Windows 7 Review

So I finally decided that it was time to give Windows 7 a try... After using Windows XP faithfully for what seemed to be an eternity I was really looking forward to using a good next-gen Windows OS. Having installed Vista two years prior and uninstalling it a few hours afterward I was a bit skeptical of Windows 7 to say the least.

Being in the IT industry and the "go-to" computer guy in my community, I have to stay ahead of the curve to be able to handle the inquiries and repairs as they start to come in. However this time learning from my past experience with Vista, I decided I would first run Windows 7 from within a virtual machine (VirtualBox) this way if I decided it wasn't for me I could delete it from the virtual machine in seconds and lose nothing from my beloved Windows XP Pro.

For those of you unfamiliar with what a virtual machine does... it is just a program that runs in your current operating system that allows you to install another operating system from within it in a "sandbox" that isolates it from everything else in your computer. You allocate a portion of your hard drive to it, and then just install your new operating system as usual. You can install several OS's from a virtual machine simultaneously. Whenever you want to uninstall an OS from within a virtual machine you just delete it and have nothing else to worry about... it only takes a few seconds and you have yourself a clean slate. VirtualBox is a free program, give it a try.

When Vista was first release I was working for a Microsoft Partner in Mentor, OH and received a free copy of Vista a few weeks before it was released to the general public. I couldn't wait to get home, backup my files, and perform a clean install of the new Vista. I saw all the cool looking screen shots on various sites, read a few early reviews and I just knew Vista was going to be a great platform to work on... right? Wrong!!! I had Vista on my computer for roughly 3-4 hours before I kicked the computer, punched the wall and uninstalled it swearing to never have anything to do with this horrible operating system Microsoft had just put out. As you can see I was more than disappointed in Vista. This time I had no expectations for Windows 7, lets just try it out and see. If it sucks, I still have my trusty XP Pro to fall back on.

Here goes nothing... I load up VirtualBox, drop in the Windows 7 install DVD and proceed to install. Nothing special here, it installs like any other OS. You select which drive to install to, select your time-zone, language, same ole same ole.

Then it begins... The first thing that caught my attention was the newly designed taskbar. It's about double the width of the XP taskbar and transparent. The icons are bigger and there is no quicklaunch present. The start menu looks familiar and very similar to the XP/Vista start menu. Next I right-click on the desktop and get the familiar options menu and go to personalize to see what options I'm going to have at my disposal. The menus do have a short learning curve to them but as you will find out with a little time playing with them that they do make sense and are very easy to work with. The included wallpapers are very nicely done and update your desktop as you select them for preview. There are various sound schemes available and you can change the color of the transparent taskbar and windows.

From within the personalize menu you can also access desktop gadgets, screen resolution, ease of access center and more. So far so good. Not an annoying popup yet... but I have not installed anything yet, so lets do that now.

One of my least favorite things to do when performing an install of an OS is getting all my must-have programs installed and setup all over again. I have stumbled across a very nice site that will help you with this step. Ninite is a site that has the most common must-have free applications listed on their site with check boxes next to them. You go through and select which programs you want and then you go to the bottom and click "Get Installer" Ninite then creates one installer of all the programs you selected so you can install all of the program with one installer. Its genius really and saves lots of time.

Ok, so now I have programs to install. I install them and upon installing them I get a security popup asking if I really want to install these programs. I don't so much mind this type of popup as I do like to be notified when there is a program trying to install itself on my system so no problems... The programs all installed and worked without issue, that's good. Then I install Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2, again - no problems. I also checked the device manager and all devices had their most recent drivers already installed with no input from me, that is also a huge time saver.

I go out on the web using Firefox, I open up Windows Explorer, iTunes, and Photoshop. I'm curious as to how it handles multi-tasking... again - no problem. This is where the taskbar truly shines. All windows from within a certain program only creates one icon in the taskbar. You hover your mouse over that icon and a preview of all the windows that program is running fly out to show you their content even if that content is live video, nice! If you have lots of windows open at the same time you can grab the bar at the top of the window, give it a shake, and all other windows minimize. Do it again and they reappear.

Windows 7 now makes it much easier to share files on your network with other systems that are also running Windows 7 with the new "Homegroup" feature. You can also choose "Play to" which will send multimedia to another computer on your network or your Xbox 360. You can also share files with any other OS you are using by sharing the drive as you could with XP and just about any other OS.

