[OT] LeBron is a POS

[LexLuthor871]

Actually it is, Drury was the only one Buffalo tried to re-sign. Clevland tried desperatly to re-sign Lebron, he just decided to take the easy route to a team buying championships. I'm sure this isn't going to help every other team in the NBA sell tickets since its pretty obvious that the Heat are going to most likely win it all. Why would a Nets, Raptors, Bucks, Thunder, Hornets, etc fans spend any money to watch their teams now.

 

As for Lebron, I have no problem with him leaving, sports are a buisness, but I doubt Cavs fans don't feel like he just took a giant dump on them. The NBA just became a bigger joke by letting this super team get built. Atleast in the day, the players like Jordan, Bird, Johnson, etc were loyal and didn't need "super teams" of all stars to win, they were good enough to lead teams to championships

 

BullS####...the Heat planned this for three years, there was no buying champioinships. Nobody else had the foresight to clear all that salary cap space to make it happen. You can't blame Pat Riley if every other team has a Darcy Regier type GM. That statment ###### me off.

[Swedesessed]

Sorry to break it to all of you.

He wanted to win.

Miami > Cleveland when you are beyond a millionare.

Lower taxes.

 

Buffalo and Cleveland will have a harder and harder time holding onto elite players.

 

This isnt the 80's or 90's anymore. These guys make TENS and HUNDREDS of millions, not 1.4 million a year.

 

Get used to it.

[That Aud Smell]

After reading Dan Gilbert's letter to the fans, I would almost rather be a Cleveland Cavs fan right now than a Sabres fan!

It is nice to see a owner put his passion for his team out there. Cleveland fans deserve as much.

my friends in cleveland say that gilbert is a fraud and a grandstander.

 

this guy from yahoo sports agrees:

 

So now people are cheering Dan Gilbert’s manifesto tearing apart James, but no one contributed more to what the world witnessed on Thursday night than the owner’s enabling of James and his inner circle for seven years. Gilbert is the biggest con going, a man who makes his fortune peddling mortgages, and he’ll make his next on casinos in downtown Cleveland. He sells illusions for a living, and now he’s selling the biggest of all: that he’s a victim here, that James betrayed everyone. That’s a lie, and no one ought to dare buy it.

 

Everyone searching for a scapegoat here – Mike Brown, Danny Ferry, Delonte West(notes) – well, just understand that it was the man screaming loudest with LeBron out the door, the man most determined to deflect blame onto him now.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert called LeBron James' decision to leave a "cowardly betrayal."

(AP Photo)

 

Now, Gilbert is the tough guy with James leaving the Cavs behind? Listen, Ferry and Brown always warned Gilbert that giving James everything he wanted – giving it when and where and how – wouldn’t be the way they would keep him. LeBron didn’t respect them because they never demanded it.

 

Gilbert always believed he should do everything James wanted – hire his buddies into jobs, throw them on summer-league rosters, allow him to do those stupid pregame choreographed dances – that James would love him, that he would never leave. Only, James is a taker, and he took and took until he had bled Gilbert and that franchise to the bone.

 

So now, Gilbert unleashes the most revisionist and self-serving screed that a scorned owner’s ever done. Gilbert is a bully and a baby. As much as James, Gilbert revealed himself, too. He asked for this humiliation and deserves it. Only those fans in Cleveland don’t deserve this. They were loyal, true, and ultimately they must know Gilbert lashed out to make James the villain for a most self-serving reason: to avoid the blame himself. Damn right James quit on the Cavaliers in that playoff series, but that was because Gilbert was always there to make it easy for him. All those times Ferry and Brown warned the owner they had to make stands with James, that they had to force him to have some level of respect within that organization or there would be an ultimate price to pay

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebrondecision070910

[Swedesessed]

BullS####...the Heat planned this for three years, there was no buying champioinships. Nobody else had the foresight to clear all that salary cap space to make it happen. You can't blame Pat Riley if every other team has a Darcy Regier type GM. That statment ###### me off.

 

I agree. The Heat's plan worked.

 

Obviously these guys wanted to all play together. But they should be slammed for this, why?

 

Players colluded here, that is a crime, but when owners do it, you all don't have an issue.

