At long last, there is enough of a slight gap in my other pursuits for me to weigh in on the whole LeBron James situation.  And by “other pursuits”, I mean my day job, P90X (I’m in Week #3) and writing some technical articles to help support my revenue-generating activities.

So, why did I wait so long?  There is certainly no lack of people giving their two cents on the subject, and almost all of them have better credentials than myself (note that I did not say that they are more qualified – anyone that has read my stuff before knows the deal).  So, you knew that it was coming (my two cents, that is), and you knew that it was probably going to be a slightly different take.

If you are used to the same old shit, sorry.  That is not what we do here.  Just like Brett Favre throwing the ball to the wrong team, Peyton Manning doing anything to avoid any physical contact whatsoever and costing his team dearly by doing so even when big games are on the line, Pau Gasol or any nimrod from Duke flopping around like Serie A soccer players instead of playing tough defense, the French surrendering, and politicians being crooked…we like to take a slightly different angle on the sports stories of the day.  It’s our signature move; it’s what we do.

So, that bring us to the order of the day – what to make of this whole LeBron mess.  As a disclaimer, let me say that I have followed LeBron with great anticipation ever since he was in high school.  I have, like most of you, been completely impressed by his skill on the court, and equally intrigued by his boyish nature.  I am not one for pre-game theatrics normally, but I bought into it with LeBron.  He was just a kid having fun.

After this debacle, I will never have anything but disdain for LeBron.  I will call him The Jester every chance I get.  I was DVR-ing “The Decision”, or as it should be known,  the “Let’s Kick Cleveland in the Groin Just for the Hell of It” show.  I wanted to save it in digital form so I could play it for my son in a few years, when he was old enough to appreciate that fact that LeBron decided to forgo everything else that was less important and stay with is hometown team, earning a new level of respect to go along with everything else by which he has been blessed.  I stopped the recording midway through and erased it from my DVR.  I only wish I could use my TV remote to erase it from my memory.

So, I am done with LeBron.  You should know that going in.  Now let’s talk about respect, since that’s what really matters here.  Sure, other people have said that rings matter, and legacy matters, and money matters, and worldwide exposure matters, and blah, and blah, and blah.  Don’t believe any of that.  It’s about respect…or at least it is with real fans.

The premise of this article is that I wanted to take a tour through all of the players involved in this whole mess, give them a “Respect” grade before and after…kind of take a look at what this whole thing did to them, from a “Respect” standpoint. Everyone knows that LeBron hurt himself in this regard, but how did everyone else do?  So, let’s get started.

LeBron James

Twitter: @KingJames (Yes, this dude has so little class and so little concept of humility, history or his place in it that he actually refers to himself as “The King” frequently enough that he thought it was a good idea to do so in the name of his Twitter account.  Do you think Jordan ever called himself “His Airness”?)

Respect Grade (Before): B

Somehow, LeBron had a pretty good grade before this whole debacle.  I guess it’s understandable, I mean, he can run really fast and jump really high and do amazing things on a basketball court.  Plus, and everyone forgets this, he turned in one of the all-time great performances in NBA Playoff history, scoring 29 of his team’s last 30 points.  He did that when he was 22.  Of course, he has since turned into Peyton Manning in the playoffs.  The bigger the game, the better chance he will be just average.

Respect Grade (After): C-

What is there to say that hasn’t been said?  This was just the Exxon Valdez, in terms of what it did to the LeBron Respect-O-Meter.  Seriously, he has officially entered A-Rod territory.  Fans of his team will want him to succeed, and fans of every other team will want him to fail in the most humiliating way possible.  If he ever gets caught doing something dumb or runs afoul of the law, people will cheer out loud.  I am sure nothing like that will ever happen to LeBron. After all, he has the mental giants coming up on our list taking care of things.  What could possibly go wrong?

Maverick Carter

Twitter: Unknown

Respect Grade (Before): C

I am giving Mav a ‘C’ here, since he was never really respected, but merely worshipped as LeBron’s next-in-command.  Unfortunately, that kind of “respect” gets yanked out from under you at the first sign of trouble.  When you are just as responsible as anyone else for actually causing the trouble, well then you have something of a Respect-O-Meter freefall on your hands.

Respect Grade (After): D-

I really wanted to give Maverick an ‘F’ here, but I just couldn’t do it.  He got intellectually worked over by ESPN, Jim Gray, Joe the Plumber, and a couple of the “prop” kids at the Boys and Girls Club.  I actually feel sorry for the guy.  I mean, who knew that in the high-stakes world of NBA free agency that “street smarts”, especially if you think that by having them your are actually smart, were a detriment?  Oh, EVERYONE with an IQ above 40 knew that?  Oops.

Randy Mims and Richard Paul

Twitter: Who Cares?

Respect Grade (Before): C

Ancillary hero worship.  See entry above.

Respect Grade (After): C

Just another couple of “not so bright” dudes along for the ride.  Can’t really fault them.  Even if they are smart enough to have seen the writing on the wall, why would they choose this cauldron of high emotion to say something other than ‘YES’ to their meal ticket for the first time?

Dan Gilbert

Twitter: @cavsdan (verified)

Respect Grade (Before): C

This guy made his fortune in the mortgage business, which puts him one small step above the members of the Ravenite Social Club.  In fact, maybe we should give Mr. Gilbert a nice mafia name.  How about “Danny the Incompetent Greasy Slimeball Wuss that Sold Cavs Fans Down the River By Bowing Down Before One of His Employees”.  Yeah, that kind of has a nice ring to it, although as a Dan Gilbert descriptor, it seems like it might need an F-bomb or two.

