The Cleveland Fan on Facebook

STO
The Cleveland Fan on Twitter
Cavs
Gary Benz

cavaliers-fans-burning-lebron-james-jerseys-6aac544663555249_largeThere's nothing about the LeBron James story that looks any better 24 hours later. Maybe some of the anger has dissipated, but the hurt will linger for a long time for a lot of people.

So much was wrapped up in LeBetrayal that it's hard at times to corral all the thoughts into a coherent narrative. There is the history of all the various sports teams in this town and the generations they've gone without a championship. There is the history of the two cities—Cleveland and Akron—that just screams that their better days are long gone. There are the people in these towns forced to endure the sharpest edges of everything bad, be it the weather, the economy, or just the scorn for well, being who they are.

Read more...

Jesse Lamovsky

… And don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Right here, right now, I can’t feel any other way.

I guess I could feel a sense of sorrow that any opportunity for the Cavaliers to win a Championship in the near future (or ever) has slipped away. But it’s not as if they won a Championship when LeBron was here. They really didn’t even come that close. They made one fluke appearance in an NBA Finals they never had a chance to win and that was it. LeBron has as many Finals-game wins on his Cavaliers docket as Keith Lee, Randolph Keys and Wrong-Way Ricky combined- zero. Their 127 wins over the last two seasons didn’t even buy them a seventh game in a conference final.

He wasn’t good enough to bring a Championship to this city. That’s right, he wasn’t good enough. Not Mo Williams, not Anderson Varejao, not whatever sad-sack “supporting cast” member might get chucked under the bus. LeBron wasn’t good enough.

He’s the guy who shot 35 percent against the Spurs in the ’07 Finals; who shot 2-for-18 and committed ten turnovers in Game One of the Boston series in 2008, in a game the Cavaliers lost by four points, a series-turning game they would have won with even a mediocre outing from King Nothing; who despite being the same size as Karl Malone never even attempted to learn how to play with his back to the basket; who was a better free-throw shooter as a freshman at St. Vincent-St. Mary than he was at the end of his Cavaliers career; who would rather dribble out the shot clock and chuck up a wild three than play smart, winning basketball.

Read more...

Gary Benz

tatlebronWe are all witnesses. Indeed. Witnesses to the fact that in the end, LeBron James turned out to be Art Modell with a better fashion sense.

Sitting in Greenwich, Connecticut at a Boys and Girls Club and announcing to the world that the Miami Heat is where he’ll ply his trade next, James took a knife, edgy and dull, and carved a 6-inch valley in the middle of Cleveland’s soul.

If you want to be placated by the charity angle to the whole thing, go ahead and be a Pollyanna. James co-opted the good intentions of a worthy charity in order to make himself look better as he sat, cynically, virtually ripping the heart of out a city and explaining, once again, that it’s not about the money it's about happiness.

Remember this: when they say it’s not about the money, it’s about the money. Think of James leaving money on the table by not signing with Cleveland as a temporary thing, something akin to spending money to make money. James is officially a brand now and this is all about giving himself a bigger stage to make even more money off that brand.

Now of course the paralysis by analysis will begin anew, focusing as it will on whether James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all share the same ball and who, exactly, will take that last shot in a game that matters.

Read more...

Dave Kolonich

For those of you scoring at home - or in South Beach - you already know that I don't stray far from my beloved Browns on the pages of Cleveland Reboot.  In fact a "final" Lebron post is a bit of a misnomer, as I think I've maybe written three over the past few years.  However, much like how LeBron took to national television to write off Northeast Ohio, I figure today would be the appropriate time to do the same to the long annointed King.

And then we'll get back to the things that really matter in Cleveland - like football and actual teams.

So, without further adieu, here is my goodbye to LeBron James, who admittedly never played a huge role in my life of sports random.

Read more...

Sam Amico

lebron_benchAKRON, Ohio - Cavaliers forward and back-to-back NBA MVP LeBron James will sign a contract with the Miami Heat, and James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have known that for sometime, said a source close to the situation.

According to the source, the three stars had planned for thefree-agent drama to unfold exactly as it has -- with Bosh and Wade announcing their plans on Wednesday afternoon, and James following by making his own intentions known on a television program Thursday evening. Once the plans were finalized, LeBron's marketing team arranged for the show, which will be broadcast on ESPN tonight at 9.

The source added that Heat officials are holding a special party for season ticket-holders, in which they will watch James' TV announcement stating he will join the organization. Several news outlets are also reporting James has already rented spots for a party in Miami.

It is believed James became sold on the idea of joining the Heat after being told he will play point guard -- or as team president Pat Riley is believed to have explained, a role similar to that of Magic Johnson during Riley's time as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in the1980s.

Riley also sold James on the idea that the Heat can flourish with three stars, using his Showtime Lakers teams of Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as an example, the source indicated.

Read more...

More Articles...

Page 49 of 150

49

The TCF Forums