Lebron james??

[nokids]

A column that sums it up nicely.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...decision070910

Best article i've read so far.

[leafseh]

Best article i've read so far.

+1. Nice Find.

[fundonny]

It would suck to be a Cleveland fan. Indians, Browns, Cavs. At least they have Ohio State (which as a Michigan fan, I hate).

[mpare]

So how large a fine is the league going to impose on Gilbert for his self-serving diatribe?

[fundonny]

Zero. He did not make comments regarding the league or officiating.

[nokids]

the NBA is like WWE.

[Chieflongtee]

the NBA is like WWF.

WWE my man. WWF has won the case in court

[nokids]

WWE my man. WWF has won the case in court

haha. i edited it shortly after doing some research.

[Fallys0820]

I know why Dan Gilbert wrote that letter, because he's covering his butt! Dan Gilbert is responsible for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was praising James when James could have still stayed with Cleveland. Now that James is gone, Dan Gilbert paints James as the devil so that Cleveland fans rally around the team. He had no other choice. If he didn't blame James for leaving, then Cleveland fans would start blaming someone else for losing their best player. And who do you suppose would feel the heat? Yes, Dan Gilbert. Dan Gilbert is being a politician and shifting the blame away from himself to James. Like Hacker said, he should have added some real talent around James. Not an old Shaq and a bunch of nobodys. This is all Dan Gilbert's fault, and the letter he wrote is pathetic!

Problem with this statement is that the GM controls the build of the team. I understand the underlying tone of your message though, and I agree that it was the Cavaliers responsibility to build a team around him. Nobody wants to play in relative mediocrity, granted 50+ wins seasons is above average.

The media has hyped this over the last year and a half, so I wouldn't expect anything less than LeBron giving the media what they wanted.

Go Heat!

[mpare]

So an owner can publicly trash a league "star" with impunity. That's an interesting approach to developing and maintaining fan support while creating a positive vibe for the league generally and its players specifically. I would never have thought of that.

Zero. He did not make comments regarding the league or officiating.

[fundonny]

You have to read Simmons all Lebron mailbag! Awesome. I particularly enjoyed the comment on how the country was founded on defying egotistical kings.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/100709

[sillywilly]

this reminds me of what lebron james did on thursday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H76Dw...layer_embedded

[Shushu]

I'd say Heatly did more damage to the NHL then Lebron did to the NBA out of all of this. Lebron was a free agent...he decided to go to South Beach make money and work on his tan. He's 25, making ungodly money, and living in a party city. Who wouldn't do this if they had the choice? The ratings on this show were through the roof. Everyone who even had a little liking for Basketball tuned in to it just to see where he was going to choose. A 7.3 rating. To put this into perspective.....the Stanley Cup final drew a 7.0. It was a little over the top, but he doesn't make these decisions on his own. His handlers should be ashamed of themsleves, but at least the money went to charity.

There are ego's in all sports. And for the most part they are all the superstars. Its a part of sports that you love to hate. Not many players are willing to take the hometown discount. Can't imagine Manning or Brady holding the NFL hostage with salary negotiations...well beleive it. It's here. The next contracts they sign could bring them $20-25 million a season but because of the chance of a lockout next year the teams don't want to commit. When is enough money enough. They may not go off on their teams in public....but the ego's are still there.

[mpare]

David Stern thought otherwise and fined Gilbert $100,000!

Zero. He did not make comments regarding the league or officiating.

[fundonny]

David Stern thought otherwise and fined Gilbert $100,000!

I'm guessing, considering how he mentioned Jesse Jackson, it was to make the reverend happy.

[mpare]

I suspect that the real reasons were more along the lines that I previously articulated. Making Jesse Jackson happy would be an impossible objective.

I'm guessing, considering how he mentioned Jesse Jackson, it was to make the reverend happy.

[Sakuraba]

I found this article amusing

http://www.theonion.com/articles/despite-repeated-attempts-to-tear-it-down-massive%2C17737/

the poster is still on the building on google street view in cleveland too!