Following the Lebronathon that ran on ESPN tonight, announcing LeBron James’ decision to play for the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert posted an open letter to the Cav’s fans on NBA.com’s Cavaliers page. In classic Gilbert fashion, it’s written in Comic Sans, so you know that the following is all Mr. Gilbert:

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his “decision” unlike anything ever “witnessed” in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

“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.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our “motivation” to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that’s simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown “chosen one” sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And “who” we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called “curse” on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former “King” will be taking the “curse” with him down south. And until he does “right” by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Sleep well, Cleveland.

Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day….

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue….

Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers

Gilbert’s words echo the outrage a lot of Cavs fans are feeling tonight. With fans burning Cavs’ #23 jerseys in the streets, it’s a surprise to see the team’s owner rip James a new one publicly. It’s a bold move for Gilbert to declare Cleveland to get a victory before James does in Miami – the triple threat of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh being a formidable opponent for any team in the league, but that’s just how Gilbert does business, in bold strokes.

Of course, it’ll be the upcoming season that will determine who’ll come out on top – whether it be LeBron James and his new Miami teammates, or a heavy dose of Cleveland’s special schadenfreude. October is only a few months away.

“I feel like this is going to give me the best opportunity to win, and to win for multiple years,” said James. “And not only just to win in the regular season or just to win five games in a row, or three games in a row. I want to be able to win championships and I feel like I can down there.”

[image credit] Kotaku.com

Tonight, free agent LeBron James will be revealing via an hour-long special on ESPN where he’ll be selling his loyalties to for the forseeable future. However, there’s no good reason it should take sixty minutes for James to stand up in front of a camera and say “I will be playing for the ____________________. Hope you won your office pool!”

Thankfully, the good folks at hard-hitting sports network NPR have put together a list of ways that LeBron and ESPN can fill the remaining 59 minutes of airtime. Aside from the hundreds of commercials we’re bound to get, of course. Here are some of the choice highlights:

3. LeBron James reads selections from He’s Just Not That Into You

5. LeBron James tells very long story in which lady at grocery store cuts him off with cart in cereal aisle, later inappropriately uses express line clearly marked “15 Items Or Fewer”; story ends with tears and confusion over “loss of civility in our time”

12. LeBron James runs eight miles on in-studio treadmill while answering trivia questions about the American presidents

13. LeBron James previews new line of jewelry featuring delicate ladybug motif

19. LeBron James wrestles a Bengal tiger, lets it off with a warning

ESPN’s LeBron James special will air tonight at 9PM, EST.

[source] NPR

It took him three days, 112 aces and a score of 70-68, but but John Isner finally defeated Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon this morning, in the longest game of tennis in the history of the sport.

“When you play a match like this, in an atmosphere like this, you don’t feel tired out here, really, even though that’s exactly what we both were. This crowd was fantastic,” said the 24-year-old Isner to ESPN.

Despite the disappointing, hard-fought loss, Mahut was especially gracious regarding his opponent.

“The guy is an absolute warrior. … To be able to share this day with him was an absolute honor,” Mahut said.

With a stunning goal in the first minute of injury time, Landon Donovan keeps the American World Cup dream alive and puts the United States into first place within their group.

Facing three minutes from elimination, Donovan brought the ball upfield on a counterattack and Jozy Altidore’s shot on the breakaway was tipped by Clint Dempsey into goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. The rebound came back to Donovan, who kicked it in from about 8 yards for one of the biggest goals in U.S. soccer history.

“Clint made a good run in the middle, the ball fell to me … time kind of stopped,” Donovan said. “You can’t miss from there.”

With this victory, the United States finishes the round with putting the Americans into first place with 1-0-2 within Group C, earning them five points. England also finished 1-0-2, but the United States took first as they had four goals versus England’s two. Slovenia (1-1-1) was third with four points, and Algeria (0-2-1) came in last with one point.

The win is the first World Cup victory for the United States in eight years, and the first time the United States has won a group since 1930. With his fourth World Cup goal, Donovan has tied Bert Patenaude (1930) as the American scoring leader. Moving forward into the second round will pit them against the runner-up of Group D on Saturday.

“I’ve been through a lot in the last four years,” Donovan said half an hour after the end, crying and his voice cracked. “I’m so glad it culminated this way. When you try to do things the right way, it’s good to get rewarded.”

The Mariners’ organization announced today that Ken Griffey Jr. has officially retired from baseball.

“I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be,” he said.

Griffey had a fantastic career, with 13 All-Star appearances, 630 home runs and 1,836 RBIs. He’s also credited with keeping the Mariners in Seattle, following his return from injuries to bring the Mariners through the playoffs in 1995. Appropriately, his last hit was a game-winning pinch hit against Toronto on May 20.

“Junior was one of the finest young men I’ve ever had the opportunity to manage,” said Cubs manager Lou Piniella. “When we were in Seattle together, I believe he was the best player in baseball and it was truly an honor to be his manager.”

[source] ESPN

While this year’s bout of March Madness has yet to subside, the post-season rumors are already beginning to make their way to the surface.

