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ar will get a big payday for taking the enormous risk, and the UFC will get another boost from the bigg
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade still isnt totally ready to leave Miami.He felt he had no choice.The soon-to-be Chicago Bulls guard offered his side Saturday of the process that led to the end of his 13 years with the Miami Heat and deciding to play for his hometown team. Wade insisted he has the utmost respect and admiration for Heat President Pat Riley -- who drafted him in 2003, coached him to his first title in 2006 and now played a role that led to him leaving a franchise thats clearly in transition.And despite his anger about the breakup, he made clear that he will never bash the Heat or Riley.I love Pat Riley, Wade said. Hes been someone whos been a figurehead in my life since I got drafted here at 21. But at the same time, he has a job to do. He has a different hat to wear. That hat sometimes is not to be my best friend. That hat is to be the president of an organization and to be a businessman. And it sucks. You know somebody so well, you guys love each other, but the business side comes out.Im not saying that weve hugged and cried and shed tears at this moment. But I love Pat. And I will always love Pat. And, you know, I know he feels the same way about me.Since Wade announced Wednesday that hell sign with the Bulls, hes felt countless emotions. He went past the arena the Heat call home Friday, blown away by the tribute the team was paying to him on external video screens. He couldnt believe how many people were lined up to buy merchandise with his name and number on the back. He choked up when he saw the full-page ad the Heat took out for him in South Florida newspapers.Moments like this, it sucks, Wade said. The business side of the sport, sometimes it just sucks. Thats what were dealing with.Miami offered just over $40 million for two years with hopes he stayed. Chicago landed him with a contract worth about $47 million for two years.Wade was in a hotel room in New York when he made the decision to leave Miami, and before long he started seeing the video montages of his Heat career coming across screens.It seemed funereal.They started playing tribute videos and Ive assumed thats what its going to be like when Im no longer on this Earth, Wade said. Thats what it felt like. It felt like it really was the end of life.And I guess in a sense its the end of life in Miami -- as of now.Wade won three titles with the Heat, leads the franchise in plenty of stat categories, was a 12-time All-Star in a Miami uniform. And there will be undoubtedly be speculation about a return one day, which is not out of the question. The Heats ad thanking Wade included these words: Well leave a key under the mat for you.This aint the ending of this book, but we got through a lot of chapters of this book, Wade said. And this is a best-seller, for sure.His sons and nephew that hes raising have mixed emotions about the move. His nephew was particularly leery, since he moved from Chicago to Miami for a better life -- and now hes going back to a city that Wade knows has big problems with crime, particularly violent crime.At the end of the day, they will understand as they get older they will have to make decisions for their families, Wade said. Some decisions are hard. ... Some are going to be seamless and easy.This one fell into the hard column.He drove around Miami on Friday with his hand out the window, grabbing at the warm air that hell think about when in frigid Chicago this winter. Hell be in Chicago on Monday for a physical. He then heads to Los Angeles for the ESPY awards and business commitments before going to China for a week of promotional appearances.As of now, the plan is for the Bulls to introduce him July 29.So that will be Hello, Chicago.If Wade gets his way, there will never truly be a Farewell, Miami.This is never goodbye to South Florida, Wade said. The words, `Heat Lifer, Im a Heat for life. Ill always be a Heat. Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. USA Soccer Jerseys 2020 . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. UFC 200 has grown so big that a single fight card cant contain it.The worlds dominant mixed martial arts promotion is throwing an anniversary party for itself in Las Vegas, staging several days of events collectively dubbed International Fight Week. The UFC is putting on shows on three consecutive nights, along with innumerable accompanying fan activities and entertainments, including everything from a massive fan expo to a 5K run.It all culminates Saturday night in UFC 200, which has one of the most stacked fight cards in the promotions history.Sure, its not technically the UFCs 200th actual pay-per-view show, since it has been forced to cancel two numbered events. But with a recent run of success inside and outside the cage, along with widespread rumors of the entire promotions impending sale for multiple billions, the UFC brass clearly feels the numerical milestone is a great time to celebrate.Its pretty cool to be involved in something like this, said Jon Jones, whose rematch with Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight title caps the entire week. You know its a historic week for the UFC, and theyve come a long way to get to this point.The UFC did a similarly super-sized week of three consecutive fight cards last December, and all three shows drew sizable crowds in the UFCs hometown. Theyre going even bigger this time, scheduling the first two shows at the MGM Grand Garden Arena before moving across the Strip on Saturday to the sparkling-new T-Mobile Arena, the home of Las Vegas expansion NHL franchise.Here are five things to know heading into the big week:TITLE FIGHTS EVERY NIGHT: A belt will be won on each of the three shows, culminating in three title fights Saturday. Lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos defense against Eddie Alvarez headlines Thursdays card, while strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk takes on Claudia Gadelha atop Fridays show. The three championship fights at UFC 200 are Jose Aldos interim featherweight title fight with Frankie Edgar, bantamweight champion Miesha Tates defense against Amanda Nunes, and Jones ssecond meeting with Cormier.ddddddddddddEVERYONES A STAR: UFC 200 alone features nine fighters who have held a championship belt during their careers. Former heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, former bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw and former welterweight champ Johny Hendricks are all in difficult bouts. The card also includes former title contenders Cat Zingano, Mark Hunt and Diego Sanchez, along with some of the most crowd-pleasing fighters in UFC history, including Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller.BIG BAD BROCK: Along with the legitimate competitive reasons to buy UFC 200, theres also the biggest spectacle in MMA: Brock Lesnar, the former heavyweight champ and current professional wrestler. Nearly five years after his last fight, and a year after saying he was done with MMA, the UFC 100 headliner returns to the cage to fight knockout artist Hunt. Lesnar will get a big payday for taking the enormous risk, and the UFC will get another boost from the biggest pay-per-view draw in the sports history.CONOR AND NATE II: Conor McGregors rematch with Nate Diaz isnt on the UFC 200 card, thanks to McGregors brief scrap with the UFC over money and promotional responsibilities earlier this year. But the charismatic Irishman and his Californian conqueror will make their presence felt at International Fight Week. Theyre scheduled for a news conference Thursday to promote their meeting at UFC 202 on Aug. 20. It will feel more like a fight: The promotion is holding the event at T-Mobile Arena, and its open to the public.GRAND FINALE: The festivities all come down to Jones second meeting with Cormier. A victory would be redemption for Jones (22-1), widely considered the worlds top pound-for-pound MMA fighter. He had his 205-pound title stripped last year after his involvement in a hit-and-run accident, but returned earlier this year. Cormier (17-1) has never lost to anyone but Jones, but he was outclassed in their first meeting. ' ' '