A year of Wilber's Way: Of course we back MJ!

It's been a year since I went from standard sports nerd who would bicker to anyone who listened to a sports nerd with his own .com. It's hard to believe, but I have a couple special treats and thank-yous for you the fans that have made this space both a success and a blast for me to pen when I've gotten a chance in the past year.


I have to start the day with a discussion on Michael Jordan's comments regarding LeBron James and the trio that has formed in Miami. If you haven't read the comments, be sure to check them out, here.
Now before everybody jumps and asks what does MJ have to do with any of this, let me say he's one of the greats, of course some guy with a microphone on NBC is going to ask.
But I want to look at what he's saying for a minute. Michael is one of the fiercest competitors out there. And as he said he would have never called up Larry or Magic to join forces. And while it wasn't just him that won those six NBA titles, when the game was on the line, everyone, including Scottie, deferred to him to deliver. Then when MJ gave it up to Paxson, B.J. or Steve Kerr, they delivered.
I know you're thinking that Michael didn't speak up when Karl Malone and Gary Payton went to play for the Lakers. But look where they were in their careers. Both were in the twilights of it all and came on as role players to help Kobe. You almost wanted to see them win it.
And what about KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in Boston? KG had suffered for years in Minnesota, getting one real legit run with Sam Cassel and Latrell Spreewell. And Ray made noise in Milwaukee with the Bucks in 2001, but nothing before getting dealt to the Sonics and was looking for something big. It made sense and you felt for all three guys. Especially after the Celtics lost out on the No. 1 pick in the draft months prior to Danny Ainge making the trades to get that team together.
This Heat team is different, LeBron is coming off back-to-back MVP seasons and Dwyane Wade carried the team to an NBA title a couple years back. He just needed help. So he goes and gets Chris Bosh, who has not even played in a playoff game, as an inside presence, and said two-time MVP. It seems to me like LeBron doesn't want to be "the guy" when it matters and will defer to Wade in the crunch time. Now Bosh is no Magic or Bird, but Wade and James are two of the top three players in the NBA right now. Some compare it to the AAU mentality that a lot of the guys have in the league today, and I see it. Most of the top teams have ridiculous names on the same team because they are friends. It's not something we've seen in the NBA, EVER.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it's the move that will get the Heat many titles, not just one.

OK, moving on to some fun stuff as part of the year-celebration, I found this picture of Carl Pavano growing his mustache.


Now I'm all about a guy growing his mustache out as part of the team, but Jimmy Traina at SI.com's Hot Clicks does not even mention John Axford, who saved yet another game tonight for the Brewers after taking over for the all-time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman.


Decide for yourself which is better, but I'm going with the Ax!

Alright, now for the REALLY good stuff as part of the year celebration, the Nussie Hunter has not one, but two Nussies for your enjoyment.
The first is Anna Kournikova, who threw out the first pitch at a Cardinals game a couple days ago. I'm the farthest thing from a Cards fan, but she looks great in pig tails and the jersey, if I must say so. You can see more here.


Alright, now the second Nussie of the day has been all over the dude sites the past couple weeks and next month with grace the pages the Playboy. If you don't know her yet in America, you need to. Her name is Kelly Brook and she really hasn't done anything than be a WAG, but she looks damn good in a bikini, as you can see below. And check out a ton more, here!

In it for titles or just for the money King James?

