Dear Kobe...

The Miami heat won their 1st NBA Championship Tuesday night with a 95-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the Finals last night. The victory was the 4th game in a row the Heat won after falling behind 2-0 and it raised a few eye brows about the new direction of the NBA and whether the MVP of the finals should have been Dwayne Wade or Kobe Bryant?

Shaquille O'Neal's 4th NBA title, and 1st with out Kobe Bryant, have cemented his place as one of the greatest centers and players of all time. His ability to take a back seat roll and allow Wayde to do the share of the scoring. It also begs the question of would this be Shaq and Kobe celebrating another title had Kobe's selfish desire for the spotlight had not alienated Shaq and Phil Jackson after the Lakers won 3 in a row?

With high profile veterans like Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and Shaq on the Heat this season they resemble the high spending New York Yankoffs. Too bad the formula has yet to work for New York since 2000 and they don't even have to contend with a salary cap.

UB is happy for Antoine for winning a title after so many years with the Celtics, however, it is still a bitter pill to swallow, watching all these former hometown players taking their show on the road and adding to a winner. You can add Gary Payton to that list...

Going into the Finals UB knew that Dallas owner Mark Cuban would make headlines as the brash owner with the big mouth, but he can't believe what a douche bag this guy really is. Doing those pregame interviews while sweating like a pig on the stairmaster? Have some respect for yourself Mark. On top of that his big mouth from Game 5 has made his wallet a quarter million dollars lighter...

"Anything I wanted was a phone call away. Free cars. The keys to a dozen hideout flats all over the city. I bet twenty, thirty grand over a weekend and then I'd either blow the winnings in a week or go to the sharks to pay back the bookies. Didn't matter. It didn't mean anything. When I was broke, I'd go out and rob some more. We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it's all over. And that's the hardest part. Today everything is different; there's no action... have to wait around like everyone else. Can't even get decent food - right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce, and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody... get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."