Jeremy Lin, on his first day of training camp, was waived by the Golden State Warriors. It was not a popular decision, but it was a risk that they had to do to free some salary cap in luring DeAndre Jordan from the L.A. Clippers. The Houston Rockets claimed Lin’s waiver, only to waive him again for Samuel Dalembert. After constant trips to the D-league and a pile of frustrations, Lin’s NBA dream was slowly drifting away.

The Asian-American, who was a Harvard graduate and a college standout, was never given the chance to prove himself. Frankly, nobody really thought that he could make it. He was too small and skinny. Many doubted him.

But Lin was never fazed about how everybody treated him. He just looked around the bleachers and saw some of the people who believed in him and all the doubts went away. This was an added pressure. However, it gave him strength to move on and never quit.

He never craved attention and he never talked more about himself—always crediting others for their win.

Just weeks ago, Lin had an unguaranteed contract. He even slept on his brother’s couch just to secure him a shelter. He was virtually a nobody. New York Knicks coach Mike D’ Antoni had seen how Lin worked so hard in practice. But being the fourth point guard in the team, Lin was dispensable. He was the first one to be out or waived if the team went shopping for marquee players elsewhere.

This was before D’Antoni started to use Lin when two of his superstars, Amar’e Stoudemire and Camelo Anthony, were unavailable.

After Baron Davis’ injury got extended and with shortage of point guards, Lin finally got the chance that he had been waiting for. Three straight games he scored an average of 23.3 points and eight assists per game.

This was a Cinderella story where the “happy ever after” still continues.

On the biggest game and right in front of a hometown crowd, Lin’s ultimate test came from one of the NBA’s greatest player, Kobe Bryant. Kobe and the Lakers had just won a one-point game against their bitter rival Boston Celtics. And without Carmelo and Amar’e the Lakers wouldn’t have any problem in winning against the Knicks. Except they failed to hand out the script to Lin.

Lin scored a career-high 38 points and outshined the game’s biggest star. This was a testament of his greatness, a seemingly touching message that everyone can make it.

As a fan waived his placard with the message L.I.N. (Legend In New York), I remembered that tree standing right in the center of the busy New York City.

Greatness comes in different sizes and form. We may be different but somehow connected.

submitted also in bleacher: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1063613-new-york-knicks-the-jeremy-lin-connection

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Manny Pacquiao has done it, and he has paved the way for aspiring fighters. He made it possible─ from the slums to the bright city lights of Las Vegas.

Nonito Donaire, who had recently won his fourth weight division title against the sturdy Puerto Rican Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., is certainly on the right track. The Filipino flash had his eyes set on winning titles all the way to the light-weight division.

Four years before, people would laugh at the thought of a fighter in the lower weight, knocking out bigger oppositions and collecting belts on his way up. Pacquiao did it and Nonito with his skills and knockout power had followed Manny’s footsteps and had so far been successful in his quest.

Four down and hopefully four more to go, which means after his acid test in the super bantamweight division, he will move up to featherweight, super featherweight, light weight and light welterweight which is 20 pounds bigger than his fighting weight now.

So Nonito would be on collision course with Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and a lot more hard-hitting fighters.

You would have to think about how will Nonito handle everything? How would he handle the bigger fighters without injuring his hands again? Questions will have to be answered with more questions…

Will Nonito make his own unprecedented eight? Yes and no.

Manny Pacquiao is an anomaly, a fighter that fought in the minimum weight who had an 8-inch wrist similar to Mike Tyson and Joe Louis. (Pacquiao’s wrist) It just goes to show why he carried that power all the way to super welterweight without getting his hands injured.

Donaire on the other hand, generates so much power and force on his size that the impact usually leaves his hands getting injured. It needs to be corrected, but he also needs to fight smarter.

In his fight with Vazquez, he could have dominated him easily, but he was so keen on giving everybody a good fight that he always looks for a knockout. It did come in the ninth round, but his left hand was already injured and bloodied.

