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Man, if any town needed a lube sponsor... While shame in their game ESPN found an even lower form of reality programming that exploits helpless fans—and which they’ll no doubt try again—Cleveland at least has an owner in Dan Gilbert who voices their collective frustration. (If Comic Sans is the new standard in anger, Stencil is off the charts.) Credit to Dan for bailing out the evening’s lifeless *questions* from Jim Gray. Although his promise to win a championship might be hard to pull off, some bank in Cleveland will undoubtedly take him up on his offer:

I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”

You can take it to the bank.

A few people on Twitter were angry over the perceived injustice done to kids after Lebrons’ decision. As the picture shows above, a few adults were too. (What I don’t get is why a Nets fan who has a Bulls fan for a kid even cares about Cleveland fans. Guess he had a LeHero sign in his car, just in case?) If you still needed proof that professional sports is anything but a business, rewind the game tape from Thursday night because LeBron needs to do what’s best for LeBron.* The Boys & Girls Club did get a huge check out of the deal to offset the hit to their pride.

But Dan’s not done. While I agree with him here:

“It’s not about him leaving. It’s the disrespect. It’s time for people to hold these athletes accountable for their actions. Is this the way you raise your children? I’ve been holding this all in for a long time.”

His other statement though might draw fines:

“Gilbert said James quit on the Cavs during their second-round series against the Boston Celtics, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit to eliminate Cleveland. “He quit,” Gilbert said. “Not just in Game 5, but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar.”

Ouch. True or not, it’s definitely unlike anything in sports that I can recall. You had me at fan letter Dan, shoulda left it at that. It’s one thing for an owner, player or coach to write a tell-all after a career is over, but unleashing to this degree seems a bit much from an owner.

Given how standard operating procedure for organizations is to ignore problems athletes have on or off the court, why even *go there* about his actual game while he’s still playing.

Rise above owners, rise above.

*Said in best mock third-person voice.

(Image.)