OT: Dan Gilbert chimes in...

That would be the finest example of the Ewing Theory yet.

I think it's entirely justified to blame Gilbert.  He bought the Cavs when their value was very high - they were already considered an emerging force that just needed a few roster tweaks.  Gilbert failed to deliver those necessary tweaks.  I don't agree that he "put the pieces in place."  Take a look at the players LeBron has had around him the past few years.  Do you really think they were a championship-caliber supporting cast?  And hiring a bum like Mike Brown and keeping him employed for years falls right on Gilbert's lap. 

Gilbert's comments are incredibly self-serving.  He is accusing LeBron of doing everything Gilbert tried to get Tom Izzo to do (abandon his home community and team, etc.).  He inherited a great hand from the previous owner and has blown his window of opportunity.  And now, with these comments, he sounds like a lunatic.  NBA free agents are not going to want to play for him.  He'll be shunned like the Bulls were after 1998, when Jerry Krause forced everyone out the door.  I bet in the long run, Gilbert's ownership will be viewed as a disaster.

I understand, we just disagree.  I think almost the entire Cavaliers fanbase would disagree that Dan Gilbert was the only one that was hurt.  I don't read that letter as "crybaby."  I read it as push back against the spectacle that LBJ just put the franchise and fanbase through.  As a fan, when your team loses a star, let alone a super star, it's going to hurt.  When it lose him on national television following a two year process that can best be described as a pathetic stunt, it's going to hurt a lot more.  And, when you're Cleveland and haven't won a championship in anything in a generation (plus), it's hurts even more.  I think Dan Gilbert knows his fans pretty well and had that in mind when he wrote it.

I understand the notion that "he's just a former employee" but that's a pretty watered down, simplistic description in this case.  LBJ wasn't just some employee to this franchise and I think there's no chance he was treated like just some employee by that organization.  I'd bet he was treated like royalty (no pun intended) and that they bent over backwards to keep him happy.  No, they didn't get over the hump, but they weren't indifferent to that fact - we're not talking about Donald Sterling and the Clippers here.  As far as I know, Gilbert never got any outreach from LBJ to tell him he was leaving or why before tonight's ridiculous show.  I've never heard of bad blood between LBJ and Gilbert, so I can't imagine any excuse for not giving Gilbert that courtesy...well...other than the fact that you don't want the surprise decision to leak before your one hour primetime special.  I think, at the very least, LBJ owed them that courtesy.  He chose to build his brand instead, and Gilbert gave back to LBJ just what he deserved.  He humiliated (maybe that's too strong a word) Cleveland throughout the process and especially tonight. 

(And, I too am still glad it happened in Ohio)

Completely understand your point of view. Your employee/employer references intimates that you're looking at this through a sports-as-a-business lens, which isn't incorrect. But I think the reason that I like Gilbert's letter so much is that I like sports-as-sports and love the emotion that comes with it, raw and unfiltered. His response tries to plant a flag in the ground and reclaim some territory for those of us that aren't thrilled with the incessant business-like nature of sports franchises.

That may be a bit ironic considering Gilbert's prowess as a businessman, but on the other hand, you could argue that it's especially pointed coming from him. He would never do something like this with an employee at Rock Financial or whatever, and that's the point, I guess. Sports is different and special.

Nothing, I mean nothing, drives home a point like comic sans. Anytime I need to write up a contract at work, I start and end with comic sans.

According to a friend who used to work at Quicken Loans, this is Dan Gilbert's favorite font. He uses it to write all of his official memos and training documents.

Absolutely.  The river, any and all couches, and the deformed children that they had with their first cousins. (That last one might be West Virginia - I was reading about Senator Byrd earlier and might be mixing up my facts).

Yeah, I was born and raised in Toledo. Might not be the best place to live nowadays but the amount of Wolverine fans living there makes up for its statehood.