GP1

I think we should have the "Z" logo,but add a hot girl riding the Z. Similar to how WWII bombers used to be painted. Each helmet could have a naughty little saying as well to distract the other team from the game. We could have a contest where the sayings were submitted to the Athletic Department.

I saw this a couple of weeks ago. I didn't read all of the articles, but I'd like to know what his initial investment was. It is a great product.

Lebronomy math costs nothing.

Experts say I would get 80% turnout and increase the Summit County GDP 2%.

You just described most recruiting videos. It's why I don't get too excited about recruiting threads because the content is usually a video of a kid playing against other kids who will never see any college football field and the number of rivals stars a kid has, which I've never quite understood and have no interest in understanding. We normally only get three star recruits anyhow. I only like to see the results in a Zips uniform. Interesting article. Has a section on the LB from Buffalo who was drafted.

A guy in the south is laughing his ass off about it. Such minor league thinking.... I have a better idea. When Lebron gets back, send him, his wife and kids a pizza with some DVDs and a six pack of beer for Lebron. Let them have a peaceful night at home alone and away from all of the hangers on and leaches he will be exposed to for the next few years. There is a part of me that actually feels sorry for him that he will be exposed to these fools for the next few year. Leave the guy and his family in peace for crying out loud.

If I worked for a firm that put on political conventions, I'd probably say $500 million + because nobody would be checking my non-existent math and I'd look better than the guy who would only bring in 400 million.

@DrZ, Just to bring this full circle, I don't think many people know that LBJ helped to keep the Browns owner out of prison, because we all know one doesn't need a multi million dollar lawyer team when you have LBJ behind you. Additionally, some of the prostitutes at the DNC in Charlotte were picked up at various Pilots throughout the Carolinas. See how it all connects?

It just keeps getting more stupid. LBJ to have major impact on Browns superstar back-up QB.

If you feel a stream of liquid on your leg, it's not raining (source). It's those who believe in the Lebron Economy peeing on it. While rain is forecasted in Cleveland today, it isn't raining in your office. Can this guy produce an actual study showing there is a $34 million in benefits? FitzGerald must be the most intellectually lazy person in Cleveland. I'm sorry, that isn't true. The most intellectually lazy person in Cleveland is the person who wrote the article. Mentions attendance growth from 12,000 to sell out LBJ's first time around. The Cavs averaged 17,329 fans per game last year according to ESPN. I'm going to make a prediction about the impact of LBJ on the economy of Cleveland that is more accurate than what you are reading in the newspapers. Here it goes.....The impact of LBJ on the Cleveland economy will range between $1 million and $1 trillion. Bet the house on it!

The drugs and prostitution at the DNC made even the swingers up on Lake Norman blush.

It could be. There will be some increased traffic at arena restaurants and whether or not it is a transference of money from other areas could only be measured if someone actually measured it. Everyone is just throwing out the $50 million number without any evidence of measurement. There is no more evidence of this taking place than if I said LBJ coming back to Cleveland will cost the city $50 million in lost revenue. Where else will the people of NE Ohio hear lies about an event increasing revenue for the local economy. The RNC will be in Cleveland in a couple of years. I can tell all of you from the experience in Charlotte during the DNC that transference is all that took place. Employees of uptown businesses were basically advised not to come to work during the DNC so those having lunch during the DNC were just replacing those who might have been eating out during their lunch break. You couldn't afford to go to work even if you wanted to because the parking lots were charging $50 per day to park. The DNC did nothing for Charlotte other than increasing traffic due to Secret Service hold ups and making workers unproductive for a week. However, if you read articles about the failure, the local government officials always mention how the world go to see Charlotte and have opened their eyes to it. Right now, local media outlets around Cleveland are probably downloading these articles so they can just change a few words and print it as copy or mention it on local TV or radio.

