Here's what has come out in the news today within the LeBron James sweepstakes.

Wolfe23, I know you'll love it.

Quote:To listen to World Wide Wes, LeBron will never look back on Cleveland. “He’s up out of there,” is the way he tells it to people, but LeBron’s Akron crew has to tsk-tsk such public talk because they all live in Northeast Ohio, and maybe always will. “We’re going to Chicago,” William Wesley tells people, “and Chris Bosh is coming, too.”

Summer of LeBron overshadows draft

Man, before this whole free agency bonanza started, I promised myself I would not pay attention to all the media rumors out there so I wouldn't get my hopes up. Well, it's too late for that. I honestly think the Bulls have the best chance at landing LeBron. Even before the Bulls made that move to trade Hinrich, I thought we had a shot at LeBron. But now that the Bulls can sign LeBron AND another big free agent to go along with Rose and Noah, the Bulls are CLEARLY the best chance for LeBron to not only win a championship next year, but for many years to come. Even if we don't get LeBron thoough, we should get at least Joe Johnson and either Bosh, Amare, or Boozer. More articles:

Report: LeBron Leaning Towards Bulls

Bulls May Be Front-Runners in James Sweepstakes

Oh and I can't stop watching this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPaHxGmd48c

Source: LeBron to Bulls a Done Deal

Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

MD.. I realize you probably wouldn't want a guy like LeBron on the team because he's too talented and would prefer a guy like Kirk Hinrich on your squad so you're bitter. But doesn't the fact that our news coverage is dominated by a guy not even on our local team, suggest to you that, just perhaps, at least someone cares about NBA basketball?

(06-28-2010 02:59 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

I'm a casual fan, the NBA is not high on my list of leagues but the Bulls did lead the NBA in attendance again last year. For 20,800 to show up for 40 nights, someone in metro Chicago must care. The Bulls average attendance per game is higher than some MLB teams; Toronto, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Florida all average less than that. The Royals are only 200 per game higher, the AL Wildcard leading Devil Rays only 1150 higher and the NL Central leading Reds only 1850 higher.

if LBJ signed with the bulls, then i would care about the NBA. A lot!

(06-28-2010 02:59 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

If Lebron signs with the Bulls it is going to be a media frenzy. This town is going to go nuts and everyone will forget the names of Toews, Kane, and Neimi...........

Ohh how I hope he signs with the Bulls!

(06-28-2010 07:08 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 02:59 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

If Lebron signs with the Bulls it is going to be a media frenzy. This town is going to go nuts and everyone will forget the names of Toews, Kane, and Neimi...........

Ohh how I hope he signs with the Bulls!

Blackhawks are going nowhere my friend. One of the reasons the Hawks have far surpassed the Bulls in Chicago is because they have a young core group of players that young fans enjoy in addition to the older fans. Hawks have a stranglehold on this market now. Lebron James is not about winning championships anyway as he has won zero, zilch of them. That is why so many people are turned off to the NBA, winning is not really valued all that much, it is more WWE in flavor.

(06-28-2010 08:00 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Blackhawks are going nowhere my friend. One of the reasons the Hawks have far surpassed the Bulls in Chicago is because they have a young core group of players that young fans enjoy in addition to the older fans. Hawks have a stranglehold on this market now. Lebron James is not about winning championships anyway as he has won zero, zilch of them. That is why so many people are turned off to the NBA, winning is not really valued all that much, it is more WWE in flavor.

Both the Bulls and Hawks led their respective leagues in attendance and the Bulls actually had better TV ratings.

I'm a big fan of the Hawks, much moreso than the Bulls, but basketball is a far more popular sport than hockey is. The idea that the Hawks have a "stranglehold" on the market, or have surpassed the Bulls, is just untrue. It's completely false.

They'd blow the Hawks ratings out of the water if they add Lebron and Bosh. That's not a knock on the Hawks, it has nothing to do with them really, the sport the Bulls play in just draws significantly more viewers than hockey does.

this is more madddawgz being delusional. basketball culturally is MUCH MORE popular than hockey in chicago. you get a top tier player like lebron who will give bulls fans images of winning championships, and they will far surpass blackhawks in terms of popularity. its nothing personal against hockey, but basketball is much more relatable to the average chicagoan

(06-28-2010 08:00 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 07:08 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 02:59 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

If Lebron signs with the Bulls it is going to be a media frenzy. This town is going to go nuts and everyone will forget the names of Toews, Kane, and Neimi...........

Ohh how I hope he signs with the Bulls!

