Jordan V Kobe V Lebron

Legends, past & present

MJ v LBJ V Kobe

I want to give the answer at the beginning rather than the end. And the answer is, their really isn’t one. The older generation will always say Jordan. The younger generation will say LeBron. And the in-betweens or Laker fans will say Kobe.

Usually the way these legends are divided is by using stats, but if anything, players like Russell Westbrook who had great stats at OKC showed it meant little without a championship. Rasheed Wallace stats were never eye catching yet he was a huge influence. Stopping guards from running into the paint through his intimidation, or altering bigs in the paint are not recorded on his stat sheet.

Yeah, Jordan had the most rings….but he had the best teams. His coach was a HOF, the bench were HOF even the cheerleaders were HOF, & the NBA let him get away with a lot of dirty fouls because he was their poster boy. However he was the worst teammate to have. He shouldn’t punch the softest guy on his team to make a statement. He didn’t lose any NBA finals, because he wasn’t good enough to go to the finals 10 times. He would of been eliminated before reaching the finals.

Lebron James

Lebron is bigger, faster, stronger & has better individual stats & a better teammate, the most fun. Look back on those vids he made with his fellow superheroes in his Miami days. Longevity goes to LeBron as well. Jordan and Kobe wanted the last shot even at the beginning of their careers, LeBron would always make the pass instead. LeBron would probably lose against Kobe and MJ one on 1, not because he lacks skill, but because he is less dirty, less cunning. He cares more about the public opinions than his 2 rivals. Yes, he lacked killer instinct at the beginning of his career, the same way Kobe missed clutch shots at the beginning, same way MJ would get swept at the beginning of his career, but in their prime, all are clutch.

Kobe. He had the skill to outdo MJ after the 3peat….his mentality or ego let him down. He couldn’t stay with Shaq, they way MJ did with Rodman, even though they drove each other crazy. Lowest stats, especially FG%. He was better as a follower than a leader. Perhaps he was fed up of Shaq always getting the NBA finals MVP and so he tried to take on Detroit himself in their finals loss. Tayshaun Prince was too long for him. Even Rip Hamilton was. The only hole like their usually is was in the paint, where Shaq was standing. Yes, Ben Wallace was a wall, but Shaq was a bulldozer. It almost felt that losing a title was better than Shaq claiming the MVP finals again.

Mamba

Kobe & Jordan had the luxury and legendary status of actually playing against each other briefly. Albeit a young Kobe and aging Jordan. Even Jordan at a point said Kobe could beat him one on one, the main reason was because Kobe’s game was so similar to Jordan. They had more similarities than LeBron, who even played in a different position. Kobe and Jordan were shooting guards.

And for that, Kobe always had the determination to beat MJ & LBJ one on 1 but would likely lose against MJ & LBJ if their teams played each other. Kobe scored more points than MJ, but that was mainly because his career was longer than actually being a better player.

Make your own judgement their is no definite answer, because no man is invincible or undefeated. Despite describing these 3 legendary players none of them are even the greatest shooter, that title belongs to Steph Curry. No players has all the dynamics. Remember when Shaq playfully posted Jordan in the warmup before the all star game. Jordan had no chance. Sure, hard work has got to be grafted in training and sacrifices we never see, but it’s also down to eras, the GM, teammates & even luck.

Rest in peace Kobe, Reign long LeBron & bask in Jordans aura.

Anthony Joshua at the crossroads

The beginning of the end

We was all mesmerized with a handsome young man, aka bodybuilder who sweeped up all of the heavyweight belts albeit one in a matter of no time. Not blinking twice at wondering why Klitschko sat back after dropping Joshua or while Joseph Parker tamely surrended his belt without actually putting up a fight. Today’s Joseph Parker without the belt seems to be conquering everyone in his path.

I want you to go back and watch the first fight Joshua had with Usyk. It was student against teacher. How did Joshua amass the majority of the belts when he lacked that super level, that Usyk or Mayweather or Berbativ reside.

One of the clearest factors is his trainers. In his last fight against Dubois, Joshua’s trainer clearly stated Joshua needed to “roll the dice” even though we wasn’t even half way through the fight. Imagine a champions league football game and sending your goalkeeper for a corner. It was a ridiculous ask.

Fury & Wilder

Fury for some reason has retired for the 18th time even though he pretty much has the tools to beat Joshua on points. Wilder was exposed even more brutally for daring to hold a belt that should have belonged elsewhere. A Wilder fight for Joshua will give him that false confidence he gained from the Otto & Ngannou fights.

In fact most of the contenders in the heavyweight division are no longer in Joshua’s favour. Whether it be Zhang or Hrgovic or even Bakole.

Joshua had the promotion but not the trainers to take him to the Lennox Lewis or Vitali Klitschko class. Both these men were always eager to learn new moves, new tactics new strategies and not just concentrate on power. Not every man can be knocked out.

Or is it more sinister than just the trainers. Joshua chin isn’t on a Holyfield level by any means. In fact it was amazing Joshua recovered against Wladimir & Dillian Whytes blows that stunned him.

In Joshua’s defence everybody has become unstuck with Usyk. The problem is, time has run out to go back to the drawing board now.

Game over.

Hello, Fatty.

New Years resolution eaten.

New year, same old habits.

My holidays began right at Christmas. My birthday was in January. Case closed. I eat more and thought I deserved a break from my exercise regime, since that’s what all athletes do anyway in their off-season. Even Usyk has a wobbly belly after defeating Tyson Fury again. Problem is it’s their job to stay fit. Our job is a office or driving job. Exercise is a hobby more or less. We haven’t got a upcoming photo shoot, so, yeah, we having that extra slice of cake that keeps looking at us, in a sexy way. Unwrapping it’s icing and….getting carried away. Seriously, health, diet is not like going to the cinema or going abroad.

