Facts about my college era (1989-93):
> Jordan was king
> Bo Jackson was a never-before-seen brand of phenom (especially the Techmo Bowl version)
> Gretzky was Gretzky
> I majored in Weed, which often left me hanging around the apartment watching really bad shows — like “Saved by the Bell” and “Ren and Stimpy”
So…how the hell did I miss this? A circa-1991 cartoon that featured MJ, Bo and Gretzky as superheroes who operated out of a gym?
-G
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Why You’re Wrong for Hating LeBron
LeBron James crossed a line last night. He acted selfishly.
Not for leaving the Cavs, no. Most basketball fans and analysts agree that the Cavaliers organization, despite its best efforts over 7 years, simply wasn’t able to put together a winning formula. Presently, they sit pressed hard against the salary cap with bad contracts and a team payroll that gives them very little, if any, ability to improve. (As James Worthy said a few weeks back, in an interview seemingly rife with double-talk where he said that LeBron would be a “quitter” if he left: “Larry Bird had Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson. Magic had Kareem, myself, [Bob] McAdoo. I don’t think LeBron has received what he needs.”) From a pure basketball standpoint, it would’ve made no sense for James to stay in Cleveland.
So for just a moment, let’s stop thinking as fans and put ourselves in the shoes of the man himself. LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players who has ever walked the earth. When all is said and done, he might be considered one of the top-ten, or even top-five, greatest EVER. When you’re that good at something, and you love that thing so purely, you want to explore it without boundaries. You want to push yourself as far as you can go, venture into territories unknown even to yourself. Simply put, you want to achieve your full potential. And just as simply, that couldn’t happen for LeBron in Cleveland.
So we can’t be angry with him for leaving. We just can’t.
His wrongdoing — his selfish act — came in the way he did it. To put yourself in the national spotlight (“The Decision” drew 8.4 million viewers last night) while four organizations in four cities with four breathless fan bases watched and waited* was condescending at best. The suitors that weren’t selected, and the people they represented, were made fools — fools for hoping, fools for daring to think they were good enough for The Chosen One. And on balance, they got off lightly. In the case of his hometown, what James did was downright cruel.
[*I’m excluding the Clips and Nets, both of whom were clearly out of the running by then.]
In the privacy and narrow context of his office at LRMR, “The Decision,” as TV spectacular, probably seemed like a great idea. Let’s remember: the sports media has, quite literally, been contemplating LeBron/Summer 2010 for years. And most recently, even before coverage of the Lakers’ championship had faded out, buzz about where LeBron might land started creeping in. History might not remember it this way, but let’s be clear: LeBron’s “Decision” was THE sports story of Summer 2010 long before any TV deal was made with ESPN. So the idea of leveraging a story with that much juice behind it to promote “the LeBron James brand” and simultaneously raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, again, probably seemed like a great idea when LeBron and his partners were talking it through.
But last night, from the moment the camera opened on LeBron, it was all over his face that he knew he’d made a mistake. By then, of course, it was too late. We more or less watched him bite his inner lip for an hour.
If you hate LeBron for making that mistake, well, you’re entitled. But damn, that seems harsh. If you hate him for any other reason, however, you need to defend that reason. And I’m hearing a lot of haters today.
Let me address some of the things I’m hearing, and why you’re wrong for thinking it:
"LeBron took the easy way out."
You think? Expectations for the Miami Heat couldn’t be higher. This team is going to lead ESPN News any and every night they play. Any loss will be scrutizined. When they have their first losing streak, analysts are going to skewer them, criticize them for not living up to the hype. Basically, anything short of winning the Eastern Conference next season will be considered a disappointment (...and some talking heads — Skip Bayless, anyone? — will be sure to rip these guys for anything short of a Larry O’Brien trophy). So, yeah, the pressure is on.
"LeBron was disloyal to the Cavs organization."
Majority owner Dan Gilbert sure agrees with you. He called LeBron’s decision a “cowardly betrayal.” But if Gilbert himself had the bravery he accused James of lacking, he’d admit that HE ultimately failed as an owner. It’s true that Gilbert and Danny Ferry tried damn hard; you have to take your hat off to them for digging in and doing everything they could to concoct a winning formula. But in the end, they came up short. Put another way: They were good, but not great. And certainly not nearly as good at what they do as James is at what he does. Excellence demands excellence. (Just ask MJ...or any of his former teammates who had him barking in their ears.) LeBron isn’t disloyal. That is an objectively false statement. He’s simply a man of excellence in pursuit of excellence. (Side note here: During James’s tenure as a Cavalier, the organization’s value increased by $100 million. Exactly what does Dan Gilbert believe LeBron owes him? Another $100 million?)
