Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did not take the loss of LeBron James so well.
He railed against King James in a letter posted on the team’s web site after “The Decision” Thursday night.
Gilbert decried James’ “narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his 'decision' unlike anything ever 'witnessed' in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.”
And . . .
"You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE.”
And . . .
“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.”
Gilbert heaped on some more abuse when reached by The Associated Press, noting James’ disappointing play against the Celtics in the recent playoffs.
“He quit,” Gilbert said. “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.”
The owner regretted giving James free reign over his organization.
“It's not about him leaving," Gilbert said. "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.”
Whew! Consider that bridge officially burned down.
As for the good folks of Cleveland, light a candle for them. Life was already tough there, as the related video underscored. Today it's even worse.
HOW OTHERS SAW IT
Naturally, America’s sporting press weighed on The Decision. Here is a sampling:
Gene Wojciechowski , ESPN.com: “Please tell me it's over, or is LeBron James still blabbering away about the agony of free agency? If nothing else, the James Team's manufactured saga makes you yearn for simpler times, like when Michael Jordan, who actually won things such as championships, announced one of his monumental career decisions in a concise ‘I'm back’ fax. But no, we got 27 minutes of TV appetizers, followed by eight seconds of LeBron steak (‘This fall -- man, this is very tough -- um, this fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat’), followed by 33-plus minutes of Worcestershire sauce. The whole thing was semi-ridiculous, although it did reveal a vain, self-absorbed side of James that's as attractive as braided nose hair.”
Gregg Doyel, CBSSports.com: “What a fraud. What a scared little kid. Greatest player of all time? This guy? Nope. Not now. Not ever. Not even if LeBron James wins five rings in the next five years -- which he should. He'll win those rings, but it'll be beneath him. It'll be beneath a player of his talent to win a title with -- and only with -- fellow free-agent mercenaries Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. When LeBron James wins the 2011 NBA title with the Miami Heat, it'll be like a breast augmentation for Jessica Biel. Sure, she'd be even sexier with bigger boobs. I guess. But it wouldn't be sincere. She'd no longer be real. Same with LeBron and the rings he's about to start collecting.”
Joe Posnanski, SI.com: “It seems obvious watching that the ice-cold travesty on ESPN that LeBron James had no idea just how angry Cleveland would be with him. He should have known. Cleveland has a lot of rage, pent up from a lot of bad breaks. He should have known that. He grew up in Akron. He had played for no other team. He was well aware of all the sports pain Cleveland had endured through the years — Red Right 88, the Drive, the Fumble, the Shot, the World Series heartbreak, the blown series against the Red Sox and so on, forever. He had to know the emotions invested in him, all the hopes he had so willingly built up. He would say that he gave his all on the court, and he did. But this relationship between player and city meant more, and he knew it. Or, he had to know . . . but he showed no signs of it. This was something raw. Cleveland offered him more money. Cleveland offered him unconditional love. Cleveland offered him the chance to create his own legacy. He turned them down for what seems to him like a sure thing and a tax shelter in Florida.”
Jay Mariotti, FanHouse: “And so ends the most exhilarating -- and, at the same time, disgusting -- development in the annals of sports free agency. LeBron James had the showmanship and business audacity to commandeer a powerful television network, hijack the nation's consciousness for more than an hour and announce he'll join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form an all-time basketball superteam in Miami. In the same cruel swoop, though, he left his home region in tears, deepening the agony of a socioeconomically depressed northeast Ohio by fleeing the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only does the move contradict his supposed life priorities of family and allegiance, right down to the ‘Loyalty’ and Akron area code of ‘330’ tattooed on his body, it plunges the coldest dagger yet into a cursed, gloomy area defined by sports ignominy as diabolical as ‘The Shot,’ ‘The Drive’ and ‘The Fumble.’ To that evil triangle, add ‘The Escape Hatch,’ the departure of a native son who doesn't think he can win at home and, thus, feeds a fatalism from which Cleveland can't recover.”
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering if Jon Jay can keep the Cardinals alive in the playoff race all by himself:
Is it against the rules to pinch-hit for Yadier Molina in late-inning RBI situations?
How will the Miami Heat afford to surround their superstars with an appropriate supporting cast?
IT’S JUST A FOUL BALL
Rangers fan Tyler Morris understands this now. While trying to corral a caroming foul pop-up in the second deck at The Ballpark at Arlington, he tumbled over the rail and somersaulted into the stands below.
Somehow he survived, albeit with a fractured skull. Thursday he left the hospital wearing Josh Hamilton jersey sent over by the team.
“Physically, I do hurt, but you know what? I'm very thankful. I'm progressing and I've gotten a lot of support from so many people,” Morris told The Associated Press by phone while a friend drove him home from the hospital.
Morris is a firefighter. He has seen his share of nasty fall-related injuries. So when he came to in an ambulance, he wondered about his potential recovery.
“It's terrifying for someone who treats these injuries and knows the usual outcome,” Morris said. “My head was hurting so bad and I knew I had been unconscious for a long time.”
He hoped to be back to work in six weeks and back at the ballpark before the season ends.
“I'm ready to go back,” Morris said.
MEGAPHONE
“I’m suspicious. I’m suspicious about the whole system. I think it buried (Cleveland). It’s going to bury them for a while with the combination of your best player ever (leaving) and then keeping him in the same conference where you got to play him four times.”
Nuggets coach George Karl, on ‘The Decision.’
ELSEWHERE ON STLTODAY.COM
John Mozeliak needs to forget about Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse and add another starting pitcher ASAP.