 

Get over it.

 

And oh by the way, I am a former season ticket holder and a die hard NEW YORK KNICKS fan who was praying for Lebron to play at MSG.

[shrader]

As the lone Sabres and Heat fan out there (honest) I say this: You're kidding me right? They have three-fifths of the dream team. What are Jon Barry and some of you smoking who say they won't win immediately?

 

Which 3, Magic, Bird, and Laettner?

[Swedesessed]

It is nice to see a owner put his passion for his team out there. Cleveland fans deserve as much. Hopefully for them Dan Gilbert can find players whose passion is to win a Championship and not sitting on the beach with their friends and hookers.

 

 

Yeah, and that childish passion Gilbert displayed will cost him dearly.

 

He should be above that petty nonsense.

[weehawk]

Cleveland got a taste of the big s*it pie that BUF fans have been munching on for years now. No BIG TIME players want to spend their prime in small-medium markets, even when the money is there. This is true in all sports. It's probably the number one reason why an NFL or NHL title will likely never come to BUF. It's money, it's ego, it's prestige. LeBron was owned by the Cavs and he could not make a move before FA. No one else decent wanted to come to Cleveland to try and win it all with LeBron, so why should he stay? He wants a ring and he simply was not going to get one in CLE.

 

The Bills and Sabres experience this every year. The Bills cant get a big-time coach, GM, or QB to come here and the Sabres cant or wont retain their stars (usually because of money). Pro sports has been engineered to give a big advantage to the large market cities. That's where the money is from the private sector, governments, and corporations. Not to mention that if you're an enormously rich player and you're going to spend the next 3-5 yrs in a certain town, you're likely not going to want to spend it in BUF, CLE, MIN, etc.

 

Put yourself in their shoes. You can honestly tell me that you would want to live in BUF or CLE while you have 100 million in the bank? These are the cities you play in as rookies, journeymen, and old vets. Then you retire to them like so many past Bills and Sabres have done. The way the off-season has gone for both teams, I know the Bills wont see the post-season and the Sabres are on the cusp of dropping out again because they refuse to spend money on talent and most of the best guys wont come here anyway.

 

This is not a knock on my home town. I love it and the teams. This is just the sad realities we face and the LeBron story puts a huge spotlight on the whole thing.

[Swedesessed]

Cleveland got a taste of the big s*it pie that BUF fans have been munching on for years now. No BIG TIME players want to spend their prime in small-medium markets, even when the money is there. This is true in all sports. It's probably the number one reason why an NFL or NHL title will likely never come to BUF. It's money, it's ego, it's prestige. LeBron was owned by the Cavs and he could not make a move before FA. No one else decent wanted to come to Cleveland to try and win it all with LeBron, so why should he stay? He wants a ring and he simply was not going to get one in CLE.

 

The Bills and Sabres experience this every year. The Bills cant get a big-time coach, GM, or QB to come here and the Sabres cant or wont retain their stars (usually because of money). Pro sports has been engineered to give a big advantage to the large market cities. That's where the money is from the private sector, governments, and corporations. Not to mention that if you're an enormously rich player and you're going to spend the next 3-5 yrs in a certain town, you're likely not going to want to spend it in BUF, CLE, MIN, etc.

 

Put yourself in their shoes. You can honestly tell me that you would want to live in BUF or CLE while you have 100 million in the bank? These are the cities you play in as rookies, journeymen, and old vets. Then you retire to them like so many past Bills and Sabres have done. The way the off-season has gone for both teams, I know the Bills wont see the post-season and the Sabres are on the cusp of dropping out again because they refuse to spend money on talent and most of the best guys wont come here anyway.

 

This is not a knock on my home town. I love it and the teams. This is just the sad realities we face and the LeBron story puts a huge spotlight on the whole thing.

 

 

Great post.

[nobody]

I was thinking Ed.

 

 

That the same as picking Ellis.

[nobody]

I grew up in BUFFALO and moved to CLEVELAND and I can't believe I love the teams in both cities and my fate is sealed...to be an anguished sports fan for the rest of my life :(

 

 

You really need to move South or West. :)

[nobody]

Hey, I grew up in Buffalo and have been a Browns fan since '54 - before Jimmy Brown arrived. Except for 1964, I know your anguish.

