Originally posted by deadspinYesterday, a guy who spent seven seasons with the team that drafted him announced he wanted to play basketball with his friends and win a lot of games. He wanted this so badly that he was willing to take a pay cut.
Today, everyone hates LeBron James.
Nearly a day later, I still don't get it. In almost every way, LeBron did what fans always demand of their stars: that they elevate winning above all else, that they privilege the team above personal gain, that they be Not Just About The Money
I am solidly in the camp of disliking "how" Lebron did what he did, not "what" he did.
The worst of many things related to the TV special is that it will spawn imitators. Wasn't it bad enough that that high school kids do it on ESPNU or the Big11Ten network and so on?
Originally posted by odessastepsSomewhere, Ted Stapien is laughing.
He would only be laughing if the picks were going to Cleveland for JJ Hickson and Toronto for Andrea Bargnani.
Ted Stapien's dead, too, so I don't think he's laughing anywhere. But yeah, the man was a bonehead.
"Say, the next time you want to win your daughter back, you could just try giving her a pony, the apocalypse doesn’t really cut it!" --The Prince, Prince of Persia (2008)
Fan of the Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl XLI Champions), Indiana Pacers and Washington Nationals
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
Co-Winner of Time's Person of the Year Award, 2006
You have some bad links there. The Miami one doesn't come up and the Cleveland one looks like a fan site with no text. After being a few days removed it amazes me is the media's outraged part. Watching Sports Reporters was awful. Minus Albom taking a shot at Jacobson's boyfriends quitting in the 4th Quarter it was a disaster. How can you be outraged when your network gave him the time, hell Lupica was in the building. If you thought it was bad, don't show up. Yet, they are going to show up, because they are the big dogs and don't want anyone taking their spot for these big events. The media outrage was going to come out in some form or another. If he stayed, he would be blasted for stringing out the NBA for this long. No matter where he went he was going to get blasted. Its a great example of the media creating hype to make a big story then trashing said story in some way.
Cleveland's continue reaction to this has become pathetic. Burning jerseys, ripping down murals and so on is making this city become the mistake by the lake again. There is not one free agent that wants to be part of an organization that is going to bury you if you go elsewhere. Also, they had the cash to get free agents and still do. Everyone is bashing New York for their plan B, but at least they have a plan B and got a decent player. Cleveland has nothing other then an owner acting more like a dumped teenage girl then a professional basketball businessman. Hopefully, someone in Cleveland will ask that question instead of bashing a guy for taking a pay cut to play with his friends and win titles. If he went for more money, yeah it would be bad, but he did it to win a title which is something most players today could care less about.
Originally posted by Jill R. Dorson Cleveland's bitterness continues to flow. On Saturday, Nike began dismantling a 10-story mural of LeBron James, who went from hometown hero to traitor in the span of 30 minutes when he announced on national television that he was leaving the Cavaliers for Miami.
Vitriol has been seeping out of Cleveland ever since. Fans burned LeBron All-Star jerseys; bars are offering free beers to patrons who turn in LeBron gear; and Clevelanders have lauded the Cavs' owner, who is dishing out his own brand of vengeance.
As if owner Dan Gilbert didn't make himself clear enough with his scathing King James traitor letter, he continued to heap on disgust with this little gem.
Gilbert is not only the owner of the Cavs, but is also a key investor in the company that makes Fatheads, which retail for $99.99. Unless, of course, it's a James Fathead you're after. That's now $17.41, in honor of the year that American's best-known traitor, Benedict Arnold, was born.
How refreshing. This is the stuff of Mark Cuban -- who, by the way offered an "atta boy" to Gilbert for his visceral response to James' departure. And it's a real pleasure to see another gazillionaire owner step up and not only be totally pissed off at a betrayal, but to find creative ways to exhibit his displeasure.
And fans are loving it.
LeBron's antics and Gilbert's response mark the start of a new era in the NBA because America loves an underdog. And Gilbert's recent rants have framed his team as the wronged party, the undeserving victim.
So here's to LeBron, traitor and all. Congrats. You just made the Cavs America's team.
Now that's funny.
"All RAW is these days is a cheap version of Saturday Night Live, so if you wanna tune in to watch the amazing star power of Al Sharpton and Nancy O'Dell, go ahead! Who's gonna host next week, Big Bird? Wow, that's must-see TV!" - John Morrison (10/16/09 Smackdown!)
All this underdog story nonsense is getting old, fast. I don't blame Cavs fans for being upset that LeBron is gone. I don't even blame them for being upset at how he did it. But I refuse to be told that I now HAVE to feel sorry for the Cavs and adopt them as my team. If the Cavs are America's Team, maybe I need to move to Canada. No offense to current Cavs fans, but I have no desire to cheer for a team led by Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao.
Originally posted by StingArmyAll this underdog story nonsense is getting old, fast. I don't blame Cavs fans for being upset that LeBron is gone. I don't even blame them for being upset at how he did it. But I refuse to be told that I now HAVE to feel sorry for the Cavs and adopt them as my team. If the Cavs are America's Team, maybe I need to move to Canada. No offense to current Cavs fans, but I have no desire to cheer for a team led by Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao.
- StingArmy
Oh, come on. You're legally obligated to root for teams like us. You're completely un-American if you don't automatically root for us, even if our fanbases threaten to murder players or fans who make innocent mistakes that end up in our teams losing even if our team had numerous chances to keep that from happening.
Originally posted by Jesse Jackson The Rev. Jesse Jackson says Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sees LeBron James as a "runaway slave" and that his comments after the forward decided to join the Miami Heat put the player in danger.
Shortly after James announced his decision Thursday night, Gilbert fired off an incendiary letter to Cleveland's fans, ripping the 25-year-old and promising to deliver a title before James wins one. He called James' decision "cowardly" and later told The Associated Press he believes James quit during a handful of Cavaliers playoff games.
Jackson says Gilbert's comments "personify a slave master mentality" and the owner should face a "challenge" from the league.
Messages were left Sunday night seeking comment from Gilbert, the Cavaliers, James and the NBA.
"All RAW is these days is a cheap version of Saturday Night Live, so if you wanna tune in to watch the amazing star power of Al Sharpton and Nancy O'Dell, go ahead! Who's gonna host next week, Big Bird? Wow, that's must-see TV!" - John Morrison (10/16/09 Smackdown!)
I was surprised (and disappointed) to see Mike Wilbon agree with Jackson today on PTI. I think Gilbert's behavior is embarrassing enough without bringing this nonsense into it.
I'm a white dude, so I know I can't really see this from the perspective of a black dude, but I just have a hard time believing Wilbon when he says "tens of thousands of black men" immediately saw a correlation to a slave/owner relationship.
I am a Black dude, and slavery was the furthest thing from my mind when I read Gilbert's hilarious letter. Yeah, he went overboard , but he came off way more like a jilted lover than a (former) slave owner. I cant believe I actually typed that. Seems so obvious to me.
Thread ahead: Shaq to Celtics Next thread: Former NBA center Lorenzen Wright missing Previous thread: Ramon Sessions/Ryan Hollins for Delonte West/Sebastian Telfair
While a great acquisition for the Pistons, I'm afraid of all of the things they gave up for Wallace and James. Atkins and Sura have been great players off the bench. Rebraca hasn't been all that but he's helped as a 7-footer.