LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. Things got a bit testy approaching half-time of the game that was hyped as the potential 2011 NBA Finals matchup. The Los Angeles Lakers had fought back from a quick start by the Miami Heat, and Ron Artest and Lebron had just been called for double technicals.
Artest successfully exposed Dwayne Wade's Sidekick's messed up hairline.
It was looking as if the Lakers might use the halftime break to shrug off poor starts by both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol and compose themselves and make a game out of one of the most anticipated games of the season for NBA fans. Alas, it was not to be.
The Lakers could not reign in the Heat, and although they were able to cut the lead to under 10 points several times, they were unable to break through and take the lead. Finally, the Lakers simply ran out of time.
After the game, Kobe broke his week-long media silence with very candid words about the effort that has seen the Lakers suffer back-to-back bad losses to Milwaukee and Miami:
Despite their clear frustration at dropping an opportunity at making a statement to the Miami Heat and the entire league, Kobe and the Lakers have been here before. This was their second consecutive Christmas Day loss to a team with Dwayne Wade's Sidekick on the roster; last year, it was the Cleveland Cavaliers that took the Christmas Day match up in Los Angeles.
Despite the loss, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to gather themselves and won the NBA Championship. If there is something that Kobe has over Lebron, it is his ability to lead his team to a win when it counts. That is why the only stat that matters is the 5 NBA Championship rings that Kobe has versus zero for Sidekick.
MIAMI, FLORIDA. Lebron went down to South Beach to play with a closer in Dwayne Wade, but it was Jason Terry who gave both a lesson in closing out a basketball game. Terry scored all 19 of his points in the final 11 minutes of the 4th quarter to add to great efforts by several Mavericks players including Dirk Nowitzki (26 points, 9 rebounds) and Shawn Marion (7 points, 13 rebounds), as the Dallas Mavericks ended the Miami Heat's winning streak at 12 games.
Dallas' Defense Held Dwayne Wade's Sidekick to zero points in the first half.
The most notable part of the win for Dallas was the defense on Lebron during the first half of the game. Lebron went to the locker room at half time without a single point.
Dallas' defensive effort this season has propelled them to streak-ending victories over two teams that had 12 game winning streaks, these Miami Heat and the resurrected San Antonio Spurs. The Dallas Mavericks stayed undefeated against Dwayne Wade and his new sidekicks this season with the victory.
Following his disappearing act in the first half, Dwayne Wade's sidekick managed to finish the game with 19 points on an inefficient, 6 of 17 shooting night and had 7 assists to 5 turnovers. He, of course, can blame Wade for the loss since his just the sidekick.
Chris Bosh chimed in (not that anyone really cares what he says), explaining what went wrong for the Heat. "Couple of crazy bounces... and [the Mavs] capitalized." Meanwhile, his frontcourt teammate, Lebron grabbed more rebounds off of those "crazy bounces" than he did once again. Funny how being soft on the boards is always a result of "crazy bounces".
The Knicks needed more to complement Amare Stoudemire's 24 points, 14 rebounds
The Madison Square Garden crowd was ready and seething early in the game, exuding an energy at Dwayne Wade's Sidekick comparable only to that seen when Lebron faced his former club, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After 2 years of pursuit and a summer of free-agent seduction, the New York Knicks' front office was ultimately unsuccessful in landing the big fish of the "Summer of Lebron". After season ticket holders were promised the world, disappointment was inevitable.
"The Mecca" cheered loudly and jeered the visiting Heat even louder throughout the game's first half, and their emotions fueled the Knicks to a 57 - 57 tie at halftime.
However, it was a 33 to 17 Miami Heat third quarter advantage that gave the Heat enough of a cushion to cruise.
Lebron has been known to play well at the Garden, which helped to fuel speculation of Lebron playing all of his home games at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks. Instead, Dwayne Wade's Sidekick tallied his first triple-double at the Garden in a visitor's uniform.
Despite another great effort from Amare' Stoudemire, who has been an aboslute MVP for the Knicks this season and had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the game, the Knicks are still lacking two important building blocks necessary to beat the Heat: another reliable scorer and a defensive big man rebounder. Despite the frontcourt softness of the Miami Heat, the Knicks could not take advantage.
After the game was out of reach for the home team, the Madison Square Garden crowd fell into silence. A post-game interview with Chris Bosh indicated that he and the Heat believed that they were able to silence the Garden with their play.
The truth is that the silence was a collective silent prayer for Carmelo Anthony to come to the Big Apple.
After the anti-climactic conclusion to the "Summer of Lebron", it is clear that at age 26 and a half (and at an emotuional age of 15), Lebron has considered his legacy in basketball and in the world about as much as he considered the consequences of announcing his "Decision" in an hour long special on ESPN.
In case you were cowering under a rock until the events of the "Summer of Lebron" would blow over (like Jeff Van Gundy, who then emerged, disoriented, and proclaimed that the Miami Heat would win more games than the 72 - 10 Chicago Bulls team), you would know that, despite compelling presentations from several NBA teams, including one that would have put Lebron literally playing in Michael Jordan's shoes and along side MVP candidate, Derrick Rose, Lebron made the cowardly "Decision" to join Dwayne Wade on HIS Miami Heat team.
A bold offer to a man who lacks enough "bolds"; Lebron can't fill MJ's shoes.
When Lebron could have plugged into a perfect win-now situation with a complete and talented team, with the franchise that Michael Jordan exploded, in the stadium that Michael Jordan built, in the city that Michael Jordan made into a basketball town and that had been starving for a basketball hero, Lebron could have built a legacy in Chicago that would have written itself. Lebron brand would have elevated itself to a worldwide brand, strengthened by its organic association with the iconic Jordan.
And although it would have been difficult to see at the time, it is clear now that the New York proposal was also a powerful one, with Amare Stoudemire's continued MVP-like efforts for the New York Knicks this season. Amare has New York squarely in the playoff picture and is making the case as a legitimate destination for next year's most coveted free agent, Carmelo Anthony.
