24/7 LeBron

[GP1]

Jesse Jackson has become part of the background noise in this country and it has to be killing him.

If Jackson is a media whore, we need to look at what type he is. He isn't the high price call girl media whore any longer. Those days have passed him by. He isn't a crack whore media whore. People still take him somewhat seriously. He is somewhere in the middle sort of like a street walker with good pimp whore. That's how I see it.

[ZachTheZip]

Maverick Carter and the Case of the Curious Pendant.

This just gets better and better.

[GP1]

Maverick Carter and the Case of the Curious Pendant.

This just gets better and better.

It is only going to get better. Now that LBJ is away from Akron, he won't be protected by the Akron/Cleveland media any longer. This is going to be fun.

One thing LBJ should do asap is fire his entire staff and allow Nike to recommend some real agents. These guys need to get real jobs.

BTW, one thing a poster wrote below the story was this Carter guy is 28 and still lives with his mommy. Pathetic. Run LBJ...Run.

[Spin]

BTW, one thing a poster wrote below the story was this Carter guy is 28 and still lives with his mommy. Pathetic.

That explains a lot

[ZachTheZip]

LeBron never actually tried to recruit Bosh to Cleveland.

He also slips up by insinuating that they really did have it planned for years.

[ZachTheZip]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-h...reeagency071610

This may be the best article yet on the whole thing.

Here's just a small sample of this massive article:

No one could stand James as a 19-year-old in the 2004 Athens Olympics, nor the 2006 World Championships. Officials feared James could become the instigator of everything they wanted to rid themselves for the ’08 Olympics. For as gifted as James was, Krzyzewski and Colangelo subscribed to a belief that with Kobe Bryant(notes) joining the national team in 2007, they could win a gold medal in ’08 with or without LeBron James. Behind the scenes, officials had taken to calling James’ inner circle, “The Enablers.” No one ever told him to grow up. No one ever challenged him. And yet, James was still a powerful pull for his teammates, and everyone had to agree they could no longer let his bossy and belittling act go unchecked. These weren’t the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Team USA wasn’t beholden to him.

After the NBA witnessed the behavior of James and his business manager Maverick Carter during the 2007 All-Star Weekend, the commissioner’s office sent word to USA Basketball the league wouldn’t force James on them for the Olympics. Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.

“Legacies were on the line,” one league official said, “and they weren’t going to let LeBron [expletive] it up for everyone in China.”

Through Nike, James ultimately heeded the message and became more tolerable to coaches, teammates and staff. Team USA assigned Jason Kidd(notes) to babysit him at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, to try to teach him something the Cavaliers never had a veteran to do: professionalism.

When James returned to the Cavaliers, the franchise hoped that he had grown, matured and maybe learned some lessons. Only James understood the angles and leverage he had in Cleveland. Every day, owner Dan Gilbert and general manager Danny Ferry wondered: What must we do to get him to re-sign in 2010?

What will make him happy?

The answer, as the Cavaliers eventually discovered, was nothing. James lived to make demands, but those with knowledge of his plans insist he never intended to re-sign with the Cavaliers.

[Dave in Green]

It is only going to get better. Now that LBJ is away from Akron, he won't be protected by the Akron/Cleveland media any longer. This is going to be fun. .....

Who really knows what might be dug up by motivated investigative reporters? Over the years LeBron has been portrayed almost as a saint, and many have felt that had to be too good to be true. This is such a big story with so much public interest that it's likely that more than one good investigative reporter will be working on this for some time to come. New York City has some of the world's best investigative reporters, and since NYC was scorned in this process, they have good reason to doggedly go after anything that might be getting hidden.

LeBron never actually tried to recruit Bosh to Cleveland.

He also slips up by insinuating that they really did have it planned for years.

It's going to be hard for a lot of people to trust anything these guys are saying. They've made it clear that they will do whatever is in their own best self interests, and it obviously would not be in their best self interests if anything negative is uncovered that would make the public think less of them for the way they went about making this happen. Every time they deviate from their approved script, more suspicions will be raised in people's minds.

[Dave in Green]

Speaking of in-depth investigative reports, this one doesn't paint a very pretty picture:

Yahoo Sports Link

[Spin]

LeBron never actually tried to recruit Bosh to Cleveland.

Funny cause when Bosch signed with Miami, he said he didn't want to play in Cleveland.

[Dr Z]

Speaking of in-depth investigative reports

Yahoo Sports Link

Awesome article.

[MDZip]

Pretty good article here too, which also contains this paragraph:

They scrapped the tour, the documentary and set sights on hijacking the network for an unprecedented special they believe will elevate James’ brand. Only, James has never looked smaller, never more insecure and unsure of who he is and what he wants to be. He won’t look so much like Kobe Bryant and David Beckham, but rather a three-star linebacker from Shaker Heights picking Bowling Green over Can't and Ohio U. on local access television.

