Links To The Present: July 20, 2010

2010-07-19 Off By Tom Pestak

“The old Cavs, obviously, were built around James, with players who were brought in because of the way their games complemented his. He was the supernova, the hub of the wheel, the raison d’etre. Without him, Cleveland is a shadow of its former championship-contending self, the nightmare scenario come true for a city that walked on eggshells for seven seasons — an expensive, old shell with no great player around which to build. There is Mo Williams, and Anderson Varejao, and third-year forward J.J. Hickson, and a lot of question marks.” [David Aldridge on Cavs]

“What the Cavs wanted to scream at the TV and have been seething about privately all during the Vegas Summer League is how could they when James himself had them shackled to the short term.” [Brian Windhorst on LeBron the FA Magnet]

Brad Miller, Kyle Lowry, and Matt Barnes all making 5 mil a year?  Yikes.  Might be time for Eric Snow to come out of retirement.

“There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team,'” Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. The interview aired on the NBC telecast of the event. “But that’s … things are different. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. It’s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.” [Michael Jordan on LeBron James]

Henry Abbott wonders out loud how LeBron James is now the player most people “love to hate”.  Seems pretty obvious – he USED to have a legion of Ohioans by his side.  Not anymore.

D Wade compares the media coverage of a couple of reg season “South Beach” losses to the WTC terrorist attacks.  Smart.

Erin Phelps shares her feelings as a transplanted Cavs fan.

“The Man” is being used in all different contexts. Bryant Gumbel’s take.

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