Not all the reasons why Cleveland becomes a Celtics town are based on a two-year-old grudge.
Hector Gambino, MCTIt's been nearly two years since the spotlights and the smoke in Miami, but much of the nation's basketball fans remain loyal to the conviction of: No. You. Won't. Which is just one reason why it's easy to root for Boston, says Bud Shaw. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Eight reasons for the anti-Heat sentiment, one for every title LeBron James says Miami will win...
They say you only hurt yourself when you hold a grudge. Then why does seeing James on the brink of elimination feel sooooo good? The short answer: for some of us, it's about more than James and how he departed Cleveland.
This may come as a surprise around the country, where a video of a No. 23 jersey in flames was extrapolated to suggest a Guinness Book of World Records bonfire was underway in Public Square, but we're not that singularly petty.
Oh, we can hold a grudge. Don't get me wrong. But there are limits and we are a benevolent people. The Modell family, for instance, is welcome back in Cleveland the next time Venus transverses the sun. So starting in 2117, The Move is all water under the bridge as far as we're concerned.
The reasons to root against Miami, which trails the Celtics, 3-2, with Game 6 Thursday in Boston, are not all specific to James skipping town.
1. Dwyane Wade's fake glasses.
Sounds nitpicky. But you're on the precipice of elimination and it's important to you to wear thick-rimmed glasses with no lenses as a nerd fashion statement? Yo Clark Kent, unless you think you're going to need a phone booth for a quick change, it says style over substance wasn't just a Heat shortcoming on the court Tuesday night.
2. Miami as a sports town.
After Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, some Marlins fans were running around the post-game party asking each other to name the second baseman. Not the Indians.' Their own. Miami didn't deserve that title. And the Marlins got another after that.
Based solely on the fact the Heat organization had to print up a fan guide on how to show support -- arrive before the game for starters -- please? Another NBA title, too?
Elise Amendola, Associated PressIf LeBron James was thinking, "What, Ryan Hollins is guarding me?", at least he recognizes the former Cavalier. How many Heat fans can say the same? 3. OK, so maybe Boston doesn't deserve more riches either.
But I bet you Celtics fans all know who Ryan Hollins is, and not because they synchronize their rest room and beer runs with his entrance into games.
4. LeBron's "not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven..." monologue at the pep rally when he promised multiple championships.
I mean, really. Shouldn't he have least started with "not one?" Nobody roots for Goliath, especially when Goliath grabs a microphone and tells you what a great thing it is to be Goliath.
5. If the Celtics had made similar boasts and LeBron had gone humbly to another city, I'd feel the same way about Boston.
Except Boston didn't. And the Celtics exhibit character traits you can relate to.
They play together. They don't listen when everyone says their better days are behind them. They aren't embarrassed to be caught on TV looking like they're listening to their coach.
"We had a rough first half," Kevin Garnett said of Game 5. "Doc kept saying to us, 'Stay with it. Stay with it.'"
The Celtics quote their coach. The Heat still don't know how to pronounce "Spoelstra."
6. Wade from the July 2010 pep rally: "I feel sorry for whoever gotta guard both of us."
Maybe that's why he disappeared in the first quarter in Game 5.
7. Again, James didn't go to Miami and tell the Heat fans, "I can only promise you we'll do everything in our power to bring another championship to town."
Instead, he said, "We're going to challenge each other in practice. And the way we're going to challenge each other to get better in practice, once the game starts, I mean, it's going to be easy."
Easy? He said easy?
8. After Game 5, Eric Spoelstra told reporters, "Our focus is to fight any kind of noise from the outside, or any human condition."
If you're as good as James and Wade told everyone they were, you shouldn't have to worry about shutting out the noise. They created it, the cheers and the boos. They should feed off it. If they crash short of the title again, it may get to a point where people begin to feel sorry for the Miami Heat.
Just kidding.
For now, a Clevelander can actually root for a team like Boston to eliminate the Heat.
And then root for it to get crushed in the NBA Finals.
SPINOFFS
Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon, charged with his second DUI, made a public statement Wednesday saying he doesn't have a drinking problem but that he has sworn off drinking "for now."
Which is exactly the kind of qualifier you'd expect if he did, in fact, have a drinking problem...
The Mets fan who ran on to the field to celebrate Johan Santana's no-hitter spent two nights in a Queens jail and missed his son's first birthday party. There's a reason Dr. Phil never runs out of ideas for shows.
The Mets' fan, Rafael Diaz, is also banned from Citi Field for life. I don't know what's worse -- that, or the fact in the You Tube video of Diaz' crashing the party, a video that will also follow him through the end of his life, he was wearing Jorts...
Said James after Tuesday's Game 5 loss to Boston, "We played good enough to give ourselves a chance to win. That's all you can ask for."
Absolutely true. If you're the Charlotte Bobcats...
The Seattle Seahawks have forfeited scheduled OTA days for running afoul of guidelines governing off-season practices and workouts. Head coach Pete Carroll said he wasn't surprised by the finding since he has such a young, competitive team.
We're not surprised either since Pete Carroll is the head coach.
Ironic Name of the Month: Praise Martin-Oguike, suspended from the Temple football team while facing rape and aggravated assault charges...
AP fileHe's smiling now, but it's been a grim spring for this Brown. Phil Mickelson pulled out of Jack Nicklaus' tournament citing "mental fatigue." Translation: he was tired of hearing the click of cell phone cameras in his downswing...
Lefty Part II: He did play three tournaments in a row and took his wife to Italy for a vacation in the previous month. Show me the boarding pass stamped "Coach class" and I won't suggest calling old globetrotter Gary Player of South Africa to see if he's stopped laughing at Mickelson's reason...
SEPARATED AT BIRTH
John Krasinski (The Office) and Browns' LB Scott Fujita -- Bob Ference, Chagrin Falls
HE SAID IT
AP fileHe's had a good time in his office, and is finding some bigger things. "You'll have to ask my wife that." -- Mets' fan Rafael Diaz, when asked whether running onto the field to celebrate Johan Santana's no-hitter was worth two nights in jail, missing his son's first birthday party, and facing a possible fine and more jail time.
No really. You will. Because she certainly isn't talking to him.
YOU SAID IT
(The Expanded Midweek Edition)
"Hey Bud:
"If Miami loses on Thursday night will there be a show on called 'The Bad Decision'?" -- Doug, Westlake
No. Just "Drunk in Cleveland."
"Bud:
"Now that Matt LaPorta is blaming the media, can the PD staff help his career by refusing to write about him?" -- Tom Goldy
Yes. But it'll be harder for the Columbus Dispatch.
"Bud:
"Should we read anything into it if you're ever spotted with Catherine Zeta-Jones?" -- Tom Hoffner
Only that she is in the advanced stages of macular degeneration.
"Bud:
"When you play golf in your annual Summer solstice marathon, where should Brandon "Orange Crush" Weeden shop to get properly attired to be in your gallery?" -- Jim, Shaker Heights
I believe he already shops there. The Old, Big and Tall Store.
"Bud:
"Miami needs to make trades with the Padres, Angels, and Mariners. That way, we could see a Bass, a Trout, and a Carp in the Marlins lineup." -- Bob C, Fairfield, Va.
It's come to this, has it?
"Bud:
"If you write a commentary that appears on the first sports page, do you get a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection?" -- Joe Percio
If I write a commentary that appears on the first sports page, everyone else is on furlough.
"Bud: Will he now be known now as Jake Stonewetter?" -- Michael Sarro
First-time "You Said It" winners receive a T-shirt from the Mental Floss collection. Repeat winners get the satisfaction of winning not two, not three, not four, not five...
On Twitter: @budshaw