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This blog was supposed to be about how the Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Finals. It was supposed to be about how a team was greater than a collection of superstars. But like everything else in the basketball universe this year, it wound up being about LeBron James.

I just couldn’t help myself.

I want to get a few things out of the way first. I want to congratulate the Dallas Mavericks on their championship. They truly deserve it. I thought they would win because they came together as a team and were playing great ball throughout the playoffs. Plus their bench was so much better than Miami’s.

Secondly, the Heat are exactly who I thought they were, three supremely talented players and not much else. (I still want to know what Juwan Howard is doing on that team. Was Jalen Rose busy?) They played the role of Villain perfectly this season. They crowed and strutted when they won and pouted and bitched when they lost. As a writer I couldn’t ask for anything more.

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They were the playground bully who finally gets punched in the mouth and runs off crying. And speaking of crying, the Heat have taken a lot of grief for crying after the game last night. I have no problem with that. Chris Bosh broke down and had to be helped off the floor and that’s okay. Win or lose, showing emotion is fine. It’s expected.

Except if you’re LeBron James.

As soon as the final buzzer sounded last night the internet exploded with LeBron Hate. And I have to say, most of it was deserved. LeBron and the Heat brought all this on themselves. From the way they were introduced to Miami with all the smoke and lights to Dwyane Wade’s comment that the world was happy to see the Heat lose. They could have taken the target off their backs but instead they made it bigger. And everyone on the internet was taking aim.

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I was starting to feel bad for LeBron until he dropped this jewel at the post-game press conference.

“All the people that were rooting me on to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life they had before,” he said. “They have the same personal  problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want with me and my family and be happy with that.” In short, “I’m rich, you’re not.”

I used to say that LeBron just doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand what the fans want from him. Now I just think that he doesn’t want to get it. He doesn’t care. He is happy being rich and famous and that’s enough for him.

I may not be on the same level as LeBron when it comes to fame and fortune but there is one thing that we do have in common, neither one of us has an NBA championship ring.

Israel Soliz 

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The Dallas Mavericks pose with their trophy after winning the NBA Championship 2011.