Hail Cleveland!

The Obama administration could have spent $50-60 million of those elusive stimulus dollars to keep Lebron in Cleveland and carried Ohio in the next election. With the trillions of stimulus dollars they used like Viagra to stimulate similar short sighted results, a few bucks could have been spent to keep Lebron in his hometown. There might have been public outrage but how much more can there be?

One in ten of Lebron’s Akron brethren are unemployed. When employed, they earn on average $18,000 a year. Lebron does not owe them anything but they never asked for much either. He grew up under their circumstances but he won the DNA lottery. Prince James grew into King James as was predicted in the prophesy. He accepted his crown and worked hard to bring a championship to the region. In return, he carried them to a place beyond their circumstances. The King held court for 82 nights a year with a region cheering his every windmill jam. It would have been a better story to report if he had stayed and finished what he started. Cleveland worked hard to keep him although that “We are the World” thing they did on You Tube was pretty creepy and lame.

In sixty minutes Wednesday night in Prime Time, LB James generated a national vitriolic outcry beyond any cauldron the Yard could brew. Vitriol is Yard elixir but Lebron was never in our cioppino of disdain. He and his posse diced their own ingredients and will forever deal with the soup that was served on ESPN that night. After a solid week of having some of the most powerful leaders of the NBA blow sunshine up his ass in Akron, Lebron waxed and waned over this apparently national decision. It must be incredibly difficult to figure out which city and what franchise should allow King James to accept their $95+million over the next five years. James apologetically explained that he needed to forgo the Cleveland money so that he can chase trim in South Beach with D. Wade and win some championships along the way.

The outrage and discussion has lapped the internet like an OJ. It was our understanding that ESPN was a network that reported the news not a conduit of its creation. The Ford Bronco slow speed car chase was more compelling television. No other network would have turned down the chance but it was a PR fiasco for the King and ESPN is equally stained by their slathering creation. The broadcast became an awkward reality show wrapped around a 45-second announcement. Did ESPN really need Michael Wilbon, Stuart Scott and Jim Gray to interview Lebron? Wilbon is a clever guy but he always stretches out his questions to appear more important than the answer. We like Stuart Scott but he was not needed and Jim Gray is a tool as noted by Yardiot Harrah. They should have had Hanna Storm on the sidelines in a Cleveland Pub if we really wanted to see some action.

As a free agent, LBJ can go anywhere in this nation to ply his craft. He carefully crafted an image within the Cleveland cocoon that has insulated him and his posse from the media. Lebron was one of their own and he had pulled the center of the basketball universe closer to their shores. Cleveland sports woes are well documented but Lebron provided hope to a decimated region. They protected his image and he benefited without needing to move beyond the umbrella that shielded him since the first seeds of greatness. Until the TMZ tainted ESPN weird fest Wednesday night, the Lebron beyond the baby powder toss and the playoff disappointments is one we hardly know.

The strangest thing of the ESPN coverage was not the actual interview or “The Decision”. It was seeing Lebron get out of the tinted SUV’s like a World Leader surrounded by his posse of hangers on. His boys from Akron have hit the lottery in this one. Like Turtle and Drama, they get to go to the big city on the coat tails of their superstar friend. Unlike the Entourage gang, they helped orchestrate it. They wanted out of Cleveland. King James gets all he wants but his childhood friends who run his empire wanted more and they definitely wanted South Beach. Maverick Carter, Randy Mims and Richard Paul along with Lebron consider themselves the Four Horseman. Riding ponies is what they will be doing all night long down south.

We will learn a lot over the next five years. The trim quotient in South Beach exceeds the tri-state area in their hometown. It is a target rich environment especially for a rich NBA superstar and his three closest friends. There are women and future families that are waiting at every watering hole. NBA player’s party and father like no other sports superstars. 60% of NBA players are bankrupt within five years of retirement because of paying for too many friends, too many kids and too many toys. Lebron, we think there is one Kardashian about to come onto the free agent market as well. Good luck and look forward to seeing your apology for a momentary lapse in judgment on a future ESPN broadcast.

In the end, Lebron has no one to blame other than himself why Cleveland did not win in 2010. Tied 2-2 with the hated Celtics, playing at home, Lebron James only needed to do what he had done all season. The Cavs win Game 5 and go up 3-2, game over. Lebron shot 4 for 13 for a total of 15 points in that game. The Celtics won to go up 3-2 and closed the series out at home. During those three straight losses, James shot 33%, averaged 22 points and turned the ball over nineteen times. He tanked when average has Cleveland in the Finals and history and this blog is different.

After Hours: How long will it be before the current Miami coach decides he needs to spend more time with his family and acquiesces to President Pat Riley to get back to the sidelines? Riley knows that rings only count on the fingers of players and head coaches. They do not keep track of how many rings a team president has. Riley will be back on the sidelines to coach this team and get himself back in the spotlight when it shines brightest. He does that like no other and then he writes a book to recap it for all of us. He sat on the bench for five Laker championships, right? How many does Phil have with the Lakers? They will meet on Christmas Day.