Say Hello To Car-Mellow

Personally, I do not necessarily judge a man by the mistakes he makes, but rather by his subsequent actions. We all make mistakes, that's life...and chances are, if we lived under the kind of scrutiny that these kids are subject to when we were between the ages of 17 and 24, we would probably have suffered tons of embarrassment, and enraged more than a few people. Now while I don't believe that mistakes can be excused, they certainly can be redeemed (at least most of them).
So considering how frequently and passionately we can be venomous about these kids when they make said mistakes...I think it is important to recognize when these boys make strides to manhood right before our eyes.

Anyone remember this???

That punch cost him 50 games away from his (playoff contending)team--a sucker punch. I remember it clearly.

I also remember early in his career, Anthony sat pouting an entire 4th quarter of a game (essentially quit on his team). He ended up receiving an admonishing call from MJ following that debacle....Oh, and let's not forget the marijuana in the backpack at Denver International....

Already at this point I was admittedly thinkin' what a shame, this kid is super talented, but he may end up a bust. He was labeled a misfit, a screwup.

Just a year ago he got slapped with a DUI, and the Nuggets were even rumored to have contemplated trading him. Imagine that...a guy as athletic and talented as Carmelo Anthony on the cusp of becoming that guy. You know, the guy talented enough to always be coveted, but too intolerable to be anyone's franchise player...THAT guy.

Then comes the here and now. There is new version of the Denver Nuggets star emerging before us. I call him, "The Mellow Fellow in Blue and Yellow." And by 'Mellow' I mean where it counts. In the media...in the locker room...in tense situations. Those were the areas that had Melo on track to being that guy, and he has handled them all superbly this season and especially in the last series.

Look, his play has been ridiculous--I definitely don't want to lose sight of that...but his conduct was most impressive. After the alleged behavior of Mavs fans the other night, in combination with the Momma-Martin-Cuban situation, I would have fully understood if he unleashed a mini-tirade to the media about the classlessness and arrogance of the entire city of Dallas and the Mavericks organization. Instead he decided to take the high road and let their behaviors speak for itself--he decided to focus on basketball.

That to me was equally as impressive as his performance (on BOTH ends of the floor) in the Mavs series. That to me spells the difference between All-Star Forward, and Franchise Player. Keep it up 'Melo, you're one of the best...Kobe, Bron, lookout....Denver is dangerous.