“LeBron shames. That’s what Cleveland fans have been thinking about LeBron James ever since he disappeared and his Cavaliers collapsed in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Around here, win or lose, fans desperate to sip championship champagne once in their lives have always treated James royally. Just not now.” [Tom Withers]
“In so many ways, he’s a young Alex Rodriguez, so insecure with himself and his MVP awards, so desperate to find validation in the courtship of free agency. “He seems more enthusiastic about this than he did trying to beat the Celtics,” said one Western Conference GM. “I mean, who goes on Larry King to talk about ‘when I become a free agent’?” [Adrian Wojnarowski]
“Bryant is wired so differently. To listen to LeBron James talk about wanting a global platform, wanting to be as much Jay-Z as Jordan, you have to wonder whether he’ll ever have that consuming need to be a champion again and again. Eventually, LeBron will win his title, but will he evolve his game like Bryant and Jordan, push past the athletic gifts to develop something that can sustain him into his 30s. I asked Bryant: Can you want all those outside things, chase them all, and still win championship after championship? He thought for a moment, and then gave a big, big smile. “I’m going to say … ‘Yes.’ ” He was trying to be polite, but he doesn’t believe it.” [Adrian Wojnarowski]
“That’s probably why everyone from “The Real Housewives of New York City” to President Barack Obama are chiming in on where LeBron should go. And while Clevelanders are preparing for the worst and already claiming that if LeBron were to leave he “could replace Art Modell as the most hated person in Cleveland,” they have to be pretty happy he said the Cavs have an edge, even if it’s minute. Then again, are Clevelanders ever happy? They are in Cleveland, after all. I’ve heard there’s nothing to do there.” [Trey Kerby - BDL]
“Making sure to qualify his comments that he was speaking in generalities and not as a potential candidate, Van Gundy praised both owner Dan Gilbert and General Manager Danny Ferry. “Danny Ferry and their ownership have proven they care deeply about winning and about people,” Van Gundy said. “That is a winning combination to sell.”" [Brian Windhorst]
“However, if it’s an extension of the mini-max — an attempt to whip front offices into shape and fight the assumption that a James or Wade can be bought indefinitely — then what’s so bad about continuing to put pressure on teams? Maybe it’s LeBron’s fault that the Cavs came up short. Still, he shouldn’t be the one dealing with inertia. If he has limitations, he needs teammates, and an organization, that gloss over those.” [Bethlehem Shoals]
Tweets To The Present: (follow me @tompestak)
“Obama also told King: that LeBron needs a team and coach “that he respects.” Well, it is a mid-term election year.” [Brian Windhorst]
“Am I the only person who thinks President Obama needs to stop talking about LeBron James? Does it really matter what he thinks about that?” [Michael Lee]
“Adrian Wojnarowski is upset with Jim Joyce for upstaging the NBA Finals.” [TiricoSuave]
If there is one thing the last 7 years has firmly entrenched in my soul, it is that the media truly does hate Cleveland. I remember way back in high school someone told me I needed to get over my “victimhood” mentality about Cleveland sports. So I did. But one thing is certain. People HATE Cleveland, and their hatred is nothing more than a perfectly appropriate reflection of their pathetic elitism. I grew up in Cleveland and I love the city. Most people that take cheap shots have never even been to Cleveland.
This is a tough time. Everyone is on edge about LeBron. We get bombarded daily with articles taking shots at the city, at the people, at LeBron. And at this point we’re not even sure if we should be defending LeBron or not – after all, what if he leaves?
Anyway, hang in there everyone. The Cavaliers have a rich history. I posted the above picture because I really loved the Mike Fratello teams of the mid-90s. They were undersized, lacked star-power, but they were fiesty. I loved Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill and the late Bobby Phills.
The media and the rest of the country couldn’t care less about Cleveland, and in comparison, Cleveland takes way less grief than NYC or Los Angeles. But maybe that’s your issue – that you have an unrealistic view of your city’s standing in the country. And that’s okay, most people have the same feeling, but don’t develop a persecution complex to cope with it. Indifference is different than hate.
Adrian Wojanarksi posting another anti Lebron article and because Lebron doesnt have a ‘killer instinct’ he’ll never win championships or be Jordan or Kobe….why cant Lebron just be Lebron…Im sure if LBJ had the Lakers supporting cast or even another all star in his prime as Kobe has had for years…he would have championships too….
I honestly think if Cleveland ever won a title regardless of what team..the national media would hate it because its not a big city on either coast…ESPN is eating up this finals even though its the same two teams meeting for the 32nd time in NBA history…whats the fun in that? maybe some redemption but besides that its same old same old…lets go back to the 80s again…whatever
What media do you manage to listen to there jonathan? Show me the media outlet that hates NYC. Would love to see it.
