The Miami Heat star recently launched Unknwn, a boutique clothing and lifestyle store. As you might expect, the sneaker section is especially well-stocked. The store's wall full of sneakers is also a wall full of 45 iPads. The wall-mounting comes courtesy of iPad Enclosures, a company that specializes in kiosks and mounts for business and retail environments.

The idea is to give customers an interactive shopping experience with technical details, clothing suggestions, and pricing for each sneaker at their fingertips. The iPads also run videos showing the shoes in action. Unknwn's wall of iPads may mean that we have finally evolved beyond having to actually try on shoes. I, for one, welcome our new tablet overlords.

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Last night at the newly renovated Shelborne South Beach, the Miami HEAT's LeBron James stunned guests at the New Year's Eve soiree with the biggest sparkler of the night - an engagement ring for his long time girlfriend Savanna Brinson.

Celebrating three occasions - New Year's Eve, his 27th Birthday and his proposal - James was in great spirits as he dined at the hotel's new restaurant Vesper American Brasserie among 60 of his friends and family including his mother, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Chris Bosh, Adrienne Williams and his two sons LeBron Jr and Bryce.Following his countdown duties with Wade, Bosh, hotel owners Keith Menin and Jared Galbut; the group stepped away from the SL Nightclub hosted bash to return to the restaurant where James got down on one knee and proposed with a large shimmering diamond. 

The unexpected proposal caught Brinson off guard and was responded to with tears of joy and of course, she accepted! Adding even more bling and celebration to the event, James' towering birthday cake was wheeled out to the table - draped in swarovski crystals and edible 18 carat gold - in which the group was cued to begin singing Happy Birthday as they raised their glasses to the beaming basketball star and happy couple. Shortly after, Ms. Lauryn Hill took stage for an hour-long performance and belted out hits like "Everything is Everything," "Ready or Not" and "That Thing" - even inviting rapper NAS on to the stage to perform "If I Ruled the World."  Other VIPs in attendance included Queen Latifah, Sanaa Lathan, Fat Joe, Lance Bass, Jessica White and Jamie Lynn Sigler.

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James has played on his birthday five times during his nine-year career, but Friday was just his second victory on Dec. 30. While his teams historically haven’t faired well on his birthday, James has averaged more than 35 points per game. “My birthday and my mom’s birthday are the two days I feel real, real good about playing basketball,” James said. James and the Heat returned to Miami immediately following Friday’s game, and the team will enjoy an off day on New Year’s Eve.

The Heat plays a home back-to-back against Charlotte and Atlanta on Sunday and Monday. James will be celebrating both his birthday and New Year’s Eve on Saturday.“We don’t have a curfew, but we’ll be ready come Sunday,” James said.Best birthday gift James ever received?“My 18th birthday,” said James, coyly. “I got a Hummer on that day.”GROWING

PAINSRookie point guard Norris Cole struggled in the second game of his first home-away back-to-back. After exploding for 20 points against the Celtics on Tuesday, Cole was 2 of 8 from the field for five points on Wednesday against Charlotte. He then took the day off on Thursday, choosing to rest rather than attend an optional practice.“It was an adjustment; it was different,” Cole said. “But it’s something I can definitely get used to. I’m going to have to, obviously.”

Adjusting againFormer Heat first-round pick Michael Beasley is adapting to yet another coach this season. In his four seasons in the NBA, Beasley has now had three different coaches. Heat guard Dwyane Wade said Friday that Beasley’s latest coach, veteran Rick Adelman, will be a good fit for both Beasley and the Timberwolves, an underachieving team with plenty of talent. “I think the best thing to happen for him and for this organization is bringing in Adelman,” Wade said. “You’ve seen what he did in Houston with that team. With the athleticism [the Timberwolves] have, with the talent they have, bringing him in to kind of let those guys go and be themselves and figure it out …”Wade

CLARIFICATIONMuch was made of Wade’s game-winning shot against Charlotte in the hour following the Heat’s victory Wednesday. At issue was whether or not Wade traveled. The NBA clarified the non-call on its website, explaining that Wade’s preshot hop served as one step and his pivot to the left counted as his second step.

