Cleveland Rocks!!!

(If you know who this guy is then you know more about Cleveland history than I, and for that I tip my cap).

“All the little chicks with the crimson lips go…Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks!!”

For almost a decade this tune was forever synonymous in my head with the Drew Carey show, for which it was the theme song. Until today I thought it was written specifically for the show, only to find out (when I googled the song to make sure the aforementioned lyrics were accurate) it was written by Ian Hunter almost 40 years ago. Who is Ian Hunter, you ask? I don’t know, maybe my parents do. But I digress.

The song later held even more meaning for me as Cleveland became home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As a town that would celebrate the history of rock, it is only apropos that Cleveland does indeed rock. (As side note if you have never been to the RRHOF I suggest you go. I went for the first time last summer and you could spend days there and still not take it all in. The large IMAX projection screens showing rock legends collaborating on their hits is worth the price of admission by itself).

But prior to last night, if you were to tell me that Cleveland Rocks because it is an awesome sports town, I’d have simply laughed in your face and shook my head. Not quite 40 years old yet, I hadn’t seen the city win a professional championship prior to last night. I had however, seen my share of the ‘ole Lucy pulling the football from under Charlie Brown’s feet’ several times, however. Whether it was the Drive, The Fumble, Jose Mesa’s One Out from Hell, or the Cavs playoff woes, Cleveland was destined to be the laughingstock of the sports world.

That is until last night. Following the Cleveland Cavaliers game 7 win over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, I can now say that I have witnessed a pro team from Northeast Ohio win it all in my lifetime. And ‘Cleveland Rocks!!’ in the sports world as well as contemporary society as well.

The Cavs forged a new legacy last night, but last night wasn’t about just an individual. It was about a team that, after falling behind in the series 2-0 and then 3-1, clawing its way back to three straight victories. It was about several individuals letting go of their need to be the go to guy (as they might have been on their previous teams) and settling into the role that best helped the team. And it was about an owner (Dan Gilbert) and a coach (Tyronn Lue) having the faith and humility necessary to help guide this team to a championship.

And while I admit I didn’t think the Cavs could beat the Warriors, especially after the way they were blown out in the first two games in Oakland, I couldn’t be happier that they proved me wrong. I have had a lot of people call me out as being a doubter, but, given the aforementioned heartbreak Cleveland sports teams have put me through, didn’t I have a right to be a little skeptical? As the clock raced under 30 seconds, it hit me like a ton of bricks: Cleveland was going to celebrate its first pro title in more than five decades. And even though I am not from the area, I feel like I can empathize. After all, living in Central Ohio, if it weren’t for the OSU Buckeyes, I would find myself in the same situation.  (And that my father lived there for a brief period of time during his young adult years allows me unofficially adopt the city as my own, too.)

So congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers for winning their first ever NBA title. And Cleveland fans you can rest a bit easier now.  Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Rocks!!!....Ohio!!!

Can the Cavaliers Win Game 2?

Good afternoon, all.

It has been a few months since I have written anything. I hope to change that in the near future, even as warmer weather lends to spending more time outside.

Anyway, without further adieu, let's get to the subject of today's post.

The Cleveland Cavaliers look to even the series at one apiece when they play the Golden State Warriors tonight, but it will not be easy. The Warriors have played like the team we all thought they were the last four games, and it appears they could very well be on their way to a second consecutive NBA championship.

In fact, upon closer examination it appears the Warriors have much more in common with the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls than just 70+ wins. If Stephen Curry’s 30.4 points per game average during the regular season didn’t seem a bit Jordanesque, then maybe what he has done in the playoffs will equal His Airness. Fighting off a sprained knee, Curry has helped lead his team back to the finals and a 1-0 series lead on the heels of a four-game winning streak. That neither Curry nor Klay Thompson(GS’s version of Scottie Pippen) shot all that well for Golden State on Thursday night (only 8 for 27 from the field) doesn’t bode well for the Cavs heading into game 2.

The good news for Cleveland and its fans is that there is plenty of basketball left to be played. The Cavs need to dust themselves off, forget about Thursday night’s horrid performance, and ready themselves to even the score tonight in Oakland. All questions about Lebron James’ legacy aside, the Cavaliers will need a team effort to be Golden State. Not just tonight, but in the series overall as well. They cannot expect to turn the ball over even a dozen times a game (let alone the 15 turnovers they committed in game 1) and win this series. Nor does shooting 18 of 20 from the line mean all that much when you can’t even shoot above 40% from the field.