Respect Grade (After): D

Everyone knows about the letter…and what Jesse Jackson (see below) had to say about it.  The letter and Jackson’s response were easily the two most despicable acts in this whole thing.  The only person in this whole sordid affair that owed anything to the Cavaliers fans was Dan Gilbert, and he let them down.  He shit the bed every day for years and years, never cleaned up the mess, and as soon as everyone saw and smelled the pile of shit, he blamed someone else.

Dwyane Wade

Twitter: @dwadeofficial (verified)

Respect Grade (Before): B+

A phenomenal player that, unlike his new team mate, seems to shine in the clutch.  It was not his fault that the David Stern instructed the refs that they would all be fired and replaced if Mark Cuban won a championship.  It is, however, his fault that he talked to his hand one time when he was en fuego.

Respect Grade (After): A-

D-Wade almost certainly was having inappropriate, if not outright illegal, conversations with LeBron and Chris Bosh prior to July 1, when he was still an employee of the Miami Heat.  However, he was able to talk all of these dudes into coming down to Miami to play ball with him and have a great time.  Wade is about to be divorced.  I think both James and Bosh are married.  All 3 will probably be divorced before they win a championship.  But the fact remains that Dwayne Wade made it all happen…sort of (see entry for Pat Riley below).

Chris Bosh

Twitter: @chrisbosh (verified)

Respect Grade (Before): B-

A great individual player that needed to leave Toronto.  If he was lucky, he was going to get to play with someone better than him, as he had proven that as the featured player, the best he can do is make you a lottery team.  LeBron James, at the age of 22, as the feature player, with a team every bit as bad as what Bosh had in Toronto, took the Cavs to the NBA finals.  There is the difference.  But the boy can still play some ball and seems to have a good head on his shoulders.

Respect Grade (After): B

Slight upgrade here for knowing his limitations and putting himself in the best possible position to not only build a legacy for himself, but also wreak a little havoc in the paint along the way.

Pat Riley

Twitter: Unknown

Respect Grade (Before): A+

NBA genius of the highest order.  He makes doormats into playoff teams, playoff teams into contenders, contenders into champions and champions into dynasties.  A+, man.  You can’t get better than that.

Respect Grade (After): A+

Big brass balls on Riles during this whole thing.  Showed up at LRMR with his 5 championship rings, showed them to LeBron and said “Do you want this?  If you do, there’s only one guy that can make it happen, and it’s the dude sitting across from you with sick amounts of cap space.”  I am not sure if there is, or ever has been, another NBA executive with the charisma to pull this off.  I thought about throwing another ‘+’ on the end of that A+, but screw him.  After all, he is the guy that made the NBA potentially not so fun to watch for 85% of the fans any more.

Chris Broussard

Twitter: @Chris_Broussard

Respect Grade (Before): B+

Chris has always been one of my favorite NBA guys on TV.  In fact, it is a shame that he works for ESPN, and that is one of the highest compliments I can pay to someone that works for ESPN.  His analysis has always been right on the money, and like most real fans with some knowledge, I know he is one of the best.

Respect Grade (After): A

Mr. Broussard seized his opportunity in the bright lights and crushed it.  What’s more, he did it through hard core analysis, unlike the dude next on our list.  As the grades will show, in this fan’s opinion, he has leapfrogged Ric Bucher on the Respect-O-Meter.  I am not sure if anyone else shares that opinion, and I don’t really care.  Broussard nailed it.  Every. Single. Time. For the whole 37 weeks that this thing dragged on.  Wait, it was only a couple of weeks?  Oh, I could have sworn that thing took the better part of a full year.

Ric Bucher

Twitter: @RicBucher

Respect Grade (Before): A

Bucher is one of the most respected NBA experts working today, and with good reason.  He not only almost always provides spot-on analysis but also frequently comes up with something that no one else has thought of before.  As that is what we have tried to do here at MackOnSports since Day One, it has earned Ric Bucher a special place in our heart.

Respect Grade (After): A-

Unlike Chris Broussard, Bucher used this opportunity to try and give us more than we ever wanted from him.  He kept on providing spot-on analysis, but he also took on an almost sinister persona – entertainer.  There are two basic problems with that: first, it is in violation of one of the cardinal rules…stick with what you know.  If you were any good as a joke writer (Dane Cook notwithstanding), you would be making a hell of a lot more money as a comedian than you are making as an NBA analyst for ESPN.  The second problem is that most of Bucher’s attempts at humor occurred on the Mike and Mike show, which means that the two Mikes were laughing like they were sitting in a sitcom audience and reacting to the flashing “LAUGHTER” sign, which kind of egged Bucher on.  Normally this would be a considerable slam, but I will give Bucher the benefit of the doubt.  Plus, he was working sleep deprived for most of this whole ordeal.

Bill Simmons

Twitter: @sportsguy33

Respect Grade (Before): A-

Always a solid effort from the Sports Guy and his columns and Tweets during this fiasco were up to his usual standards.

Respect Grade (After): A-

Simmons did nothing to improve or worsen his position here.  He is truly one of the only constants in an ever-changing world.  That is a good thing.

Jesse Jackson

Twitter: @RevJJackson (not verified)

Respect Grade (Before): B+

Reverend Jackson is one of the most dynamic leaders we have in the country.  His cause is just, and he almost always represents it well.  Although when he misses the target, it is never something a little off the wall…it is something batshit crazy.  He is still a national treasure.

Respect Grade (After): B-

This was one of Jesse’s batshit crazy moments.  He got lots of airtime for him and, ultimately, publicity for his cause.  He is still a national treasure.  The worst thing you can say about Jesse’s role in all this is that, because of his stature, it kind of forced folks to take a side, and some folks (like Mike Wilbon, see below) decided that they would rather appear batshit crazy than not.

