Monday Morning Starting Five: The LeBron Is Only 24 Edition
Yeah, I called his actions…or lack thereof…after Game 6 foul. Thinking about it early this morning after doing Chuck D’s show, I’ve come to the conclusion who the hell am I to judge?
Yes, LeBron James wants to be iconic. Yes, he wants to maximize his earning power while he is still young because of those he emulates off the court.
What’s wrong with that?
Do you understand how many James generations his money will take care of?
Ok, a little off base, but you get the flick. Puppets, water that’s supposedly greater than itself, goals, 2008 gold, son, city, coach, Mom, mind, stress, money, spouse, family, friends, associates, snakes, legends, history, love, fans, swag like us, pride, laser fixed eyes but still there’s a glare, Maverick, Dallas 2010 but no room in the phone booth. These all add up to why he walked off the damn court and didn’t address the media.
To whom much is given, much is expected. Granted, just don’t go overboard.
As in last season with Kobe and the Celtics, 3 usually beats one. We should have suspected the Magic victory and also LeBron’s response given the factors.
Think about the history of the league…LeBron is well versed in NBA tradition mind you…and ask yourself what really is wrong with him not congratulating Dwight? Would it have been grand for the game to have archived the picture that wasn’t? Yes of course.
I remember Kevin McHale giving of himself after series defeats and how that affected my respect for him afterward, but that wasn’t the norm.
Back in the day, cats did this on the regular. Boston couldn’t stand LA. LA couldn’t stand Philly. Philly couldn’t stand Milwaukee. Milwaukee couldn’t stand Boston. Boston couldn’t stand Detroit. Detroit couldn’t stand Chicago. Chicago couldn’t stand New York. New York couldn’t stand Miami. Miami couldn’t stand Charlotte and so on and so forth. It’s a grown man’s game we all try to make infantile in part because we don’t make their money.
Crazy how they will turn on you just like that.
Dude wears a Yankees hat so…this means he’s not loyal to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Huh? What? This is stupid. Real stupid. Like really really stupid.
He’s loyal to his team and that’s all that’s really expected of him.
I understand the sportsmanship and professionalism involved, but yet and still, I also understand what dude is going through. He just got his ass kicked in front of the world!
Don’t turn this dude into some kind of evil caricature that fuels the simple and mad flawed societal machine in ways that will affect the next best before his parents first kiss.
LBJ’s career is mapped out and I truly respect that. He absolutely wants to be the best of all time. Shoot for the best. Go get it. Of course, the corporate machine that runs this thing is complicit because everybody and their Momma’s Momma wanted to see him battle Kobe…but not yet.
So what.
This ain’t about Tito giving the cat some tissues. He’s a man, but men make mistakes. We don’t know what was going through his head and again, who are we to judge?
If you think about it, what next best has beaten his predecessor or faced them in the NBA Finals? How about the postseason? We might have to go back to some epic big men battles 40 years past to find the answer. I’m not gonna cuss out the cat for acting like a spoiled brat…as some have already called him. He’s young, he’s a soul model and he doesn’t get into trouble so he gets a little bit of a pass only because of the game’s past.
He and Dwight are gonna battle for at least 5-10 years. In his mind, Dwight is the enemy on the floor. I dig that. It’s like Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon playing for the Yankees after kissing Luis’ Tiant.
How could you? Cats eat dinner now while they are competing against each other. What’s that about?
Ease Back off dude. What the eff are we trying to find in ourselves through the mad scrutiny that will this week and to infinity ensue? So what he makes millions, trillions, g’damn merillions. So what. That’s why we watch him isn’t it? Get over it.
Let him learn like we all have despite the MONEY. What would you have done at 24 with all things considered? I don’t agree totally, but I do understand. He hasn’t done anything to become some polarizing, hit driven media entity to be given that flame.
Just imagine how different the tone of this pseudo presser would have been if Anthony and I were there. No one asked the question that should have been asked. I’ll let you figure out what that is.