After having Windows 7 installed for a few hours in the virtual machine, I went ahead and installed it as the primary OS on my main desktop, my HTPC, and my Dell Mini 9 netbook. I've tested and ran them extensively for four days now and they all perform magically. I have to give this latest Microsoft offering the official stamp of approval. Great job Microsoft!

Watch this CNET video review for live Windows 7 footage! Also, get an awesome Windows 7 shortcut PDF file.

FTP Server

This is a tutorial for setting up FTP Server on Windows XP Pro. There are many different operating systems available and I'm obviously not going to cover them all so I chose an operating system I feel most people are using. Even if you are not running XP Pro, you should still be able to get some understanding of FTP Server and it's setup. There are many standalone FTP Server programs available for free online that are very well documented. With a search on google for "free standalone FTP Server" you will find some with no problem, then you can read and decide which one you would like to try.

In the next paragraph I'm just going to go ahead and get into the tutorial without too much extra babbling so you can follow along a little easier. Like I've said before, if you have any questions please feel free to comment on this post. So without further a due, lets get into setting up your very own FTP server!

Start>Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs>Add/Remove Windows Components


This will bring up the "Windows Components Wizard". Scroll down the list and check Internet Information Services (IIS), with IIS selected, click the Details Button. Another IIS box will pop up, you need to place a check next to Common Files, (FTP)Service, and IIS Snap-In. Make sure those are selected then click the OK Button. You are now back to the Windows Component Wizard, click the Next Button to continue.

At this point you will likely need your Windows XP Pro CD to put in your CD drive. If prompted to do so, put your disc in and follow the wizard until the necessary files are successfully transferred. Wait a minute or two until this operation completes then continue on.

Start>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Internet Information Services


Click the "+" to expand the menu's. Where my FTP Server is named "GaLiNd3z FTP Site" yours will be "Default FTP Site". Right-click on your default ftp site and then select properties. Here you can change the name if you wish. Note that TCP port 21 is the default port that will need to be opened for FTP communication to occur. However, you will also need to open port 20 on your router later, but for now leave this as is.

Select the Security Accounts tab and then place a check next to "Allow only anonymous connections" and "Allow IIS to control password". You don't have to do this if you don't want to, but if you use your windows account to log into your FTP site across the internet just know that your account can be compromised as your username and password will not be encrypted unless you are tunneling through a VPN. If you don't know what I just said, just trust me... it is much safer to only allow anonymous access. This access will only allow users to view the files you place in your FTP Site directory which we will be covering next.

Select the Home Directory tab. Here you can select which folder you want to make available to your FTP site. The default folder is c:\inetpub\ftproot. I like to keep it that way, but you can change it to whatever you choose. Here you can also select which privileges you want to give users (e.g. Read, Write, and Log visits).

If you want to make a message appear whenever anyone connects to your site you can do so by selecting the Messages tab and filling in the appropriate spaces provided. When you are done with these steps, click apply, then OK.

An FTP site is no good without any files so lets go and add some files. If you changed the default location, then you need to go to that location to add files, otherwise go to c:\inetpub\ftproot and add whatever files you wish to make available, then "Restart" your computer.

At this point you are half way done. You need to configure your router to forward TCP ports 20 and 21 to the machine that is running the FTP site. To access your router you will need to know your "Default Gateway". Press the windows key on your keyboard + R at the same time to bring up the "run" box. Type CMD in the run box to bring up a command box. In the command box type in "ipconfig" without the quotations. This will give you your IP address, subnet mask and default gateway. It will look something like this:


Now that you have your default gateway you need to open up your web browser (IE, or Firefox), in the address bar where you usually type in www.whatever.com you need to type in your default gateway, so in my example I would type in 192.168.1.1 then hit enter. This takes you to your router administration. You will need your username and password to access this information. If you have never changed it or have never been here before you can try username: admin or administrator and leave the password blank. If that does not work you need to find the documentation for your router. You can do this easily with a google search. You need to get the make and model number you can find them on the bottom of the router. I'm not going to spend too much time on this step, if you need more help... ask.

