MIAMI -- LeBron James was walking down the hallway that the Miami Heat call "Championship Alley" a few minutes after last seasons NBA Finals, when he decided the time was right to send a message. Nike Vapormax Clearance . It wasnt for his fans. It was for his detractors. "Keep giving me motivation! I need it!" James shouted in the crowded corridor, as the champagne for a second straight NBA title started spraying in the nearby locker room. "Keep doubting me! I need it!" James still has his haters, of course. But with the start of this years playoffs looming, the four-time NBA MVP said Friday he doesnt necessarily need to be fueled by them anymore, not with the Heat having a chance to become just the fourth franchise in league history to capture three straight titles. And if doubt exists -- to be clear, it surely does after Miami lost 14 of its last 25 games -- James said hes not noticing. "I sent out a few tweets but I havent been reading anything," James said after Miami ended practice Friday. "Im kind of just gearing toward locking in tomorrow night and go from there. But I dont need any motivation. I dont need extra motivation. Im motivated enough. This is the best part of the season, its the best time of the year and Im happy to be here once again." Miamis path toward what it hopes is a third straight title and fourth straight appearance in the NBA Finals starts on Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats, a team the Heat swept this season and are 15-0 against since James arrived in South Florida. Still, no one needs to tell him how much more difficult this post-season could be for Miami, since history isnt exactly on his teams side. Only two franchises -- the Lakers and Celtics -- have won as many as four straight conference titles. James got a reminder of that Thursday night when he watched a documentary about the "Bad Boys"-era Detroit Pistons, a group that won back-to-back NBA championships and reached the finals three years in a row, just as the Heat have now. "When they said they went to three straight finals, they won two in a row, now theyre looking to go to a fourth straight final, I looked at my wife and said, Whos that sound like?" James said. "I know exactly what they were going through." Thing is, those Pistons couldnt get it done. Whether or not Miami does largely hinges on James. He averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists in the regular season, shooting nearly 57 per cent -- the seventh straight year in which hes set a career best in that department. He had a career-high 61-point night against Charlotte last month, climbed five more spots to No. 27 on the leagues career scoring list, and is likely to pick up his eighth All-NBA first-team selection. And even if James doesnt wind up getting his fifth MVP award, with Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City appearing to be the favourite this year, the Bobcats know the enormity of the challenge awaiting them. "Obviously he is the best player in the world," Charlotte guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "Hes the best player on the planet and we know he is going to make shots that are contested and will have nights he gets 30. But I think we have a pretty good defence. The game he had 61, if he hits 8 3s on anyone that is going to happen. But we like our chances on the defensive end." Fairly or unfairly, everything the Heat and James have done to this point in the season is now irrelevant. Theyll all be judged by what they do in the next two months. James knows and accepts thats the case, as do his star teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. "This is what makes elite players elite players," Wade said. "You dont get the elite name unless youve done it at this level." Over the last two postseasons, James has made the elite look ordinary. The 45-point, season-saving game at Boston in 2012. A triple-double in Game 5 of that seasons Finals against Oklahoma City to wrap up his first championship. A layup at the buzzer to beat Indiana in Game 1 last year. A 32-point game in Game 6 of last years Finals against San Antonio, followed by a 37-point outing in the second straight title-clincher. The Heat can only hope for more of the same this time around. "I think Ive put together some pretty good second seasons in my career," James said. "Hopefully I can continue to do that." Nike Vapormax Canada . With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. Cheap Nike Vapormax Canada . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. http://www.vapormaxcanada.com/ . Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.SAN DIEGO - Its great being Meb these days.Crazy, too.Meb Keflezighi already was a big-time marathoner, with a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and a win in the New York City Marathon in 2009. Then came his inspirational victory in the Boston Marathon a year after the bombings there, and his life went stratospheric.Its been a rush of appearances, speaking engagements and other commitments.The highlight? Being seated at the head table with his wife Yordanos at a White House state dinner in August. Keflezighi said President Barack Obama announced his arrival by saying, Here comes the fast guy. Do you know how fast this guy is?Meb being Meb, though, hes loving every minute of it, with his easy smile and laugh.On a spectacular early autumn San Diego afternoon, Keflezighi took a short break before heading to Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra for 3 1/2 weeks of altitude training prior to running in the New York City Marathon on Sunday.Sitting on the balcony of his house in the upscale Mission Hills neighbourhood, his view stretches from downtown all the way over to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument, where he took the oath of citizenship on July 2, 1998. Its a far different scene than the one rife with war and poverty that he left behind.Theres an American flag flying from the front of his house. Hes wearing a red, white and blue USA shirt his sponsor, Skechers, made for him.The American dream is to be in San Diego, said Keflezighi. He was born in Eritrea in the Horn of Africa before his father was able to get the family to Italy and then San Diego.New York will be his first marathon since he became the first American man in 31 years to win the Boston Marathon. Keflezighi said life has been crazy since.Its an honour and privilege and it comes with a lot of responsibility, he said. Hopefully everybody that interacted with me before I won Boston, feel the same way after Boston. The demand on my time has changed drastically. Boston just went over the top. To be an American to be able to bring the home title back after what happened last year was a pretty amazing experience, and people appreciate it. Its not even congratulations. Its more, Thank you.Its been hectic but in a great way.Keflezighi knows some people will expect him to win New York. It wont be the end of his world if he doesnt.Hell do the proper amount of training, but at the same time, its not like I have to win New York. Not that I dont want to win New York. At the same time, its, been there, done that. Ive just got to go back to the basics and start workinng forward. Nike Vapormax Sale Canada. .Keflezighi points to last years New York City Marathon, when he was 23rd in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 47 seconds. It was his lowest finish and slowest time for a marathon. His training had been interrupted by injuries, and at one point he slowed to a walk.While other elite runners might grouse or offer excuses, Keflezighi ended up with a special moment. He and Michael Cassidy of Staten Island, whom he met before the race in the elite runners tent, ran the last three miles together. Approaching the finish, they held hands and then raised their arms aloft as they crossed the line.I won my age group, Keflezighi said with a laugh.Sure enough, the engraved crystal plate for winning the 35-39 age group is on a counter in his kitchen, near a box of breakfast cereal with his picture on it. It was made for him after he spoke at General Mills annual sales conference.A shot at the 2016 Olympics remains a possibility. The trials will be in Los Angeles.Since I know the date, Feb. 13, 2016, I guess Im gearing for it somehow, some way, he said.Keflezighi, 39, remains motivated by how his father, Russom, escaped Eritrea by walking 225 miles to Sudan. Because he had supported Eritrean rebels in their fight against Ethiopian soldiers, Russom Keflezighi felt it was too dangerous to remain. Five years later, he was able to get his family out.Meb was 12 when the family arrived in San Diego. He and eight of his siblings have received college degrees, while Admekom is attending San Diego State.For us it was never, Are we going to go to college? It was, When are we going to college? or Which college are we going to go to? said Keflezighi, who graduated from UCLA.Their half-sister, Ruth, grew up in Italy and moved to the United States first. She is the reason we came to San Diego, so she deserves an honorary degree for that, said Merhawi Keflezighi, who has a law degree from UCLA and is Mebs agent and business manager.Its a good bet Keflezighis Boston win will always be his career highlight.In the corners of his bib, Keflezighi wrote the first names of the four people killed in the bombing and manhunt.Not that we wanted 2013 to happen. But my energy was all on that race to be able to say, What can I do positively to change Boylston Street? I see the pictures that have been taken there, from the front, from the back, from the side; people are on their feet clapping or chanting U-S-A, U-S-A. It gives me great pride to have done that for the people.___Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson ' ' '