I have some things to say about LeBron James

When it comes to money, don't forget that Florida does not have state income taxes, which would soften the blow of passing up the extra 30 million from Cleveland.

That is the one thing good coming out of all of this. Lebron is being exposed as being a bit overrated. Great stats, can't win. Doesn't make players around him better.

According to Yahoo, LeBron has rented 6 cabanas for a party this weekend. In Miami.

Oh you're a Yankee fan. Ok. I see where our problem here.

Think of Clevelanders like Mets fans: we're only really comfortable when we're up on the cross, dying for our whatever and when we inevitably fail we almost welcome it (some of us do) because it's comfortable. If we can't be known for being good at stuff, we're going to fail as hard and as often as we can and take a perverse pride in it.

And we would be losing our sports team, really. LeBron is this team. He's the brand. We're a fickle and beaten down bunch over here. I've been to 4 Indians games so far this year along with approximately 7000 other people per game. It's terrible. I have no doubt if LBJ leaves the Cavs will put a playoff team together (7, 8th seed) and those games will sell out. But the impact of losing him will hurt ticket sales. The people going to games then will actually be basketball fans (of which Cleveland has only a few) as opposed to LBJ fans.

And frankly, Gilbert wouldn't have bought the team before we drafted LeBron. It wouldn't surprise me if he tried to sell in the near future.

And I have absolutely no doubt the NBA fixed the draft so we would pick first that year. They're shady. The same thing got hometown Derrick Rose to Chicago. I don't know what the odds were that Rose would fall to Chicago, but a fix wouldn't be out of the question.

In other more cheerful news, how are you guys enjoying CC? He's a class act and I'm glad he's fitting in over there.

FSeven is right. If you want to be upset with someone, get mad at Cavs management. Lebron has been in the league for what...7 years? That should be more than enough time to get him the pieces needed to win a championship.

Badferret wrote:

According to Yahoo, LeBron has rented 6 cabanas for a party this weekend. In Miami.

Just saw that.

http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmu...

No need to waste an hour tonight folks.

DSGamer wrote:

That is the one thing good coming out of all of this. Lebron is being exposed as being a bit overrated. Great stats, can't win. Doesn't make players around him better.

Jordan didn't win his first title until he'd been in the league for seven years. LeBron just finished year #7. If MJ never had Scottie Pippen, he wouldn't have won those titles. LBJ has never had a Scottie Pippen. Seriously, last year, who was supposed to help him? A creaky Shaq? Antawn Jamison? Mo Williams? Was there one other player on the Cavs last year who would have cracked the Lakers' starting rotation? He's had crap for teammates. Through seven years, LBJ has played 71 playoff games, Jordan played 70. I'm not comparing the two (MJ was the greatest player ever), but saying "great stats, can't win" is totally silly. When's the last time a team won a championship without at least two all-star caliber players?

This thread is like an hour long special all in itself.

I'm looking forward to the first part of the announcement. I will not be listening to Jon Barry (AKA the new Tom Tolbert).

And then I will look forward toward training camp, which opens in two weeks.

(and if he goes to Miami, I look forward to cheering against the "cool kids" and their flock of ring-chasers that will come out of semi-retirement for the veteran's league-minimum of $1M)

I'm glad Chicago has Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

Badferret wrote:

According to Yahoo, LeBron has rented 6 cabanas for a party this weekend. In Miami.

Yeah and "reliable sources" have him changing his taxable address to a place outside Chicago. W/e. We'll find out this evening.

mindset.threat wrote:

FSeven is right. If you want to be upset with someone, get mad at Cavs management. Lebron has been in the league for what...7 years? That should be more than enough time to get him the pieces needed to win a championship.

Am I mad at him? I think I am a little, yeah. It isn't that he needs to stay so much as I'd like him to leave quieter. I want less of a production. As I said, if I were him I would be in Chicago (which wouldn't allow him to be himself, so much as Jordan's successor - something he probably doesn't want) so I've accepted it if he leaves. It's the circus surrounding his leaving that's getting to me. I'm also more than a little embarrassed that we have Clevelanders bending over backwards to keep him here to no effect. He's still going to do what he thinks is best, regardless of the outpouring of support.

Even if he does stay I think this changes the perception of him around here. I don't think anyone will be nearly as upset if he ends up leaving 5 years from now.

I feel for you Oily. I don't know how I'd be able to handle this if I was a Cavs fan. As an NBA fan I'm with you in that this hour long stroke fest is ridiculous. Even worse? I'll be f*cking watching it. /selfshame

Man. Cleveland.

