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LeBron James' decision: Where will you be watching?

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The countdown is on: in a few short hours, the world will for certain know where LeBron James will be playing when he makes the announcement live on ESPN at 9 p.m. We'll be at the Winking Lizard in Lakewood. Tell us where you'll be watching.

lebron.jpgWhere will you be watching tonight's announcement by LeBron James?
The countdown is on: in a few short hours, the world will know for sure where LeBron James will be playing when he makes the announcement live on ESPN at 9 p.m.

Where will you be watching, at a sports bar with friends, at home with a someone to commiserate or celebrate with, or will you avoid the spectacle all together?

Either way, we've got you covered. Our cameras will be live at Winking Lizard, 14018 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood (Map), capturing the watch party there.

You can also get updates when the announcement happens via our live chat and on Twitter.

We're also looking for cell phone photos and videos from watch parties or of your immediate reaction once the announcement is made. Learn how to upload them here.

Years from now, everyone will remember where they were when LeBron announced this decision. Tell us where you'll be watching.



Chat live tonight as LeBron James announces his decision

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The day is finally here when we will find out if LeBron will continue his career in Cleveland next season or if he will move on to another team. Chat live with The PD's Dennis Manoloff tonight at 9 p.m.

lebron-dwyane-horiz-jg.jpgLeBron James has many options when he makes his announcement Thursday night, including joining Dwyane Wade in Miami.
The day is finally here when we will find out if LeBron will continue his career in Cleveland next season or if he will move on to another team.

cleveland.com has the event covered and you can chat live while you watch starting at 9 p.m. Get instant analysis, ask your questions, share your comments with The Plain Dealer's Dennis Manoloff and cleveland.com's Dan Labbe and get the latest as LeBron's decision nears.

You'll get updates from Brian Windhorst's Twitter page
and be able to watch live streaming video from the watch party at Winking Lizard Lakewood.

Note: This is a moderated chat. All comments must be approved prior to appearing in the live chat. Approval is based on content of post, volume of incoming posts and other factors.


LeBron James + Dwayne Wade + Chris Bosh = X NBA titles / Poll

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Will LeBron James be able to recoup the salary difference between what he can make in Cleveland and what he can make in Miami by winning championships? How many?

lebron-james-smile.jpgView full sizeReports are that LeBron James will join his friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. How many NBA crowns can they win?

The late Sen. Everett Dirksen, in debate over spending, once famously said, "A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there ... pretty soon, you're talking real money." LeBron James (you knew it would get to LeBron today, didn't you?) has said he wants to be sports' first billion-dollar athlete. Is it possible to do that taking $35 million less to sign with the Miami Heat, as "numerous NBA sources are reporting," vs. what he could make with the Cavs?

Well, yes, actually. If he, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh can win the titles they think they can, those rings could translate into the big bucks. And that's without taking into account the absence of a state income tax in Florida.

Oh, BTW, Heat President Pat Riley isn't quite accurate when he says the lack of state and local income taxes will offset what James could get from the Cavs. James could get $125.5 million or so from Cleveland; the state and local taxes (before any deductions any good accountant this side of Bernie Madoff can find) would drop that to about $108 million, according to Ohio state tax tables, and really risky journalism math. But even by journalism math standards, that's higher than the $95 million LBJ could get from the Heat.

The difference, then, will come if -- and only if -- the three amigos can win titles. It's a gamble, for sure. An injury to one could derail the ambitions of all three. But Starting Blocks would be willing to invest every quarter we can find in the couch cushions on it paying off.  

Which, finally, brings us to the poll question: If LBJ, Wade and Bosh team up in Miami, as "many NBA sources" are reporting, how many titles could they win, assuming everybody stays healthy?

LeBron James photos: Retrospective of his career in Cleveland

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Whether LeBron James leaves for another team or stays here in Cleveland, it's been a memorable ride. Take a look back at his career since 2000 with photos from The Plain Dealer.

Gallery previewWhether LeBron James leaves for another team or stays here in Cleveland, it's been a memorable ride.

Since he burst onto the scene as a skinny freshman at St. Vincent St. Mary High School to two NBA MVP awards, we've followed him every step of the way.

Plain Dealer photographers have been there to capture a high school national championship, the No. 1 selection in the 2003 draft, becoming the Cavaliers' all-time leader scorer, a NBA Finals appearance, six All-Star games and countless "whams with the right hand".

Click on the photo gallery to the left for a look back at the career of LeBron James from 2000, when he was a high school freshman, until 2010.

