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The Decision

Suffering Sports Cities: Cleveland

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Editor’s Note: Isaac Huss concludes his Suffering Sports City series. After looking at the woes of his hometown in Minneapolis and sharing in the difficulties of Denver & Oakland, he goes for the longball and empathizes with the people of Cleveland.

LeBron James was smiling Saturday night.  Sorry, Cleveland fans.

His Miami Heat had just eliminated the Boston Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, and he was the biggest reason.  James was everything he’s supposed to be: an unstoppable force on the offensive end, a menacing defensive presence, and a man whose charisma and effortlessness in pretty much everything he does leaves you shaking your head.

For most of us, like him or hate him, that shaking of the head is out of respect and admiration at least.  But for Cleveland fans…  Oh, Cleveland fans.

When LeBron James decided to take his talents to South Beach, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wrote a letter to Cavs fans everywhere (no, it was not in Comic Sans).  In it, he lamented along with them the loss, pain, and downright betrayal he felt in the wake of James’ exit.

Then he predicted that his newly LeBronless Cavaliers would win an NBA Championship even before James, Dewayne Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Miami Heat.  At the time, it was unthinkably unlikely, and even though the odds improved ever so slightly after the Cavs won the draft lottery, followed by the Heat’s meltdown in last year’s NBA Finals, LeBron and the Heat are now just four victories away from proving Gilbert dead wrong.

Forgive Gilbert, though, if he allowed his disappointment with his team and its fresh and gaping LeBron-sized hole to spill into irrational angst toward the Heat.  But these are the things that happen in the sorriest sports city in America (with apologies to Buffalo).

How sorry is Cleveland?  Let us count the ways.  The aforementioned Cavaliers have never won an NBA Championship.  In fact, before LeBron James showed up, the team had never made an NBA Finals.

It seemed that God Himself ordained the franchise would win the draft lottery in 2003, the year the most highly anticipated prospect in the history of American pro sports would emerge from nearby Akron.  Things were looking up, and LeBron did end up restoring credibility to a team that hadn’t really recovered from Michael Jordan’s “The Shot” game in 1989.

Reaching the Finals in 2007 and then rattling off back-to-back 60-win seasons wasn’t enough to convince LeBron to stay when he became a free agent in 2010.  Taking his “Decision” to national television, he, plaid shirt and all, announced—with a smile, no less—that he was essentially leaving Cleveland for dead.  It would be safe to say that LeBron put the “Diss” in The Decision.

Fans of the local NFL team, the Cleveland Browns, are well acquainted with being left for dead, literally.  For three years, after owner Art Modell took his players and personnel out of Cleveland to form the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, the Cleveland Browns were “deactivated”.  In 1999, the Browns were reassembled, essentially as an expansion team, as a settlement between the city and Modell kept the franchise legacy in Cleveland.

Which also meant that the memory of football failure would be remain alive and well in the state of Cleveland.  The Browns have never won a Super Bowl, never even played in one.  However, they did lose three conference championships between 1986-1989, including “The Fumble” game in 1987.

And no conversation of tortured Cleveland fans can exclude The Fumble.  Two yards away from scoring the tying touchdown in the AFC Championship Game, Broncos DB Jeremiah Castille stripped Browns running back Earnest Byner of the football and the Broncos recovered, game over.  On the other hand, the Browns never recovered.

In the 23 years since The Fumble, the Browns have made the playoffs just twice, and only once since starting anew in 1999.  But hey, at least they have the ugliest uniforms in football, not to mention fans who dress up like dogs.  Like beaten-down dogs still loyal to their thankless master, you gotta be loyal to love a team like that.

But neither the Cavs nor the Browns can touch the longevity nor the so-close-yet-so-far-away losing of baseball’s Cleveland Indians.  The storied franchise does not lack for legends, as a walk through the museum beyond Progressive Field’s left-center field fence proudly proclaims.

Yet the Indians last won a World Series in 1948, although they came so very close in 1995 and 1997 when they lost the World Series in six and seven games, respectively.  In 1997’s game seven, they led 3-2 in the ninth inning over the Florida Marlins.  But in true Cleveland fashion, the Indians were unable to stay out of their own way.

