JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Monday, June 16, 2014

WITH A WHIMPER

Let's see...what to write about? Oh yeah.......

And so it ends, not with "1, or 2, or, 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, but 7" as they so boastfully shouted at the beginning, when their world was verdant,  parties celebrating their impending championships were everywhere, and all seemed possible. But then they were beaten at home in the finals by the upstart Dallas Mavericks in 2011, and they sandwiched that loss with this current series loss to the Spurs, finishing with a yawn inducing pedestrian 2-2 record in four NBA Finals. There's nothing special about a team that wins two of four. 

The Spurs are a special team. Five titles in fourteen years, four in twelve, one every three years for a decade and a half. Numbers that the Heat boasted about, but cannot and will not achieve. The Spurs were built and rebuilt by shrewd basketball moves, not pouting superstars who couldn't win on their own. "We're a true team" said Tony Parker after he won his 4th title with Tim Duncan and Parker Ginobili, the obvious reference to the Heat unspoken and unnecessary. A draft-day trade three years ago (not a rant from a spoiled star) brought Kawhi Leonard, who now is all of 22 years old, and was named the series MVP. Boris Diaw, a journeyman reserve joined the team last year. This year he started in the finals. This is not a team of quick fixes where the inmates run the asylum (Carmelo Anthony anyone?). This is a team built on fundamentals and this is a team built to last. With 5 titles in 14 years, the success of the Spur's philosophy speaks for itself.  

"Not a day went by that I didn't think of game six" admitted Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, alluding to the last 30 seconds of the game that saw the championship slip from the Spur's grasp last year. So what did the Spurs do? Throw money at every free agent superstar? Let Tim Duncan draw up game plans and decide who the team would sign? No, the Spurs are a Team, and the coach coaches, the players play, and all they do is win. Five in fourteen years. Four in twelve. A dynasty built on a firm foundation. 

It remains to be seen whether Miami's "tres leeches" (don't email us, we know we spelled it wrong if tres leches is what we wanted to spell, which we didn't) will bring the promised seven titles to this City. Titles guaranteed before one got old, and another was exposed as  average, and a third was and remains a failed television reality show participant ("I've decided to bring my talents to South Beach"); a spectacle of showmanship, lacking the pride, intensity, and integrity that separates champions that endure (Duncan) from spectacles that glitter and fade (insert your heat player here). Ephemeral wisps of braggadocio, backed up by words and fist bumps and high fives, and finger pointing and outlandish celebrations, but not by deeds and titles. 

The Boston Celtics won eleven championships from 1957 to 1969. Michael Jordan led his Bulls to six- three before he retired, and three when he came back. Showtime in LA won four.  The Heat, like any so-so team that puts together a few decent seasons? Two in four. Nothing special. But then again, what did you expect from a team built without character? 

All that glitters is not gold

And so it ends, not with a bang, not with seven, but with a whimper, four blow-out losses in five games. A championship series in name only because it wasn't close. The 1927 Yankees versus the 1962 Mets. A champion versus a joke, a pretender exposed. A twisted ankle.  No AC. Heat, cramps, excuses.  The emperor has no clothes, and Miami doesn't have a championship basketball team. 

There will be no ring ceremony to start the 2014-2015 Miami Heat season. There won't be flashing lights, and people dancing in the aisles in the Miami arena. No parades down Biscayne Boulevard in June this year either. June 2014 is marked in Miami by an arena that emptied in the early third quarter, and scattered boos, by fans who were promised more. Lose? It's not allowed for the Heat. Why, if they can't win four of seven then make the series five of eight, or six of nine. Change the rules, do anything, just let us dance with wild abandon in our thousand dollar seats  and celebrate championships and hug strangers and stand in fetid heat on Biscayne Boulevard while our stars drive by in air conditioned limos, because anything less is not fun, and this is Fun-Town USA. 

Oh, and one more thing. 

The era of sellouts and Miami Heat tickets being tough to get is over as well. Because if there is one thing about this town, like their phony basketball team, Miami is a bunch of spoiled, bandwagon jumping fans who have as much loyalty as a Donald Sterling girlfriend. 

Just ask the Dolphins and the Marlins and the Panthers about that. 

See you in court. 

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

It takes a certain kind of pain or insecurity to move to a city from somewhere else, live there for decades, and not simply chose to remain loyal to the teams for whom you grew up cheering, but actively to demean the hometown teams and their fans -- most of whom are much poorer and worse off than you.

Calling 4 finals and 2 championships "nothing special" is like the teenage girl cutting her wrists lightly -- everyone knows you cant be serious and most know you are simply lashing out in the only inarticulate way you have, juvenile as it is.

Anonymous said...

Fuck you. You are deleted from my fav list. Don't bash the home team deusche.

Rumpole said...

Dear Dad, I didn't mean to offend you. But the truth is the truth- the Heat stink.

Rumpole said...

8:28- by your definition the Buffalo Bills were special. 4 super bowl loses. The Heat are marginally better than that poor pathetic record. In the NBA, every schmo team has a few good years. The Heat just had theirs. Not 7, nor 6. nor 5. nor 4. nor even threepeat. Just a simple two. Ta da....30 years from now when people still talk about the Celtics and the Bulls and LA Showtime, no one will mention the Heat, except in the context of underperforming losers. But still, didn't someone say "any publicity is good publicity"? So there's always that I suppose.

Anonymous said...

In all seriousness, you need significant psychiatric intervention and soon. Please consider this immediately. We need you well.

Anonymous said...

