Cavs v. Bucks/Browns v. Chargers Open Thread
December 6, 2009Browns Show Some Life Against Chargers
December 7, 2009While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
“Incidents like these will stick in craws more this year because we are jaded by LeBron’s regular-season brilliance; he’s already done nearly all a player can do from November to April, and now we will await his ultimate triumphs in the NBA playoffs, poaching on incidents like last night’s to impugn the man. Fairly, LeBron should (and will) ignore that like we ignore his routine excellence, and his chance to paper over any puerility with an NBA title this summer has nothing to do with whether he was gyrating on the sidelines during a December win. Winning, especially winning the big one, makes almost anything easy to forgive.
And, Jo, if you don’t want ‘Bron to dance, make sure he loses the game. It’s a lot harder to justify celebrating a loss.” [The Sporting Blog]
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“As a result of not getting every call he should, it seems that, to the outside observer, LeBron James literally hates all refs. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a right to be frustrated at times, but he argues every single call – right or wrong – and he argues it with emphasis. He shows at least one ref up every night, and I think he pays for it – to some extent – in the way that Donaghy described Allen Iverson paying for his argumentative in-game outbursts.” [Stepien Rules]
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“Hey, it’s what [LeBron James] does. It’s not against the rules or anything like that, so it’s his choice how he wants to carry himself on the court, and there is some upside in terms of team chemistry. It’s not exactly how I’d like to see him carry himself, and backlash like what we saw from Noah tonight will happen, but it’s his choice.” [Cavs the Blog]
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“As much as a disrepectful asshat LeBron [James] was last night, I’d love to be on the side of the blow out win while disrespecting the other team than the side of the blowout loss being disrespected. In the end, you have to show up and stop them on the court. If you can’t then you can whine and complain, but that just makes you a whiny loser.” [Bulls Confidential]
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“Little dances are for losers. Rings are for men. Michael never did any dancing. He got in your face. Kobe doesn’t dance. Who does that? I guess LeBron. Maybe less dancing and more handshaking. Sound good, LeBron?” [Pippen Ain’t Easy]
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(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
33 Comments
“And, Jo, if you don’t want ‘Bron to dance, make sure he loses the game. It’s a lot harder to justify celebrating a loss.”
Bingo.
“Maybe less dancing and more handshaking. Sound good, LeBron?”
Maybe less crying and more winning, sound good Joakim?
Angry Bulls fans … go figure
Joakim who?
Poor Bulls fans. I hate when the other team dances and celebrates (see Steelers and Ravens), but it has become part of professional sports. If you don’t want them to dance, beat them.
If any of these guys in Chicago deny that Jordan acted the exact same way about getting calls / not getting calls, they’d be fooling themselves.
@Ben – You know the ugliest player in the NBA.
As for Bulls fans, now they know how the rest of the NBA’s fans felt about Jordan.
Who is Joe Kim? Is this Noah guy a friend of his? And they were mad at LeBron or something? I’m so confused…
I gotta disagree with a lot of Cavs fans on this one. I enjoy all the pregame tom-foolery and the fact the team is having fun, but I’m getting a little sick of seeing LeBron be such a b*tch. When it’s game time, I want to see cold hearted killer LeBron, not goof off dancing LeBron. You see Delonte’s face when he went on a 14-0 run HIMSELF? He was ice cold, like it was business. I appreciate a little more of the old school mentality to the game and I wish LeBron would be more of a leader in that way.
The Cavs’ bench is bordering on obnoxious with how they’re carrying themselves right now. I have no problem with them getting excited, but show a little class every once in a while.
/shakes fist
I wish I was at the game, I have a whole bunch of beer bottles that I haven’t used this year…
@Tron: Not everyone switches into Road Warrior mode the same way.
This is the exact same thing as the Merriman “Lights Out” dance, players making the “first down” sign when they pick it up, slow runs around the bases after a homerun, Manny being Manny, anything Gilbert Arenas does, etc.
The only people who complain are the ones on the other side of the fence. Is it poor sportsmanship to act this way? Maybe. Probably. But sports are an incredibly emotional competition. Anyone who has played any game knows that.
As fans, we get so involved that we repeatedly act in an unsportsmanlike manner. Are we to expect the people on the floor/field who are ACTUALLY playing the game to be robots, when we can’t even control ourselves.
Oh, and also Noah is a b*tch, and always has been. Also, I remember him dancing a lot at Florida.
In other, more somber, quasi-Cavs related news:
World B. Free’s wife was shot and killed last night in Brooklyn about 7 blocks from my apartment.
[NY Daily News]
LeBron doesn’t need to carry himself like some kind of hired assassin in order to maintain his dominance in the league and inspire fear or envy in his opponents. He’s the NBA’s best all-around player, and he still remains giddy and loose most of the time as well as respectful of his opponents and members of the media. There have been momentary lapses in the face of frustrating results; but his typical cool sets him apart from some other top competitors, and the dancing or the pre-game histrionics are just further manifestations of his pesky habit of enjoying the game.
As for the Bulls, they’re in a sad state now, and their outward frustration is helping them a lot less than any cavalier dance routine has harmed the Cavaliers.
I’m fine with the Cavs having fun. Basically nothing matters until April, so I’d rather them enjoy their time instead of getting bogged down by the long season.
Well said ben & phil m
I’m all for a dancing ‘Bron-‘Bron. Keep getting W’s and he can do the Macarena for all I care. The other sports in this town are abysmal at best, so I enjoy every minute of Cavs Shenanigans.
