By Rob Ficiur

Lebron James became the biggest hero and the biggest goat all in the same week.  The two time NBA Most Valuable Player became the biggest Goat in Cleveland sports history when he turned his back on the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed with another team.   King James, as fans fondly called him, had played seven seasons with the once lowly Cavaliers.

As free agency approached he was … well simply free to sign with any team he wanted.  When Lebron signed with another team, Cleveland fans burnt Lebron jerseys in the streets.  The owner of the Cavaliers promised Cleveland fans that their team would win a championship before Lebron did in his new Florida home.  Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert rebuked his former player for “cowardly behaviour." Later, Gilbert told The Associated Press in a phone interview that he felt James quit on the Cavs during the playoffs the past two years.  (Those comments earned Mr. Gilbert a 100,000 fine from the league)

Jessie Jackson, the former US Presidential candidate, was outraged at Gilbert’s  comments.  Jackson believed that Gilberts saw James as a "runaway slave" and that Gilbert's comments put the player in danger. "He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.”  While most fans didn’t see slavery as an issue in this free agency signings, it is clear that  in all the huffing and puffing the owner felt his star player had not treated the team with loyalty.

While they mourned in Cleveland, they celebrated in Miami as the Heat signed three of the top free agents this season, Lebron James, Chris Bosh (bye bye Toronto) and Dwayne Wade (chose to stay in Miami).  In this free agent season, the players got together and discussed where they wanted to play, where they had the best chance of winning a championship.  One newspaper I read said that Cleveland offered more money than Miami; but when we are talking tens of millions of dollars what is a few million here or there?

Normally it is the teams that choose to build their team a certain way not the players.  Fans have long known that owners loyalty to athletes does not exist, if there is a trade to be made (remember that Gretzky fellow who won four Stanley Cups in Edmonton and was traded the next summer).  With the shoe on the other foot, and elite players deciding where their best chance is to win a championship, how can the players be called disloyal when they finished their contract?

In the same week that one owner was crying foul for losing a star player, the most famous owner in professional sports, George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees, died of a heart attack.  As with any passing, everyone had only nice things to say about George.  He was a hands on owner who led his team to seven championships in the 30 years he owned the Yankees.  For most owners we would not use the term lead, but George was a vocal leader.  It was almost comical the way he hired and fired Billy Martin five times.  (Had Martin not died 20 years ago he may have been hired / fired five more times).

George wanted to win and if that meant paying tens of millions more in salary than any other team, George didn’t care.  The New York Yankees (who won the World Series last year) have a team payroll of $206 million.  The Boston Red Sox have the second highest payroll at $162 million.  (The average team salary is about $84 million).  Some would argue that George was a great owner because he wanted to win whatever it took, and so he paid for it.  Others will argue that year after year Steinbrenner went out and bought himself a championship team.

The day Mr. Steinbrenner died, two adults, who probably could not name more than two baseball players told me that George Steinbrenner died.  George, was known by everyone as an owner who wanted to win.  Why did I have to look up the name of the Cleveland Cavalier (twice) as I put this article together?  The answer is simple, George found a way to win…the owner of the Cleveland Cavliers (what was his name?) hasn’t won anything yet.