Lebron and Kovalchuk

I sit here on my birthday July 8th, amazed that we as sports fans face the real possibilty that the Lebron saga may just end before the Kovalchuk mystery is solved. Personally I find it unfair to criticize James for doing his due dilligence. Franchises have been shedding salaries for 2-3 years to just have a chance at signing the former no. 1 overall pick. Not only will his decision impact the Cavaliers, but the fanbase of each team he doesnt sign with will most likely also view him as public enemy #1 for spurning them. That, in my opinion could weigh heavily on anyone's mind, let alone a superstar with as much global appeal as King James himself.

While a superstar like Kobe has long dealt with haters, this will be Lebron's 1st foray into the land of the disliked star player. For a guy who by all accounts, has always been concerned with his brand and legacy, this cannot be an easy decision. I am sure that by now Bron Bron realizes that at the end of the day he cant please everyone so ultimately he needs to do what is best for him. Well atleast we will all find out the answer this evening on ESPN @9pm which means the finish line is in our sights. The same cant be said for Kovalchuk...

Kovalchuk is flat out holding up the NHL. By all accounts he wants to go to the LA Kings but is unwilling to compromise and take less than 10 mill per. Sorry, Kovy but in a salary capped league you cant expect to get everything you want. Sometimes you need to compromise and make the decision of what is of most importance to you. Life isnt always fair and the money is not always equal. The reports that he has gone back and forth with LA with the Kings breaking off negotiations on more than one occasion suggests that he either really wants to play there or he needs to keep them in the bidding to drive up his asking price from the Devils or any potential KHL team.

The fact that his agent Jay Grossman announced via twitter that a decision would be made this past monday the 5th and then wasnt, in my opinion really suggests that #17 wants to go to LA since on monday LA was considered out of the sweepstakes. All of the sudden no decision was made and word trickles out that the Kings jumped back in. Sounds like a last ditch effort by Kovy to milk as much dough out of LA as possible. Once again, the Kings smartly refusing to be used as leverage have come out publicly and announced that they are once again stepping back from this fiasco.

Finally, we have one player, Lebron who is overly concerned with his legacy and another player, Kovalchuk who obviously has demonstrated no regard for his.