LeBron James, a retrospective (full-size gallery)

More LeBron James photos:

LeBron James: Photos from his career

LeBron James Statistical Database: Search stats from every game from his career







How will LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh be known? Poll

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Pick a nickname for the combination of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.


dwayne-wade-lebron-james-chris-bosh.jpgView full sizeIf these three guys -- from left, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade -- do indeed end up in Miami, what nickname will they get?

Cleveland, Ohio -- The Kardiac Kids. The Steel Curtain. The Gashouse Gang. Murderers Row. The Dream Team. The Doomsday Defense. Sportswriters just love to come up with nicknames for teams. So here we go with another chance. If LeBron James does as some are reporting he will do and joins Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami with the Heat, what will they be called?


Starting Blocks will throw a few suggestions out in our poll, but we invite you to add yours in the comments section below. Keep 'em clean! ;-)


 







Cavaliers fans react to the report of LeBron choosing Miami

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There are multiple reports that LeBron James will announce he has chosen to join Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. Needless to say, there is plenty of reaction in the comments sections on cleveland.com. Here are some of the responses from our users.

lebron-dwyane-horiz-jg.jpgView full sizeThere are reports that LeBron James will announce he is going to Miami tonight.

There are multiple reports that LeBron James will announce he has chosen to join Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. Needless to say, there is plenty of reaction in the comments sections on cleveland.com. Here are some of the responses from our users.

blingbling19 isn't convinced that LeBron would really go to a team with little depth beyond a big three.

"I still don't think he would go to Miami considering that, even with him, Wade and Bosh, the rest of there team is awful.

"Sure, they got three big pieces, but when the rest of the team is a bunch of scrubs, they will not be winning championships right away."

snowfall is among a handful of posters who will remember the way LeBron James left the Cavaliers.

"Regardless of what LeBron has done in Cleveland, I will always remember how he quit in the playoffs against the Celtics and how he proved through all of this hype and hoopla that he is a Drama Queen.

"I would dare to bet that having Wade and Bosh around to carry him will 'magically' heal up that elbow of his, as well."

thetruckerking has decided to turn his rooting interests elsewhere.

"All of the sudden it's looking like the Browns are our best hope for a championship. Uh, go Browns?"

Mkapz thinks it's LeBron's right to go elsewhere, but isn't sure why he would announce it the way he is.

"I'm fine with LeBron going to another city if that's what he wants, but why do a live TV show and rip the city's heart out on live TV? I hope Miami is happy having a player that thinks he is a god. Better hope he doesn't have a little temper tantrum backstage during your playoff run and decide to quit on your team midway."


LeBron James A.M. Links: Cleveland fans need to change priorities; LBJ and free agency; Just win baby

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LeBron James will finally make his decision public tonight and Justice B. Hill of RealClearSports.com writes how crazy this LeBron mania has been over the past week. Hill, like many of us, has grown tired of all of the hoopla. All the false prophets, the unidentified sources and the unnamed NBA insiders who peddled bogus stories to newspapers, talk...

lebron-pondering-jg-vert.jpgLeBron James

LeBron James will finally make his decision public tonight and Justice B. Hill of RealClearSports.com writes how crazy this LeBron mania has been over the past week.

Hill, like many of us, has grown tired of all of the hoopla.

All the false prophets, the unidentified sources and the unnamed NBA insiders who peddled bogus stories to newspapers, talk shows and gossip magazines from Cleveland to California and across the coastal waters have turned this into the "Summer of LeBron." If anything has grown more tiresome than listening to them, I don't know what it would be. OK, maybe mindless talk about the BP oil spill would belong ahead of it, but if it is, at least it's a topic that matters.

But Hill is really bothered with the fans here in Cleveland. The city has bigger issues to worry about instead of where LeBron James will play this fall.

But their obsession with LeBron underscores society's misplaced values - or, at least, Cleveland's misplaced values. Cleveland has never been a city confident in itself. It has always been a city trying to find itself, a city trying to clean up an image that has been kicked around like a soccer ball. It is a city that has never been good enough or proud enough or resilient enough to be a destination.

So it wants to pin whatever it is on LeBron James. It has pleaded for him to stay home. It has promised him its undying love, if only he can show the city a little love of his own.

Free agency and LBJ

Blogger Michael Tillery of The Starting Five writes how different this LeBron James free agency thing has been. He also defends LeBron's decision to do things his way.

Yes, it’s different. Yes, this is something we have never before seen. Yes, LeBron James is making teams come to him.

Why not take control of his future? Corporations do it. Sports franchise owners do it. Why not LeBron?

Remember, Barack Obama has weighed in. Despite the World Cup being the preeminent sports story across the globe, anyone within sports earshot has said LeBron’s name at least once.

Tillery writes LeBron will be viewed as an egomaniac by a society kissing themselves whenever they see a pretentious mirror. He will be viewed as an egomaniac by a society hoping when the phone rings it’s another HR department on the line offering more money than they currently earn with their present employer.