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"Yeah," LeBron James said with a smile, "I do."The question at Thursday's optional Miami Heat workout at the Target Center was whether he still remembered how to shoot 3-pointers.  Through three games, and a very conscious effort, he has yet to attempt a single 3-pointer. Last season, by contrast, he attempted 279, an average of 3 1/2 per game. This season, James said he's not even practicing them on a regular basis. "I've cut back a lot," he said. "I still work on it and still shoot it. It's not part of my everyday workout, though."

That doesn't mean the weapon has been removed from his arsenal. "I don't know if I'll be able to go a whole season without shooting as 3," he said with a smile, as the Heat prepared for Friday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. "It'll be those games where you feel real good and you're shooting the ball extremely well, and that's when you may go back to the 3-point line.

"But we have enough 3-point shooters on our team. We know we're going to have to use it. It's going to have to be something we go to. But for me, I'm just trying to focus on being in the paint and on the free-throw line."Which begs this question, amid this self-imposed ban: What would happen if there was an opportunity Friday for a midcourt heave at the end of a period?

"I didn't come into the season saying I'm not going to take any threes," he said. "It's played out that way and it's worked for us so far."He paused, smiled. "To answer your question," he said, "I don't know. We'll see."

Bosh finds way
If there were doubts about Chris Bosh after his four-point, seven-rebound performance in the opener against the Dallas Mavericks, they have been silenced the past two games.

First there was an 18-point, 11-rebound showing against the Boston Celtics, when Bosh essentially made Kevin Garnett disappear. Then, Wednesday, there was a 25-point outing against the Charlotte Bobcats that featured a pair of ornery dunks.

"When I see lanes and I see chance to attack, I'm going to attack and be aggressive," he said Thursday, "because when I do that, I think this team is better."

As so often has been the case with the Heat's Big Three, when one is off the other two are able to pick up the slack. So while Dwyane Wade was dealing with a bruised foot in a 10-point performance against the Bobcats, Bosh was expanding his game.

"We played a little bit through him in the post, but also on pick and rolls we were able to throw the ball back to him and he was able to make some plays," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He was aggressive. He was decisive. We needed every one of those."

Spoelstra said it also has been a case of adjusting to the Heat's new offense, noting Bosh has played the past two games in "more rhythm.""That'll happen with more time together," Spoelstra said. "He understands where he's able to get the ball."

Lost amid Bosh's scoring breakout has been his consistent defensive work. According to ESPN, the players Bosh guarded Wednesday shot 4 of 11 and the players he has defended this season are a combined 10 of 30 from the field. "Chris is hitting on all cylinders, jumpers, post work," James said. "That's the C.B. we know."

Rebounding anomaly
To put the Heat's Wednesday victory in Charlotte with a 53-30 rebounding deficit into perspective, consider that entering Wednesday's play, teams were 9-95 since the start of 2005-06 when being outrebounded by such a margin, according to ESPN.

It was the first time in their 24 seasons the Heat won when outrebounded by 20 or more, now 1-23 in such games.

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Today is a day where we should all be thankful for our friends and families. It's a day where we shove our faces at Christmas dinner and have the exact same conversation about what we're doing with our lives about 15 times with different relatives. (Maybe you'll be lucky enough to attend a Christmas party and have that conversation another 30 times.)

But I want to focus on something that makes us all happy: watching athletes we hate get beaten. The Bills' 40-14 destruction of Tim Tebow and the Broncos yesterday prompted me to lay out a feast of hatred for my readers.

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Kris Humphries was just named the most disliked player in the NBA. There apparently is no truth to the rumor LeBron James commissioned the poll. According to a survey by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research, Humphries received a 50 percent dislike score. James (48 percent) probably blew the lead in the final two minutes and finished second.

