LeTravel, LaQween, LaDouche - La Going to LA

[fishercob]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... um=twitter

Gotta love Kendrick Perkins:

“You don’t see Kobe [Bryant] tweeting,” Perkins said. “You don’t see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you’re an elite player, plays like that don’t excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons who are trying to win championships are not worrying about one play.

“They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him.”

[miller31time]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UNK2ItwweQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewvEjaS2xJI[/youtube]

It's not so much his message, which is sound.

It's the fact that he's the spokesperson for an educational initiative (albeit a HS-program)....when he didn't even go to college.

[closg00]

The rivalry certainly ain't what it used to be, Miami will toy with us until they finish us off with their back-ups tonight.

[GhostsOfGil]

The rivalry certainly ain't what it used to be, Miami will toy with us until they finish us off with their back-ups tonight.

Honestly its better than a game winning travel on christmas day

[fishercob]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UNK2ItwweQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewvEjaS2xJI[/youtube]

It's not so much his message, which is sound.

It's the fact that he's the spokesperson for an educational initiative (albeit a HS-program)....when he didn't even go to college.

He didn't have to. Neither did Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Of all the reasons to criticize Lebron, this isn't one.

[Severn Hoos]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/08/kendrick-perkins-rips-lebron-for-tweet-about-blake-dunk/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Gotta love Kendrick Perkins:

“You don’t see Kobe [Bryant] tweeting,” Perkins said. “You don’t see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you’re an elite player, plays like that don’t excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons who are trying to win championships are not worrying about one play.

“They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him.”

I do sometimes wonder why I bother to listen to ESPN radio, but since I did....

It's amazing how much your pre-set ideas (even worldview, in more important matters) shapes how you see an incident. In this case, most Wiz fans here on this board are pre-disposed to thinking LeBron is a self-absorbed, highly talented player who does seem to be more concerned with being liked, having fun, and putting on a show than he is with being the absolute, don't even think twice about it, best player in the history of the league. [Which, BTW, I think he could be if he had anything near the drive and single-mindedness that MJ or Kobe have.]

So, we see this incident and it confirms our preconceived notions. Even in trying to sound humble (giving Blake Griffin credit), he comes off to me as self-centered as ever. Who ever said he was at #1 in the first place, to "step aside" for BG? And he takes self-referentialism to a whole new level - he doesn't even refer to himself (should that he Himself?) in the third person, he does it in the third-number.

But ESPN has a totally different approach, so sees the situation totally differently. They see it as "fun" that LeBron tweets and connects with his fans. They do think LeBron was being humble, giving credit to Griffin. They think Perkins was being "too sensitive" - as if Perkins sought out Marc Spears, whereas I'm sure Spears asked Perkins about it and he answered the question.

And no one asks - why did LeBron mention Perkins in the tweet at all? When we talk about the Kirk Gibson home run, is it necessary to mention Eckersley was the pitcher who gave it up? Celebrate the guy with the dunk, I get it - and just leave Perk out of it. I have yet to hear anyone on ESPN (where this is mentioned at least once an hour, it seems) make that point.

Don't know what I'm trying to say here, just that it's interesting - and I do think it's instructive in the larger picture. For those who are more liberal politically, they might see Obama as caving in on some issues (Gitmo, tax breaks, etc.) and complain that he's not liberal enough. I assure you that many on the Right saw Bush as a Liberal. If you're predisposed to like a candidate, he may inspire you, or his words seems so perfectly matched to the issue at hand. Or, if you're predisposed to disagree with a candidate's positions, it seems everything he does (verbal patterns, physical tics, etc.) may bother you.

I guess I just wish we could allow ourselves to see each other from outside of our preconceived notions every once in a while. And yes, that means even me/us who dislike so much of the persona LeBron has made/become. After all, his twitter profile has a picture of him with his kids - in that moment, he's just a Dad having fun with those who are most important to him. It's all the rest of the time that he's an a self-absorbed megalomaniac driven to pursue the acceptance he so desperately craves....

Oh, and - screw the tank, let's get a win tonight!!!!

[tontoz]

He didn't have to. Neither did Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Of all the reasons to criticize Lebron, this isn't one.

I agree that criticizing Lebron for this is off base but Jobs and Gates did go to college. Gates went to Harvard where he met Paul Allen. Jobs went to Reed (the only reason i know this is that my sister went there). They just dropped out to start their businesses.

[fishercob]

He didn't have to. Neither did Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Of all the reasons to criticize Lebron, this isn't one.

I agree that criticizing Lebron for this is off base but Jobs and Gates did go to college. Gates went to Harvard where he met Paul Allen. Jobs went to Reed (the only reason i know this is that my sister went there). They just dropped out to start their businesses.