And, of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers, though hampered by salary cap restrictions, would have found a way to make the necessary upgrades to stay the class of the NBA, if Lebron had stayed. And if he had won even one NBA title with the Cavs, the city of Cleveland would have rejoiced with the pent up energy of all the years of frustration that came before. Lebron's legacy would have been Cleveland's Greatest Champion.
Lebron should just change his name to "Lebron James Dwayne Wade's Sidekick"
However, whether it had been planned since the 2008 Olympics or even earlier, Lebron chose to join Dwayne Wade, a player who has already gotten it done in the NBA Finals and already has his own NBA Championship and NBA Finals MVP legacy. No matter how many championships they hope to win together, DWade will always have one more; one that he won after being the underdog and trailing the favored Dallas Mavericks two games to none in the series. Wade was the one man wrecking crew carrying his Miami Heat to victory in the series in Jordanesque fashion. And that is why, by joining DWade's Miami Heat, Lebron's legacy can only be one thing: Dwayne Wade's Sidekick.
At best this would mean being "Scottie Pippen" to Wade's Jordan, but Lebron will still have to win multiple championships in Wade's shadow to even be considered as great as Pippen really was. Wade and his sidekick have yet to show that they can play together with the same kind of chemistry that Jordan and Pippen had in winning 6 NBA Championships.
In this day and age of NBA Superstar branding, it is amazing that Lebron's PR people would have allowed Lebron to make such a collosal PR mistake, as they have continued to allow him to do since "The Decision" show. Whether Lebron can change his legacy is mostly a question of whether he is willing to change the PR team that got him here, for this much is clear; Lebron has decided not to be responsible for his legacy, just as he has decided not to be responsible for the failures of his teams in past and future playoffs.
CLEVELAND, OH. Lebron's big return to Cleveland was marked by nothing more than a much needed "W" for the Miami Heat. Nothing more. DWade finally shot a respectable percentage from the field, and the Miami Heat were able to get a big lead in the first quarter and cruised.
The two major stories of the game hardly concerned the actual basketball that was played.
Signs of the times: this is no longer 2003 for Queen James.
Cleveland fans were empassioned at the start of the game, and they did their fair share of "booing" before being quieted by the Heat's big first quarter.
All the bogus threat of violence perceived by Lebron's caretakers and the ESPN news machine was nothing more than making a news story out of a molehill.
The atmosphere created by the fans in support of their underdog team exceeded the effort that was given on the night by Cavs players.
Despite the magnitude of the game, Cavs players joked and laughed with Lebron, putting him at ease in the hostile environment. All that we learned on Thursday night was that Cleveland fans are classy but still upset, the current Cavaliers team still has the "warm fuzzies" for Lebron, and Lebron is still a LeBiatch.
Lebron tosses chalk in the air because he can't juggle.
Lebron is a LeBiatch because he did his Chalk Toss routine, in front of a chorus of "booing" Cleveland Cavaliers fans at the Q. In spite of numerous questions about it and suggestions that not doing the chalk toss would go a long way towards repairing the bitterness felt in Cleveland about "The Decision" show and other displays of disrespect towards the fans that loyally followed Lebron, Lebron goaded the packed stadium who rained "boos" down upon the villainous traitor. The Cleveland Cavaliers fans showed up in force to "unwelcome" Lebron, and to be present for the event. But there was no apology, no show of grace, no show of respect from Lebron that would have to be returned in kind.
However, the packed stadium was enough to prove a point to the self-appointed "king". Here was a basketball fan base that knows and appreciates sports and sports history. They filled the stadium for all those seven years that Lebron played for their Cavs. Now, Lebron joins Wade, playing before fans who can hardly show up for the first half of the game and have no sense of history. I suppose it is fitting that a player whose legacy is ruined would want to play in front of fans who don't care and won't remember. Being the best player to not achieve his potential and the best player to be completely forgotten will be Lebron's legacy.
CLEVELAND, OH. Without a doubt, there will be a lot of emotion for everyone involved in Lebron's first game back in Quicken Loans Arena, the stadium he called home when he won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award just last year, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a league-best 61 - 21 record.
Now, after his antics during the "Summer of Lebron", he is the enemy, in more ways than simply returning as an opposing team's player.
Lebron was supposed to be "The Chosen One" to bring a sports championship to a city that has not won a major sports championship since 1964 and has had worse sports fortune than arguably any other city in the world. Cleveland is the punchline of sports joke after sports joke because of heartbreaking and infamous sports moments as "The Drive", "The Fumble, and "The Shot" where they snatched defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory.
Part of Cleveland's heartbreaking sports history has to do with losing more sports talent than any other city, culminating in losing an entire team when Art Modell decided to move the Cleveland Browns football team, earning him the honor of most hated sports figure in Cleveland. Until this past summer. Until "The Decision". And that brings us back to Lebron James.
In a move as classless and heartbreaking to the city of Cleveland, Lebron announced his plan to "take his talents to South Beach" and play for Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat during a one-hour special called "The Decision" which aired on ESPN. It was a forgettable public spectacle to most, but to the loyal fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was a public humiliation. The hometown kid who had promised to bring a championship to the city, had tried and failed, and was now going to quit on the city of Cleveland and get a ring for himself in an easier situation.
Tonight marks Lebron's first game back to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. As hurt as they are, Cleveland fans have too much pride and class to avenge Lebron's actions with physical violence. Several creative solutions are trying to garner social media support.
However, will we see Lebron humble himself enough to regain the respect of the fans of Cleveland?
Will Lebron do the Chalk Toss before the Cleveland crowd as an opposing player?
TO CHALK TOSS OR NOT TO CHALK TOSS?
Lebron copied and evolved a well-known Michael Jordan pre-game routine into his own pre-game ritual known as the Chalk Toss (pictured at right), a ritual that he used to pump up and engage the hometown fans in Cleveland.
And although he has every right to do his ritual in NBA arenas all over America, it would be a great show of respect and honor to the city of Cleveland that had been loyal until they were betrayed. Lebron knows that in this simple gesture, there may be salvation for his legacy in Cleveland.
