Bigger Villain: Dwyane Wade or LeBron James?

It occurred to me after these Finals passed that as much vitriol as James has had to endure, could it be all along that America is going after the wrong guy? As much as everyone loved to see the Miami Heat go down last night, especially after seeing LeBron fade into oblivion once again during the fourth quarter, I couldn't help but feel more satisfied knowing that Wade was denied his second championship.

Of course James is a superstar with an oversized ego that at many times lacks humility and even remorse from his comments, but Wade is the mastermind behind the Big 3. It was Wade who persuaded James and Chris Bosh to join him in Miami to try and capture as many titles as possible for the next six to seven years.

It was Wade who threw a verbal punch at Dirk Nowitzki after the 2006 Finals by saying he wasn't the leader he was supposed to be for Dallas. Then it was Wade again who sent a verbal jab at Nowitzki by mocking his 101 degree fever just before Game 5. LeBron was in on it too, but he was in the background, where he seemingly prefers to be, while Wade was the instigator. It was Wade in this series who posed in front of the Dallas bench after the Heat went up by 15 points in Game 2, only to have the Mavs come back in a historic and almost unbelievable sequence of events at American Airlines Arena.

It was also Wade who made an "angry" face as if the Heat were going to win Game 5 after he made a late three-pointer in the fourth quarter to give the Heat a two-point lead. Of course, we all know how Game 5 ended -- with Nowitzki putting his team on his shoulders once again on the way to the series-clinching Game 6.

I hold no ill will toward the Heat, a team that was only two games away from possibly going down as one of the greatest teams in NBA history because of the sheer talent of just two of its players. But in this series you either hated or loved the idea of the Heat, and I for one hated the idea of the Heat. I much preferred the team game the Mavs brought to the table, and the patience their players had in order to capture their first championship.

I don't know Wade, and I'm sure he's a good guy, but if there's a villain in this entire series, it's not so much James as much as it's "Flash." His big smile could fool a lot of people, but don't think for a minute that Wade's ego is any less formidable than LeBron's, he's just better at disguising it. At some point, maybe even next year, James, Wade, and Bosh will win their title together, but for now, let's hope these guys eat some humble pie on the way to becoming champions.