blog.vanillacokehead.com

I saw LeBron James’ decision to go to the Miami Heat coming in the one or two days leading to it. Between the rumored desire for close friends James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh to play on the same NBA team – and the reports James had put down an offer on a house in the Miami area - to me the writing was on the wall. Sure, I’m bummed; but such is the life of a longsuffering lifetime Cleveland professional sports fan.

I agree with folks such as Terry Pluto who have criticized the way LeBron James turned this into a long, drawn out soap opera. The whole thing could have been done quickly, easily, and with more class than it was. James turned the whole saga surrounding his choice of where to play next season into an egopalooza – sure he tried to make it “for charity” and about having the best prospects to win an NBA title; but in the end, it was about LeBron.

From the beginning of his decision making process, I never faulted LeBron James for wanting to look for the best opportunity to win an NBA Championship. Any professional athlete worth his or her salt wants the best chance to win and be part of a championship team.

The way LeBron James turned this decision making process into an ego-driven, drama-laden, excruciatingly drawn out soap opera showed a marked lack of class.

It reminded me of when I was active on LiveJournal a few years ago – and a user decided to unfollow me there. The person wasn’t just content to just unfollow these people. This person listed – in a public post – all the people who were gone from her friends list; she also requested said people to unfollow her. It was insensitive. It was crass. And it was an unnecessary public manifestation of what should be a private, personal decision. I had no problem with being unfollowed – I had a problem with this LJ user turning it into a spectacle.

Terry Pluto made a great point when he said that “Twenty-five year-olds are usually not the most mature people on the planet.”. I know this first-hand. Nearly 20 years ago I was an emotionally immature, hot-headed, wet-behind-the-ears television news photographer in Jackson, Mississippi. I shot off my mouth first and asked questions later. I took things way too personally. I didn’t fully realize then the consequences of my actions and utterances. It took me another 10 years to start to mellow out and mature emotionally.

I look back at how I acted in my 20s and realize what I might have done differently. I have a feeling that in 10 or 20 years LeBron James might just look back at “The Decision” he made in 2010 and wish he had handled it differently.

I am a great fan of the Kent State Golden Flashes. I’m a second-generation graduate of Kent State. I graduated from there in 1988 and have followed the Golden Flashes since I was a kid. But what I’m about to suggest may tick off some fellow Kent State fans:

This morning’s story on the Daily Kent Stater’s web site about Kent State’s football team being picked to finish last in their division of the MAC got me thinking again about the continued viability of Kent State University fielding a football team at its current level of competition in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly called Division I-A).

For a while, I’ve questioned the wisdom of Kent State University sustaining a football team at the FBS level. Given the continued futility that Kent State has had on the gridiron, I don’t think it’s a good decision in terms of stewardship or competitiveness to maintain a top-level NCAA football program. Kent State University would be better-served by either ditching football entirely – or moving to a lower NCAA level of competition (perhaps the old Division I-AA, now called the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS).

I think that Kent State can maintain top-flight, competitive programs at the NCAA Division I level in football – or basketball – but not both. Given the Golden Flashes’ success in basketball the last couple of decades, the university’s resources should emphasize building an even stronger program in hoops.

Fans of the Kent State football team can count on one hand the number of successful seasons the team has had during the last four decades. When I attended Kent State in the mid-80s, it was a repeated exercise in gridiron futility and frustration following the football team.

Perhaps the Golden Flashes can field a FCS independent squad in football – and a basketball team in one of the “mid-major” hoops-only conferences. I think Kent State could do well in the Horizon League – could have a natural neighborhood rivalry with Cleveland State – and have healthy competition with teams such as Butler and Valparaiso.

If Kent State would choose this “Extreme Athletic Makeover” for its sports teams, it wouldn’t be the first time the university has taken bold steps for its athletic program. Twenty-one years ago this fall, then-president Michael Schwartz disbanded the university’s mens ice hockey team after an alcohol-related hazing incident in which all but four team members were involved. It was a strong statement to constituencies inside and outside the university.

Kent State University should closely examine how the resources of its athletic department are used and look at all the mens and womens sports programs that are fielded. I think an impartial look at the sports programs would conclude that the university’s resources would be better used by downsizing its football program and having it compete at a lower NCAA level – and pouring more resources into its successful basketball program.

The university should engage in such an examination for the good of the athletic program, student-athletes, students, alumni, community, and the other constituencies involved. It would be a painful decision to back down on football – but I think it would be a good stewardship decision on the part of the university. As Michael Schwartz’s decision did in 1988, reallocating how the university allocates resources to its athletic teams would send a strong message about the priorities of Kent State University.

I loved the question ESPN’s Lisa Salters posed to LeBron James after the Cavs beat Dallas 102-74. James had had a hard collision with one of the refs during the game and ended up on the floor for a few minutes.

Salters: “that’s a 47-year-old man and he laid you out.”
James: “…when you’re caught off guard it don’t matter how old somebody is or how young somebody is…you’ll go down.”

Loved the way Salters posed the question and LeBron’s response. :)

I guess the neighborhood grocery store is jonesin’ to get those Michael Phelps Frosted Flakes boxes off their shelves:

I needed my Acme Fresh Market Savings Card; but $2.01 off for a bong hit still isn’t bad money. :)