The Decision...

The big moment is almost upon us. In less than 24 hours, Lebron's' secret will be out. Cleveland, Chicago, Miami or New York. Take your pick. At this point, it's almost impossible to tell where LBJ will go. But it's easy to guess where 90% of the American male population will be at 9:00pm eastern tomorrow night - glued to a television set, waiting to here the decision that will change the NBA for years to come.

As I've made it apparently obvious over the tenure of this blog, I'm a Knicks fan - as painful as it is to say at times. But this afternoon I felt a sensation of hope. I wanted Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to sign with Chicago. They didn't. If they had signed with Chicago, the quest for Lebron would've been a two-team race between the Knicks and the Cavs. I think he would've had to make the move to New York. The Cavs already couldn't get past the Celtics and the Magic, and if Chicago had Wade and Bosh, there was no chance Lebron would see a championship anytime soon. When Wade and Bosh signed with Miami, I convinced myself this was still a good thing for the Knicks. Sure the Bulls' roster was a little bit better than the Knicks current roster, but I didn't think it would be championship caliber with Lebron. His best bet would have seemingly been to go to New York, get the ball rolling the right way, and wait for a combination of Anthony, Paul and Parker that would restore basketball in New York and start a new dynasty in the NBA.

Then the Bulls signed Carlos Boozer. For some reason I completely forgot about Boozer, even though I correctly predicted six days ago that the Bulls would sign him. Now it appears the tables have turned. Right now, the chic pick would be for James to go the Bulls. Noah, Boozer, Deng, Rose, and James sounds scary good. In fact, it sounds better than James, Wade and Bosh in my opinion. It's a lot better than Lee, Stoudemire, Gallinari, James and Walker (Bill, since you've probably never heard of him) or Rodriguez (Sergio, same reasoning).

Or there's Miami. Today the ESPN BottomLine read, "Miami's roster: Mario Chalmers (PG), Michael Beasley (PF)". That's literally their entire roster. We know they'll at least have four players going into next season. If they sign Lebron (losing Beasley in the process), the four-man Heat would look poised for a title - Bosh, Wade, Chalmers & James. Seriously, they'd be poised for a title with a four-man roster. Throw in 8 league-minimum guys and they can only get better...I think. They'd be better with 8 of the worst players in the NBA right?? They'd be able to play at full strength. It makes sense. Right???

Then there's Cleveland. Where Lebron's loyalty has lied for the last 25 years. He set out to be the hometown hero from the start, but the pieces around him always held him back. He looked distant in the playoffs this season, and it almost seemed like he had already left. But the Cavs fired their GM, hired a coach to Lebron's liking, and are begging him to stay.

I could see Lebron going either way. Nothing would surprise me. Actually, correction, him going to the Knicks would surprise me. Because that would just be too perfect.

What do the Knicks have to offer? The biggest market in sport. A concrete jungle where dreams are made of. The Yankees, his favorite team. Jay-Z, his celebrity man-crush. A bright future with Stoudemire. Hopefully a strong combination of Anthony, Paul or Parker in 2011. Titles. And a fan base that's ready to jump on the bandwagon again.

Lebron. Boozer is aging, the critics will always say Jordan only needed Pippen (not Wade and Bosh), the Cavs won't bring you the titles you're playing for, and the Nets are playing in Newark for the next two years. And I've been to their games. Not a great atmosphere.

Come to New York. It's worth it.

So here are my plans for tomorrow:

1) Intern

2) Try to join the Boys & Girls Club of America in Norwich, CT so I can attend Lebron's "The Decision" conference

3) Buy a 12-pack

4) Cook my specialty - BBQ Chicken

5) Celebrate Lebron's decision to come to New York or drink my sorrow's away when he picks Cleveland, Chicago or Miami

But hey, if he doesn't pick New York, we should be okay.

Because according to Amar'e:

"The Knicks are back!"

Image taken from espn.com