Michael Wilbon

Twitter: @MichaelWilbon (not even making that one a link – dude has never tweeted, but has an account, presumably so people can tweet things at him and some minion can put the tweets on a teleprompter during PTI or something…good thing ESPN is not a bunch of money grubbing shysters that are so deep into the entertainment business that they have forgotten that they got their start in the sports business – sorry, little bit of a rant, there…)

Respect Grade (Before): A

Almost always provides good insight and analysis.  Plus, his restraint is truly amazing.  How else can you explain why he has not committed an on-air strangling of Tony Kornheiser?

Respect Grade (After): B

We are sometimes judged by the company we keep.  Jesse Jackson said one of the most batshit crazy, dead wrong, despicable, slanderous things he has ever said, and Wilbon agreed with him.  Sorry, that’s exactly what happened.  Forget about black and white…he agreed with one of the most egregious attacks on a human being in the mainstream press that we have seen in a long time.  Oh yeah, the attack was also baseless and without provocation.  If Wilbon was not the only one that ever asked LeBron, or anyone in his camp, a tough question throughout the whole ordeal, this grade would be a C-.

Jason Whitlock

Twitter: @WhitlockJason (Easily the most follow-worthy of all the Twitter accounts listed in this column)

Respect Grade (Before): B

J-Dub brings it on a regular basis.  He sometimes comes off as being controversial, but it never rings untrue.  If Whitlock is defending a position, it is because he believes in the position.  If it sells papers and garners clicks, great.  If not, who gives a shit?  Not Whitlock.  He is true to himself and true to his craft.  That’s what I like about him.

Respect Grade (After): A-

Whitlock absolute crushed Jesse Jackson…the only person I heard do it.  In fact, I have held back myself from what needs to be said about Jesse Jackson in this column, lest I be labeled a racist.  Jason Whitlock is an African-American, which made it OK for him to say what he said about Jesse Jackson.  You know what?  I think J-Dub would have brought the same thunder down on Jesse no matter what.  Now THAT is a sports writer, and someone I trust to give me what I need from a sports media outlet.  A far cry from what is constantly seeping out of Bristol and poisoning us all.

Stephen A. Smith

Twitter: @stephenasmith

Respect Grade (Before): B

Stephen A. has a great reputation in the industry.  I don’t like his approach.  I am completely convinced that he would rather take a controversial position that is not in his heart, and defend that position vociferously…all in the name of building his reputation and selling stuff.  The problem is that in that case, you are building a house on a foundation of bullshit and lies.  Anyway, Screamin’ A. Smith is not my cup of tea.  The day he lost his Indianapolis syndication was one of the happiest sports days of the past year for me that did not involve Brett Favre against New Orleans, Peyton Manning against New Orleans or Landon Donovan against Algeria.

Respect Grade (After): B

Coming up with a “No Change” grade for Stephen A. is kind of a rollercoaster ride.  So, here is my thought process.  The fact that he called D-Wade, LeBron and Bosh to Miami a “Done Deal” some time during the Nixon Administration shoots him straight up to a solid ‘A’ on the Respect-O-Meter.  No one else had the sources to back up a statement that bold that early.  The fact that he almost instantaneously started backpedaling and qualifying things drops that grade down to an A-.  The fact that he later acted as if his own doubt in his sources was something that never happened drops it down to a B+.  And lastly, the fact that he whined like a little bitch about the “hurtful” conduct of some of his contemporaries, when he himself had expressed doubt as well, drops it down to a B, which is where he started.  Truly a hypocritical performance exposing an essential weakness of character and conviction.  I wonder if that’s what he was shooting for…

Stuart Scott

Twitter: Unknown (Somehow, not being able to find this ass-clown on Twitter made my day – maybe he is too busy texting women that are not his wife)

Respect Grade (Before): D

Stu Scott is an absolute farce.  His act has almost leapfrogged Chris Berman’s act on the “All Time Most Tired and Played Out Things in the History of Sports Broadcasting” list.  Almost.  Plus, is there anything funnier than Stu’s NFL spots where he throws a football to someone off camera (pretty freaking funny) or catches a ball coming in from off-camera and tucks it like he is going to make a football more (absolutely hilarious).  Don Rickles is jealous of comedy this pure.  Vinko Bogataj (the “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” agony of defeat guy) in mid-helicopter, skis flailing, looked about 100 times more athletic than Stu Scott preparing to make his football move.

Respect Grade (After): D-

Stu Scott was the emcee of the studio show.  He had the opportunity to make a statement, ask an insightful question, do something other than be a stuffed shirt.  I hoped against hope that he wouldn’t let us all down…I hoped against hope that he would not “pull a Stu Scott”. Oh well…

Jim Gray

Twitter: Unknown (I was a little surprised that Jim Gray, after carving himself out another 3 minutes – see below – is not holding on for all he is worth in every media outlet possible…then again, a precursory search is all this guy deserved. He might have a Twitter account. I don’t know. I don’t care.)

Respect Grade (Before): D

After what Jim Gray did to Pete Rose at the 1999 MLB All-Star game, if I ever see him on the street, I will punch him right in the face and probably rip out his throat a la Swayze in Road House…or at least would have done so before I had kids.  A life sentence kind of puts a damper on spending quality time with your kinfolk.  Now, I would probably just hold his arms behind his back like Michael Corleone while everyone else in the immediate area throws haymakers at him.  In fact, I think so little of Jim Gray that I was not only shocked to find that he had not been run out of the industry entirely, but doubly shocked at how he was able to land this interview.

