tbozeglav

You know what... Everyone is probably upset over Z leaving the Cavs for the heat, but you have to give Z the benefit of the doubt here. He's a 14 year veteran and all he wants is to get a championship. He knows he has only a few years, if that, left in his career, so going to a team that presents him the best opportunity to achieve that goal is perfectly understandable. Leaving now, considering the circumstances, really hurts us, but you can't sit there and not respect the guy after he stuck with Cleveland during the trade-and-buyout at the end of the season, his loyalty to the organization, and his endurance. Its hard to wish him the best of luck considering the "other" player on that Miami team, but I can't bring myself NOT to. I would much rather see Z get a ring than LeBron (because he actually deserves it), but I guess beggars cant be choosers. and re: the LeBron sign posted above, there may be a chance they took it down after all the physical abuse it probably took (evidenced by the "Akron Corporation Limit" sign), NOT as a way to remove him from associations with Akron. Then again I could be wrong, but in this case, I would be inclined to believe that the city would go the more politically correct route and take the higher road.

+10000000000000 They really need to do this. If people hear about all the fun and good times going on outside of the game itself, they'll want to come.

Never thought of it that way before...

Good for LeBron. We can only hope that he continues to do good things for his hometown. Going back to Jason Whitlock's Fox Sports column expressing distaste for Jackson's remarks, here's why I agree with Whitlock: Slavery happened. Slavery was bad. Slavery is distant history. Prejudice happened. Prejudice was bad. Prejudice still happens. Prejudice is still bad. But if a white man treats a black man the same way he would treat a white man (or vice versa), it ain't prejudice, and it's not remotely connected with slavery. The only way Jesse Jackson is right is if Dan Gilbert would have reacted any differently if LeBron were white. Given identical circumstances, I personally don't believe that Gilbert would have reacted any differently if the player was Larry Bird, and if Larry Bird had been born in Akron, and if Larry Bird had done exactly the same things that LeBron did. That's just my personal opinion based on all the data I've seen. Different people with different perspectives will see it differently. +1000 Jesse Jackson is not only trying to feed off of the LeBron frenzy to push his agenda, but is making himself look as much of an idiot as LeBron did during his special. He needs to just go away from the media; He rarely, if ever, makes things better anymore.

It just got ugly, because Jesse Jackson has stepped in to bash Dan Gilbert. Im seriously WTFing right now... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5372266

I think some perspective is needed in this topic. Yes, right now a lot of Clevelanders and Akronites are upset over LeBron's departure and would like to see every sign of his existence torn down. Realistically that won't happen, but trying to minimize his presence here is what the area needs. However, in more direct regard to this topic, the University doesn't need to minimize the presence of LeBron's support of the school because to Americans in general, he's still regarded as one of the elite players in the league. What we all need to realize is how long it'll be before basketball season starts. There's about 4 months' time between now and the start of basketball season, at which point I firmly believe most people will have moved on with their lives. If basketball season started tomorrow, then I could understand the desire to remove his logos from our arena, but the fact remains that nobody of any significant number will be in that gym until late November/early December. By then, people will have accepted the reality of his departure and pushed the unwanted memory of him away, making his presence in our arena through his logos and images insignificant.

He's at it again, folks. Found this on ESPN in an article about the "Witnesses" banner being taken down: "In addition, Fathead.com, an online retailer owned by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert dropped the price of its LeBron Fathead wall decals from $99.99 to $17.41, which happens to be the same year Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold was born."

It wouldnt be cheating since it didn't "help" him, but throwing games to purposefully find a way to leave a team would be a major, major offense in the world of professional basketball's unwritten rules. I certainly hope LeBum didn't throw the games, but at this point, ANYTHING is possible.

How much do you want to bet that Dan Gilbert never really knew what LeBron wanted? Personally, I won't be quick to put the blame on the owner for this entire fiasco happening because of the fact that LeBolt refused to answer texts or phone calls from Dan after the end of the season. I sit here and think that LeBron had this all figured out last year when he declined to sign a contract extension and publicly stated he planned on entering free agency at the end of the 2009-2010 season. Those who say that Dan did too much are forgetting that we were dealing with a player who was being touted as the successor to Jordan. If I was in Dan's position, I sure as hell would have been pulling out all the stops to make LeBron feel like this was somewhere he WANTED to be. Millions of dollars were spent, future prospects were sacrificed, and team policies were changed to make this LeBron's home. For LeBron to backstab not only the city, but the organization that invested so much into him, takes a special kind of individual who has no concept of TEAM and putting others before one's self. Say what you want, but after all the dust has settled, I will continue to feel LeBron is the most selfish and conceited sports figure I have seen in a LONG time, if not EVER. I will also continue to put my faith in our owner who has been the only person with the balls to call LeBron out on his shenanigans. Tip of the hat to Dan Gilbert, Wag of the finger to LeBron.

