting to ban gay marriage in particular states (won't work).

Now, the sports gambling spectrum, at least the online forum, is controlled by the government. If they think this won't drive people to underground methods (as it did to all of the above "bans" or "warnings"), they're dumber than I thought - which is saying a lot.

I'm willing to bet that this is not the end of my "Gambling Outside of Vegas" era. And instead of collecting money from me in a sports book, where some of my money would be going to the government via taxes, my money will be going elsewhere.

Suck it, government.