A Message from 1990's Charlie T.

90's Charlie T caught wind of the Gospel of Hustle debate and decided to cast his two cents into the chatter. 90's Charlie T has email, but isnt totally comfortable with it yet as a communication tool. He just likes to IM. The following is a except from his chat with 2010 Charlie T.

chuckt90_33: (9:36 AM) I really like Coach Spo. He talks about defense and adversity and is never satisfied. He probably spends four hours every morning and four more before bed locked in a room with Riles and Zo. Thats the only way to explain his dedication to the message. He is scared to death about what will happen if he strays from the Heat Way, knowing that he will have to answer to both of them.

charlie_T2010: (9:41 AM) Never underestimate the power of Alonzo's scowl or Riley's silence.

chuckt90_33: (9:42 AM) Exactly. One will tear your arms clean off and the other will find you a cozy place at the bottom of Biscayne Bay. I'm glad to see the two of them keeping the Heat Way alive. It seems like everyone is buying in too...except for JaChris Boshburn. I always wondered why Riley put up with Mashburn. The guy just wanted to put up threes from the corner. And when we brawled with the Knicks, he was looking for the back door, like the prep school kid in a bar fight.

charlie_T2010: (9:50 AM) Yeah, Bosh really fits that Mashburn role. Mash was third fiddle to Zo and Hardaway, and without the grittiness of PJ Brown and Keith Askins. We needed Mash at the time because points were at a premium though. Even if he was a bit soft.

chuckt90_33: (9:53 AM) A bit soft?! The guy couldn't crack an egg even if he smashed it against his forehead. He was unbelievable. Just like this Bosh guy. You saw what he said about getting hurt during a scramble for a loose ball. Please. I'd be surprised if he wasn't really hurt, but suspended by Riley for being a pansy.

charlie_T2010: (9:58 AM) So you agree with Spike? I mean I know Bosh is soft, but he does what we need him to. 18 and 10 and then stays out of the way.

chuckt90_33: (10:01 AM) Of course I agree with Spike on this one. Spike once rooted for a guy who wrestled WWF. I rooted for teams who wrestled on the floor. Toughness is part of our basketball fan DNA. What happened to you? Remember when the Heat would roll into MSG? What we saw in Cleveland may have been loud, but it wasn't as fierce as what we saw in New York or Chicago or Indiana. That was true hatred. And The Decision? Riles FAXED in his resignation. Thats what villains and tough guys do. They body slam when they box out and they fax in their resignation. They don't whine about an ankle. They play with one kidney and a cocktail of meds just so they can stay alive! They shred their knee getting back on D, and then rehab even though they are going to retire anyway. Who cares about 18 and 10. My little sister can put up 18 and 10 shooting 20 footers. I'm disappointed in you, future me.

charlie_T2010: (10:09 AM) I

chuckt90_33: (10:09 AM) You need to get back to your roots. You're in love with the fast breaks and the highlights against the Warriors.

charlie_T2010: (10:09 AM) I guess you're right. I am looking past some of the pretty boy stuff going on. But Wade is a tough guy. So is Bron. Udonis. Eddie House will mix it up. James Jones is taking charges. Big Cat is bustin up guys even when he's on the bench in a suit (see vs Ron Artest). I don't even like Bosh that much. So what if he is soft. We are winning.

chuckt90_33: (10:12 AM) We are winning now. But what happens when KG pushes him around in the Playoffs. Or when Bogut mixes it up with him. Or when Noah has his way. He wont be getting his usual then. He'll be getting his swim trunks ready to go chill.

charlie_T2010: (10:14 AM) I see your point. Right now he would be getting the PJ Brown hustle like Pau Gasol got in 08.

chuckt90_33: (10:15 AM) There you go. Stop pretending the regular season matters. For the teams that have a shot, its a chance to get it figured out, and right now Bosh needs to do a lot of that. And for our sake, I hope he does.

charlie_T2010: (10:18 AM) I hope so too. I know they are listening to the doubters because they've done a lot of disproving so far. Turning into a team so quickly, Bron and Wade playing well together, getting it done with a four headed center, making it work with a minimum salary roster.

charlie_T2010: (10:20 AM) I'm glad we had this little chat. I have been too soft on my guys. I'm just excited to have some hope...and some exciting basketball to watch. But you're right. I am not giving it the full Zo effort. I'm standing by the back door when i should be mixing it up.

spike_dub_12 (10:23 AM) And on the fourth day, there was light.