Just win

No matter which team LeBron announces tonight, the bottom line is the bottom line. And the bottom line is that LeBron James needs to win, or forever be linked to the all-time greats that could not win a title.

NBA.com reporter Steve Aschburner writes:

Games. Accolades. Trophies. Dollars. Instant Twitter hordes. Probably the ratings battle in his personal TV time slot for the second Thursday in July.

Those are things LeBron James has won.

Championships. Rings. New fans. Renewed fans. Admiration. Hearts. Minds. Respect.

Those are things LeBron James still needs to win, or win back, if he's going to come out of this with more than a guaranteed contract to play basketball for the next five or six seasons for $99 million or $128 million, respectively.

LeBron should do what is right

While New Jersey Star-Ledger columnist Dave D'Alessandro cover the Nets, he thinks LeBron James should do the right thing and stay in Cleveland. D'Alessandro writes,
So now he’s ready to announce his decision. The free agent market in any sport is always a shameless function of ego, and one week of this was enough. Now the grand prize, a young man who refers to himself as The King, has concluded his vainglorious quest to keep our attention as he decides that he is either going to take one billionaire’s money or another billionaire’s money.

Instead of doing what he — as a native Ohioan — should know is right.

Or maybe that is giving him too much credit, because we’ve been confused by his priorities in the past

Indians Comment of the Day: Team's approach to prospects

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"The problem isn't prospects performing in the system - they do for the most part. It's the step to the pros. Too many of these guys look more like AAAA players than pros. Part of it is the Indians method of being too over the top in handling these guys with kid gloves. They come up, sit, get some at bats, play multiple positions, go back down and repeat three or four times. Bring them up and let them sink or swim." - wareagle30

Manny Acta gets in the swing in his first season as Tribe managerView full sizeFans hope that Manny Acta's approach to playing prospects is different than that of former manager Eric Wedge.

In response to the story Alex White, Indians' first-round pick in 2009, impressive in first pro season: Minor league report, cleveland.com reader wareagle30 doesn't like how the Indians handle some of their prospects. This reader writes,

"The problem isn't prospects performing in the system - they do for the most part. It's the step to the pros. Too many of these guys look more like AAAA players than pros. Part of it is the Indians method of being too over the top in handling these guys with kid gloves. They come up, sit, get some at bats, play multiple positions, go back down and repeat three or four times. Bring them up and let them sink or swim."

To respond to wareagle30's comment, go here.

For more comments of the day, go to blog.cleveland.com/comments-of-the-day.

Browns Comment of the Day: Haden doesn't need to start

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"Why do so many feel just because he was drafted at 7 means he has to start? He could very well not start and still be in for the vast majority of defensive plays as the 3rd coverage guy. Mangini is not going to start him just to justify the pick. The decision will be made as to who gives the Browns the best shot at winning." - tudefit

joe-haden.jpgView full sizeJoe Haden.

In response to the story Cleveland Browns' top pick Joe Haden intends to be in camp on time, cleveland.com reader tudefit doesn't think Joe Haden needs to start to justify the pick. This reader writes,

"Why do so many feel just because he was drafted at 7 means he has to start? He could very well not start and still be in for the vast majority of defensive plays as the 3rd coverage guy. Mangini is not going to start him just to justify the pick. The decision will be made as to who gives the Browns the best shot at winning."

To respond to tudefit's comment, go here.

For more comments of the day, go to blog.cleveland.com/comments-of-the-day.

The LeBron-O-Meter: Uh-oh with a side of oh nooooo!!!!!

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Is LeBron James really on the verge of going to the Miami Heat, or is this another misdirection floated by his marketing people to add to the drama they all are seemingly enjoying all too much?

Dwyane Wade Heat LeBron James Cavaliers fileCould Dwyane Wade and LeBron James soon be teammates on the Heat? Say it isn't so, LeBron.
Is LeBron James really on the verge of going to the Miami Heat, or is this another misdirection floated by his marketing people to add to the drama they all are seemingly enjoying a bit too much?

The LeBron-O-Meter is working overtime to sort out even more rumors, speculation and, perhaps, even more misdirection.

From ESPN's J.A. Adande's Twitter account:

Part of me thinks LeBron's camp is just floating this Miami thing to gauge the reaction. And what I've seen has not been positive.

On the "Mike & Mike" radio show this morning, EPSN's Chris Broussard said something similar and to not count out the Cavaliers just yet.

From Yahoo! Sports:

James’ camp, sources said, went so far as to propose scenarios where the Heat would trade forward Michael Beasley to create additional salary-cap space to sign a complementary player. In those conversations, the representatives spoke only of Miami as the destination for James.