Respect Grade (After): C

When it came out that Jim Gray had much more of a hand in this than anyone realized, and that he might have actually pitched the idea to LeBron’s people with the caveat that he be prominently involved, I had a newfound respect for the man.  I mean, that took some serious initiative, right?  Of course, if LeBron had anyone on his team that was smart enough to come in out of the rain, this ploy never could have worked…but Gray absolutely saw his opportunity, thrust himself into the public eye, and snatched another 3 minutes of fame for himself.  I still want to throttle his narrow ass for what he did to Pete Rose, though.

Adrian Wojnarowski

Twitter: @WojYahooNBA

Respect Grade (Before): B+

Wojnarowski is one of the most respected NBA journalists out there right now.  I have always enjoyed his stuff.  He is kind of a cross between Whitlock and a Rhodes Scholar.  Everything he writes is from the heart, he never seems to be writing something he does not truly believe, and he is a master of research and fact-finding.  Truly a joy to read his stuff.

Respect Grade (After): A

Adrian was able, through the HUGE exposure of this whole things, coupled with the fact that he is an excellent writer and an even better journalist, to make an even bigger name for himself.  Every time he weighed in during this whole affair, it was always on point, and Twitter just blew up with everyone letting their followers know that they needed to head over to Yahoo! sports to read Woj’s latest.

Brian Windhorst

Twitter: @PDcavsinsider

Respect Grade (Before): B

Most people outside of Cleveland and/or NBA Insider circles (including yours truly) did not even know who this dude was.  As it turns out, he has been sharing great information about LeBron for a very long time and probably has more access to LeBron than anyone not shining LeBron’s shoes or bonking Delonte West.

Respect Grade (After): A

This dude was, at one point, thought to be a piece of furniture at LeBron’s house and/or the LRMR offices in downtown Cleveland.  Everything he wrote or Tweeted during this whole thing was right on, topical and definitely of interest…exactly what you would expect out of a very good beat writer for an NBA team.  The fact that it was LeBron James make it that much more pronounced.  You can tell this dude worked his ass off to make this happen, and I am happy for him.  I hope that he remembers that Stephen A. Smith got his start this way and does not turn into a blowhard that jocksniffs his guests and belittles his callers that sound like they are of a different race than himself.

William Wesley (Worldwide Wes)

Twitter: @william_wesley

Respect Grade (Before): B

Worldwide Wes has a level of access around elite basketball players that is absolutely astounding, despite having no discernable talent whatsoever, other than getting said access.  No one else has been able to do this with such efficiency.  He is to the NBA what Paris Hilton is to celebrity.  But you cannot for one second understate the fact that of everyone in LeBron’s inner circle, he is the only one that could have made something of himself without LeBron.  Sure, being just another remora feeding on LeBron’s scraps has made it much easier on Worlwide Wes, but he was always going to find his way to the limelight.

Respect Grade (After): D

Worldwide let himself be pushed to the background during this fiasco, and ended up kind of smelling like a rose, or at least it seemed that way.  Then again, if you smell like a stale fart, but you are surrounded by guys that just took a bath in raw sewage on national television, it’s kind of easy to be the pleasant smelling one.  Please, don’t follow this nimrod, but do click on the link above to check out his Twitter page.  He has never left LeBron’s side and is sending snarky Tweets sniping at all the “haters” that do not worship at the altar of LeBron.  His Twitter bio says “Mogul. That’s all you need to know.”  Yeah, he’s a douche.

Cavaliers Fans

Respect Grade (Before): B

I always have held a soft spot for Cleveland sports fans.  They are forever hounded by a series of moments that live in infamy and really make you feel their pain.  They have experienced losing on every level from being horrible for years on end, being thisclose to glory and seeing it snatched away, and having a greedy nimrod of an owner take one of their teams away.  Haven’t these poor people suffered enough?

Respect Grade (After): D

Despite all of the losing, I always thought that Cleveland fans knew their stuff, and that they were true fans of their teams.  The fact that they were burning LeBron James’ jersey and not a picture of Dan Gilbert tells me that they don’t know half of what I gave them credit for knowing.

——————————————

So, there it is.  One man’s opinion of what this whole mess did to the reputations of most of the folks involved.  Take it for what it’s worth.

My name is Nathan, and I am 9 years old.  I live in Manhattan with my mom, dad and sister.  We all love the Knicks, but no one loves them more than my Dad.

Everyone around here is talking about where you are going to play basketball next season.  I am writing to tell you something that I think no other Knicks fan will ever tell you.  I think you should stay in Cleveland.

I do not fully understand exactly how difficult it is to do what you do on a nightly basis…I am just too young to get it.  Basically, I just know that you are better than all of the other players on the court, and you sometimes make them look so silly that my crazy dad gets up, runs around the room and does what my sister and I like to call “the LeBron dance”. We ask my dad why he gets so excited, and he tells us how difficult it is to do that against the guys you are doing it against.

My dad goes on to let us know how good those other players are, and how very difficult it is to even get the chance to play in the NBA.  “But LeBron plays at a different level,” he always says.  And without fail, he always ends every discussion about you with: “and he’s coming to the Knicks some day.”  Then, that changed to “and he’s coming to the Knicks next summer.” And last month, that became “and he’s coming to the Knicks next month.”

My dad, and most of his friends, have not slept for a few days now.  They are on the edge of their seats and will be devastated if you do not come to the Knicks.  Please, Mr. James, for the sake of myself and your young fans everywhere, stay in Cleveland.

Most of the points that I want to bring up have been told to you already.  Cleveland is your home.  Cleveland gave you your first chance.  Cleveland is the only place that will always love you, even if you never win an NBA Championship ring…and they will love you even more if you play your entire career there.  I was shocked when I found out that Cleveland is also the team that can pay you the most money.

Mr. James, I am going to love watching you over the remainder of your career.  I am going to love coming to appreciate your historically great skills on the basketball court more and more over time.  I am sure that I will be a great fan of basketball my whole life.  I am also sure that I will be a LeBron James fan my whole life.

