The James Gang?

I haven't wrote in almost a month due to a severe case of writer's block. Lebron-a-poloza woke me back up though.....

In case you have been under a rock, Lebron officially picked Miami a little bit ago.  The master salesman Pat Riley did it.

I am sure Lebron will get a lot of bad press from those that didn't like how he handled the free agency process. And there will be those who write how he "betrayed" Cleveland. Those writers will conveniently ignore the fact that he took a good amount less money than he could have got in Cleveland. Or that the team in Cleveland just was not the best option players wise and had little room to manuever under the salary cap.

Was Lebron supposed to stay in Cleveland just because he has lived in Akron his whole life and the city "deserves" loyalty? How dare he want to play with someone other Mo Williams and Delonte West! How Lebron got to the Finals a couple years ago with the supporting cast in Cleveland I will never know. Reportedly he tried to convince Chris Bosh to come to Cleveland instead of Miami but Bosh wanted nothing to do with Ohio. Once that was done, there was nothing keeping Lebron in Ohio other than more money and the fact that it was close to his hometown of Akron (which contrary to what you hear on ESPN is a different place than Cleveland).

Mind you, I was convinced he was staying a Cav all the way through just because he wouldn't want to disappoint his hometowners and wouldn't turn down the extra money (approx 30 million dollars). No matter the hype and talk with athletes, its always about the money in the end. I was wrong.

However, this decision actually makes great sense on a basketball level. Ten times more than if he would have went to the Knicks (not as close to contending as Miami, Chicago, or Cleveland) or the Nets (even further away than the Knicks).  Its always fun to see New Yorkers not get what they thought was a slam dunk. I guess it is "bust" for NYC. I am sure all the New York papers will crush Lebron for "not having the guts" to play in New York. He's clearly no Jeter. No one is.

How about the team this creates in Miami? Lebron is a great passer. Does he become a triple double every game guy passing to Wade and Bosh? Who does an opposing team double team? And perhaps most importantly, who else plays on this team? They only have 5 guys on the roster right now. And one of them, Michael Beasley, will probably be traded to allow Wade, Bosh, and James' to fit under the salary cap. It will extremely interesting to see how they fill out the roster. How many veterans can they find laying around that want a ring bad enough to take the minimum? I might be faxing my resume over in the morning. I can shoot the three and won't cost much against the cap.

I do feel bad for Cleveland, but they had their chances to build the right team around Lebron. It just didn't happen for various reasons. Where do they go from here?

In the end, even if you have a problem with how Lebron handled the "courting" process, he made a decision to go where he thought gave him the best chance to win immediately and long term. And in the process, he sacrificed money (I know its more money than you or I will ever see either way but relatively speaking) and probably some of his mystique.  


Can you really fault a guy for that? Doesn't this prove winning is what matters the most to him? And isn't that what people always claim is missing in today's athletes? 


UPDATE 7-9-10:


My sadness for Cleveland? Gone after reading the insane 13 year old who just got dumped-esque letter from their owner. Who would want to play for a guy who will turn on you so quickly and start name calling? What an unprofessional and classless move by Dan Gilbert. Not a good message to send to other players out there you may be trying to convince to come to Cleveland at some point. Proof that you should always have someone read your emails before you press send/publish....

Lebron is Long Gone....says ESPN

Lebron James is officially a free agent in 42 days. Of course, I am just estimating. We can get it down to the minute if you like per this ridiculously over the top Lebron Tracker on ESPN.com.
The page is dedicated to everything Lebron. More specifically the question: Where is Lebron going to go when he leaves Cleveland on July 1st? They have decided that him going to another team is a foregone conclusion at this point.

ESPN seems to be just totally discounting the fact that Lebron can make more money (about 30 million more due to the way the salary cap works) by staying in Cleveland. He would also be more than starting from scratch going to New York or New Jersey as they have just a couple guys signed for next year but not much more cap room if they sign Lebron . Chicago is a different story, but does he really want to be compared to Jordan every single day playing there? Let's also not forget that he would be leaving a place he has lived all his life, and a team that really just needs some tweaking to win. I just don't see him leaving.

Why is ESPN's coverage so skewed towards him leaving? Because, Lebron playing in Chicago or New York is better for ESPN Chicago.com or ESPN New York.com of course. And that is what matters to ESPN long term. There is no ESPN Cleveland.com and probably never will be. ESPN needs a big star in one of those two cities to help expand their local reach.

And who cares if the likely outcome gets in the way of potential big business for your websites?

Picking up the Slack.......Again.

Just four days after returning from Nicaragua, Anthony called me last night and said he might be unable to post for a couple days due to "internet problems." This is not the first time he has called to complain about his internet. I guess that is what happens when you are still connecting via dial-up modem. I actually think Anthony is the last remaining AOL customer. He just hasn't yet been able to justify going to a higher speed option and wasting all those one month free CDs he had lying around.

But rather than dwelling on Anthony's internet issues, here are a handful of early morning thoughts:

-Any talk (like this) of trading Malkin or any of the Pens stars is crazy. You would be solving one problem by creating another. Let's not overreact to running into a team that played the perfect series.

-How is Tiger Woods still number one in the World Golf Rankings? Is he getting rewarded for not playing? Is he getting points for tabloid mentions? Makes no sense to me.

-I don't think he is leaving. but if Lebron James leaves the Cavs, they really should just fold the team. How could they ever recover? They would go from 60+ wins to about 20 instantly.

-Seinfeld ending in 1998 was a bummer, but nothing compared to LOST ending next Sunday. There has never been a show like it (or even close). Maybe I will write an Ode to the Smoke Monster (or the Dharma Initiative) next week.

And don't worry, I am printing out this post when I am done and sending it over to Anthony via telegraph. It seems like the best choice at this point.

UPDATE (5-14-10 @12:50): Anthony is using someone else's internet to make a post today. Mooch.