There's a HUGE difference between Paris Hilton showing up at a movie
premiere and making the event about her, or her losing a Sidekick
and having the addresses be made public -- and LeBron donating 2.5
million dollars in ad revenue to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland.
HUGE.
LeBron's free agency is historic - for SPORTS. Sports on TV is not
new. They interview coaches and players after games all the time. It
takes sometimes 30 minutes. Or, if it's Brett Farve's last game,
it can take 48 minutes on NFL Network. It's part of the process.
Nobody MAKES anybody watch sports coverage on ESPN. ESPN is barely
even in anybody's basic cable package.
This is a situation where the team's majority owner thought he had
LeBron where he wanted him. He put a stack of money on the table.
LeBron chose happiness instead. Dan GIlbert turned this into a bigger
debacle with his letter...that he STILL hasn't taken down.
I want to address something said earlier. LeBron was a small
forward playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is now a member of
the new Celtics. He's playing for a Pat Riley team. For every fan
he "lost", he gained 2. Starting with me. I'm a lifelong Lakers fan,
but I respect LeBron's decision more than anything else I've seen. He
and Maverick Carter, his business partner, singlehandedly brought
excitement back into the NBA for THOUSANDS of people. Addiionally,
for every "fan" LeBron lost, Cleveland lost 2 thanks to Dan's
letter. Think about what that letter means to someone who is a
freshman star player at some college somewhere. Now you don't wanna
go to Cleveland because the owner is a jerk.
Let's not get to far adrift of the truth here. The Cavs weren't
some high winning legacy team that rescued some kid from the streets
and taught him to read. They were the worst team in the NBA in 2003
and THAT's how they were able to get LeBron out of high school.
there was no recruiting experience for LeBron then. They man put 7
years into a worthless team, sold more tickets and jerseys for them
than they'd seen since the 60s, and now has the audacity to want to
go play for a winning team. the owner's letter challenged LeBron's
desire to LEAVE TOWN. WTF? Has anyone here been to Ohio in the
winter? Then tried winter in Miami? Hell, Drew CAREY left Cleveland!
Furthermore, young people now have an example of what they can do to
take control of their career. You don't have to be a Terrell Owens
and find out on Sports Center that you're cut from the team. YOU
can hold the press conference, make a difference in the world, and
go where YOU wanna go.
LeBron James didn't waste anybody's hour of time, it was on ESPN. It
was as big a waste of time as any other sports event ever
televised. If you have no interest in it, it doesn't make sense to
watch. I think his event was, for Africans in America for whom
sports is a part of life, the single most important thing to see
since the inauguration. Yes. To se a young Black man taking
control of his life and not defending some criminal accusation is
important. I can't think of anything MORE important, but hey...I
love sports. So I watch.
On Jul 10, 2010, at 6:46 PM, Keith Johnson wrote:
Sorry, I have to disagree in relation to this particular case. I
think this is less about white outrage at him being black, and
simply people who need to get lives upset because a sports hero
"deserted" him. If it were just about a uppity negro, blacks like
me--who thinks he overhyped this, as did the media--wouldn't be
irritated. Nor would all the blacks in Cleveland who idolized him
(don't know how many there are) be as upset. The racial/racist
angle is there as always: when blacks disappoint whites, you can be
sure there are healthy doses of "nig--r" thrown around. But I can't
blame all this on whites being pissed because a black man asserted
himself. I see this in the same vein as the Paris Hilons, reality
show "stars", and increasing number of celebrities hot and cold who
do anything they can to keep their names and faces in the media.
Note that the least part of this whole thing being discussed in any
circles other than sports nuts is the actual impact on the game of
basketball. Rather, more discussion is on his Larry King interview,
this, why he wasted an hour on what could have been a five-minute
press statement, etc.
Black or not, this is to me another step up the ladder of media-
focus and celebrity that makes people care more about famous
people's lives sometimes than their own...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@yahoo.com>
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2010 11:55:58 AM
Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: LeBron James "The Decision" top-ranked
show on Thursday night
And I still think the scariest thing in America is a free black man.
~rave!
--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson
<keithbjohn...@...> wrote:
>
> And like i said, i hate it when done by corporations or
individuals. There is too much of this self-promoting, self-
aggrandizing, "famous because you're famous" culture going on
nowadays. This was bloated and unnecessary. You hear people talking
about it who could care less about the NBA and realize they're only
talking about it because *others* are talking about it. They're
focused on James because he made himself a focus, along with ESPN's
help. Even in terms of basketball, this isn't really that big of a
deal. By that, I mean that the Heat possibly winning a championship
isn't as huge as, say, even if Michael Jordan had moved back in the
day. Truth, this should have been of interest to Cleveland, Miami,
true NBA fans, and that's it. It doesn't truly redefine the game or
anything. And despite our talk of its economic impact on Cleveland,
that's not really the focus of the news stories. It really is "hey!
Everyone said this is a big deal, so let's cover it".
> I find that troubling, and just because big business already does
it, it doesn't mean the individuals need to do it do. Maybe
everyone needs to back off a bit on this stuff...
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@...>
> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2010 7:20:04 AM
> Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: LeBron James "The Decision" top-ranked
show on Thursday night
>
>
>
>
>
>
> As I've stated previously, I find it both interesting and
disheartening that people are okay when corporations (the NBA, the
New York Athletic Club, the Kentucky Derby) put on one of these
bloated hour-long programs with two minutes of content but are
aghast when an individual does it. Like the police officer in
"Malcolm X" most folks seem to think, "That is too much power for
one black man to have!"
>
> I am not displeased that Mr. James' asserted his "manhood right"
to apply his trade where ever he wants to.
>
> ~rave!
>
> --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Martin Baxter
<martinbaxter7@> wrote:
> >
> > The across-the-board reaction I'm hearing in this is that, in
the public
> > eye, LeBron had lost a lots of fans over this. And not because
he left
> > Cleveland. I've heard that event described, most charitably, as an
> > "infomercial". Doesn't bother me only because I watch so few
NBA games (a
> > grand total of six this past season, counting the playoffs).
> >
> > On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 4:45 PM, Kelwyn <ravenadal@> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/07/09/lebron-james-the-
decision-is-top-rated-tv-show-on-thursday/56595
> > >
> > > Thursday night's LeBron James "The Decision" on ESPN drew a
7.3 household
> > > rating in the preliminary overnight ratings.
> > > Compare that to the top rated show on broadcast last night, a
repeat of The
> > > Mentalist on CBS, which drew a 6.0 household rating in the
preliminary
> > > overnights.
> > > Update: Here is ESPN's official press release.
> > > A 7.3 is twice what an average NBA game ranks.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the
bloody hell
> > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
> >
>