LeBron shouldn’t view the poll as proof his image rehab campaign is working. He’s the real champion of dislike. Humphries’ victory is just a testament to our warped celebrity culture. He was an obscure player who got caught in the Kardashian web. A 72-day marriage and 7,200 magazine covers followed. The public will forget about him as soon as Kim Kardashian is spotted sharing a milkshake with Justin Bieber.

The dislike of James will stand the test of time, and there’s not much he can do about it. That hasn’t kept him from trying. LeBron’s preseason has been spent proclaiming his Bad Guy days are over.

“I’m not a villainous person,” he told USA Today. Last year’s craziness just made him one. “I started to play the game of basketball at a level, or at a mind state that I’ve never played at before,” he said in three-part ESPN interview. “Meaning angry. And that’s mentally, that’s not the way I play the game.”James says he’ll be back to his old, fun-loving self this season. That may help the Heat, but it won’t get him off many dislike lists.

Humphries was guilty by association. For some wacky reason America is fascinated by all things Kardashian and thinks Kris did Kim wrong. I wasn’t lucky enough to hang out with those crazy lovebirds this summer, so I don’t know what really happened. It wouldn’t matter anyway.

This game is all about perception. And the perception of James was set in concrete with The Decision. He’s the egomaniac who didn’t have the loyalty and courage to keep his talents in Cleveland. You could also say he’s a rare superstar who was willing to sacrifice personal glory in order to win titles. The clashing views made LeBron such a hot button he could have become the fourth Kardashian sister.

His collapse in the NBA Finals triggered a national case of schadenfreude. Winning is supposed to cure everything, but even that won’t work here. If Miami conquers the NBA, it will just confirm the perception that James took the easy way out. It might even strengthen his villain credentials, which would further prove how reality doesn’t factor in.

The reality is James is not a bad character. Sure, he has an inflated sense of self-worth. The best recent story came in a retrospective in Sports Illustrated by famed photographer Walter Iooss. Nike hired him to shoot LeBron shortly after the Miami move. Iooss rented an arena in L.A., and LeBron showed up in a convoy of Escalades with blacked-out windows.

He had bodyguards, a masseuse and a deejay blasting his favorite tunes. Iooss has photographed every major sports figure of the past 40 years and helped make Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit issue a publishing phenomenon.

He wasn’t allowed to speak directly to King James. “There was a liaison, someone from Amare Stoudemire’s family,” Iooss said. “I would say to him, ‘O.K., have LeBron drive right,’ and then he’d turn to LeBron and say, ‘LeBron, go right.’ ”Christie Brinkley never needed a liaison. But on the NBA scale, James’ deeds are hardly villainous.

Andrew Bynum elbowed J.J. Barea out of the sky and stalked off the court doing a striptease. Then he parked his BMW convertible in a handicapped spot. According to divorce reports, Kobe Bryant apparently took over where Tiger Woods’ infidelities left off.

If James had done such things, Dan Gilbert would've attempted to banish him Guantanamo Bay for daily waterboardings. Or imagine if he’d merely changed his name to Metta World King James Peace. Even if he meant to promote harmony, it would be seen as blatant self-promotion. The guy can’t win for losing or winning. I’d feel sorry for him, but LeBron made this bed. Now he has to lie in it. Let’s just hope he never lies in it next to a Kardashian.

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I don’t like LeBron James. I once did and might again, but right now the Miami Heat superstar reminds me of all the semi-delusional, self-aggrandizing, fan-tailed peacocks I have seen in my sportswriting career, crownless gods strutting in their mighty youth, mirrors held before them by sycophants, strolling blindly off the cliff of wealth and fame to splatter on the rocks of might-have-been.

James is only 26 — he’ll be 27 in a week — and he’s rich beyond belief. Back in June 2007, an editorial on CNNMoney.com stated: ‘‘Forget whether LeBron James is the next Michael Jordan. The more interesting question is whether he can be the next Warren Buffett.’’

No, it’s not. Never has been. Not to sports fans, anyway. The only question that interests us is whether this man can win an NBA championship. He hasn’t yet, and he is entering his ninth season. His talent is overarching, but talent is to winning as fine grapes are to the finest wine: You better believe something happens in the cask.

