MIAMI — Fist fights during professional basketball games are rare, but when they occur they can be quite violent. They happen without football or hockey’s uniform armor, or baseball’s custom of harmless pileups, or the polystyrene cushion and Kevlar shell of NASCAR helmets that make futile folly out of pit-lane punches. Basketball fighters are denied even the negligible grace of foam-filled boxing gloves on the fists launched at their face. Basket-brawlers ante legitimate downside exposure when they fight.

Of course, in basketball altercations, as in every sport, and really most such encounters among humans and animals alike, a typical tussle is usually just a sequence of bluffs, a vocal and body-language signaling ritual to safely, if loudly, determine who asserted and who yielded. We must hope that the fights the Miami Heat are bound to get into this year are of this nature, or at least mostly so, and that no one is seriously hurt… or long-term suspended.

Negative vibes manifest into tangible action all the time in this sensitive, sentient universe of ours. Energy matters, and for three months and counting a heap of heavy energy, mostly negative, has befallen the Miami Heat. As we move from off-season to preseason to real games, there is no respite from the whining and opining. The events of the summer created an irresistible platform for commentary.

Training camp practices at Eglin Air Force Base drew daily SportsCenter coverage and analysis, for example. ??Everyone seems to have an interest in, and moral judgment of, this team, and a keen need to share it (from amateurs like me, to ex-jock media guys who harshly criticize the whole concept of this Heat super-team despite themselves having joined a super-team in Houston not so long ago). For most people without a 305 prefix to their phone number, from Charles Barkley to anonymous message-board characters, the interest is in willing them to fail, and the moral judgment is indignant condemnation. Does this automatically mean that there will be violence on the court during Heat games? Of course not. However, there will be over/under 3.5 altercations involving the Heat this year, for four reasons:

1. Negative energy on a mass-scale often becomes substantive trouble, as we learned, of course, in Ghostbusters II. Each Heat visit to another arena will be a sold-out, emotionally supercharged event. The term “powder keg,” once used to describe Europe before the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, applies here nicely. Slights, scrapes, and bumps will all be amplified in such environments.

2. Somewhere on this season’s journey there is going to be a guy whose team is down 35 in the 3rd quarter. An alley-oop dunk will spike off his head, and he will to resolve to make a statement. It might be a high elbow or a shove under the basket. That alone could ignite it, but the Ghostbusters II corollary will increase the odds if it happens on the road.

3. Though the deployment of goons is not prevalent in basketball, it is plausible that a frustrated, out-of-ideas coach could resort to using an end-bench player as an instrument of persistent, baiting harassment – especially in a playoff series.

4. As critics have noted, the Heat could have internal strife as its leadership dynamic takes shape. Any underlying, simmering hostility could become another teams’ problem in a sudden, violent combustion.

Assuming and hoping that there is health and peace, the other major non-basketball obstacle for the Heat is something that is usually a benefit: the South Beach effect. What Miami as a city lacks in fan fortitude and unconditional enthusiasm, it makes up for in nightclub bottle service and fire-hot women. On the night before the games, our elite force of tanned, fit, provocative women can do more to derail opponents than nine assistant coaches accomplish in a week of practices. God bless them one and all; we love them and are grateful. But there is the danger that the home team can fall victim to the same snare. After all Lebron James just served a seven year stretch in Cleveland. Cleveland!!

Wins will come, because the talent is overwhelming. 69 regular season wins and 13 defeats is the guess, with a 20 game winning streak at some point. In a surprise, the Celtics will be the first playoff opponent, but will be unable to suddenly coalesce as they did last year, and the former champs will go down after five tough games. Orlando will then pay for their constant Heat chatter; Orlando gets swept and endures another summer of envious psychosis. The Bulls are the next best team in the East after the Heat, and they will present a formidable challenge. Home court advantage will be the difference as Miami wins in 7. Everyone then expects that Los Angeles will be the Finals foe, but the Lakers will have their own game 7 to traverse against Kevin Durant and the Thunder.

The historic pattern indicates that OKC is destined to lose to L.A. one more time before finally breaking through, so we’ll go with that for now, but a Durant/Westbrook/Green tilt versus Wade/James/Bosh will happen eventually, and quite possibly this spring, and probably more than once thereafter. ??As for what happens then, the team with the single best player usually wins a series. Kobe, Lebron, Durant or Wade will win the MVP this year. So the Heat’s chances of having that player and therefore hosting a championship parade next summer, is 50-50.

