Where the Blues Was Born

Greetings fashion savvy sportsfans,


I believe I have finally recovered from a rather severe case of LeBron LeDecision fever. I am happy that the royal dust has settled and he and his crown have found a new home in Miami. Meanwhile, I have been silently hoping that Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets would pull an LBJ and abandon his hometown team and join Superman and his friends in Orlando, but I fear that he is staying in New Orleans. I would have loved to see the 'Magic' that he and Dwight Howard could make, but I have to respect that he chose to stay with his people in the Big Easy. And I myself would have a hard time leaving New Orleans behind.


Oh...New Orleans, that little jewel of a city, the true gem of the gulf coast, where yours truly will be travelling tomorrow for a quick fix of city life. I'll have no more than 24 hours to take in the essence of that great place: a little music, people watching, scrumptious food, fabulous shopping, beautiful sights and wonderful friends.


The husband has a little business to tend to, so in my free time I have a couple of options, 1) stalk Chris Paul and beg him to change his mind to join the Orlando Magic or 2) cruise over to Saks for a little powershopping. I'm especially interested in making a new shoe acquisition and I don't think the odds of me getting a personal audience with CP3 are that high, so I think it will be option #2, an afternoon at Saks. Not just any Saks, but my favorite Saks outside of the real deal on Fifth Avenue in the Big Apple. I absolutely adore the New Orleans Saks because it is full of beautiful things, it's not too big and not too small, the people there are so lovely and helpful (as are most folks in that fine city) and the selection seems to be carefully chosen for inhabitants of the Gulf South where a) we like nice things b) we don't take ourselves too seriously and c) it's very hot. Now that I think of it, those are the very same reasons that I love the city of New Orleans.


In addition to all this shopping, arts, culture and dining, this city knows a thing or two about playing ball, whether it's football or basketball. New Orleans has two outstanding sports teams in the Saints and the Hornets. And a seriously crazed fan base. So I will celebrate with the fine folks of New Orleans that Chris Paul stays and that the Saints have a Super Bowl Championship. But most of all I will celebrate the spirit of a city that shines through adversity and continually wows the world with it's resiliency and joie de vivre. If the world is an oyster, New Orleans must be it's pearl.

The King: James or Scout?

In case you haven't heard, LeBron James, aka the King, is headed to South Beach to join his friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at the Miami Heat. Even if you are one of my many friends that pays no mind to basketball current events, you had to have heard of this news. As much as I love the spotlight on the NBA, I can barely take anymore. It's all day, every day, everywhere from ESPN to NPR. The topic even came up at a recent lunch with a girlfriend at our very favorite Smiling Fish Cafe and then again the next evening while sipping colorful cocktails with a bunch of stylish ladies. I wouldn't have typically been talking sports, especially basketball, on these two occasions with these lovely friends, but this is how deeply the LeBron Mania has spread throughout our country.




I foolishly thought it would be over once he announced the decision on the ESPN special, "The Decision"--very clever title for such a program. The intent to film the event at the Boys and Girls Club was thoughtful, although I was disappointed to hear no mention of that spectacular organization or their very important works outside of a couple of commercials during the LeDecision hour(click here for a link to our local Boys & Girls Club--they are doing an amazing job!).


I found the program and the hours of chit chat before and after to be a gross display of an over active ego, and a bit tacky overall. It seemed a little too contrived and a little too much of a marketing stunt for my delicate senses. But humble, LeBron is not. Yes, he is a fantastic player, but really, the dramatic touches could be scaled down a little.


It was a sad, sad way for the heartbroken Cleveland fans to hear the news that their hometown boy was jumping ship. But leave it to the owner of the Cavaliers to help mend their aching hearts with a nasty letter, accusing the self-titled King of a long list of personal faults including: narcissism, cowardly betrayal and more. The town quickly rallied with anger, burning all #23 jerseys and removing the larger than life images plastered throughout the city that lost the race for LeBron. Maybe they should look into a city-wide ten-step program to help them through the pain of this loss.


And the show didn't stop there, that was just the pregame celebration, the real party took place in Miami last night with a world class party full of all sorts of celeb appeal. I heard that the King and his 'camp' camped out at my personal favorite, the Loews. I love those hotels because not only are they painfully hip and always overflowing with beautiful people, but they also allow me to travel with best friend, Lab-like rescue pooch and spoiled rotten pet, Scout, who also fancies himself to be the King (as shown in photo above).

Back to the news, I think LeBron chose wisely. They might be a championship contender or maybe not, but Miami is a beautiful city, ripe with folks who think a lot of themselves so LBJ should fit in nicely. And of course there's so much shopping, dining, nightlife and beachlife all wrapped together with an international flare and a nice tropical climate. What could be better?




Oh yea... a ring.



xoxo

LeBronathon

Please forgive my absence during this past week, I've been sucked into the vortex known as the 2010 free agency. At first, I couldn't get enough of the speculation, the commentary and the anticipation of the upcoming announcements. But now as we move into day 8 of the month of LeBron, I am ready for the these guys to wrap things up. Or rather I'm ready for LeBron to wrap it up, he's really living up to his 'king' nickname this time--the guy is truly a drama king. Tomorrow night at 8:00 central, he will host a one hour special, in which he will reveal to all of us fans in sportsland which fair city he will next call home. Will he go with the sentimental ties to Cleveland, the star-studded scene in NYC, the great history of Chicago, or join his friends D Wade and Bosh for a run for a championship in South Beach? We'll find out tomorrow night, and I'm sure it'll be a dramatic event.

I think it's safe to say we've all had a little too much LeBron exposure lately. One hardly hears mention of anything else, the World Cup, Wimbledon, or those very talented back-to-back national champs, the Lakers, because it's all LeBron, LeBron, LeBron. As a former endurance athlete, (yes, I kicked off my Manolo's a few times to run a handful of marathons) I thought that I could handle the duration of this LeBron Countdown, but even I, trained to endure through difficult and challenging times, find this to be painful and tiresome. Maybe it's more like an Ultra Marathon, which even I was not crazy enough to do (tempted yes, but my occasional rational judgement ruled out the possibility, or was it the fear of really bad tan lines?). So if this is a LeBronathon, I'm feeling like we're on mile 24 or so of the 26.2 mile race, our minds are a little numb from the repetitive state we've been subjected to, we can hear the bands playing and the crowds cheering at the end of the race, maybe I spot my mother-in-law in front of the Plaza, and we know the end is near. All of the preparation and anticipation will be winding down, making way for new discussions of future races, teams, events. Personally, I look forward to crossing the finish line and completing this chapter of the book of LeBron.

I'm sure LeBron will not fail to entertain us tomorrow night. I am also sure that many folks will rejoice and celebrate his decision, while other cities mourn what could have been. But fear not friends, regardless of what city the King sits in his throne, we will be witnesses of some very exciting basketball over the years to come. I'll save my thoughts on the entire shake down of the NBA for a later date, once the dance is complete and our aches from this long and drawn out free-agent season have subsided.

And special thanks to all of the input on what to wear in Sonoma County. I've made the final cuts and my bags (and lashes) are packed and ready to go to wine country. What better way to celebrate the grand finale of the free agency season, than a trip to California with my charming husband, visiting dear friends, drinking amazing juice, and of course a little shopping in San Francisco?

Cheers!

xoxo