Rich, well, I’d say that most of the country has an antagonistic relationship with what they perceive as the “coastal elite.” If you’re asking for specific media outlets in sports, I can’t really give you a good answer, maybe Boston and LA but those are simply rivalries more than dislike for the actual city. And really, that was my point, that the media don’t really care about cities, and I’m sorry to all those people living or from Cleveland, but no one really cares about Cleveland, just like no one really cares about San Antonio, or Dallas, or Orlando. No one is “taking shots” at Cleveland out of any antipathy for the city, but rather simply about the situation and the actions of those involved. Just because the narrative is taking place in Cleveland and you or anyone else happen to not like the narrative, in no way implies any sort of hate for the city. Those who really think anyone, especially the media, has any sort of hatred for the city and the people living there is deluding themselves to compensate for a narrative he doesn’t like.
But to answer your question, I’d say that Fox News has a dislike of NYC… although they dislike most of fake America, so they probably don’t like Cleveland either…
@jonathan
I’m not sure that the media couldn’t care less about Cleveland, but I understand your point there- especially in response to the statement that people “hate” Cleveland. With the exception of rivals (Pittsburgh comes to mind), people don’t hate Cleveland. Honestly, Cleveland ranks up there in terms of “If my team doesn’t win it, I’ll root for Cleveland” thoughts. People have come to get sick of hearing about LeBron, and I can see some hate there, but that’s a little different.
What I will disagree with you on is your thought that Cleveland takes “way less grief” than NYC or Los Angeles. Hating a city, and giving it grief are two very different things. There is a long list of cheap shots that the city of Cleveland takes on a regular basis (see some of the links above, the whole Joakim Noah thing, or even Snake Pliskin’s comments about Cleveland as he is trying to flee post-apocalyptic New York in “Escape From New York”). Cleveland has long been a butt of many jokes in the media, in film, in sports, etc. These shots have only increased with the whole “where will LeBron go?” drama. After several decades, you might have to excuse the residents of Cleveland for getting a little defensive and sensitive.
So, I agree that with the exception of rivals that all cities have, no one hates Cleveland. However, if you think Cleveland doesn’t get more grief, or take more cheap shots than NYC/LA, you are not paying attention- especially when you consider that Cleveland has such little access to the spotlight.
Well put, Dave. I’ll follow that up with an analogy. Cleveland is like the kind of nerdy kid in high school that’s not in the nerd crowd, because he thinks he’s cooler than them (think Detroit, Indianapolis, etc.), but the cool crowd won’t have him. When he tries to hang out with the cool crowd, they’ll make fun of him and maybe give him a wedgie or something. He interprets this as that they hate him, but really, they just don’t care much about him. In fact, it’s probably more likely that the nerdy kids hate him. The cool kids wouldn’t waste their time thinking about him beyond tossing a joke or two his way. The nerd kids, though, will sit around the lunch table and stew at his uppitiness (for lack of a better word). Those kids hate him. And he probably doesn’t care much that they hate him, because hey, they’re nerds.
did you include this picture because joe smith is in the background?
I mean, I was in my 10′s at that point in time, but how long was Terrell Brandon the best Point Guard in the NBA?
Fox News is mostly stationed in NYC. And anyway, a disdain for the so-called elite is not the same as a disdain for the city itself.
People generally don’t like Cleveland as a city. Just look at Noah’s comments or ever famous Cleveland vid. It has nothing to do with the people that live there, but the reputation that the city has built up, for w/e reason I dunno cause I really do enjoy the city.
Anyway, LeBron loves Akron. Akron is basically a smaller version of Cleveland. TO just assume that LeBron would rather play in NYC for the sole fact that it is NYC is to ignore the facts.
ozward….terrell brandon was tops around 95-97…really peakd in 97 that was his best year…this started after Mark Price left the Cavs and Brandon took over the point guard duties….he was a solid player and good one but not sure if he was a great one….but im too lazy to look up stats maybe im wrong…i still think Price is the best Cavs PG in team history…
Leo – Yes, Price was. But Terrell Brandon had some nice years. He had a PER of 25.2 in 1995-1996, which is pretty impressive for a scoring point guard.
ben tej – love the analogy, very funny.
Rich – I was mostly joking about the Fox thing, but it’s really splitting hairs to speak about disdain for the people that live in a city as different from the city itself. And I was referencing Sarah Palin’s real America thing.