This isn’t even a hoax. Here’s what Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert sent fans when LeBron James announced his decision to sign with the Miami Heat:

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight.

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his “decision” unlike anything ever “witnessed” in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our “motivation” to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that’s simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown “chosen one” sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And “who” we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called “curse” on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former “King” will be taking the “curse” with him down south. And until he does “right” by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Sleep well, Cleveland.

Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day….

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue….

Dan Gilbert

Majority Owner

Cleveland Cavaliers

MIAMI — Fifteen months ago, I was perched in the tuna tower of a docked sport-fisher, relishing spiced rum and a dripping rack of ribs, when my phone buzzed against my leg. It indicated the arrival of a friends’ premature, absurd text message. It read: "Lebron is coming to Miami, so says (X)."

The unexpected text was a trifle, a fantasy. I saved it to eventually submit as evidence in the perpetual trial of ridicule that one endures when one’s friends are all sarcastic opportunists with long memories. I would not allow him to dupe me just because he had deluded himself into believing something so preposterous, on the weak basis of a supposed inside tip. Except that I kind-of, well no, I absolutely let it delude me, at least temporarily, because that is how it works when you love sports. On top of that, even though anyone can claim unsubstantiated access to a secret source, I was tantalized because this was coming from a rare guy who could, conceivably, know if the news was legit. Still, my first rational thought was the same default argument a lot of people make against a possible pairing of two of the league’s premier talents: Dwyane Wade and Lebron James are destined to compete, not collaborate.

Media experts use authoritative tones to proclaim as fact that the two would never want to be teammates. They suggest that such a match would be un-macho of them, a capitulation. Neither of them, the thinking goes, would do anything that might be perceived as a shortcut to his respective, rightful dynastic destiny. There is Dwyane Wade’s team, and there’s Lebron’s, and people buy ever-wider, ever-thinner, high-definition televisions for nights like those in which Lebron’s Cavs play Wade’s Heat. They use the term "alpha-dog" a lot – with the premise of the metaphor being that a pack has room for only one leader. So it was only a daydream, one to indulge for just a few minutes, adding a basketball component to a porky, rummy, breezy afternoon spent on a boat going nowhere.

Three weeks later, now perched on the 300-level of American Airlines Arena, I spent a more beer-y night witnessing The James and Wade Show at its apex: 42 points for Lebron, with six 3-pointers and eight boards, and 41 points from D-Wade, plus 7 steals, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. Heat fans left that game giddy and satiated, despite having watched the home team blow a big lead in the last eight minutes of a seven point loss. We were content to revel in having been there for the sporting equivalent of Mozart and Beethoven on dueling pianos. Actually, it felt more like leaving a concert (elated buzz, foggy fatigue) than a game that night. The two best ballers in the world had hijacked the court for a one-on-one session of power-dunk HORSE, so we all went home happy.

To me, these guys seemed destined for epic battles year after year. The two young stars motivated, and brought out the best in, each other. This made them perfectly-matched foes. I was thankful that one of them played in my town, and still didn’t entertain the thought of their playing as teammates – even as Heat fans, and the franchise itself, focused on vague possibilities 15 months into the future.

Nearly two full playoffs have passed since then. Lebron was the MVP a season ago, while Wade won the NBA scoring title. Both were spectators for the latter part of those playoffs, and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers captured the title. This season, James was once again the king of the league through April, while Wade hung tough on a team that was killing time until summer. Both players are currently home watching the remaining contenders on TV. Smack in the prime of their careers, they must begin to ponder some historical mathematics, with variables like: their remaining years, their annual odds of a championship, Michael Jordan’s six titles, and contemporary rival Kobe Bryant closing in on number five. James and Wade will make their free agency choices with championship-math on the mind, because they presumably have aspirations to enter the discussion of "best ever". Six rings is a lot to aspire to when you’re Dwayne Wade, and so far you have one, or you are Lebron James, and have none. Heat President Pat Riley will assuredly make that point a pillar of his sales pitch.

I can’t help but wonder whether the guy who spurred the ridiculous text message saw something like this coming. Cleveland has essentially locked themselves into their current, deeply-flawed roster. They have neither the flexibility, nor room under the salary cap, to add better players to complement their star. They are stuck, and it is unrealistic to expect James to stay for sentimental reasons when common sense says that Cleveland is not well-positioned for a string of championship runs. Miami, conversely, offers beaches, an international assortment of babes, Wade, and the most salary cap flexibility in the league.

