Browns thoughts on the heels of the raid of Pilot Flying J
April 16, 2013Forbes ranks NBA “fan loyalty”; Heat #1, Cavaliers #26?
April 16, 2013Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving sent a message to fans on Twitter Tuesday morning, apologizing for his actions following the team’s one-point loss to the Miami Heat on Monday night.
I want to personally apologize to all the Cavs fans for my actions yesterday, it was truly unfair to you guys, Im very appreciative for all
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) April 16, 2013
Of you guys, your love and passion for the organization and city is what pushes me to be great,
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) April 16, 2013
On what was dubbed Fan Appreciation Night at Quicken Loans Arena, Irving bolted from the floor immediately following the contest while the rest of the team stayed on the court to give away prizes and some of their game-warn apparel. A Cavalier staff member was forced to scurry to the locker room, reappearing with shoes and a jersey with Irving’s name and number on it.
Following the incident, the Cavaliers claimed that Irving had to head to the locker room to be checked by team trainers—the alleged result was a “bruised heel” which was quickly refuted by the player who jokingly asked “am I out 4-to-6 weeks?”
Irving is averaging 22 points and six assists per game on the 2012-13 season, but has seen his typically stellar shooting percentage plummet to 34.8 for the month of April. The Cavaliers have lost 15 of their last 17 games.
[Related: The Best Laid Plans and Fan Loyalty for the Indians and Cavaliers]
23 Comments
How is the time in the future? It is not even noon and it says 2:48 pm.
That’s soooo Cleveland…
Most internet applications use UTC, which is basically the same thing as Greenwich Mean Time. So the time it says on Twitter is not the same as it would be as EST, for example.
Meaningful. I’m sure the season tix holders who paid premium prices for a season of white flag effort feel better. Thanks for following up on the idea of the FO or your agent, kid.
[And not to pile on, but is this another example of the effect of the mentoring Byron was going to give Kyrie? Also recall the huggies and chatting the team did in LeBron’s first return to the Q , which enraged the fans, while Byron claimed he never saw it happening directly in front of him. Yes, I’m being pissy but this total lack of comprehension, the disconnect, by jocks and ex-jocks about the customers that pay them makes me nuts]
Someone needs to smack this kid upside the head…Grow up…Act like a child, get treated like a child.
Children acting like children. Totally unacceptable!
Am applauding this rant from afar…
Is owning up to mistakes and apologizing for them a characteristic of children now?
If I was on this sorry team for the past 2 years I would be upset too.
after their parents/FO tell them that they better, it sure is 🙂
Does no one else find Kyrie’s answer to the reporters about his “injury” to be weird? It’s almost like he’s saying, “Is the front office going to give me that BS “injured” label again so the team can tank?” Anyone else feeling that vibe?
Yes.
Couple relevant points here I didn’t see addressed:
1) Kyrie had just been stripped on a potential game winning play and was obviously frustrated with himself. While I commend Omri Caspi for going out there and appreciating the fans afterward, i think we need to give young Kyrie a little wiggle room here.
2) Kyrie’s blunt response on his injury is enlightening. It’s no secret that the team has been actively tanking the past two years for draft picks, and conveniently Kyrie is held out for minor injuries over and above good precautionary measure. That’s all well and good for the long-term picture, however it’s Kyrie who’s developed the reputation for being brittle and injury prone and he has to carry that. Based on his comment you can pretty much tell how that sits with him.
Related to tanking – I approve of exactly 1 more tank job tomorrow night (which will need to be a masterpiece against Charlotte) and then it’s time to play serious ball.
The Cavs just need to watch the Knicks/Bobcats game from last night… THAT’S how you lose to the Bobcats! Bench those starters, Cavs!
Had LBJ done this he’d have been roasted and toasted. Just sayin’.
I thought that at first reading, but after seeing other things think it was their cover for why he left Fan Appreciation Day without signing for the fans who wanted him most. I took it more as “don’t cover for me, I don’t have to do stuff I don’t want.”
With Charlotte now tired with Orlando for worst record and Cavs trying to hang on to the #3 spot this could be epic. Talking Southpark little league state tourney epic. Would not be surprised at all for either coach to pull a Norman Dale, start 4 scrubs and let the refs know that his team is on the court.
I am. They better be careful with tankapalooza, or another Cavs star will be taking his talents elsewhere soon enough. Glad to see the kids got some competitive fire.
I had a discussion with mgbode the other day where I think we weren’t really having opposing viewpoints, but were kind of talking past one another… anyway, I was thinking this very thing. I don’t see a situation where the Cavs’ front office can look to tank for another year, even if the team gets off to a slow start. The atmosphere around all of the losing has become poisonous and the Cavs have to show Irving that it’s time for the team to win and they are going to make moves to help him win. Grant can’t select Nerlens Noel with the first pick and then do nothing to upgrade SF… that will send the message that the front office wants to lose and position themselves for the next draft, and they’ll lose Kyrie and probably TT as well (mentally).
I didn’t even think about that, but you’re right! This is a game that theoretically both teams should be trying to lose… hilarious.
yeah, I took it as if you were saying Kyrie would leave after his rookie deal. I don’t think he would.
I agree on the poisonous atmosphere and is one of the bigger reasons Scott is gone IMO.
I’d go further and say that Cleve sports fans have so lost their focus that we now actually embrace losing as the supposed best way for our teams to succeed. Sure, if you have a strong org with ok personnel and one year you “suck for Luck” that can work out. But I’ve come to agree with Scott Raab and others: winning breeds winning, losing breeds losing. If you’re extremely lucky with the ping pong balls putridness can get you LeBron or Kyrie, but luck and putridness don’t provide the skill or obsession necessary to exploit him. In fact, having that great player can breed complacency if you are not driven. Good organizations in any sport are run by leaders who cannot stomach lack of competitiveness. And even if they are patient with a new coach or GM, those hires understand that winning determines their fate. I think the Holmgren we got, the one without supervisors annoying him, is Exhibit A.
The other thing is that losing is toxic to players. As much money as they make, they are competitors and like to be challenged. The next Cleveland team that seriously competes for a championship will be one whose leader demands winning from everyone below.
It does seem that our city has a ton of evidence to that. Losing has only bred more losing for Cleveland sports team. Even the season before the Cavs landed LBJ with the #1 pick, they weren’t tanking at the end… they won 2 of their last 3 games and risked losing the highest lottery odds to Denver. Losing has landed the Browns some great draft spots and they’ve squandered them. Losing has given the Indians great draft spots, and they’ve squandered them too. We can blame management, but in the end the teams that win consistently rarely seem to have to tank… I would say that even “suck for Luck” scenarios are rare. The Cavs can’t even point to landing Kyrie Irving as one of these situations because it was the stupidity of the Clippers that landed the Cavs that pick, not their ability to tank.