You will hear all kinds of media attack LeBron this week. Calling him sore loser or not a good person or overrated or a punk. So it begins. We all know how these things work and the snowball affect is on. Watch it roll downhill fast. Next thing you know LeBron will be playing in China with Yao on the back of his jersey mad because they won’t let him into the HOF because of how this stuff starts.
Again ease back. He’s not a ….. chuck, Chuck, CHUCK!
Is Raymone destined to become Palmer?
Damn, next season is gonna be heated and Kobe hasn’t tried to climb Mt. Leviathan yet. Gotta love the NBA.
Speaking on Chuck D’s show. I start at the 60:38 mark.
I agree. He’s still a baby. The media is always looking for a reason to talk shit.
None of us know the pain of an athlete. They work so hard to reach a goal they can’t reach without the help of their teammates. When they fall short it’s devastating. Add on all the media scrutiny and it’s heart breaking.
yes lebron is still a young man but conversely if he is willing to accept all of the praise put upon him before he has accomplished anything yet then he should be willing to accept the scorn that may come with it. People are placing him in the pantheon of greats before he has won his 1st ring and he has not had any problem accepting that. he was showboating all year and when the time came to be a man and show dignity and honor in loss he crumbled. Its easy to stand up when all is well but it is how one stands in failure that defines a person. Yes he has time to learn but what he did was wrong for an athlete of his stature so he should rightfully be criticized.
No one likes to lose. Just dap up your Olympic teammates at least, shake Van Gundy’s hand, then roll out. But I won’t spend the entire week beating him up, Orlando did that already. He’ll be back next year, and he’ll go back to terrorizing the NBA
Yeah, again, criticizing LeBron for being a poor sport is really, really petty. Like you said Mizzo, lots of examples of out and out, team-wide hostility…most prominent in my mind is Isaiah leading the Pistons out before the buzzer had sounded way back when. Sportsmanship is better in the league over all. If ESPN wants to use this to cudgel LeBron, well, fine….but honestly, as you said, if we were in LeBron’s position, with LeBron’s greatness, LeBron’s drive, LeBron’s determination…and we’d put up 41-8-8, and lost…….would we have been able to shake hands at the buzzer? I’d love to think I could, but I doubt it. And anyway, this is a time to celebrate what’s great about the NBA……watching LeBron is truly a blessing and I’m glad the man is alive.
The media are bitches. This whole issue has been blown WAY out of proportion. Give the guy a break. It’s not like he strangled Skip to My Lou’s third cousin to death in his hotel room before Game 5. He just wanted to be alone. He was in an extremely vulnerable place, and he didn’t want anyone to see him like that.
BUT I feel like you’re going just a bit too far in trying to find excuses for him. No matter how hurt he was, he should have manned up and did the right thing.
At the end of the day, however, the crime that Bron committed is much smaller than the immense media scrutiny it has garnered.
Tariq,
I have to agree that it’s going to get blown out of proportion. I can understand LeBron being mad, but he should have shook the Magic players’ hands. He’s been doing it since he started playing organized ball.
Being mad about losing, LeBron should have directed his anger at those who actually were the reason for him not making it to the Finals. His teammates, his coaches, and the team front office. His teammates shrunk on the big stage. His coaches didn’t seem to have a clue as to how to play Orlando. They also don’t seem to have the balls to sit LeBron down for his mistakes. The front office for not getting better talent around him.
Oh, there’s one more person that LeBron has to blame, himself. For all the talk of him trusting his teammates, he doesn’t. LeBron gets credit for being a great defensive player, but he was out of position all series. He played more of a floater position on defense. If he truly trusted his teammates, he would let them try to defend one on one, instead of getting caught without a man, leading to open jump shots. I know he talks about how much they all get along and he thinks that is going to lead to a championship. Get real. Teammates don’t always get along. (Hell, even in the regular world, most of us don’t get along with most of our co-workers.) Most of your better teams have personality clashes. He wants to be the leader, then he’s going to have to undress some of his guys on the floor, for their failings out on the court. Yeah, he’ll get criticized for it, but for him to wear the crown, that’s part of the deal.