"What Should He Do?": Skip the Chalk Toss tonight in Cleveland.
What Will He Do?": ...Be a LeBiatch, and do the Chalk Toss, cementing his legacy of being the Most Hated Sports Figure in Cleveland.
With the losses piling up and the Miami Heat's inability to beat playoff caliber teams, it seems that everyone in the Miami Heat organization and ESPN have already begun to build the case for why the most overrated team in NBA history will not meet their own expectations of winning the NBA Championship this season. That case will star Coach Spoelstra in the role of scapegoat.
Erik Spoelstra's days as the head coach are numbered.
While greater NBA legends create moments , it may just be Lebron's legacy to be know more for moments like "The Decision", "The Vegas Weekend", "The Mental List Tweet", "The Song", and now, "The Shoulder Bump".
In yet another classic Lebron moment, during the loss against the Dallas Mavericks on November 27th, Coach Erik Spoelstra was frustrated by a breakdown by the Miami Heat on the defensive end, and he called a time out. With plenty of room to walk anywhere else, Lebron walks straight towards Spoelstra. Spoelstra is not really seeing Lebron, but despite seeing Spoelstra, Lebron leans his shoulder into own his coach. You will also see that Lebron also follows through afterwards, clearly indicating that he expected and initiated the contact.
"The Shoulder Bump" is just the latest example of Lebron's lack of maturity and leadership. After losing 3 of their last 4 games, Lebron and the Miami Heat have obviously had to explain why, after only 17 games, they already have nearly as many losses as Michael Jordan's 72-Win Chicago Bulls team and why they will have to go 63 wins and only 2 losses in order to match what the all-time winningest team was able to accomplish.
No, the 2010-11 Miami Heat are no where near the 72-Win Chicago Bulls team. Jordan did the dominating. Jordan did the leading. Jordan wanted the ball in his hands and the responsibility on his shoulders.
Lebron is the anti-hero for a new generation. Lebron wants loyalty, but he has already forgotten the fans that supported him for his first 7 years as a pro. Lebron has already had a game-winning shot busted in his face. Lebron joined a player who is a real, proven leader, Dwayne Wade. And he is grateful to give him the ball at the end of the game. As for the responsibility, Lebron is one of the best passers in the league.
More than a few people predicted that Erik Spoelstra's head coaching seat in Miami would be hot, but few imagined that Miami would struggle as much as they have in the first 17 games of the 82 game regular season. And with the way it seems that Wade, Bosh, and Lebron seem to talk to each other to the exclusion of the coach and the team, "The Shoulder Bump", the team meeting after the loss to Dallas, and the seemingly growing rift between team and coach, Erik Spoelstra is being painted and characterized as the scapegoat.
SHHH! Don't divulge my diabolical plan!
The most recent round of speculation of whether Pat Riley, who currently mans the Miami Heat front office, would dump Coach Spoelstra and return to coaching (as he did in 2005 after dumping then Head Coach Stan Van Gundy) began with a statement made by Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson during an interview. Recent events and the on-court actions of Lebron and other Miami Heat players seem to support the insights of Jackson.
However, Pat Riley made a public statement defending Coach Spoelstra saying that he was not looking to fire his coach. The most logical reason is not that he specifically supports Coach Spoelstra, but that Riley knows that the Miami Heat, with the present set of players, is not complete enough to contend for an NBA Championship with the likes of Boston and Los Angeles. Erik Spoelstra will help him buy time to get the players the team needs, either at the trade deadline or during next off season, and then, Riles may suddenly find that his support for Coach Spoelstra was unwarranted.
YOU MAKE THE CALL! INTENTIONAL OR NOT?
Whether it really was intentional or not, it is yet another shining moment for Lebron James.
Lebron is a LeBiatch.
Dallas, Texas. Another game against a playoff caliber opponent resulted in a loss for the most overrated team in NBA history on Saturday night.
Dallas used a huge run to begin the second half, including a pivotal play where Dirk Nowitzki split the defense provided by Dwayne Wade and Lebron James. With all three All-Stars hanging in the air, Nowitzki completed the layup against both Miami Heat defenders. With the momentum, Dallas would stretch to a lead of 18 points which they would never relinquish.
Tyson Chandler looked like an All-Star against the Miami Heat.
Once again, Miami was beat on the glass as Tyson Chandler grabbed 17 rebounds to go with 14 points and 3 blocks, and the Mavs starting frontline outrebounded Miami 26 to 19. Chris Bosh, who has been criticized throughout his career for being soft, has done nothing to prove otherwise, and with the probable loss of Udonis Haslem for the entire season, the NBA playoff hopes of the Miami Heat rest on the slender shoulders and non-existent testicular fortitude of Bosh.
After falling to a season record of 9 wins and 8 losses, worse than last year's mark of 10 wins and 7 losses at this same point in the season, the Miami Heat players had a team-only meeting lasting approximately 45 minutes. None of the Heat players were willing to speak about anything specific that was said during the meeting.
The loss capped a disappointing week for the Miami Friends (I've dropped the "Super" for obvious reasons), who have lost four of their last 5 games. The team-only meeting was just another sign that the Miami three of Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh are fracturing under the pressure of public scrutiny of, in particular, Lebron's Decision to leave a talented team in Cleveland to form a supposed "super team" in Miami to pursue an NBA Championship. The results seem to support those who believe that Lebron took the easy way out and will not win a title this way.
This was a tough week for Lebron in particular. After Rudy Gay hit a game-winning shot in his face to lift the Memphis Grizzlies, an ad for Jordan brand in response to Lebron's "What Should I Do?" Nike ad went viral on the internet; in the ad, Michael Jordan asks if Lebron was just making excuses.
Michael Jordan lived these words every day of his career. He rewrote the record books through his own hard work and exceeded every basketball player that came before him. His play won him individual accolades.