I don't see a simple formula either. As an astute observer of the media, maybe you see the same thing I do. All of the stories about LBJ changing the Cleveland economy have take the following shape and the people of NE Ohio repeat it. First, it gets reported that the economy of Cleveland is impacted by $50 million a year based upon sources. If one traces back those sources, it seems to be one person in Chicago trying to extrapolate whatever study he did in Chicago after the Jordan retirement into the City of Cleveland. There is no real study out there. Nobody even knows if the guy in Chicago put any thought in to it. He threw out the $50 million number and because of lazy journalism and even lazier fans, the number has stuck. Inflation and increased global popularity of LBJ should have made that number jump in four years, but it sticks because there is nothing else out there to point to. Secondly, the story goes into interviewing local merchants who some doubt the numbers so the story doesn't stay on them too long. Thirdly and finally is the hedge, which is the feel good part of the story noting that even if he doesn't impact the economy, there is no measurement one can put on people feel good about Cleveland. With the exception of a few cities, most American cities feel slighted. I live in Charlotte and if anyone even mentions Atlanta in a crowded room, they will get booed. One could say the same thing about Boston and New York. For whatever reason, people from Cleveland and NE Ohio are a bunch of sad sacks about Cleveland. NE Ohio is a great place to live, but they tie too much of their civic pride on professional sports teams. In addition to sports, NE Ohio has Lake Erie, The Cleveland Orchestra, great museums, vibrant cities like Akron and Cleveland, good universities offering various type of entertainment, good people, good schools...the list is long. Get over it NE Ohio, you live in a nice place and don't have to feel insecure or apologize for where you live. You also don't have to grasp on to the idea that it takes a sports figure to improve the economy where you live and then grasp at potential straws to prove your point. If LBJ can provide some level of leadership, that's great. There aren't many sports figures who have provide a great deal of meaningful leadership for their cities after retirement. Chicago wasn't hurt after Jordan retired. Magics influence is limited to sports and movie theaters. Jack Kemp did well in NY, but he wasn't that famous of a player. Odds are, LBJ will only be able to influence sports long term. Jordan is trying the same thing in Charlotte and is a terrible manager. There is no evidence LBJ will be any better.

@DrZ, To me, it looks like the real winner in the article is the Cavs because they are going to break the bank with TV revenue and additional ticket sales. Even if the $50 million is true, it isn't that much money in the big picture. The number keeps getting used because it was thrown out there in the hysteria of LBJ leaving a few years ago and it has stuck in every lazy journalists article since. The City of Cleveland? I'd like to know how they actually measured the impact because the article doesn't say. What we do know is local government officials almost always overestimate economic impact when they perceive something good to be happening. Wait until they see the zero impact of the RNC coming to Cleveland and find a way to say it was actually a positive. They probably use a bingo ball dispenser to select a number and then tell everyone that is the number. Either way, $50 million is a small number in comparison to the overall GDP of the region. It is a number that impresses small minds because they think in millions and not billions. Even worse, the don't look at local leaders and wonder why they can't do better than hanging their hat on a basketball player to improve the local economy for a couple of years. Maybe t-shirt and jersey sales will be huge....congratulations China. What certainly has increased is the sale of poster boards and Sharpies for losers who stand on the streets of Bath with their home made signs. Congratulations Cleveland, your economic SAVIOR has come home. You guys love a good savior story.

If this is the case, we need a team psychiatrist.

I think there is a difference between supporting a family member with an age related problem and a person taking seriously the opinions of a bad actor. A good son supports an aging parent. A mama's boy worries about the opinions of his mommy.

I'm taking him at his word in this case. He is a hen-pecked mama's boy. I can't imagine being a married guy with three kids needing the approval of his mommy. On some level I find it sad.

Some perspective and history by Kareem.

I don't care if they are dressed like the guards in The Longest Yard. Just win baby!

