LeBron James and even Zydrunas Ilgauskas know what to expect tonight at The Q, writes Linda Robertson of The Miami Herald. “As soon as we land we’ll feel the hate,” Ilgauskas said, smiling. “That’s right,” James said. James maintained his tone of resigned sarcasm as he reminded Ilgauskas of the one big plus of the Cleveland game. “At least I...
Zydrunas Ilgauskas LeBron James and even Zydrunas Ilgauskas know what to expect tonight at The Q, writes Linda Robertson of The Miami Herald.
“As soon as we land we’ll feel the hate,” Ilgauskas said, smiling.
“That’s right,” James said.
James maintained his tone of resigned sarcasm as he reminded Ilgauskas of the one big plus of the Cleveland game.
“At least I don’t need to get as many tickets,” he said. He has told his family, including mother Gloria, and close friends to stay away.
He doesn’t want them harassed. He doesn’t want them to see the spectacle of vitriol. James himself? He’s braced for it. He’s accepted that it will be an “emotionally draining” ordeal.
“Stressful?” he said. “I know it’s going to be a challenge playing in front of fans I loved and still love. It’s going to be a different situation walking into the visitors’ locker room, driving into the tunnel in a bus instead of in my own car.
“It will be a little bit different with 20,000 against one.”
James embarrassed a city and now it is determined to embarrass him.
Stay tuned.
Did Heat violate
LeBron James downplayed a report that suggested the Miami Heat may have violated the NBA tampering rules during his free agency, writes SunSentinel.com reporter Shandel Richardson.
Yahoo reports that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has hired an a law firm to investigate. James said before Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons that he has nothing to hide.
"I'm here, I'm a Miami Heat player representing this franchise," James said. "That's out of my league. I don't have anything to do with that. We've followed the process as every other free agent and this organization did also."
Taking a tour
SunSentinel.com columnist David Hyde took a tour of Akron and Bath Township in search of stories on LeBron James.
Hyde drove by LeBron's house and talked with one of his neighbors who said the best thing about LeBron playing in Miami is that fans don't drive through the neighborhood looking for his house as much.
"But down here, in Akron, people don't hate him. It's up there" — she points north, to Cleveland — "that people tend to hate what he did more."
And there's the LeBron of Cleveland, writes Hyde. The Sherwin-Williams building in downtown was home to an iconic, 10-story banner of LeBron, his arms upraised in triumph. Now a banner of the Cleveland skyline hangs in its place with a double-edged message.
You can wonder why there's such hate on LeBron across America. He doesn't fit the classic sports villain. He wasn't arrested. He didn't walk on a contract. He didn't quit on a team. So why did Memphis fans boo each time he touched the ball?
But Cleveland is easier to grasp. It hates him today as hard as it loved him yesterday, Hyde writes.