If you come to play for the Knicks, I will probably love you even more.  If you stay in Cleveland, I will respect you forever, and I don’t think I need to tell you how much better respect is than love.  I will tell my grandchildren that I got to see the great LeBron James play basketball, and remind them, every time your name comes up, that you were one of the all-time greats, not just because you elevated your game and your league – there are lots of other players that can do that and HAVE done that and WILL do that – an even greater feat than that is to elevate your city.  You have already done that, and have a rare opportunity to continue doing it for your entire career, instead of chasing money and other less important things.

You have already had such a positive impact on Cleveland, perhaps giving thousands of children opportunities they never would have had without your influence.  Children like me.  Children my age, that will love you forever, just like I will.  But they are different – they are Cleveland’s children…and I think you know what they mean to you, and I also think you owe it to them, and all Cleveland fans, to finish what you started in your home town.

So Mr. James, I know you are busy this week, talking to all of these billionaires that want you to come play for them.  Please, don’t listen to any of them.  All they want to do is use your skills to make themselves more money.  Mr. Gilbert, while also running a business, represents all Cleveland fans, everything that was once not so good about your city, everything that you have already changed for the better, and everything that will continue to change as long as you stay there.  If you leave, no one is sure what will happen to your city and your team.  In fact, there are teams of accountants trying to calculate the potential negative financial impact if you leave.

I will continue to watch you and love you.  I hope that you make the right choice and do not go chasing something that is nowhere near as important as what you have done, are doing, and might do in Cleveland.  I hope that myself, and all the children, not only get to love you for your talent on the court, but also respect you for making the right decision for your team, your league and your city.  Please stay in Cleveland.

My dad will get over it.

Thank you,

Nathan

Plus, it was easy to turn it into a blog post. Just a little formatting and we are off and running.

