LeBron’s Birthday Cake Suits Him Just Right

Monday, January 3rd, 2011 at 1:05 pm  
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Wonder if his mother or Delonte West jumped out of the cake.

H/T to Dime Magazine.

Cleveland Fans Are Taking LeBron’s Return As Well As You Would Expect

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 at 6:21 pm  
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H/T to Inside Hoops

Forgive Dan Gilbert, He’s Only Reached Stage 3 of the Break-Up Scale

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 at 10:06 am  
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When you get dumped, there are usually a few steps one goes through before they can get over being kicked to the curb.  Hell, most of these stages are the main reason why Facebook exists.  In any case, it is completely understandable why Dan Gilbert is struggling with losing LeBron.  And although five months have passed, he’s still not there yet.  The Five Stages of Getting Over Your Break-Up, applied to Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert: Read the rest of this entry

LeBron Apparently Doesn’t Want Kicks Like Mike

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm  
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The man sitting next to Michael Jordan in the picture above is legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield.  Take one look at Hatfield’s portfolio and you will quickly surmise he is responsible for some of the most iconic sneaker designs of all time.  Naturally, when Nike signed Jordan’s heir apparel apparent LeBron James, they assigned Hatfield to King James in order to develop the next line of legendary basketball shoes.  Just like Mike, right?  Well, not exactly.

Apparently, Hatfield jumped off the LeBron account because of the entourage Bron-Bron surrounded himself with (skip to 1:30):

Money quote [sic'd]:

Tinker stated that he used to work on the signature lines of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James; however, in regards to LeBron, he said, “I used to work on LeBron’s [shoe line], until his entourage kind of pissed me off.” He later stated that LeBron was ‘cool’ but his entourage is obviously Hatfield’s problem.

Now, let’s keep in mind that LeBron’s line of shoes and apparel do pretty well without Hatfield on board: the eighth edition of his shoe released last week with a $160 price tag and there is no doubt they’ll sell well.  However, none of the previous seven versions of his shoe have reached iconic status like Jordan’s — leading one to wonder if things might be different with someone like Hatfield on board.

Regardless of what LeBron’s biggest detractors have said about him, there isn’t much disagreement about the effort he puts in to becoming the best player he can be on the court.  However, Hatfield’s comments, taken within the context of “The Decision,” tend to make me think he could stand to put at least half as much effort in selecting the people he has represent him off the court.

(h/t to Nice Kicks)

Reading Between the Headlines

Friday, April 30th, 2010 at 12:09 pm  
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Was there a major upset in hockey this week?  I must’ve missed it.
 
Ok, I’ll take the hit, let’s have it.  The Capitals lost and my inspired prediction for this year’s Stanley Cup Playoff is already busted.  But as Smooth Jimmy Apollo once said, “When you’re right 52% of the time, you’re wrong 48% of the time.” 
 
Watching the Capitals the last three games of their series with Montreal was incredibly painful for any DC hockey fan.  Instead of the wide-open, rush-the-goalie style they’ve employed all year, they were completely unaggressive, playing not to lose.  Thirty-three times in this series the Caps had a power play opportunity and failed to convert on all of them but one.  Their three goals in Games 5-7 were the lowest three-game output they’ve had all year (previous low: 6 [!]).  And as a final kick to the nether regions, this is the second year in a row the team has lost a Game 7 at home.  Not good.
 
So where do they go from here?  Well, the core of the team should be back next year and with a farm team that has dominated its league the last two seasons, there should be more help on the way.  It’s not much solace, but it’s something… Until then, let’s move on to some headlines:
So now a reformed drug addict with Elvis Presley-like tendencies (not the “Blue Hawaii” good kind) is calling Ben out?  Man, that is rough.  Luckily for Ben, it’s not 2003 anymore, so it’s unlikely anyone will actually listen to the song.
The stadium will now include unprotected upper decks so fans can throw themselves off them when the team loses… Or when the line at Boog’s gets too long.
  • Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland was criticized for asking draft prospect Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute.
How Jeff Ireland is still breathing on this earth is a mystery to me.  Part of me wonders if Jeff’s just a little lonely.
Hmmm.  I wonder if it had anything to do with this story.  One hundred twenty mistresses is a pretty respectable number, Eldrick.  In fact, I’d wager that number is higher than Tiger Woods Fanboys Jim Nantz, Scott Van Pelt and Verne Lundquist, combined.  Here’s why I think this story is crap: Elin wants a divorce because Tiger bumped uglies with the next door neighbor.  Right.  Your husband is sleeping with strippers and porn stars but you’re more upset about the neighborhood girl?  Come on.  Six months ago, if you told me I could be anyone in the world at that moment, Tiger Woods would have easily been in my Top Ten.  Now?  Damn, I’d almost rather be Big Ben.  Almost.
Adding to the Rays good fortune, Patriots coach Bill Belichick sent Rays manager Joe Maddon a personalized hoodie.  I guess it’s only a matter of time until we find out Maddon has cameras placed in centerfield to steal signs.  Not to be outdone, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan sent Yankee manager Joe Girardi self-tanner.
  • LeBron James has reportedly won his second straight Most Valuable Player award.
Congrats to Bron-Bron.  However, with this award comes the ominous news that LeBron’s elbow is mysteriously injured.  It’s pretty clear what’s going on here.  Know what happens when you play too many video games?  You hurt your elbow.  Through the magic of the Internet, I found LeBron playing online not too long ago.
 
That’s it for this week.  No more predictions for 2010.  At least until football season starts.