"LeBron made a shameful spectacle of himself."
We all live by certain unwritten rules, cultural mores that silently dictate how things are supposed to go down. In sports, we’ve come to believe that players should be subservient to coaches, GMs and owners. And just about anytime a player defies that expectation — whether it’s someone showboating after a dunk, or demanding a trade, or developing a TV special to announce where he’ll playing next year — our instinct is that some wrong was committed. But if we examine our own instinct, what, exactly, is that wrong? An NBA free agent announced his decision on a show that earned a 7.3 rating. Nothing like that has ever been done before. Maybe that was the problem: we simply tensed up, reflexively, at this New Thing. But if a player of James’s caliber commands that kind of attention, why shouldn’t he own it? After all, we don’t follow the NBA because we’re intrigued by owners or GMs or even coaches. We follow the game because of the players on the floor. The players — especially the stars — are EVERYTHING. We say so every time we watch and with every jersey we buy. In the case of “The Decision,” we said so by tuning in. We sanctioned it, the NBA and ESPN profited from it...but somehow LeBron James committed some kind of moral injustice?
Yes, it backfired. I’ve spent time in Cleveland. It is a one-of-a-kind, diehard sports town. Those fans are devastated right now, and they deserved a hell of a lot better than what they got. If I were James, I would’ve held a press conference at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. I would’ve talked about my love of Akron and, by extension, Cleveland, and about how this place is my lifelong cherished home. I would’ve talked about growing up here and what it’s meant to me, and about how humbled and grateful I am for all that my friends, family and fans have given me all these years. Then I would’ve said, plainly, that it’s time for me to go. And I would’ve explained why in clear and honest terms.
He made a mistake, one mistake: He acted selfishly. This mere human being, only 25 years of age, made a mistake. And he knows it. But if you can forgive this misstep and get past it, here’s what LeBron James has shown us of his character in making this decision:
> He wants to play to his fullest potential and WIN
> He’s putting ego aside to share the spotlight with Wade
> He’s laying the weight of near-impossible expectations on his shoulders
> And he’s leaving $30M on the table do try and do it (the latest rumor is that Mike Miller is coming aboard, which means these guys will all have to take even less to subsidize his contract)
Now I ask every hater out there: Isn’t this everything we want our superstar athletes to be?
Well? Isn’t it?
G.
Not for leaving the Cavs, no. Most basketball fans and analysts agree that the Cavaliers organization, despite its best efforts over 7 years, simply wasn’t able to put together a winning formula. Presently, they sit pressed hard against the salary cap with bad contracts and a team payroll that gives them very little, if any, ability to improve. (As James Worthy said a few weeks back, in an interview seemingly rife with double-talk where he said that LeBron would be a “quitter” if he left: “Larry Bird had Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Dennis Johnson. Magic had Kareem, myself, [Bob] McAdoo. I don’t think LeBron has received what he needs.”) From a pure basketball standpoint, it would’ve made no sense for James to stay in Cleveland.
So for just a moment, let’s stop thinking as fans and put ourselves in the shoes of the man himself. LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players who has ever walked the earth. When all is said and done, he might be considered one of the top-ten, or even top-five, greatest EVER. When you’re that good at something, and you love that thing so purely, you want to explore it without boundaries. You want to push yourself as far as you can go, venture into territories unknown even to yourself. Simply put, you want to achieve your full potential. And just as simply, that couldn’t happen for LeBron in Cleveland.
So we can’t be angry with him for leaving. We just can’t.
His wrongdoing — his selfish act — came in the way he did it. To put yourself in the national spotlight (“The Decision” drew 8.4 million viewers last night) while four organizations in four cities with four breathless fan bases watched and waited* was condescending at best. The suitors that weren’t selected, and the people they represented, were made fools — fools for hoping, fools for daring to think they were good enough for The Chosen One. And on balance, they got off lightly. In the case of his hometown, what James did was downright cruel.
[*I’m excluding the Clips and Nets, both of whom were clearly out of the running by then.]
