APPLICATION » ere ... Im not saying we were the first to do it, because I

CHICAGO -- Dwyane Wade believes that superteams are great for the NBA.The Chicago Bulls guard made the declaration during a 20-minute, post-practice media session in which he hit on a variety of different topics regarding the past and present of free agency.Wade -- who welcomed LeBron James and Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat in 2010 -- was asked if he thought the creation of super teams was good for the overall health of the league.I think certain moments -- its great, Wade said. At the end of the day, whether you dislike the Heat or you loved the Heat, you was tuning in to watch the Heat, right? Same thing with Golden State. Whether you dislike what happened with Kevin Durant or whatever the case may be, youre going to tune into watch, whether you want him to succeed or fail.Our game is growing. Eyes are on our game. And at the end of the day, me as a player, I just love the fact that players have the ability to control their own destiny.Thats what we fight for when it comes to lockouts and all these things. We want to be able to do the things we want to be able to do because they can trade us at any moment, they can get rid of us at any moment. So to have the power to be able to do what we did in 2010 -- that felt great. That was a great moment for us. Three young African-American kids got an opportunity to control their own destiny and call their own shots. Thats what we wanted. So our game is not taking a hit; our game has only grown.When the Heat trio was deciding where to play, Wade knew the process was altering the course of basketball history.?James, Wade and Bosh went on to lead Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals and won the championship twice.We definitely knew it was big, Wade said. We knew it was real big. Obviously, we knew we had to win to really make it something. But we knew that we were embarking on something big. Obviously, you dont know exactly what it is, and we wont know probably for years from now. But I think we all had an idea that this is about to be huge.Not all NBA players agree superteams are good, in the wake of Durants decision to leave the?Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors.Im an old-school guy. Im a competitor. ... When you want to be the best, youve got to beat the best, Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul Pierce, who is embarking on his 19th season,?told SiriusXM NBA Radio. Thats always been something thats driven me. Todays day and age, a lot of these guys are friends. Thats like if [Larry] Bird decided to go play with Magic [Johnson] or something. These guys, I think the competition makes the game what is.And Oklahoma, I felt like, was a contending team. They had Golden State on the ropes [in the Western Conference finals]. I understand when you have great players on losing teams who are tired of losing, struggling in the playoffs every year. Youre the lone star. Ive been in that position. I could have left Boston years ago, but I stuck it out [and won a championship in 2008]. I just feel like when youre that close, as a competitor, you dont go join the team that just put you out.Thats just me personally, but were living in a day and time where theres a new generation. ... I dont think they are as hungry or competitive as my generation was, and thats why youll probably see more of that.Wade said that when the NBA lockout occurred in 2011, he took it personally when owners took issue with teams being constructed like the Heat.We felt they tried to block us from being able to keep it going, Wade said. But they didnt do a good job of that -- obviously.Wade said the criticism the Heat faced early on was a challenge.That first year was a tough year for us, he said. Youve got guys who at that time had been in this league, and fans love. Media wasnt too bad on us either. And everything turned because we decided to play together.From a competitive standpoint you love that it was sold out every time you go to the arena, but just the things that people had to say about us deciding to play the game of basketball together -- there was a lot of negative attention on that. We took the hit of that.Wade compared the pressure and expectations the Heat dealt with to what other players have dealt with through the years.Just like Allen Iverson took the hit for tattoos and braids and headbands, Wade continued. Everyone does it now. So we understood what we were embarking on, and thats why it was huge because we knew we were ... Im not saying we were the first to do it, because I know other teams have tried to, but in the point of where we was name-wise in our career, in the prime of our career, we were the most powerful to do it at that time.But hey, we did what we wanted to do and thats what it always came back to us. After that first year, thats when we got back to playing the game, enjoying the game, whatever comes with it. When it became, We came together to win championships, lets take care of business.Wade said that the theory that he and Heat president Pat Riley started putting together the plan to make the Miami superteam a reality in 2008 was stupid.That theory is crazy, Wade said. So I would play for two seasons, and may get hurt, but lets hope that this happens in two years?I wish we was that smart, he added. Thank you for the credit, thank you for giving us credit of seeing in the future. We knew what the money was going to be like, we knew that the Miami Heat would have money. It makes no sense. How did we know the Heat could get three players? How did we have an idea in 2006, or whenever they said we came up with this plan, that the Miami Heat was going to be able to do this?I never thought that it would be possible, Wade said of teaming up with James. But when it presented itself, you open it up, you start the conversation, you start looking at it a little different, and thats what happened. So thank everybody for thinking we were that smart, but this is something that kind of happened when it happened.The Warriors now have four All-Stars: Durant,?Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. As for how Golden State will handle being the leagues new superteam, Wade wasnt sure.I have no idea, he said. Everything is different. I cant say it will or it wont be. With every team when you add a new piece, when you add new players, its going to be a moment where you have to adjust to each other. But theyre so good, who knows if the growing pains are going to be seen by anybody.We can all nitpick at whats going to be different, but at the end of the day you wont know until the end of the season. For us, we had a lot of growing pains, but at the end of the day we were in the Finals in our first year of playing together. We were just great talent. We werent the team we needed to be [yet], but we were still in the Finals. So you just never know. Swell Water Bottle Nz . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Swell Bottle Nz .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. http://www.swellbottlesnz.com/swell-bottle-wood-nz-sale.html .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Discount Swell Bottles . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Swell Water Bottle Clearance . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Several prominent retired and current Olympic athletes have thrown their support behind an international crowdfunding campaign to benefit Russian doping whistleblowers Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov, who had to flee their home country and settle in an undisclosed location in the United States last year.The public effort, designed to help the Russian couple with educational and living expenses, comes at a time when athletes around the world are urging anti-doping and Olympic officials to ensure whistleblowers personal safety and ability to provide authorities with information.Lauryn Williams of the United States, one of only five athletes in history to have won medals in both the Summer (track and field) and Winter (bobsled) Games, is among those who recorded statements of support on a Swiss-based website.I think that globally, we should make an effort to support them so that other whistleblowers know were serious about stamping out doping, said the 32-year-old Williams, who sits on the World Anti-Doping Agency Athlete Committee.Others publicly endorsing the campaign include Olympic discus gold medalist Robert Harting of Germany, who will defend his title in Rio de Janeiro next month; Olympic cross-country skiing champion Beckie Scott of Canada, who also chairs the WADA Athlete Committee; and three-time Olympic skeleton racer Ben Sandford of New Zealand.Joseph de Pencier, CEO of the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations -- a trade and advocacy association for 59 such agencies -- praised the effort.ddddddddddddEqually important are continuing efforts to make use of the Stepanovs experience and insight to improve anti-doping, he told ESPN. We all need to learn from those who report wrongdoing how better to encourage others to come forward.Vitaly Stepanov, a former employee of the now-discredited Russian Anti-Doping Agency, began providing inside information to WADA in 2010. His wife, an 800-meter runner who doped as part of the national system, joined him after being sanctioned in 2013. Her covert recordings later became part of a German television documentary that forced WADA to investigate their allegations.WADAs findings, combined with further, detailed revelations by ex-Moscow lab director Grigory Rodchenkov, have led the International Olympic Committee to consider excluding Russian athletes from the Rio Games next month. Yuliya Stepanova has been granted a special exemption by world track and field officials to compete in Rio, but it is still unclear whether she would be able to do so under a neutral flag if other Russian athletes are excluded. She entered the 800-meter event at the European Championships earlier this month but was injured in her first race. ' ' '