Once you are in you need to go through your menus and find the area that will let you forward ports or "Port Range Forward" it is usually a sub menu of "Applications & Gaming" of course all routers are different, but it should be something similar to this. Now what you want to do is create a rule that forwards TCP port 20 and 21 to the IP address of the FTP server (notice I said the IP address, not the default gateway). So again in my example I would forward TCP port 20 and 21 to 192.168.1.103, then save your changes and close the browser.

If you have any firewalls running other than the Windows Firewall, you also need to allow access through it. That's pretty much it. You now have a working FTP site that you can access your files from. If you only need access from within your home, then you have nothing else to do. Just open up a web browser and type in ftp://youripaddress (where youripaddress is the IP address you got from the command prompt) such as ftp://192.168.1.103 and you will see the files in your shared FTP folder.

Now that you got this far and you can share files throughout your home network, why not take the next step and make them available throughout the internet so that you can have access anywhere?

To do this you need a static IP address, if you don't know what I'm talking about then you probably do not have one. If you do have one then you are done, just use that IP address from any computer with ftp:// in the front of it and you are in there like swimwear. However, if you have a dynamic IP address like most people do, then you need to use a service that will control DNS information for you so that when your IP address changes you can still keep using one name and not have to worry about it.

This may not be making much sense right now... Its really quite simple but all you have to do is go to DynDNS and register for a free Dynamic DNS account. Choose a name you would like to use and click add. You will need to create a free account there and also you will need to find your "public IP address" they have a tool on their site that will show you what it is and then match the name you chose to it. You can also go to myipaddress.com to get your public IP address.

Please don't get confused with the different IP addresses. You basically have two of them. One is private (the one you got from the command prompt) and one is public. The private IP is good for you to use within your own home network and the public one you need to go onto the internet and is also the one your ISP uses to identify you.

Dynamic public IP address change every couple of days and what DynDNS does is track these changes and link them to one name that you choose. Therefore giving you what appears to be one static address. Again I don't want to go too much into this and if you have any questions... ask.

Once you have this set up you are done! Go share some files and make sure you aren't using this for something illegal. Use at your own risk, I'm not liable for any trouble you get yourself into. I showed you how to do it, now be safe out there and use it for a good cause.

Congratulations, you now have your very own FTP Server. More tech how-to's coming soon! :D

Ready for some Tech How-to's?

I know I haven't posted anything recently, but it gets difficult finding new things to share that can really help someone without talking too much about nothing. Also, it takes a lot of time and effort to put into something that isn't really making any $$$ and lets face it... time is money! However, I do like to share with the community I get so much help from.

That being said, I just want to let you guys know that I will posting several new articles in the days ahead related to the Tech field. You don't have to be in the field or be a "techie" to get something from these articles, and I will write them as if you have very little computing know-how.

With the assortment of gadgets, services, and media online... just about everyone has music, pictures, and videos they would like to share, not only throughout your home, but maybe also with your neighbors and possibly family and friends all over the world!

There are very easy ways to accomplish this, as I will share. There are services you can add to your computer and there are also some websites that can help you with this. I will probably start with FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and how you can set up your own FTP server to share your media or any files with others. An average user can get this setup and rockin' within 30-45 minutes if that. I don't claim to be an expert in anything, but I have been tinkering with computers and electronics in general for over two decades and consider myself pretty knowledgeable with technology. If there are articles you would like to see, or questions you may have - you can feel free to comment on these articles and I will see you.

As a Computer Field Technician I am always traveling from site to site fixing all sorts of computer related issues from Wal-Mart and Home Depot to your mamas house :P Having an FTP server I can pull programs and files from that I may need in the field is invaluable to me, and saves me lots of time. The files are sitting at home, why shouldn't I be able to access them from anywhere? I can, and you can too!

I'll show you how to set a free service that will make your dynamic IP address seem more like a static IP address, how to get your own domain name attached to that IP for free, how to setup your router, keep yourself secure, and of course how to log in for the first time. Maybe next week I can sow you how you can stream your movies and videos just like the big cable companies do with VLC player... then you can let your family and friends log in and watch with you... and yes, it's all free. Stay tuned!

Rock Climbing for Fun and Fitness

Over the weekend I went rock climbing with my wife and some friends. It was the first time for all of us, even though I always wanted to try this. I was ready to go as soon as I stepped on the platform. I've always been like a monkey wanting to climb everything.

