Thank You LeBron

Submitted by SpreadGuru on

I'm sure I'm not the first but I wanted to say thank you to LeBron James.  Because of you, the fans of Cleveland are going to hate your ass for the rest of your life.  It will make those stupid ass hillbillies for West Virginia and their insane treatment of Coach Rod look almost civil.  And when you stick it to the state of Ohio, I think you're doing every Wolverine a huge service.

By the way, I didn't care where you ended up.  Once again, thank you for sticking it to the state of Ohio.  If you're from West Virginia and you're reading this, two things come to mind.  One, you are a rarity to be from WV and able to read.  Two, you guys are assholes to and so second class, we would prefer that you didn't visit this site.

coldnjl

July 9th, 2010 at 8:30 AM ^

 I have to hate Lebron for the way he handled this. He had the balls to go on National TV and deny Cleveland after all they have done for him and his entourage. Quite selfish and immature.

 

BUT...I love that OSU fans are crying somewhere right now 

DGDestroys

July 9th, 2010 at 8:34 AM ^

I just don't understand the selfish argument. This kid had given his all for that city for seven years, but they never gave anything back (aside from the contract). Underwhelming talent around him, easily critical fans, I mean nothing. When you're making a career decision you have to make it based on what's best for you, which is what he did. I'd agree with the immature nature of the National TV argument had it not been raising funds for the Boys and Girls Club.

coldnjl

July 9th, 2010 at 8:43 AM ^

He didn't give it all...he quit in the playoffs...plain and simple.

Easily critical fans-he didn't need to win a NBA title for them to love him-he was there hero non-the-less if he stayed. Hell, he already was

And with those same loving and adoring fans had to have him tell them he is leaving on a one hour national prime time show.

Dan Gilbert didn't even know ahead of time and all he did was place players that Lebron wanted around him in order to win, and now they are saddled with huge contracts for their attempts to win for him.

I am not a Cavs fan, but it is pretty clear that this is selfish and immature

DGDestroys

July 9th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^

Reading your argument actually changed my opinion on this matter. I didn't really think of it like that. I'm not convinced about the quitting in the playoffs, and I'm sticking to my guns about the TV special, but hell you probably know a lot more about basketball than me. It is pretty selfish when the player doesn't even alert the team of his plans when it's directly affecting the rest of the their offseason pursuits.

sterling1213

July 9th, 2010 at 1:49 PM ^

You can't blame LeBron that Dan Gilbert and the GM took on bad contracts for barely above average talent.  You might be right that LeBron was pushing for some of those guys, but as a GM or owner you need to make wise decions and have a plan instead of just blowing around in the wind.  Maybe if they had better management they would be in a better situation today.

jmblue

July 9th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^

Dan Gilbert didn't even know ahead of time and all he did was place players that Lebron wanted around him in order to win, and now they are saddled with huge contracts for their attempts to win for him.

There are two ways to interpret this.  One is to blame LeBron.  The other is to ask how it is possible that Gilbert was caught off-guard when LeBron's departure had been rumored for a couple of years.  (And wasn't it a bit of a red flag when Tom Izzo spoke with LeBron and then decided not to take the Cleveland job?)

And was it really LeBron's responsibility to tell Gilbert in advance?  Do free agents typically do that?  Did Gilbert even ask him to let him know in advance? 

JeepinBen

July 9th, 2010 at 8:24 PM ^

Lebron didnt have to tell him that he was leaving, but by not saying so he screwed the cavs even more. They didnt talk to other free agents (for fear of pissing off lebron)

I found out how Chicago lost their chance with James from sportscenter - apparently the bulls would NOT give lebron's entourage the VIP treatment they got in cleveland (flying on the team plane, seats behind the bench, jobs in the front office)

That was a team that stood up for itself, unlike cleveland did the last few years. What else was gilbert supposed to do?

OysterMonkey

July 9th, 2010 at 8:56 AM ^

He demanded several times midseason that the Cavs "upgrade" their roster. He wanted the Wallace-Szczerbiak-Joe Smith additions that never really played well together that year and got bounced in the second round of the playoffs. He wanted to add Jamison this year, even though the Cavs had the best record in the league and were playing well with the rotation they had in place.

He acted like an impatient toddler, demanding more now, without regard for the team's future. In order to make the deals they made, they had to give up young players and a number of draft picks, which is generally how teams which are successful in the long term build their rosters. The deals they made to appease LeBron have resulted in the team having three total draft picks in the last four drafts.

 

Huntington Wolverine

July 9th, 2010 at 10:01 AM ^

And as a result they had no salary cap room to bring another superstar in.  The organization would have been a lot better off from the get-go if they'd told him and his buddies to shut up and play while the GM ran the front office.  Instead, by pandering to him all along they're screwed.

Blue in Seattle

July 9th, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

The Cavs are as much to blame as LeBron.

