It’s bad enough that LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers were unceremoniously ousted from the NBA playoffs last week, but the whole basketball world seems to be imploding on the 25-year-old phenom.
His effort in game 5 of the Celtics series was so poor that people were asking if he was trying to begin the summer early, a summer in which he is the prize free agent, perhaps in league history since Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kareem never reached the free market. James then blamed the fans for concentrating on “the one or two bad performances” he’s had in his whole career in Cleveland. Of course, the other bad games weren’t in the playoffs, with the weight of championship expectations firmly on the Cavs.
Then, stories began to surface that the Chicago Bulls were one of the prime candidates (perhaps number 1) to obtain Mr. James’ services. The Cavs need LeBron to be the face of the franchise and some people are placing his return as a needed boost to the recession hit Ohio city. The Knicks, who need to do something, anything, to make themselves relevant in the league and city again have been saving their money for a run at LeBron too.
However, it appears that the Bulls have enough money to be able to afford James. And there are come compelling reasons that James might find Chicago interesting. There is a young nucleus of talent like Jalen Rose and Jakim Noah; it is a bigger town and media center, unlike Cleveland, and there is no coach at this time, so James could have his pick of who he wants to play for. (I never had time to discuss the fist fights and eventual firing of the Bulls’ last coach Vinnie Del Negro, but suffice it to say that Del Negro was in over his head, had no head coaching experience when he took the job, and had problems. Overall, it was a wasted three years as the Bulls hired a coach on the cheap.)
The negatives are fewer, but they are strong. First, if James though he was under scrutiny and pressure in Cleveland, the ante is raised exponentially in Chicago. Another lackadaisical playoff effort could make the fans turn on him. And finally, there is the still gargantuan shadow of the other number 23, Michael Jordan. Bulls fans are used to a number 23 who can take over a game, and is one of the game’s all time best. James, who wore 23 in Cleveland as homage to Jordan, would have HUGE shoes to fill.
Making this story even weirder, James has to deal with rumors that began to spread last week that LeBron James’ mom, Gloria James, had sex with her son’s teammate Delonte West. This story claimed to explain the Cleveland Cavaliers’ poor play and unexpected collapse in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. An attorney for James has formally denied the “idiotic and ‘off the wall'” speculation, and it should be said that every reason for the Cavaliers’ collapse has been proposed in Cleveland, including those involving space aliens, sun spots, the JFK assassination, and the Loch Ness Monster.
Is there ever a time when one wouldn’t want to be a young, rich, great basketball player with free agency staring you in the face? This is one of those times.

I’ve never been much of a Lance Armstrong fan. I admired him overcoming cancer to win seven Tour de France cycling races, but doping has always hung over that sport like a tarp on a baseball field during a rain delay and somehow, Armstrong was too clean cut, too All-American. Call me a cynic, but there had to be something lurking behind the image.
For his historic victories, Armstrong became rich and famous; and he did the usually thing – dumped the old wife and kids and became a serial dater, even was engaged to singer Sheryl Crow for a time. During all this time, despite numerous rumors of doping in cycling in general and Armstrong in particular, he has denied more than Pete Rose.
But is that over? American cyclist Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory, finally came clean this week; admitting to systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs. Landis sent a series of e-mails to cycling officials and sponsors acknowledging and detailing his long-term use of banned drugs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reportedly, Landis wrote in the e-mails that he started doping in 2002, his first year racing with the U.S. Postal Service team led by Armstrong and Landis accused Armstrong of involvement in doping along with American riders Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie and Armstrong’s longtime coach, Johan Bruyneel.
Armstrong continued to deny although it should be noted that he wiped out during the Tour de California on the day the latest allegations surfaced. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Armstrong and doping, but once he is finished racing for good (he retired once before and returned to the sport), my guess is that once he is no longer a spokesman and the money starts to run out, he will write a tell all book to announce what we’ve all suspected all along. He just won’t get my $30.