Pretty good article from the LBJ-Lovers at ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...avescavs-100709

Honestly, I feel better knowing the team's owner feels the same way the fan base does. I don't care if it was written in comic sans (has anyone noticed its essentially the font of the Cavs?), it showed a realism and passion from the owner of a Cleveland team, something we have very rarely seen. It should be mentioned, however, this is something I have never heard of an owner saying. I expected more of a statement from Dan Gilbert that mirrored what the GM put out there. This could either be the beginnings of the biggest "egg in face" of all-time, or the beginning of something even better than what we had with LeBolt In response to your second point, I too feel this way, but that mentality stems partly from the fact that we've suffered from yearly failures and have come to expect it. Will the Cavs be competing for the east crown or even a title? I'm willing to bet they won't. However, will the Heat be competing for the eastern title and the NBA crown? Its a lot less likely than you'd think. Ive been reading up on some analysis of the new Heat circus show and there is a lot of doubt circling the Heat's chances of bringing home a title with this trio. I would have to agree considering how thin their bench is (meaning more minutes for the starters) and their very, very small room under the cap to bring in more supporting players. Im willing to bet the Heat make the playoffs, but lose to a veteran Boston or up-and-coming Chicago team in the second round. I don't recall where I read it, but a reporter wrote in an article that LeBron has the most to lose in this situation; Wade and Bosh have both won championships already and have solidified themselves as elite players of the NBA. LeBron hasn't and left Cleveland purely because he hasn't won anything to transcend his name from a great player to a legendary player.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html the only words that come to mind: wow.... just wow....

I dont know if anything moved forward since I last heard, but late in the spring semester I had heard they were looking to get cams mounted on the light poles once they were erected... Dont know if that is true or if anything would happen, but I know it was at least discussed.

thats actually pretty genius. More seating behind the goals so spectators can see over the rowdies. Plus more distractions and noise

I am absolutely stunned to see they were able to get phase 2 in. This is really good news for the program because many of us though that phase 2 was due for next summer. I can't wait to see some more pictures of what this will look like.

At least they were watching the game, supporting our country's team and trying to have an interest in the sport.

I see your point, but I respond with this: Who cares? I can totally understand why people would assume this, but if they want to just assume we took the idea from the WC without realizing we've been using these things for at least a year prior to that event, then so be it. We can't base our student's section noise makers off of the public opinion. The vuvuzelas worked great last year and I expect us to continue to do so. That does, however, go without mentioning that Im sure we'll be bringing out a new noisemaker this year just to keep things fresh, not to appease the public opinion.

and they will always fail to see the potential for increased donation revenue through pursuing the smaller donors and getting them to donate more than they have been. All they care about is getting someone to donate big $$$ because it solves the problem for now. Nevermind the guy who donates a thousand or two a year, who may be inclined to donate more if the athletic department showed the least bit of interest in making all its fans feel welcome and heard. Id go either lot 34 or nothing at all (aka the bars downtown). If the University wont work with its fans to provide adequate parking for donors near the stadium while still providing the vibrant tailgating party that played a large part in turning this into a college atmosphere, then to hell with them. Every time I hear something like this, I lose more faith in the athletic department doing anything right.

so does anyone have updated photos of the progress being made?

Practice what you preach.

I am being overly optimistic and voted 7-5, tho I am expecting 6-6

Thats somewhat depressing. Im hoping that they stick to Stark County because having the games at Ohio Stadium will be god-awfully boring. Im absolutely sure everyone wants to see a 102,000 seat stadium only have maybe 10% of the stadium filled

Bruce is awesome. I watch him all the time and covers Cleveland sports about as good as anyone can. However, this was not a meltdown by any means. Ive heard FAR worse. For instance, I recall a broadcaster on WTAM 1100 going batsh!t insane over the horrible play of the browns back in the fall of '08. He got to the point where the producers had to forcibly remove him from the studio. The BETTER example is this guy. He went absolutely BONKERS after Michigan State blew a HUGE lead over Notre Dame a couple of years back. 15 minutes of pure insanity are contained within this link: MSU Radio Host goes Nuts

alright, ill bite. am I missing something here?

I would say thats all dependent on how you perceive "better". But thats a discussion not fit for this thread. I was confused why this was even a story. Of course they make more money than the President of the US. His salary is locked in by law and cannot change, regardless of how much money and how much responsibility he may have. Proenza runs a business (like it or not, running a college is a business) that has budgets in the MILLIONS. He's ultimately responsible for the success of the University and has been at the forefront of one of the biggest campus expansions and renovations many of us can think of. He's turned a University that used to be filled with city streets into a real campus full of successful colleges, and not to mention a vastly improving athletic department. I think Proenza's salary is a direct reflection of the amount of work and dedication he's put into this University's transformation. I am perfectly fine with his salary so long as he continues this forward thinking. Now, I cant speak for any other University's president, but I think they are all generally deserving of their salaries in some way or another. Proenza is definitely right about asking all those CEOs that makw 3 times what he makes why they think they are deserving of their pay.