When I was growing up me and my friends would try to find the highest thing we thought we could get to and jump off. So this was naturally appealing to me.

Once I had my harness secured to the line I began to climb the wall. I started on the beginner wall to get a feel for the whole thing, especially the way down. After making it to the top the first time, I climbed back down. It wasn't until I was at the bottom did the staff notice and tell me I was supposed to repel down.

Grabbing hooks and stepping my way up the wall was fairly easy. I was at the top in about a minute. I was surprised by how easy it was for me. After knocking out the beginner wall with such ease, I unhooked my line and made a bee line for the advanced wall. This didn't work out like I had hoped. It is definitely something you have to work at and get better.

The nubs on the advanced wall were very small, they had no hooks to grip on, many of them rounded and facing in weird angles. I tried 3 or 4 times before being convinced I wasn't going to get more than 6 or 7 feet off the ground. It was tough. Then I moved on to the intermediate wall. It was challenging but do-able... I stayed there the rest of the time.

While you are attached to the wall you feel your entire body getting a workout. You strengthen your grip, arms, legs, and core. Your body gets tight after about 20-30 minutes of climbing. I felt stronger and more agile, it was a good feeling. We were in Austin at the Main Event there, but now that I'm back home I found a place close by called Stone Moves I'm going to go check out.

If you're reading this and have wanted to try rock climbing I would definitely recommend that you seek an indoor climbing wall near you and try it out. I really enjoyed the workout and am adding it to my regiment.

This is us on our first attempt at the rock walls. The repelling on the way down is just as much fun as climbing :)



This is Alain "Spiderman" Robert. He is an amazingly skilled climber, check him out.

Michael Jackson: The Greatest of all Time!

I would like to take a minute here to talk briefly about one of my idols growing up, Michael Jackson. I remember being in my living room at night while my parents were asleep, sitting in my pajamas on the floor in front of our stereo - writing down the lyrics to my favorite MJ songs from the Thriller album.

I must have been only 8 or 9 years old when my mom bought that record. I couldn't stop listening to it. I remember watching him on TV and wanting so badly to be able to dance like him. I had the glove, the socks, and the jacket... all I needed were the moves. I thought I was his #1 fan at the time. I had no idea how many other number one fans he had.

A talent like Michael's is one that will never come around again. He was truly one of a kind and inspired millions around the world. I don't think there is a person alive over 4 years old that doesn't know at least one Michael Jackson song. His music is played in every corner of the world. They don't speak English in all the places they play his songs, but they know his lyrics by heart.

I cannot express the grief I felt hearing the news of his passing. I was truly shocked and really couldn't believe it... I still can't. Today I spent the better part of the day listening to song after song and reminiscing of the things I was doing when I first heard them. I was teary. There has been many great people that have passed in my time here, but this loss has to be one of the toughest to swallow.

Everyone that truly knew Michael speaks of his boyish qualities and his true love for people and want to make the world a better place. I feel really bad for some of the troubles hes had in his life and the cost hes had to pay for fame. No matter what anyone has to say about him, there is no denying that he has changed the music world forever. The man was simply a musical genius!

I want to thank Michael for all the years of entertainment he gave to us all, and to give my condolences to his kids and his family. There will never be another one like you Mike, may you rest in peace.

Here is my favorite MJ song of all time, Billie Jean. Enjoy :)

Nike+ Running: For Beginners

As promised last week, I bring to your immediate attention Nike+. For those of you that already run with Nike+ and have a pretty good feel for it, you probably wont get anything new from this post. I geared this article toward those of you that don't know what Nike+ is, and for those that have heard... but have never tried.

I'll start with what you will need to get started running with Nike+. Most of you probably already have the costliest component already, an iPod. You can use the iPod Nano or the iPod Touch. Next, you'll need a Nike+ sensor for your shoes, and a receiver for your iPod (iPod Touch Gen 2 has the receiver built-in).

You can get a pair of Nike+ shoe's which have a small compartment in the sole to put the sensor in or you can buy a holder for the sensor that straps to any other shoe's laces. That's all you need!

Once you have your gear ready, you create a free account at Nike+. Fill in your user info and browse the site to become familiar with it's interface. I actually did this before I bought all the gear, just to see what features I was going to have at my disposal.