In the privacy and narrow context of his office at LRMR, “The Decision,” as TV spectacular, probably seemed like a great idea. Let’s remember: the sports media has, quite literally, been contemplating LeBron/Summer 2010 for years. And most recently, even before coverage of the Lakers’ championship had faded out, buzz about where LeBron might land started creeping in. History might not remember it this way, but let’s be clear: LeBron’s “Decision” was THE sports story of Summer 2010 long before any TV deal was made with ESPN. So the idea of leveraging a story with that much juice behind it to promote “the LeBron James brand” and simultaneously raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, again, probably seemed like a great idea when LeBron and his partners were talking it through.
But last night, from the moment the camera opened on LeBron, it was all over his face that he knew he’d made a mistake. By then, of course, it was too late. We more or less watched him bite his inner lip for an hour.
If you hate LeBron for making that mistake, well, you’re entitled. But damn, that seems harsh. If you hate him for any other reason, however, you need to defend that reason. And I’m hearing a lot of haters today.
Let me address some of the things I’m hearing, and why you’re wrong for thinking it:
"LeBron took the easy way out."
You think? Expectations for the Miami Heat couldn’t be higher. This team is going to lead ESPN News any and every night they play. Any loss will be scrutizined. When they have their first losing streak, analysts are going to skewer them, criticize them for not living up to the hype. Basically, anything short of winning the Eastern Conference next season will be considered a disappointment (...and some talking heads — Skip Bayless, anyone? — will be sure to rip these guys for anything short of a Larry O’Brien trophy). So, yeah, the pressure is on.
"LeBron was disloyal to the Cavs organization."
Majority owner Dan Gilbert sure agrees with you. He called LeBron’s decision a “cowardly betrayal.” But if Gilbert himself had the bravery he accused James of lacking, he’d admit that HE ultimately failed as an owner. It’s true that Gilbert and Danny Ferry tried damn hard; you have to take your hat off to them for digging in and doing everything they could to concoct a winning formula. But in the end, they came up short. Put another way: They were good, but not great. And certainly not nearly as good at what they do as James is at what he does. Excellence demands excellence. (Just ask MJ...or any of his former teammates who had him barking in their ears.) LeBron isn’t disloyal. That is an objectively false statement. He’s simply a man of excellence in pursuit of excellence. (Side note here: During James’s tenure as a Cavalier, the organization’s value increased by $100 million. Exactly what does Dan Gilbert believe LeBron owes him? Another $100 million?)
"LeBron made a shameful spectacle of himself."
We all live by certain unwritten rules, cultural mores that silently dictate how things are supposed to go down. In sports, we’ve come to believe that players should be subservient to coaches, GMs and owners. And just about anytime a player defies that expectation — whether it’s someone showboating after a dunk, or demanding a trade, or developing a TV special to announce where he’ll playing next year — our instinct is that some wrong was committed. But if we examine our own instinct, what, exactly, is that wrong? An NBA free agent announced his decision on a show that earned a 7.3 rating. Nothing like that has ever been done before. Maybe that was the problem: we simply tensed up, reflexively, at this New Thing. But if a player of James’s caliber commands that kind of attention, why shouldn’t he own it? After all, we don’t follow the NBA because we’re intrigued by owners or GMs or even coaches. We follow the game because of the players on the floor. The players — especially the stars — are EVERYTHING. We say so every time we watch and with every jersey we buy. In the case of “The Decision,” we said so by tuning in. We sanctioned it, the NBA and ESPN profited from it...but somehow LeBron James committed some kind of moral injustice?
Yes, it backfired. I’ve spent time in Cleveland. It is a one-of-a-kind, diehard sports town. Those fans are devastated right now, and they deserved a hell of a lot better than what they got. If I were James, I would’ve held a press conference at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. I would’ve talked about my love of Akron and, by extension, Cleveland, and about how this place is my lifelong cherished home. I would’ve talked about growing up here and what it’s meant to me, and about how humbled and grateful I am for all that my friends, family and fans have given me all these years. Then I would’ve said, plainly, that it’s time for me to go. And I would’ve explained why in clear and honest terms.
He made a mistake, one mistake: He acted selfishly. This mere human being, only 25 years of age, made a mistake. And he knows it. But if you can forgive this misstep and get past it, here’s what LeBron James has shown us of his character in making this decision:
> He wants to play to his fullest potential and WIN
> He’s putting ego aside to share the spotlight with Wade
> He’s laying the weight of near-impossible expectations on his shoulders
> And he’s leaving $30M on the table do try and do it (the latest rumor is that Mike Miller is coming aboard, which means these guys will all have to take even less to subsidize his contract)
Now I ask every hater out there: Isn’t this everything we want our superstar athletes to be?