I respectfully disagree and I go back to something I said earlier in this thread. Primarily, LBJ is a hen-pecked mama's boy and that is why he is returning. $42 million goes a long way too. People like LBJ only live somewhere during the season and even during the season they spend a lot of time away from where they live. On the off season, guys like him spend days traveling promoting themselves and their sponsors. Or, they spend a lot of time shooting commercials or photo ads. This whole nonsense about forgiveness is childish fan talk. LBJ and the Cavs owner are grown men who made a business decision to work together again. Getting back to him being a hen-pecked mama's boy... In many ways, I totally understand his wife's desire to move back home closer to family. I understand she is expecting #3 right now and that is quite a handful. Moving home allows her to be closer to more of the support system she would like around on a daily basis. My guess, she may have felt stranded down there in Miami with only LBJ's nutty mother around to help her. None of us knows what is said between closed doors between a husband and wife, but he may have heard from his wife that his nut case of a mother was driving her crazy and she needed a change. Happy wife, happy life and many of you know what I'm talking about. Moving to Akron also cures the mama's boy part of it. He can move his gravy training mother somewhere where she is comfortable with the location and give her something to do with her time other than driving his wife nuts every day. My guess is LBJ's personal life just got much better. Good for him. He has enough money to take his family on vacation anywhere he wants to go, whenever he wants to go there. He was in Vegas last week, went to Miami and is now in Brazil for the WC final today. Life is good for the guy. Can we all stop the forgiveness talk now and ask the real questions pertaining to who the losers are standing on the streets of Bath with signs welcoming him back? With any luck, one of them will be hit by a car and killed so there will be one less idiot in the world.

All underdog programs that have to recruit guys who want to work hard and develop. Additionally, all are finding success at some level. If we are getting players who are being recruited aggressively by these schools, we are doing something right.

I like this article. Although, I will say this. It makes it a lot easier to relocate from Miami to Akron when you can afford your own private plane to take you anywhere you want to go at a moments notice.

Towards the end of CK's post above, there is a really good comment about player development being important for this player. He mentioned it about Kansas State as well. To me, this is a huge positive sign not just for signing good players who want to work hard, but also the way in which the staff is developing existing players and getting good players because of it. Places like Akron and K-State don't have great players fall into their laps. They have to identify good players and make them better. Most importantly, they have to find guys willing to understand their talents need further development and this guys understands that. I think the coaching staff has done a borderline excellent job in the past three years of developing what talent they have. We aren't getting the cream of the crop, yet what we are getting is showing improvement and the team is getting better. I haven't been this excited about a recruiting topic in maybe ever. Why? This story shines a light on cultural changes going on within the program. I think the program is going through a cultural change that is much more important than the talent improvement. Cultural changes are hard for fans to identify because you have to be around a culture all the time to understand how it is going through changes. Since we aren't around the program all the time, we have to read the tea leaves. Recruits are no different than hiring an employee. Culture is just as important at a business as it is a football team. My wife works at a company and one of the major discussions when they hire someone is whether or not that person is a cultural fit. A lot of people can play football. Not everyone can fit in on a specific team. From the outside looking in, how do we know there is a culture of hard work and good player development at Akron? To me, a major indicator is the type of schools our recruits were being heavily recruited by. Who else was recruiting this guy? Two names jump out....Rutgers and K-State. Both of these schools have a culture of hard work while not getting the best talent, but maximizing what talent they get. This is how you win in the MAC. Solich doesn't get the best talent, but he has guys who buy in to what he is doing, they work hard and are well coached. The same can be said for the guy who just left BG for Wake. I really believe we are seeing the same thing happening at Akron and I'm excited about the future.

I always rooted for the Cavs and I'm glad the fans have something to look forward to. Living in a city where the Bobcats/Hornets play and I can't name more than 3 players on the team because they are so uninteresting, I can't help but feel good for the people of Cleveland having a high level of entertainment with the new line-up. It will be interesting to see if a hen-pecked mama's boy on the back nine of his career can lead a team to a championship with a new cast. I'd be interested to know if there is a comparison between LBJ and another player changing teams, at this point in his career and under somewhat similar circumstances, and winning a championship with another team. I really can't recall one because this player movement has been such a recent event. I'd also be interesting to know the thoughts of national announcers who now will be spending more time in Cleveland in lieu of Miami in the cold winter months. LBJ changing teams changes a heck of a lot of dynamics and this is a change that makes me smile.

The NE Ohio belief in a savior saving everything strikes again.