From The New York Post:

One sign James could be staying in Cleveland is he told organizers not to postpone his annual Kids Bike-a-thon in Akron on Aug. 7, which draws 3,000 Northeast Ohio children.

From WKYC's Eric Mansfield and picked up by SB Nation Chicago:

Summit Co. processed request [Wednesday] to change address on tax bill for [LeBron James'] home from an LLC in Cleveland to a new address in Chicago.

However, on his show yesterday afternoon, WKNR radio host Michael Reghi said he talked to an NBA source and said Carlos Boozer's signing with the Bulls effectively eliminated Chicago from the race because of Boozer's defection from the Cavs following James' rookie season.

From Business Week:

Madison Square Garden Inc., owner of the venue where the New York Knicks play basketball, retreated in U.S. trading before LeBron James announces whether he will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Knicks or another team.

Madison Square Garden fell 4.6 percent to $20.58 at 8:41 a.m. in New York. The stock surged to $21.57 yesterday from $20.27 on July 6 amid speculation James, the National Basketball Association’s Move Valuable Player the past two seasons, may join the Knicks, boosting company earnings.

All that, plus the 6,500 stories you find when Googling "LeBron James to Miami", equals an "uh-oh" with a side of "oh noooooo!!!!!" on the LeBron-O-Meter.


uh-oh.gif

Like everyone else in Cleveland, we wonder what LeBron James will do when his contract is up this summer. Will he stay home, or follow Wade and Bosh to Miami? Until he decides to talk tonight, we have to rely on hunches, instincts and educated guesswork. We'll report our findings, more or less daily, using the LeBron-O-Meter.

LeBron James wants your questions

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LeBron James, who now has close to 300,000 followers on Twitter, wants fans to ask him about his decision tonight. LeBron will tell the world at 9 p.m. tonight on ESPN which team he will sign and play with this fall. On his @kingjames twitter account, James tweeted this eight minutes ago: Good Morning! It's your chance to ask...

lbjfistjg.jpgLeBron James

LeBron James, who now has close to 300,000 followers on Twitter, wants fans to ask him about his decision tonight.

LeBron will tell the world at 9 p.m. tonight on ESPN which team he will sign and play with this fall.

On his @kingjames twitter account, James tweeted this eight minutes ago:

Good Morning! It's your chance to ask me a question about my decision, use #lebrondecision to submit and I'll answer them tonight.

Security will be tight tonight around LeBron James' house

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Whatever decision LeBron James makes tonight, the Bath Township police department is ready to maintain order near the Cavalier superstar's home.

lebron-james-smile.jpgView full sizeLeBron James

BATH TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Whatever decision LeBron James makes tonight, the Bath Township police department is ready to maintain order near the basketball superstar's home.

Police Chief Michael McNeeley said they have an extra squad of police officers working tonight around the James home to make sure there are no problems.

"Whether we get loads of happy fans or unhappy fans showing up outside his home, we will be prepared to keep the traffic moving," he said. "There has been a lot of traffic in the area lately, but there have been no problems."

McNeeley said James has been a good neighbor since he moved into the township about two years ago.

"He has hired our officers to work off-duty at his property," he said. "There has always been an officer there, inside the gate. He has increased the number of officers working there in the past week."

McNeeley said he has a plan in place in case hundreds of people show up that would include calling in aid from surrounding police departments. The Bath force has 20 officers.

"We're hoping we won't need it," he said.

McNeeley said his office has been besieged with calls from people looking for some inside information about James' pending decision to stay in Cleveland or sign with another team.

"People think that because our officers are at his house all the time that we have the inside scoop," McNeeley said. "That's jut not the case. He is very tight-lipped about his plans."

LeBron James has told people he will sign with Miami Heat, Brian Windhorst says (Starting Blocks TV)

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Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Brian Windhorst, today's guest, believes James is headed to the Miami Heat, and says James has told people in his inner circle that he will sign with Miami.

Welcome to today's edition of Starting Blocks TV, our Web video show about what's going on in Cleveland sports. Today's show is hosted by Chuck Yarborough and Branson Wright. Today's highlights:


• Reports early Thursday morning have LeBron James joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Cast your vote in our Starting Blocks poll asking how many titles those three players would win.


• Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Brian Windhorst, today's guest, talks about decision day for LeBron James, which comes tonight at 9 p.m. on an ESPN special. Windhorst believes James is headed to the Miami Heat, and says James has told people in his inner circle that he will sign with Miami. If James departs, Windhorst says there is no Plan B and that a rebuilding stage would begin. The Cavaliers won't have enough money to sign a big name, and all of the major free agents have committed to other teams. Windhorst says Cavs owner Dan Gilbert would be better off trading for young talent and draft picks.



