And So It Continues
October 29th, 2008 at 11:24 pm by Displaced Cleveland Fan
The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the 2008-09 season last night in Boston against the defending champs. The Celtics celebrated their title by passing out championship rings to the players and hoisting banner #17 to the rafters. They also began the defense of their title by beating the Cavaliers 90-85.
Of course, this was provided a good excuse for sportswriters to again talk about Lebron James leaving Cleveland.
Yes, I know we’re all tired of hearing the rumors. But they will only get worse over the next two years.
I read an article today by Adrian Wojnarowski over at Yahoo! Sports where he says James is as good as gone.
Why is it so sure that Lebron has to leave Cleveland? Wojnarowski says it’s because Lebron has to get past Boston’s “Big 3″ to win a title and he’ll have a hard time doing it as a Cavalier.
Maybe he doesn’t remember, but the Cavaliers pushed Boston to the edge of game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals last year. This Cavalier team is better this year than last year, especially with the addition of Mo Williams at PG. Plus they have Wally Szczerbiak’s expiring contract to use before the trade deadline to bring in some more help. This team, barring injuries of course, is going to be a serious challenger to the Celtics.
Oh yeah, and Boston only won by 5 points at home. A win, yes. But it wouldn’t have taken much to swing the final score in Cleveland’s favor.
I also found it interesting what Wojnarowski said about the constant rumors about Lebron leaving Cleveland. He wrote, “To listen to Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert dismiss the possibility of James leaving in the summer of 2010 for a bigger market as a product of ‘bored sportswriters’ is beyond laughable. These aren’t bored sportswriters, but a restless superstar and a stable of handlers seemingly sold on his exit.”
Sorry Woj, but the sports media has created this story. If Lebron leaves, it won’t be for another 2 years. And how long have all of you been talking about it? To spend several years writing in anticipation of something that may not even happen, yeah, you need some different material to talk about. So far, there is no news about Lebron leaving Cleveland, only rumors that don’t matter for another year and a half.
And look, I understand that it is very possible that Lebron James will be playing elsewhere after two years. Even if the Cavaliers win a championship with him during that time, he may still leave. But please, all you sportswriters, stop making it sound like Lebron James is in NBA Purgatory in Cleveland.
Even though Cleveland is not a “big market,” the Cavaliers run a quality organization. And Lebron James is a global icon already. He doesn’t need to play in New York, Los Angelas or anywhere else. He’s bigger than that.
So, 81 games left until the playoffs. Here we go.
Tags: basketball, Boston Celtics, LeBron James, Mo Williams, rumors, Wally Szczerbiak
October 31st, 2008 at 7:24 am
Dare I be a “traitor” and say I hope Lebron DOES leave Cleveland? After his sponsored political concert at the Q earlier this week, I’ve completely lost interest. I’ve been a professional basketball fan since I was in junior high, but I can hardly stand to hear about the game anymore. Common people can’t afford to go to the games. I’ll satisfy my sports interest by cursory listening to baseball and football games on the radio.
November 1st, 2008 at 12:58 am
For me, a player’s political preference is pretty much a non-issue. I wonder though how much of Lebron’s open support for Barry O. is because of some factor other than politics. That’s why I choose to basically ignore it.
Now, the rising ticket prices are a shame. But what can you do?