LeBron James reportedly decided to opt out of his contract with the Miami Heat on Tuesday. Heres a few quick thoughts of what this Decision means to me. 1. CONTROL: Hes the best player by far on the planet so its his contractual right to exercise this clause and I agree with him. Old-timers and traditionalists might not like it but its the reality of pro sports in the 21st century. Great actors/actresses set the tone and select what movies/plays they want to perform in and who they want to work with and for and LeBron is at that level in the "sports/entertainment industry" that former NBA commissioner David Stern created with the emphasis on stars over teams. This is a creation of that. Right, wrong or indifferent - it is what it is. Hes negotiated and earned the right to reconsider and re-explore what hed like to do with his career. The man is serious about his game and is a student of the game and wants/needs some space here to evaluate. 2. MIAMI HEAT: We all saw them with our own eyes in the NBA Finals vs. the Spurs. The reality is that the current team as constructed needs major improvements or they wont challenge against the superior Western Conference teams for an NBA title. In addition, if an Eastern team like the Chicago Bulls gets back a healthy Derrick Rose and is able to acquire Kevin Love and/or Carmelo Anthony who is to say that theyre even the No. 1 contender in the East anymore? Do you honestly believe that Dwyane Wade is going to give you 70-75+ regular season games and four playoff rounds at a high level at $20 million per year? Is Chris Bosh still committed to playing in all areas of the game rather than just becoming a jump shooter? If Im LeBron I have my doubts. A few smart tweaks with Wade and Bosh sacrificing some money opens up the possibility of it all working again...yet its far from a sure thing. 3. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Owner Dan Gilbert blasted LeBron on the way out the door after "The Decision". Does LeBron forgive and forget? Does new GM David Griffin have the wherewithal/pedigree to pull off such a heist? He and Kyrie Irving together - not bad. They have the No. 1 Pick and some talented young guys they can package to move to Minnesota for Kevin Love. How does Irving, Love and LeBron sound to you? It would be a better Big Three at this point that the Miami version even though both Love and Irving have put up "numbers", yet still havent shown me yet that theyre truly special. What a return this would be. 4. OTHER SUITORS (Chicago, Houston, LA Lakers): Youll hear about all three and more in the hunt for the King. Needless to say, you put him on the Bulls or Rockets and theyre in the hunt for a title. The Lakers? Kobe and LeBron would be an interesting pairing but what does the rest of the roster look like? How long does Kobe hold up? Lots more questions than answers in LA. The rumour mill will surely be filled with gossip from all three of these spots. 5. TORONTO RAPTORS: Not saying this because its wishful thinking on my part. Seriously, why not? They desperately need a starting small forward. You put him with a re-signed Kyle Lowry, Demar DeRozan, a re-signed Patrick Patterson and Jonas Valanciunas with a re-signed Greivis Vasquez, Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson and Ill take my chances with anyone in the East. On a league-wide scale Im not scared by anyone with that crew on my side. You want hoops to grow in Toronto and across the country - go for it. Nothing to lose. Realistic? Maybe not but honestly thats not a bad eight-man core whatsoever. Obviously, the salary cap/luxury tax always comes into play but for a player of this magnitude you explore every possibility. It would actually be a very good team if it ever happened. Why not Toronto? Its about time we stick our chests out and go for it. I like the style of GM Masai Ujiri and CEO Tim Leiweke and this fits them if its a reasonable pursuit. Blues Jerseys 2021 . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were third with 210.84 points. Teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fourth. Duhamel and Radford, who were seventh at the Sochi Olympics, also won bronze at last years world championships in London, Ont. Blues Jerseys 2020 . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing. https://www.cheapblues.com/ . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes. Custom St.Louis Blues Jerseys .Lets go back to the Avs, who have become one of the funnest teams to watch in this years playoffs. St.Louis Blues Store . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics.FRANKFURT, Germany -- Mario Goetze came off the bench to score against his childhood club and Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller added late goals in Bayern Munichs 3-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the top Bundesliga derby on Saturday. The final score did not reflect the flow of the match, as Dortmund had the better chances until Bayerns late flurry. "The first goal was very important," said Robben, who scored the winner when Bayern beat Dortmund 2-1 in the Champions League final in May. "It looks like a clear-cut victory but it was only 1-0 until the 85th minute. They had to try to force things at the end and we used the space," Robben said. Goetze scored in the 66th, 10 minutes after coming on to a chorus of boos from the 80,000 Dortmund fans who have not forgiven him the off-season move to Borussias biggest rival. Mueller fed Goetze from the right and the forward was left unchallenged just inside the area to drill the ball inside the far post with the outside of his foot. Goetze refrained from celebrating the goal but was mobbed by teammates. Robben doubled the lead in the 85th by collecting a long ball from Thiago Alcantara and chipping home. Robben then fed Philipp Lahm on the right who passed inside for Mueller to complete the victory in the 87th. Bayern stretched its record unbeaten run to 38 matches as Pep Guardiolas team retained a four-point lead. Dortmunds second straight league loss dropped it to third behind Bayer Leverkusen, which won 1-0 at Hertha Berlin thanks to Stefan Kiesslings eighth goal of the season. Leverkusen is now three points ahead of Dortmund, which trails Bayern by seven. Dortmund, unbeaten by Bayern in six previous league games, was missing its regular back four. Bayern was without Franck Ribery, among others, with both teams hit by injuries. Manuel Friedrich, a 34-year-old former Germany defender who had been without a club this season, made his debut for Dortmund after getting a contract earlier this week. "We didnt deserve to lose by such a clear score, but we broke down after the first goal," Friedrich said. Bayern put on some early pressure but Robert Lewandowski had the first chance, sending high his volley from close range. Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made a good save from Marco Reus, while Romman Weidenfeller caught Mario Mandzukics half-volley without problems.dddddddddddd Mandzukic was ineffective and was replaced by Goetze, which proved to be a winning move by Guardiola. "We won against a team with the best counterattack in the world," Guardiola said. "If you let them run, they are unstoppable. We played well the first 15 minutes but the rest of the first half was not good. We were better in the second half." Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said he didnt care by how much his team lost. "Until 1-0 we had the better chances, but we left Mario unmarked to score and after the second goal we gave up," Klopp said. In other matches, Eintracht Frankfurt overcame a two-goal deficit before conceding a late equalizer in a 3-3 draw at home against Schalke. Nuremberg remained without a win this season by playing to a 1-1 draw at home with Wolfsburg, Freiburg won 1-0 at Eintracht Braunschweig and Augsburg beat Hoffenheim 2-0. Schalke scored two quick early goals, before Frankfurt replied with three after the break. But a lucky bounce allowed Benedikt Hoewedes to secure the late draw for Schalke. Frankfurt has lost several points by conceding goals in the last 10 minutes and again experienced a similar fate. Schalke went ahead in the 14th when Johannes Flum headed into his own net while attempting to clear a cross from Atsuto Uchida. Four minutes later, Joel Matip doubled the lead with a header off a free kick from Dennis Aogo. Flum struck the post before putting Frankfurt on the board in the 56th with a looping header over Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. Frankfurts equalizer was similar, with Joselu connecting with a cross from Sebastian Jung to send another lob over Hildebrand. Joselu, back in Eintrachts starting lineup for the first time since the opening round, put his team ahead with a blistering left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area. But in the 86th, a Frankfurt clearance bounced back into the area to fall kindly in front of Hoewedes, who slotted home for the draw. In Berlin, Kiessling notched his eighth goal of the season but Leverkusens second forward Sidney Sam limped off the pitch early in the game with a hamstring injury and could miss next weeks Champions League match against Manchester United. ' ' '