Going back to the question…would he make his own eight division world titles? Yes, if he fights smarter and no, if he doesn’t.

However, Nonito doesn’t have to follow Pacquiao. He doesn’t need to create his own pressure. He is equally great and he already made his own legacy.

Muhammad Ali says it better: “I know where I’m going, and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.”

Nonito Donaire’s legacy will always be his…we don’t create directions for other people. They are free to choose their own paths.

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Andrew Bogut might have learned a lot from falling—no matter how high you got up, there’s always the possibility of going down. He had been in and out of the injured list since 2006. There were a lot of promises and talent.

However, somehow everything falls short of what was expected. In his sophomore year when he was averaging close to a double-double performance, he sprained his left foot and missed the final 15 games of the season.

He also missed the end of the 2009-10 season when he dislocated his right elbow and broke his right hand in a fall. He was also sidelined for 43 games with an injured back in the 2008-09 season.

It seems like a never-ending list of injuries throughout his career. It was inevitable for a seven-foot, 260-pound giant to get injured—the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Bogut knew the risk of going after loose balls or grabbing a rebound on top of everybody. He knows that his physical play will surely take its toll eventually. But this is all about playing your best. And Bogut knew what he had to do to contribute to the team.

This is all about self-worth and no one puts more pressure on him than himself.

Bogut was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, and his position (center) has required full attention—center of the offense and center of hope on a struggling franchise that had constantly failed on a championship run.

In their January 25 game against the Houston Rockets, Bogut was more motivated than ever. This was the team that has continuously dominated them since 1999. And while a driving Kyle Lowry went straight to the basket, Bogut was prepared to get up and block the shot.

For a moment, he was successful, however, when he came down his foot landed awkwardly on Carl Landry’s foot. Bogut will miss eight-to-12 weeks with a fractured left ankle in a compressed season. Bogut now has another setback and another pile of frustrations on his promising career.

For 12 games, he was leading his team in blocks and was averaging 11.3 points with eight rebounds, and now he will spend again more time on the bench and in rehabilitation.

Bogut is hoping something good will come out of his injury. If Newton came up with gravity on falling apples, why not on a falling Bogut?

Lesson learned: There are failures more triumphant than victories.

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It was a perfectly-timed left hand that dropped Salido with seconds left before the round expired. Orlando beat the count but got tagged again by a left hand in the fourth round, his unsteady legs falling down to the canvass. Salido survived the round then surprisingly finished off the Filipino challenger in the eighth round via TKO.

When ordinary fighters could have buckled and waved the white flag, it really never crossed Salido’s mind, simply because it doesn’t exist in his vocabulary. This was always what he brings to the table—non-stop action. He never backs down and never quits.

Salido has never been a threat, never been part of the equation. When we talk about featherweights, we could only think of two kingpins that have ruled the division, Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Maybe it has something to do with his 11 losses, eight of which happened while he was between 15 and 21 years old. Or maybe it was the test that stained his career after testing positive for steroids while winning a unanimous decision against Roberto Guerrero. However, he maintained his innocence and immediately took another test at Labcorp which came back negative for any banned substance.

He lost his IBF belt before he even got to keep it. It has always been setbacks piling up one after another.

Winning against Juan Manuel Lopez last year was Salido’s essential moment. He fought against an undefeated fighter who belongs in the Top 10 pound for pound ranking. And after three decades of fighting, the 31-year-old Mexican fighter had finally arrived. The journey was long and bumpy, but he is close to the finish line. Still, one win doesn’t create a legacy.

Lopez needed a rematch, and Salido undoubtedly agreed to a March 3 fight. He needed that rematch more than ever. This time it’s not going to be about the belt…this is going to be a defining legacy after a stained reputation that proved to be futile.

Two knockdowns and Salido fought back with unsteady legs and sheer determination to win against Haya. He knows how crucial and how important the Lopez rematch is. Nobody can drag him down, not now and not on March 3.