So while fans and the media alike contemplate whether this is the best chance for Cleveland to bring home an NBA title, let’s all hope that the players are focused nothing but winning game 2.  

Why I Hate LeBron James--And I Don't Care If You Do Either

In the wake of the Miami Heat's second consecutive NBA Championship, I had prepared a very nasty post concerning one LeBron James.

And although I am going to tone down some of that rhetoric, I will explain why I don't like the so called 'chosen one.' Not that I need to defend myself to the LeBron Apologists, who believe everyone should be a fan. That they should bow before his greatness, as if he has somehow found the cure for cancer or AIDS.

No, to me LeBron has become more hated than the Pittsburgh Steelers, John Elway, Art Modell, and Ray Lewis combined. Anyone who knows even the slightest about Cleveland Browns' football understands why that is such a huge statement.

LeBron Apologists will say get over The Decision, it's more than time to move on. I say LeBron Apologists get over yourselves. Basketball is a team game, and LeBron has chosen himself over the team. Drafted by Cleveland at the age of 18, he was expected to lead the Cavaliers to greatness they had never seen before. And although he didn't get them there, it wasn't for a lack of trying.

Or was it? A Cavs team that had been hand picked by LeBron himself--the decision to let Carlos Boozer go, the acquistion of first Damon Jones, then Mo Williams, and later Antwan Jamison--were all moves that had been rubber stamped by the 'King' (makes me sick even saying that) himself. Even the decision to hire Mike Brown as head coach--essentially a James yes man--was an indirect sign of the influence this man had over the Cleveland front office. Yet, at the end of the day, the only thing the Cavs would have to show for themselves was a 0-4 NBA Finals sweep by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.

LeBron Apologists will point to the fact there have been other great players to earn championships after leaving their original teams. Shaquille O'Neal, Clyde Drexler, Kevin Garnett are three of the most recent examples. Yet none of these players left their original teams with nearly the fanfare that surrounded James. I'm also pretty sure that before they left town they also thanked the fans for supporting them--something the 'Chosen One' has yet to do for the city of Cleveland (an apology would be nice, too.) And once they got to their new destination, they didn't talk about the number of rings they would win---they just went out and won them.

Then there is the whole  post game interview where James emphatically states " I'm from Akron, Ohio (the inner city)--I'm not even supposed to be here." Give me a break. You're six foot eight inches tall, blessed with natural quickness and a leaping ability that most guys would die for, and have been told you would be great probably since you were 10 years old. I don't think you'll get an ounce of sympathy from me. There are a lot of other people in the world that have overcome a lot longer odds than you have.

But the biggest issue I have with LeBron is the way he helped form the current Miami Heat team. Got together with his buddies Chris and Dwyane and asked them in the middle of the night if they all wanted to play together. Of the three aforementioned individuals who were also high profile free agents, I am certain none of them got to rubber stamp their teammates before they moved to their new location. In fact the struggles between Shaq and Kobe in Los Angeles have been well documented. But each player put aside their personal differences, at least for a little while, in interest of the greater good of the team. To me that is the true definition of being the ultimate team player. Do you honestly think Michael Jordan agreed with every decision that the then Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause made?

LeBron Apologists will say this is all stupid, I need to get over myself. I say get a life. Quit putting hero worship on an individual who clearly values his own legacy before the team. A man who, despite making millions upon millions of dollars doing something he loves, needs an entourage of yes men calling him 'The Chosen One' and 'King James.'  Do you honestly think the man really cares if you root for him? I don't remember him thanking the fans once during the whole Game 7 post game interview that has since circled the internet a million times over.

I'll acknowledge that what he has done is impressive. And if he wins another title next year, he may be among the top five players all-time, maybe top three. But he has a long way to go to win my support back. In fact, I am not sure there is much he could do at this point that would change my mind.

Why Lebron James isn't or will ever be a true Champion

So Lebron James finally won his first NBA Championship last night, as the Miami Heat easily dispatched of the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 in game five to win the best of seven series 4-1.

As the confetti and trophy presenation to James, Dwyane Wade, and their Miami cohorts began, it got me to thinking: Is Lebron James one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball?

If you look at what he has accomplished to date, all the accolades would indicate that he is, in fact, among the best to ever lace them up. Multiple regular season MVP.  MVP of the all-star game. And, as we all saw last night, he can now add another title to his resume: NBA Champion.

But does Lebron really deserve to be called a champion?

No, and it's not even close.