Starting Blocks TV will return Friday.


 










Cleveland bloggers react to LeBron James

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With reports of LeBron James headed to Miami, Cleveland bloggers discuss the possible move, explore if there's still hope for the Cavaliers and wonder if LeBron James owes Cleveland anything.

lebron james.jpgView full sizeReports say that LeBron James is poised to leave Cleveland fans hurting once again.

Cavs HQ: "So what is your response to [Chris Bosh not wanting to come to Cleveland]? A guy had a chance to make more money and play for a title in your city and he turned it down to go to Miami instead. He left $30 million on the table to not become a resident of Northeast Ohio. All the talk about how the Cavaliers should have built their team has pretty much flown out the window, huh? All those 'We shoulda gots..." are pretty meaningless when the fact is that a vast majority of NBA players want nothing to do with playing in Cleveland, with or without LeBron James." » Read more

Cleveland Frowns: "It's one thing to question LeBron's decision to 'consider all of his options' in the first place, and stringing it all out until the famous July 1 deadline, but that ship has long sailed. And again, it was only what he told us he was going to do all along. Where were the columns warning LeBron against all of it in advance? Where else but Cleveland was anyone doing anything but egging this whole thing on? All LeBron has done in this feeding-frenzy is give everyone exactly what they've asked for. Everyone except the people of Northeast Ohio and the Cleveland Cavaliers." » Read more

WaitingForNextYear: "There is so much room for movement and reversals in Broussard's report that it dares us to still believe Cleveland has a shot in this thing. It's tough, though. Broussard isn't alone on this. Newsday's Alan Hahn reported the same thing. JA Adande tweeted that he had a source tell him it's 90% certain to be Miami. Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears are reporting that LeBron is so certain of his decision that he has already begun to recruit free agents to come to Miami. There's nothing wrong with still believing and still hoping that something can happen to change LeBron's mind, but at this point, this story is different than the usual 'LeBron is considering this, leaning toward that, flying to here, meeting with them' type of stories we've been getting. There's meat to this report." » Read more

LeBrowns Town: "Would LeBron really go on national TV to divorce a city that has loved him since he was in high school? Such a move could provoke riots in downtown Cleveland and group jumps off the I-480 bridge. Then again, would LeBron go to these lengths to meekly declare that he was staying with the Cavs? Should he leave, he'd be vilified in Cleveland worse than Art Modell ever was for moving the Browns to Baltimore. After the way LeBron has dragged out this ordeal, there's no turning back in the minds of Clevelanders. Should he return to Cleveland, while Cleveland will be on cloud nine, the rest of the country will be peeved that LeBron put them through months of speculation and noncommittal for virtually no reason. Both scenarios make LeBron look like an egomaniac, but it's a wart most Clevelanders can live with if he chooses to return." » Read more

Cavs: the blog: "Cleveland owned the Browns long before Art Modell bought them, took them, and moved them. Likewise, Cleveland owned the Cavaliers long before LeBron James joined the team. Cleveland will own the Cavaliers long after LeBron James leaves. Cleveland does not own LeBron James. LeBron James was born in Akron. He was drafted by his hometown Cavaliers, who signed him to a contract. He played at a high enough level to make his contract a relative bargain. He then signed an extension with the Cavaliers. Again, he played at a high enough level to more than justify the money he was given by the Cavaliers. LeBron does not owe the Cavaliers any more than he has given them." » Read more

Stepien Rules: "Miami? Really? To a team where the alpha male will always be Dwyane Wade? To a team that, after handing out three max deals, will have to fill its roster by adding rookies, vets or anybody who'll play for seven dollars a night? Would they instantly become the best trio in the NBA? Without doubt. Would they be contenders immediately? Yep, check that box. Would you fancy them over the Lakers? Thought so. But besides all that, LeBron isn't leaving over $40 million on the table – which he'd have to – to play in Miami. I just don't see it." » Read more

LeBron James-ESPN connection leaves an odor - Terry Pluto blog

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Are the LeBron James to Miami rumors real or hype?

lebron-wade-hug-jg.jpgWill LeBron James and Dwyane Wade embrace as teammates in Miami? We'll know later today.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- More scribbles in my notebook while waiting for LeBron James to pick a team ...

1. LeBron James to Miami? As my readers like to remind me, I'm very good at being wrong. So maybe I'm wrong again. But so much about this entire story stinks. James is having his "The Decision" show on ESPN tonight. Then ESPN reports that he is leaning to Miami. This is after several days of ESPN and others reporting he was likely to sign again with the Cavs. And then there's fact that free agents Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were visiting teams as a camera crew followed them around.