Lopez should get ready because it’s really hard to win against an opponent who never quits.

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Chris walked into a sea of people in the 2003 World Series of Poker at Binion’s horseshoe with a mindset of “nothing to lose and more to gain.” This was his first live poker tournament. And Chris has carefully remembered what he had learned all these years playing poker.

He fondly recalled all those sleepless nights and the movie “rounders” which got him hooked up playing poker. He remembered his first online poker game, when a friend introduced him after seeing Chris wanting to enhance his skills but had to drive a four-hour trip to go to the nearest casino.
This wasn’t luck; this was all Chris’ hard work—a summation of everything that he had hoped for.

Then he remembered his wife, worrying about her maternity leave, then all his mortgages. His father and a closed friend who had helped him pay his travel expenses. Then all those worries, doubts and uncertainties slowly disappeared and were replaced with hope, determination and optimism.
Moneymaker an amateur poker player went as far as the final round of the WSOP. The virtually unknown Chris went against high profile poker stars such as Sam Farha, WSOP 1995 champion Dan Harrington, Chris Ferguson (WSOP 2000 champion) and a lot more. Chris’ winning hand came after, he got a five and four card that beat Farha’s Jack and a ten in the championship round. When the dealer flopped, he was ahead by two pairs J-5-4. And when the river came Chris’ heart pumped faster after it flopped with an eight and a five. “Full house” as Moneymaker pumped his fist in the air while giving his father a bear hug.

This was a fairy tale story that somehow ended with David conquering more Goliaths in one battlefield. Nobody in the history of the game that made Poker such a global entity than Chris Moneymaker, his story is not about luck; it is all about hope. Everyone is always capable of getting to the top…

I have worked as a Tournament online poker admin to most popular poker sites before, and it never failed to amaze me on the number of players playing the $39 satellite tournament.

For some 39 is just a number… but for most online poker addicts, it symbolizes hope.

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A seven-time All-Star, a two-time NBA scoring champion and a future Hall-of-Famer, it was never a question, not even an inkling of doubt on Tracy’s greatness.

However, with an injury-laden career, those glory days are seemingly over.

Tracy was like a veteran boxer who refused to accept defeat and continued to fight, hoping for that one redemption to get him back on top.

Bounced around for four different teams in two seasons, quitting was never an option. It was about getting back and proving everybody wrong.

This was the same player who scored 13 points in 35 seconds on a game against the San Antonio Spurs, including a steal and the game winning three-point shot in the 2004-2005 season.

He had always been a leader, a clutch shooter…and when it mattered, Tracy became the game’s biggest closer.

He could drop 62 points and averaged 28 points per game, but he never got past the first round in the playoffs. This was his Achilles heel—a label that somehow haunted him throughout.

T-Mac wanted that chance—redemption that could somehow prove his legacy that he is just more than skills and empty promises.
Tracy Mcgrady’s 13 points in 35 seconds

The NBA is on a shorter season—a shorter route to a championship, and this could be that one magical run for McGrady. This could be the promise of going deep into the playoffs, and maybe winning a ring in return.

Everyone thought his career was over until Atlanta took the risk and signed him up. The team knew how fragile and risky Tracy is with all his injuries. However, they knew that sometimes little steps can get you back on top…you just have to let them try.

For Tracy, he got another opportunity…another shot on that elusive first round.
He had been in the benched for too long, mostly in street clothes and this has become a reality check for him—one man could not carry a team.

Tracy McGrady knows his role in Atlanta. He would be having limited minutes and sometimes get to stay more often in the bench. But he could help this team to reach their true potential. He could be the big brother and the guiding voice.

Although he won’t be the scoring champion anymore, somehow being there can be equally effective.

This time, last chance entails a definite promise.

“You should have seen me when I put on my uniform. I felt like a kid all over again.” -Tracy McGrady

Jess Matthew Beltran is also a blog contributor of Gold Star Games, a tailgate gear company.

