Lately, I've been doing some thinking about the way professional athletes make their career decisions. I was having lunch yesterday with CB when she said, "Did you hear Shaq might be going to..." and I said, "Boston? Yeah..." For some reason, I'm beginning to realize that I have been wearing rose-colored glasses for a long time in relation to my assumptions about people in general.

Lets awknowledge the elephant in the room called the Lebron "decision."

The LadyBallers have yet to blog about it.

Well... If you peeps don't already know @brianspaeth, you don't know what you're missing. He has introduced me to so many awesome tweeters. Some of them are just great online friends, and some are really great sports tweeters to follow. He is a true connector.

I also would like to feature him today because I know he and his pal Allef are having a hard time and some sad emotions because of last night's announcement from LeBron.

I woke up this morning to my mother telling me how she just watched a part on the news that was highlighting LeBron James and the campaign Ohio has set up to keep him in Ohio.  Her exact words: "What's with that? Is that guy really that good?" My response was, "supposedly." Don't get me wrong, I KNOW he is talented and I understand it doesn't take a ring to prove skill and stature.

This month the NBA lost a dedicated player who made an incredible impact on the sport of basketball and on his native country Sudan. Manute Bol, 7-foot-7 shot-blocker extraordinaire, sadly was taken away due to complications with a skin condition called Stevens–Johnson syndrome.  He will be greatly missed by the entire NBA association and fans.  He not only stood out in the NBA with his unique skill sets (he is the only player in NBA history to have more blocked shots than points scored) but also for his dedication and humanitarianism throughout his lifetime.  

Bol played in the NBA with Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia, and Miami. He had two runs with the Sixers and will always be remembered as an incredible asset to the community. “Manute’s impact on this city, our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words,” 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. “He … was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he will always be remembered.”

Our good buddies over at The No-Look Pass, an NBA blog that contains opinions, stories, and random entertainment, are long overdue for a Follow Friday shout-out.  They are from California and have been friends IRL (in real life) for a long time. The whole group is a mixture of Laker, Clipper, and Warrior fans.  Yes, Clipper fans do exist. They also do a podcast called the Chronicles of Crotty that goes up every Friday.

The founder of the blog, Rey Moralde (aka Rey-Rey), was a great inspiration for launching the LadyBallers.  We appreciate his support and excitement behind female fans and allowing us to guest blog as well as giving them the fuel to begin a category on their site dedicated to the female fan: Chicks Who Love Hoops.

I was excited to hear that the Magic revamped their logo a bit, and I actually really like the outcome! I feel like it is a great time to do so with the new arena opening. It will feel like a brand new Magic! It isn't so drastic that it is distracting or will take time to get used it; it's subtle, and just an update.

I've been chatting with friend and fellow Texan @isaiahk for quite some time now. While he doesn't share my love for Dirk and the Mavericks (he's usually rooting for the Spurs or Rockets... blah), he is a great person to talk basketball with! He also has an awesome sense of style, and apparently loves girls in little black booties!

Why you should follow him:

Isaiah is an awesome mixture of a young man that you don't often find. He comes off as a super cool hipster kid who listens to bands you've never heard of and has an erratic sleep schedule, but he also knows his stuff about sports!

Guest blogger, Michael J. Weathers.

Hello and welcome to a lil segment I like to call "Whatever Happened To..." Every so often I will call out a former athlete who has fallen off the grid. So let's get this party started!

The featured athlete for the first installment of "Whatever Happened To" is none other than Shawn Kemp; also known as "The Reign Man.” Now this is going to hit close to home because I was a huge Kemp fan back in the day. He is hands down one of the top 10 best dunkers in the NBA. I would even dare to say top 5!

I love true fans. Fans who support their teams so much they cry when they lose and cry when they win!

That mindset recently got me into some Twitter "beef" with a celebrity who is a Boston fan...

....and it got me wondering how fans become fans and what makes someone a "bandwagon" fan?