The site has a bit of a learning curve, so it may take an hour or so to find everything that the site has to offer. You can save yourself a lot of time by going to the support section, clicking on tutorials, and watching the videos they have put together. The videos are short, informative, and very well made.

OK so... you have your gear, you set up your account, you read the manual, you checked out the tutorials, and you're ready to go!

To keep this article from turning into a bible, I will not go into all the steps you need to take such as: calibrating, selecting songs, and choosing a workout. I'll just say - it is extremely simple, and well documented (check the manual). We'll focus more on the features and what makes the system so great!

What music are you going to run to? You need tunes right... You can listen to any music you have in your library, playlist's too. You can also go to iTunes and buy Nike+ Workouts. These are actually pretty cool! I got the Lance Armstrong: Intervals Mix and use it all the time. The cool thing about this is: you run to a really cool playlist Lance chose, Lance talks to you during the workout motivating you to keep going, he also instructs you when to change up your pace, and when to take rests.

When you press the button on your iPod while you're running - your music will lower and you will hear how far you've run, what your pace is, how many calories you've burned, and depending on the workout you chose, how long you have to go! If you really get into this you can even buy a Nike+ remote watch that will control your iPod so you can keep it in your armband!

Now you're sweaty and back home. You take a shower and head to the computer to upload your first run, YaY! The iPod sync's and sends your data to Nike+. From the Nike+ site you can monitor your performances. All your runs are logged for you to check whenever you want. After you get 5-10 runs in - you will start to see yourself improving. Your lines will get straighter as you build your cardio and strength, your mileage will increase, and your times will decrease. The visual representation of these stats right in front of you is very motivating! If you're like me, you will get "the bug" and look forward to each run!

Nike+ Coach is like having your own personal trainer. You input your fitness goals, and Coach will generate a workout for you to follow. It will stagger days and workout lengths. You may have a 1.5 mile run today, and a 3.2 mile run the next.

Other nice features include Map It, which lets you use a Google Earth type system to draw a route. Map It will give you it's distance and allow to save several routes. You can see and run others users routes and they can see and run yours, unless you choose to keep them private. There are also "Teams" you can join to keep each other motivated and track each others stats. You can set challenges like: fastest mile this month or first to 50 miles... there are hundreds. Goals can also be set, met, and rewarded with medals and ribbons that are displayed on your page.

If you follow me on twitter you will notice that after I run my stats are updated on twitter for all to see. This is done by using a twitter partner called Twiike. Go to the site, create a free account, enter your Nike+ username and password, then your twitter username and password. Now, whenever you sync, data gets sent to Nike+ and to Twiike. Twiike will then automatically tweet your results. It's a good way to keep yourself motivated by letting everyone see how hard you've been working.

As you can see, I really get into this Nike+ running. I wish I had this years ago. Thinking of all those miles that could have been logged... I'm happy I found it now though. If you enjoy running or walking for fitness, this is for you!

No, I'm not a Nike employee or paid by Nike to say any of this stuff. I am a huge fan however and would like everyone to know just how great the system works so you too can stay fit and have fun.

Watch the Nike+ commercial below to see it in action :)

Hit the Trails: Hike for your Health

With summer now here, people are looking for fun outdoor activities they can do. So I decided to write about one of my favorite things to do, hit the trails! According to the American Hiking Society, hiking is the easiest and least expensive outdoor recreation. You can make it a meditative experience by going it alone, or you can bring some friends along for good conversations about nature, while you all enjoy the sun, scenery, and fresh air.

Statistics say that only 15% of the U.S. adult population engages in sufficient physical activities. As we grow older the thought of sweating it out at the gym, or running on a track/park doesn't sound so exciting anymore... Some folks may not have even considered the benefits of hiking like: losing weight, improving mental well-being, balance, reducing tension, and strengthening muscles. Even at a casual 2 mile per hour walk a 150 pound person will burn 240 calories per hour. Not bad for an activity that's so relaxing and enjoying. It's hard to believe it's actually a workout!

Have you ever heard that the sun makes people happy? Well it's true... it does. Bright light increases levels of serotonin (a mood lifting chemical) in the brain. Exercising also increases your serotonin levels. The benefits you will gain from hiking are vast and amazing!