@ben I don’t expect every superstar to act the same way but come on man, you have to take off the wine and gold glasses and admit LeBron is bit more than obnoxious when he’s winning. I love having the guy on the team to root for, but I definately understand a lot of other fans disdain for LBJ. Could you imagine seeing Jordan, Magic, Bird, Kareem out there river dancing in the middle of the game? It’s nice that the Cavs are a nice light hearted fun game winning team, but if they want to be champions, they need to start acting like it.
@Tron: I’m not saying that he’s being a good sport or that it isn’t obnoxious. If I were a Bulls fan, I’d hate LeBron right now. But what I am saying is that everyone does it in every sport. Jordan, Magic, Kareem, etc. did their own version of gloating. [Esp. Jordan].
I just think a lot of stuff like this is a non-story, really. “Professional Athlete gloats during game.” Really? Shocker.
Also, again, it’s funny Noah was on the other side of this. I’m absolutely sure I can find numerous videos of him dancing at Florida on youtube.
people compare his every move with kobe.
sure kobe has rings but he also has had the security blanket of a great franchise his whole career. Lebron has had to turn around a lowly franchise like the cavs.
he’s not kobe and he’s not MJ. I wish people would stop trying to make him into something he’s not.
He’s better when he is having fun with his teammates. and Joakim Noah has nothing to say that couldn’t be said about his own antics.
I’ve never seen a player roar as obnoxiously after layups more than Noah.
I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but boy do I get tired of the antiquated notion of what the “right” way to act is. And nothing is worse than arguments like “Did you ever see Jordan doing that?” WHO CARES? LeBron is not MJ. He’s his own person. As I said in the recap, if that’s the standard, should LeBron take up incessant gambling and quit basketball for 2 years in his prime? Or maybe LeBron should sleep around and get
AIDSHIV, because that’s what Magic did.I don’t say that to be insensitive, but come on. We have to stop acting like the past was so much better or “wholesome” than the present. As though the past was the “right” way to do things. I think people would be well served to just sit back, relax, and actually enjoy all the fun. Because that’s what the Cavs are giving us. Fun.
We can dance if we want to
We can leave other teams behind
‘Cause other teams don’t dance and if they don’t dance
Well they’re no friends of mine
and newsflash (in my best will Ferrell in Dissing your Dog impersonation) ITS A F*#@ING GAME
Was anyone watching the FSOH feed on this game? After the LeBron/Noah posturing incident, coming back from a timeout, LeBron looked at the camera and made this really funny, eyes almost closed, big smile face. It looked familiar…kind of like this:
http://frankthetank.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/2007_06_sports_joakim_noah_draft.jpg
Hahaha, wow, nice catch Clown Baby. I know exactly what you’re talking about.
michael jordan likes to dance too:
http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/5044-michael_jordan_photod_grinding_on_two_white_women.html
Everything you all are saying to defend the dancing is the same things people from Boston say to defend KG beating his chest and screaming at people. Everyone seems to hate that crap, I’m just saying lets not be hypocrites is all.
Of course I hate it when KG beats his chest….it means the Celtics are beating the Cavaliers. But I can certainly understand why Boston folks like it.
Yeah, no gloating goes on in basketball. mutombo didn’t wag his finger at anyone and KG doesn’t bump his chest. If dancing makes LeBron a jerk, then fine, he is a jerk. But who really cares? How big of a deal is it? When you are the best player in the world, you can do whatever you want.
Basketball is THE sport of swagger and belittlement. Think about the pickup games and stuff you play or see ALL the time: guys play with soul, and they mess with the other team more than any other sport. So if Lebron wants to be himself while playing the game he loves, let him do it. Yes, he needs to man up when he loses, but I’m sure that will be much easier for him the day he’s wearing a ring. At least it’s more lighthearted and entertaining than just being a pompous prick and directing your dominance AT the other team. He just likes to enjoy his successes. I’ll be damned if you people don’t crack a bottle of champagne after a successful business deal or whatever it is you do; and somehow I doubt you feel the same after a rough day at work. Only difference is he’s got cameras all over him.
@Andrew – In addition to Magica and Jordan’s pitfalls you forgot he’s yet to (allegedly wink wink) sodomize the hotel help…
I’d actually rather not see Lebron do stuff like that. And I like that Noah called James out right then and there instead of waiting until the game ended and whining to the media after (cough..Ray Allen..cough). I can respect Noah on some levels for that.
But the reality is that if you don’t want some clowning on you, you have to beat them so they have no chance. You’re not a college kid, you’re a (well) paid professional.
I think the dancing makes Lebron look stupid, but I’m in no position to complain or tell him to stop. And if Noah didn’t do his job, then neither is he.
That’s stupid that these guys are taking LeCrabs side, saying the Bulls should have not been blowout the first plays.
The Lakers are the best team in the NBA yet they never show classless acts like this, Kobe will beat leCrab on both meetings this year. let’s see him dance throgh elite teams.
You LeBron Fans ignore every move that he does!
1.Walk off and leaves his team in their playoff lost.
2.Confiscates Nike tapes for a stupid dunk.
3.desperately trying to surpass Kobe’s 61. how desperate can he be?
4.Crab walk(NO LeBron fan could even explain that move)haha
5.I guess it’s the “CRAB DANCE”
What brainless athlete, damn! I still don’t get it why a 260lbs Guy, can’t heve a decent post game.
Did Noah forget when he was running down the court doing the gator chomp playing against Ohio State? How is that different…… oh wait, probably because he is on the other side this time.
France can have him.