15 Strong

I cannot tell you how happy I am that the Miami Heat won the championship, Dear Roxy. I must admit I was pretty nervous and had to change the channel in the first quarter when the Heat were down by double digits. But there was no channel-flipping once the second half started. No way!

“I was just running around like a little kid, just trying to find someone to grab and hold,” Wade said, gripping the M.V.P. trophy and grinning through the dripping Champagne his teammates had sprayed on him.

Wade was once again phenomenal. The kid was bigger than the game in this series and the playoffs. No words to describe his game and his will. As I read in one of the signs, “When there’s a will, there’s a Wade!”

And I have to say that Alonzo put his heart and soul into that game as well. There was no way the Mavs were gonna score on him, and he proved it with his 5 more than grand blocks!

Udanis Haslem was also great in this game. The Miami-born player who went to Miami High and UF, scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds, but the best of the best was the defense he played against Dirk. That was huge! And seeing him cry didn’t bring a tear to my eye, but it definitely made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And the big pit in the Heat locker room was finally unveiled. Pat Riley had 120,000 cards with “15 Strong” printed on the front and different things such as the trophy and photos of the players and their families printed on the back to inspire the team. That’s pretty cool and motivational. Now, why couldn’t Pat do that with the Knicks? Why? j/k

To finalize my Heat euphoria, a huge Congrats to the Miami Heat for an outstanding season and an even greater postseason! After a lot of nail-biting, cuss-less, breathless and nervously close games, the Heat won four, and that’s what it’s all about :) 2006 CHAMPS

-Criss

Photos: Robert Duyos, Mike Stone/Reuters, Yahoo!, Sun-Sentinel...