Whew, at least they didn't use us.

[Dr Z]

Stick with it...

[Dave in Green]

Stick with it...

Fabulous video. Life just wouldn't be the same without the internet providing opportunities like YouTube for creative people to make gems like this available. Many thanks for posting this link.

[Dr Z]

... tomorrow he may decide to build a lunar module and orbit the planet in the off season. Who really knows for sure? Nobody. But that's precisely why we've got to base most of our assumptions on past experience.

I'll guess he lives on Star Island. Shaq liked it.

I was off by about 5 miles.

Life & Style is reporting that LeBron James, who recently signed a six-year, $110 million deal with the Miami Heat, has started the paperwork to buy a $49.5 million mansion in the most expensive portion of Coral Gables, Fla. The home was once owned by Pat Riley, and was taken off the market shortly after "The Decision."

The home is the most expensive in Coral Gables, according to Life & Style, and features:

• eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms;

• 880 feet of waterfront;

• a master suite with a full gym;

• a private guest suite with its own tennis court and courtyard on an acre of land.

• a 150-foot dock

Taxes are about $1 million per year, with an additional $150,000 price tag for utilities. South Florida auto magnate Alan Potamkin owns the home, and he has listed the home for $49.5 million.

Life & Style reports it's a "slam dunk" the home will soon belong to James.

More photos here

[Dr Z]

The King of Akron's tattoo comes into question. 'Loyalty'

[Dr Z]

Miami Herald reporting false rumor by Life & Style.

[Dr Z]

Somebody with a positive idea.

Thanks for seven great years. It's over and we’re here to give you your stuff back. Loyal Cav fans, stop burning your jerseys. Stop cutting your LBJ gear and WITNESS tee shirts. Let’s band together as a region and give back what we no longer need - your LeBron gear. Starting Wednesday, July 14th, we’ll be collecting your old LeBron gear at all Yours Truly Restaurants and sending it to homeless shelters... in Miami

Personally, the two LBJ shirts that I have, I'm keeping. I like them.

[Dave in Green]

LeBron may go down in history as the guy who brought the Harlem Globetrotters / Washington Generals model to the NBA. Chris Paul now wants to follow LeBron's lead. Who's next?

"He (Paul) wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."

CBS Sports Link

[Dr Z]

(Oh)We already won, we already won,

And ain't no need to play no more games

We already won, we already won,

And ain't no more need to play no more games

Lemme hear you say we number one,

we number one,

we number one,

We already won, we already won, hey

[Hilltopper]

It looks like ESPN is now regreting their decision to put LBJ on primetime. ESPN calls Foul.

Full Report

[GP1]

It looks like ESPN is now regreting their decision to put LBJ on primetime. ESPN calls Foul.

Full Report

Thanks for the link Hilltopper.

I've read a lot of what Ohlmeyer has written in the past and this has to be the most scathing piece ever. There is now no difference between ESPN and the NBA.

The one guy I feel is really a pathetic figure in this whole disaster is Michael Wilbon. Wilbon is a good writer and journalist. I can't believe he allowed himself to be sucked into this whole thing and made a fool of himself along side of Lebron and the other clowns on the LeDecision. Maybe the job at ESPN is worth selling your integrity over.

[cornbread]

Conceited Prick Thinks Other Conceited Prick Not Conceited Enough

-The Onion gets it right

[GP1]

Conceited Prick Thinks Other Conceited Prick Not Conceited Enough

-The Onion gets it right

Awesome.

Is there anyone out there who would like to continue to defend LeJackass?

[Dave in Green]

Charlie Rosen says that a LeBron success in Miami would be bad for the NBA for many reasons, including the following:

Only those teams with the appropriate financial resources coupled with attractive urban environments will be able to attract top-tier free agents. This will lead to four or five teams battling for championships, four or five wannabes, and the other 20 or so franchises stuck in the mud.

With one of the lesser attractive urban environments in the NBA, Cleveland would most likely be one of those stuck in the mud. Is anyone concerned about this?

Now I know the Akron lovers / Cleveland haters could care less about the big city to the north. So maybe I should phrase it differently:

With the Cavs being the closest NBA team to Akron, and therefore the "home" NBA team for Akron by default, is anyone concerned that Akron's default "home" NBA team would suffer under this scenario?

Or, like LeBron, do we just pick a winning team somewhere across the country (New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, etc.), root for them and say screw the "home" team if they can't compete with the glamour locations?

Should we extend that attitude to the Zips?

Charlie Rosen Fox Sports Link

[ZachTheZip]

Now for some fun.

Akron city council passes resolution to support LeBron