2. Does all this add up to a new show, something like Three Amigos Go To Miami, complete with an entire film report? Are the Miami rumors being floated to hype the show, because James remaining in Cleveland is a boring national story? Can we trust what ESPN is reporting, because they have a piece of this action?

3. I will say that ESPN's Chris Broussard has been the point reporter on much of this, and Broussard is a friend, a man of integrity who previously wrote for The Plain Dealer and covered the Cavs for the Akron Beacon Journal. He is well connected to the James camp. He also is close to the agent for Bosh and Wade. Yes, those two new Miami players have the same agent. But can these different camps be feeding ESPN information to create drama for the show?

4. I don't have an answer to any of this. It just makes me wonder. I also find it odd that James would fall into the AAU summer team All-Star approach taken by Miami, trying to put James, Wade and Bosh together. Their only other players are Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. Everyone else is gone, cleared for cap space. ESPN's John Hollinger wrote: "Team Trinity would be left to pick up the scraps -- replacement-level talents available for the veteran's minimum, second-round draft picks and D-Leaguers. The only respite might come from a veteran waived or bought out at midseason -- a la P.J. Brown in 2008 or Joe Smith in 2009 -- but even so, we're talking about eighth-man types."

5. Amazing, Hollinger then predicted that team would win 61 games, despite no depth, no center and two superstars with many of the same skills. No doubt, they'd win big in the regular season if they stayed healthy. But is it a team ready to win in the playoffs, where size is such a key? Yes, the Lakers had Kobe Bryant, but Pau Gasol and even Andrew Bynum dragging around a bad leg are keys to their success.

6. Maybe James is buying into the hype. Maybe Pat Riley has promised (or at least hinted) that he'll come down from the front office and coach once more at the age of 65. Maybe this is all one big reality show, and maybe that's what James wants.

7. But in terms of a pure basketball situation, Chicago is far more intriguing than Miami after adding Carlos Boozer (yes, injury-prone, but effective), along with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng (also gets hurt). I kind of like some of the Nets young talent. I'll insist the Cavs are a solid team. But none of these teams are a Made For TV deal, which is what Miami will become.

8. If James goes to Miami, I imagine a lot of Clevelanders will become Orlando fans when those two Florida rivals meet. That's especially true after Stan Van Gundy's comments about how James should stay in Cleveland and how he is appalled by the entire ESPN approach to James' decision.

9. Is it good that James is using the ESPN show partly to raise money for Boys and Girls clubs? Of course. Is that really what this is about? You know the answer to that. James could easily have said he'd give 5-or-10 percent of his new contract (or endorsements) to the clubs, and made it his favor cause over the next few years. But tying the Boys and Girls clubs into this self-serving ESPN show doesn't fool anyone of his intent.

10. Will this spectacle be forgiven by Cavs fans if he announces that he's staying in Cleveland? Probably. But no matter what James think, this free agency period has not been his best moment.

 


Cleveland Cavaliers in talks to acquire point guard Jonny Flynn from Minnesota, sources say

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League sources say Cavs are trying to trade for Minnesota's Jonny Flynn. He is represented not only by the same agent as LeBron James, Leon Rose, but also James' marketing firm, LRMR.

jonny-flynn.jpgJonny Flynn is considered one of the NBA's most promiswing young point guards.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With the speculation that LeBron James is leaving for Miami, the Cavaliers have not stopped trying to improve the team.

According to multiple league sources, the Cavs are in trade talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves involving point guard Jonny Flynn. This might hold extra intrigue because Flynn is represented not only by the same agent as James, Leon Rose, but also James' marketing firm, LRMR.

It is possible that trying to trade for Flynn is an appeal to James before he announces his final decision at 9 p.m. on ESPN tonight. In recent days the team has made a strong and wide-ranging push to trade for James' friend and New Orleans Hornets star guard Chris Paul, but have been rebuffed, league executives said.

League sources have confirmed overnight reports that James has told people he intends to sign with the Heat and join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

However, sources said, none of the teams hoping to sign James have been told he's made a decision.

Since hiring Byron Scott last week, the Cavs have been looking at trades that would bring in guards that can help them play a more uptempo style that Scott prefers. Flynn is a quicker ball pusher that would fit that role.

The No. 6 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Flynn averaged 13.5 points and 4.4 assists during what was an inconsistent rookie season. He has been a controversial player in Minnesota because the Wolves drafted European star point guard Ricky Rubio in the same draft.

The Cavs have been in talks to acquire other quick guards. In addition to Paul and Flynn, the team has been in talks with the Phoenix Suns about speedy combo guard Leandro Barbosa.

