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Welcome back, football!

Win it for my Dutch friend Nils.

Please.

It is rare when an “event” in sports lives up to its hype. Tonight, the events exceeded the hype.

What LeBron James did tonight was the biggest f-you in the history of sports. I am all for a guy going out and exploring free agency. I have no problem with him playing with whomever he wants to.

BUT…

To go on national TV and publicly humiliate the city of Cleveland like he did is simply inexcusable. As a self-professed Cleveland hater, even I can’t see how he could do that to them after everything they have been through.

As you probably know, I cannot stand Cleveland fans. I dislike the Browns, Cavs, and Indians more than the Yankees, Lakers and Canadiens. That said, I feel awful for every Cleveland Cavalier fan tonight. No sports fan deserves to be treated like they were tonight. No sports fan deserves to be shit on by a self-professed “king” who quit on them in his last playoff series in their jersey.

Shame on you, LeBron James. Shame on you for leaving Cleveland in this manner. More importantly, shame on you for forcing me to empathize with the fans of Cleveland.

On top of all of that, you had Dan Gilbert riding in on a white Ford Bronco and not only skewering LeBron, but casting a spell on him AND personally guaranteeing a championship in Cleveland before LeBron sees one.  I am a big fan of letters.  I love to write and letters are my specialty.  Tonight, Dan Gilbert wrote my favorite letter of all time.

The NBA. Where amazing truly happens.

PS – Dear Cleveland: After tonight, I can’t hate you anymore. We’re good. Love, Mike

Photo credit: Jim Davis, Boston.com

And, I’m spent.

We’ve just concluded 36 of the most interesting hours of the sports year.  Let’s take a brief look back on what just transpired:

Sunday 1pm – Celtics 117, Cavs 113: The team has been absolutely dismal lately, but this was a needed win.  Hopefully, it inspires a great playoff run.

Sunday 8pm – Red Sox 9 Yankees 7: Although it didn’t have the same feel as a normal home opener, this was a great start to the season.  I had a feeling we were in for a good night after reading Bill Simmons take a completely different (for him) look at baseball.  From Pedro’s magical first pitch to the great performances of the Red Sox newcomers, it was a spectacular night in Fenway.  Scu-Scu-Scutaro!

Sunday approx 8:13pm – McNabb traded to the Redskins: It is never a good thing when iconic players are traded away from their franchises. This was a huge deal for anyone who follows the NFL and reminds me of the Drew Bledsoe trade.  From the Patriots perspective, it is a great deal because the “Donofro” did not end up in Oakland (the Pats own Oakland’s first round pick in 2011).

Sunday approx 10:30pm – Evan Turner wins Naismith Trophy: The Naismith is the Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year. “The Villain” is the first Ohio State Buckeye to ever win the award.

Monday 1pm – First pitch in Cincinnati: I really wish MLB got back to the tradition of having the first pitch of the season being thrown in Cincinnati.  It is a very big deal to people in the Queen City.  They throw a parade and it is one of the few days when the city buzzes.  Baseball should really start in the home of its first professional team.

Monday 1pm-Tuesday 1am – MLB Opening Day: Opening Day is a special day. For me, it signifies the end of winter.  It is even better when your team signs Josh Beckett to a four year, team-friendly contract extension.

Monday 2pm – Tiger’s Back: This story will only get bigger as the weekend approaches and the Masters begins.

Monday 7pm – Capitals 3 Bruins 2 (OT): The B’s played well against one of the NHL’s best teams. We’ll take the point.

Monday 9:21pm – Duke 61 Butler 59: Years from now, the one thing people will remember most about the 2010 NCAA Tournament was how well Butler did.  They were a team nobody knew about three weeks ago and in the end, everyone rooted for.  I can’t imagine what it was like for those guys to play in front of 70,000 people, in the city Butler is located in, for the national championship and come so close to winning it all.  What a heartbreaker.

If that final three pointer went in, it would have been one of the greatest moments in American sport.  IMHO, it would have been bigger than Flutie’s Hail Mary pass in Miami.  This game was a fitting end to a spectacular NCAA tournament.  The only bad thing was Jennifer Hudson’s butchering of “One Shining Moment” (the traditional end to the CBS broadcast of the tournament).

And yes, I’m still pissed about West Virginia losing.

In honor of this awesome NCAA tournament, I hearby declare this week “West Virginia Week” here on Truth About Mike.  As one of the few people north of the Mason-Dixon line that will be rooting for the Mountaineers, I feel like this is something I must do.

*raucous applause*

Why am I rooting for West Virginia University, you ask?

If WVU wins the tournament, I will win my NCAA pool.  I am especially excited because this year has been my favorite tournament ever.  There have been a ton of upsets and almost every game has been exciting.  I am also dedicating this week to WVU in a shameless attempt to appease the basketball gods.  West Virginia will need all the help it can get and any/every bounce that happens to go their way would be greatly appreciated.

And before you even say it….

I realize that in order to declare a week a “week” here on the blog, I’d actually have to write more than once during said week.  I am so enthused about the prospect of winning my pool, that I promise to write multiple blog entries this week.  I am not going to say when the next entry will be up, but I assure you it will be within the next few days.

West Virginia reached the Final Four by defeating Kentucky on Saturday.  The Mountaineers next play Duke (a.k.a. the New York Yankees/Evil Empire of college basketball) next Saturday.  Maybe if you’re lucky, we’ll even manage to sneak in some Duke bashing in by the end of the week.

Lastly, I will get the ball rolling by offering you a picture of a typical vehicle in West Virginia:

Go Mountaineers!

I simply cannot stop watching this.

The announcer is awesome as well, “WHOA, devoured!”

The old raptor is the best mascot in sports, but this one isn’t bad either.

If you want to read the best thing written about the Tiger Woods saga, clicketh here.

I am cyber-genuflecting at Jason Whitlock’s supreme super awesomeness right now.

The link above is the “Friday Night Lights” of the whole Tiger mess.

behind the Tiger Woods accident….

EDITOR’S NOTE: Happy Birthday Michele!

Go Bucks! Beat Michigan!