There are other suitors (New York, Chicago…), but let’s get into tuna-tower daydream mode for a minute and imagine that Pat Riley talks the two superstars into signing contracts with Miami through a porterhouse haze at Prime 112. According to the aforementioned experts, it would take a masterfully persuasive line of reasoning. How about this one: neither is getting to six rings by himself, if six is even the target. Together, he might tell them, over some pan-seared diver scallops with braised short rib, they would comprise the best young nucleus in (the history of?) basketball, with a demonstrated capacity for elevating each others’ performances. Instead of perfect foes, they might be ideal teammates. Riley would still have cap space to add more pieces, along with the usual Heat advantages of no state tax and South Beach.

A team with the best shooting guard/small forward combination since Jordan and Pippen would only need to follow the old Bulls blueprint of roster design. The key third element would be a Rodman/Grant banger to rack up rebounds. The Heat’s current power forward, free-agent Udonis Haslem would be an ideal fit. He is a tenacious, versatile big man with solid accuracy from the elbow and the baseline, plus he has strong defensive skills. Adding one great shooter, a pure point guard, and a serviceable center to that nucleus would complete the old Chicago model. One route could be to plug in pieces from last year’s Heat team with Dorrell Wright as the shooter, Mario Chalmers at point guard, and Jermaine O’Neal at center.

A better option might be to use Wright and Chalmers as bench depth, while adding a veteran shooter and point guard to the mix. Mike Miller (a 48 percent 3-point shooter this season) or Kyle Korver (53 percent from deep) would exploit the weaknesses that Wade and James would expose in opposing defenses. A steady veteran like Steve Blake, Raymond Felton, or Randy Foye could run the point until crunch time, when Wade and James take over the ball-handling. A center like Brendan Haywood or the aforementioned O’Neal could provide sufficient interior presence at the right price.

The last question would be what to do with ultra-talented but immature forward Michael Beasley. In this model, he would either be a sign-and-trade sacrifice to get James (or another piece) to Miami, or he could carry the second-team offense as the most talented sixth-man in the NBA. Either way, the Heat would be poised to compete for league dominance for the foreseeable future.

If you have been in Miami during times of great sports-related fortune, you know what would happen next in this scenario. A sleepy Tuesday night schedule-filler against the Bobcats or Clippers would become an instant sellout. Courtside cleavage counts would soar. Everyone would buy brand new hats, and they’d clamp Heat flags onto their cars (they would, of course, continue to use those spirit-enhanced vehicles as weapons of intimidation against their fellow Miami drivers). The other thing that would happen is that all other basketball enthusiasts would unite against Miami in jealous rage. That kind of vitriol has always brought out the best in the native south Florida sports fanatic, so it would be fantastic.

What I considered an implausible partnership may not have been as impossible as it seemed that day on the boat when I got that text. It is still unlikely by most accounts, but if Pat Riley can get them to Prime 112, and then hold their attention until the warm dulce de leche bread pudding hits the table, he might persuade the two superstar buddies to shelve their personal rivalry and widen the lens through which they view basketball history – and their legacies within it. He might introduce a championship equation they had not yet considered: Kobe’s five, plus Jordan’s six, equals Bill Russell’s eleven.

There’s a certain musical element in the air today at Fenway Park, and it’s not just “Sweet Caroline.”

Producer/artist Dr. Dre, music industry legend Jimmy Iovine and basketball phenom LeBron James will be at Fenway Park today to unveil the Red Sox Beats by Dr. Dre headphones from Monster.

We had an early chance to check out the officially licensed Red Sox Beats. These full-size headphones were pitched to us promising audiophile-quality sound and all the fashion that a diehard Sox fan could ask for.

We tested them out after unboxing a set yesterday of these headphones, which had been a secret until now. They sound great and are very comfortable.

And they should. After all, the headphones were designed by the legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and Interscope Geffen A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine, who know a thing or two about good audio.

"The Red Sox are one of the most historic and respected franchises in all of professional sports," Iovine said about why he decided to run with the Sox as the first and right now only set of Beats sports headphones. Iovine and Dr. Dre have designed custom headphones for athletes like King James in the past, but this is the first officially licensed professional sports team to have a set of Beats.

