LeBron drama
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James reacts after dunking during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) King James had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He was 12-of-19 from the floor (and only attempted two 3s) and for those into advanced stats had a plus/minus of +38 (meaning that in the time James was on the floor, the Cavs outscored Denver by 38 points, which is a staggering total).
By all accounts, considering the Cavs secured a postseason spot and have a 1.5-game lead in the race for the top seed in the East, it should have been a pretty cool night, right?
Well, in the postage, the question was asked whether LeBron unfollowed the Cavs team on Twitter and Instagram. (Complete side point, but here's betting somewhere in Indiana, Larry Bird just shook his head last night and thanked the good Lord that there was no Twitter or anything like that when he played for Boston.)
LeBron did not confirm or deny whether he ended social media connections with the Cavs, saying simply, "Next question."
SI confirmed that James unfollowed the organization.
In fact SI did some digging and learned that James unfollowed like nine different entities in the last week or so. (And yes, like Larry Legend, somewhere Woodward and Bernstein are pretty pleased that tracking social media decisions was not considered investigative journalism back in the day.)
And yes, we're surprised we've used the new-generation word "unfollowed" this many times. (We can't help but use "unfollow" and think of Ralphie Wiggum from "The Simpsons" saying, "Me fail English? Unpossible.")
Still, is it a big deal? Not really. But James is nothing if not savvy, and this is a very clear way to make sure management knows that James is in control.
James, and the trend of the short contracts with yearly opt-out options gives the elite players all the power.
And James could be a free agent this summer and go anywhere. He could take the league minimum - his net worth is north of $300 million and he makes more in endorsements annually that his $22-plus-million contract - and go anywhere.
It's the discussion we've had about Kevin Durant potentially going to the Warriors. Imagine if that happened, and then James was on the move? Crazy right? (Side note: If James was on the move, think of what could happen if he went to San Antonio. Or even the Lakers, since we all know the Lakers are getting the No. 1 overall pick. A trio of James, Ben Simmons and an emerging D'Angelo Russell would be nice.)
In the end, we think LeBron stays in Cleveland, this is just an easy way to remind his bosses who the real boss is.
Cuba
Man, say what you want about Dan LeBatard's radio show, and we know a lot of folks who are not fans. (We think it's outstanding and different and funny, for what it's worth.)
But dude is a great columnist, and what he's written on Cuba is masterful.
It is real and raw and fragile and rough. He's passionate and emotional - writing about family can do that - and that's when writing is its most powerful.
Writing is easiest doing it on something you know very well and some it resonates when you write on topics about which you care.
Cuba - the native land of his parents and grandparents - is that for LeBatard, and his column delivers on the ultimate goal: It makes you feel and it makes you think.
Most of America - myself included - probably shared a similar reaction to our country's effort to reconnect to Cuba this week.
The president was headed down there, so too was Derek Jeter and there's going to be a baseball exhibition game. It could only have been more American if there was an apple pie eating contest and everyone was driving Chevys.
But LeBatard's words give this exercise a different prism. The pain and suffering delivered by the Castro regime is still there because the Castro regime is still there.
No, the economic sanctions our country has used for decades did little to alter that through the years, and doing nothing to help the Cuban people is not the best plan either.
But extending the gift basket of opportunity to a Castro, like he and his family's reign of terror are just moving into the neighborhood for Pete's sake, also seems wrong.
What assurances are we ready to put in place to make sure a difference is coming? What can the people who have known struggles Americans have been blessed to only read about expect. What daily changes - beyond a Starbuck's or a Red Lobster in some coastal towns on the island as they prepare for the tourism explosion that is sure to happen in the coming years - can they and we expect?
None, really. Not when Castro was asked about political prisoners and his response was pretty much "What political prisoners?"
Again, doing nothing in regard to Cuba, but we'll borrow LeBatard's closing words here because they are nearly perfect:
Fidel Castro outlived my grandparents. His regime continues to haunt my old-exile parents. My pain might be borrowed. But, damn, as that sting returns to my eyes, I can assure you that it is real.