Technicalities. Lebron could have gone anywhere in the country. He passed to start his business.

[tontoz]

Technicaility? If Gates hadn't gone to Harvard there might not be a Microsoft. He met his partner and Steve Balmer there.

Anyway getting sidetracked i dont see why Lebron's lack of college disqualifies him from stressing education.

[miller31time]

You're probably right that I'm being too hard on him. It's a good cause (as I stated). I just think an athlete that didn't go to college shouldn't be the first choice as spokesman for an educational initiative.

[MDStar]

As a person who works in a DC Public High School, Miller I have to disagree to an extent. When it comes to education, it's all about the message that needs to get across to the impressionable teenagers and not the spokesperson. Yes, you can bring in a person with 12 Bachelors, 6 Masters and 3 PHD's, but will anyone listen to him. Or you can bring in a Kobe, Lebron, Jay-Z and have them attempt to relay the same message. Who do you think has a better chance of connecting to that 15 year old, sitting in the back row, flirting with the girl in front of him, while trying to hide his cell phone?

[fishercob]

You're probably right that I'm being too hard on him. It's a good cause (as I stated). I just think an athlete that didn't go to college shouldn't be the first choice as spokesman for an educational initiative.

I think Lebron is a popular and relatable figure to "at risk" kids contemplating dropping out of school -- probably moreso than a non=athlete who went to college.

"Hi kids, I'm Mitt Romney."
"And I'm Barney Frank"
"Reminding you to....BE COOL! STAY IN SCHOOL!"

[miller31time]

You're probably right that I'm being too hard on him. It's a good cause (as I stated). I just think an athlete that didn't go to college shouldn't be the first choice as spokesman for an educational initiative.

I think Lebron is a popular and relatable figure to "at risk" kids contemplating dropping out of school -- probably moreso than a non=athlete who went to college.

"Hi kids, I'm Mitt Romney."
"And I'm Barney Frank"
"Reminding you to....BE COOL! STAY IN SCHOOL!"

If I'm an impressionable teen, aren't I going to look at LeBron's skills on the basketball court as reason to not really give a crap about school? I mean, LeBron got where he is because of his athletic acumen and not anything in the classroom.

[fishercob]

No, because as you should remember from not too long ago -- teenagers are idiots. They're going to listen to celebrities before they'll listen to "credible" sources.

I also disagree with your assessment on how Lebron got to where he did. He's enormously athletically gifted, sure. But so is JR Smith. Lebron is clearly extremely hard-working, and has been for at least the last decade. You don't end up with his skills by being "gifted." He's highly intelligent too. He may not always make the wisest decisions, he may be a narcissist, and not particularly scholarly or well-read, but he's definitely intelligent. Greats like Bird and Magic have used the word "genius" when describing how Lebron sees the court and studies the game. He's also very funny (subjective, but when we take of our hater glasses and see some of the stuff he did on SNL it's apparent), which generally correlates with intelligence. You don't find many hilarious people who are stupid.

[dobrojim]

Teenagers are just naive about what they know vs what
they think they know. That often leads them to take
advice from the wrong sources.

I sold my tix for tonight but at least got assurances that
it was not to LaTrav fans. I would feel really badly if
I had to do that. But I'm going to feel much worse if
the unthinkable happens and we actually win the game.
However unlikely, it's not impossible.

[verbal8]

I sold my tix for tonight but at least got assurances that
it was not to LaTrav fans. I would feel really badly if
I had to do that. But I'm going to feel much worse if
the unthinkable happens and we actually win the game.
However unlikely, it's not impossible.

Did you sell them to this guy?:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball- ... 04602.html

[montestewart]

I sold my tix for tonight but at least got assurances that
it was not to LaTrav fans. I would feel really badly if
I had to do that. But I'm going to feel much worse if
the unthinkable happens and we actually win the game.
However unlikely, it's not impossible.

Did you sell them to this guy?:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball- ... 04602.html

I was pretty close to that interaction. LeBJ probably could have easily leveled that guy and his buddies, but I couldn't believe he'd even devote that much time to it. I guess things sometimes just get under your skin.

We once had courtside seats near center for the Wizards-Knicks. I wanted to wear a Carlisimo mask and attach some mannequin hands to my neck. My wife thought better of it. Sprewell stood right in front of us on one inbound. That getup would have gotten me on TV. And maybe punched.

[FAH1223]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMbO7UfFxFY[/youtube]

[verbal8]

It seems almost like the Heat will have to rely on Wade to win championships. We have already seen that LeBron can lead a team to a ton of regular season victories, but he seems to lack a desire to be among the greats.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... tar_022712

[daSwami]

THIS.