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For most of his life, Brock was the achiever—an accomplished amateur wrestler, WWE champion at age 25 and a UFC heavy weight champ. He was a born winner who stuck to the old ways of getting to the top—train, sleep, family and fight. This is what champions are made of—feet on the ground with sheer determination. This is what the fans appreciated him for.

He goes to the ring with 100 percent confidence and tries to destroy his opponent with fierce brutality and strength, and yet he remains humble enough to accept defeat.

While he could still fight and get other marquee matchups, he decided to hang up his gloves while he is still on top of his game—while he still can fill up the arena, get bigger pay-per-view shares and while people still have faith in him.

He has seen how former champions have fallen. Randy Couture and Chuck Lidell fought so hard to get back to the top only to falter and find themselves dominated by younger opponents. Lesnar never sees himself going that road. He has too much pride and too much bravado.

On his victory against Shane Carwin at UFC 116, Brock was quick to say, “I’m the baddest s.o.b. on the planet.” Everyone agreed. He was always straightforward and unpredictable. That makes him a media darling in the UFC a craft he masterfully practice on his brief stint in the WWE. However, Brock was always true to his words.

When he fought Alistair Overeem, Brock’s biggest chance of winning was to pin him down but he only went for one take down. It was clear that Brock’s game plan is to go toe to toe with UFC’s biggest striker. If he wants to win, he wants to dominate you in your game. But it only took one knee into Lesnar’s midsection that changes everything.

It was a realization that has brought him to the realms of entertainment and back to reality.

No one stays in the game forever…

So, Lesnar admitted defeat and walked away. He was UFC’s highest-paid superstar, but stars can only shine so bright before they slowly lose luster.

The baddest S.O.B. on the planet will only have to concentrate on two things this time—eating and family.

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Ricky Rubio knows he had to carry loads of expectations on the team. It has been four years since the last time the Target Center had a sold-out season home opener, and all eyes are on the 180-pound Spaniard.

The people in Minnesota have been waiting for two years, losing 132 games and losing fans in return. Heartaches are already an understatement…dreams and hopes have been continuously crushed that they already became numb to failures. Two years of anticipation, and they don’t care if Rubio doesn’t live up to their expectations, they just wanted change…they wanted Ricky to try. They have been a laughing stock and in the rock-bottom for too long, and for once they crave something that had been so elusive…winning.

As starting point guard Luke Ridnour drew his second foul, the Wolves new coach, Rick Adelman, called Rubio. The crowd all pumped up, rose to their feet and started clapping. Ricky, who looks nervous, blew some wind on his closed fists. For years, Ricky has lived up to high expectations; he has been a pro since he was 14 years old, and he had been accustomed to critics and failures. This is his moment, the part when all great players take their baptism of fire.

As Ricky holds the ball, everything was swept aside. He was playing like he had been in the NBA for years. His passing was flashy, and yet it was so accurate and précise. His one-hand pass to a Derrick Williams over-the-back dunk drew some “ohhhs and aahs” in the crowd.

Six assists and six points on top of his five rebounds were quite impressive for a rookie debut. J.J. Barea, the flashy play-making point guard, also was impressive and together with Rubio creates an exciting backcourt tandem.

It was a close game, and the crowd this time got excited for their new Wolves. Although they lost to a stronger and more jelled team in the Oklahoma City Thunders, they have seen the confidence and resiliency that they have been waiting for all along.

A championship may be a long shot to the moon or even a playoff spot since 2004. However, they are just content knowing they are done with losing and are slowly getting back up. It was a painful and discouraging process, but with Rubio and the new-look Wolves…it’s all worth it. Welcome to the Rubio Show.

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It wasn’t how anyone wanted his career to end—not like this, not without a fight…one season, one last stand for a championship. However, Brandon knew his borrowed time was up.

A warrior not only fights, but knows when to stop the fight. He could go down swinging, or he could walk out while he still can—literally.