His leadership fueled team success and carried his Chicago Bulls teams to 6 NBA Championships, winning every NBA Finals Series that he ever played in, and an NBA record, 72 win season.
Lebron James was offered the chance to follow in Jordan's footsteps in the Chicago Bulls campaign to bring the coveted free agent to the Bulls last summer. Even Jordan himself felt that the best situation for Lebron would be Chicago.
Lebron proved that he was not the player or the man that even Jordan believed him to be when he chose to join Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat, and Derrick Rose has lived up to his word after saying that he wanted to be "The Man" in Chicago.
Lebron is not and will never be on the same level as Jordan. What more needs to be said?
Orlando, Florida. The Miami Heat have been having a woeful Thanksgiving week, with losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Indiana Pacers, but everyone probably knows that with the excessive coverage of Lebron James and the most overrated team in history. And a visit to Eastern Conference contender, the Orlando Magic, was not going to make it better.
Miami's weak frontline recently got weaker with the loss of Udonis Haslem to injury, probably for the entire season. Haslem was truly the only source of toughness in the paint for a Miami Heat team that rebuilt their frontcourt from scratch around Lebron James and Chris Bosh. During Miami's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Haslem went down with a strained left foot and had to be carried off the court; he will have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left foot that will probably end his season.
Despite Miami's injury woes, Dwight Howard didn't seem to feel sorry for the Heat big men, as he went for 24 points and 18 rebounds (matching the rebound total for Miami's starting frontline of Bosh, Lebron, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas) in completely dominating Miami's frontcourt. Jameer Nelson, J. J. Redick, and Brandon Bass made huge contributions, as well, in the team driven victory.
Dwight Howard dunks over the Miami friends as the Magic hand the Heat their third straight loss.
Meanwhile, the story for Miami was Dwayne Wade's continuing shooting woes, as he put up 18 points on 6 of 21 shooting. In two games since missing the game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wade has made only 7 of his 34 shots (20.6%) and has only made 1 of 8 3-pointers (12.5%); the Heat have lost both games.
Orlando was able to avenge a loss to Miami earlier this season in the Heat's home opener on October 29.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. Lebron finally was involved in a "Jordan-moment", however it was Rudy Gay that hit "The Shot" while Lebron played the role of Craig Ehlo.
In dramatic fashion, it was Rudy Gay, the Memphis Grizzlies' big signing of the "Summer of Lebron", who measured and connected on a fade away jumper over a fully extended Lebron James, to sink the Miami Heat as the clock ran out in regulation.
Rudy Gay had been shooting just 4 for 12 on the night and had just turned the ball over on the previous play, resulting in an easy dunk for Lebron James on the other end to tie the game. However, when it came time to draw up the final play, Gay wanted the ball in his hands.
And with the ball in his hand and 5.5 secs beginning to tick away, Gay was not going to defer the shot to anyone else. Even with Lebron picking him up as he turned the corner, Gay got just enough space over the fully outstretched arm of the most coveted free agent of the summer, Lebron James, and buried the shot.
Here is a video of the play:
Following the shot, the hometown crowd at the FedEx Forum erupted. It was an emotional victory for a Memphis Grizzlies team that was expected to challenge in the Western Conference but has been struggling in the early going of this season. O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph had been demoted to the bench in favor of Darrell Arthur and rookie Xavier Henry in hopes of sparking the team. It seems to have worked, at least on this night.
The list of teams handing a piece of humble pie to the Miami Heat has gotten one more team longer. Joining the Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, and New Orleans Hornets was a 5 win and 9 loss underachieving Memphis Grizzlies team. After obtaining the top 3 free agents available during the "Summer of Lebron" and then bragging about forming a basketball dynasty, the Miami Heat have stumbled out of the gate, with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses in the first 13 games of the season. They are on pace to finish the season with a record of 51 - 31.
A special slice of humble pie is reserved for Lebron James, who was the most coveted free agent of the summer. With every team in the league dreaming about adding his talent and several solid, "win a championship now", choices available, such as staying with a Cleveland Cavaliers talent base that put together back to back 61 win seasons, Lebron continues to be haunted by the worst "Decision" ever made by a sports superstar. He questions "what to do now?" in his latest commercial for Nike.
Rudy Gay's Jordanesque Game-Winning Shot Over Lebron James.
The Rudy Gay shot over Lebron had the "Air" of "The Shot", Michael Jordan's incredible floating shot on Craig Ehlo to propel the Chicago Bulls to victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 NBA Playoffs. The way he floated just a little longer and jumped a little higher than the defender who, despite great defensive position and full extension to bother the shot, was helpless to stop him."The Shot" remains one of the defining moments of Michael Jordan's career because it illustrates the difference between Jordan and every other basketball player in the world; Jordan wanted to win more than any other player, and it fueled him to float a little longer, jump a little higher, practice a little harder, and make one more play.
The irony of the situation is that Lebron, this very summer, could have been the Air Apparent and the Chosen One to follow in Michael Jordan's footsteps in Chicago and as the icon of the NBA. Chicago was believed by the most knowledgeable basketball people, including Michael Jordan himself, to be the best destination for Lebron from the point of view of joining a team that would win multiple NBA Championships. The combination of Derrick Rose, Lebron James, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah would have been amazing; Derrick Rose is currently 4th in the league in scoring, and Joakim Noah is currently 2nd in the league in rebounding. Lebron would have been an ideal complement to the two superstars, and with talented role players like Taj Gibson, the Bulls (currently 7 - 4 on the season) would have been one of the most talented, deep, and complete teams in the league.
Then came "The Decision". And the landscape of the NBA has been forever altered, but two things have not changed. Michael Jordan's legacy is still that of the greatest of all time, and Lebron James will not be winning an NBA Championship this year.
Does Lebron James deserve to be listed among the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Mohandas Gadhi? The answer is clearly a resounding "no".
Does Lebron James deserve to be listed among the likes of Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, George W. Bush, and Benedict Arnold (if Time Magazine had existed back in 1780)? Suddenly, the "no" is less resounding...