P.M. Cleveland Indians links: Indians can't get a break, Manny Acta gets rare boot

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The Indians leave one first-place team to take on another. Oh, joy.


manny-acta-tim-timmons.jpgView full sizeIndians manager Manny Acta was booted for only the third time in his Major League managerial career on Wednesday night. And it was by the time who'd don't it the other two times, as well: Umpire Tim Timmons.

The Indians just can't catch a break. Maybe because they have to play someone other than the Indians. The Tribe ran into Colby Lewis at the Ballpark in Arlington Wednesday night, and came away 4-3 losers.

All Lewis did was run his strikeout total to 105 for the season. He's the first Rangers pitcher to do that before the All-Star game in 20 years. The last? Dude named Nolan Ryan.


Here's a snippet from Enson Grant, a writer for the Dallas Morning News, about the pitcher who last year played in Japan:




When Colby Lewis came back from Japan, there were lots of uncertainties about what would and wouldn't translate in the majors. One thing that seemed certain: He wasn't going to strike out the same number of hitters in the U.S. that he struck out in Japan.


No, he may actually strike out more.


. . . Lewis' 105 strikeouts are tied for the seventh most by a Ranger before the break. The guys ahead of him are Ryan (three times), Ferguson Jenkins, Bert Blyleven and Jose Guzman.


"I thought I'd still be able to strike guys out," said Lewis, who led the Japanese Central League in strikeouts each of the last two seasons. "But I thought the numbers would be down from the last two years. I didn't think I'd punch out as many guys as I did in Japan. I think that's just a credit to commanding the fastball first."



Oh, and just to finish the thought from the beginning, when we said the Indians couldn't catch a break? Well, the Tribe is in Tampa Bay tonight, and the Rays are at 51-33, a game-and-a-half behind the first-place Yankees. Meanwhile, the Rangers will play host to Baltimore, whose 25-59 record is eight games worse than the Indians' 33-51 tally.

It just keeps getting better

Richie Witt, who writes for the Dallas Observer, noted that the Rangers are contemplating what contending teams always contemplate: ways to strengthen their roster. Specifically, Witt said that the Rangers are looking for starting pitching. Guess which starting pitcher.




I don't remember feeling more hopeful, more optimistic at an All-Star break in a long time.


Now, the question is, should the Rangers go for it? As in, do you trade long-term prospects for right-now help?


The Rangers are apparently intensifying talks with the Seattle Mariners about pitcher Cliff Lee. Good news: He would instantly become this team's ace. Bad news: He's a free agent after the season.


The Mariners reportedly want someone in return like pitcher Tanner Scheppers, Martin Perez or Alexi Ogando. The Rangers, meanwhile, are dangling AAA players Chris Davis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.


If it's the latter two, I say done deal. You?


Actually, what SB says is you aren't gonna get a former Cy Young and World Series winner for two minor leaguers.


Even if he is a former Indian.

From The Plain Dealer
A bazillion times a day, planes take off and land successfully. The exception is what makes a crash big news. Fortunately, Plain Dealer beat writer Paul Hoynes isn't writing about crashes (other than the usual wreck that is the Indians' record), but today's piece does feature something almost as rare as a plane crash: The ejection of manager Manny Acta.




Manny Acta is as patient as any Indians manager in memory. But when first-base umpire Tim Timmons called a strike on Jason Donald on a checked swing with two out in the ninth inning Wednesday night, Acta had seen enough.


Yes, closer Neftali Feliz was about the drop the hammer on the Indians in a 4-3 Texas victory, but that didn't stop Acta from sprinting to first base to argue with Timmons, who had already ejected him for taking his hat off in frustration while standing in the Indians' dugout after Timmons' questionable call against Donald.


"I get thrown out for taking my hat off," said Acta. "I have to go 150 feet to argue and delay the game. They talk about pace of game.


"I've been doing rebuilding jobs for four years. These kids don't get the best of the deal. If you have a roster full of players that [the umpires] don't know, these kids don't get a break.


"I know you're not supposed to criticize them publicly. I just got the letter, but so be it. Look at my record. I'm pretty easygoing. I took my hat off and got thrown out. ... The check is on the way."


It was only the third time Acta has been ejected as a big-league manager, the first two coming with Washington.


"The same guy [Timmons] got me twice in the last two years," said Acta. "I went out there and he said, 'The kid Shelley Duncan stared at me all the way out to the outfield [earlier in the game].' What do this have to do with Shelley Duncan?"


Game, set and match to Acta, who is showing himself to be a class act operating in a really tough situation.


Hoynesie's Indians Insider column further underscores Acta's value as a manager and a man. The column focused on Matt LaPorta, who was knocked cold by an inadvertent flying elbow on Monday night. He still hasn't made it back into a game, as Acta is taking the advice of Lonnie Soloff and waiting to make sure one of the Indians' hottest hitters is OK before sending him back onto the field.

