CAVS.SPACE

Basketball fans throughout the country--maybe even the world--watched as LeBron James announced his decision to play in South Beach and sign with the Miami Heat. He will be joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on what could turn into an old school dominant team--the type of team with multiple legendary players that more commonly existed before modern day mega contracts, free agency, and league expansion. Fans across the country know about the 'bad luck' of Cleveland sports as well as the struggles of an industrial city. "The Decision" becomes the next misfortune amongst Cleveland sports tragedies. The other "The ____" moments in Cleveland Cavaliers history happened at the hands of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Otherwise, Cleveland is a football city first and a baseball city second. Historically, Cleveland professional basketball ranks third. The Browns can finish 2-14 and sell out all 8 of their home games. While the Indians cannot say the same about

Wine and gold? Red and black? Red and blue? Blue and orange? The suspense has been on for more than a year. Most recently, the pending free agency of LeBron James has drawn as much attention as the Gulf oil spill, the 2010 World Cup, Wimbledon, and any other news headline. Finally, LeBron James will announce his decision Thursday night around 9PM on a TV special on ESPN. To LeBron's credit, he is using the extra publicity to raise money for charity. Still, it is amazing how much attention he is drawing to himself. Yes, the hype has been built up with fellow 2003 NBA Draft picks Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, not to mention free agents Amar'e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, and David Lee, pseudo-free agents Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce, and a number of other players. At the heart of it all is LeBron James--aka "The King", "The Chosen One", "LBJ", etc. The pride of Akron and Cleveland finds himself in demand by everyone from Cleveland

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Croatian guard Drazen Petrovic was among the first European basketball players to play in the NBA.  Petrovic’s career was tragically cut short by a fatal car accident.  Before European basketball players such as Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, and Andrei Kirilenko joined the NBA, it was difficult for European-born players to make it into the league.  While forward Detlef Schrempf and center Rik Smits made their way to the NBA through NCAA Basketball, others were not so lucky.  Politics and contract disputes, along with cultural barriers, limited international influence on the NBA until the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Then, the world political scene changed with the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union.  As a result, a handful of sometimes forgotten players—including Drazen Petrovic from Croatia—helped pave the way for European and o

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  While Robert Horry remained in 1994, Clyde Drexler joined in 1995.  The result was back-to-back Houston Rockets NBA Championships in 1994 & 1995. Heading into the 1994 NBA Playoffs, the Houston Rockets had made two unsuccessful NBA Finals appearances in 1981 and 1986.  Aside from this, the team could not reach the Finals.  While seeds were planted in these first two Finals appearances, two trades—one rescinded, one completed—set the tone for two more Finals appearances in the 1990s, which resulted in two Rockets championships. 1994 NBA Champions & the Rescinded Robert Horry Trade A player on the 1981 Rockets, Rudy Tomjanovich was now the Head Coach.  Meanwhile, Hakeem Olajuwon—the #1 overall draft pick of the 1984 Draft, formerly paired with 7’4” Ralph Sampson as the “Twin Towers”, and nicknamed “The Dream”—was now an established veteran, the reigning NB

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson led a new cast of characters to the 1996 NBA Championship. From 1991-1993, the Chicago Bulls were NBA Champions.  Guard Michael Jordan, forward Scottie Pippen, and Coach Phil Jackson headlined a Bulls team that overcame the challenges of teams such as the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference and then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Phoenix Suns from the Western Conference in three consecutive NBA Finals.  Then, on October 6, 1993, the unthinkable happened: Jordan announced an early, premature retirement from basketball.  Jordan was still coping with his father’s murder during the offseason.  He decided to pursue his childhood dream to play professional baseball, joining the minor league ranks of the Chicago White Sox.  Meanwhile, specula