He deserves some scrutiny, but mostly for not bothering to face the media. He’s willing to sit up there and take 20 questions when they’re showering him with adulation and opining about the things he’s done in a historical context, but when he loses he runs away. That’s real lame. Man up and face the media. He is young, but LeBron has been in the business for 6 years and his machine is a well run machine. You can’t in one instance say he’s very conscious of this that and the other and then excuse him when he behaves like a bratty kid.
Then again, everyone is quick to excuse LeBron’s shortcomings so………
I seem to remember Shaq leaving the court after the 1996 ECF without shaking hands with the Bulls. I don’t remember anyone making a big deal out of it.
Also, unless i’m mistaken, he (Shaq) didn’t congratulate the Pistons when they beat the Lakers in 2004.
Not that big a deal to me because we don’t know what was going through his mind at the time. Some emotions you just can’t “shut off” like a faucet. It takes years of discipline to master certain emotions. It’s easy to criticize when you’re watching the game on the sidelines, in a sky box or on TV.
Thank you Grand Nubian.
Let me ask all you LeBron haters something. Why can’t you learn to appreciate greatness as it develops. Get over the foul calls. Get over the hype (because there is none, he’s real). Get over the financial aspirations (Get that money LeBron!).
Hasn’t he surpassed everything at the getting drunk like a mug and chillin’ with your boys age of 24?
Name one athlete EVER besides Tiger Woods and Mike Tyson who has been in his position so early.
Don’t give me tennis. Please.
Co Co as far as the media? Get your ass in the locker room and see what goes down. Did you watch the press conference. Some of the most stupid questions were asked just to get a reaction. Why can’t the reaction come from the depth of the question? The answer will have more clarity. Yes, dude should catch some wreck, but more for leaving his teammates there to answer the dumb stuff. If it ain’t DA, Chris Broussard, Marc Spears, Scoop, Stephen A., Christy Scott Winters, Dei Lynam, Tom Moore, Martin Frank, Phil Jasner, AG, Chris Murray, James Beale (the folks I’ve personally come across physically, not saying there aren’t more able reporters obviously) then I don’t wanna hear it. You have the potential to know. You are a talented writer but your scope of things is not from within the game as it should be. I’ve told you this many times before. I believe in you as a writer. Please realize your gift.
The game is not what we see on TV. You all have no idea what goes on behind the scenes that affect the outcome of games, series, seasons.
Hell I’m just finding out.
Please game don’t jade me.
The mainstream sports media talks about the Kobe-Lebron rivalry, but it is really more of a rivalry between Lebron and Dwight…
Look at this ‘commandment’ by Dwight when he was a senior in high school at Southwest Atlanta Christian (SACA)…
….”And it shall (and) will come to pass that Dwight Howard II will surpass LeBron James for the best high school basketball player, college player and NBA player. Amen….”
WOW… I am a little surprised people didn’t catch on to this sooner…
The following story was from May 2004!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1769153
Dwight took offense to those commercials with Kobe-Lebron, and does anyone remember that embarrassing dunk Kobe had over Dwight in his rookie year?
Dwight doesn’t forget, and people underestimate his resolve!
Dwight wants the championship BAD! He has already crossed Lebron off his list (for the moment), and now he is on a mission to DENY KOBE… with an Orlando team that once had Shaq as their franchise player…
And I think Dwight was OFFENDED or ‘disrespected’ the way the media and Lebron himself claim people are ‘witnessing’ and those posters showing Lebron as some sort of basketball God. Witnessing has biblical references, and maybe Dwight is silently pissed off at Lebron for mocking God? Maybe?
In an interview with ESPN, Dwight had mocked Lebron towards the end of the interview…with a hand gesture that Lebron uses when spread talcum powder before tip-off..
Dwight might be smiling, but he wasn’t happy… and the no handshake controversy may have a deeper meaning between the two…
…”And it shall (and) will come to pass that Dwight Howard II would stand head and shoulders over 2004 prospects in the name of Jesus. Will he do it? Amen….”
Ya see? It’s deeper than that. Open your minds people. I’m a Philly fan, but I respect other city’s gangsta. Be back in a bit.