A potential insurance run, Robbie Alomar, was thrown out at home in the top of the ninth on a fielder’s choice.  Then in the bottom of the ninth, still leading 3-2, two-time all-star closer Jose Mesa blew the save, allowing the Marlins to tie the game at three.  Finally, in the bottom of the 11th, four-time gold glove winner Tony Fernandez’s fielding miscue allowed the eventual winning run on base, and the rest is history.

Since then, the Indians have lost twice in the American League Championship Series, but more recently have bottomed out.  In 2009, the Indians lost 97 games, and another 93 in 2010, and promising starts to last season and this have been followed by cold spells.

And as loyal as Cleveland fans are, a beaten-down fan base can only take so much.  The Indians sold out every game from 1995-2000, but this year they’re dead-last in attendance at a little over 17,000 fans a game.  This in one of the nicest urban ballpark settings in America.

So there’s no joy in Cleveland these days.  Gilbert’s prediction for a Cavs’ Championship before LeBron and the Heat get theirs might even be less likely at this point than Lebron’s prediction of fifteen championships or however many he promised Miami at his welcome party back in 2010.

Maybe LeBron will build upon his strong series against the Celtics and continue to silence his doubters.  Maybe he’ll finally exorcise his demons and win the championship that eluded him in Cleveland and his first year in Miami.  And maybe he’ll do it in such a dominant, effortless way leaving us to again shake our heads in amazement.

And when you do finish shaking your head, maybe just shake it one more time in honor of those suffering fans in the sorriest sports city in America, the City of Cleveland.

 

A Defense Of LeBron James & Other NBA Weekend Thoughts

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LeBron James makes another return to Cleveland tonight with the media again jumping all over him for an obviously innocent remark. James, when asked about the prospect of him again becoming a Cavalier at some future point, said he couldn’t rule it out, that nobody knows what the future holds. For this, James is being excoriated for again being insensitive to the city he jilted in “The Decision.”

You know I’m not a LeBron fan. I rooted for Dallas in last year’s Finals and even though I generally don’t like the city of Chicago’s sports teams, since the Windy City faithful tend to be the New Yorkers of the Midwest when it comes to arrogance, I’ll admit to having gut-level sympathies with the Bulls in the current battle. But I’m also not a LeBron-hater, a middle ground that I guess puts me out of place in today’s NBA world.  Each passing day with the media coverage of him though, moves me closer to a sympathetic view.

To start with, let’s begin with the notion that he jilted Cleveland. He played eight years for the Cavs and gave them their best teams in an otherwise lost organization’s history. The fact the team utterly collapsed without him speaks volumes to how bad a supporting cast the front office surrounded him with. That he put this team in the Finals once, and got close a few others teams speaks volumes to James’ ability and competitive drive. As to the argument that he treated Cleveland with the way he left, the infamous “Decision” on ESPN, I agree it was self-promoting  to the extreme, a reason I’m not a LeBron fan. But as for treating Cleveland poorly—has anyone actually been to Cleveland? Other than Jacobs Field and a nice Irish pub nearby called The Harp, this is a city that’s basically a walking cesspool. Clean up the damn city, then worry about whether a player “jilts” you on national television.

LeBron’s comment that you can’t know what the future holds and his return could be possible pending future events is an innocuous—if unsavvy—declaration of the obvious. But I guess with Brett Favre now retired for good, the media needs to track somebody else all over the country and read deep thoughts into every casual statement.

Anyway, Minnesota-Houston is a better game tonight, with the Wolves two games out of the playoffs and the Rockets still holding steady. Denver goes to Memphis, where the Grizzlies seem ready to live up to their preseason expectations and have moved into the #8 spot, while the Nuggets are trying to avoid a free-fall. The ESPN doubleheader starts at 8 PM ET with Dallas-Philly, a good game among teams just outside the elite in their conferences, although the Sixers inability to win at home over the Clippers does raise concern about the staying power of Doug Collins’ team. The nightcap at 10:30 PM ET is Suns-Lakers. The city of Phoenix tries to complete a sweep of Hollywood, as in the NHL the Coyotes edged the Kings 1-0 last night in a key game in the playoff race. The Suns-Lakers rematch back in the Staples Center on Sunday.