At this point I'm not sure where LeBron is leaning or what the latest report from some ESPN knucklehead has him going, but I know this, it is a downright joke what this whole NBA free agency thing has turned into. I'm not the biggest NBA fan in the slightest sense (Had you talked to me in 1998 when a certain No. 23 was playing it would be a different story), but I know the teams on the radar are at various ends of the spectrum.
Cleveland is near his childhood home and the place where he is looked at like a God, so I don't see how that can be too far down the list of places for him to go. It is also, in the way the NBA does things, the place that can give him the most money. I don't know enough about the cast LeBron has there, but the Cavs did fall in the Eastern semis last year and didn't really put up much of a fight in getting knocked out the last two seasons so it's safe to say LeBron will need them to get him some help.
The Bulls are on the list and in the news that Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade signed with Miami went out and got Carlos Boozer today as their big man. So, mark that off the list of potential pickups for the Cavs and put it in the category of a maybe for the Bulls. As an outsider, I can't see how he can't play there. You have to remember that LeBron, like me, idolizes Michael Jordan and went so far as to change his number for the upcoming season, giving up that No. 23 in favor of No. 6 because he didn't think any player should wear it because of MJ. Keep the "Michael's shadow" stuff out of it for that factor and with the argument that every storied franchise has to have a line of great players. Plus, Michael owns the Bobcats now.
The Knicks did sign Amar'e Stoudamire, but I'm  not sold that makes them much better. Phoenix tried everything in its power to trade him off in recent years and no one would take him. Plus with D'Antoni in NY the only defense being played at the Garden will be that of courtside security. That's not LeBron's style.
New Jersey thinks it's in the race because they have money and Jay-Z. Well, I'm going to make this fact known, Jay-Z owns 1 more percent of the Nets than me. Note: I don't own ANY part of the Nets. So I'm not sure what he will get LeBron, either.
It comes back to Cleveland or Chicago for me. Chris Broussard of that lame four-letter network said this morning Miami was the front runner, but I'm not sure I can buy that. Yes it's a big three, but why wouldn't they have done everything today in terms of announcing where he was signing. It makes no sense to me in that way.
If he goes to New York or New Jersey, it will be completely about the money and I will lose a lot of faith in what LeBron is trying to do as a player in the NBA. Is he in it for money or winning titles? Both of those teams WILL NOT COME CLOSE TO WINNING A TITLE THIS SEASON! That is a fact.
Cleveland is his home team, so I can't fault him for staying there and I can almost see him taking less money to allow the team to go get a free agent. Chicago is the team that shows the most upside to me and allows him to play his true position and step in and roll. Going to either one of those teams seems like LeBron has his head on straight.
If you tell me it's all about marketing in NY and NJ, you're nuts. What didn't LeBron get in Cleveland that he didn't get in NY in that regard? The only reason he leaves, I feel, is if he sees nothing is going to come around in terms of the front office getting him a supporting cast that would allow him to shine and win an NBA title.


If you're a Brewers fan and have any sort of connections on Facebook or Twitter, you probably already saw that picture there today, but it is begging for me to talk about it.
Adam McCalvy has the details on what the new scoreboard, which I was told will cost $12 million by a Miller Park tour guide earlier this year, will be like next season.
For those, like the Brewers Bar here, who think it is a bit too much, are forgetting a key in what the Brewers brass are doing.
First, that money comes from the stadium fund from the five counties and the sales tax collected, so don't say they should use the money to buy players just yet. Also, it's been in the works for a couple years. Have you seen the current video board? It's antiquated and will not get a tune up this year with the new toy looming for the offseason.
Second, Miller Park has been on the front end of MLB stadiums and pro sports stadiums since it was built. This is the next step in keeping it among the best. Back in the County Stadium days the black and white video board was top of the line for about a month before color was the order of the day and it never got updated. So get the park 1080p and Hi-Def that makes it one of three MLB parks and five professional venues in the country to have one and it is among the elite.
Just look around baseball, like Yankee Stadium, and there isn't much it has that Miller Park doesn't. If anything, Miller Park's roof (minus the leaks) make it the one thing other parks should have. I have been to other parks and back in Milwaukee we have a gem. And I'm not just saying that because I've been to almost 70 games in the last three years at Miller Park. I'd rather they upgrade instead of letting it rot away.


Now finally something we can all agree on. Not sure how many of you have been following the World Cup, but the final is set and it is going to be Spain and the Netherlands. That means Paraguay is out of it. That's disappointing because Larissa Raquelme said she'd run naked through her home country with just body paint covering her if her team won the title. Well, if only you could see the disappointment on my face seeing that she will not be running through the streets with body point. Here's a link to some great photos and a sampling below.