Can Anyone Stop Phoenix?

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"If there was five of me, I'd be able to," said James.

Here's The Plain Dealer article by Bill Livingston I was talking about. I'm still in awe that he would say this...

It's that damn easy....

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LeBron said he wants Jason Kidd in a Cavaliers uniform...

Asked if getting Kidd would mean an NBA championship for the Cavs, James said emphatically: "Yeah. . . . It's that easy."

Well the ESPN Trade Machine tells me that a deal of Ira, Shannon Brown, and Larry will be good under the cap rules. Let's get it done!

Is it the shoes?

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By now we’ve all heard about LeBron’s new shoes inspired by his love for the Yankees. If you don’t know about it here’s an excerpt from a recent article by ABJ’s Brian Windhorst:
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The shoe will be in Yankees colors complete with pinstripes and likely be sold only in the New York area.
''They're hot,'' James said. ''I like them a lot.'' (Editorial note from Cleveland Sports Torture: “Hot” is street lingo for “really good.”)

As with all of his signature shoes, James' consulted on the design, which includes his No. 23 on the tongue in the block lettering used for Yankee uniforms. On the underside of the tongue is James' name inserted into a popular Yankee Stadium cheer: ''Le-Bron Ja-mes, Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!''

Before conspiracy theorists get going, this is usual business for Nike. The shoe giant has used special New York promotions for James for several years. They've highlighted other things that are special to James, including putting a map of Akron on the mass release Zoom LeBron V model currently being sold across the country.

Yet, there's no doubt Nike has put a special focus on the Big Apple. Two years ago, it opened a temporary museum devoted to James in the Soho section of Manhattan and regularly feature James on a four-story advertisement a block from Madison Square Garden.

Last year, Nike released a New York-themed version of James' shoe that featured graffiti and other representations of the city. Nike also has designs of his signature shoe that target the Chinese market.

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I’m no “conspiracy theorist,” i.e. one of the idiot paranoid Cleveland sports radio caller fans who thinks LeBron having a Yankee sneaker means OMG HE’S GOING TO THE KNICKS OR NETS FOR SURE NOW@#!! Nor do I think it means he’ll be playing for the Yankees come 2010. Did you see LeBron take those clumsy swings in the batting cage at The Jake a few years ago? He looked like me during my one summer of South Euclid/Lyndhurst softball.

LeBron’s a businessman…someone who wants to be a “global icon” and billionaire. From his perspective, having a Yankee shoe in the world’s biggest market is solid money making move.

All of this begs the question: Should it annoy Cleveland fans that our most prominent athlete is once again pandering to the pinstripers? Should it piss us off that only a few months after “Hat-gate” LeBron is actually slapping his name onto Yankee-related apparel? Or is the whole affair just another non-story given unnecessary coverage by the media and pumped up further by bored bloggers?

I’ll reluctantly admit I find it a bit bothersome: Have you ever heard of another athlete putting his likeness on the gear of a city’s hated “rival?” It just seems weird…what if Grady Sizemore came out with Steelers’ longjohns or something? As dumb as that reads I just find it strange that LeBron needs to have a Yankee shoe.

LeBron seems like a smart, worldly guy; yet I think he’s still clueless as to what he means to the region. However, he didn’t grow up caring about our teams, and thereby wasn’t affected by our sports’ disappointments. Now he’s living in an airy world of endless financial opportunity and global popularity. And he probably cares even less about our city’s sports’ history.

I don’t care if No. 23 is a front-running New York/Cowboys/Bulls fan. But don’t make a fool out the city by going on national TV and flashing a Yankee cap to the camera and then tell your loyal fanbase to “deal with it.” That same principle holds for the Chosen One’s new kicks. Find another way to fill your pockets, LeBron.

Give it to me Chris Berman....

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The Geeeeeeeeeeeee-Men are going to the big dance!!! No Tiki, no Shockey, no problem. The national media can suck the big one for wanting Brett Fav-ruh to win for big time ratings. Eli has grown into a straight balla and all the NY media that bashed him his whole career so far can absolutely suck it. The one thing the G-Men have going for them this time around vs. the Pats is they have Bradshaw who didn't play that first game. Big Jake is gonna punish that secondary, and that 14 point line is too high (already down to 12 1/2 I saw). This would be one of the biggest moments in NY sports history if they can somehow pull off this upset. Stay tuned.

The mohawk may look ridiculous…

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…but Damon Jones (I couldn’t find a picture of him with the new ‘do) is contributing to the Cavs’ current winning ways. He had eight points in the fourth quarter last night to help Cleveland beat Miami on a poor shooting night by LeBron. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Jones is contributing more these days than Hughes or Sasha, when a month ago he was refusing to come off the bench in mop-up time against the Heat and singing “trade me” songs in the locker room.

Now Jones is hitting clutch treys, driving to the hoop for layups, and not making a fool of himself handling the point guard duties. Obviously he’s not the ultimate answer for the team’s guard problems, but he’s doing well with the minutes he’s getting.

How about Miami? Shaq moves like he’s wearing concrete shoes. Who’s their second-best player? Ricky Davis? They also have a PG named Quinn who looks about 16 with his fuzzy little moustache. The current Heat are a bit reminiscent of the Cavs in the first year with LeBron…lots of one-on-one play and not much else…although that Cavs’ team was not as bad as this Miami team.