Dan Gilbert

Who else thinks Dan Gilbert is an idiot? I have no problem with him being a little ticked off with Lebron. Could Lebron have handled the whole situation a little differently? Absolutely. He could have placed a call to the Cavs before going on the air to say, "You know what, I've had a great time in Cleveland the past 7 years, but I've decided to take a different offer."

But he didn't. He made a business decision about what would be best for him and ultimately, what would be the most fun. Lebron's a 25 year old millionaire, probably on his way to be a billionaire. I'm trying to put myself in his shoes since I'm about his age and if I could cause that much hype, why the heck not go through with it like the way he did?

But that's not the point. Dan Gilbert is a businessman. Sounds like a pretty smart businessman. But to make the comments like he did after "The Decision," was a little ridiculous. Did you see the type font that he wrote the letter in? Size 16 Comic Sans it looked like. I remember using that font when AOL Instant Messenger first became cool when I was in eighth grade. To say that he quit over and over, that they let him get away with things they never should have; that he's a terrible example for what kids should grow up to aspire to...comon' Dan. Lebron made a business decision. He's young and without a title yet. So he wants to go play ball with his buddies and last I checked, South Beach is a little bit of a better destination than middle of the rust belt Cleveland. And having Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh is a little better than Mo Williams and Anderson Verajao.

So it's time to move on Cleveland. You can be fired up and want nothing more than to beat Miami when they come to town (my gosh, is that going to be a fun game to watch. You think Lebron will toss chalk dust into the air just for old times sake?). But stop ripping on Lebron like a bad girlfriend after your boyfriend dumps you for someone hotter.

And most importantly, stop making outrageous comments about winning a title before Miami. Do you really believe that Dan Gilbert? I've heard a lot of wild guaran-SHEEDS over the years, but this comment from Gilbert trumps all of them. Maybe you should go back to doing what you know best, and make a fathead of your new star in Cleveland...Kyle Lowry? Oh wait, never mind. His old team Houston just matched your offer.

The Decision

I shouldn't have a blog if I'm not going to say anything about what I just witnessed on ESPN. What a ridiculous circus. I've never seen anything like it. The pull that this free agent story has gotten over the past couple of months is proposterous. This story has completely trumped everything else that is going on. I know that in the summer we're hard up for sports stories (you can only have so many story lines over a 162 game baseball season) but I still can't get over it. It's still going on. ESPN has analysts in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Miami to talk about fan reactions! This is crazy!

But man, I'm super pumped to watch the Heat next year. People say well, what about the role players? You can't win without role players. I think Wade, James, and Bosh are enough world players. They still got guys like Beasley and Chalmers. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Sure, Steve Kerr hit a game winner and Dennis Rodman grabbed a lot of rebounds, but are you telling me Michael Jordan didn't win those championships? It will be tough, but they're going to be an awesome team. Tell me what sub-par role player isn't going to take a little less money for a couple years to play alongside these superstars. Sure, I might be able to try out for the 11th and 12th spot on that team, but I think they'll be fine. The Celtics won with the three power players (given, who knew Rondo would be so good. But why can't some nobody from the Heat emerge like that guy?).

In the end, we found out that what Lebron is about is winning. He's taking less money, swallowing his ego a bit, and joining a Heat team who's already got their star. The Heat is Wade's team and James is willing to go there and sacrifice some of his own game to play together to win a championship. This is going to be wild. I don't care much about the NBA but I care about this.

Believe me, this will make for great television.