More Dwight…
He was 18 when he said this in 2004:
“I think I can make as much money or even more than LeBron. But it will be up to God for that to happen,” Howard said. “If he wants me to market myself, then I’ll do it. I’m not trying to give glory for myself. I’m trying to give glory for Him.”
If Dwight wins a championship this year, I wonder if slap Lebron in the media with this quote…?
Especially this….”I’m not trying to give glory for myself. I’m trying to give glory for Him.” Witness that Lebron…
Think about the dumb stuff we all did in our 20′s (and 30′s, God forbid). The only difference between us and LeBron is we didn’t have the media scrutiny to tell us how to behave. We have to grow into the people God has called us to become. Your 20′s is when you get the dumb stuff out of the way.
While the media is (naturally) taking this opportunity to oversaturate the airwaves with a trivial issue I still believe it was bush league. As someone stated abov he was front and center talking about his miracle shot but was nowhere to be found after a tough loss. Gotta man up homie. And no, the he’s young defense doesn’t apply. He’s 24 years with a kid or two; man up homie. Still a great player.
Mike while I appreciate your view from the locker room it has little to do with what’s going on here. Reporters always ask stupid questions, this is not a new phenomenon. We all know that. However, if LeBron is going to be the man when everyone is kissing his royal ass, then he needs to stand up and be a man when they aren’t. Athletes more than anyone else know how to answer a question without answering a question. LeBron is just as good at that as anyone else. So I’m not going to believe for one moment that Lebron will allow himself to be backed into a corner and tricked into answering a question he doesn’t want to answer. He’s got too much savvy to slip like that. This will all be forgotten by tomorrow, but he certainly deserves criticism. He seems to be the only athlete everyone has a ready made excuse for. It’s ridiculous and let’s not act like the media has completely turned on him. Everyone I’ve heard has prefaced any statements about the issue with he’s young and etc. All this time we’ve been led to believe Lebron is mature beyond his years (which is true) now we’re supposed to act like he’s just some dumb young kid??
Well said, Co Co. Besides, nobody remembers LeBron cussing out his mother when she tried to protect him on the court once (a 6’9″, 270 lb. dude needing protection – imagine that). This too shall pass.
I disagree. Its inexcusable. Yes, I realize that he probably feels like hours upon hours have been wasted, but what he’s know since little league is that you ALWAYS shake hands or at least acknowledge the other team after a win or a loss. And as the leader of the team, it was a bad move.
He’s a smart dude though, I’m sure he’ll learn from his mistake.
Fuck Lebron James.
That was subtle wasn’t it?
Well, it had a point.
Lebron can’t guffaw and laff it up with the media after He’s hit the “miracle shot” and then disappear when things don’t go his way.
Lebron and his media enablers can’t tell us how “mature” he is for a 20-something when he’s appearing on 60 minutes and answering dumbass questions about his plans to rule the world, then turn ’round and say the reason why he can’t shake hands with his fellow NBA players – something all the players and coaches do now – is because he’s “still young.”
Stop making excuses for this person, please. Let him succeed or fail on his own. He failed here. Plain and simple. Should we blow it out of proportion? No. Does that mean we have to excuse it. Likewise, no.
“We don’t know what’s going though his mind?” No we don’t. Does it matter? No it doesn’t. We don’t know what’s going through anyone’s mind at anytime about anything, unless they tell us (and tell us the truth). Lebron didn’t bother to tell anyone, and it still doesn’t matter. What “goes through one’s mind” is one thing, but that there is a certain protocol one follows in these situations regardless is quite another. Lebron was aware of the protocol and ignored it. End of story.
We dont have to swing from his nuts all damn day, do we?
Last Poet,
I think you are being ambiguous. Tell us how you really feel…
Just for the record, I’ve criticized LeBron extensively.
I swing on no one’s nutsack, just the history of their Fathers.
I’d bet big money Poet was pissed as well because of the above link and I can mos def dig it. I will have that conversation with LeBron one day and I’m very much looking forward to his answer.
I want you all to understand that I’m damn sure not making excuses for LeBron. What I will say is this is absolutely no reason for hatred (not saying any of you) of Black athletes to be exacerbated because he didn’t shake hands.