Agreed to Terms

Just moments after The Decision, I received this text message from Spike - "mild hate and pure envy". I am only assuming it was a reference to me about LeBron taking his talents to South Beach and my beloved Heat, though he could have been referring to this fascinating project. (we'll get to that in the next couple days) I needed a little more time to sort through my feelings about the Heat's off-season transactions. I've been through a lot in 15+ years as a Heat fan; a kidney transplant, a Championship, a 25 win season, taking a chance on a kid from Marquette, learning to tolerate Shaq, all of sport-dom discounting the 2006 title because the Heat were somehow the only team in history to get a bogus call or two, a 16 win season, the New York Knicks (4 straight playoff eliminations, 3 in the first round even as the higher seed), Jermaine O'Heal, the Mike Beasley Experience, Clarence Weatherspoon, PJ Brown and Charlie Ward, Allan Houston, both Van Gundy's (one around Zo's leg) and Riles. I'm not saying I have been a tortured fan (though somewhere in the spring of 2003 I was beginning to wonder) but there have been some highs and lows to say the least.

Let me first address my feeling about the backlash of doubt and negativity.

Spike's sentiments could be easily applied to the majority of America's feelings about the Decision, but the problem is nobody will admit to it. The NBA has needed a bad guy since Kobe started winning again, so it seems that everyone is doing their best to make LeBron the league's foil. Had he gone to Chicago would there have been this backlash? New York? New Jersey? the reasoning for deciding on anyone of those destinations is about as reasonable as going to Miami to play with Wade and Bosh.(side note: everyone is saying Bosh is the lucky one in this off-season, raising his stock far beyond its worth. I say its Joakim Noah. He was labeled numerous times as an "elite big man". Sorry but that term is reserved for big men who average more than 10 and 10, and don't wear clown suits to the draft.) Anyway, its been astonishing to see how quickly everyone has forgotten what an incredible athlete LeBron James is. He is the two time reigning MVP. The country has been awing over his abilities on the basketball court for 9+ years. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 16 AND actually lived up to the hype. I have been very critical of LeBron over the years, but I have never doubted his basketball playing abilities. If the league needs a supervillian that bad, then thats fine. But I think that stigma is going to fade rather quickly once tip-off rolls around. We'll see more #6 Heat jersey's pop up around the country in the first week of November than we saw Chris Broussard in the first week of July.

So take Spike's words to heart and if they don't seem to do the trick, try this little line from the mid 90's: The past is gone but something might be found to take it's place -- Hey jealousy

Now to address my feelings.

I've never been good at being the front runner. I cringed as people made title and win predictions. I wanted the numbers from one to seven to go right back into LeBron's mouth. I tried to down play the potential of this team. I did everything I could to take things back to the Shaq vs Zo days, when someone else was the clear #1 and my guy(s) was/were the underdog. I also didn't want to be like all the Lakers/Cowboys/Yankees fans that I've hated my who life. I didn't want to be the guy who was the fan of the superteam, the highlight reel darlings, the team force fed to the public. I didn't want to have to explain to everyone who knows little about me that I have been a Heat fan my whole, post-2nd grade, life. I didn't want to be seen as the band wagoner. But over the course of the weekend following the LeBronal Conclave, the text messages started pouring in. Family and friends, acquaintances, people I hadn't heard from in years, high school friends that I was certain didn't have my number, and even people at the grocery store began congratulating me. My fears began to dissolve with every text message and I began to embrace the future. Then Beasley was shipped off. And Udonis came back. And Shaq was told "No Thanks". And Fisher went back to the Mamba. And Mike Miller came. And suddenly it was looking more and more like a team full of guys I could root for, guys I knew, guys I didn't have to brainwash myself into liking. I'm still not going to make a single prediction about wins or titles. But I will say that I am going to have the time of my life following this team, even if they are going to be front and center on ESPN and ABC for the next half decade.

Now to end with a collection of Heat related thoughts.

I never doubted Riley's power of persuasion and motivation. I mean he got Shaq, GP, 'Toine AND White Chocolate to play some semblance of basketball together...and get in shape. But I had myself talked into Amare and Joe Johnson several times. I was going to be okay with Gay and Boozer. I was hoping for Bosh and filler. I never would have really imagined this would happen.

I still don't know what to make of the "celebration" other than it was nice to see Wade back in the #3 and being flanked by #1 and #6 that didn't include the names Dorell or Mario.

I have always liked Dan LeBatard and I'm glad to being seeing more and more of him.

This < This

I don't think LeBron left any unpaid debts in northeast Ohio.

Zo played better than Shaq in the '06 Finals, period.

