The LeBracle

This was the front page of the July 9th, 2010 Cleveland Plain Dealer. Gone. 7 years, $62 million dollars. No rings. Nothing else needed to be said. He was really leaving. I was speechless.

There have been so many articles about the Summer of LeBron before and after "The Decision", and frankly, I think everyone is as sick of hearing about it. Nevertheless, I don't really care and I'm going to talk about it anyway. I remember when the Cavs drafted LeBron James out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. It was the Summer of 2003, and I was enjoying my time at camp. My mom sent me up the newspaper article with LeBron on the front, smiling next to David Stern, wearing a cream colored suit with a matching shirt and tie, and a wine colored Cavaliers hat. My parents also sent me up my first LeBron jersey a few weeks later. From then on, LeBron was my favorite player in the league, and in my mind, he could do no wrong. His enemies on the court were vehemently hated by me, and I would religiously follow all things Cavs. And then it all stopped.

Gone.

Once the Cavaliers exited the playoffs this year, I knew he was gone. I didn't want to admit it, but I just knew it. And frankly, so did he. There is no doubt in my mind that he quit in the playoffs, faked his elbow injury, and took the easy way out of town. To be honest, if he would've just had a press conference after the series and said he was unhappy and leaving Cleveland, would that have pissed off Cleveland fans? You're darn skippy it would've. But Would every basketball fan besides Heat fans despise him almost immediately? No way, Jose. But seriously, LeBron. Who is around you? Maverick Carter and Worldwide Wes are pointing you in the right direction. I'm not trying to be your therapist, but I just don't understand how someone could make such a stupid decision. People are saying, "Well, he didn't go to college", to which I say that defense is a load of you know what. Going on national television to destroy the future of the team you played for for the past seven years? Shielding yourself with your own group of interviewers, the interview questions, and hiding behind the boys and girls club of Greenwich, CT? Grow a pair. Don't tell me "I wanted to raise money from the commercials to donate to the organization". Cut them a check- I mean, I know you're taking a pay cut from Miami to play there, but I'm not exactly going to start walking around Akron collection tzedakah for you. I just don't understand how LeBron James could think that he could walk away from "The Decision" not looking like a villain. If I were living in my own world where everyone tells me I'm a god and I do whatever I want and I don't care about anyone but myself, I could see that being scenario. But I just can't believe that someone would be so narcissistic, to just not talk to the man who signed his paychecks between the time he quit in the playoffs and when he signed with Miami. That's disgusting. It's just plain wrong. Reading the recent issue of GQ with an interview with Prince James, I was even more nauseated.

Last year, I did a research project about LeBron James in comparison to Michael Jordan, and who was a better player. Ultimately, I concluded that LeBron fell short of Michael Jordan. And you know what, I always will come to that conclusion. Michael Jordan was/is a fierce competitor. He was willing to listen to coaches in order to become a better player. LeBron James is a coward, who just wants people to think that he's a good player. LeBron wants a championship ring. Michael wanted to be the best. And he was. He will always be, until we dub someone the next Michael Jordan, just as we did LeBron James. Man up, LeBron. You may a great basketball player, but you're not a good person. And I know that you'll never ever in a million years find this blog and read this about you, and I'm hoping you don't because I know that you said that you're taking mental notes of all the people taking swipes at you. But when you get off the planet that you're on, the one where you refer to yourself publicly in the third person and turn your back on the team that brought you into the league, I hope someday, you look back and realize that you made a huge mistake in the way you went about things. I don't care when it is. You're entitled to leave the team, that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is that you just don't care. And it irks me even more because I really want Zydrunas Ilgauskas to win a championship ring this year, and the catch 22 that I'm caught in is that you'd have to win one too, which is a scenario that I hope never materializes for you.

I have December 2nd flagged on my iCal, and that's the day that LeBron comes back to Quicken Loans Arena. This time, he'll be in the visitor's locker room. I'm scared for what's going to happen. I was at the Indians game where a fan was escorted out while just wearing a James Hear #6 jersey! I can only imagine what carnage is going to unfold at the Q that night. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm not going to care. But I will. Everyone will. I guess the only good thing that came out of this is that every basketball fan hates you. So thank you LeBron James- It is because of you, that the NBA has been forever tainted

And to think that I never thought that I'd be able to hate anyone in the NBA MORE than I hated Carlos Boozer...

Back and Better Than Ever

What's up internet world? It's been a long time, and it feels good to be back. It's been a pretty eventful summer in the sports world, so I'm gonna dive right in to a mega cheers and jeers post, summer style.

Cheers to Preseason Football!

Jeers to----Tie between Colt McCoy getting injured in the first preseason game and Me still being a Browns fan.

After what can only be described as a yet another abysmal summer as a Cleveland sports fan, I always tell myself "There's always next year...". Well, for the Browns, next year is starting now. After a slew of good offseason moves, and a few puzzling ones, preseason football has started, and I know it's only preseason, but I'm excited. You can't read anything into the games, but the Browns looked pretty good in their win over the Packers last weekend (even with the McCoy injury). We have some momentum going into the season, after winning the last four games of last season, and starting off the preseason strong. I mean, with the Bengals getting better, the Ravens getting significantly better, and the Steelers still in our division, we'll still be at the bottom of the AFC North. Regardless, I'm still excited.