According to ABC affiliate KEZI, the University of Oregon is hoping to grab a high-profile hoops coach in Michigan State University’s Tom Izzo with an equally high-profile offer.

A source close to the University of Oregon Athletic Department has told KEZI the Ducks are planning to offer Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo the largest contract in college basketball, with the backing of Oregon’s biggest booster, Nike Chairman Phil Knight.

Another source within the Oregon Athletic Department has confirmed Izzo’s name is on the list of coaching candidates provided by the search firm Spencer Stuart, but no offer or discussions between the parties have taken place.

At present, Kentucky’s John Calipari has the largest contact in college basketball, having signed an eight-year, $31.65 million deal last year. Excluding bonuses, Izzo makes about $2.5 million.

Of course, Oregon can’t interview or even talk to Izzo about it until the season ends, and the Spartans just defeated Tennessee on Sunday to advance into the Final Four, which is territory Izzo knows well.

More than anything, this speaks of a healthy ambition in Oregon – they might not get Izzo, but with Knight’s bucks, it’s possible they’ll reel in somebody with clout in the future.

from The Virtual Underground:

Since 2004, EA Sports has been using their latest version of the Madden football software to predict the winner of the year’s super bowl. Only once has it been wrong, in 2008 when the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14. The simulation returned to form the following year, with the score of the Steelers/Cardinals game being only one point off from the simulation on both sides of the ball.

This year, Madden puts the Saints up over the Colts with a score of 35-31, earning the Saints their first ever Super Bowl win and Drew Brees as MVP. Add this to the long list of prognosticators picking the Saints and it seems like Madden might well have another quality pick on its hands. Here’re the highlights from the simulation from EA Sports:

“The first three quarters display the offensive fireworks that both teams have become known for, with the Colts leading 24-21. A nail biting fourth quarter begins with a big play, courtesy of the Saints’ special teams, when Reggie Bush returns a punt for a 42-yard touchdown. However, with minutes left in the game the duo of Joseph Addai and Peyton Manning put the Colts back on top with a go-ahead touchdown pass. With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score.”

Come Sunday, we’ll see just how accurate that is!

Drew Miller wins the shootout for the Red Wings

Last night’s shootout win puts Detroit in a familiar place, albeit one they haven’t seen very often this year – inside the 8 team playoff cut for the Western Conference.  The two points needed to jump over Calgary did not come easy.  Despite a good first and second period, Detroit found itself in a 1-1 tie at the start of the third, courtesy of a breakaway goal by Todd Bertuzzi in the first, followed by a Minnesota goal by Robbie Earl in the second.  Detroit managed to gain the lead early in the third, with a goal by Patrick Eaves at the 2:28 mark, and a goal by Drew Miller (the game’s eventual hero) at 9:03.  Minnesota battled back, scoring two goals exactly one minute apart (Havlat, Brunette).  This would end the scoring for regulation, followed by an exciting but scoreless overtime.

The shootout has been an all-too familiar place for the Wings lately, coming off shootout losses to Dallas and Chicago last weekend.   The shootout started promising, with a save by Howard against Minnesota Captain Mikku Koivu and an effective, if somewhat-less-flashy-than-normal goal by Pavel Datsyuk on Niklas Backstrom.  After stops on Guillaume Latendresse and Henrik Zetterberg, Owen Nolan (yes, he still plays) managed to squeak one by Jimmy Howard.  A save by Backstrom on hot stick Bertuzzi sent the shootout into extra rounds.  Six rounds later, Marek Zidlicky found the net, and the Wings were staring down the throat of another crushing shootout loss.  However Valteri Filppula came through in the clutch, putting a shot past Backstrom and extending the contest.  The drama would only increase from there, as a shot by Antti Miettinen, who had beaten Howard, bounced harmless off the goalpost.  Finally, in the eighth round, Drew Miller (ex-Spartan) managed to beat Backstrom on a wristshot from the circles.  The Wings had managed to stop their 3 game slide, and jump over Calgary in the process.

The victory celebration will be short-lived.  With a little less than half the season to go, the Wings cannot hope to hold the last place in the conference without playing better hockey than they did against a struggling Minnesota team.  Four teams fighting for the last few playoff spots are within 4 points of each other (Nashville 61, Los Angeles 59, Detroit 58, Calgary 58).  Four more teams on the outside looking in are within 2 points of each other, and only 5 points from 8th place.  The Wings will have to step up their game going in to the Olympic break if they are going to widen the gap and cement a playoff spot this season.  A big help will be the imminent return of some of the Wings’s injured superstars.  Jason Williams, Niklas Kronwall, and Tomas Holmstrom all may see action as early as next week.  Johan Franzen is still on track to return right around the time of the Olympic break.

Keep an eye out Detroit, good things are coming.

Bertuzzi beats Niemi

Despite two absolutely spectacular shootout goals by Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi, the Wings were unable to best the Blackhawks on Sunday.  A final shootout tally by Patrick Kane gave the Blackhawks the win, their third straight over the Wings this season.

Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi’s shootout goals