Gunny Highway: IAmRight: robsul82: Gunny Highway: Check out Mark Cuban makin Skip Bayless look like a complete fool this morning. Amazing stuff.

This sounds like close to a perfect video as I've ever heard. I LOVE Mark Cuban! I HATE Skip Bayless! lol

Yes, I shall require video, as I am at work and prefer to avoid ESPN. But I would love to watch this and laugh with delight.

"you have the presumption that people care what you say"

He attacks the narrative based media and is great. What is even better is that Steven A Smith is at the other end of the table and does not make a peep.

That's because he doesn't want Cuban to rip into him next..

robsul82: A few tasty morsels of Mark Cuban vs. Skip Bayless

that is delightful. god how i hate that stupid shouting match excuse for a program. i swear it once had some thoughtful discussion, but at some point they decided. "fark it! stephen scream at skip. skip scream back. both of you be caricatures of sportswriters!"

mrtoadswildride: pretty much sums up his entire mentality.

Except it doesn't anymore, if you read anyone who's covered him and the team this year after they were force-fed a heaping portion of humble pie in last years Finals. He lashed out in a vulnerable moment, and that's what you hang your hat on? After the infinite amount of sh*t people were, still are, and will continue to heap on him over a PR blunder, I wouldn't blame him for putting his ring straight onto his middle finger for the cameras.

And not that he owes anyone anything, but yes he did apologize.

PunchDrunkPanda: mrtoadswildride: pretty much sums up his entire mentality.

Except it doesn't anymore, if you read anyone who's covered him and the team this year after they were force-fed a heaping portion of humble pie in last years Finals. He lashed out in a vulnerable moment, and that's what you hang your hat on? After the infinite amount of sh*t people were, still are, and will continue to heap on him over a PR blunder, I wouldn't blame him for putting his ring straight onto his middle finger for the cameras.

And not that he owes anyone anything, but yes he did apologize.

Sadly, it is not good enough for people

IAmRight: PunchDrunkPanda: And not that he owes anyone anything, but yes he did apologize.

"I knew deep down in my heart, as much as I loved my teammates back in Cleveland and as much as I loved home, I knew it couldn't do it by myself against that team," James said.

"The way it panned out with all the friends and family and the fans back home, I apologize for the way it happened. I knew this opportunity was once in a lifetime. To be able to come down here and pair with two guys and this organization -- in order for me to move on with my career, that team that we just defeated, we had to go through them."

See, he didn't apologize for his actions, he apologized for the way it happened!

Also, we don't hate him for leaving, we hate him for how he did it!

And we don't see the glaring inconsistency in our logic, because we're from Cleveland, and that's why we're, well, Cleveland!

GO BROWNS!

Di Atribe: , Skip Bayless I hardly ever hear his name mentioned without a strong undertone of contempt.

THIS

FreakinB: mrtoadswildride: You're so close to completing that thought...

Yes, it was a PR mistake......THAT HE NEVER APOLOGIZED FOR....

That's all he ever had to do. Admit he was wrong and say he was sorry to the owners and fans for how he announced his departure

Why? What's so wrong about what he did? Sure it was a bad idea, but really nobody was harmed with the possible exception of LeBron himself.

Legally, morally, ethically..not a thing. There is no thing wrong what what he did...it's just makes him look unprofessional, immature, selfish, arrogant etc...In short, he comes across as an arrogant d-bag. (again, not for going to miami...but for requesting a 1 hour fellatio-fest so he could announce his decision) Since most people don't like arrogant d-bags...most people don't like Lebron James. It's not that hard to grasp.

Moreover, he's done nothing since the decision to not act like a d-bag...the "not 1, not 2....not 8 speech" at the coming out party, the tongue in cheek what should I do commercial, his comment about fans having to go back to their regular lives...


the decision wasn't an anomaly of an an otherwise relatively humble person...it was the culmination of years and years of being a self centered d-bag.

/And guess what? now he's dealing with those consequences.

I'm amused by the fact that FreakinB can't just accept the fact that people will not like LeBron no matter what, and can't just move on. You're a one note Fark poster, and instead of defending LeBron's honor, you should be basking in his win.

PowerSlacker: The only positive out of this series is that Seattle sports fans finally outed themselves as bigger douchebags than the Miami Heat.

I agree with you. All these Seattle fans here are happy OKC lost and saying that's what they get for stealing the Sonics away. But guess what Seattle, it was your state that didn't want to update KeyArena. Don't blame OKC, blame your own state for not keeping them there.

I'm glad Lebron won, this will force people to move on to a new topic.

I saw a thread on /sp/ of "pictures we can't use anymore" and it was everyone posting images from the past years that poked fun at Lebron's lack of rings/championships.

Of course now it is just "well he's not as good as kobe/jordan! Call me when he has 432 rings!" which isn't as fun.