A few drawbacks — the headphones need two AAA batteries to operate. It can be a bit of a nag to take off the battery cover and replace it.

They come with a protective carrying case, two 1/8-inch cables and a 1/4-inch adapter. The Red Sox logo and name look good on the phones. The luxury sports market is a tough nut to crack, but these look and sound great.

Also, these Beats are an investment. At $399.99, they’ll run you about as much as a day at Fenway for two with hot dogs and beer, so be ready to make an investment if you want to listen to tunes and movies on that new iPad while showing off your team pride.

I need to make a few changes from last year’s Top ten players in the NBA.

10. Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk beats out Danny Granger because he’s been performing at a high level for more seasons. And also because he’s a better player. Granger is having a great year, but don’t be mesmerized by a player putting up great numbers for an awful team. Somebody has to score.

8 & 9. Paul Pierce & Kevin Garnett: They play huge in huge games. They also play huge in non-huge games. The Eastern Conference playoffs will be very interesting this year with Cleveland and Orlando getting better. It means that Pierce and Garnett will need to play huger.

7. Chris Bosh: Who would have thought that Toronto would be this bad and at the very bottom of the Atlantic Conference? Do you think that Bosh will be back in Toronto when his contract runs out? In related news, Jermaine O’Neal is making over $21 million this year.

6. Chris Paul: CP3 is the best point guard in the NBA and there’s no arguing that except if you are from Utah.

5. Dwight Howard: Dwight Howard is an absolute monster. Can you imagine if Orlando took Emeka Okafor with the number-one pick in 2004 and Howard went to Charlotte? Actually, it’s quite possible that Charlotte would have drafted Shaun Livingston. Anyway, Dwight Howard is an absolute monster.

4. Dwayne Wade: He was absolutely spectacular to watch during the Olympics this past summer and he hasn’t slowed down at all. I would love to see Wade face Lebron in the playoffs this year, because he is quite capable of out-shining the Cleveland phenom. It’s nice to have a healthy Dwayne Wade back in the NBA. There aren’t any flaws in his game. Well, besides 3-point shooting.

3. Tim Duncan: I always get hammered for putting Tim Duncan up so high in my top-ten lists, but I will continue to do so until he stops winning. All the new-age fans love the flashy, playground-style, highlight-reel players, but they don’t always win you games. However, Tim Duncan does. Who was more important to have on their team last year during Game 7 of the Spurs-Hornets game (in New Orleans)? Chris Paul or Tim Duncan? The answer was Tim Duncan.

2. Lebron James: As soon as Lebron wins his first NBA title be prepared for a run of about six in a row. Also be prepared for Lebron to jump up and sit on the rim this year. It’s very close to happening. If Lebron was in the slam dunk contest this year I would love to see him jump from the 3-point arc and dunk Nate Robinson. If Nate got stuck in the net, Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernandez could hit him with sticks like he was a pinata.

1. Kobe Bryant: We can debate about who is better between Kobe and Lebron until our faces turn blue or until Yao Ming plays a full season without getting injured. The reason I put Kobe at the number-one spot is that there is no other player in the NBA that I want shooting the ball with the game on the line more than him. Furthermore, Kobe has mastered the turnaround jumper, something that Lebron is still trying to perfect. Lebron might be able to jump out of the building and provide SportsCenter with endless highlight dunks, but there isn’t a better assassin in the NBA than Kobe Bryant.

UPDATE: Here is Perry’s updated 2009 list of the Top 10 players in the NBA.

10) THE POINT GUARDS: Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Baron Davis. I struggled with this list a lot, because all five of these players are deserving to be here. Each one of these players understand and play the point position in a way that makes everyone on their team better. You don’t learn how to play this position. You are born with the unselfish ability to want everyone on your team to excel. Each one of these point guards makes life easier for the following NBA players listed below.

9) KEVIN GARNETT: In his 13th season, The Big Ticket, has been reborn in Boston, leading his Celtic team to the best record in the NBA. The 6-foot 11-inch big man has dominated the East inside thus far (with one exception listed below). Drafted out of Farragut Academy HS in Chicago, Garnett has a 2000 Olympic gold medal and a 2004 NBA MVP under his resume. I list him this low on the list, because he is a little past his prime. It showed the last three seasons in Minnesota when he failed to lead his team to the playoffs.

