Le Basketbawl

Winners make changes Losers make excuses; Winners take the blame when they mess up Losers look to put the blame on anybody else close by. In order to become a Winner you have to reach a certain level of maturity; where as Losers never really Frickin grow  up.

This was a very tough summer for Miami Heat power forward Michael Beasley. However the reasons that it was such a tough summer were all do to his own making. Beasley had violated the rules of the NBA Substance-Abuse policy; what he did is not exactly clear and there is a very good chance we may never find out why that Beasley had to spend a good portion of his summer in a Houston Drug Rehab program.

Every single Frickin person that has ever walked this Planet since the dawn of time has made mistakes. Your Old Pal New York Vinnie has made more than his share; there are no Angel Wings on my back. However when you make a mistake hopefully you learn from it so you don’t do the same stupid Frickin thing again. It was they call a “learning experience“ and after reading what Michael Beasley said to some reporters New York Vinnie thinks the player heading into his second season in the NBA did some big time growing up this past summer.

The “Associated Press” has reported that Beasley basically admitted Friday that his stint in the rehab center this summer was his own fault. He is not looking to blame others or make excuses; he says he has been acting like a Frickin PUD and he now realizes that. He has pledged to stop living the NBA “High Life” and get back down to what got him to the Pro Ranks to begin with; his love of the game.

Due to NBA regulations a team is not allowed to discuss anything about one of their players involvement in the NBA Substance Abuse program. Beasley was not forthcoming with what caused him to end up in the rehab center however he did say that he got pretty ticked off when he found out his stint there was going to be longer than he was originally told.

They say the real test of a man is how they deal with adversity. There are a lot of young men that given the circumstances that Beasley found himself in would have copped an attitude. They would become bitter and cut themselves off from the people and the things that could help them. Beasley did not react that way; instead he sat down and took stock of himself trying to figure out how he ended up where he was.

Beasley told reporters “Being locked down for as long as I was gave me a chance to really get my life organized and get back in touch with myself. I think over this past year, I’ve got caught up in the NBA life, as most of us do. I think this gave me the perfect opportunity to just sit down and evaluate my life and get the good separated from the bad.”

Now in New York Vinnie’s eyes that is how a MAN deals with a situation! He blamed nobody but himself, admitted he had been acting the fool and that was why he got into trouble. No Frickin excuses or alibis; it was just I Frickin messed up and I got what I deserved.

Beasley also told reporters that what meant the most to him was the unified support of his team the Miami Heat. The forward said “In my worst hour, in my lowest hour, to know that my team and my organization backed me up 100 percent, it gives you comfort. It gave me confidence in myself that I might have lost and that might not have been there first. It’s just making me feel a whole lot better as a player and a person.”

Another thing that Beasley has decided to stop participating in is social networking via the web. He told reporters “I can definitely say, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, any social network I’m pretty much done with. I put my career and my livelihood in jeopardy. That’s something I worked day in and day out, hour after hour, for basically my whole life for. And to lose it over some Internet social network, garbage network, it’s not smart at all.”

Michael, more players should follow your lead Winners realize that actions speak a whole lot louder than words do. If you do what you are supposed to be doing on the court you do not have to call attention to yourself via Twitter. Winners let their numbers do the talking while Losers brag. As far as his age being a factor in the bad decisions he made Beasley said he will not use that as an excuse. He told reporters “That chapter is behind. Later for the immaturity. Later for me blaming it on my age. I’ve come to realize I’m a professional, no matter if I’m 38, no matter if I’m 19 or 20. I’m a professional.”

Now this is just one step and again all it is are words. But Beasley seems sincere and if he follows through with what he said his life will only get better. Michael My Man as far as New York Vinnie is concerned you now have a blank slate. Hopefully you will  fill it this time with only positives.