All his life was all about basketball. All those last-second clutch shots, the playoffs, All-Star appearances and head-to-head matchups with Kobe and other stars in the NBA are now part of a distant memory. Portland will always be his home, and the people in Oregon will always be his family.

However, two torn ACLs and no cartilage on both knees leaves him with no other choice.

He came into the NBA with no fanfare, no self-proclaiming, no tattoos or outrageous hair styles. He was old school or an old soul that came to the league with just one intention─to be the best.

Now Brandon Roy exits the same way he entered.

Roy plays beyond his age, a cerebral player whose moves are very calculated. He knows when to pass, when to shoot and plays in the clutch. He was always pushing himself to be better.

That is Brandon’s greatest strength that eventually became his weakness. Even with his injury, he pushed himself past the limit. This wasn’t just for stats or his career; this was for the people in Portland, who always believed in him.

After injuring his right knee in April 2010, he was expected to miss at least the first round of the playoffs, but instead played in Game 4 after only eight days of recovery time. Portland won that game with Roy putting his team on his back, despite his ailing knee.

His injured knees were a problem since he was in college, but it never really mattered as long as his team was winning; as long as everybody was happy.

His encore performance came unexpectedly. It was against the then-defending champions Dallas Mavericks, who were leading by a wide margin. Roy scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, including a four-point play that tied the game. With the game tied and with still 49 seconds left in regulation, Brandon scored a bank shot from the middle of the paint.

The crowd went wild as Roy pumped his fist in the air. It was his way of saying goodbye, although nobody thought it was his last game, but Roy subconsciously knew his time was up. His journey had come to an end, but his legacy lives on.

Brandon Roy had to give up his dreams; he had to give up basketball. As he ended his career, he made one big sacrifice─he gave Portland hope amidst Greg Oden’s injury and Lamarcus Aldridge’s recent heart surgery. His retirement gave Portland an “amnesty clause” to get Jamal Crawford in return.

Yes, Brandon Roy has just retired with no media hoopla and no circus. He exited the way he started. That’s what old school players do.

Brandon Roy was victorious during his final curtain.

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The New Orleans Hornets are making their full offense before they get checkmate. In a perfect world, they would have wanted Paul to sign up an extension and end his career in New Orleans. However, Paul wanted out in NO. He wanted to win and earn a ring of his own. He wanted to be in New York and form a triumvirate with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

With the Knicks going another direction and getting the services of prized big man Tyson Chandler, it looks like Paul will be out of the picture this season. The Knicks will have to unload Ronny Turiaf and Chauncy Billups’ $14.2 million contract to accommodate Chandler. So, the Los Angeles Lakers presented something that general manager Dell Demps will find hard to refuse.

This came as a three-way deal involving the Lakers, Hornets and the Houston Rockets. The Lakers would end up with Paul while LA would ship two All-Star players in Pau Gasol to the Rockets and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. The Hornets will also get Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic, plus the 2012 first-round pick that came from the Knicks.

The Hornets will get quality and very talented players and will have a pretty competitive lineup with Scola, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Martin and Jarrett Jack, and the Rockets will have Gasol as Yao Ming’s replacement, while also luring quality big man Nene from Denver. The Lakers, on the other hand, will boost a lineup with Bynum, Metta World Peace, Kobe Bryant and Paul. They are also negotiating for a Dwight Howard trade with Bynum and might sign up Turiaf.

All in all, this seems to be a good trade for all the parties involved. The Hornets will get something good in return, without the drama and media hoopla like what happened with Cleveland and LeBron James.

But just like a dream, NBA Commissioner David Stern woke us up back to reality. All of a sudden, the deal was off. Adrian Wojnarowski reported the power-hungry Stern wasn’t going to let Paul dictate where he wanted to go. The NBA owners pushed Stern to pull the trigger, and the deal was off. The board of governors and league office could only make a pathetic excuse like “for basketball reasons.”

Just as I expected—hours and minutes of waiting, I knew this thing could happen.

It was just too good to be true.

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