FreakinB: skinink: I'm amused by the fact that FreakinB can't just accept the fact that people will not like LeBron no matter what, and can't just move on. You're a one note Fark poster, and instead of defending LeBron's honor, you should be basking in his win.

I'm a robot with no feel for emotions.

Seriously, I'm not a Heat fan or even particularly a LeBron fan. I just find the whole situation irrational and it bugs me to no end.

As for the quality of my posts, you get what you pay for.

Well said

Di Atribe: Mark Cuban on First Take

This one's almost 7 minutes long, so it's probably not a clip package.

I absolutely LOVE the fact that he called out Skip (and others guilty of same) for employing the old "they wanted it more" line of horsecrap. That's one of my biggest sports talk piss-offs.

Rafe: Di Atribe: Mark Cuban on First Take

This one's almost 7 minutes long, so it's probably not a clip package.

I absolutely LOVE the fact that he called out Skip (and others guilty of same) for employing the old "they wanted it more" line of horsecrap. That's one of my biggest sports talk piss-offs.

Me too

wildstarr: PowerSlacker: The only positive out of this series is that Seattle sports fans finally outed themselves as bigger douchebags than the Miami Heat.

I agree with you. All these Seattle fans here are happy OKC lost and saying that's what they get for stealing the Sonics away. But guess what Seattle, it was your state that didn't want to update KeyArena. Don't blame OKC, blame your own state for not keeping them there.

KeyArena had been updated with public financing like 13 years before the Sonics left. How often do you have to pay for your team to stay?

Dafatone: wildstarr: PowerSlacker: The only positive out of this series is that Seattle sports fans finally outed themselves as bigger douchebags than the Miami Heat.

I agree with you. All these Seattle fans here are happy OKC lost and saying that's what they get for stealing the Sonics away. But guess what Seattle, it was your state that didn't want to update KeyArena. Don't blame OKC, blame your own state for not keeping them there.

KeyArena had been updated with public financing like 13 years before the Sonics left. How often do you have to pay for your team to stay?

The Chargers and San Diego are in the same boat with Qualcomm. They still owe 10s of millions in bonds on it from the late 90s refurb, and if they break their lease they have to pay off the bonds, but the stadium itself is below standard for a modern NFL stadium and the NFL will not bring a Super Bowl to a below par stadium despite the fact that San Diego is a perfect city for weather and capability to host a Super Bowl(unlike Dallas and Jacksonville respectively).

Chosen 1 out of 3

IAmRight: Dafatone: KeyArena had been updated with public financing like 13 years before the Sonics left. How often do you have to pay for your team to stay?

At least $500 million every 20 years unless you're every other team in existence.

Make it $720 million every 24 years, and you are the Indianapolis Colts.

Di Atribe: Mark Cuban on First Take

This one's almost 7 minutes long, so it's probably not a clip package.

Thanks Di! That was a good watch. Pretty clear that Skip doesn't even know what defensive schemes are...

I wasn't a basketball or Heat fan. Until people started crapping themselves because LeBron James made a poorly-advised decision. Now I root gleefully for LBJ and the Fighting LeBrons here in the heart of Celtics country.

If you watched this series and have any doubt that James is the best player on the floor, and most likely in the league, you are actually stupid.

Di Atribe: Gunny Highway: Rafe: Di Atribe: Mark Cuban on First Take

This one's almost 7 minutes long, so it's probably not a clip package.

I absolutely LOVE the fact that he called out Skip (and others guilty of same) for employing the old "they wanted it more" line of horsecrap. That's one of my biggest sports talk piss-offs.

Me too

Exactly. That makes me craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy (er). And Cubes pointed it out perfectly. I have a hard time calling people out on this IRL because they just look at me like I've grown a third head & then FOR SOME REASON they think I'm just trying to start an argument. Not my fault you're wrong & lazy & don't bother thinking about anything. Stupidheads.

To me, this is yet another criticism of the NBA that really comes down to racism/bigotry, but I usually get yelled out of the room for saying that.

Unlike the NFL, the NBA has a lot of tattooed black players whose skin the viewer can see. And almost every knock on the NBA or NBA players comes down to their motivation, attitude, character, or mental abilities, rather than talent or coaching.

IAmRight: Di Atribe: Oh I absolutely disagree with you on that one. I hear that same thing all through the NFL season.

People say Romo chokes, but they don't say he quit on his team. They don't say he doesn't understand anything about what his job is.

Motivation, attitude, character and such get knocked in the NFL. They even get knocked a lot. There's a racism/bigotry* element to the NFL as well, for example where QBs (who are often white) don't have their heads questioned nearly as much (unless they aren't, in fact, white.)

But people also knock skills in the NFL. They also knock coaching. A coach's job in the NFL is to draw up plays and schemes and win the chess match against the opposing coach. A coach's job in the NBA (according to a whole lot of people) is to keep his selfish prima donnas in check and working together. You hear almost nothing about strategy in the NBA, beyond making sure everyone shares the ball a little. There's a TON of strategy in the NBA.

