ESPN’s LZ Granderson Comments On LeBron ‘Sportsmanship’ Issue

I had an opportunity to read ESPN columnist LZ Granderson’s opinion (I don’t mind differing opinions) about the controversy surrounding Cleveland Cavaliers’ superstar LeBron James walking off the court without shaking hands with Orlando Magic players and blowing off the media following his team’s lost in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. Some have compared it to the infamous 1991 walkout in which most of the Detroit Pistons’ players declined to shake hands with most of the Chicago Bulls’ players. Eighteen years later, those Pistons are still hammered for that decision. In that series, however, there was a lot more to it. There had been a lot of animosity and a lot of nasty things said in the newspapers and elsewhere in the media that precipitated that walkout – even if it did not justify it in the minds of a lot of critics. In LeBron’s case, there seems to have been no animosity (at least not that I am aware of). To some extent, I take LeBron at his word that the competitor in him just wanted to get off the court and be away from it (even if I don’t necessarily agree it was the proper move).

With that being said, here is an excerpt from Granderson’s column:

If this was a real issue for NBA commissioner David Stern, he would not be responding three days later. His reponse on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” that it’s “fair to say” that he’s upset with LeBron comes across as more public posturing than concern.

You want to know what’s poor sportsmanship?

Brett Favre cutting off all communication with his mentee and supposed friend Aaron Rogers after being traded to the Jets. Or Shaq freestyling about Kobe’s Finals loss — more than four years after being traded from L.A.

That’s poor sportsmanship.

Taking a day to calm down and gather your thoughts, that’s a sign of maturity.

And so I’m also glad that LeBron didn’t apologize for walking off the way that he did, but rather gave us an honest look into what being competitive means to him. After a day to cool off, he said his piece. That to me is much better than ripping teammates he may have to play with or a coach he may have to play under next season.

There is nothing wrong with being a competitor, but there is nothing wrong with congratulating your opponent and wishing your opponent good luck. I am not bashing LeBron and saying he is a bad sport or anything like that. I don’t think he is a bad sport at all. I do see where LZ is coming from. Honestly, I think LeBron James is one of the great sportsmen of his era who simply made a bad decision at an emotional time. My hope is he learns from this lesson and makes the proper decision the next time he is faced with similar circumstances. Some of the greatest competitors in the history of the sport took time to congratulate teams that beat them.

As I wrote in an earlier blog, one of the greatest traditions in all of sports is the National Hockey League handshake line at the end of a hard-fought series.

LZ Granderson’s column:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/090602&sportCat=nba

Is David Stern The Master Of Puppets?

No, I’m not talking about the old-school Metallica song when I ask: Is David Stern the master of puppets? Many people who follow the NBA live and breathe conspiracy theories: teams with star players are supposed to win, the refs protect star players, the refs and the league join forces to secure predetermined outcomes … yadda, yadda, yadda. I could write forever on all of the conspiracy theories.

In this year’s playoffs, the conspiracy theorists believe the NBA has already decided which two teams should be in the 2009 NBA Finals. Obviously, the two teams that are supposed to play in the Finals are the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Why? The Cleveland Cavaliers have LeBron James and the Lakers have Kobe Bryant.

Isn’t that what NBA Commissioner David Stern wants? Doesn’t the commish want to see his two biggest stars playing on the league’s biggest stage for pro basketball’s greatest prize? The devoted conspiracy theorists certainly believe that is the case.

But, two problems exist for what many people feel is Stern’s dream NBA Finals showdown: (1) the Orlando Magic and (2) the Denver Nuggets. Many of the conspiracy theorists tend to believe that Stern is loving sleep and increasing the amount of white hair on his head with thoughts of Denver and Orlando locking horns in the NBA Finals – rather than having LeBron and Kobe going at it on center stage … for real … not as puppets in well-done Nike commercials.

Right now, it’s not looking good for conspiracy theorists: LeBron’s Cavaliers are on the brink of elimination (entering Thursday night’s game) and the Lakers (feeling better than Cleveland) are clinging to a 3-2 series lead heading back to Denver for Game 6.

We’ll see if David Stern is the master of puppets, as so many conspiracy theorists think, or if (at least in this case) the players truly control their own destiny.

Blaming LeBron James Is Silly

I’ve been amused listening to some of the criticism being heaped onto the broad shoulders of Cleveland Cavaliers’ superstar LeBron James in this playoff series against the Orlando Magic. In all honesty, these are individuals who need to have their heads examined. LeBron has been brilliant in this series. If anything, what has been exposed is the fact that his supporting cast is not quite as strong as a lot of people wanted to believe (after an impressive regular-season run). Don’t get it twisted, the supporting cast is not bad. Look, Mo Williams is a fine pro basketball player (an all-star this year) and the Cavs have a few other guys who are solid contributors. But, lets be honest, LeBron’s supporting cast (solid as it is) clearly is not in the same class as supporting casts enjoyed by the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and the Denver Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony. So, we can kill that noise right now. LeBron has put this team, franchise and city of Cleveland on his back. At this point, in a series between evenly-matched teams, LeBron could use a little more help carrying the load.

Idiot Orlando Magic Fan Should Just Shut Up

When I first heard this story about the complaining father of the kid bumped by Glen “Big Baby” Davis, after the Boston Celtics player hit a game-winning shot over the weekend, I thought … yeah right. I could not bring myself to believe that this guy, who according to the Orlando Sentinel is named Ernest Provetti, was complaining about something like that. In the e-mail, Provetti says that Davis was acting like a “raging animal with no regard for fans’ personal safety.”

Note I to Ernest Provetti: SHUT UP!

Quit your crying and be happy your kid had an opportunity to stand on the sidelines for an NBA playoff game. Provetti is sounding like a spoiled jerk whining because things didn’t go his way. Referring to Davis as a “raging animal” just shows how much of a moron this guy Provetti is proving to be. There are kids who would give anything to have the opportunity your kid had to be standing at court side and to be bumped into by an NBA player.

Note II to Ernest Provetti: You’re embarrassing your kid even more by carrying this nonsense on.

Does this guy Provetti have any idea how much of a negative light he is bringing on himself and his son?

At the end of the Orlando Sentinel story, Provetti asks: “How do you like to be a 12-year-old and see a raging lunatic coming at you?” Well, if the kid can deal with a moron father like that then he can deal with being accidentally bumped by an NBA player celebrating a game-winning shot in the playoffs.

Orlando Sentinel:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2009/05/big-baby-shoves-magic-fan-.html