Dave – I understand your point about Clevelanders (?) being somewhat sensitive about things. But being from Los Angeles, I will argue that fans out here take way way more undeserved grief about being real fans and the city being fake and superficial and all that bull than any other major city in this country. And most of it from people who either live there or would move there in a heartbeat if they could. Also, Cleveland’s reputation, deserved or not, is greatly tied into the general view and current state on many cities in that area of the country, cities that for a long time relied on an industrial capacity that has suffered in recent years. And even before then, that industrial mentality contrasted unfavorably with the glitz and glamor associated with cities like New York, LA, Miami, etc. I understand why the prospect of losing Lebron to a “bigger” city is so feared, but I object to the idea that people or the media want it to happen out of some dislike for Cleveland. I actually think that more people want Lebron to stay than want him to go, if for no other reason than don’t want Cleveland to have its heart broken.
Sorry for the ramble…
ya know jonathan, to carry over from the other thread, cuz it’s easier, i have yet to hear a really good reason from you or anyone why LBJ should be getting the AMOUNT of bad press he’s getting based on what he has done. you excuse the media by saying that LBJ should expect bad press after getting so much good press. really? why? that is asinine line of thinking to be brutally frank. what has LBJ actually DONE in the past weeks to get ripped like he is getting ripped? for the first time in his career, he underachieved in the playoffs. now, mind you back in the day, ESPN said his playoff game against the pistons was one of the top 10 greatest playoffs performances of ALL-TIME and now they along with most of the media claims he chokes in the playoffs. yet, up until this year, he was one of the greatest statistical performers in nba playoff history.
i would submit to you that this is not normal behavior by the press. please point to me similar outrage by them towards kobe quitting in the phoenix series a few years ago. please show me the amount of bad press kobe got for two first rd exits a few years back. and what is LBJ really guilty of doing? having a injury for the first time in his career and doing a bad job of adjusting to it.
admit it, the amount of criticism (and btw, it’s happening locally now as well with bud shaw in particular acting like LBJ spit in his cheerios) is not equal to the transgression. it’s not a media “conspiracy” (and i resent the use of that provocative term used to cast those who question the media as kooks) but would you really say the media does not exhibit a completely unhealthy pack mentality? and would you not also say that the simmering resentment many sportswriters seemingly feel towards big-time athletes like LBJ is a factor in their gleeful destruction of his image in a two week span?
kj, i wrote a long response to your post, but it didn’t post for some reason and since i really don’t want to write it again, the gist of it was simply that yes the media goes overboard in both directions and you can’t expect to reap the rewards without the dark side when things go wrong. nothing more than that. cheers.
all i can say is no one has a right to “hate” lebron if he leaves. he has been amazing (and by amazing i mean the best first 7 years of anyones career, minus championships) the entire time he’s been in cleveland. remember last year when he went crazy against orlando and they still lost? NO ONE stepped up in the playoffs for cleveland. lebron saw that boston was better than cleveland, and he probably had some motivation kicked out of him. you would too. he didnt have a bad series, he had a less than “jesus christ your my hero” series and everyone says he gave up or he doesnt care.
really, people need to stop being faggots and realize they only want lebron to stay in cleveland because of their own selfish desires. And that is the truth. LEBRON DOESNT OWE YOU, ME, DANNY FERRY, OR Z ANYTHING. he did what he could. can you even imagine how much money the cavs have made because of Lebron?
Enjoy the past seven years, he brought cleveland easily the best basketball they have ever seen.
The fact is that if lebron wants to win championships, either the cavs have to get some crazy sign-and-tradeS, or he needs to go somewhere else.
No matter where he goes, he’ll always be from ohio, so take pride in that.
Lol, I don’t have a right to hate LeBron? Um…yes I do. Not sure how you think rights work, but quite frankly I have the right to hate whomever I choose.
Why would I take pride in a guy who failed to deliver the championship he himself promised, and then bolts because he can’t handle the pressure? I wouldn’t. However, you can if you wish. Unlike you I won’t try and tell you what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to LeBron and how oyu feel. You have the right to feel however you want.
The media, btw, has made it impossible for Clevelanders to react to this situation. If we act like Bud Shaw, then they claim Cleveland is ungrateful and heaps to much pressure on this guy (Jim Brown said this). If we continue our support for the man no matter what, then it is presumed that LeBron needs a city that will actually hold him accountable when he fails (see Buzz Bissinger). So..exactly how are we expected to act towards the situation. I choose to blame LeBron for the things I think he deserves to be blamed for (ego + poor series against Boston) but also admit that I really want to him return no matter what. However, I also choose to not beg and plead and go to LeBron rallies and make signs and billboards. I do have some dignity.