Young men, egos and LeBron James

Young men are prone to having big egos. LeBron James is no exception. The NBA superstar announced his intention to sign with the Miami Heat on national television last night. It was a boring display of one man's sense of self importance. But before I get too carried away with blasting James, who is just another inarticulate professional athlete, let me say that sports figures in general are given way too much importance in our society. James is not the only one to blame for last night's infomercial.

ESPN, sports agents, advertisers and even some of his friends and family should take responsibility for feeding into this free agent's inflated view of himself. Yes, James is the one who stands before the crowd before each game and thrusts his arms upward after clapping powder in his hands, almost demanding that fans look at him. Yes, James is the one who awkwardly bragged about his having "won at every level" prior to his seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers -- a ridiculous claim for someone who never played college ball. What level is he talking about? High school? Middle school? Recreation leagues?

The 25-year-old MVP is leaving his home state of Ohio for Miami, Fla. Makes perfect sense at his age. South Beach is a fun place to be for young men with cash. However, fans don't really need to hear about how Cleveland will always be home or how James agonized over this decision. We don't need anymore nonsense about how winning championships is his only goal or how his mom inspired him to make this move.

For what little they contribute to society, athletes get way too much attention. If James was going to plug the BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, I'd say give him his own television series. James is entertainment for those who enjoy watching competitive sports -- nothing more, nothing less. His ego will probably subside as he matures. Life has a way of taking us all down a notch or two. Until then, I can't say that I am going to be rooting for the Heat. While I have a certain affection for the city of Miami after living in that area in the 1980s, I simply can't cheer for a guy who allows himself to be promoted in such an over-the-top, distasteful manner.

There are reasons why young men think more of themselves than they should. Nature built guys that way, mostly for survival. But the prisons, bankruptcy courts and graveyards are filled with young males who thought they were invincible. James, who will probably make well over $100 million with the Heat, plus whatever he gets in endorsements, should tread carefully. Miami is a city with many temptations and threats. As we saw with the late Sean Taylor, star athletes are targeted in glitzy cities. The young Washington Redskin was gunned down in his Miami home two years ago. Others have gotten themselves into various messes while in South Florida.

I don't believe James will necessarily win a championship in Miami. There is something about him that doesn't have the intangibles of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan -- something in his character that doesn't elevate the play of those around him. James can't simply market himself into being a champion. And with the distractions of the area, maybe Miami wasn't the best choice for a young athlete with a big ego. If, however, the vibrato dies down and James becomes more focused on basketball, he might be able parade down Biscayne Boulevard at least once before he retires.

Read what Cleveland's owner had to say about James.

Tar balls spotted on Atlantic Coast

Tar balls have washed up on Cocoa Beach, Fla., according to newspaper reports. Whether they are from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico remains to be seen.

Cocoa Beach is well up the eastern Atlantic Coast of the Sunshine State, near Cape Canaveral. The BP gusher is in the Gulf of Mexico, far to the west. Until now, only parts of the Florida panhandle, along with the coastal areas of other Gulf states, have been directly impacted by the oil. However, experts have theorized that the oil might get caught in warm-water currents that could move it around the southern Florida Keys and up the East Coast.

If the Cocoa Beach tar balls are from the Gulf, that would be catastrophic news for all of Florida. As it is, restaurants are feeling the shortages of available seafood from Miami to Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, the latest from BP is that the potential relief-well fix is ahead of schedule. Plugging the leak could begin as early as the end of July. Of course, virtually nothing BP has predicted has turned out to be accurate, so today's news is taken with a large grain of salt.

Read more about the Cocoa Beach tar balls.

No urge to whine about weather

My bones and muscles don't ache.

I can breathe. No itchy, dry skin.

There isn't any snow to shovel or worse traffic jams than usual to contend with.

So I am not going to complain about the record-breaking heat we're experiencing in the East this week.

Yeah, it's hot. Real hot. It's also sunny and humid, which makes it feel worse. When the temperature hits 100-plus degrees, it's hard to ignore it. But if given a choice between this and the kind of winter we had six months ago, I will take scorching days every time.

The heat doesn't cripple the D.C. area like the snowstorms of 2010 did. We're all functioning relatively well. And compared with what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico, I really don't feel the urge to whine about the weather. We should not forget about the suffering taking place to the south as BP's oil continues to gush.

It's summer. Most folks have air conditioning. We'll get through this.

Where is the unemployment compromise from politicians?

Democrats argue that Republicans are heartless monsters, seeking to break the backs of Americans who can't find work. With all of that drama, one might question whether Democrats are sufficiently seeking a compromise solution.

Republicans say that they would approve an extension of unemployment benefits if Democrats would find a way to pay for it, either out of unspent stimulus funds or from other sources. The GOP argument is shaky at best because funding for the unemployed wouldn't really add to the deficit in any measurable way.

This current debate, which leaves millions of Americans without benefits that they helped pay for all of their working careers, is probably the best example of why our political system could be reaching a point of being beyond repair.

If we can't lend a hand to those who have worked hard for two, three or four decades -- who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and who for one reason or another are being met with near-impossible obstacles in finding new work -- then I believe we've lost our way as a nation.

Unemployed people aren't asking for much. Payments are usually just a fraction of what folks earned while employed. But the amount is a life preserver in rough seas -- a way to survive another day, week or month while searching for work. No one is asking for a yacht to weather the storm. But people do need some sort of flotation device in these unusually difficult times.

Washington politicians are kicking those who are down in an unprecedented manner. Punishing the innocent for no honorable reason. The majority of the long-time unemployed folks were perfectly functional and contributing members of society before the recession hit. If this political game of chicken doesn't stop, millions of previously self-sufficient Americans will essentially be on the street by the end of the summer.

As I have said before, the economy will collapse even further if unemployment benefits are cut off. A whole new wave of layoffs will follow. Folks who are currently employed have as much at stake in this battle as do the people looking for jobs.

This is a dangerous game being played by both parties, with the Republicans looking particularly bad. What should be a slam-dunk decision for the Senate has turned into yet another Washington fight that will have no winners.

Read more from columnist Eugene Robinson.