Cheers to the Cleveland Indians' farm teams

Jeers to Ryan Kalish destroying the remainder of Carlos Santana's rookie season

The Cleveland Indians farm teams have been good for a while, and I guess the silver lining of the Dolan family not wanting to pay any money for players is that we get an opportunity to see our coveted prospects make it up to the show. Players like Jason Donald, Lou Marson, Carlos Santana, Josh Tomlin, JeanMar Gomez, Michael Brantley, and others have had the chance to play for the Indians this year, due to injuries and trades. Additionally, players like Andy Marte, Matt LaPorta, and Chris Gimenez continue to develop nicely. In my mind, the best players from the young crop have been Santana, Tomlin, and Gomez. Gomez and Tomlin were solid in their starts so far, both with ERAs under 3 (Tomlin 2.96, Gomez 1.84, as of today). Unfortunately, we won't get to see what else Santana can do this season, after a gruesome collision at the plate with Ryan Kalish. Amazingly, Santana held onto the ball, getting the out. He had surgery, and is out until the spring.

Cheers to Jim Thome

Jeers to Alex Rodriguez

Just a week shy of his 40th birthday, Jim Thome is still the man. I really wish we still had him on the Tribe, and I pray that he's not on steroids. Speaking of steroids, A-Ro(i)d hit homerun number 600*. Only he knows how many more he really needs to hit.

Cheers to Delonte West

Jeers to Delonte West

The hilariously unspeakable things which Delonte West may or may not have done to LeBron James' mama are both cheers-worthy and jeers-worthy at the same time.

Cheers to most of Dan Gilbert's open letter to LeBron James

Jeers to a few sentences of said letter

As a spurned Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I was ecstatic to know that our owner let LeBron James know how he felt. I was at a bar with my girlfriend, and at about 9:28 PM, I told her bluntly "We're leaving-NOW". But seriously, come on Dan. I know that you're upset- we all are, and maybe you deserved to say what you want after all, because you do sign the checks. But don't sound like an idiot. Do you really think that we have a shot at winning a championship before LeBron does with the current team? You've got to be kidding me. When our big offseason moves include getting Ramon Sessions and one of the Graham brothers, don't be surprised when Marv Albert isn't calling our games come late May/early June. In fact, don't get your hopes up for a playoff appearance for at least another few years. This team needs to be gutted completely, and you need to bring in the right people to advise you. Not Chris Grant. Not Byron Scott. I don't know who it is, but I know it's not those two individuals.

Cheers to the Indians trading away Jhonny Peralta, Jake Westbrook, and Kerry Wood.

Jeers to the Indians trading away Austin Kearns

For the last few years, I, along with every other Indians fan, has wanted nothing more that to get rid of Jhonny Peralta. As one of the "higher" paid players on our team, ol' Ja-Honny was not living up to his "lofty" contractual expectations. So when I heard that we traded him to the injury-plagued Detroit Tigers for Giovanni Soto, I was ecstatic and puzzled. Ecstatic that we traded him away, and puzzled for two reasons. Firstly, I couldn't believe that someone would want to take him. Secondly, since when was Giovanni Soto from the Chicago Cubs on the Tigers? Unfortunately for me, the prospect we received was Class A starter Giovanni Soto, very much not affiliated with the Cubs organization, and in his debut, Peralta hit two homeruns and a double. Great. Losing Kerry Wood and Jake Westbrook didn't bother me so much. They were the second and third highest paid players on the team, the first being Travis Hafner (PROOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!!!!!!), and to be brutally honest, they suck. Westbrook eats up innings but isn't the best pitcher out there. Wood can't stay healthy. That's about it. Dealing Kearns, on the other hand, was a terrible move. He was arguably the second best player on the team, making almost nothing, and we didn't even get anything back for him! I just don't understand it, and I probably never will

Cheers to National League teams that are in a hunt to make the playoff that aren't usually so good

Jeers to the fake fans of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox

It's always great to see teams play well that never usually do, in any sport. The National League this year is crazy, with the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, and San Diego Padres playing extremely good baseball. The Reds division usually goes to the Cardinals, and often times, it's a race to make the Wild Card between Cincinnati, Chicago, or Milwaukee. But right now, the Reds are up 2 games on the Cards, and are really getting it done. The Braves are lucky that the Phils are behind them, even after they got Roy Oswalt. The biggest story is the way that the Padres have been playing. They're running away with their division, and they got immense help at the trade deadline. They snagged Miguel Tejada from the Orioles, and even more awesome, they got Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals. That's something I don't understand even more than trading away Austin Kearns. Why would you trade away Ludwick for nothing? He won the game the night before for the Cardinals, and the next day they shipped him off for nothing. Wouldn't you want a guy like Ludwick if you're trying to fend off Joey Votto and the Reds? Come on STL! (Speaking of Joey Votto, HOW DID HE NOT MAKE THE BALLOT ON THE ALL-STAR TEAM?!?! I mean he eventually got on, but he's probably going to win the NL MVP and you don't even put him on the team? Jeers to you National League, and anyone involved in that travesty).