Windy's most depressing article yet

[UDcleveland]

He's a fat nerd sports writer... I don't give a shit what he says. He would have been pushed into an awful lot of lockers in his day (if he would have fit)

 

[DJTJ]

I'd love to write a counter article...

 

[JSS2306]

This should have been a tweet.

In no way do I gather any coherent, thought provoking epiphany that would sway my vote to LBJ's corner.

He had the opportunity and growing room that few have to represent their hometown and finally bring glory to a city that has had its not fair share of headaches over the last 5 decades. If he were truly proud of where he's from, he would have stood by the tough years, relished the good years and proved he was who he said he was... and not through a championship.

Loyalty.

 

[MDLT]

This should have been a tweet.

In no way do I gather any coherent, thought provoking epiphany that would sway my vote to LBJ's corner.

He had the opportunity and growing room that few have to represent their hometown and finally bring glory to a city that has had its not fair share of headaches over the last 5 decades. If he were truly proud of where he's from, he would have stood by the tough years, relished the good years and proved he was who he said he was... and not through a championship.

Loyalty.

Some great points made here. I personally had to leave Ohio to find a job (and I was lucky enough to find one elsewhere), but I would have loved to stay in NE Ohio to find a career - just decided (The Decision) to go elsewhere because I thought I could more easily find a job that paid more than $30K per year. LeBron made more than $14M, as a base salary - making Windhorst's article absurd and actually a slap in the face to those in Ohio and across the Midwest and the US who struggle with this stuff.

Windhorst somehow trivialized the problems that many US citizens face right now. It was an embarrassing article, simply because it was so off base. And that really speaks to where he's coming from - he's making more money for ESPN - which I can't blame him for, but that's not a real journalistic organization. It's a corporate partner with the NBA, that will seek to prop up their own entities - such as LeBron James.

Windhorst can talk all he wants about taking new and improved journalistic opportunities with ESPN - but that's not the case. It's about making more $$ while working for what is in essence corporate public affairs - their reporting is bound by their partnerships. It simply is not legit journalism and Windhorst's reporting demonstrates that. He can go on KNR and say otherwise, but that's the crux of the issue and he cannot escape it.

 

[Scholar]

This might very well be the worst article that I have read that Brian has written. It is absolutely ridiculous and trite. The "rust belt?" Using the term "rust belt" in an article from a sports journalist? He should be ashamed of himself. I notice that he didn't even have the balls to post this to his normal ESPN local... The Washington Post. <shakes head in disgust>

 

[Birdy89]

Competitive advantage my ass...our roster from last year with Bosh would be twice as good as this Heat team.

Not really. The presence of D-Wade alone negates any and all depth advantage the Cavs roster would have had over this Heat team.

The most valuable thing I have learned about the NBA because of the Heat is that depth is drastically overrated, and you are better off with a roster of 2-3 studs and a bunch of junk than a star and lots of supporting pieces.

As we go through this rebuild the goal needs to be best players possible, and quality over quantity.

 

[Steve_424]

Windy's situation is different as far as leaving. I'm sure ESPN offered him things the Plain Dealer could not. I'm not sure we can blame a guy for leaving for more money in his situation.

However, we can blame him for kissing ass and not giving a fuck about journalistic integrity anymore.

That's what I'm saying...I don't care that he left, I care that he sold out his honest approach to journalism.

 

[WhoWeAre]

Hey Windhorst...if you still read these boards...go fuck yourself you fat fucking ass clown.

 

[Spectre]

Who kidnapped the real Brian Windhorst and wrote this piece of shit for him?

People leaving Ohio to feed their families because jobs have left the state =/= LeBron taking less money to party with his boys at South Beach and Windy selling his soul (and integrity as a writer) to ESPN for $$$. Shameful.

 

[chrisrich91]

Not really. The presence of D-Wade alone negates any and all depth advantage the Cavs roster would have had over this Heat team.

The most valuable thing I have learned about the NBA because of the Heat is that depth is drastically overrated, and you are better off with a roster of 2-3 studs and a bunch of junk than a star and lots of supporting pieces.

As we go through this rebuild the goal needs to be best players possible, and quality over quantity.

I'll stand by my statement and disagree. We've observed all season that Wade and LeBron are each at their best when the other one defers. Having only one of the two would just mean that he would be in beast mode all game, something that we've seen over 7 years has not bothered either. Our team was much more complementary with plenty of depth, with a structure showing clearly that it was LeBron's team. Take out LeBron quitting, add in Bosh, and you have a team that most definitely wins at least a couple championships in *gasp* Cleveland, Ohio.

 

[Rainman]

Fuck you Windy, just fuck you.

 

[jerzy234]

Why was the article posted in the Washington Post and not on the Entertainment Sports Programing Network?

In regards to the article, it kind of just seems random and something that should have been posted between the the decision and start of the season. Why publishing this right now doesn't make too much sense.

Based on the article, I think Windy was trying to refer #6 had to make a decision to leave town, not for the money, but for the championship to what could lead to a bigger icon (resulting in more iconic/historic view). The connection I believe Windy was trying to relate that with people that moved out of Ohio, including myself, is that people might have make a decision to leave their home in order to have a better life (i.e. job, lifestyle, opportunity, etc.) The only true connection is the possibility to have a better life, but that is a risk since #6 has not won anything yet. Personally, I think the article was poor at best and failed to relate the connection and it seemed like something Windy put in his back pocket and was clearing his computer and just saw this piece was unfinished and thought he could make something of it. As much as people have wrote they dislike Windy because of the article, the one thing I know is that most people on this board are going to hope he drops some tidbits on the Cavs, something that lacks with current Cleveland sports writers.

 

[MDLT]

Why was the article posted in the Washington Post and not on the Entertainment Sports Programing Network?

In regards to the article, it kind of just seems random and something that should have been posted between the the decision and start of the season. Why publishing this right now doesn't make too much sense.

Based on the article, I think Windy was trying to refer #6 had to make a decision to leave town, not for the money, but for the championship to what could lead to a bigger icon (resulting in more iconic/historic view). The connection I believe Windy was trying to relate that with people that moved out of Ohio, including myself, is that people might have make a decision to leave their home in order to have a better life (i.e. job, lifestyle, opportunity, etc.) The only true connection is the possibility to have a better life, but that is a risk since #6 has not won anything yet. Personally, I think the article was poor at best and failed to relate the connection and it seemed like something Windy put in his back pocket and was clearing his computer and just saw this piece was unfinished and thought he could make something of it. As much as people have wrote they dislike Windy because of the article, the one thing I know is that most people on this board are going to hope he drops some tidbits on the Cavs, something that lacks with current Cleveland sports writers.

I wouldn't disagree with what your saying. It was just a poorly formed article based on - at best - a flimsy foundation. It's like he was sitting around his house and this idea happened to come across his mind and he wrote something without truly analyzing it.

The bottom line is people are leaving Ohio because they can't find consistent work. That is not the case with Windhorst and it's not the case with LeBron. Windhorst had steady work - he left to make his mark on the big stage of ESPN. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not the same as the other 99% of the people who have fled Ohio for better economic conditions.

James situation obviously isn't remotely close to any other native Ohioans. Thus, it really does appear as if Windhorst is making attempts to show James in better light and justify his actions. Again, he needs to stick to why writing about the Heat and James' posse and leave it at that.

 

[BlueSeats626]

Windy lost all credibility with me when he left to become LBJ's personal ESPN schill.

Dude left Ohio to become a schill hack. Fuck off Brian.

 

[Real Deal]

Someone give this guy a cheeseburger.