Another thing people may not know is - almost everyone has a hiking trail near their home. With the internet the way it is now, if you are reading this blog, you can find a hiking trail near you. Use Google Maps, type "parks in" then your city and state. Once you have the names of parks near you, do a Google Web search for those parks to find out which ones have hiking trails... most do.

"I don't have anything to wear for hiking." Sure you do! If you have a closet you have what you need... You may need to get a better pair of shoes for hiking, but that can come later once you've committed to the hike. What you wear will depend largely on the trails you are planning on walking or running, and the temperature outside.

Living in Houston, TX in June in no joke. The weather here is H-O-T. I like to go in cargo shorts, a dry-wick short sleeve shirt, hiking/water shoes (timberland), a backpack, and my camera :) If I were in Alaska - a serious change in gear would be in order.

In my backpack I keep a few items I think may come in handy - remember to always think ahead. Its better to have things and not need them, than to need them and not have them... So this is what I pack:

-water
-protein bars and healthy snacks
-first aid kit
-sunscreen
-towel
-pocket knife
-insect repellent
-flash light
-matches
-cell phone (for emergency only... I keep it off)

Before you leave, be sure to check your local weather reports, to make sure you don't need to bring any rain gear. I hope I helped encourage at least one person out there to hit the trails, and hike for your health! If I missed anything, or a fellow hiker has some helpful tips other readers may want to know, please leave a comment. Below is a short video from expert village on something I like to do... trail running. Have fun :P

Kimbo Slice on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights

Dana White once said that the only way Kimbo Slice could fight in the UFC, was if he fought his way through as a cast member on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter. Kimbo is now ready to take that opportunity on the next season of the UFC's flagship show. Season Ten will begin filming very shorty and will feature former light heavyweight champs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Suga" Rashad Evans as competing coaches.

EliteXC folded after investing too much money into Kimbo - then having 6.5 million viewers witness a relatively unknown Seth Petruzelli knock him out in seconds. Kimbo said in the post fight interview "It's all good". Of course it's all good... Kimbo was homeless and was fighting fools in the street for $100. Now he has a multi-million dollar contract!

Kevin Ferguson aka Kimbo Slice was given an opportunity to make lots of money and he took full advantage of it. Who can blame him for that? He knows he's a rookie in MMA, he knows he's not that good, and he knows he's gonna get knocked out again soon. Until then though, as Kevin says "Give me my bread". The man can feed his family now and wear a ten pound gold glove around his neck. I cant hate on him for that, in fact I rather admire that in him.

Most of these UFC guys have trained their whole life in the art of ripping people's arms and legs off. They can take a good punch too. I just don't see Kimbo getting very far in the UFC. Dana White knows what he is doing though. Kimbo has proven he can get ratings. On youtube and on national television - drawing millions of viewers that want to see this big ugly dude knock a hole in someones head. Kimbo will do the same for the show.

There is going to be a big rule change for Season 10. The 16 cast members will not be forced to fight, to secure a spot in the house. This move was done to ensure that Kimbo is not eliminated too early and is kept around to draw more viewers. Smart move on Dana's part don't you think?

They say Kimbo has been training hard and getting better. Maybe he can win this thing and fight a couple more in the UFC... I hope he is saving some of his "bread" and not wasting it all - 15 minutes doesn't last forever.

Shaq to Pair with LeBron in Cleveland?

At this point we've heard the rumors going around about Shaq possibly going to Cleveland to play with LeBron. Well, it really isn't a rumor, it's an option that is being weighed by their teams right now.

Being raised in Cleveland, OH and being a life-long Cavaliers fan, my only concerns about getting Shaq would be his age, and the wear and tear he has put his body through. Even though I love Shaq, always have... at 37/38 years old, is he going to have what it takes to get it done all season long and into the Finals? Or even in the conference finals should the Cavs have to meet Orlando and the fresh Dwight Howard again. He looked great last year with the Suns, but will he be able continue playing at that level much longer?

This Cavaliers team is a team that must win now or get exceptionally better every year to have any hope of keeping the phenom LeBron James. Should O'Neil happen to run out of gas or be plagued by an injury, and the Cavs not having another big man able to provide you the same effective minutes, you run the risk of going through yet another disappointing year with LeBron sitting as a free agent at the end. We already know how upset James was when he lost to the Magic this year. He took a lot of criticism for his lack sportsmanship and failure to address the media.