Well? Isn’t it?
G.
The Decision
As always in these moments, I have many thoughts. Let's get to it.
1) Who's the best salesman in the NBA?
Answer:
He had a vision, and he sold LeBron on the boldness of it. It's the Big Three but better. If I may..."LeBron, look at what Boston was able to do with KG, Ray and Paul. Once they brought that nucleus together the Celtics were able to build around that core and create a championship team the very same year. Dwayne has made his commitment to us (Dwayne nodding). Chris has made his commitment to us. You've played with both of them. You know what they can do. All three of you are in your prime (pause), at the height of your powers (lascivious laugh). Think of how many championships we could win together over the next decade.
There was much more after that, but you get the point. When you think about it, Miami was a long shot. Never before has the "best player in the league" decided to go join the second maybe third best player in the league, and have a top 25 player join him just for good measure. Moses coming to the Sixers may have been the closest, most recent, similar example. This wasn't a trade or two a la Danny Ainge. Pat Riley got all three guys to sign with him through free agency at the same time. And again, two of those three guys are the best players in the entire free world!! That means he's got 5 solid years to establish his proof of concept. That's an absolute eternity in the NBA. Stability is the hallmark of the best franchises in the NBA. Lakers, Spurs, Phoenix (til a few days ago), Thunder (establishing it). They find their guys, they stick with them, build around them, develop a coaching philosophy and always demonstrate a commitment to winning. Sidenote: Erik Spolestra's gonna get a chance, but he's outta there if this team's not on 60-win pace at the All Star break. I just don't think Pat's gonna take it over again. I think he's gonna get the best coach available this time. Could even be JVG.
2) Overall, I'm struck by my strong feeling of compassion for LeBron. This guy was being asked to carry a franchise, city, an entire region with his mere presence. Just stick around. Don't leave us. You're our only hope. It's too much to ask of anyone to make a decision about their career, their future and their legacy based on the hopes and expectations of others. People do it all the time, but we should never expect people to do it. You should never expect people to sacrifice their own well being or happiness for you whether 'you' is just you or 'you' is millions of people. It's unfair, and usually unrealistic. This isn't LeBron choosing to sacrifice his own life to save the world from obliteration or jumping in front of a car to protect his true love. It's a business decision.
3) 25, is the number that jumped out at me. Everything I just said about carrying a region and the hopes and dreams of millions, and you're 25. And you play basketball. You're not running for president, or owner of a big job-creating company moving into town. You're a symbol, an icon, a brand. You're affect is psychic, not material. You simply being who you are, doing what you do, here is what's most important. It's really amazing to consider that kind of pressure and how odd a dilemna it presents.
4) Good "handlers": LeBron carried himself well. He didn't badmouth the Cavs organization. Clearly, he got some media training in preparation for this event, and learned about how to re-direct questions back to the answer that you want to give. His message was forward-looking, personal and overwhelmingly positive.
5) "He has gotten a free pass." "He quit...not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar." "LeBron James needs to go to another team with two superstars already so he can win a championship," "You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal. "The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south," "And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James [and the town where he plays] will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma."
6) "It's the disrespect. It's time for people to hold these athletes accountable for their actions. Is this the way you raise your children? I've been holding this all in for a long time." This one I had to separate. He did everything but call him an ungrateful nigger. He is openly comparing him to a child. You know, LeBron made Dan Gilbert a lot of money. He made Dan's franchise relevant. Dan Gilbert's gotten a lot more from his relationship with LeBron James than vice versa. Yet, when LeBron becomes a Free Agent and decides to leave the farm, Owner Dan thinks LeBron deserves to be hobbled. LeBron is a disloyal, disrespectful Bad nigger. LeBron owes him his whole productive life, and not a second more. All the other quotes above lay out the cover story. How could you do this to us? But this quote gets to the heart of the matter. This is a personal betrayal of the worst kind: the kind that cost the betrayed money.
I could write a book on this quote. I want Maya Angelou to write an open letter to Dan Gilbert asking him about his attitudes toward the athletes who work for him. I want something that the Washington Post will quote. Sports is one public space where we [citizens] let it all hang out, but then we don't have discourse about the things that are said. We just brush shit off or sweep it under the rug. With millions of people all around the world taking their cues about how to live life from the NBA, doesn't this kind of delusional 1864 thinking deserve some discussion?
