Winning is a huge thing for me…. The major reason in my decision was the best opportunity for me to win, to win now and in the future also. I’ve done some great things in my seven years and I want to continue to do that.
–LeBron James on his decision to join the Miami Heat

Interesting the number one Google trend this morning is Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team; the same team, star MVP player LeBron James dumped on last night in an ESPN prime time special to pursue “winning” with the Miami Heat.

Per Google trends, Dan Gilbert is “on fire.” Cleveland Cavaliers trends #2, and LeBron James at the time of this writing is trending below “involuntary manslaughter.” [Ref. the verdict in the trial of the transit police officer in Oakland.]

Gilbert’s open letter to the fans is probably fueling the fire as well as a few LeBron jerseys being burned in effigy in Cleveland.

“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”

Is this Gilbert’s throwing down the gauntlet before the “king”? How long will this feud last?

LeBron James performed a striptease for the press, the fans, and the team franchises resembling Mama Rose’s key line in the musical “Gypsy” that launches her daughter Louise’s career as Gypsy Rose Lee.

“Make them beg for more, and then don’t give it to them!”

One gets the feeling James knew this would be an ugly mess and decided to control the narrative by setting up a prime time special on ESPN. And for added damage control, included some human props from the Girls & Boys Clubs in Greenwich, CT (Wait! Not Ohio?!) — giving the NYC sports writers even more to salivate over until the final ax dropped on their heads.

Whoever is working with James on his narrative, obviously knows little about story structure. They should’ve been aware of the perils of trying to control their own media and narrative especially when you string everyone along for the ride. Look how great that worked for Tiger Woods. The drama has greater impact when the photographers and reporters are camped out outside the protagonist’s house and hounding him/her in parking lots. The protagonist gains some sympathy for being stalked by a pack of menacing werewolves.

I’d also like to see the numbers of newspaper sales today and past magazines covers like this one:

[Read the entire shameless and pathetic NY courting here. Maybe the real agenda was to spark tourism in the city. But come on folks!]

Heroes don’t pull out lines like “Winning is a huge thing for me.” (Oh, SNAP! to you NYC and Cleveland. Dude doesn’t dig fruit – apples or plums.) You didn’t hear lines like that come out of Luke Skywalker’s mouth. And though James’ decision means a little financial dip in his multi-million dollar salary, let’s not forget, Florida has no state taxes. So the sacrifice is missing to meet the requirements of a hero’s journey.

For now James is not the protagonist but more the star of a burlesque work-in-progress. The stage and costumes are crafted with only him in mind. The day after, he may just be the dramatic device for the city of Cleveland. With a championship win, Cleveland’s narrative may have a sweeter smell of success.

But since E-Notes is a narrative and basketball watcher, I’ll share his thoughts on the matter:
So who wins?
Tickets will be hot the first time Miami plays Cleveland in Cleveland.
The Lakers/Miami game will probably be shown on Christmas or the first day of Kwanzaa.
Money will be made and their will be hype going into the next N.B.A. season.

But here is what always happens –

– Coaches/bench players/and good defense wins championships.
– Miami has a very young coach. Players with big contracts have big egos. They have to be taught how to win.
As soon as Miami loses a couple of games next year, the media will jump on the team. They will write about how James made the wrong decision.
How the ball is too small to share. Meanwhile, look for a team with great chemistry to defeat Miami. Those teams are: Lakers, Celtics, Thunder and maybe even Chicago.
– There is always an N.B.A. rookie that has a major impact on the league; this year that could be Wall right here with the Wizards.
– And finally there are injuries. A player could get hurt in the pre-season and all the stuff we are talking about becomes nothing but paper.