Indeed, considering his potential, James already should be on his way to an NBA dynasty, not serving as the brunt of loser jokes. Typical: What’s the difference between Saturn and LeBron? Saturn has rings. And don’t even bring up the fourth-quarter gags.

None of this is totally James’ fault. In fact, it was kind of cool that he colluded with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, moved to Miami and basically showed the NBA that it is, as commissioner David Stern always says, a players’ league.

Perfume of failure
Yet leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers via a cruel TV special called, modestly, ‘‘The Decision’’ was way uncool. Now the ‘‘Three Amigos’’ are sometimes called the ‘‘Three Mi-Egos.’’ The way the Heat was beaten by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, losing three consecutive games after opening a 2-1 lead, only added to the perfume of elite failure that wafts from James. Well, none of this would matter, I suppose, if the Heat wasn’t standing in the way of the Bulls.

It’s not fair to say Derrick Rose is the anti-LeBron — I didn’t like that entrance-test-score messiness at Memphis, for one thing — but he’s close. Yet the courteous, self-deprecating Rose has won nothing, either. We’re not counting individual honors or high school ball here.

So the battle is on between two young men to see where substance lies. Who wants it?

I have worked many times in the past with famed Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss Jr. The always-upbeat artist has a hard-to-describe kinship with great athletes. Plus, he has done dozens of SI swimsuit shoots, getting major props from everybody from Cheryl Tiegs to Brooklyn Decker. In the current year-end issue of SI, the photographer talks about his 50-year sports-shooting career, which is, by the way, hotter than ever. Here he is on James:

‘Unimaginable’
‘‘I first photographed LeBron James in 2003, when he was a rookie in Cleveland. He was pretty raw. .  .  . When I shot him six years later, in 2009, the difference was amazing. He walked in like a king that day, and he took over that room. And not only physically, although he was massive then. He was muscular, charming, articulate, the prince of hoops. He couldn’t have been more of an ambassador for the game.

‘‘Times change, and sadly LeBron became a villain. .  .  . In July 2010, I got an assignment from Nike to shoot LeBron right after his TV special announcing his move to the Heat. We rented the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, where the Lakers and Clippers used to play, and there were 53 people on my crew, including hair and makeup artists, production people, a stylist. I had $10,000 in Hollywood lighting. It was huge.

‘‘When LeBron arrived, it was if Nelson Mandela had come in. Six or seven blacked-out Escalades pulled up, a convoy. LeBron had bodyguards and his masseuse. His deejay was already there, blasting. This was for a photo shoot that was going to last an hour, tops.

‘‘This is how crazy it was: I wasn’t even allowed to talk directly to LeBron. There was a liaison, someone from Amare Stoudemire’s family. I would say to him, ‘OK, have LeBron drive right,’ and then he’d turn to LeBron and say, ‘LeBron, go right.’ .  .  .‘‘My God, I’ve been around Michael Jordan, but with him nothing even came close to this. Unimaginable.’’There it is. Massive ego. Zero rings. Hope D-Rose is paying attention. I’d hate to not like him.

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MIAMI – During training camp last season, Miami Heat forward LeBron James told USA TODAY, "There's no villain bone in my body." And yet for reasons James doesn't quite understand, he adopted the "bad-guy" persona, a choice he regrets. Was it, perhaps, being stung by the negative reaction to joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency? The backlash from his hometown Cavs fans? The unfamiliarity of his new surroundings?

"I became unfocused," James told USA TODAY on Tuesday. "I turned into somebody that I'm not. I'm not a villainous person, and I told you that. I started to become unfocused and worried about the wrong things. I'm back to myself. "I'm going to play the game as hard as I can and do what's right for the team. It's all about playing for the love of the game, and I'm back to that 9-year-old kid who started playing basketball a long time ago. That's what it's about, just having fun."Good news for the Heat. Bad news for the rest of the league.