Barack Obama, President of the United States, is also a finalist for Time's Person of the Year along with James.
Time Magazine's Person of the Year article profiles a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that "for better or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year." By this criteria, Lebron certainly qualifies to be in the discussion.
In fact, what better way to cement Lebron's "legacy" than a Time Magazine article that details the events of the so called "Summer of Lebron", what was to be Lebron's finest hour, to show how selfishness, hubris, and conceit can truly cost you in the fame game. However, when the adoration of your fans are the only source of your power, influence, and income, it is probably a good idea not to humilate those same fans on public television.
Lebron's actions, and the pride that continues to keep him from admitting the utter stupidity of "The Decision", have kept his name in the news much longer than any sensible decision possibly could, and it is for that that he deserves Time's Person of the Year.
At the very least, the continuous chatter on ESPN, the television network that agreed to participate in Lebron James' ill-conceived 1-hour Decision special, about what Lebron tweeted about today and his opinion of the dismal Dallas Cowboys, for example, is evidence that the sports world has changed. Now rather than reporting sports news, ESPN has crossed the line of journalistic integrity, following in the footsteps of the Fox News' of the world, to now, creating and fabricating news.
A clear bias exists when ESPN crams Lebron James' opinions down our throats and calls it news. There is a clear bias when there is a special page chronicling the Miami Heat, called the Heat Index, when there are 29 other teams in the league, several of which are more likely than Miami to win the NBA Championship, and one of them has already proven that fact twice (Boston Celtics).
The Miami Herald has reported that Lebron, in a calculated PR move, responded to his nomination by saying that it was "crazy". Lebron said this about his vote for the honor, the Chilean Miners, "That's just crazy. What those guys did, the courage and what they stood for, I should be nowhere near that list. Nowhere near it."
If Lebron had made a sensible decision, he would not be anywhere near the list. He would just be the best player in the league, winning and leading a team, and showing his fans everywhere what it is to be a sports hero. Instead, we are forced to watch Miami Heat basketball to witness the inevitability of karma.
MIAMI, FLORIDA. Lebron James put up 35 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. However, Boston left Miami with the only thing that mattered to them, and that was a convincing victory over the most overrated team in NBA history.
Boston beat down Miami for the second time in the early 2010-11 season.
The Boston Big Four dominated the game despite Lebron's nice statline. Ray Allen finished with 35 points and made 7 of 9 from 3-point land, and Kevin Garnett owned the paint to the tune of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 16 assists, and Paul Pierce pitched in with 25 points.
The biggest difference maker was the job the Celtics defense did on Dwayne Wade, holding the Heat star to 8 points on 2 of 12 shooting.
Once again, it was evident by Lebron's statline that he was being asked to shore up the inadequate rebounding of the Miami Heat starting frontcourt of Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony. Better teams have easily taken advantage of this Miami Heat weakness and will continue to do so. If Lebron leads the team in rebounding on a given night, the Heat will have lost.
FINAL THOUGHT: With nearly 8 minutes remaining in the game, the standing-room-only, Miami Heat crowd at the American Airlines Arena began to filter out of the stadium. Did they get to watch Lebron flirt with a triple-double? Did they even care?
Miami, Florida No, the chances of the Miami Heat going 82 - 0 for the season have long passed. However, at a record of 5 - 3 during this first month of the NBA season, the vaunted Miami "superteam" is on pace for a record of 51 - 31, not even matching the record of the Cleveland Cavalier team that won a league best 61 games and brought Lebron the honor of NBA MVP. Experts around the league doubt that even exceeding the Cavs win total from last season will bring another MVP Award to Lebron because he is not even the focal point or best player on this season's version of the Heat.
Chris Bosh has been exposed as a soft defender and weak rebounder.
The Utah Jazz took their talents to South Beach and handed the Miami Heat their first home loss of the season behind a career night for power forward Paul Millsap who scored 46 points in the overtime victory.
Millsap was efficient; his career-high 46 points were scored on 19 for 28 shooting from the field, including shooting 3 for 3 from 3-point range. Millsap outscored the Miami Heat starting frontcourt, including Bosh (17 points), Lebron James (20 points), and rookie Joel Anthony (4 points).
In the first 8 games of the season, the Miami Heat's greatest weakness has been exposed. After having a roster that was completely gutted during the off season to make way for the Miami Thrice experiment, it seems that the filler players that were obtained to form the rest of the Miami Heat roster are not the only concern for the Heat.
For all their talent and skill, the Miami Heat front line, lead by Chris Bosh, is soft defensively and on the boards. Chris Bosh was the best player on a bad team with the Toronto Raptors, and he was able to accrue strong stats during mostly meaningless games. Bosh never led his Toronto Raptors team to the playoffs.
In the loss earlier in the week to the New Orleans Hornets, Bosh grabbed one rebound in 34 minutes of play. ONE REBOUND!
We saw in tonight's game that the Miami Heat plan to keep Lebron James back to help on the defensive boards. Lebron tallied a triple-double (20 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds) because of the strategy, but ultimately, the Heat lost the game. Going forward, we will see if other teams, especially teams that can dominate on the front line, continue to press the advantage to beat the Heat.
The teams that Miami is hoping to beat in the playoffs to play for the NBA Championship are teams that are powerful up front: Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando, New Orleans, and Chicago, to name a few. At this point, the Miami Heat are a fool's pick to win the NBA Championship.
New Orleans, LA. Lebron may not have been able to do it alone in his seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but on this night, it was Chris Paul who played the role of a lonely David versus the Goliath of the Big Three of Miami.
Chris Paul finished the game with a modest 13 points, but made his teammates better to the tune of 19 assists.
CP3 keeps his Hornets undefeated against DWade, Lebron, and the Miami Heat.
Following a summer that was notable for an infamous Decision to go to South Beach, Chris Paul was very public about his discontent with the state of the New Orleans Hornets, fueling rumors of a potential "Big Three" scenario that might have landed himself, along with another disgruntled superstar, Carmelo Anthony, on the New York Knicks.
