New York Knicks Podcast

LeBron's Return to Cleveland

James throwing talcum powder up in front
of the Cleveland crowd,
something he did prior to
 every home game in his
7 years as a
Cavalier.

Cavalier fans burning the jersey
of their once beloved Lebron James.

Ever since "The Decision"--the self-indulgent, unnecessary 1 hour TV special on which Lebron James announced that he was leaving the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers to form an "all-star team" with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat--the media has obsessed with every development concerning James and the Heat.  Nothing has been different this week, as everywhere you look, there is another article on Lebron's return to Cleveland on Thursday, when the Heat take on the Cavaliers.  No, there are no playoffs going on.  No, there are no championships at stake.  However, this regular season game has riveted the sports world.  Will Lebron James follow his 7 year tradition and throw talcum powder in the air in front of the fans who once loved him?  How badly will he be booed?


The lead story on SportsCenter in the morning is not the fact that the Steelers are playing the Ravens Sunday night for first place in the AFC North or that the Jets and Patriots face off Monday night for first place in the AFC East.  The media knows that despite the fact that these stories may be the most important, they are not the most intriguing.  While there are much larger stories that should be talked about, the return of Lebron James to Cleveland is clearly the favorite of the media.  People have the strongest feelings towards this story as loads of people despise Lebron following his "heartless" move to Miami, while some support what he did citing the fact that it is all about winning.  Regardless of what you feel, there is no denying that the media wants people to talk about it.  And whether we like it or not, the media is going to get what they want.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/sports/02leading.html?ref=sports>

NFL Players Union Gives Counterproposal to 18-game Schedule

<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5813574>

During this past offseason in the NFL, owners officially conceived their proposal for an 18-game schedule.  To me, this seems ridiculous, especially with the amount of injuries and the amount of concern for these injuries with the current 16-game format.  Extending the regular season would only increase the amount of health issues for NFL players--something that clearly does not appeal to the players union (NFLPA).  However, upon looking at the question of why an 18-game schedule, the answer invariably comes back--money.  It's all money these days.

In the past few days, the NFLPA has finalized their counterproposal to the 18-game idea.  Their proposal includes ideas such as:

     -two bye weeks per team throughout the season (as opposed to the current number of one)
     -significantly reduced contact between players during training camp with four practices a week      consisting of helmet-less and padless periods
     -voluntary offseason workouts would be reduced from the current 14 weeks to five weeks or 20 days
     -reduction of the amount of games players need to become vested to qualify for post-career health care and pension benefits


I am opposed to the idea of an 18-game schedule, and this counterproposal from the NFLPA is a step in the right direction.  While money may win out in the end (as usual), it is nice to know that there are still organizations out there that show concern for their subjects and are willing to stand up for them, and don't just show concern for money.

Giants Game Blacked Out; Cablevision, FOX Dispute Continues

<http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cablevision_talks_continue_but_giants_etQJyOeCXTlrl1NONq6zDL>

It just goes on and on.  Is Cablevision right?  Or is Fox right?  The real answer to this question is - why should I care?  They certainly don't care about me.  If they did, there wouldn't be a blackout.  Yes, I understand that if they had settled this dispute earlier, in the end it would have cost my family and any other Cablevision subscriber more in fees.  And it ultimately will anyway when they finally do settle.  But what they don't understand is the simple fact that subscribers had to miss one minute of programming just continues to take any ounce of care that consumers have for either party.  But what's the difference to them?  We are all going to watch television anyway and for most it's too much of a hassle to change providers.  Who will win?  I don't care.