Blackhawks are going nowhere my friend. One of the reasons the Hawks have far surpassed the Bulls in Chicago is because they have a young core group of players that young fans enjoy in addition to the older fans. Hawks have a stranglehold on this market now. Lebron James is not about winning championships anyway as he has won zero, zilch of them. That is why so many people are turned off to the NBA, winning is not really valued all that much, it is more WWE in flavor.

Stranglehold? Are you insane? The Hawks are good and the Bulls at this point are mediocre. The Bulls STILL had better ratings then the Hawks. Believe this you fool if the Bulls land Lebron the Blackhawks will become an afterthought in the Chicago media market. And for your "Lebron has won zero championships" the man is only 25. I'd rather watch a team with Lebron, Rose, Noah, and possibly Bosh over a team of Toews, Kane, and even Wayne Gretzke in his prime. Hockey will never compare to NBA in popularity in any U.S market with a basketball team.

I feel sorry for you MD. Sometimes I think you are just an established troll, but I think it is that you have some sort of problem. You are blinded by your own favoritism and refuse to look at facts and common sense when it comes to what you believe. You are delusional which is certainly something to worry about. I just hope it doesn't factor into other areas of your life. Some doctors prescribe medicine for people such as yourself, perhaps you should look into that. It might help a lot with every day activities.

(06-28-2010 09:15 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 08:00 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 07:08 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 02:59 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

If Lebron signs with the Bulls it is going to be a media frenzy. This town is going to go nuts and everyone will forget the names of Toews, Kane, and Neimi...........

Ohh how I hope he signs with the Bulls!

Blackhawks are going nowhere my friend. One of the reasons the Hawks have far surpassed the Bulls in Chicago is because they have a young core group of players that young fans enjoy in addition to the older fans. Hawks have a stranglehold on this market now. Lebron James is not about winning championships anyway as he has won zero, zilch of them. That is why so many people are turned off to the NBA, winning is not really valued all that much, it is more WWE in flavor.

Stranglehold? Are you insane? The Hawks are good and the Bulls at this point are mediocre. The Bulls STILL had better ratings then the Hawks. Believe this you fool if the Bulls land Lebron the Blackhawks will become an afterthought in the Chicago media market. And for your "Lebron has won zero championships" the man is only 25. I'd rather watch a team with Lebron, Rose, Noah, and possibly Bosh over a team of Toews, Kane, and even Wayne Gretzke in his prime. Hockey will never compare to NBA in popularity in any U.S market with a basketball team.

I feel sorry for you MD. Sometimes I think you are just an established troll, but I think it is that you have some sort of problem. You are blinded by your own favoritism and refuse to look at facts and common sense when it comes to what you believe. You are delusional which is certainly something to worry about. I just hope it doesn't factor into other areas of your life. Some doctors prescribe medicine for people such as yourself, perhaps you should look into that. It might help a lot with every day activities.

Got your facts mixed up there Big Man, Hawks had better ratings than the Bulls this year, OOOPS.

(06-28-2010 09:20 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 09:15 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 08:00 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 07:08 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 02:59 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Source: No one cares about NBA basketball

If Lebron signs with the Bulls it is going to be a media frenzy. This town is going to go nuts and everyone will forget the names of Toews, Kane, and Neimi...........

Ohh how I hope he signs with the Bulls!

Blackhawks are going nowhere my friend. One of the reasons the Hawks have far surpassed the Bulls in Chicago is because they have a young core group of players that young fans enjoy in addition to the older fans. Hawks have a stranglehold on this market now. Lebron James is not about winning championships anyway as he has won zero, zilch of them. That is why so many people are turned off to the NBA, winning is not really valued all that much, it is more WWE in flavor.

Stranglehold? Are you insane? The Hawks are good and the Bulls at this point are mediocre. The Bulls STILL had better ratings then the Hawks. Believe this you fool if the Bulls land Lebron the Blackhawks will become an afterthought in the Chicago media market. And for your "Lebron has won zero championships" the man is only 25. I'd rather watch a team with Lebron, Rose, Noah, and possibly Bosh over a team of Toews, Kane, and even Wayne Gretzke in his prime. Hockey will never compare to NBA in popularity in any U.S market with a basketball team.

I feel sorry for you MD. Sometimes I think you are just an established troll, but I think it is that you have some sort of problem. You are blinded by your own favoritism and refuse to look at facts and common sense when it comes to what you believe. You are delusional which is certainly something to worry about. I just hope it doesn't factor into other areas of your life. Some doctors prescribe medicine for people such as yourself, perhaps you should look into that. It might help a lot with every day activities.

Got your facts mixed up there Big Man, Hawks had better ratings than the Bulls this year, OOOPS.