Heck, look at last year's finals. The Heat lost because of a lack of heart and brains and effort. Lebron should have been better but wasn't. Buried way underneath these storylines is the fact that Dirk went absolutely nuts. If the NFL were the NBA, the only storyline out of this year's Super Bowl would have been Brady not getting it done, with Eli and Mario Manningham's ridiculous catch as an afterthought.

*I'm throwing bigotry in there as well, because plenty of people hate tattooed white guys.

wildstarr: I agree with you. All these Seattle fans here are happy OKC lost and saying that's what they get for stealing the Sonics away. But guess what Seattle, it was your state that didn't want to update KeyArena. Don't blame OKC, blame your own state for not keeping them there.

It's not exactly that simple. The state had just finished shelling out a crapload for the Seahawks and Mariners, and didn't want to pay out another hefty sum right away. It's not like teams in Seattle are left to languish. Sure, Keyarena wasn't tip-top by NBA standards, but the last renovation happened in the last 15 years, and you'd better believe that they would have eventually gotten around to financing a new place for the Sonics to play. It's just that they couldn't justify it IMMEDIATELY.

Of course, the new owner (Clay Bennett, whose whole reason for buying the team was to move it to OKC) demanded that something be done NOW, and then when the pols said it wasn't happening NOW, he moved the team. I know that doesn't fit the narrative for OKC fans, but that's how it went down.

IAmRight: Dafatone: To me, this is yet another criticism of the NBA that really comes down to racism/bigotry, but I usually get yelled out of the room for saying that.

It's easier to get mad at someone over something than to think about it and realize that yes, coverage of sports is implicitly racist. Visible tattoos are also a huge part of criticism in the NBA - Durant is a good kid, sure, but he wouldn't be held up as much as a paragon of virtue as he is if it were shirts vs. skins and people could constantly see all his tattoos.

To be fair, his tattoos are incredibly poor quality, both in design and execution. He and LeBron should co-star in the next lukewarm buddy-Hangover rendition:

"You got a tattoo too dude! What does MINE say??"
"CHOSEN ONE! What does MINE say??"
"DURANTULA! What does MINE say??"
"CHOSEN ONE! What does MINE say??"
"Miami in five."
"..."

OKC needs someone who can post up. Doesn't really matter what position, just a guy who is comfortable in the post. Both Durant and Ibaka showed some potential in this regard during the finals, but didn't seem to be able to do it on a regular basis. If the 3's aren't falling, the slash-and-kick game doesn't work too well, and a post threat is a great alternative when your jump shooters aren't lighting it up.

Miami, by contrast, has Bosh, Wade, and Lebron, all of whom can hurt you in the post. Lebron especially with his preternatural passing ability.

I enjoyed my couple years of LeBron hate. I'm over it. He's the best player in the game and one of the very best ever to play. I could have lived with one more year. And this does nothing to diminish my distaste for Dwyane Wade.

nmiguy: herp a derp

Oh, it's sort of good to see you back. I guess when there's a sign of life for the maize and blue you eventually crawl out from under your rock. Do us a favor and don't tell WoodyHayes you're back yet - I want to see a little bit of the trainwreck you usually produce the first week college football is back.

yelmrog: If the 3's aren't falling, the slash-and-kick game doesn't work too well, and a post threat is a great alternative when your jump shooters aren't lighting it up.

Hibbert would be a great fit, especially close to the baseline and Westbrook does his kamikaze thing - Roy's a pretty decent passer of the games I caught this year. Unfortunately for OKC, Hibbert probably played himself into the sound of a truck backing up for whatever team wants his services, and they still have a lot of players on the books.

The other interesting fit, though incredibly doubtful, would be Garnett. He and Perkins getting back into a groove in the paint would let Ibaka play the three spot and save Durant's legs on defense if they played a bigger line-up, but that would seem to neuter the best advantage OKC has. Although KG and Westbrook in the same locker room would really make me yearn for an NBA knock-off of Hard Knocks.

IAmRight: Herman Borrach: I enjoyed my couple years of LeBron hate. I'm over it. He's the best player in the game and one of the very best ever to play. I could have lived with one more year. And this does nothing to diminish my distaste for Dwyane Wade.

Yeah, the good news is that Wade is older and more broken-down, so hopefully LeBron can win a couple after Wade is gone to pass him.

Though it does create an interesting discussion about historical greatness if LeBron has, say, four rings while Wade has five, but LeBron was the leader for all four.

It would be a short discussion exactly because Lebron was the leader for those rings (That and the many more MVP's I'm assuming he would get with those titles).

robsul82: Cuban without a breath reeling off how the Dallas defense stopped LeBron as Skip sits there stewing in silence is a thing of beauty.

Bayless couldn't just sit there and take it. He is such an ass.

I love how he tries to tie himself to Bron's failures and successes.