That’s where I shape shift in all of this.
Yes, he’s made his bed hard so he must lie in it but he ain’t no crook. This sort of thing has a way of transforming into something monster down the road and then cats will wonder why the hell they were mad at him in the first place. Just ask Barry Bonds.
Great post Mizzo. I have to say brotha that this is just insane. Thats why I can’t stand fans and the media. They act as though Lebron pulled his johnson out and pissed on the court after the game…………please.
They get on players when they cry about losing (Garnett) and call them cry babies or punks. Then when he is on the court playing intense (on all fours, screaming and cursing) they call him a bully.
Then if a player plays with no emotion and plays half-@ss they call him out. I mean what do they think these guys are robots.
And sista CoCo you are my girl but I have to disagree if you think Lebron is the most protected athlete. Thats a joke in itself. No black athlete is the most protected……he or she may be the most protected black athlete. But never the most protected athlete overall.
You got Tom Brady making sex tapes and getting in shootouts at his wedding and no one says sh^%. You got a hall of famer Fran Tarkenton calling out Farve for being a trouble making whore and here comes ESPN to play captain save a ho# for brett farve.
I’m sorry they will call Lebron out like any other black athlete if they need news (which seems like the reason this story is out) or they mess up like Kobe and Vick did.
And Mizzo I am glad you pointed out how dudes do this all the time. Shoot Phil Jackson hippie @ss did this a few times in Chicago as a coach. Matter a fact didn’t Phil do this in one of the phoenix series?
Also as I recall Dirk and the Mavs did this in 2006 and 2007 when they were eliminated by the Heat and Warriors. Yet nothing was said…………hmmmmm I wonder why.
As a fan I could care less if these guys didn’t shake hands. We expect them to d@mn near kill each other during the game. But then when its all over be able to shut everything off and act like the game didn’t matter. Heck I wish they didn’t even go out to dinner during and after the series.
I can’t stand how you got dudes smiling and laughing after getting beat.
We all know why Lebron left that dude was disgusted with his team. I told my wife 2 minutes before the game was over that Lebron would do just like shaq in 1996 and walk off the court (good memory GN). That his career was going to be just like Shaq in that he leaves and goes to a historic team (NY).
You could see it in his face as the game was going to end. He knew that his team just wasn’t good enough and that he would never win in Cleveland. This was his best chance……..he had home court, the celtics were hurt and his team was the best it will be in the next 2 years.
I bet money Lebron went home cried and discussed his future (with teh team) to his wife and fiance. He knows that his best wasn’t good enough and that he will never be able to get his hometown a ring.
Thats what ate him up more then anything. He could have lost to the bobcats in the ECFs. The team didn’t matter……..he knows that he will never accomplish a goal that he set for that city.
Anyway I want Lebron to hold onto the anger and the defeat. It will make him a better and stronger player. He can use that as fuel in the offseason…..as other great players have.
Last the only 2 reasons that these punks in the media are even talking about this is because its a slow week (I guess its getting old sitting outside Vick’s house) and that Lebron did the unthinkable……………he had the nerve to avoid the media afetr a humiliating loss.
Now you know the media loves to humiliate athletes…….they were waiting to ask a bunch of dumb question to set him off. I bet them reporters dic^s were hard just thinking about the dumb questions they were gonna ask him.
And Co Co. I will NEVER make excuses for a punkass media. I don’t swing that way. The legend will not become fact as I’ve said many times.
TSF was created for that reason and that reason only. This here is not about fans, or not being objective because a team beat your team or any of that bs.
A Yankee hat? Really? WTF! This shit is hilarious!
Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or Brett Favre would never be treated like this. Ever. For those of you who think I’m making this out to something it’s not, check back with me in a few years.
Another thing I know folks are tired of Lebron because they have him picked to be the new golden boy of the league even though he never won anything.
Well get over it………..if it was him it would be someone else.
Enjoy the kids ability………because there is no one like him.
Heck folks must have short memories………..I guess they forgot how the league tried to make Grant Hill the next MJ and he wasn’t even getting out the first round.