Mack: Dude – are you actually on Yahoo IM? To what do we owe the honor?
Rob : Checking mail and it logs me in
Mack: Nice. How’s tricks?
Rob: not bad, fixing formatting in word for my wife
Mack: Cool. I had to do a little Microsoft Publishing work for the warden this weekend.
Rob: lol, word is on a DIFF COMP
Rob: the joy of thumbdrives
Mack: yeah – I try to avoid M$FT Publisher like the plague, but she was working on a program for my daughter’s graduation from k-garten
Rob: Ah…fun
Mack: Think the wife is taking her to Chicago for a shopping trip to celebrate. Me and the boy are going to go to a Tribe game and hit a bucket of balls.
Rob: Awesome! Is he old enough to hold a club?
Mack: My son is 5 and my daughter is 6. They have both been hitting balls at the range with me for 2 years.
Rob: Awesome! We need to get out some time and I can embarrass myself
Mack: Started taking them to play on the course last summer. Kids play for free at Saddlebrook after 7:00 PM. We hit a bucket, play as many holes as possible before dark, and go out for a late dinner. The kids love it, but I am ready for a long nap after that.
Rob: Wow! Is it a full length course? How far are they hitting it?
Mack: Dude – we don’t keep score. They hit the thing like 30 yards at a time (sometimes less). But on his first ever hole on a real course, my son drained a 25-footer with about 6 feet of break.
Rob : I was wondering how long a hole took
Rob: I didn’t figure you were calculating sextuple bogies lol
Mack: 3 or 4 holes is all we can do, and that is when it is around the solstice.
Mack: Making them learn the right way, too — we all walk and carry our bags.
Rob: That sounds like great fun. grats on the snaking putt! I can’t do that ever
Rob: fantastic. I walked mostly even when I was huge
Mack: It was fortunate someone put a hole there…that thing might still be rolling to this very day. Let’s say it had a little mustard on it.
Rob: lol!!
Mack: I told him — never leave a putt short that is for a +25…that’s like kissing your sister. Not sure he got the analogy.
Rob: lol
Rob: did you get my email [about the podcast]? What do you think about my dude/douche?
Mack : Listen to the podcast and you will have your answer. I decided to fly solo on the first one, since I am still trying to learn the tools (Audacity). I went with Braden and Mike Brown…and King for a Day was your suggestion of a rookie salary cap in the NFL. Sorry, when you come on the pod you will have come up with a new one.
Rob: Mike Brown is a good douche too, I just hate that game 5 blowoff copout [by LeBron]
Rob : I’ll listen in a little bit. Did I at least get an assist in the podcast?
Mack: Yes — you were mentioned by name (just first name) and also mentioned that you were a Cleveland fan.
Rob: sweet
Mack: I also mentioned Ric Bucher, mispronouncing his name, but I heard interesting stuff from him on the radio BOTH days this weekend.
Mack: Did you know that Gilbert’s buyout of Brown’s contract is 50% less if Brown is fired within 10 days of the end of Cleveland’s season?
Rob: No, I didnt. Chuck him!
Mack: By the way — if Brown is fired in the next 6 days, he gets $2M. After that, $4M.
Rob: If only I could get half that for being a choke artist
Mack: I blogged about that yesterday. Something about a coach that would sign that contract being “intellectually bankrupt”
Rob: I like that…I liked the MVP post too…the baseball HoF is that way too
Mack: Hell yes. An absolute traveshamockery that Robbie Alomar was not a first-ballot entry.
Rob: Agreed
Rob: Remember when someone didn’t vote for someone because of Don Sutton in 1964…
Rob: this was in like 98…I forget who
Rob: all but 1 vote and the guy flat said it was a protest vote for Sutton.
Mack: Yeah – it’s ridiculous.
Rob: And that it took jim Rice so long (I think he got in now)
Mack: Rice got in last year.
Rob: Thought so, on the veteran pick
Mack: I believe he made it on his last or second-to-last year of eligibility.
Mack: So, Alomar spit on Hirschbeck…how many players do you think wanted to do that over the years?
Rob: Most of them
Rob: I still want to see bonds get banned then we can have the hit and HR leaders not in the HoF…sheesh
Mack: When you listen to podcast, you will hear my neighbor’s input. Douche of the week is A-Rod every week. Just say what douchy things he did that week.
Rob: lol…converting 02 into CO2?
Mack: Yeah, but he does that at an amazingly efficient pace because of the bole
Rob: lol
Mack: Also mentioned in the podcast – the inverted bell curve of Barry Zito’s career performance…strangely coinciding with the increased testing.
Rob: I for one am completely shocked. I have noticed the scores inching back up I wonder if there’s some new untestable drug out there
Mack: The blog post on that one, if and when it comes, is going to be called BALCO 2.0
Mack: By the way, there is no need for a new, untestable drug…there is HGH. But you just know there is a Victor Conte wannabe out there running a lab and making the next batch of designer shit.
Rob: true that
Mack: Kind of funny — the only dude that really had a compelling reason to get on the shit was Bonds…and he has been vilified.
Rob: Well, people just needed a little shove to dogpile Bonds….he is a douce-a-tron to the nth degree
Mack: The same personality traits that made him so hate-able are the ones that made him get fed up with someone other than him getting the attention, when he was clearly the best player in the game…completely legit, and 100% true thoughts, by the way. He’s still a jerk, though.
Rob: Yeah, Man he hated Jeff Kent when he had a little success…
Mack: I think Kent was rubbing the clear AND the cream on his ’stache…that thing was epic.
Rob: lol
Mack: And Bud Selig refusing all along to even acknowledge the mess he made.
Rob: Dont get me started on that weasel
Mack: The dude was commish for years before he relinquished any command of the day-to-day operations of the Brewers. That’s got to be the worst conflict of interest ever in professional sports…barring the conflict of interest between JaMarcus Russell’s gut and the elastic of his Raiders uniform pants, of course.
Rob: He’s just about made me not watch baseball…LOL
Mack: Yeah — were it not for the whole “Reverse the Curse” thing in 2004, I wouldn’t be near the fan I am now. Still, it’s a mere fraction of how I was as a kid.
Rob: agreed
Mack: Although when McGwire hit #62, I was driving from D.C. to Indy, listening on the AM radio. Got off the next exit, and there was a dude there having a picnic with his wife and kids. I looked him in the eye and said “Big Mac just hit # 62″ and we started high-fiving and jumping around like we hit the damn thing ourselves.
Rob: I know, I was at home watching it and it was amazing
Mack: That sure was an exciting summer. Selig could have very quietly nipped it in the bud behind closed doors during the winter meetings that year, and no one would have hardly ever even known what happened, at least with the certainty we do now. There would just be a somewhat crooked eye cast on that period, instead of the fiasco we have now.
Rob: Yeah, I hear ya. Selig has done everything wrong that Tagliabue did right
Mack: Believe it or not, I think the worst thing he did was to be building academies funded by MLB in every third world country he could find, while letting the RBI program falter…no wonder Sheff was so pissed…or maybe that was ‘roid rage.
Rob: Yeah, I can see that
Mack: It’s all about greed. The steroids era made everyone forget about the 1994 strike, and latin american players can make more money for the league, so that’s where they build the academies.
