Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk June 25, 2006 When Bleacher Talk pegged the Miami Heat as a slight favorite to win the NBA championship, we had said that the main ingredient for the feat would be the experience of the team’s players on top of having the tandem of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. But I have to admit that there was one very crucial element that I missed. And this was the most obvious factor that gave Miami its first ever NBA title. The championship boiled down to who had the “bigger heart” to win it all. After being down 0-2 in the series, I guess it’s already academic that we don’t need a stethoscope to see how big Miami’s heart is. When two teams are fairly even in terms of manpower match-ups, statistics and win-loss records, the team with the bigger heart always comes out on top. It’s all about having the heart to win. Having a big heart makes one confident, full of hope and possess the kind of faith that is shock-proof, especially when their backs are against the wall. And how is thi

Bleacher Talk June 18, 2006 Call it MI-4 starring a special agent named D.Wade and his team called the Heat. Mission impossible? Maybe. Doable? Sure. But will it happen? I have to admit that after Games 1 and 2 and until around the last 5:30 mark of Game 3, I felt that Dallas had a good chance of sweeping the Miami Heat (and ruin my fearless forecast of a Miami championship). The Mavs had methodically defeated the Heat on their homecourt, and were only five minutes away from a commanding 3-0 lead when the Heat finally warmed up and declared, “Enough is enough!” So badly beaten were the Heat in the two games in Dallas that they didn't look like a team that belonged to an NBA Finals. Fans had questioned if this was the same Miami team that took out the Detroit Pistons in six games as the Heat played like mere shadows of themselves. How bad was it? Shaquille O'Neal's performance in Game 2 may have been the worst playoff game of his career as everything went right for th

Bleacher Talk June 11, 2006 Where and how does one start an analysis of the NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas? There are so many interesting highlights and side stories that the series has to offer, and these are hinged on the fact that the league and its fans are being treated to two first-timers in the finals who both deserve to win. This is why the series is going to be one of the best NBA Finals in the history of the league. Miami and Dallas in the finals? If you've been following the league since the 70's, you'd be surprised to hear that the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons or Spurs are not in the finals. Some other team(s) is in their place and they both happen to be products of the NBA's expansion of the 80's. And why do both teams deserve to win the championship? A championship for a team outside of the traditional powerhouses will be most welcome for the league and its fans, and will prove that you can win a championship even if you haven't been around

Bleacher Talk June 4, 2006 Bad Timing & Déjà vu Pacquiao confidant Rex “Wakee” Salud and lawyer Franklin “Jing” Gacal are being sued by Pacquiao’s American managers!!!??? Is this another gimmick or PR move cooked up by the promoters of Manny Pacquiao? Or is this for real? I wrote awhile back that there seems to be a well organized PR campaign for Pacquiao’s upcoming fight against Mexican Oscar Larios, and this included teasers and news on various issues that would add spice to local boxing’s biggest event of the year. But I’m afraid this one doesn’t look like being part of the grand script created by the PR team of July 2’s “Mano A Mano.” Team Pacquiao managers Shelly Finkel, Nicholas Khan and Keith Davidson have filed a suit against Salud and Gacal for “fraud and contract interference” as they negotiated with ABS-CBN for Pacquiao’s upcoming fight against Larios. It appears that Finkel and company weren’t pleased with the way Salud and Gacal did the nego work for Pacquiao’s MP Prom