 

However I totally gave up on them when Modell skipped town.

 

 

That's when you became a Ravens fan? ;)

[Eleven]

Cleveland got a taste of the big s*it pie that BUF fans have been munching on for years now. No BIG TIME players want to spend their prime in small-medium markets, even when the money is there.

 

 

Again: Pittsburgh. Green Bay. And since you didn't tie it into weather, like the other guy did, New Orleans. Raleigh (oooh that hurts!).

 

Winners want to win. Doesn't matter if it's cold or hot. Doesn't matter if it's a big city, a medium city, or a small one. Winners want to win.

[spndnchz]

I'll go on record as not giving a ######.

[nfreeman]

Cleveland got a taste of the big s*it pie that BUF fans have been munching on for years now. No BIG TIME players want to spend their prime in small-medium markets, even when the money is there. This is true in all sports. It's probably the number one reason why an NFL or NHL title will likely never come to BUF. It's money, it's ego, it's prestige. LeBron was owned by the Cavs and he could not make a move before FA. No one else decent wanted to come to Cleveland to try and win it all with LeBron, so why should he stay? He wants a ring and he simply was not going to get one in CLE.

 

The Bills and Sabres experience this every year. The Bills cant get a big-time coach, GM, or QB to come here and the Sabres cant or wont retain their stars (usually because of money). Pro sports has been engineered to give a big advantage to the large market cities. That's where the money is from the private sector, governments, and corporations. Not to mention that if you're an enormously rich player and you're going to spend the next 3-5 yrs in a certain town, you're likely not going to want to spend it in BUF, CLE, MIN, etc.

 

Put yourself in their shoes. You can honestly tell me that you would want to live in BUF or CLE while you have 100 million in the bank? These are the cities you play in as rookies, journeymen, and old vets. Then you retire to them like so many past Bills and Sabres have done. The way the off-season has gone for both teams, I know the Bills wont see the post-season and the Sabres are on the cusp of dropping out again because they refuse to spend money on talent and most of the best guys wont come here anyway.

 

This is not a knock on my home town. I love it and the teams. This is just the sad realities we face and the LeBron story puts a huge spotlight on the whole thing.

As for the first bolded part -- it's harder for cities like Buffalo and Cleveland, but far from impossible. The margin for error is smaller. That's why it's crippling for the Bills when the 4th pick in the draft turns out to be Barney the dinosaur instead of Anthony Munoz and when they continue to hire loser coaches, and why it's crippling for the Sabres to let their co-captains and top offensive defenseman go out of sheer incompetence.

 

As for the 2nd and 3rd bolded parts -- While I agree that most FA stars in both sports aren't interested in Buffalo, it's still possible to have elite teams here. I think you're overrating the influence of the small market and underrating local incompetence. At this point, no real NFL coach wants to work for Ralph. And the Sabres spend plenty of money on talent, including on retaining their own guys -- they just made a string of bad decisions on where to spend the money a couple of years ago, caught a few bad breaks in the process, and got knocked well down the ladder.

 

I think the Sabres are slowly but surely climbing back up, but we'll see. I really want to see another forward.

 

 

[deluca67]

As the lone Sabres and Heat fan out there (honest) I say this: You're kidding me right? They have three-fifths of the dream team. What are Jon Barry and some of you smoking who say they won't win immediately?

Two thirds of the dream team can't shoot jump shots consistently. Jeff Van Gundy had it right last night. Unless the heat can get some big men and shooters to help Bosh the Heat will choke on zone defenses night after night.

 

The Heat are far from the best team in the East. They are not even the best NBA team in the state of Florida.

[weehawk]

PIT is an anomaly. It's the only crap town with both recent NFL and NHL titles. GB is NFL only and they may never see another title. I'm not saying it *never* happens. I'm saying it's rare and that towns like BUF are long-shots at best. It's not about the biggest cities winning a title. LA only wins in Bball. NY is mainly a baseball winning town. It's really about where the big-time stars *want* to play for a *chance* to win a title. There are no guarantees, regardless of where you play.