Meet Me In The Mourning. Or At Least The Middle

We can forgive Charlie T for being a bit of a homer. The face of his favorite franchise just hung it up like Junior Brown. Well, no one hangs it up like Junior Brown. But, then again, nobody was quite like Alonzo Mourning.

You can call this post a non-aggressive attempt to sway this blog to a more objective place. And I say that, fully admitting that there will always be a place for homer-ism here. We like to hear Bill Simmons talk about the Sox, Celts, and Pats. We like that Cameron Crowe worked Xavier McDaniel into Singles. Those things are endearing.

So let's meet in the middle, Charlie T.

WHO WAS ZO? THESE ARE THE FACTS.

- Certainly one of the best defensive centers ever after Bill Russell. He was a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. While he played in the league, ballots practically arrived to voters with his name already punched. That's how often he was on the All Defensive Team.

- Speaking of punches, Zo was a fighter. Sure, he mixed it up on the court and had his share of scuffles, but I'm talking about another kind of fight. And that's the fight to come back after a kidney transplant and get an NBA championship. Committing to play D in the NBA is already a sign of heart, but he reached new levels of Unquestionability. Maybe we should call it, in honor of Zo, "having kidney," i.e. "that kid showed a lot of kidney laying out for that loose ball..." Maybe that's inappropriate.

- He was highly decorated. Gold medalist, First and Second Team All-NBA (during a period of particularly good centers), NBA All Star, All Rookie Team,

- He will always be connected to Shaquille O'Neal. They were drafted 1-2 and had a semi-documented rivalry that- come on, Charlie T- O'Neal owned. In the end, it was the Shaq/Wade combo that got Zo his ring. And, Charlie T, don't undersell the impact of Bennett Salvatore and/or Ring Wraith Posey.


- He couldn't get along with Grandmama. His inability to coexist with Larry Johnson got him shipped out of Charlotte, where he led the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. Now, tell me, if a team is willing to trade Player A (their scoring, rebounding, and blocked shot leader) to keep Player B happy, what does that say about Player A? Further, such was the animosity between LJ and Zo, that Zo went after Knick Grandmama in the famous Van Gundy Grabs Leg Brawl and brilliantly got himself suspended for the 5th and Deciding Game. That's showing some serious kidney, there.

- He complained his way out of his jersey. Literally. The Nets held onto him through his kidney troubles, only to be badtalked once he got back in the game. He vented to the media, which is the classiest way out if you ask, say, Starbury.

- Once Unhappy Zo was traded, he refused to report to his new team, the Raptors. "Pulling A Rony Seikaly" isn't a compliment.

- Despite these character assassinations, the guy is very, very charitable. He has a foundation that does amazing things and helped found Athletes For Hope. Something must've been in the water when he and Dikembe were at Georgetown because both of these guys do a lot of good.

- He was in a Hootie & The Blowfish video. I guess that could've gone in the charities' bullet. Emphasis on bullet.

- He would be the Heat's first retired number. Except they already retired numbers for Michael Jordan and Dan Marino. No joke.

Alonzo Mourning Is Not Walking Through That Door

Neither is Tim Hardaway.

Some days the Heat could really use one or both of those guys. The team has a 14 year-old and a rookie splitting time at point guard. A three-headed monster at center that would make any of the center combos on Jordan's Bulls teams look like the Dream Team. Yet here Miami stands at the midway point, within reach of home court in the playoffs.

And they owe it all to the guy who isn't walking through the door. At Zo's retirement press conference, Riley called him "the tap root" of the culture that they wanted to set up with the organization. This team is everything that Mourning was: Resilient. Tough. Able to compensate for lack of size by being aggressive. Hard Working. And most importantly, Winning.

Mourning turned a team that was nothing into a perennial Eastern Conference power. Sure, Riley has had something to do with it, and now the addition of Dwayne Wade. But they are clearly not riding the legacy of Rony Seikaly or Grant Long, Harold Minor or Glen Rice. It was Mourning as Shaq's back-up who put them over the top in their title run, not Bennett Salvatore.

Mourning also had some bad timing. The most ironic being tearing his patella tendon and quadriceps on the anniversary of his kidney transplant. Everyone thought that December 19th would be the end of his career. Who would have guessed it would be 4 years after getting a new kidney?

The addition of Zo to this year's Heat would no doubt make the rag-tag group the toughest out in the playoffs this year. Instead, they will carry on without him, knowing that the future is getting brighter every step of the way.

And we all know LeBron and the rest of his 2010 buddies want to put on the same jersey that Zo wore.