Do champions run away when the going gets tough? No. Lebron felt that it was ultimately too hard to win a championship in Cleveland, and decided the alternative, moving to Miami to team with the Heat's Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, was what he needed to get over the hump. Never mind that in the history of the NBA, only one other person has ever won a championship leaving the team that drafted him in his prime: Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal, unlike James, did not make a spectacle when he moved from Orlando to Los Angeles. He also did not claim he would win multiple titles upon arriving in LA even before he had his first ring. He went out and played ball, and would go on to win three titles with Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant with the Lakers. It was never about him, just about the team.

That was the big thing that angered me last night and prompted me to write this post today. It seemed that last night was less about the Miami Heat winning, and more about Lebron James getting his first title. Even ABC decided to get in on the act, paying homage to the struggle that Lebron had to finally become an NBA Champion.

But was it really that much of a struggle? Lebron had been pampered throughout high school, playing on the best AAU teams during the summer. He would go on to put his school, Akron St.-Vincent-St. Mary, on the basketball map with his stellar play.

Then it was on to the NBA. Within a few years of joining the Cavaliers, he had them in the playoffs.  A couple years after that, he even had them in the NBA finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Despite getting swept by the Spurs in that series, 4-0, it was assumed the experience he gained would allow him to take the next step and bring Cleveland its first ever NBA title.

However, three years later Lebron and the Cavs still were without rings. The time had come for James to make what would be the hardest decision of his career to that point. How would he handle it? With the humility of a champion? Hardly, unless you consider an hour long special dedicated to a decision that could have been issued via a 30 second press release humble. But at least there was the glimmer of hope that the greatest athlete state of Ohio had ever seen would tough it out to bring his hometown a championship.

Yet there's the rub. James decided, in fact, it wasn't going to be easy to win a title in Cleveland, and thus bolted for Miami to team up with his buddy Dwyane.  Of course, there are many who felt that David Robinson would never win a championship with the Spurs. Robinson's loyalty would be rewarded, as he would finally get his first ring in 2003.

And everyone thinks that all this hatred for Lebron revolves around his decision to leave his 'hometown.' Certainly that has something to do with it. I mean, at the very least he could have thanked the city of Cleveland for its support after he left town, but did he do so? No, to this day he has hardly acknowledged the role Cleveland and the Cavs played in his development as a player.

Then there is the infamous pep rally held in Miami that would lead the rest of the nation (save for south beach) to pile on the list of the king's haters.

But the real reason Lebron isn't, or will never be, a champion? He took the easy way out. He could have stayed in Cleveland, and tried to make it work with the team that drafted him. Even if he had never won a title at least he would have gone down as one of the all time greats. Yet he left his former team, one that bent over backwards trying to make him happy, for one that had amassed a collection of superstars built to win a championship. So the question then wasn't if he would win a title but when. Sure he has worked on his game, but maybe not as much as if he stayed on the Cavs.  He has also made his teammates around him better players as well. But it is much easier to do when you team up with two other all-star players.

So Heat fans(including those who joined the bandwagon in 2010) you can rejoice that Lebron has finally won his first title.  Because he is definitely one of the great players. But a champion? Not necessarily.

LeBron has made it to the finals, and made a believer out of me.

So an interesting thing happened last night during game 5 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals.
And no it wasn't the fact that the Chicago Bulls blew a double digit lead on the way to be eliminated from the playoffs.  Although their late game meltdown was disappointing, even if you aren't a Chicago fan.

Nor was it that the Miami Heat are headed back to the finals to play the team they beat to win their only championship, the Dallas Mavericks.  Dirk you'll get your chance in a few days, don't worry

No, there was one thing that stood out more than the others for me about last night's game.  LeBron James was finally able to close out a quality opponent.  And in doing so he made a believer out of me.
James saw that the Heat were in danger of losing  game 5 and heading back to Miami for game 6 and he stepped up in a big way.    His hitting two crucial jump shots, including the go ahead basket, plus his block of Derrick Rose's  three pointer with time expiring in regulation, show he has become a clutch player.

Once again we are all witnesses to King James.

Now this does not mean I have become a rabid Miami Heat fan.  But being a former Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I was a little bitter about the way James left the Cavs.   His play in this series against Chicago, especially his defense, has me convinced that he was sincere when he said he wanted to win championships.  He could have handled "The Decision" a little better, but I no longer hold that against him.

Should the Heat go on to win the Championship, and LeBron wins Finals MVP, I don't think anyone will be able to question that he is indeed the leader of that team.