The Number 23

There has been a lot of chatter on columns and blogs recently about LeBron's play this season.

To sum it up, the general consensus agrees the "chosen one" is coasting through the year excerting somewhere between 50 and 60 percent effort.

Many theories have arisen regarding this disturbing trend, but mostly, I believe it is a combination of several factors.

Has LeBron really had a chance to breathe since he was selected by the Cavs as the number one overall pick in the draft? Between commercials, television appearances, awards shows, cameos, Hollywood parties, USA basketball committments and oh by the way; playing an 82-game NBA schedule every season, it has really been non-stop four straight years.

Its enough to wear down even a 22-year old.

But I believe it is more than fatigue. I don't believe LeBron possesses the same drive to win that players such as Michael Jordan or Larry Bird had. Not even close actually.

Don't get me wrong, LeBron wants to win, I just question whether he is willing to do the types of things the aforementioned were to get there.

Can you ever imagine LeBron showing up at Quicken Loans Arena 6 hours before the game to jog through the empty stands as Bird did? How about shooting thousands of jumpers after practice after his teammates have long since gone home?

To LeBron, not unlike countless other spectacular talents of this generation, players like Vince Carter or Tracy McGrady, an NBA championship isn't necessarily the ultimate prize anymore.

Sure, Dwyane Wade has a nice championship ring, but LeBron has millions more dollars coming in from endorsement deals. LeBron is a higher profile draw with the Hollywood types. LeBron is more likely to be seen hanging out with rappers like Jay-Z.

To many of the young NBA superstars, LeBron has already won. So why spend countless hours trying to make champions out of people like Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall?

Its true I do not have access to the Cavalier practice facility, nor visual evidence that LeBron is not focused when it comes to basketball, but would a focused player be shooting an abysmal 68 % from the free throw line?

Is it acceptable for one of the top five players in the league to only rank seventh on his team in foul shots? How about 127th in the league, percentage points behind sharpshooting New Jersey Nets backup center, Mikki Moore.

The combination of sloppy play with a almost-obvious lack of urgency displayed by LeBron most of the season has carried over to the rest of the team. Now, the team that won 50 games last season could easily miss out on home court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. And this in a season with no major injuries or any other obstacles.

Is it all LeBron's fault?

No.

It also appears coach Mike Brown is in WAY over his head.

But one thing remains true, when he cares, LeBron is still capable of doing some amazing things on the court and carrying the team on his shoulders, as evidenced by last seasons playoff victory over the Wizards.

Time will tell is LeBron is merely saving himself for a stronger postseason run this year, or simply has nothing left in the tank.

An energy-free Q.

As I have mentioned before, I have recently returned to the area after an eight-year absence. While I have followed our beloved teams religiously the entire time I was in the military, being able to experience the games in person again is almost like a new experience.

The last live sporting event I attended was a University of Alabama football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

For those who may not know, the Crimson Tide is pretty much the Boston Red Sox of college football. Their fans are wildly passionate, nearly to a fault. As a true sports fan, the experience I shared with more than 92,000 other fans that day was a memorable one.

That day I remember telling my fiance, a huge Tide fan, about the passion of the Cleveland fans for their teams. When she moved up here in December with me, I could hardly wait for her to experience the fans that sold out 455 straight Indians games and created the infamous "Dawg Pound" of the 80's.

Something strange has happened, however. Somewhere between the mid -90s and now, the experience of attending a Cleveland sporting event has changed drastically.

I grew up going to Cavs games at the old Richfield Coliseum. My most vivid memories include the entire arena standing and yelling "threeeee" in unison as Mark Price would launch another one of his signature bombs from beyond the arc. That soon following by the muffled roar after the ball swished through the net. I remember screaming as loud as I could, and yet still feeling as if nobody could hear me amidst the defeaning roar.

Things are quite different at the Quicken Loans Arena. For one, if I were to scream as loud as I could, I would be fearful of the disdainful looks I might draw from nearby spectators. And yes, I called them "spectators" not fans.

I realize the Cavs had some rough years after the Price-Daugherty-Nance trio left, but with LeBron and Dan Gilbert has come a reasonable amount of success and the Cavs are now a legitimate playoff team.

I have attended three games at the "Q," one of them against the Golden State Warriors, a game LeBron missed with a toe injury.

Now I realize LeBron is the marquis player and face of the organization, but the energy level in the building that night was downright appalling. The response to one Donyell Marshall jumper would not have been out of line at a funeral service.

I know somebody will inevitably make the ticket price excuse, but its not like the Gunds were giving tickets away during the Richfield days. Tribe tickets during the first five seasons at Jacobs Field were neither cheap, nor easy to come by for the blue-collar fan, yet the fans produced several late inning roars that carried the Tribe to victories.

I can't blame Dan Gilbert for his admirable attempts the inject life into the fanbase. There is an awful lot going on during a Cavs game. On the court during pregame festivities, you have cheerleaders, the mascot, a bunch of hip-hop kids called the "Scream Team" dancing around, usually some sort of youth group wearing white t-shirts all attempting to avoid bumping into each other as the players - who look out of place at this point - prepare to play the game.

But it apparently takes more than marketing gimmicks to bring the passion back to the Cleveland fans.

While I was serving in the military, I was notorious for bragging about the passion of the Cleveland fans as I moved around the country. As it stands now, I can no longer make that claim.

I guess one cannot understate the toll 43 championship-free years can have on a city that already struggles with an inferiority complex.

Opening Day 2007

It is finally going to happen, and just months before my thirtieth birthday.

After 20 years as a Cleveland Indians fan, I have purchased tickets to attend my first ever Home Opener.

Yes, I finally get to experience watching a baseball game in thermals, a knit hat and a parka.

Of course, opening day has lost some of it's luster since the Indians have fallen after a string of postseason appearances the Tribe enjoyed from the mid-nineties until 2001.

But none of that matters, opening day is an event!

Its a time to see the new faces that will fill out the lineup. Unfamiliar names who will soon undoubtedly become subject of one of my signature profanity-laced tirades after a booted ball or strikeout.

Opening Day is also a time to see some old faces, some of which inspire as much enthusiasm from fans as patients in the waiting room of the local proctologist.

No matter what happened last season. Despite all the disappointment, frustration and heartbreak. Opening Day brings the promise of a fresh start, a clean slate.

Sometimes makes you wish life were more like baseball.