Intrade says the Heat:
Bill Simmons column is a must read:
If LeBron picks anyone other than the Cavaliers, it will be the cruelest television moment since David Chase ended “The Sopranos” by making everyone think they lost power. Cleveland fans will never forgive LeBron, nor should they. He knows better than anyone what kind of sports anguish they have suffered over the years. Losing LeBron on a contrived one-hour show would be worse than Byner’s fumble, Jose Mesa, the Game 5 meltdown against Boston, The Drive, The Shot and everything else. At least those stomach-punch moments weren’t preordained, unless you believe God hates Cleveland (entirely possible, by the way). This stomach-punch moment? Calculated. By a local kid they loved, defended and revered.It would be unforgivable. Repeat: unforgivable. …
Picking anyone other than Cleveland on this show would be the meanest thing any athlete has ever done to a city.
Yep.
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I guess LeBron is very mean. See my post here to visit how the odds fluctuated as time passed.
I don’t think Pete Carroll ever took money out of the equation, Antitrust Guy
And, on a slightly more serious note, I agree it’s like high school recruiting. But I saw it more like national signing day, where he announces a commitment to go. He still doesn’t have a contract, or even terms in principle. It’s an announcement that he intends to go to the Heat. I would chortle loudly if somehow Wade, Bosh, and LeBron can’t figure out how to divide the spoils.
So, SMD – Pete Carroll?
I don’t think you can ever actually take money out of the equation. Sometimes you’re just made an offer you can’t refuse.
For those of us that are college football fans, it has been interesting to watch how the entire LeBron courting process (pun not entirely intended) resembles that for high school students. In most sports, money is the driving factor, but since both college football and basketball have hard caps on how much a player can be compensated (in college football, that cap is $0, notwithstanding USC and SMU), other factors come to the forefront. What type of climate is the team in, for example, becomes paramount.
I was walking with a NFL coach with college experience the other day (anonymous name-dropping FTW!), and he struck the point home to me. College facilities today for players are much, much better than NFL facilities, because college teams have to use workout facilities as a selling point, while professionals usually couldn’t care less. When you take money out of the equation, interesting variables get used as alternatives.
The problem with King James going to the Heat is that basketball rules provide that only one ball may be used at any time.
Dynamic Duos Like Wade and Bosh Rarely Mean a Championship
http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/keeping-score-dynamic-duos-like-wade-and-bosh-rarely-mean-a-championship/