Updated The LeBron Phenomenon Page

Updated 2009-2010 page with images and voting results on The LeBron Phenomenon (under Miscellaneous)

MVP

LeBron James to be named NBA Most Valuable Player on Sunday (via PD)

via Windy (@PDcavsinsider) at the PD

Copyright Associated Press

CLEVELAND, Ohio — LeBron James of the Cavaliers will become the 10th player in NBA history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards when results of the nationwide voting are announced on Sunday, sources have told The Plain Dealer.

James is expected to have a press conference at The University of Akron and accept the Maurice Podoloff Trophy and the Kia car that comes with the honor Sunday.

Last season, when James won for the first time, he accepted at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron

James played numerous high school games at Akron’s Rhodes Arena, is a supporter of the Zips basketball program and head coach Keith Dambrot, and holds his annual Nike camp for the top high school prospects at the university’s facilities.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is expected to formally give James the trophy before Monday’s Game 2 against the Boston Celtics at The Q.

At age 25, James becomes the second-youngest to win back-to-back MVPs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a couple of months younger when he won his back-to-back award in 1972. The others two win back-to-back are Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Abdul-Jabbar. Only Bird, Chamberlain and Russell ever won the award three years in a row.

Last year James won in a landslide, getting 109 of the first-place 121 votes given out to sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league. This year, James is expected to approach winning the award unanimously.

However, several voters have said they did not plan to vote for James. This year the NBA also allowed fans to vote, with their preference to make up the 122nd vote. The results of the voting will be announced Sunday by the league.

James averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game in leading the Cavs to a second consecutive 60-win season. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month four times during the season.

R.I.P. Former Cav Kevin Restani

Played 34 games for the Cavs in 1981

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=5821

http://www.cavshistory.com/players/kevin-restani/

2009-2010 Stats Finalized

got around to updating the stats for the regular season here

New Uniforms Next Year

Via Windy at the Plain Dealer

It looks like there will be a revamp of the current colors, jerseys and logos starting next year. We will probably get a peak at what they will be by the end of the year.  So there is one more reason to buy more LeBron Jerseys (if he stays) other than him switching to #6.

Here are the highlights:

• Current metallic gold will be replace by a yellowish gold closer to the 70s color
• The “Cavaliers” and “Cleveland” script across the chest of the jerseys will have a new design (rumored to be block letters).
• Cavaliers Logo will change to feature “crossing swords” (no jokes please)

Ready Windy’s full article below:

“It may seem like no team in the NBA wears as many different uniforms as the Cavaliers. Well, there’s more — with completely different styles — on the way.

The Cavs are planning on slightly changing their team colors and also revamping their standard home and road uniforms for next season. The idea has been in the works for about two years, the amount of time the team must give the league before making a uniform adjustment, but the designs are not finalized.

It will not be a major change, team sources said, like seven years ago when the team brought back its current “new expression of wine and gold” and a new logo featuring crossing swords. The team’s logos will stay basically the same, but there’s going to be a brighter yellow featured.

Also, the front of the uniforms are expected to undergo a design change with a different presentation of the word “Cavaliers” on the home white and alternate blue uniforms and a different style of “Cleveland” on the wine road jerseys.

Currently, the Cavs use a pale shade of gold. That is one of the reasons why the gold has been less emphasized in recent years. There is virtually no gold used on the current floor design and very little on the standard uniforms. Blue has emerged as the team’s secondary color by default. The new gold color will be more vibrant, closer to the original gold the team used in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The team hopes to finalize and unveil its new uniforms by the end of the season.”

Why Don’t You Buy Some “Z – Tees”? I have.

But then again, I am obviously obsessed.

Here’s the best 3 floating around the web:

Fresh Brewed Tees - Better With Z

LINK

These two are from our buds over at iLTHY

Loved Since 1996

LINK

Goose-Z

LINK

Z is Home. Anybody Wanna Buy Some DVDs? I Do, Z. I Do.

via Ohio.com and my homie George Thomas

“The Cleveland Cavaliers completed a deal with center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to bring him back to the team for the remainder of the season.

The deal is just for the rest of the year and uses a pro-rated portion of the bi-annual exception. Ilgauskas will be able to test the free agent market next season.

‘’He came back to win a championship,’’ agent Herb Rudoy said.”

There are many ways to celebrate!

Go to your barber! Try and sell some DVDs

Buy a cool T-Shirt!

Goose-Z

The LeBron Phenomenon > NBA

Baby "Bron

One of the most visited pages on the old site was the LeBron Phenomenon.  But it has (is) taking forever to get it all moved over to the new format.  (too many tables!)

Slowly, its coming along.  I’ve added the NBA page to the LBJ Phenomenon page under Miscellaneous. It still needs some work, but I’m tired of it being in my to-do box.

I know that this is a historical site, and not a “fan site” but I’ve always thought it was really important to document LBJ’s impact on the franchise, the NBA and pop-culture in general.  That’s why it exists, but also why is buried in the misc. section.

enjoy

p.s. this will be the first page I delete if he leaves us

We Are More Social

Hey everybody. In an effort to get more involved in the social networking and reaching more people, we are now going to be publishing our posts not only on www.cavshistory.com and twitter.com/cavshistory, but also on facebook.

I BELIEVE you can fan us at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CavsHistory/116380676008 (once we have 1,000 fans we can get the “vanity” url).

But basically, its one more easy way for you to get updates from us.

thx,
the mgmt

Z is Coming Home (via PD)

link via By Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Plain Dealer

“Zydrunas Ilgauskas has announced his intentions to rejoin the Cavaliers and has asked agent Herb Rudoy to begin negotiations with the Cavs on March 22, the first date he can do so.

“It is Zydrunas’ desire to return to the Cavaliers if a suitable contract can be agreed upon,” Rudoy said in an e-mail sent to reporters. “He has been overwhelmed and deeply touched by the outpouring of support and affection by the fans and by his teammates. He hopes to return to bring a championship to the Cavaliers and to the city of Cleveland.”

Ilgauskas was traded to Washington in the deal that brought Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair to the Cavs. After the Wizards bought out his contact, he cleared waivers and became a free agent Monday.

The Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks were among the teams seeking to sign him, along with the Cavs, who have been without a true center since Shaquille O’Neal suffered a sprained right thumb at Boston on Feb. 25.”

Waiting for March 22