Ken
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So, The Cavaliers are NBA Champions
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(I may be retired, but I’m not dead. Yet.)
Not that I didn’t think I’d live to see this day, but for Cleveland sports fans, this is a period of joy, relief and validation of their (probably) long term support of Cleveland’s professional sports franchises (Browns, Cavaliers, Indians).
Father’s Day was an eventful day for me. I had a fine FD celebration with family, which included golf (of course), Dustin Johnson overcoming USGA malfeasance to win the U.S. Open and the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship, as only a team from Cleveland can. Trailing by 1 point entering the fourth quarter, the Cavs utilized a “where did that come from?” block by LBJ (LeBron James, not the “other” LBJ) and a “you actually took that shot?” step-back 3-pointer by Kyrie Irving to deal-seal the win.
As a native Ohioan and a resident of western New York since mid-70’s, I’ve had very few professional championships to celebrate. To be honest, I’ve cheered for my adoptive teams (Bills, Braves, Sabres) and was disappointed when they lost, but I truly had a visceral reaction when Cleveland’s teams lost. I honestly believe that “The Drive”, “The Interception” and “The Fumble” took years off my life.
ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 12: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on after the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks 42 to 20 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium on January 12, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
But here we are, where Ohio’s ‘Prodigal Son’, LeBron James, returns home to deliver on his goal/promise to deliver a championship to Northeast Ohio (and all fans, regardless of location, for that matter). Yes, I know, there were probably a lot of seeds planted for LBJ hatin’ when he decamped from the Cavaliers to the Heat a few years ago. Personally, I was disappointed in the drama of The Announcement, but I could not fault LBJ’s reason to leave.
I remember the last (previous) championship to be earned by a Cleveland professional sports team, the 1964 NFL championship by the Cleveland Browns. There is no question that the Browns were ‘driven’ by Jim Brown to achieve that level of success. When we look back upon the lore of professional sports in Ohio, can LeBron James be equated to Jim Brown? For his sporting accomplishments and civic duty obligations? Perhaps, we’ll see, but I see a strong parallel between the two men.
As a side note, I see where the Golden State Warriors had James Michael McAdoo on their roster. His father’s 2nd cousin was Bob McAdoo, who had several productive years with the Buffalo Braves. The Braves entered the NBA as an expansion team the same year as the Cleveland Cavaliers, so the local “string of events” grows stronger for me. I went to many Braves games in the mid-70’s at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (The Aud) and as any Braves fan, the one catch-phrase from the public address announcer was “Twwooo for McAdoo!” . Since he was a prolific scorer, that was an oft heard phrase. In fact, it became part of the local lexicon; for almost any success, the protagonist would give a two-fingered downward wrist-snap and utter, “two for McAdoo”.
If LeBron James makes it into the local (northeast Ohio) lexicon remains to be seen, but this is still a wonderful week for Ohio sports fans. I’ve waited over 50 years for a professional championship to come to Cleveland.
Well done, Cavs, thank you.
The post So, The Cavaliers are NBA Champions appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
(I may be retired, but I’m not dead. Yet.)
Not that I didn’t think I’d live to see this day, but for Cleveland sports fans, this is a period of joy, relief and validation of their (probably) long term support of Cleveland’s professional sports franchises (Browns, Cavaliers, Indians).
Father’s Day was an eventful day for me. I had a fine FD celebration with family, which included golf (of course), Dustin Johnson overcoming USGA malfeasance to win the U.S. Open and the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship, as only a team from Cleveland can. Trailing by 1 point entering the fourth quarter, the Cavs utilized a “where did that come from?” block by LBJ (LeBron James, not the “other” LBJ) and a “you actually took that shot?” step-back 3-pointer by Kyrie Irving to deal-seal the win.
As a native Ohioan and a resident of western New York since mid-70’s, I’ve had very few professional championships to celebrate. To be honest, I’ve cheered for my adoptive teams (Bills, Braves, Sabres) and was disappointed when they lost, but I truly had a visceral reaction when Cleveland’s teams lost. I honestly believe that “The Drive”, “The Interception” and “The Fumble” took years off my life.
ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 12: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on after the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks 42 to 20 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium on January 12, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
But here we are, where Ohio’s ‘Prodigal Son’, LeBron James, returns home to deliver on his goal/promise to deliver a championship to Northeast Ohio (and all fans, regardless of location, for that matter). Yes, I know, there were probably a lot of seeds planted for LBJ hatin’ when he decamped from the Cavaliers to the Heat a few years ago. Personally, I was disappointed in the drama of The Announcement, but I could not fault LBJ’s reason to leave.
I remember the last (previous) championship to be earned by a Cleveland professional sports team, the 1964 NFL championship by the Cleveland Browns. There is no question that the Browns were ‘driven’ by Jim Brown to achieve that level of success. When we look back upon the lore of professional sports in Ohio, can LeBron James be equated to Jim Brown? For his sporting accomplishments and civic duty obligations? Perhaps, we’ll see, but I see a strong parallel between the two men.
As a side note, I see where the Golden State Warriors had James Michael McAdoo on their roster. His father’s 2nd cousin was Bob McAdoo, who had several productive years with the Buffalo Braves. The Braves entered the NBA as an expansion team the same year as the Cleveland Cavaliers, so the local “string of events” grows stronger for me. I went to many Braves games in the mid-70’s at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (The Aud) and as any Braves fan, the one catch-phrase from the public address announcer was “Twwooo for McAdoo!” . Since he was a prolific scorer, that was an oft heard phrase. In fact, it became part of the local lexicon; for almost any success, the protagonist would give a two-fingered downward wrist-snap and utter, “two for McAdoo”.
If LeBron James makes it into the local (northeast Ohio) lexicon remains to be seen, but this is still a wonderful week for Ohio sports fans. I’ve waited over 50 years for a professional championship to come to Cleveland.
Well done, Cavs, thank you.
The post So, The Cavaliers are NBA Champions appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...