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.
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.
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.
After much speculation that Lebron was an arrogant jerk who makes bad Decisions, Lebron proved it today.
Lebron is making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice...
In a poorly conceived follow up to "The Decision" show, Lebron chose the twitterverse to be the platform for his public coming out party. After a month to ponder his response to the disappointment felt by avid followers of basketball, and himself in particular, the best he could come up with was a reactionary verbal flipping of the bird to those that were not going to loyally and mindlessly continue to revere him. Loyalty, as in the quality he failed to show a city that he grew up in the shadow of and that he promised when he was drafted in 2003, "I will bring a championship to the city of Cleveland." It was surprising how quickly Lebron corrected himself; I grew up in Akron, and we hated Clevelanders. If it was hard to carry the team, it will be ever harder winning them a championship by playing for another team in the same conference.
Despite not being able to live up to his word and expecting loyalty when he doesn't feel the need to be loyal himself, some fans stood by him. Even when the greatest legends in basketball history questioned the arrogance and selfishness of the decision and how it would tarnish his legacy, this generation of spoiled brats was quick to defend one of their own. The self-proclaimed "king" had a right to "get paid" and to "chase a ring" they would say. Sure, "pursuit of happiness" is indeed a right, but where is his respect for the game and the legends that built the sport into one of the cornerstones of America. It is clear now, after "The Decision", Lebron doesn't intend to work for anything, he just wants to cash the checks that Magic, Bird, and Michael worked for.
And now, he has an audience of 1 million people, and he wants to tell them he is making a revenge list?
Any sentiment existing outside of South Beach that sympathized with Lebron was bashed over the head with a baseball bat.
My response:
"After showing us all that he can't be The Man to lead a team to a Championship, now @kingjames is mouthing off on twitter. Shut up and win ONE ring before you whine about how people are disrespecting you. Lebron is a LeBiatch."
The vindictive tone of the tweet was seen by anyone with access to twitter.com, essentially any computer that was connected to the internet. All of Lebron's 1 million+ followers on the social media website would have seen the threatening tweet in their update list, and it could have been seen by anyone choosing to view those people's updates. Let's just say, it was the "Threat Heard Round The World".
Immediately, the tweet set off a series of defiant retorts (like mine) that echoed in the twitterverse through the power retweeting, and they carry with them the truth about Lebron's legacy. It has been damaged, and it can never be returned to where it stood just one month ago.
All I can say is that, at the end of the day, Lebron's mental ability to do anything does not scare me in the least. What about you?