Or how the league sold shaq as the newest star yet he didn’t win anything until he was 28. Or how about how the league was selling Kobe as the next Jordan yet he wasnt even the best player on his team until shaq got old.
And lets not get into calls. Kobe was getting veteran calls as a 18 rookie out of highschool. And shaq calls as a 21 year old rookie…..swinging elbows and charging into folks with no call.
All these leagues try to push the next great thing. I mean how many years was the league riding Peyton’s Manning bozack before he won anything?
Its some 12 year old kid in elementary school that will be in the league in the next 9 to 10 years and he will be super hyped as the next thing. Yet folks will be complaining talking about Lebron isn’t getting his due and this kid hasn’t accomplished anything.
This is how the machine works……..Lebron and the rest are just cogs in the machine.
As far as the hype I couldn’t care. I know just liek I knew with Peyton, Kobe and Shaq that they were great players and that it was just a metter of time before they won.
I feel the samething about Lebron………as he will be leading the Knicks to multiple championships.
Folks may laugh but I remember in college telling folks the samething about shaq.
You aren’t Mizzo.
You are right they would never be called out like this.
Shoot they got on Lebron 2 years ago because his mom had a DUI…..remember that.
Or how about when ESPN and the sportingnews got on Lebron because the cavs gave him a day off because he was fatigued, and the media found out that lebron went to the club the next night.
Remember all great players have to go through this. Remember the countless questions of whether shaq would ever win because of him rapping and acting. Or that Kobe couldn’t hit late game shots. Or that MJ couldn’t trust his teamates.
Folks got short memories Mizzo.
Mizzo you know I actually think what the media does is search sports forums and pick up whatever post some 14 year old kid made (that got teh most hits). Then they hype that incident on their TV show or website.
I swear it seems like they actually do this.
Origin:
I don’t mind Lebron’s media snub… Does it hurt Lebron’s image and professional reputation? Briefly. The media for a second year in a row aired commericials before and during the playoffs about which team(s) they thought will win it all. Last year’s Gatorade commercial featuring Kevin Garnett dominated the airwaves, and the Hawks almost blew that up, but couldn’t win Game 7. If Boston would have lost, I think the cocky Garnett would have done the same thing.
Media builds you up to break you down…
Dungy offered advice to Vick about the media, and Vick may take a hit, but the best way for Vick to get respect is to stay out of trouble and win football games…
>>>>Dungy said that Vick will have to repair his image with actions, not words. Dungy doesn’t think he should try to get on television. “I wouldn’t try to repair my image in the media,” Dungy said.>>>>>>
Part of those ‘actions’ is winning games…for Lebron it is to win championships…
As I had said earlier, the media snub was one thing, but snubbing Dwight Howard an OLYMPIC TEAMMATE and the Magic (YOUR OPPONENT) is another…
However, Howard did say something YEARS BACK and maybe Howard feels disrespected personally by Lebron and the media for this King James ‘crowning’ before he actually earned it…and is mad that Dwight has a chance to win a championship against Kobe.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1769153
….”And it shall (and) will come to pass that Dwight Howard II will surpass LeBron James for the best high school basketball player, college player and NBA player. Amen….” (Dwight Howard-2004)
On a side note Shaq and David Robinson didn’t like each other, and first year player Tim Duncan in 1999…
Shaq had called Robinson a ‘punk’ and it prompted former Spurs’ teammate Sean Elliot to say this.. “It shows a high level of immaturity for O’Neal to keep blasting David when he never says anything back.”
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20010519&slug=laker19
Would Lebron have snubbed Dwayne Wade if Miami somehow won against the Cavs and won the Eastern conference title? Or Paul Pierce? Garnett?
I don’t think so.
Lebron thinks of Dwayne Wade as an equal and respect his game and the person himself, but he doesn’t (currently) reciprocate that respect to Dwight Howard and his Magic team…
Good points Patrick.
Also Shaq was mad at Robinson for not signing his autograph for shaq when he was a kid in texas.
As far as Vick he has no choice but to take it to the media. The NFL and Goodell will have it no other way. Basicall they want Vick to play the good negro and get down on his hands and knees and cry and ask for forgiveness (especially if he wants to play QB).