A learning experience
The two-time MVP — the best player today? — averaged 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists and helped the Heat to the NBA Finals in the first year of the Big 3's formation. Miami steamrolled through the Eastern Conference playoffs, then came up short against the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. James' critics howled at his sub-par performance, overlooking the masterful defense Dallas played in the six-game series.

James had been the best player and a clutch performer against the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls in the first three rounds, even with his focus derailed. "The best teacher in life is experience and going through things. No one can set you up for that. You've got to go through it," James said. "I learned a lot from it. I thought about ways to get better. I thought about ways to get better individually on and off the court. I'm back this season a better person and a better basketball player."The atmosphere surrounding the Heat also is different than during last season's bumpy journey. The drama is absent.

"There was such an element of the unknown last year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "As much as we all tried to prepare for it, we didn't know what it would be like. This year, we know what we can probably expect, and we also know whatever happens, we're strong enough to get through it. The only thing that really matters is what our ultimate goal is and our journey to get there."Heat President Pat Riley defused any unnecessary early-season crisis by giving Spoelstra a two-year extension.

"I was never worried about it," Spoelstra said. "I've been here so long, developed such a great trust with the Arison (ownership) family and with Coach Riley. Coach Riley was here every day talking basketball, talking philosophy, talking leadership on the court. I wasn't concerned."It's one big happy family, which is one of the reasons James feels much more comfortable. Even off the court, he zeroed in "on what's important and what's not," James said. "My family and friends are important. That's the No. 1 thing for me, and basketball," he said. "And after that, everything else becomes irrelevant."James is developing a similar trust in owner Micky Arison and his son, CEO Nick Arison, that Riley and Spoelstra have.

"They breathe family and they live it. They just don't talk," James said. After emerging from his post-Finals funk, James began showing his personality again. On Twitter, he posted a picture of himself from grade school and tweeted, "That was the last time my hairline was right and tight! LOL."He posted pictures of himself at the new Martin Luther King Jr. monument in Washington, D.C., and with dozens of treats from Georgetown Cupcake, and posted a video of family and friends at Thanksgiving dinner. He also spent time watching football. Lots of it. He attended high school, college and NFL games, and spent even more time watching games on TV. "It was fun. It allowed me to spend a lot of time with my family and allowed me to do some things I wouldn't be able to do if the season started on time," James said.

Sharpening his skills
During the lockout, James played in charity games, visited with the Liverpool (England) soccer team he has an ownership stake in and did endorsements. But he knew he needed to work on his game, as he has done every offseason. He spent a week on his low-post game with Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, just as Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant had done. In the Finals, when the Mavs took away his ability to drive and his jumper wasn't falling, James was stuck offensively.

"It's real business. It's not overstated," he said of getting serious about his low-post game. "It's not going to be forced. I'm not a forced player. I play with force, but I don't force things in the game. I've been working on it a lot, and I'm looking forward to implementing it into a game situation."That should help the Heat improve offensively with James, Wade and Bosh handling so much of the offense. Look for the Heat to stick to its offensive principles while allowing the Big 3 to have more freedom.

"We all had an opportunity to reflect on last season, including myself," Spoelstra said. "I reflected on a lot of things I felt I could have done better, more efficiently, differently. Some of those things we're trying to implement this year. Again, we were making some of those changes last year. Sometimes, it was month to month. It was the ultimate science experiment."In the offseason, Spoelstra spent time with football and basketball coaches: Oregon's Chip Kelly, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Kentucky's John Calipari, North Carolina's Roy Williams and Florida's Billy Donovan. "A lot of different personalities and philosophies; it was a terrific experience for me," Spoelstra said.

The Finals push
The Heat's biggest offseason addition were free agent forward Shane Battier, who expects to fit nicely into Miami's goal of defensive and offensive efficiency, and late first-round pick guard Norris Cole, who adds depth and speed. But Spoelstra also looks at his team's additions a little differently. He believes the Heat have also added a healthy forward Udonis Haslem (torn foot ligaments) and swingman Mike Miller (thumbs, shoulder and ankle).