Yes, we as a country have a litany of internal issues. Yes, we often meddle in international scenarios that may or may not call for or desire our help. There are no clear answers to those difficult layers of diplomacy and government.
But this seems more like we have decided that some imaginary clock went off - like the Castro regime's 'timeout' punishment had been completed - and we are strolling down there to make amends.
The pain left by half a century of tyranny is real for so many, like LeBatard. Sadly, there's not much the masses can do for that pain that circles families and shapes generations.
That's an individual struggle that is internal - both in the person and the family.
Most of us won't ever know what that's like. Our home has always been the beacon that everyone risks their lives to come to rather than the other way around.
But in a lot of ways, our country acting like everything is going to be different because we're bringing a gift basket and some baseball to town certainly re-energizes that pain for a lot.
And that could be every bit as hurtful.
Stick 'em? We barely even know 'em.
OK, Dwight Howard got fined for having stick 'em on his hands Saturday night against the Hawks.
Apparently that's illegal, and now Dwight feels like he shouldn't be viewed as a cheater. (Side note: Psssttt, Dwight, if you don't want to viewed as a cheater, don't cheat.)
Howard said he's been using the spray for years, but unless he just used an obscene amount of the spray on Saturday, why was Paul Milsaps the first player to touch a stinky ball that realized it?
Seems weird right? Either way, it's kind of a small deal, especially for a Tuesday with this much going on.
But the interesting question for us about this is the focus of different rules and the outrage some generate while others create little more than a ripple.
Is Howard's five-year use of an illegal substance better or worse than DeflateGate? We got really bent out of shape about the DeflateGate, and yes, that's the NFL and it's huge. It also was right before the Super Bowl, and it also included the Patriots who have a checkered past. But remember the days after DeflateGate when Jerry Rice said he used stick 'em for years and it did nothing.
Is stick 'em really viewed with this kind of indifference? Which rules are supposed to be the really 'important' rules in our view?
Even something like PEDs - in baseball they are the devil, in the NFL they are treated with indifference - has a wide scale range in our social judgement.
Curious, no?
This and that
- Because we want to make sure your NIT bracket is accurate, here's the schedule of the NIT final eight in the next couple of days.
- The tennis executive who said some insensitive things about women's tennis resigned Monday, a day after his comments to the media about women's tennis "riding coattails" and some other things including "attractive players" being ready to lead women's tennis after Serena's done. Hey, we are in a place where you run the risk of losing your job when you cross certain lines in what you have to say. That's a fact, and you can bemoan that fact all you want, but a lot of people have jobs that force them to be all-too-often vanilla in regard to public relations. So it goes, but did you notice that world No. 1 men's player Novak Djokovic said men tennis players should be paid more because the game is so much more popular? Yes, he phrased it better - and we are deeply into packaging in today's social conscious - but the messages are similar, and in truth, it's hard to argue with the premise. (Especially when you move beyond Serena in the women's game.)
- Ben Simmons has declared for the NBA draft. In other news, my bulldog Bo has stinky poop.
- Johnny Bench has also come out against the bat flip. "You can flip your bat and the next time up there's chin music." He even said, "the next time up you better watch how much you dig in." Hey, you have to pitch inside to be successful, that's strategy. But the discussion of beanballs and brushbacks again questions which is worse, a bat flip or a 95-mph fastball in the back? One's emotional, the other is premeditated. Whatever.
- Peyton Manning turned down the Colts' offer to retire as a Colt. Here's the story and Manning saying, "I'm a retired Bronco."
Today's question
Feel free to discuss any of the above topics.
We will update the tournament challenge tomorrow. Deal? Deal.
Here are a couple of true or false questions for a Tuesday:
True or false, Peyton Manning is the face of the Colts over Johnny Unitas.
True or false, LeBron will be in Cleveland next season.
True or false, Dwight Howard's cheating is a big deal.
Today also is Clean Water day. What's our Rushmore of 'water' gang?