Following a fifth straight victory to start the season by New Orleans (a Hornets franchise-best record to start a season), trade talks have been silenced. The New Orleans Hornets front office has consistently gone on record saying that Chris Paul would not be traded; the franchise even traded talented back-up point guard Darren Collison, who played excellent during the significant minutes he played in Paul's absence, as a clear statement of commitment to Paul.
It seems that their clear commitment, along with other off-season moves, has paid off for the undefeated New Orleans Hornets.
On the other hand, Lebron's summer has been one of a lack of a clear commitment (other than to himself and his so-called advisory team), culminating in the self-aggrandizing and self-promoting, 1-hour Decision special on ESPN. We all know the subsequent backlash that has resulted from Lebron's decision to be Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat sidekick, along with Chris Bosh.
After much speculation and talk of breaking the 72 win record of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls team, the Miami Heat lost their season opener to the Boston Celtics, and they now fall to a record of 4-2 after this loss to the New Orleans Hornets. This would put them on pace to win 66 to 69 games this season.
First off, SUPER FANS, thank you to each and every one of you for your support. The Facebook Group launched on the 9th of July, and in the less than three months since then, we have seen our little group grow and grow! 10,000 Likes is not a common achievement among Facebook groups (especially when the name of that group does not include "Ville" or "World" or "War" in its name). However, we did it! On October 1st, our little community included 10,000 SUPER FANS, and is still continuing to grow!
MIGHT THIS BE OUR LAST FACEBOOK UPDATE? (AS POSTED TO OUR LINKED TWITTER ACCOUNT)
Not all of the news today is good though. It seems that after working hard to build this community, Facebook is now blocking our right to publish updates to all of you who have chosen to join and chosen to receive our updates. Do you suppose that LeBiatch and his people are also LeSnitch? Do you think that his people cried and whined and peeled off a couple grand to try to kill the backlash?
Well, do you know what that tells me? It tells me that we are on his mind. It tells me that what we are saying here about what he has done matters. It may not change Lebron's thoughts or actions, but we are going to constantly remind him of his bad Decision. It tells me that he is concerned that whatever he accomplishes this season, that if we constantly remind people of the way he disrespected his city and the way he is disrespecting the sport of basketball, his legacy will always be that of a failure, crawling to join someone else's team, someone who can lead.
However, there is nothing in the world that could change this fact. There is nothing he or his team can say. Each time Lebron or his team opens their mouth to try to justify his actions, the excuses are more lame and more weak. Now he and his PR manager are crying racism. Is Magic Johnson being racist when he criticizes Lebron's move? Is Charles Barkley being racist when he criticizes Lebron's move (like in the video below)? And is Michael Jordan being racist when he criticizes Lebron's move? Is Jason Whitlock being racist when he tells you to put the race card away and shut up?
So, now that they have no more lame excuses left and no race card left to play, their only option left is to try and stop us from speaking the truth. Do you think we should allow them to silence us?
NO! I don't think so either! Keep the LeBIATCH MOVEMENT alive!
Here's how you can help:
1. To get instant Facebook updates, be friends with Lebron Isabiatch by clicking the link HERE
2. If you are interested in LeBiatch Custom Design T-Shirts and Products, visit our website, www.LeBiatch.com, where you can find our latest products!
3. Register as a SUPER FAN via our website, www.LeBiatch.com, and receive an instant discount code for 20% OFF on any order! (Including our newest design officially commemorating that "I'M ON THE LIST"!)
Whether or not you have gotten over the horrifically produced travesty that was "The Decision" Show yet, we can all admit that the loss of Lebron will be a difficult blow for the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team to recover from, even though Lebron shoots like 15% from the field in must win games.
However, after searching high and low, scientists have indeed discovered an upside to Lebron James leaving Cleveland: fresher air! After the growth of industry that lead to the population boom in Cleveland and the associated rise in air pollution, environmental regulations have lead to a gradual improvement in Cleveland's air quality to its present level. However, it seems that the effects of all the environmental regulation combined will not improve the air quality as much as the departure of Lebron James.
Anderson Varejao was instrumental in exposing Lebron James' assault on the environment. The following video reveals the lengths and sacrifice that Varejao went to in order to expose James.
Cleveland will be a better place for many reasons with the departure of Lebron, and Varejao deserves our gratitude for his sacrifice in exposing Lebron, the eco-criminal.
Continuing our Lebron is a LeBiatch Video Award series, we have the much anticipated Comedy/ Humor category. As you might imagine, this was extremely difficult because of the sheer volume of videos out there that have been making fun of the former King James.
However, our staff worked tirelessly to find and evaluate videos that represented the very best. And so, this list evolved and was finally cut down to this final four category winners and honorable mentions. Please enjoy the fruit of our efforts!
HONORABLE MENTION *Spoof* LeBron and Lil Dez "MVP Puppet" Nike Commercial HD By TreyMoeShow
Current Number of Views: 95,450
HONORABLE MENTION LeBron James Is Gay! Shocking Interview on "The Decision" Announcing He's Gay by LFyler
Current Number of Views: 877,065
BEST "THE DECISION" SPOOF VIDEO LeBron James - The Decision Elimination Game (Parody) By LilOcelotProductions
Current Number of Views: 3,460
BEST OVERALL COMEDY VIDEO New MVP Puppets Commercial - LeBron West by AuthentiK1
Current Number of Views: 285,727
Which was your favorite? Have a favorite that was not listed? Let us know!
Justin Bieber was the talk and tweet of the MTV Video Music Awards last night, and it wasn't because of his music or his androgynous good-looks. Even on this evening when he took home the VMA for Best New Artist of 2010, the conversation was mostly about what he said during his acceptance speech.
The twitter-verse exploded with chatter about the closing statement of his speech: "Screw LeBron!"
During the aptly named "Summer of Lebron", it seems that all the talk has been about Lebron, his classless dumping of his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, or one of a dozen other poor decisions made by himself and his team. His actions have made him the object of outright hatred well beyond the city limits of Cleveland, OH.
