In today's edition of Around the Pound, we take a look at who is speaking out about Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, an update on RB Chris Jennings' run-in with the law, the series finale of LOST last night, and more.
Even Jim Brown is Talking About LeBron James
With Cleveland Cavaliers superstar and two-time league MVP LeBron James getting ready to hit free agency, everyone seems to feel the need to share their opinion on where "King James" should -- or shouldn't -- land this summer. Among the people who have weighed in already is President Barack Obama, who is pulling for James to go to the Chicago Bulls.
Even though he's the president, I see no reason why the local news stations in Cleveland have to dedicate half of their sports coverage to his opinion...which brings us to another person who decided to share his thoughts on James: former Browns running back Jim Brown. This story is already several days old, but here is Brown's quote about LeBron:
"I think he's gonna leave, and I think that the treatment that he's getting right now is going to be the motivating factor," Brown said to Baltimore radio station WVIE AM/1370. "You know, it's so unfortunate that a man that's got so much would feel so bad right now because of what he couldn't do. I think he's being treated unfairly. I think the expectations were too high, and I don't think he's gonna stay in Cleveland because of it.
Brown is off his rocker. How can Brown insinuate that the Cleveland fans have treated him unfairly, when everyone else around the country has probably trashed James to a much further extent? Shortly after the season is over, all fans can talk about is how they want LeBron to remain in Cleveland. There's even a banner in Downtown Cleveland in support of LeBron!
As for Brown speaking out, perhaps he should stick to being a suite-room supporter of the Browns rather than pissing off Cleveland fans.
Jennings Won't be Charged
Browns RB Chris Jennings won't be charged with a crime after being accused of assaulting a doorman last month. Jennings apparently reached an agreement with the victim. With that said, Jennings' chances of making the roster still seem pretty slim. He was OK last season at times, but often took unnecessary risks (remember the play where he ran all the way to the other side of the field that should've netted a huge loss?), and the team has added two new backs in Montario Hardesty and Peyton Hillis.
Pluto: Talkin' About the Receivers
Terry Pluto's weekly column yesterday focused on the wide receiver situation for the Cleveland Browns. Here's a taste of what he had to say:
Chansi Stuckey and Jake Allen also had some nice moments catching the ball this week. Not sure if the receivers looked better because of the improved quarterback play along with being in the offense for a while -- or simply that they were so bad last season.
Off-Beat Notes - The End of LOST
- If you didn't watch LOST, spoiler alert below: don't read any further!
- Sadly, all good things have to come to an end. The LOST series finale was last night, and I treated the event like a Super Bowl watch party, complete with an order of pizza and various snacks that would serve as nervous binge-eating throughout the broadcast.
- How was 'The End' of LOST? I liked it. It was surprising. It had drama. It had emotional moments. It did not have every single answer. That last one is what I think is going to frustrate some viewers, but not me. Sure, I'm still dying to know who was in the other outrigger in Season 5, but the producers needed a solid way to wrap up the show, and they did. Jack died right then and there on the island, but everyone else pretty much made it out alive and lived their lives happily ever after offscreen.
- The caveat to 'Happily Ever After' is that we got to see what happened after everyone's eventual offscreen passing -- they re-united in an intermediate world where time is not relative. I won't get too much further into the religious aspects of the show's ending, but rather the fact that the show ended with allowing the fans of the show to have one final goodbye -- a way to 'let go' -- of one of the greatest shows on television ever (IMO).
- Unfortunately for WEWS/ABC viewers in Northeastern Ohio, the reception for the station was horrible for the entire broadcast. The problems started about ten minutes before the show started and continued late into the following morning for WEWS. The result was the screen blacking out (loss of signal) every couple of seconds, and often not being able to hear what the characters were saying. As much as I liked the finale, I had a pit of rage in my stomach throughout the show because I couldn't fully absorb everything when the reception was atrocious. The episode re-airs this Saturday, but it's too little, too late for WEWS.
- Another show, and arguably my second most favorite show, ends tonight. It's not Law & Order, but rather '24.' We'll still get a '24' movie, but as far as television goes, this is it for Jack Bauer. After losing two of my favorite television shows in two days, I'm going to have a little emptiness inside my stomach for a few days. I guess Glee and The Office suddenly shift up to my top two spots. I like comedy shows, but I'm certainly going to miss the science fiction/action shows holding those spots.