Saturday’s a light schedule as the NBA defers to college hoops, but one of the games is a big one. San Antonio and the LA Clippers are both right on Oklahoma City’s heels for the top spot in the West and they meet up in Los Angeles. I’m surprised and disappointed this game is in the afternoon, rather than NBA-TV’s Saturday night feature, which is instead Atlanta-Portland, with the Trail Blazers just outside the playoff bracket in the West and the Hawks still holding strong trying to finish in the top four in the East and get homecourt in the first round of the playoffs.

NBA Sunday means marquee TV action and Jeremy Lin goes before a national TV audience as the New York Knicks host Dallas at MSG. The game tips at 1 PM ET and is followed by Orlando-Miami (3:30 PM ET) , with both on ABC. The Magic remain the mystery team of the East with Dwight Howard’s status still uncertain. With the #6 seed so coveted by teams like the Knicks and Celtics—meaning you avoid Miami/Chicago in the first round—Orlando holds the key. If they trade Howard and fall apart, the 6-spot opens up. If they keep him and stay competitive, it’s a tough fight. Then on Sunday night it’s Denver-Oklahoma City (8 PM ET, ESPN), with the Thunder leading the way in the West.

 

 

 

Portland Starts Strong In The West

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The Portland Trail Blazers are lurking in the Western Conference. They won 48 games a year ago before being Dallas’ first victim in the playoffs and with a nationally televised win over the LA Lakers on Thursday night, Portland is up to 5-2. Can the Trail Blazers keep right on blazing and become a contender in the West? Or is another #6 seed and early exit the most they can hope for. With the Notebook doing its NBA previews “on the fly”, as the early season develops, Portland leads up a group of four teams we look at today.

Gerald Wallace and LaMarcus Aldridge are a potent tandem at forward and it was their scoring that keyed the Laker win. Raymond Felton is a talented floor leader who can the offense flowing. The production from the two-guard spot is respectable enough, with Wesley Matthews and Jamal Crawford, one of the game’s best sixth me, sharing responsibility. Where Portland’s fate will be determined is up front. If Marcus Camby rebounds consistently and occupies the paint, the Blazers can advance in the postseason. If not, a finish like last year’s—decent, but nothing special—is the most they can hope for.

Elsewhere in the NBA…

Utah: The Jazz only won 39 games a year ago, and while they would be good enough to make the playoffs in the East (and in fact the win total itself would be higher in the East because of softer competition) it won’t hack it in the West, where Utah has got serious problems in the backcourt and no real scoring punch at forward with Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. They get some serious work in the middle from Al Jefferson, but if this team is playing in late April, I will be stunned.

Atlanta: After 44 wins and beating Orlando in the first round of the playoffs, the Hawks are looking to build on that in a conference that isn’t very deep, but does have a tough glass ceiling to crack with Chicago and Miami. The Hawks play pretty good defense, but they need to do a better job of rebounding the misses they force and that falls on Al Horford. Atlanta has a good inside-out scoring combo with guard Joe Johnson and power forward Josh Smith, but they need better play both in the post and on the point if they’re going to even get to the second round again.

Cleveland: A 19-63 record was the result of LeBron’s departure for Miami. The Cavs used the #1 pick in the draft to take Duke point guard Kyrie Irving. In spite of only spending one year in college and having that marred by injuries, Irving is off to a god start and the Cavs have won four of their first seven. With only Irving and forward Antwan Jamison—a North Carolina man to pair up with the ex-Dookie in the backcourt—playing well, I don’t see how this sustains itself. But at least Cleveland has the building block to get back to respectability again. For all the heat that LeBron gets over his failure to win a title, it has to be noted that he somehow carried this franchise to the Finals in 2007 and more playoff advancement in 2008-10, in spite of the fact his supporting cast was immediately exposed as awful after he left. I’m no LeBron fan, but he deserves credit for this. And I don’t blame him for taking his talents elsewhere.