Our healthy living is on par with brushing our teeth or going to work or getting dressed or waking up and sleeping. I’ve seen many older guys and gals who decide to get into shape in their late 40’s or early 50’s. It usually doesn’t last because it was not their way of life. Not just that, their body gives in because it’s not used to the rigorous reps or ups and downs.

It might sound over the top, but if you want to live longer, you need to be heathier. Yes, many a time my fat smoking friends have told me their grandma’s lived to a ripe age of 157, even though they used to smoke like chimneys and drink a gallon of vodka a day. And a healthy guy might get hit by a bus or be devoured crossing the road by an unsuspecting tyrannosaurus rex. Fact is the biggest killer worldwide is heart disease. Even when COVID was in full swing, heart disease didn’t even bat his eyelids twice.

Nobody wants the blame

Now surely it’s your responsibility of what goes into your mouth, but if the same smoking warnings came onto cigarette boxes when they first came out, I’m pretty sure smoking wouldn’t have taken off the way it did. Advertising unhealthy foods and drinks is big money. When was the last time you saw an advert for water or carrots?

On pitches you have footballers guzzling down water via a fizzy bottle branded name. If anything if it was a fizzy drink, the lactic acid would actually decrease the players abilities during the game, but when was the last time a child watching their hero was told that.

The answer

Like anything, everything starts mentally. You have to have the willpower to wrestle that doughnut from the grasp of your blubbering lips.

Sitting at home is recipe for disaster. I always end up eating more when I’m at home especially on holidays. I’m not saying roam the streets but work or write or paint or anything to distract yourself.

Do not starve yourself that’s only going to make you binge. Do not eat just salads, make it tasty, add some chicken and some sauce.

If none of this has made an impact on you, just remember, you might put on 3 stone and then bump into your ex…..

Happy 2025 or is it?

Countdown…..

The future

As 2025 approaches what awaits us? The optimism of expecting a new year improving seems to be a dying fad.

Whether it’s politics of democracy by choosing a muppet or a donkey, or a payrise increasing by 5% yet inflation raised by 10%, negativity seems to be in fashion.

It all seems strange, before a team like Chicago bulls or Manchester utd would dominate sports, but now the organizations realize when different teams win, sales are higher and merchandise go through the roof. We know the refs are giving dodgy calls but we just scream in anger and overpay for the next game.

The curse or cure

Don’t get me started on relationships. Try online dating and scammers with 3 nipples and a moustache are eagerly waiting.

Turn to alcohol or tobacco or anything else and the few hours waiting for the doctor is long gone. Try months.

Those marriages of 30, 40 years have long gone. 10 years is a miracle. We have to adapt rather than live today as if it’s the 1960’s. Having 4-5 kids is out of the question in today’s world. With YouTube and social media our 7-8 year old darlings are already in their teenage years.

God is great but religion seems to limit God. What makes us even more confused.

In some ways we don’t really want anything extraordinary to happen to us in the upcoming year. We just want to make sure nothing drastic happens. Having a safe place, happy-ish family, food and be able to put on the heating is more of a blessing than ever.

Happy year year

Pep struggles with Man city continue

Pep Guardoila pictured during Carabo cup

Loss of focus

Pep is unarguably the 1st or 2nd best manager ever in football history.

Chicago bulls won nothing without Jordan. Manchester City won nothing without Pep. A genius doesn’t become clueless in his prime. Pep was the guy who invented new tactics, strategies, and now suddenly he is “specialist in failure?” If anything perhaps pep wants out. With 6 billion charges on Man city, and sun tan diminished completely, maybe a new contract is already on the table elsewhere.

Pep has spent hundreds of millions on players, but the majority of clubs that have spent a lot, like Man Utd have seen that it usually ends in failure. Pep handled the egos and turned the millionaires into players eager as if they were trying to break into the first team.

Legacy

Mourinho was invincible until his 2nd visit to Chelsea, it’s too early to see if Pep is suffering from Mourinho syndrome. Where they differ is Pep had longer periods of success compared to Mourniho who had shorter success but in different countries and environments.

If having the best players in the world guaranteed success, PSG would be kings, but they won nothing outside of France. Pep, had Messi at Barcelona but he never had that level superstar at Man city and yet had equivalent success. Before Pep came, saying Man city would win the champions league, was a bad drunk joke.

Theirs no doubt Liverpool found a gem of a manager after Klopp, something Man Utd have not found in over a decade and Arteta is improving every season, but Pep has always been successful from the kick-off.

One thing that is guaranteed is Pep will always be successful, the same cannot be said for Man city.

Fight Night

Will the real champion please stand up

Usyk will beat Fury again.

Usyk was so good he even beat the undefeated berbativ during amateurs. Fury’s biggest win arguably is against Wilder and his controversial floppy gloves.

Usyk took the fight to Fury in the first fight and won. If Fury takes the fight to Usyk he will get caught even moreso. So it’s win-win for Usyk.

It’s pretty scary, astonishing, amazing and sexy wrapped up in one, what Usyk has done to the most dangerous boxing division as almost an experiment.

Being a pumped up cruiserweight has massively helped him be underestimated. While boxers avoided Fury long jab or AJ strength or Wilder power, taking on Usyk seemed to be an easy task. In the ring, however his similarities to Muhummud Ali or Lennox or Vitali, where rather than keep trying the same method like a Mike Tyson, he is ready to adapt during the boxing fight. Knockouts are jaw dropping, but the Usyk and Mayweather tactics going the distance is where the more success an

Destiny

If Usyk wins, what next? Conquering the heavyweight division in a short period of time and perhaps retirement. For Fury will it be a downwards spiral like Wilder and Joshua? Perhaps a fight with Zhang or Dubois might give the answer. With Saudi money now, anything is possible.