8:28 here. The early 90s Bills were special as hell. Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Kent Hull. The no huddle offense. Frank Reich's come back game (still the greatest comeback in NFL history). Marv Levy. All HOFers and all class acts. And a snowy, frigid stadium that led the league in attendance for years. Would they all have traded years of their lives to get one ring? Of course. Doesnt mean theyre not special. It just shows how difficult it is in pro sports to win even one championship. Bill Polian built that team with as much managerial talent as Riley building this one.

Again, you don't have to like the Bills (or the Heat). But to move to Buffalo, make it your home, and spend your time bashing people who care about the home team just seems to speak to something else. It's akin to publicly telling another man his wife is fat. You dont love her or sleep with her -- what's it to you?

Anonymous said...

The Herald today did a story about Sally Weintraub retiring. Although I wish her well in retirement, she has been one of those prosecutors who are basically on auto pilot. They really don't care what we say or do. They think they're always right, even when the guy is innocent.

I could name a few others like her too.

Sorry but, I'm not going to miss her.

Fake Jay White said...

Rump called a shumie on the heat. Big deal. Ok, so he's a bit verbose and the language is flowery and over the top. So what? The Heat lost, they Shumied the finals and they're done and at least one of the big three will Shumie the heat and leave town. Life goes on people. It's just sports.

Dolphins up next!

Anonymous said...

What is a "shumie". What does it mean. Thanks

Anonymous said...

I love the people of Miami. They boo their own teams, they live lifestyles they cannot afford to be like their celebrity idols and they cannot spell. :)

It's "douche" you imbecile.... not "deusche".

Funny post Rumpole.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a big Heat fan, but I hate these posts. They diminish your credibility.

Is the Heat a "purchased" team? Absolutely. Are you calling it on them a bit early? Absolutely. Are your comparisons of the Heat's four-year record to the records of other teams that spanned decades relevant? Absolutely not.

Anonymous said...

As Ricky Bobby says: If you're not first, you're last!

Anonymous said...

I agree with your closing paragraph about the local fans, so true. But I don't think this Heat thing is over. If you read the expression on Lebron's face, it was one of frustration, that his teammates had given up on him. And I think he wants to reload here. I expect him to go to Riley and tell him he wants to go to the next 4 finals here in Miami, but for his commitment, he needs to dump the dead weight that is D Wade and others. Riley will do it. Riley knows Lebron is the key and nothing else matters. He needs to keep him by any means necessary. Lebron will tell him to cut Wade and take the blame for it. Get me Kevin Love or Nowitsky, big guys who can spread the floor and shoot and get out of my way, but also pass and rebound. Get me Kyrie Irving to start up the offense and run the offense with me the way Wade was supposed to. Get me Melo if he will shut the fuck up and play defense and help my game. Follow me if you want to win more championships. But make the changes NOW, or I will go somewhere else where they will build a team around me, and I call the shots.

eyeonshumie said...

9:14 am:
Shumie is a time is a place is an emotion. Shumie is the way we are feeling.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING .....

INTRODUCING:

FEDERAL JUDGE DARRIN GAYLES

Congrats to Judge Darrin Gayles, who was confirmed today by the United States Senate for an open seat as a Federal Judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Cap Out ....
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Please Explain The Difference Between The Heat And The Yankees Or Red Sox? Heat Paid To Bring TalenT, Just Like Your Yankees. They Buy Best Players Every year

Anonymous said...

No offense to Gayles, but he is definitely no Federal Judge material. He wasn't even a good circuit court judge. He lacks temperament, personality, and good judgment. I guess if you're black and straight you're Federal Judge material, but if you're black and gay then you're not...Thomas would have been a better fit.

Anonymous said...

They should be compared with the Houston Rockets of Hakeem Olajuwon and the Detriot Pistons of Isiah Thomas. They had a good run but just not a great run. They aren't the Celtics of the 60's, the Lakers of the 80's or the Bulls of the 90's.
Period end of story.

ScottAfrica

Rumpole said...

I agree. The comparison with Houston is right on point. Houston should have won more with Olajuwon.

For me, the difference between the Yankees and the Heat is the players on the Yankees didn't conspire, combine and confederate to manipulate the rules and engineer a championship that they couldn't otherwise win alone.

FACDL Listserve Leaker said...

Say, 2:15 p.m. Anonymous, you might want to check your theory against the facts on the whole black/straight/gay thing.

Seriously, are you that dim?

And, leaving aside the identity politics nonsense, Gayles will be a fine Article Three judge, and you know it in your hearts.

Anonymous said...

2:15 - I hope you're making a joke. If you are, I don't get it or it's not funny. If you're not, you're a homophobe. This is the kind of comment I would have expected Rumpole to reject. Real disappointing.

Anonymous said...

For what it's worth, the Lakers Showtime won five titles, not four: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


to 2:15 PM

I don't know how many times you have appeared before Judge Gayles, but I have always found him to be prepared, engaged, polite, professional, and all those good qualities we look for in a trial court judge.

Oh, and, he's gay too.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that"

Cap Out ....
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I agree that this Heat time isn't one of the greatest of all times.

But I think you don't give the team enough credit when you say there's nothing special about a time that wins 2 of 4 consecutive championship tries.
Most players would love to be on teams good enough to play for a title 4 years in a row. To get to the top game is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Coming in 2nd out of 30 isn't something to scoff at.
I heard the King of South Beach say there's no in-between, you either don't make it to playoffs or you win it all, but if you've put up a good fight (debatable here)I think coming in 2nd is better than places 3-30.

Anonymous said...

a shumie is a jerk off

Rumpole said...

I published the 2:15 comment because I thought it was misguided and those ideas need to be exposed. I didn't see the straight homophobic aspect to it so I did allow it to go up. That being said I do my best to be responsive to readers who complain about comments.