If Vick wants to stay out the media then he has to give up his dream of playing in the NFL. He needs to go to canada or the UFL.
However I believe thats exactly what the media wanted Lebron to do…..not ask for forgiveness but cry. Be humbled if you will…..they get a kick out of that when its black folks.
You know Patrick its all about humiliating these black athletes.
Origin,
In regards to Vick, when he pleaded guilty to the Feds’ graphic accusations, he was looking towards getting back to the NFL as quickly as possible. If Vick would have fought it in court, his career would have been over… the feds would would have dragged it out and it would have been O.J. Part 2. Plus, his life and his immediate family may have been in danger if he had to testify against his co-defendants (Tony Taylor, etc.) who were hard core criminals with a long criminal history.
I agree Vick has to go before the media, but he should NEVER TALK TO ESPN–ever…They were pushing for this federal indictment in 2007 and it was also a money-maker for their media platforms.
Vick has some options: Oprah is a pet lover and PETA member, but that interview should not be in front of a live audience. Oprah will ask tough questions, but I think Oprah would be one of the few people Vick should talk to prior to the 2009 NFL season…
Also talk to V-103 in Atlanta, the top rated black station in Atlanta… and maybe use it as a platform to integrate the ideals of the pending partnership with the Humane Society (targeting urban youths with a positive message that dogfighting is bad)…that should make Goodell ‘happy’…
ESPN and 60 Minutes shouldn’t be considered. They will try to humiliate Vick and try to draw him into re-opening the case. Vick doesn’t want talk about his extortionist father/cousin or what he thinks of his co-defendants who turned against him because it may incite retaliation (public or private)…
Patrick I couldn’t agree more brotha well said.
Amazing how a post about Black folks behavior pumps the blood. Some like it hot!
Immature is as immature does. I probably would not have done the same thing, but it is what it is. Do you think Dwight Howard won’t be able to get an invite to the next LBJ shindig? Not a chance.
Gotta go, babies beckon!
Very thoughtful, indeed.
Interesting thoughts here. I agree with those who think this whole thing has been blown out of proportion. I mean ESPN had a panel to discuss LeBron James not shaking hands, Really? it’s that serious? The one thing I disagree with is whoever said(Mizzo?) get over the fouls. I can’t get with that, that’s essentially excusing cheating.
Yeah it was me. Unfortunately that’s a part of sports Kirk. Tuck rule. Boston Garden 1980′s. San Antonio against the Knicks. Salt Lake City. Phoenix earlier this decade for and against. Chicago Mike. It happens and it ain’t gonna ever stop.
I was listening to the 2Live Stews yesterday on my way home from work. Dennis Scott, aka “Scotty Stew”, who was sitting in for Doug Stewart, said that when the Magic beat the Bulls in 1995 (the 1st year MJ came back — #45), Jordan walked off the court and didn’t shake their hands. He also said that Reggie Miller, Antonio Davis, Dale Davis, etc. didn’t extend a hand when they went down in defeat. He did say that some of those players (he didn’t get specific) met some of the Magic in the hallway after the press conferences and interviews were over and wished them well in the next round.
If the GOAT didn’t get chastised for his “unsportsmanlike” conduct, why should Lebron? This political correctness has gone to the extreme in this day and age.
This is a complete non-issue being kept alive solely to entertain self-righteous people until the finals start.
But, I also think some of the vitriol being spat at Lebron is coming from folks who are dissappointed that he didn’t fail straight out of the blocks, and have been waiting for something to occur just so they could rip him. I remember when James walked off the court at the end of a game against Atlanta in 2008 and the media tried to blow that up and no one bit. Also, his speeding ticket became a moral issue for Jim Rome and the Espn crowd. It’s kinda funny when you really think about it. Alot of the criticisms revolve around his “sense of entitlement” and all the other blah blah blah bs, and yet what the “loser” didn’t do at the end of a game six in defeat was a bigger story than the magic winning that game six. They don’t want Lebron to stay and at the same time they don’t him to leave. You gotta love it.
Can’t argue with that.