8. CARMELLO ANTHONY: ‘Melo was the 3rd overall pick in the star-heavy 2003 draft after leading his Syracuse Orangemen to a win in the NCAA National Championship game over Georgia Tech. ‘Melo, statistically, is the most clutch end-of-game player in the NBA right now. Check out these stats that were updated through the 2006 season. I had to do a little research through last season and found out ‘Melo has added five more game-winning shots (don’t quote me) to that tally.

7) DWAYNE WADE: It pains me to put Wade this low, but he hasn’t been healthy the last two seasons. When healthy, he is a top-five player in this league. D-Wade, or Flash as his teammates call him, led his Miami Heat team to the NBA Championship in 2006 and was named 2006 NBA Finals MVP. His Heat team is a mess right now, but Pat Riley mortgaged the future to win it all in 2006. He accomplished that goal, but has left D-Wade nothing to work with. It pains me to see talent get wasted like this, but hopefully the Heat organization will surround Wade with the players he needs or trade him to a team that will know how to appreciate him.

6) MANU GINOBILI: Manu has been part of three NBA Championship teams with the Spurs and led the Argentina national basketball team to the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal, also being named the tournament’s MVP. Manu is becoming one of the NBA’s best all-around players and is best known for his fearless attacks to the rim. As I was writing this article last night, Manu dropped 46 points (8 for 11 3PFG) on the Cavs on 75% shooting and dished out 8 dimes.

5) YAO MING: I realize Yao Ming has never won a playoff series, but this is not his fault. The Houston Rockets are plagued by the "Tracy McGrady Disease." A disease that spreads during playoff time, not allowing his team to advance past the first round. McGrady has never won a playoff series in his 11 year career. The Rockets need to build this team around Ming. He is 7-foot-6 and can touch the rim with his feet still on the ground. Shaquille O’Neal summed up Yao’s abilities right before their first meeting in ‘02 with this statement, "Tell Yao Ming, ching-chong-yang-wah-as-soh." I couldn’t have said it better myself.

4) DWIGHT HOWARD: I hesitate to put him this high, but I only see three other players that I would want more (presently). Three years from now he could be number one on this list. This guy is a monster. Nicknamed "Thunder," Howard was drafted out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy with the #1 overall pick in 2004. Orlando was criticized for not taking UCONN’s polished power forward, Emeka Okafor with the first pick, but who’s laughing now? Actually, I don’t hesitate putting him this high.

3) LEBRON JAMES: His ceiling has been set so high ever since being drafted out of St. Vincent – St. Mary High School with the first overall pick in 2003. Lebron led a team of scrubs to the NBA Finals last year, which included one of the most memorable playoff performances in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons. Lebron scored 29 of the last 30 Cavalier points, leading his team to a double-overtime victory. The only knock I have on Lebron is at times he tends to coast with the flow of the game. Unlike the next two…

2) KOBE BRYANT: It took him three years to realize that he can’t win by himself. I was disappointed to see the Shaq/Kobe era end, but it helped Kobe mature into the player he is today. Black Mamba (Kobe’s nickname for himself) has finally developed into the unselfish player that we all wanted him to become. His offensive, killer instincts are second to none, but what is most impressive is that he can play the opposite end of the court with the best of them, being named to the NBA All-Defensive team seven times. In my opinion, there’s not a more exciting player to watch in the NBA.

1) TIM DUNCAN: There shouldn’t be any argument here. Tim Duncan is the cornerstone for the San Antonio Spur dynasty. Two-time NBA MVP and Three-time NBA Finals MVP, Duncan continues to perform at the highest level, dominating the NBA. Any logical basketball connoisseur understands you build a championship team around a big man and nobody has done this better than the Spurs with the Big Fundamental.

HONORABLE MENTION: Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Tony Parker, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncy Billups, Richard Hamilton & Paul Pierce

THE WHY NO MENTIONS: Allen Iverson & Amare Stoudemire. These are two of the biggest defensive liabilities in the game. They can’t guard anyone one-on-one. Iverson gets picked apart by bigger guards and gambles way too much for steals that usually backfire into an easy two-on-one situation for the opposing team. Stoudemire gives absolutely no effort on the defensive side of the ball.

THE UP AND COMER: Monta Eillis, Golden State Warriors. This kid can play. Drafted (2nd round) out of Lanier High School, Mississippi, Ellis is on an absolute tear right now. He is a smaller version of Manu Ginobili.