Since we’ve talked about Floyd Landis, we should discuss another slimy sports individual who was in the news this week. Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy appeared on Dan Patrick’s radio show this week and continued to talk about the fire underneath the smoke of his gambling conviction.
Donaghy said that he didn’t fix games; he just advised people to bet on games where he saw something in the relationship between the refs and the players in the way the league “suggested” calls to watch for. This is the most troubling part of the Donaghy story (and a perception that I’ve had about the league since the 1980s): Donaghy said the NBA prodded the refs to manipulate games by the way they wanted games called. He said that often he’d be in a meeting with a supervisor and word would come down from the league to emphasize something. For example, Dallas was down in a playoff series against Houston, and his supervisor told the refs to watch Yao Ming’s screens. Donaghy said that was enough info for him to know the Mavs would cover.
Donaghy said the NBA was pushing certain stars and that had a big effect on the outcome of the playoffs. Donaghy said in 2003 the Sacramento Kings should have won the title but the way the series was called cost them.
My perception was that games would be impacted based on whether big market teams were playing, or just to extend series. If the Knicks or Lakers were down 3-1 in a series for example, suddenly, the team behind in the series would suddenly get the lion share of the foul calls. Maybe it didn’t decide a series, but it could extend the series for more television revenue.
The NBA says that Donaghy is a rogue; a lone bad apple and perhaps he was in terms of betting on games. But the 1,000 lb gorilla in the room is the perception that the league “wants” certain teams in the playoffs, and “wants” long series. If they are interfering in the outcome of games, the NBA could turn into professional wrestling overnight. Subpenas and criminal charges would follow, and the NBA would be in ruins. Even though I don’t follow basketball anymore, the perception exists and the league cannot just duck its collective heads in the sand and hope the whole thing will go away.
Silence makes the league appear guilty and always has.

Six. Last night, the Hawks played even better than in game 1 against the Sharks. I had been concerned because of all of the shots Niemi faced in game 1 (44), but the defense stood up last night and only allowed 25 shots all night. Are we at the brink of a championship?

It’s tough, but we may have the 2010 poster child (accent on “child”) for spoiled, selfish athlete. Marlins star shortstop Hanley Ramirez failed to hustle for a ground ball Monday night, and Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez yanked the 25 -year-old. Instead of taking the punishment like a man and perhaps learning from the incident, Ramirez turned aggressive, mocking his manager, his manager’s words and even his own teammates.
I had barely heard of this kid, since I pay little or no attention to the Marlins, but from what I hear, he has acted a general ass all over the place, many of which have been covered up by Gonzalez and team officials. According to SI.com, team sources say he has made a spectacle of himself on team flights. The most public incident up to now had been last year when Dan Uggla called him out for removing himself from a game when Braves pitcher Tim Hudson was moving the team down. Ramirez cited a hamstring issue, but Uggla and other teammates suspected that Ramirez was more concerned about winning the batting title, which was the real reason he bailed that time.
I’m sure that part of it is being rich, talented, and only 25, but this kid is doing the worst thing he could do – he is throwing his manager, his team, and worst of all, his teammates under the bus. As character becomes more and more of a factor when teams consider aquiring players either in trades or especially as free agents, Mr. Ramirez may find few suitors for a “me-first” athlete.

Seven more wins and the Blackhawks win Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time in 49 years. It’s far from over; but they may be on the brink

It’s time to call San Jose’s Joe Thornton a bust. Not in the regular season where the gargantuan forward is always among the league leaders in points. It’s in the playoffs where Thornton disappears.
It’s the reason the Bruins shipped him to California several years ago: not a leader; disappears in the playoffs. Since joining the Sharks, the team has consistently finished near the top in the Western Conference, but before this year, they would be drummed out in the first round of the playoffs.
In this year’s playoffs, they got past an injured Colorado team, and polished off the dreaded Red Wings. But, for all of that winning, Thornton is a -8 plus/minus. Minus 8 is fine for a guy on the fourth line, but Thornton is your star; the team captain. It seems like every year, hockey writers are questioning San Jose’s toughness and heart. We may be asking that yet again.