Link?

One thing that I find interesting is that the Blackhawks championship clinching game doesn't compare well with some of the other major Chicago franchise championships or even playoff games. Sounds like the tighter the Blackhawks clinch their stranglehold the more star systems will slip through their fingers......

Link

(06-28-2010 09:33 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  Link?

It took some digging but I found some end-of-the-year numbers, and the Hawks averaged a 2.45 on CSN and the Bulls averaged a 2.35. Now, that doesn't include WGN, and I don't know how that would affect the final figures. Nor does it include games on national networks, which I would think the Bulls destroy the Hawks in.

http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/201...b-and.html

The original figures I had were only into the middle of winter and didn't include the surge the Hawks got at the end of the season because they were so good (which the Bulls didn't get, because they weren't).

In any even, the numbers don't exactly bear out his "stranglehold" when you take into account the difference in the quality of teams. And, besides, adding Lebron and Bosh would help the Bulls easily surpass the Hawks mark. I don't like the NBA, either, but I'll admit that the Bulls with those 2 would have no problem surpassing the Hawks in TV ratings.

(06-28-2010 09:49 PM)UIHuskie Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 09:33 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  Link?

It took some digging but I found some end-of-the-year numbers, and the Hawks averaged a 2.45 on CSN and the Bulls averaged a 2.35. Now, that doesn't include WGN, and I don't know how that would affect the final figures. Nor does it include games on national networks, which I would think the Bulls destroy the Hawks in.

http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/201...b-and.html

The original figures I had were only into the middle of winter and didn't include the surge the Hawks got at the end of the season because they were so good (which the Bulls didn't get, because they weren't).

In any even, the numbers don't exactly bear out his "stranglehold" when you take into account the difference in the quality of teams. And, besides, adding Lebron and Bosh would help the Bulls easily surpass the Hawks mark. I don't like the NBA, either, but I'll admit that the Bulls with those 2 would have no problem surpassing the Hawks in TV ratings.

Those were the original number I had as well. For someone to say that there was a "stranglehold" of a market when the Stanley Cup winner barely beat out a 500. team still constitutes delusion. I'll admit that I am wrong about the ratings, but I will still stand by my prediction that if the Bulls get Lebron this town will have a stronger NBA "stranglehold" then the Blackhawks could ever imagine.

(06-28-2010 10:12 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 09:49 PM)UIHuskie Wrote:  

(06-28-2010 09:33 PM)Big_Man Wrote:  Link?

It took some digging but I found some end-of-the-year numbers, and the Hawks averaged a 2.45 on CSN and the Bulls averaged a 2.35. Now, that doesn't include WGN, and I don't know how that would affect the final figures. Nor does it include games on national networks, which I would think the Bulls destroy the Hawks in.

http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/201...b-and.html

The original figures I had were only into the middle of winter and didn't include the surge the Hawks got at the end of the season because they were so good (which the Bulls didn't get, because they weren't).

In any even, the numbers don't exactly bear out his "stranglehold" when you take into account the difference in the quality of teams. And, besides, adding Lebron and Bosh would help the Bulls easily surpass the Hawks mark. I don't like the NBA, either, but I'll admit that the Bulls with those 2 would have no problem surpassing the Hawks in TV ratings.

Those were the original number I had as well. For someone to say that there was a "stranglehold" of a market when the Stanley Cup winner barely beat out a 500. team still constitutes delusion. I'll admit that I am wrong about the ratings, but I will still stand by my prediction that if the Bulls get Lebron this town will have a stronger NBA "stranglehold" then the Blackhawks could ever imagine.

I just hate how these periphery people around James have so much influence in the NBA in terms of playing the media and exerting all this influence. It reminds me of the corruption around boxing. In my opinion it is a whole lot of commotion over someone that has not shown he is capable of winning the big one, or even the big one to get to the big one for that matter.

Just thinking. If he does come to Chicago it would be interesting to find out the Bulls schedule and the day for the NIU/Akron game at the Convo. Maybe he has the day off and is in town and makes a trip to see the game at the Convo.

(06-28-2010 11:19 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  In my opinion it is a whole lot of commotion over someone that has not shown he is capable of winning the big one, or even the big one to get to the big one for that matter.

Yeah, totally LeBron's fault that the Cavaliers can't win in the playoffs. LeBron just won back-to-back MVPs and has 4 All-NBA First Teams and 2 All-NBA Defensive First Teams. I'd be surprised if you could name 3 other Cavalier players.

Here are his career playoff numbers...
46% FG
29.3 PPG
8.4 RPG
7.3 APG

What a bum.