"We played less than 100 minutes with Udonis Haslem last year. The way we looked at it, he's a free agent pickup because we didn't play with him last year," Spoelstra said. "Even when we had Mike Miller, he wasn't full" because of injuries. And now Spoelstra has a re-focused All-Star, too. "For me, it's all about getting back to the love of the game," James said. "I'm back to loving the game.I'm back to having fun. That's what got me to this point, and that's something I forgot about.
"I can't wait for the season to start."

 

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There was a whole lot about the NBA lockout that was really about LeBron James. About who has the power, the owners or players. But some things are more specific than others. Like this note from the Sports Business Journal (via Eye on Basketball).

NBA players are now prohibited from holding an ownership stake in a player-management firm or from acting as National Basketball Players Association-certified agents under a provision in the league’s new collective-bargaining agreement.

The provision was something NBA owners asked for and players agreed to as one of the so-called B-list items, terms that were collectively bargained after the NBPA re-formed as a union, according to a union source.

This is very directly aimed at LeBron James and his marketing arm LRMR, the marketing firm he and his buddies founded, which last year merged with the Fenway Sports Group. Neither LRMR nor Fenway represent any players in terms of negotiations — they are marketing arms, not agents — but that line is kind of blurred for players now (agents help set up marketing deals all the time) so the owners decided to try and rein it in.

And we have a “LeBron James rule” that tries to limit players power and potential income, something that comes at the request of the owners. Sounds about right.

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As much as preseason games can be indicative, yesterday’s Florida derby between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic taught us two things – The Heat, with LeBron James in extra-championship-hunger mode look like the Eastern favorites once again. Dwight Howard, on the other hand, just wants out.

The Miami Heat, who on first impression look like the most together team out of all the rest entering the season, steamrolled a disjointed Orlando Magic team. The whole Dwight Howard trade issue is clearly having a negative impact on the team, as Howard himself plays with no passion, no will, looking like his mind just wanders, waiting for the moment Oraldno put him back on the market.

J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson showed some impressive shooting from the bench (both finishing with 22 points), but really, there’s nothing to be excited about right now for the Orlando Magic. Their captain and best player by far watns to be somewhere else. Los Angeles, New Jersey, anywhere. A team that in 2009 made the NBA finals have just regressed instead of making that extra step. Howard leaving them, just like Shaquille O’Neal did over a decade ago, for better prospects elsewhere after reaching the NBA final, will put the Magic in rebuild mode probably.

For Miami, it was a fun night. LeBron James led the way with 19 points and one impressive off the backboard dunk. The Heat haven’t taken care of the two problematic issues for them – A point guard and someone who can score in the paint. Relying on Udonis Haslem to be fit for the season and LeBron James to put the terrible series against the Dallas Mavericks behind him.

Summer is rough on those who lose in the final game of the season, and even rougher for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Especially for James, who took the bullets from the moment he chose to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers. From the jersey burning to criticism and plain hate. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh got tagged along for a ride in the whole experience that didn’t involve basketball.

Villain, good guy, popular athlete, hated athlete, it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not about public perception or the love of the fans. The Miami Heat, despite the disappointing ending, had a very good season last year. It was only the second time in franchise history they got to visit the NBA finals, with Dwyane Wade being part of both trips, winning the first against a very different Dallas Mavericks team.

It wasn’t just about making Miami a good team, they’ve been good and contenders for a while now as long as Wade was healthy. It was about the Miami Heat becoming THE team, even if not for all the right reasons. The most interesting team in the league, which brought a whole new narrative to the NBA season, which made it one of the most watched in recent history.

The Heat look hungry from first look. They’ll be remembered not for just one season that ended with a loss in the NBA finals after leading 1-0 and 2-1. They’ll be remembered for how much this team wins under James and Wade. I put them at at least two NBA titles in six seasons after the move was made. It’s only preseason, but the Heat are my favorites to win this season.

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