 

However, if I was LeBron, I'd rather be a loser with 100 million in Miami, than a loser with 100 million in CLE. Weather, women, entertainment, food, endorsement deals, etc. These things simply dont exist in most rust belt cities. If you have to lose, you can lose and have fun too in certain cities.

 

 

 

Again: Pittsburgh. Green Bay. And since you didn't tie it into weather, like the other guy did, New Orleans. Raleigh (oooh that hurts!).

 

Winners want to win. Doesn't matter if it's cold or hot. Doesn't matter if it's a big city, a medium city, or a small one. Winners want to win.

[TheChimp]

If this statement were true, this forum wouldn't exist.

No, it means we're suckers. But the NHL is still not as corrupt and blatantly bling-oriented as the NBA, so we're just not as BIG a bunch of suckers as NBA fans are, that's all. ;)

[SabresneedaCup]

the nba is just lame. anyway i dont think lebron is a jerk, i just think he wants to win, theres nothin wrong with that. having an hour long special about where he was going to sign is weak though.

[Knightrider]

I'm sorry but to tear the hearts out of millions of his fans in Cleveland is bush league.

 

What exactly is he going to prove on a team of all-stars in Miami. ###### you LeBron.

 

I hate basketball. Almost more than Soccer.

[shrader]

I hate basketball. Almost more than Soccer.

 

So in other words, you've really enjoyed espn over the past month.

[jpgr909]

So in other words, you've really enjoyed espn over the past month.

What do you mean? I'm actually a bit disappointed with ESPN's lack of NBA coverage this off-season. During each SportsCenter I have to watch at least four minutes before the next Lebron report comes on. FOUR MINUTES! They still haven't reported where he'll be living in the Miami area. I need to know how long his commute will be. I don't want to have to sift through four freakin' minutes of baseball highlights to find out how the new "Big 3" will be spending the days before training camp. How am I supposed to know what Chris Bosh puts into his guacamole? They still haven't reported on how much lime he uses. What's the deal? 17 NBA/Lebron segments every hour just isn't enough for me. Where is the Lebron mural and what can I do to help locate it? What will the Heat do to fill out their roster with no money left? What was the attendance at the new "Big 3" Miami introduction? I still haven't heard and I still haven't seen enough clips of that. C'mon ESPN, get on the ball!

[shrader]

What do you mean? I'm actually a bit disappointed with ESPN's lack of NBA coverage this off-season. During each SportsCenter I have to watch at least four minutes before the next Lebron report comes on. FOUR MINUTES! They still haven't reported where he'll be living in the Miami area. I need to know how long his commute will be. I don't want to have to sift through four freakin' minutes of baseball highlights to find out how the new "Big 3" will be spending the days before training camp. How am I supposed to know what Chris Bosh puts into his guacamole? They still haven't reported on how much lime he uses. What's the deal? 17 NBA/Lebron segments every hour just isn't enough for me. Where is the Lebron mural and what can I do to help locate it? What will the Heat do to fill out their roster with no money left? What was the attendance at the new "Big 3" Miami introduction? I still haven't heard and I still haven't seen enough clips of that. C'mon ESPN, get on the ball!

 

Mix in a little water skiing squirrel (wearing a Heat jersey) and the emmy is a guarantee.

[SwampD]

LeBron went from everything that is right with sports (humble hometown kid trying to win with his hometown team) to everything that is wrong with them (he is now just another arrogant, money grabbing, showboating jack-stain).

[jpgr909]

Mix in a little water skiing squirrel (wearing a Heat jersey) and the emmy is a guarantee.

You're spot on, though I bet if you had three water skiing squirrels wearing Heat jerseys, representing the new "Big 3," you'd move from guaranteed Emmy to the far more prestigious Espy. An Espy has to be far more prestigious, right? I mean, ESPN told me so.

[shrader]

You're spot on, though I bet if you had three water skiing squirrels wearing Heat jerseys, representing the new "Big 3," you'd move from guaranteed Emmy to the far more prestigious Espy. An Espy has to be far more prestigious, right? I mean, ESPN told me so.

 

Now you've gone too far. That's just crazy talk.