So, Justin Bieber making a statement like "Screw Lebron!" at the end of his acceptance speech would just be him announcing to the world that, "Hey, Lebron is a LeBiatch!" And I know there are plenty of awesome people that would agree with that.
In fact, many in the twitter-verse expounded a new respect for Bieber for his shot at Lebron. One tweeter said, "Bieber said screw Lebron. Love Justin Bieber now", and another said, "I am a @justinbieber fan for life Screw Lebron @KingJames".
However, the more you think about it, Justin Bieber is a lip-syncing, easy path to fame, coat-tail rider. Now who does that sound like? Would he really bad-mouth one of his own? I suppose if it is the easy way to more fame and respect, and I think the twitter-verse has made it clear that @justinbieber would get some easy cred by starting beef with Lebron.
On the other hand, Bieber could just be thanking his manager, Scooter Braun. Here is the first of many videos showing Justin Bieber's acceptance speech. You can decide for yourself.
Terrelle Pryor, the junior quarterback of the Ohio State Buckeyes, made a plea during an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He begged that the Ohio State college football fans treat Lebron James respectfully if he shows up to Saturdays game against the Miami Hurricanes.
Pryor is afraid that drunken OSU college football fans at the game will BOO Lebron relentlessly during the game for not only leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency, but publically humiliating the people and city of Cleveland by announcing his decision in an unprecedented 1 hour ESPN special televised nationally.
Pryor said that he has exchanged text messages with James this week and hopes to see him at Saturday’s home game against the Miami Hurricanes, believing James plans to attend.
If he does, Pryor has a message for fans. ‘If LeBron does come, just treat him with respect and respect his decision,’ Pryor said. ‘Please, no name calling or booing or anything like that. Please. That’s my mentor, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him and a lot of love for him.’
In fact, Pryor said he was there for support after James announced his decision to leave Cleveland. ‘When he was down, when people were throwing him under or burning his jersey, I just picked him up and said, ‘I’m with you 100 percent,’ Pryor said. If James is in Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Pryor said James will be with him 100 percent, not backing the team from his new place of employment.”
It would seem like a very reasonable request that Pryor is making if were talking about anyone else, however standing by someone because they stood with you implies that there is LOYALTY. And most sports fans in the Northeast Ohio region know how loyal an individual Lebron is.
And it is also admirable that Pryor, a young athlete who has yet to be corrupted by money and fame to advocate for his mentor. However, he is asking for the one thing that Lebron was not considerate enough to give the fans and city of Cleveland: RESPECT.
So, the much anticipated 2010 NBA Free Agency period (the so called "Summer of Lebron") has come and gone. It was a soap opera beyond imagination which finally ended with the most awkward debacle of an announcement of a bad decision ever made in the history of modern sports.
Lebron decided to take his talents (and for his sake, enough lube) to South Beach to join Dwayne Wade and new Heat teammate, Chris Bosh. And that was when Lebron revealed himself to be a fraud and less than the Chosen One he had claimed to be. The hearts of those who had once supported him were broken, as they have been so many times before in Cleveland. And beyond Cleveland, those who believed that he could step into the Air Jordans of the Greatest of All Time and those who hoped that pride could be restored for a team that plays in the Mecca of Basketball were also disappointed.
However, none of this may compare with the irreparable damage that "the Decision" has done to Lebron's own legacy. The championships that he may have believed would cement his legacy, gotten this way by joining a champion in DWade, will forever cast him as a sidekick. And despite what anyone has said, this incarnation of the Miami Heat have yet to win a single game.
With all the free agent dominoes having fallen and the teams geared up to start the regular season, this usually proves to be the longest month for hardcore hoops fans. Therefore, we wish to bring you the Best Videos of the Summer of Lebron is a LeBiatch. In this edition, we examine the Best Documentary Videos of the summer.
BEST AMATEUR FILM CLIP Lebron James gets booed at Cedar Point by Nikkie0212
Current Number of Views: 401,214
August 9, 2010 About a month after announcing "the Decision", Lebron returns to Cedar Point, the legendary amusement park in northern Ohio. However, despite the solid month of anti Lebron sentiment coming out of the Cleveland Cavaliers fanbase, Lebron must not have been convinced that his decision could have been so poorly received.
On this day, an amateur camera-person captures Lebron James at the basketball hoops getting jeered by park-goers and missing every shot he takes. He must have been having flashbacks to Game 5 of the Boston Celtics playoff series this year where he shot 3 of 14.
BEST DOCUMENTARY Raw Video: Cavs Fans React to LeBron's Decision (Associated Press)
Current Number of Views: 328,158
July 9, 2010 This will be a date that will live in infamy in the minds of Cleveland sports fans as the unthinkable and unimaginable happened in a public act of humiliation that garnered an audience of 9.95 million to TV screens. In a classless display of self-aggrandizement, Lebron took an hour of national TV airtime on ESPN (and the dignity of one Jim Gray, who presided over the charade) to make his long awaited announcement.
Lebron James, a homegrown, hometown basketball phenom from nearby Akron, OH, eventually became the #1 overall selection of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was christened The Chosen One because he was believed to be the one to return Cleveland sports to respectability, and during his 7 years playing for the Cavs, James won two MVP awards, lead his team to the best regular season record twice, and made one NBA Finals appearance.
Lebron's decision to join a loaded team in Miami was viewed as not only selfish and quitting, but it was also an act of betrayal greater than any other because he was the local guy who should understand the pain and the plight of the city in terms of sports history. After being likened to Benedict Arnold, Lebron is giving Art Modell a run for his money for the mantel of most hated Cleveland sports demigod.
This passed week, the Miami Heat rolled out this video of their prized free agent acquisition of the summer, Lebron James. Go ahead and take a gander at a team working hard to prepare for their supposed championship run.
Meanwhile, on the opposite coast of the U.S., check out young Damon Harge, the #1 Ranked 6th grade basketball player in the country and his training program.
Who do you think looks more prepared for a championship run?