1) Who's the best salesman in the NBA?
Answer:
He had a vision, and he sold LeBron on the boldness of it. It's the Big Three but better. If I may..."LeBron, look at what Boston was able to do with KG, Ray and Paul. Once they brought that nucleus together the Celtics were able to build around that core and create a championship team the very same year. Dwayne has made his commitment to us (Dwayne nodding). Chris has made his commitment to us. You've played with both of them. You know what they can do. All three of you are in your prime (pause), at the height of your powers (lascivious laugh). Think of how many championships we could win together over the next decade.
There was much more after that, but you get the point. When you think about it, Miami was a long shot. Never before has the "best player in the league" decided to go join the second maybe third best player in the league, and have a top 25 player join him just for good measure. Moses coming to the Sixers may have been the closest, most recent, similar example. This wasn't a trade or two a la Danny Ainge. Pat Riley got all three guys to sign with him through free agency at the same time. And again, two of those three guys are the best players in the entire free world!! That means he's got 5 solid years to establish his proof of concept. That's an absolute eternity in the NBA. Stability is the hallmark of the best franchises in the NBA. Lakers, Spurs, Phoenix (til a few days ago), Thunder (establishing it). They find their guys, they stick with them, build around them, develop a coaching philosophy and always demonstrate a commitment to winning. Sidenote: Erik Spolestra's gonna get a chance, but he's outta there if this team's not on 60-win pace at the All Star break. I just don't think Pat's gonna take it over again. I think he's gonna get the best coach available this time. Could even be JVG.
2) Overall, I'm struck by my strong feeling of compassion for LeBron. This guy was being asked to carry a franchise, city, an entire region with his mere presence. Just stick around. Don't leave us. You're our only hope. It's too much to ask of anyone to make a decision about their career, their future and their legacy based on the hopes and expectations of others. People do it all the time, but we should never expect people to do it. You should never expect people to sacrifice their own well being or happiness for you whether 'you' is just you or 'you' is millions of people. It's unfair, and usually unrealistic. This isn't LeBron choosing to sacrifice his own life to save the world from obliteration or jumping in front of a car to protect his true love. It's a business decision.
3) 25, is the number that jumped out at me. Everything I just said about carrying a region and the hopes and dreams of millions, and you're 25. And you play basketball. You're not running for president, or owner of a big job-creating company moving into town. You're a symbol, an icon, a brand. You're affect is psychic, not material. You simply being who you are, doing what you do, here is what's most important. It's really amazing to consider that kind of pressure and how odd a dilemna it presents.
4) Good "handlers": LeBron carried himself well. He didn't badmouth the Cavs organization. Clearly, he got some media training in preparation for this event, and learned about how to re-direct questions back to the answer that you want to give. His message was forward-looking, personal and overwhelmingly positive.
5) "He has gotten a free pass." "He quit...not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar." "LeBron James needs to go to another team with two superstars already so he can win a championship," "You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal. "The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south," "And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James [and the town where he plays] will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma."
6) "It's the disrespect. It's time for people to hold these athletes accountable for their actions. Is this the way you raise your children? I've been holding this all in for a long time." This one I had to separate. He did everything but call him an ungrateful nigger. He is openly comparing him to a child. You know, LeBron made Dan Gilbert a lot of money. He made Dan's franchise relevant. Dan Gilbert's gotten a lot more from his relationship with LeBron James than vice versa. Yet, when LeBron becomes a Free Agent and decides to leave the farm, Owner Dan thinks LeBron deserves to be hobbled. LeBron is a disloyal, disrespectful Bad nigger. LeBron owes him his whole productive life, and not a second more. All the other quotes above lay out the cover story. How could you do this to us? But this quote gets to the heart of the matter. This is a personal betrayal of the worst kind: the kind that cost the betrayed money.
I could write a book on this quote. I want Maya Angelou to write an open letter to Dan Gilbert asking him about his attitudes toward the athletes who work for him. I want something that the Washington Post will quote. Sports is one public space where we [citizens] let it all hang out, but then we don't have discourse about the things that are said. We just brush shit off or sweep it under the rug. With millions of people all around the world taking their cues about how to live life from the NBA, doesn't this kind of delusional 1864 thinking deserve some discussion?
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