Congratulations to the guys at GV Artwork and Design for their banner which will be going up in the same location of the old LeBron James “Witness” campaign. For more information on the banner and the work that went into it, head over to their blog.
The "Old" LeBron James Returns
With Dwyane Wade sitting out a meeting with the upstart Indiana Pacers with a sore foot, James morphed right back into the mode that made him a two-time most valuable player with the Cavs.
For the heavy majority of the game the ball was in James’ hands as he took over as the full-time facilitator in the 118-83 blowout victory to improve the Miami Heat to 6-1. James racked up 33 points with 13 assists and eight rebounds.
He did it joyously, whipping backhanded passes to teammates while swinging his hips and thrusting back his shoulders after drawing shooting foul after shooting foul. He glared over at his bench after various exploits. It was full-on James swagger mode, the sort of stuff that was rather rare last season.
Even after he turned his ankle by landing on Paul George inadvertently in the third quarter — James rolled around on the deck for a while before getting up and not even leaving the game, which some might say also was routine in his Cleveland days — it kept looking easy.
What’s LeBron James Been Thinking About This Offseason?
1. HOW MANY EGGS FOR BREAKFAST?”
Not one, not two, not three, not four…”2. BEAT UP DELONTE WEST
“Just check all local KFCs…”3. PICK UP KLEENEX FOR CHRIS BOSH
“Who the fuck is allergic to aloe?”4. WHERE TO TAKE MY TALENTS FOR LUNCH”
Applebee’s?”5. DON”T FORGET THE 4TH QUARTER! (FOR THE PARKING METER)”
I always seem to come up short…”6. ORDER WIDER HEADBANDS”
But does it make my head look fat?”7. HOW TO PRONOUNCE “SPOELSTRA”
“Gotta admit, ‘Shut the fuck up, Brown’ was a lot easier…”8. BEAT UP RASHARD LEWIS
“Is he taller than me?”9. ASK RILEY TO BORROW A RING FOR THIS DINNER PARTY I’M GOING TO
“I’m totally gonna perma-borrow that shit…”
References galore.
Walter Iooss Jr. Wasn’t Allowed to Speak to LeBron James
Walter Iooss Jr., a Sports Illustrated photographer for 50 years, provided an excellent career retrospetive in the most recent edition of SI. The whole piece can be found here and is well worth the read.
But if you’re going to focus on any one point as a Cleveland fan, this is it:
LeBron [James] became a villain to many after The Decision. I’ve seen a lot of entourages, but none like his. In July 2010 I got an assignment from Nike to shoot LeBron right after his TV special announcing his move to the Heat. We rented the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, where the Lakers and the Clippers used to play, and there were 53 people on my crew-including hair and makeup artists, production people, a stylist. I had $10,000 in Hollywood lighting. It was huge. When LeBron arrived, it was as if Nelson Mandela had come in. Six or seven blacked-out Escalades pulled up, a convoy. LeBron had bodyguards and his masseuse. His deejay was already there, blasting. This for a photo shoot that was going to last an hour, tops.
This is how crazy it was: I wasn’t even allowed to talk directly to LeBron. There was a liaison, someone from Amar’e Stoudemire’s family. I would say to him, “O.K., have LeBron drive right,” and then he’d turn to LeBron and say, “LeBron, go right.”
LeBron had guards in the portals on the mezzanine level, talking into their hands. Really, what was going to happen? And then at the end of the shoot they all got in the Escalades. My God, I’ve been around Michael Jordan, but with him nothing even came close to this. Unimaginable.
Iooss had the honor of shooting James in 2003 when he was a rookie with the Cavaliers. At this time, the long-time photog coined james as “articulate and charming.”
Talk about a transformation.
(h/t Deadspin)
LeBron James: I can understand why a lot of people were upset
Though he wouldn’t have any one-on-one, in-depth interviews in Cleveland, former Cavs forward LeBron James opened up to a media outlet in London.
Was James taken aback by the ferocious criticism of his screening of “The Decision”? “Um, yeah. I was surprised by it because I was making a decision for myself. I was doing something that I believed was going to make me happy and freshen me up. But looking back I can understand why a lot of people were upset. That definitely wasn’t my intention: to upset people.”
Does he wish he could change what he did in the summer of 2010? “I can’t say I would change anything – because it would change so much that is leading to the future. But, yeah, there is definitely a better way I could have handled it, as far as the whole TV thing is concerned, and the same goes for the build-up to the announcement. A lot of people were hurt by it – and I definitely apologise to them. At the same time, you should never be afraid to do what you believe in.
Chris Ogbannaya really missed the opportunity to make fun of Jacksonville’s professional basketball team after his touchdown. Wait, what?
The mystery at the core of sports lies in the lives of its fans. What stokes all that unrequited fire and devotion and wanting? In a world rotten with mercenaries, free agents and betrayal, whom do we trust? Who rewards our purity? Our passion? Who reciprocates our madness? What price do we pay for loyalty or honor? For inspiration? For services rendered? How much cash should we leave on the nightstand?
No matter what you’ve heard or read, these are the questions at the broken heart of Scott Raab’s memoir and confessional, “The Whore of Akron.”
Mr. Raab, a senior writer from Esquire and a Clevelander to his chromosomes, takes up that city’s sad abandonment by one LeBron James. The book is both poem and polemic, a lyrical inventory of rage and appetite and loss.
The book is easily misunderstood. It is not for the prim, the delicate or the weak-livered. Because the book is honest. The book is strong drink. Because profane explains sacred, the book is a punch in the nose.
Because the book is a book about love.
” ESPN columnist Jeff MacGregor on Scott Raab’s “The Whore of Akron”To LeBron…with gratitude.