Paul Goydos fires 59 in opening round of John Deere golf tournament

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Journeyman golfer Paul Goydos, ranked 137th on the tour, has become just the fourth player in PGA history to fire a 59 during a tournament.

paul-goydos.jpgView full sizePaul Goydos' 59 in the John Deere Classic today is the first 59 on the PGA Tour in 11 years, and only the fourth in tour history.

Silvas, Ill. — Paul Goydos has become just the fourth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59.

Goydos put together his 12-under, bogey-free round on the opening day of the John Deere Classic. He made the turn at 4-under, then birdied all but one hole on the back nine at the 7,257-yard TPC Deere Run course, capping Thursday’s sizzling round by knocking in a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

He raised his club in triumph and accepted high-fives on the way to the clubhouse.

“It’s almost a mythical number in our game,” said Goydos, a 46-year-old pro from Dove Canyon, Calif. “I’ve gone from clubbing a ball in the backyard all the way to the moon, and missed all the steps in between.”

It’s the first 59 on the tour since David Duval went that low in a memorable final round at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic. The other 59s were by Al Geiberger in 1977 and Chip Beck in 1991.

Goydos’ 8-under 28 on the back nine matched the lowest nine-hole score in relation to par in PGA history. Corey Pavin shot an 8-under 26 in the first round of the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

Goydos is ranked 137th in the world and has been on the tour since 1989.

The LeBron-O-Meter: Miami's A Mess Edition

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What's not to like about Miami, other than everything?

andrew.jpgMiami has much to recommend itself to basketball superstars, including the great weather -- not counting the deadly hurricanes, of course.
Say it ain't so, LeBron. Miami? Really? Miami?

We've been there, and believe us, it's no paradise, despite the palm trees.

Let's start with the weather. Yeah, it's nice in the winter. But for 10 months of the year, it's hot, it's humid, it's rainy, it's the sixth most uncomfortable city in America.  Miami regularly gets socked by hurricanes, and was hit by one of the worst ever to hit the U.S. mainland. Florida is the "thunderstorm capital of the nation," and leads the nation in deaths by lightning. But it still gets cold enough, once in a while, to kill off all the oranges, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers.

Then there's pests of every kind and description. Alligators that eat pets. Alligators that eat children. Killer sharks. Pythons living in the Everglades -- 175,000 of them. Things called "love bugs" that copulate in flight and then smack into your car, where their body fluids actually eat away the paint. Cockroaches the size of helicopters. Enormous toads that will poison your dog. Feral ducks that poop a third of a pound a day.

Traffic congestion so bad it imperils the economy. Ecological degradation of the Everglades. Poisoned drinking water. Beaches often have tar balls on them, and they're going to have a lot more.

It's not exactly a tranquil place, either. Lots of crime. Miami's one of the most crime-infested cities in the country. What kind? Major drug trafficking. Mail-order murder. Serial killers. Serial pet killers, for Pete's sake.  Crime so bad, in fact, that they put it in movies. And if all that weren't bad enough, some of the most deadly riots in American history.

Perhaps, LeBron, you might want to keep these things in mind in the last few hours before you announce your intentions.

Meanwhile, the 'Meter holds steady.

Today's meter reading: Uh-oh.

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Like everyone else in Cleveland, we wonder what LeBron James will do when his contract is up this summer. Will he stay home, or follow Wade and Bosh to Miami? Until he decides to talk tonight, we have to rely on hunches, instincts and educated guesswork. We'll report our findings using the LeBron-O-Meter.

LeBron James and Chris Paul on the same team

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After years of recruiting, Chris Paul will finally join LeBron James' LRMR marketing company, writes Yahoo.com's Adam Wojnarowski. James and LRMR CEO Maverick Carter have been recruiting Paul for more than two years to join their fledgling marketing company, and the All-Star guard finally informed his agency at Octagon that he had decided to leave. There hasn't been a formal...

lbj-paul-camp-vert-abj.jpgLeBron James and New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul .

After years of recruiting, Chris Paul will finally join LeBron James' LRMR marketing company, writes Yahoo.com's Adam Wojnarowski.

James and LRMR CEO Maverick Carter have been recruiting Paul for more than two years to join their fledgling marketing company, and the All-Star guard finally informed his agency at Octagon that he had decided to leave.

There hasn't been a formal announcement that Paul will join LRMR , but Paul's agent, Jeff Austin, says his client has left Octagon.

Austin and agent Lance Young negotiated Paul a four-year, $68 million max deal with the Hornets. Paul can be opt out to become a free agent in 2012. Paul had several national endorsements through Octagon, including Right Guard and Nike Jordan Brand.

 

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