Vaguely OT: There are Sportswriters... and Then There's Joe Posnanski

[shepwrite]

Damn, he's good.

 

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/07/08/the-lebron-decision/

[Mark O]

Tremendous article.....it's not what he did..it's how he did it.

[Thaak]

I was talking with a guy at work today... and we both came to the same conclusion.

 

It wasn't about the fact that Lebron James went elsewhere. He was a free agent. It was his right to choose to go where ever he wanted to go. Where ever he felt it was best for him. I cannot begrudge him for that.

 

But that gross spectacle the other night... was that really necessary? Salt... Wound... Hello!??

[Canton Mike]

Great article.

It also seems to point out that Lebron had come to the conclusion that he, on his own, is not a good enough "teammate" or "leader" to lead ANY team to a Championship on his own merit....He needs the "crutches" known as Wade & Bosh.

Good luck, sonny boy. You're no leader...You're a follower.

Mike

[NW Ohio Brownie]

Yes, Shep, it was a good article. Read it the morning after LeBron went on television.

 

Posnanski has redeemed himself in my eyes with this article because he was definitely in my journalistic doghouse after an article he wrote last fall, deeming Mangini the worst hire in the history of sports.

 

But by and large, Joe P. has a good idea of the pulse of the Cleveland sports fan and this article was a classic case of the hammer meeting the nail right on its head.

[shepwrite]

Things are gonna keep emerging.

 

He wrote off Chicago because they wouldn't let his entourage travel on the team plane... like the Cavs. Gilbert is hinting at behavior that might curl some hair, but he'll also have to own up to condoning it. We create our monsters in this country. You have no idea how famous, oh... Lizzy Caplan thinks she is. It's absolutely boggling. She was the first name that popped into my mind, but young actresses who won't read a script without an offer make up not a Who's Who... but a Who's That?

 

The bubble around guys like James is so dangerous. It reminds me of the movie Almost Famous, the end of rock and roll, when rocks stars began to hold their fans in disdain. Used to be when Joplin wasn't playing she was at someone else's show, getting stoned with other fans. Zeppelin essentially ended rock and roll, ironically.

 

Springsteen saved it for a little while, but then he got rich and became best friends with famous people like Sting and Tom Hanks. Listening to his last Unplugged made me NEVER wanna hear the word "transformative" again. Fame is a bitch of a mistress. Ask Steve Soderbergh. He once made a cool little move called Sex, Lies, and Videotape. His next "little" movie was called Full Frontal... and it was about rich and famous people. The only people he knows.

 

But I rant. James spoke to nobody in the Cleveland organization for weeks prior to "The Decision" (vomit, again). He wouldn't take a call from Dan xxxxing Gilbert. Wouldn't call him back. What DIDN'T Gilbert do for Lebron? Did Lebron want the Cavs to tank like the Heat so they could afford another max deal? No. He kept asking for help. Now the national media derides Mo Williams (All Star), Antawn Jamison (All Star) and Shaquille O'Neal (All Star). Delonte West is suddenly not a player? Bullshit. Why does EVERYBODY want J.J. Hickson? This was a bad supporting cast? Why?

 

What James did was grotesque, no doubt. Again...he's a villain now. And we are all witnesses.

 

 

 

 

[shepwrite]

Speaking of things still emerging... wow. If this isn't tampering, what is? This has been in the works for FOUR YEARS!!!

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/20...miamis_cou.html

[hoorta]

If you read down in the comments to the article, the one the mom posts about her 11 year old kid is the most telling- Dan Gilbert alluded to it. What does LeBron's action show that kid about loyalty? Doubly galling because of his "Loyalty" ink. He should get that burned off ASAP, clearly he has none.