Sympathy for The Cleve? Yes, actually.

Before both of my followers immediately send me hate mail for my constant berating of Cleveland, maybe they should read this first. I actually feel sorry for the city. LeBron James, born and raised in Akron, chose to leave the Q to be a member of the superstar studded (and ribbed) Miami Heat. Let's start from the beginning of the whole mess:
First up ESPN: LeBron chose to have Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh give their announcements a day before his so that he could have the spotlight. ESPN more than obliged to televise this spectacle. I've always had the opinion that ESPN should be a little more sports reporting and sporting events and a little less opinion (sorry Tony of PTI, not Wilbon, though, and we'll get to that later). Their decision to televise "The Decision" was in poor taste and Jim Gray's decision to accept payment from one of LeBron's employees was unethical. He did not ask any particularly challenging questions and danced the around the actual question for more than 20 minutes when we were promised the announcement would happen in the first 10 or 15 minutes. However, as most of you know I do not have many flattering things to say about ESPN, so I'll just say that they are unethical and blur the line between news and opinion.
Next up Cleveland: The Fumble, The Drive, The Shot, Jose Mesa, and now "The Decision". As an avid anti-Cleveland sports fan, the first four of those misfortunes kind of made me grin at the misfortune of three of my least favorite teams. However, this one did not. I did revel in the fact that LeBron would not be back and we would have to "Witness" something else for awhile in Cleveland like Candy Armed Kerry Wood, Cougar Hunter Delonte West or Super Hero Colt McCoy. What LeBron, and his army of handlers and advisers (all of which are younger than pretty much anyone reading this blog) failed to realize is that maybe, just maybe, if they waited until the absolute last minute to announce his Decision on free agency then Cleveland would not have an opportunity to pick up any other free agents. At roughly 9:10pm, someone, not LeBron, called Dan Gilbert and said that LeBron would not be back next year. At roughly 9:30pm, LeBron told everyone else the same thing. Not only did he leave his home team, he also totally screwed them. Dan Gilbert (who now probably regrets all his decisions), allowed one of LeBron's friends to be an assistant coach to make him feel comfortable, moved the practice facility 20 minutes closer to LBJ's home, allowed LBJ's friends to ride on the team jet, hired his personal masseuse, and, probably his biggest mistake, allowed LeBron to make personnel decisions. Say what you want about Michael Jordan, but the Bulls never allowed him to make personnel decisions. He was livid when they traded Charles Oakley and the next season they won the NBA Championship with Horace Grant at power forward. Unfortunately, and I mean that word, it does not look like Cleveland will dig itself out of the championship hole anytime soon. Side note: I do not want to see one Indians fan jump on the Reds bandwagon. I need a playoff appearance bad and your bad luck will only drag the Reds down.
Finally LeBron James: As I mentioned earlier, his role of assistant GM was probably one reason for their losses. Probably the biggest blow he dealt to Cleveland prior to July 8th, 2010 was his performance in Game 5 of the Conference Semi-Finals. It was almost like he was sending a message saying, "If I'm having an off night, we have no chance. I need better players". Kobe Bryant used to do this before they got Pau Gasol, but Kobe (who may or may not be a rapist) would do this during the 45th game of the season when it really didn't matter, not in the middle of the playoffs. LeBron is a kid, plain and simple. Anyone who watched "The Decision" realizes this now. He started off cocky then you could tell he started saying to himself, "Why exactly did I do this?" However, he was too far gone and threw in a couple of "I deserve respect" and "I gave them seven great years" as if the fans should be grateful to him for basically doing nothing for them. Well, he did get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals in 2007, that was awesome. Many of those close to The NEO already knew of his immaturity. His license plate reads: "KING OF AK" - AK meaning Akron. He is littered with tattoos saying "The Chosen One" and "The King". The entrance to his home in Bath, OH (close to Akron) has images of him etched on the outer walls and two busts of him at the entrance. He fired his agents a couple of years ago and hired his high school friends. There is nothing like having your millions managed by someone with a high school education. It's like "Entourage", except with Turtle taking Ari's place. No one has ever told him "no" or "bad idea". Sorry, Dan Gilbert, you were too late. Also, let's get something else straight. Jesse Jackson has done so much for the African American community, and that can never be overlooked. However, it is absolutely ridiculous to compare a multi million dollar basketball player to a slave. LBJ was paid for his services and in the end his boss was upset that he left and expressed it in, what I thought was a very clever letter to the fans. He got the Cleveland fans on his side before anyone could blame him for not doing enough. Back to point. LBJ has made more money playing 10 basketball games than me and all of family members will make in our lifetimes, combined. Slavery was a terrible part of this nation's past and playing a game should never, ever be compared with that. And the fact that the media did not say this same thing just disappoints me to no end.
Well, that's it for me now. Miami is now the New York of basketball. LBJ will always have to explain away the championships he will win because he couldn't do what Jordan did. Win them on his own. MJ was a winner, and he made people around him winners. They hated him for 48 minutes every night, but loved him at the end of the season. LBJ could not do that and apparently never will. Like I said, he's a kid. And what kid wouldn't want to go to Florida on a permanent vacation, eat yummy meals all the time, and play in the ocean. Welcome To Miami.