Thin_J wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

I'm only amazed by one thing in all of this ... people still watch the NBA?

This never stops surprising me either.

Ditto. I watched a few minutes of the finals and it was brutal. It's amazing to me that anyone outside of LA cares

DSGamer wrote:

NBA > NFL > NCAA Football > Pro Cycling > NHL > MMA > Professional Food Eating > MLB

Okay, I'm joking about Professional Food Eating. I don't watch it. Still prefer it to MLB, though.

Sad that boxing doesn't make the list.

Mine would be: NFL > NCAA Football > NHL > Boxing > MMA > All those sissy sports that don't involve hitting people

*Legion* wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

NBA > NFL > NCAA Football > Pro Cycling > NHL > MMA > Professional Food Eating > MLB

Okay, I'm joking about Professional Food Eating. I don't watch it. Still prefer it to MLB, though.

Sad that boxing doesn't make the list.

Mine would be: NFL > NCAA Football > NHL > Boxing > MMA > All those sissy sports that don't allow you to hit people

FTFY. There's plenty of hitting in cycling and baseball and I bet if Kobayashi was allowed on stage on Sunday he might have gone after Joey Chestnut.

oilypenguin wrote:

Oh you're a Yankee fan. Ok. I see where our problem here.

Think of Clevelanders like Mets fans: we're only really comfortable when we're up on the cross, dying for our whatever and when we inevitably fail we almost welcome it (some of us do) because it's comfortable. If we can't be known for being good at stuff, we're going to fail as hard and as often as we can and take a perverse pride in it.

Oh snap!

But I'm a 36 year old Yankee fan. I vividly remember the eighties, cheering for Mattingly and never seeing the Yankees do much of anything. It was torture during the success the Mets enjoyed in the mid to late eighties. And even 1996 was bittersweet. If anyone had told me the year after Mattingly retired the Yankees would win the World Series, I would have scoffed. If you told me in addition that Mattingly's nemesis Wade Boggs would have been on the Yankee team that won the year after Mattingly retired, and rode around Yankee Stadium on horseback, I would have told you that you were a cold-hearted S.O.B. with ice in his veins.

But I don't even need to bring that up. I'm a Knicks fan and a NY Rangers fan. Oh yes, I know pain.

oilypenguin wrote:

In other more cheerful news, how are you guys enjoying CC? He's a class act and I'm glad he's fitting in over there.

Sugar Bear's been great.

IMAGE(http://www.breakfastblogger.com/wp-content/photos/bb_046.jpg)IMAGE(http://janeheller.mlblogs.com/sabathia.jpg)

23 minutes until "The Decision".

This is already bad. I wish they got Van Gundy, Charles and Wilbon to do the commentary.

The whole thing is hilarious. The voiceover at the start. The Vitamin Water cooler at the back of the Boys and Girls Club. The ads for Bing and Vitamin Water that just happened to have "The Decision" as a theme.

Who's doing it, that awful Stewart Scott?

Bienvenido a Miami.

As a Cleveland fan its a shame to see him go. Seeing the Heat with such a lineup now, I'll need another NBA hat. Don't get me wrong, I'm still rooting for Cleveland (and Boston, I'm from Maine/New England). I'll just be rooting for another team to beat the Lakers

Apparently "The Decision" was an hour long special so he could apologize to Cleveland fans and rip the band-aid off.

Also, I can't wait for season 2 of "Basketball Wives".

My thoughts are (A) I feel terrible for Cleveland and (B) I don't get it at all. If you want to WIN, why not go to Chicago, where you have Rose and Noah and Boozer? That team with LBJ would be better than Miami with him.

You mean because Chicago will actually have a roster? And chemistry? I don't get it either. Looks like they really did decide during the Olympics that they all wanted to play together. Next year CP3? They just jumped the Lakers as my most hated team.

I blame Delonte West.

Chicago definitely made the most sense, but playing with some top level friends for the next 5 years? Can't fault him, really.

And Miami is probably much better than Chicago, as far as living is concerned. And it's much further away from Cleveland...

TheCounselor wrote:

I blame Delonte West.

That's why I said I'm looking forward to season 2 of Basketball Wives (moms).

The Miami Heat are going to be so overpowered in NBA 2K11. IMBA!

BNice wrote:

The Miami Heat are going to be so overpowered in NBA 2K11. IMBA!

True. This is the new cheeser team.

Kind of reminds me of the 2004 Olympic team packed with superstars but with no real bench, high motor, or "get dirty" kinds of guys to fill all the gaps. Just don't see them meshing. I look forward to watching the Heat not win championships.