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LeBron James wants you to meet the "Heatles"

"I see we sell out 99.1% on the road, so we call ourselves the Heatles off the Beatles... we [always] bring a great crowd" –  LeBron James

Gag me with a "chalk toss" :-/

By Eric Freeman

The Miami Heat trio of LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes), and Chris Bosh(notes) has been known by many names over the past few months, some clever, some not. There's The Big Three, and Miami Thrice, and even the SuperFriends.

All these nicknames have been cooked up by fans and media members, not the members of the team itself ... you know, because giving yourself a nickname is usually frowned upon. But no one told that to LeBron, who informed everyone of a new one after last night's 96-82 victory in Charlotte. From Ira Winderman for the Sun-Sentinel:

James, on the Heat's ability to pack the house even in Charlotte, "We call ourselves the ‘Heatles' like the Beatles."

Cool name, guys, especially because "Rolling Heatones" doesn't really flow off the tongue. I can't wait to hear new singles like "I Want to Hold Your Early Termination Option" and "Sgt. Spoelstra's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Oh wait, I have another: "Riley Raccoon."

Matt Moore of NBA Facts & Rumors has already done an excellent job matching the Heat to their Beatles counterparts, and it's both easy and difficult. James is a decent John Lennon and Wade is a solid Paul McCartney, but Chris Bosh is a reasonably awful fit for George Harrison and no role player is quite as goofily consistent (yet still not entirely useful) as Ringo Starr. In other words, this nickname is best because it uses the name "Heat" pretty well, not because it fits the team perfectly well.

Then again, Miami could make it better by winning several championships and changing the face of basketball for all future generations. At that point, they'll come close to matching the Beatles' influence, if not their popularity. And then LeBron can finally admit that he thinks he's bigger than Jesus.

(Image via Tauntr)


 

Dear LeBron, It's not the critic who counts...

Dear LeBron,

I saw your commercial... 

Let me share some advice that a wise president once said... words I live by, 

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."  Theodore Roosevelt 

Now, go play ball.

Sincerely,

Tom

Miami Heat Website Going With Picture Of LeBron James Today

I love The Onion :)

 

MIAMI—After much deliberation,members of the MiamiHeat.com web team decided today that the featured homepage image should depict Miami Heat small forward LeBron James playing basketball.

According to sources, the choice to go with a photograph of James was made in an early morning staff meeting. Several different image ideas were suggested, including LeBron James shooting a basketball, LeBron James passing a basketball, and LeBron James playing defense in a basketball game.

The selected photo will reportedly replace yesterday's picture of LeBron James standing on a basketball court and dribbling a basketball with one hand while pointing with the other.

"We like today's photo because it's an action shot, it's vibrant, and you can tell the crowd in the background is really enjoying the game," web editor Mark Christie said. "And it has LeBron James in it, as well."

"He's dunking," Christie added.

Christie told reporters that on any given day, his colleagues have a rough idea of which Heat player or players they want to feature on the website. Monday—according to Christie a high-traffic day—is typically reserved for a picture of LeBron James. On Tuesday, Christie said he likes to go with an alternate image of LeBron James. And on Wednesday, the web team typically selects a LeBron James picture that strikes a tone suitable for the site's midweek audience.

Thursdays, however, Christie said he likes to change it up by going with a picture of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James either laughing with each other, staring intensely at the action on the floor, or sitting next to each other on the bench.

Weekends are reportedly reserved for a three-shot of Wade, newly acquired forward Chris Bosh, and LeBron James, in which James is standing between the two holding a basketball.†

"Sometimes that weekend schedule goes completely out the window, though, and we'll just go with a picture of LeBron James," said assistant web editor Jarrod Brewer, adding that single images of Chris Bosh can be found on the website's "photos" page. "Especially if we have a really good photo of him. People would be surprised how often that happens. It's ultimately very fluid around here. Last Friday we were slated to have a photo of Chris Bosh and LeBron James, and then Mark said, 'It feels like a just-LeBron day to me. Let's go with him sweating.'"

Continued Brewer, "Also, I thought Mark's decision to go with LeBron James standing at a podium after a preseason game instead of a picture of Coach, um, Coach—the coach of the Miami Heat basketball team, yeah—was a really good call on Mark's part."

According to Christie, the main goal of MiamiHeat.com is to make the website feel like a unique experience for daily visitors. That is why, Christie noted, he likes to constantly change up the photos of LeBron James. If, for example, Christie uses a picture in the morning of the All-Star forward throwing chalk into the air, then during the afternoon he'll go with a more subdued photo of James sitting on the bench with a towel draped across his knees, drinking a cup of Gatorade.

"Mix is really important to me," Christie said. "If we go two days in a row with LeBron James smiling, then I'm not doing my job."

When asked why a photo of 16-year veteran Juwan Howard was featured in the site's top spot several weeks ago, Christie said that the incident was a huge mistake, that the person who posted it was immediately fired, and that the page was actually intended to feature LeBron James.

The LeBron Switch is Not About the Number

LeBron James is arguably the best player under 30 in the NBA, I don't think there is much debate.  So when he announced recently that "out of respect for Michael Jordan" he was going to wear the number 6 next year, there were a few eyebrows raised. There are currently 11 other players in the NBA who sport MJ's digits. 
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(Most notably Marcus Camby and Kevin Martin, least notably Stephen Graham and Jodie Meeks).  So why is LeBron so concerned about the number?  I think it's because he is already thinking of a change of scenery next year and a little spiffing up for the ole brand. Sure there are huge marketing benefits for changing numbers. You may recall Kobe going from 8 to 24 a few years ago.  That switch pushed him past LeBron in jersey sales.  But in this case, I don't think LeBron is worried about selling gear in the near future.  And with all due respect to both messieurs James and Jordan, it's not about honoring MJ.  If it were, LeBron would realize that Bill Russell, a #6, (11 championships to Jordan's 6) should be honored as well. I like LeBron and think he is great for the NBA.  But let's get real, changing numbers is not about honoring anyone. It's about positioning for next year and marketing.  LeBron is a brand, and every once and awhile, brands need to be freshened up.  So let's not hide the fact that LeBron is a savvy marketer as well as an amazing athlete. One other note... I have decided to change my name in honor of Tom Landry (or maybe Tom Cruise, or Tom's Shoes, or TomTom GPS...).  I'm taking nominations for a new name to begin wearing next year.  It needs to meet two critical criteria... first honor someone famous (but not too famous) and secondly, look good on a jersey :) FKA Tom Cuthbert