Rob: Yeah, don’t forget the 2000 3 hour strike. thats what killed my love for the game for a long time
Mack: My dad hasn’t watched a full game since 1994.
Rob: That was the Indians’ year BTW!!!
Mack: So was ‘97. And ‘99. Troy O’Leary Troy O’Leary Troy O’Leary Pedro with a busted back John Valentin John Valentin
Mack: Sorry – don’t know what happened there.
Rob: Yeah, I dont either, that 94 team was awesome though
Mack: Yeah – just a shame they didn’t get to see how good they were.
Rob: I know…just about breaks my heart thinking about it
Mack: C’mon. That’s nothing. You are a Cleveland fan! Ernest Byner. John Elway. Now THAT is real pain and heartbreak. Am I helping?
Rob: Uh…no.
Rob: That bucktoothed SOB
Mack: Sorry. Maybe this will help. Jordan over Ehlo. Renteria off Nagy. Troy O’Leary and John Valentin off everybody.
Rob: Nagy is the worst of those…Daugherty’s back is probably worse than that shot
Mack: Oh, how about Eric Mangini and Mike Brown?
Rob: At least you didn’t mention butch
Mack: Davis and Couch was next. Damn – read my mind. You know I am a Butch Davis guy, being a Cowboys fan. Funny how really good football minds tend to temporarily forget everything when they get to Cleveland.
Mack: Then, Sipe and Rutigliano (sp?)
Rob: Yeah you spelled it right…that was all Sipe BTW. Rutigliano told him to chuck it in the stands if he didn’t see anything
Mack: We haven’t even gotten to the 2007 ALCS yet. Up 3-1 and then lose the last 3 games by combined score of 30-5. No wonder Cleveland fans are so bitter.
Rob: Bleh
Mack: Watched the Byner fumble with a Cleveland fan at my dad’s apartment. Put down his beer, grabbed a bottle of vodka, sat out on the patio in the snow, and didn’t come back in until the vodka was gone.
Rob: I feel his pain, I was at a friend’s house and was borderline catatonic
Rob: too young to know vodka would have helped
Mack: Thing is, the guy was being a total douche all day, talking all kinds of smack , and on that last drive, he was doing things right. He was humble and damn sure understood just how special the joy was that he was going to feel. Then, the fumble, and no one even had the heart to say anything to him, although he probably should have had his nose rubbed in it.
Rob: After the drive, I was already jaded as a pre-teen…almost felt it coming
Mack: These were the last words anyone heard him say before he came back inside after the vodka was gone. “All we have to do is keep from fumbling the ball now. Ernest Fucking Byner.” Then he got up without a peep, grabbed a 1.75-liter bottle of Vodka (it was about half gone at the time) and headed out to sit in the snow.
Rob: Yeah, and Byner had been a beast all year…what a shame
Mack: I still can’t believe that Mike Brown caused the Cavs to lose in the second round. Just inexcusable.
Rob: I know, I was never a big fan of the Jamison trade either. I think it messed with the team chemistry. I think they knew they were getting Z back so it wasnt as bad but it still messed with the team mojo
Mack: He was still part of their best lineup (James, Varejao, 2 of Williams/West/Parker/Moon, Jamison) — you know, the lineup that made a run every single time they were in there?
Rob: True, true…I think I’m looking for a goat
Mack: Check this out. Cavs salaries this year. Shaq $21M / James $15.7M / Jamison $11.6M / Williams $8.9M / Varejao $6.3M / West $4.3M / Gibson $4.1M / Moon $3M / Parker $2.6M / Telfair $2.5M
Mack: Z makes $925K BTW – a bargain.
Rob: Wow…moon deserves a raise from what I saw of the Cavs
Mack: Look at all the money they have tied up in almost the same guy: Gibson / West / Williams / Moon — probably throw Bassie in there, too. That’s a lot of money on 2nd and 3rd tier guards.
Rob: Good point. Did Telfair even play this post-season?
Rob: or Gibson for that matter?
Mack: Not sure – I would think that Mike Brown would have given them a shot at home. I am sure it is very few and far between right now, but Bassie can energize a building under the right circumstances. Add that to the list of what Mike Brown didn’t do.
Rob: It’s easier to recap what he did do…suck
Mack: Some light reading for you: www.waitingfornextyear.com
Rob: wow, that some depressing stuff…
Mack: Yeah. I used to read Sons of Sam Horn every night and commiserate with my fellow narcissistic Red Sox fans. Then, 2004 happened and I don’t do that anymore.
Rob : Yeah, we don’t have a 2004
Rob : One thing on there did remind me. I did successfully run the Mini Marathon this year
Mack: Nice. Congrats! I’ve been running, too. For instance, with the chilly rain today, I bested my own personal record in the 7-yard dash from the car to the house. WIN!
Rob: Awesome!
Mack: I can’t believe that it is going to cost the Cavs $2M to make Mike Brown go away.
Rob: It would be cheaper to take out a hit on him. I didn’t just say that.
Mack: Check this out — doing a little research on coaching salaries for the podcast next week — maybe a countdown of the top 10 most overpaid coaches.
Mack: Lane Kiffin – $4M per year at USC
Rob: Yeah, that is up there
Rob: Lane Kiffin at UT
Rob: Lane Kiffin at OAK
Mack: Charlie Weis was in the $4.2 range at ND
Mack: Phil Jackson makes > $10M
Rob: those are good; Jackson is turning into that cranky neighbor who steals kids’ baseballs when they go in his yard
Rob: Nash palms the ball…uh, Kobe??? Hello??? do you really want the refs to watch for carries?
Mack: Dude starts whining and trying to work the refs before the series even starts…and everyone kisses his ass and no one calls him on it.
Rob: Worse, they make him sound like a genius
Rob: He’s getting in the ref’s heads
Rob: almost every other coach would get a fine for criticizing the ref but he gets his ass kissed
Mack: Yeah – he coached 2 of the best 7 players in NBA history, who also happened to be more driven than anyone else in the league during their respective eras, and turned them each into multiple champions. Give me a break.
Rob: Do you not include Shaq or kobe in the top 7?
Mack: Kobe
Mack: not Shaq
Mack: Top 7: Jordan / Wilt / Russell / Big O / Kobe / Cousy /Kareem
Mack: I always end up talking about Mikan during the “all time” discussions, too. I am usually the only one under the age of 65 doing so.
Rob: It’s hard to argue about any of them, Jerry West might be able to fit in there
Mack: Yeah – that’s always a tough call. You can’t have The Logo and Cousy and Big O in my book…unless you expand it to 10, which is fine…I just thought that top 7 sounded about right for Kobe right now.
Rob: I hear ya, he’s the only current name that could potentially crack that top 7 in my mind
Mack: Here is one I always mention as well — not the best of all time, but the best to ever play in the NBA – Micheal Ray Richardson.
Rob: I don’t remember him
Mack: Larry Bird once called him the best basketball player alive. Then, he became a coke head and that was pretty much that. I think he was the first guy ever suspended under the substance abuse policy of the NBA. Julius Erving is also near the top 10 in my book. Folks forget all the great ABA years he had.
Rob: Agreed
Rob: Got to run. Talk at ya later!
Mack: later, man. Good banter. I might post this chat on the blog…some good Cleveland stuff in there and even an NBA all-time list.
Rob: just leave off the part where I suggest Mike Brown should be shot please
Mack: You said nothing about shooting anyone. You just mentioned a hit. The method should be at the discretion of the dude getting paid, in my book.
Rob : true, true….have a good one
Mack: u2 – later