Following the infamous "Decision" that brought Lebron James' talents to South Beach, brought public scrutiny and hatred to Lebron, and took Lebron Jr. and Bryce's daddy away, there has been open criticism of James' long-time girlfriend from women claiming that Savannah was being used by her babies' father, NBA superstar LeBron James. This criticism was fueled by a recent interview where Savannah Brinson spoke with Harper's Bazaar magazine.
"Personally, Miami was not my favorite place. Vacationing there is great. You go for three days and get some sun and it's time to go home," were the thoughts that Lebron James' longtime girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, shared in the interview. Criticism of Brinson was mostly sparked by the casual and nonchalant tone of the interview in light of what may be, at minimum, an extended period of separation as James will no longer play his home games in Cleveland. This is not to mention the reputation that Miami has for being a party spot and place of great temptation for professional athletes.
However, an online news outlet has reported that Savannah's a much shrewder businesswoman than many gave her credit for.
According to a VERY RELIABLE NBA insider, LeBron negotiated a $25 MILLION DEAL with Savannah. Under the terms of the reported deal, Savannah would receive the $25 million sum "in case their relationship ends."
The insider explains, "It's actually a paternity/confidentiality agreement that many NBA players have with their child's mothers. But LeBron's is a lot more detailed and Savannah gets a lot more than most."
The deal would guarantee Savannah a lump sum of $25 MILLION if she and LeBron should separate. In exchange, Savannah is NOT ALLOWED to talk about LeBron to the public.
Based on this new information, I would have to say that Savannah is, by far, a more savvy businesswoman than Lebron. Her decision secures her children's future. Lebron's decision hurt his legacy, diminished his place in basketball history, and will cost him untold millions of dollars because of the damage to his reputation.
The following is an Ask Ira question that was posed to Ira Winderman, who writes regularly for NBCSports.com and covers the Miami Heat and the NBA for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. So him being from Miami and all, please excuse that he doesn't know the first thing about basketball.
Q: Ira, I’m not sure people realize how much Wade and James will push each other’s games on the defensive side. Anyone who has watched them compete against each other knows they will continue attempting to one-up each other. Every spectacular block or defensive sequence by James will push Wade to match or beat it on the next defensive sequence. Just because they now play for the same team, doesn’t mean we lose out on them competing to outdo the other. — Shaddy.
Sit down, Ira. I got this one.
Hey, Shaddy! Thanks for the, er, question, or is it just that the man-love between Wade and Lebron is just so contagious down there in South Beach?
Back to your question/comment/flirtation... Yes, there used to be some great tete-a-tetes (that is french for head-to-head) between Wade and Lebron, and Lebron seemed to get the best of many of those contests.
However, since Lebron decided to give up being a man, such competitive displays will certainly be a thing of the past. It should be clear from Lebron's "Decision" that he went to Miami to avoid working hard and carrying any load. He clearly chose to announce his decision to millions of viewers during a primetime, 1 hour special on ESPN so that everyone would know that he was done working for his fame and money and so that no one would ask questions like this one going forward.
Anyway, the answer is yes, Wade and Lebron will gamble too much on defense, and it will be just another reason not to put your money on the Miami Hype. If you don't believe me, check the following video, and without a doubt, there will be more footage to add to the video after this NBA season.
Comedian Mike Polk may become the new voice and megaphone for the masses of disenchanted former-fans of Lebron James. Cleveland and fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have suffered many painful losses when it comes to the history of sports in the city of Cleveland. However, this latest loss especially hurts not only because of the freshness of it, but also because of the treasonous nature of Lebron James' betrayal of the Northeast Ohio-area where James grew up.
Following a summer of high hopes for several NBA team, an extended courtship of the top NBA free agents, and the emergence of a conspiracy, Cleveland was publicly spurned by their own native son, James, who had been embraced by the city with the moniker, "The Chosen One".
After numerous delays, Lebron announced his choice to join with fellow All Stars and Team USA teammates, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, on the Miami Heat, during an ill-conceived 1-hour special on ESPN called "The Decision". The show's name soon became synonymous with the latest betrayal born by the city of Cleveland.
Following "The Decision", there has been harsh backlash against James'. Prior to the infamous decision, James was a much admired sports figure, not only in Cleveland, but Lebron was respected globally to fans of the sport. However, perception of Lebron James has drastically shifted, and Mike Polk's tribute song is the latest emphatic statement of this.
The perception of Lebron James leaving his city, although not the course of champions of the echelon of Jordan, Bird, and Kobe, would not have been a career-killer if James had gone about it with more public-relations savvy. Shaquille O'Neal moved during his prime, much like Lebron James, from an NBA Finals team in the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers, however O'Neal was the main attraction on the Lakers, who won the NBA Championship with O'Neal because of the eventual development of Kobe Bryant.
However, with Lebron stringing along several NBA franchises, announcing his departure in such a self-aggrandizing and self-promotional forum, and leaving Cleveland to join two other established players, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, on a team that Wade has already won a championship with in Miami, many former Lebron fans feel deceived. There was nothing admirable or heroic about Lebron's actions from "The Decision" onward. By subjugating himself to Wade, he has made the admission that he cannot lead a team to victory, and he has revealed the fraud in the advertisements that taut his supremacy.
Sports super-stardom is driven by image and perception, and Lebron has managed to tarnish his well-polished image with quite possibly the worst PR summer of any great athlete in recent memory. A viral video would not help things for James, however the outrage is real and stands to grow with each game Lebron plays with Wade's team.
Postings like this one all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have fueled the popularity of Mike Polk's YouTube performance. The following update was posted to the Facebook group, Lebron is a LeBiatch:
Within a matter of 2 hours, the hit count on the YouTube video rose by nearly 3500 views, and with the viral nature of social media, Lebron James could possibly be the first NBA star to become globally infamous because of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Nike and other brands don't bank on athletes with the image of being a Bitch.
This is my new favorite song! Thank you, Mike Polk! Lebron is a LeBiatch.