2010 is right around the corner now. If the Cavs were to make another mistake it may be their last in the LBJ era. I want nothing more than to have James a Cavalier his entire career, but LeBron is a very smart businessman. As long as he is winning Championships and playing the type of game he displays every night, it doesn't matter who he play for, he is going to be noticed globally and in turn will be paid! If he doesn't win, he makes money... just not nearly as much. Now if he leaves Cleveland for New York, LA, Miami, or Chicago he will instantly be placed in a bigger market that would net him a greater profit even if he isn't winning the Championships.

Thankfully LeBron's pedigree is that of a winner, maybe even if to a flaw. The flaw being a sometimes apparent lack of loyalty to the city of Cleveland and it's fans. We all know his love for the Yankee's and what LBJ did at the Indian's playoff series against the Yankees. He also did something similar when the Browns played the Dallas Cowboys. I personally wish he rooted for the home team, being that Akron is 30 minutes from Cleveland, but... he can root for who ever he wants - as long as he's winning games for the Cavaliers :)

That being said, if Danny Ferry can secure a healthy Shaquille O'Neil that can play hard - without injury, I very much like the Cavs chances at a Championship and LeBron staying. I can see it now... Cavs vs Lakers Finals 2009/2010, LeBron and Shaq vs Kobe and Phil Jackson! ahhh one can only wish! If the move goes through though and it doesn't work out... I don't even want to say it.

Decisions, decisions...

Miguel Cotto's New Ways

On April 8th 2009, Cotto fired his uncle and long-time trainer Evangelista Cotto from the team's staff, after a verbal dispute turned violent. According to Cotto's camp Evangelista was against Cotto moving his training to Tampa, FL where Miguel now lives. He believed that Cotto should not train outside of Puerto Rico, even though it was becoming a distraction - do to Miguel's celebrity.

Things between the two were shaky for more than three years, before it finally came to blows, Miguel getting his 2009 Jaguar XKR window smashed, and his uncle losing his job.

This went down shortly after Cotto's now controversial loss to the hands of Antonio Margarito. Needing a new trainer, Miguel turned to his staffs nutritionist Joe Santiago. Miguel also went out and got a few tattoos. The most visible one being a tribal that covers the right side of his body from knee-to-shoulder. It resembles the tribal Tyson now sports on his face. He also has three Chinese letters on the side of his neck, his kids names on his left bicep, a scorpion on his shoulder, and a star on his wrist.

With all these new changes happening around the Cotto camp you have to wonder what is going through the mind of Miguel Cotto. He has always conducted himself with respect and class and has been a great ambassador for the sport of boxing. If this scenario was to have played out at another boxers camp you would think that maybe they got big headed and selfish. However, I don't think that is the case with Miguel, I think that they are having a family dispute on an issue they wish to not share just yet. It was necessary for Miguel to seek a new trainer, someone who he could respect and get along with.

The tattoos Cotto chose and the location of them mark the sign of a beast! He has his kids names on his left bicep. Cotto's best punch is his left hook (to the head or body), he chose to put those names there in flames to remind him what he is fighting for. The scorpion lurking around his shoulder is just waiting to attack. The long tribal is like his war paint as he stalks his prey in the ring. The Chinese letters on side of his neck are to show he embraces the code of the Samurai. With his new focus and only taste of defeat, I believe Cotto is going to step up his game and fight like a man possessed.

Saturday's fight against Joshua Clottey showed the world the kind of boxer Miguel Cotto is. Despite being badly cut over his left eye in the fourth round, Cotto continued to pursue and exchange with another very talented young fighter. Never looking for an easy/early escape which would more than likely have earned him a victory, Miguel pressed on and finished the fight strong. He earned the victory via split decision after going all 12 rounds.

What do you guys think about Cotto's new ways? Do you think maybe he is getting the "big head" or do you think he did the right thing by firing his long-time uncle/trainer? Ultimately does his new style and training benefit him or should he have stayed with his uncle? All very good questions and something that only time will tell, but from what I see so far I like it! Let me know what you think.

Cotto Tattoos

Cotto Highlights

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