Well so effing what?!?  In understand that some of the guys that have votes for these things have a vested interest in voting for “their guy” (more on that later), and there is inherently nothing wrong with that, especially in years where there is a bona fide competition for the MVP.

This year was not one of those years.  Anyone not voting for LeBron James this year is an absolute basketball moron, period.  The King put together a season this year that was one for the ages, and no one else was even close.   A voter not voting for LeBron opens himself up for justifiable criticism, but I would maintain that such criticism should approach professional censure, if not ostracism.

Here is the part that really gets me ticked off about these kind of things – everyone voting for this award (and just about all others in every major sport) works in and around the NBA, and should presumably know a little bit about the game. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the NBA and how things work over a long season should know that LeBron James was the MVP.  In fact, I would take that step further – anyone not voting for LeBron should have cast a huge doubt on his ability as a basketball person…or at the very least, some doubt about their ability to be objective.

Of the 7 first-place votes not garnered by LeBron: four went to Kevin Durant, a rising force that is possibly going to rewrite large sections of the record book before he is done, and is definitely going to win multiple MVP awards during his career, barring injury; and the other three votes went to Dwight Howard, a dominating force in the NBA right now, and the most dangerous big man since a young Shaq.  Durant and Howard cannot hold LeBron’s jock, in terms of being the Most Valuable Player in the league…not for one second combined.

Here is where it gets interesting – the three votes for Howard all came from the Orlando area.  Not surprising, I guess, but how about this – one of the guys (John Denton) works for orlandomagic.com, and another of them (David Steele) is an Orlando Magic team broadcaster.

If I was Richard DeVos or any of the other brass at the Magic, I would terminate those two nimrods with extreme prejudice.  They either know so little about basketball that they actually believe it the way they voted it, in which case they should be fired for gross incompetence – or they they are such homers that they cannot separate fact from fiction, in which case they should be fired for gross incompetence and locked up in a rubber room until they can differentiate between reality and fantasy.

What a shame that this kind of thing is allowed to happen.  I think it’s an indictment against the voting process itself that the guys that broadcast a team’s games and run a team’s web site have a vote at all, but if you are going to have that built into the process, you at least have to police these guys a little bit. 

Perhaps David Stern should step in and censure these two idiots.  Maybe in the future, folks would try to do their job the right way and vote for the most deserving player.

Then again, I still have a problem with Roberto Alomar having to wait an extra year to get into the baseball Hall of Fame, because (I guess) first-ballot Hall of Famers do not spit on umpires. 

When do you think one of these leagues is going to figure out how to have an awards voting process that doesn’t suck?  I am putting the over/under at “not in my lifetime”.

Keeping the Dream Alive – here are the reasons why Cleveland still has a chance

1.  Cleveland has the M.V.P. and no other team can say that.  Lots of talking heads have been singing Kobe Bryant’s praises extra loud this year, touting that LeBron has to come up with 3 or more rings before Kobe gets a 4th ring before there is even a legitimate “who is better” discussion.  If LeBron James wins a title this year, with the supporting cast he has, then there is instantly a discussion, as Kobe still has not won anything without Shaq.  Here is the scariest part for me – think about the whole Kobe vs. LeBron argument, as it exists right now, and think that Kobe is probably about 15-20% more skilled at executing what he wants to do within the game of basketball than LeBron, who is doing a lot more of his damage through sheer athleticism and force of will.  Think about a situation 3-5 years from now when LeBron can at least close that gap between Kobe’s skills and his skills in half.  Would it be outside the realm of possibilities that he could win 5 or 6 MVPs in a row?  Easily?  Without one valid argument in any of those years from anyone?  Plus, I don’t think LeBron will be raping any women any time soon…end of discussion.

2.  Cleveland has the Coach of the Year and no other team can say that.  Then again, that same accolade was bestowed last year upon the great coach Doc Rivers, who was somehow able to draw on his excellent coaching skills and reputation and guide the clear-cut best team in the NBA, by far, to the best record in the NBA.  There are those that might say that the 2008-2009 NBA Coach of the Year Award, just like the 2007-2008 version of the award, is more of a front office award than something contingent on the actual coach involved, but he is still the coach of the year, and no one else can say that.

3.  Cleveland still only has to win one game in Orlando.  As soon as Orlando won Game 1, Cleveland needed to win a game in Orlando to regain home court advantage.  Well, that is still the case.  Let’s assume for a quick moment (perhaps an invalid assumption, based on how Orlando played in Games 1 and 2 of this series) that Cleveland will hold serve at The Q in Game 5.  Do you think that would bolster their confidence going into Game 6, especially knowing that winning that game would get them to a Game 7, in front of their home fans, where they have a 44-3 record this year?

4.  Everyone on the Cleveland roster not named “LeBron” has been about as effective as a turd sandwich for just about every single second of every single minute of every single quarter of every single game of this series…uh, at least one of them has to be “due”, right?

5.  The refs are under strict orders from David Stern to not waste Nike’s puppet investment.

Dead Team Walking – here are the reasons why you can stick a fork in the Cavs

1.  The Cavaliers do not have anyone that can guard Dwight Howard.

2.  The Cavaliers do not have anyone that can guard Rashard Lewis.

3.  Hedo Tukoglu has been wall-to-wall stank for just about the whole series and is due for a break out game soon.

4.  Orlando has a better bench than Cleveland.

5.  The 2008-2009 NBA Coach of the Year ain’t no Stan VanGundy.  Not even close.  In fact, there has not been a single moment of any of the first 4 games of this series in which Mike Brown was even a remote threat to cause someone to utter a coaching comparison that was anything other than “Stan VanGundy is wearing the hell out of Mike Brown.  Coach of the Year…talk about a joke.”

So, where the hell does that leave us?  Who the hell knows?  I personally think that Orlando is taking this series, and you can take it to the bank.  They have too many good pros that will not allow a 3-game skid when in a position to close out a series.

Given my well-documented feelings about Cleveland fans, I am hoping for an Orlando victory in Game 7 in Cleveland on the last play of the game…the most vicious and heartbreaking loss ever…man, I would be smiling for about 3 weeks after that one.