DL533: There Is No Crying…There is NO CRYING…

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Ah, the bait and switch headlines that are so easy to write are so…easy…to write sometimes.

We do talk about the Heat (cough LEBRON cough) crying after another last-second loss, this time at the hands of the Chicago “Los Bulls.” Is crying a sign of cracking, or is it a sign of caring? Is there something endearing about an NBA team that cares so much about a regular season loss that players would cry — and the coach who’s clearly trying to save his job after a rough few weeks would tell everyone about it? The Heat really are a transcendent storyline to cover. It’s not all hype.

We use the Heat’s (sorry El Heat’s) emotions as a jump into the college game to bask in the glow of my favorite week of the year…conference championship tournament time. To me, this is actually better than the NCAA Tournament, from the early part of the week with teams fighting for bubble slots to the one-bid leagues crowning champions all making way for theREAD MORE

DL485: SLAM’s Lang Whitaker on Hoops History, LeBron & NBA v. EPL Parity

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LeBron's 2004 SLAM cover

Lang Whitaker of SLAM Magazine is one of the co-authors of FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History. Go buy it, now.

Lang and I talked a lot on Tuesday night at the FreeDarko party about many of the topics I brought up on Wednesday’s show, so it made too much sense to have him on today to discuss that, and a whole lot more, about the goings on in the NBA.

We talk a bit about the book, his role and try to put this iteration of the game of basketball into proper historical context. Is the game — and the NBA — better off now than it was when the Knicks were winning games in the 70s and 80s? I’m talking point totals, not generations, by the way.

We spend a good deal of time talking about perception and reality of the league, fighting and why David Stern has been so hell-bent on cleaning up the game during his tenure, even though the game is far cleanerREAD MORE

LeBron James Was Extremely Candid With Reporters Last Night

Last night saw the opening of the NBA season and it was obvious the league wanted to showcase the Miami Heat right off the bat. The team played pretty sub-par basketball — especially on the offensive end — so the players were rather candid with reporters after the game. Especially LeBron James.

Maybe this is a new side to LeBron, and not just a Nike marketing ploy. Ask the media what you should do…it’s genius.

DL448: Heat Index, Bacon on Euro’s Ryder Cup Win, Dexter, Mad Men

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We end the show with our weekly recaps of Dexter and Mad Men. We’ll continue to do these on Tuesday so we don’t spoil anything for those of you — or of us — who DVR it and watch it on Monday. If you don’t get to it by today, sorry, you just don’t care that much and probably won’t mind the last 17 or so minutes are about that.

But first…

Nick and I talk about ESPN’s Heat Index. No, it’s not Blog Buzz repackaged. It’s actually a blog about the Miami Heat. From ESPN PR:

ESPN.com will launch The Heat Index, a special section devoted specifically to daily, season-long coverage of the Miami Heat and their new superstar core of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, on Monday, October 11. The Heat Index will be housed under the ESPN.com NBA section and will include in-depth editorial coverage (columns and blogs), video, audio, automated modules, social media elements, photo galleries and other multimedia offerings.

We actually think the blog is a fineREAD MORE

ESPN Plans Pre-Season LeBronathon. Actual Coverage Optional.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today (via link in SBD) broke the news that ESPN is going to training camp with the Miami Heat. It’ll be like Hard Knocks, except without Rex Ryan, copious amounts of cursing, football, HBO, NFL Films production quality and Rex Ryan’s copious amount of cursing being recorded by NFL Films that’s shown on HBO. Oh, and football.

Starting at the team’s media day Monday and continuing when its training camp starts Tuesday at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., ESPN will erect a set and parachute in analysts Jalen Rose, Josh Elliott and Jon Barry and reporters including Rachel Nichols for continuous surveillance across ESPN platforms.

Wait, that sounds like ESPN is announcing a stake out, not coverage of camp. Is Hiestand reporting that ESPN is announcing that they’re going to stake out the Heat’s practices or are they going to actually get access? (Keeps reading…cuts and pastes):

While senior coordinating producer Mark Summer isn’t sure ESPN will get practice video, the mission is clear with a team he says has unbelievable story lines.

There was a quote afterREAD MORE