Oh wait, the Cleveland fans probably kept showing up to watch LeBron throw his chalk in the air evey game, despite the fact that he couldn't get it done in the playoffs.

pretty much if the money is there, the players are going to ask for it.  If giving them what they want gets you what you want, then why wouldn't you do that?

It's pretty much why Bo told his players, "you will never experience football as you experience it here in college"  in essence, professional sports is a business, college sports is a learning experience.

As a fan you can try and expect all professional players to not act like they are a product for sale, but the fact is, they are a product for sale,

and we are the bidders.

 

Shalom Lansky

July 9th, 2010 at 11:56 AM ^

There are millions of ways to raise money especially for someone with LBJ's influence.   The TV special was clearly self-serving, the charity aspect was just a(n) (ineffective) shield designed to deflect criticism.  All in all, money for the kids is more important than what LBJ does to his reputation but I don't think LBJ's handlers were putting the children ahead of LBJ in creating "The Decision."

OHbornUMfan

July 9th, 2010 at 8:54 AM ^

it's Dan Lebatard.  I point this out to make you feel even better about disliking the dude - his last name is le batard, which is "the bastard" in French.

Since last names traditionally come from the father's side, it's interesting that one could ever get the name "the bastard".  Think about it.

Maizeforlife

July 9th, 2010 at 8:59 AM ^

So, I have to be honest, I refused to watch that spectacle of egotism last night.  What did he do to fill up an hour long show to make an announcement that could have been done via twitter? 

MGoDC

July 9th, 2010 at 9:03 AM ^

Stuffed it with media air-heads talking about "fit" and whether it was a bad thing because he betrayed his hometown or a good thing because "finally its an athlete who is about winning and not about the money."

Also, they stuffed it full of advertising.

I personally would've found it a lot more entertaining if he just made his 1 sentence announcement over the course of an entire hour by speaking really, REALLY slowly.

Maximinus Thrax

July 9th, 2010 at 9:05 AM ^

I swear Chris Broussard said "My heart says he's going to Cleveland, but my sources say it's Miami" like 15 times.  ESPN (and most television news outlets) have turned redundancy into an art form.

Thatguy2525

July 9th, 2010 at 10:07 AM ^

Did anyone hear what he actually said after it happened? It was a priceless act of an MSU grad and a person who lives in Ohio. I understand he was mad, but really doubt that Cleveland will ever win a championship, let alone one before Lebron. Come on man!

Gilbert told Cavs fans: "You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE"

Gilbert promised that "curse" on Cleveland sports would follow James to Miami.

"The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south," Gilbert wrote. "And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James [and the town where he plays] will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704

wigeon

July 9th, 2010 at 9:31 AM ^

Thankfully, I missed it. Was busy waxing my scrotum.

I've turned the radio channel every time someone talked about it the last 2 weeks, I simply do not care.  The concept of having a 1 hour prime-time show dedicated to "his choice" is patently absurd. The NBA blows - the game is unbearable to watch, and my apathy is boundless as a result.

Disgusting.  Doubt I'll watch any "non-game" programming on ESPN ever again (pretty much haven't in the past couple years and haven't missed a beat).

I can't stand what this network has become. 

 

 

briangoblue

July 9th, 2010 at 12:01 PM ^

...but even I was disgusted by this (as was anyone not living in Miami). I enjoyed Ohio getting backstabbed on national TV and ESPN embarrassing themselves was an extra bonus. You just know the ring-laden NBA elites known by one name like soccer stars are livid with this. I like Wade but I really hope this whole thing implodes.

drewro02

July 9th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^

Funny you try to make fun of people from WV, and then right after say to instead of too. Awkward. I also do  not really care about Cleveland, but I still just can't help but feel bad for that city. They've been through alot, and LeBron basically gave them the middle finger on the way out. If they can't keep one of their own in town, they are doomed forever.

MGoDC

July 9th, 2010 at 10:22 AM ^

I believe its because basketball players enjoy multiplication.

Kobe Bryant raped a girl. His number was 8, he had 3 championships at the time, he changed his number to 24.

Lebron James raped the city of Cleveland. His number was 23, he doesnt have any championships and Gilbert Arenas made the number 0 unfashionable, so 2 times 3 equals 6.

WhatTheFekete

July 9th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^

Lebron is an absolute egotistical joke!  This has been an awful spectacle over the past weeks, month and year.  To have this planned the entire time, he should of handled it like a man with a business approach.  Instead he got all of his "team" together who gave him bad advice and now he has signed a contract on a team that is not going to be the superpower everyone things.  

Will he win a few championships with Miami...probably.  But he will never be thought of as one of the greatest ever because he didn't do it himself, he didn't build his team, instead he trying to jump on board with a so called superpower team. 

Why he would go to Miami (clearly DWade's city), I will never understand.  

And for what its worth ESPN for once didn't somewhat disappoint me.  Some of the studio guys were actually vocal about him making the wrong move.