<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Indians quietly conclude another frustrating season this weekend. The 0-3 Browns travel to Oakland to face the 0-3 Raiders in the Just When Will You Win, Baby? Bowl. And so the hungry eyes of a title-starved Cleveland fan base turn to LeBron James, the athlete who makes the city most relevant in the sports universe. Cavaliers training camp opens with media day on Monday. It can't come soon enough. A franchise that not long ago relied on appearances by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to guarantee decent crowds is one of the NBA's hottest tickets. All things are possible with No. 23. LeBron excites. LeBron captivates. LeBron legitimizes. In a city where fans are forever being asked to wait on the potential of the Tim Couches and Andy Martes, the chiseled 6-foot-8 Cavs swingman has delivered from the moment of his professional debut. NBA Rookie of the Year. NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. League MVP runner-up. Everything the kid touches turns to, well... bronze, but, hey, he's only 21. Fans aren't required to take a leap of faith with LeBron and the Cavs. Heading into his fourth year, you can see the organization getting better, as evidenced by its playoff run a season ago. Can you say the same for the city's other two franchises? Randy Lerner is so committed to the Browns that he bought an English soccer team (Aston Villa) this summer. Lerner holds the distinction of being an absentee owner on two continents. A regular Dan Rooney, no? Cavs owner Dan Gilbert made a mistake firing respected television analyst Michael Reghi in the offseason, but he has the luxury of knowing fans would tune in to watch LeBron if Myron Cope, waving a Terrible Towel, were calling play-by-play. Such is the power of LeBron -- guest of David Letterman, lunch date of Warren Buffett. You never know what he will do next, and you can't wait to find out. Is there a pro athlete who means more to his city? He is Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh, circa 1987. (I know it's the third Pittsburgh reference in the last four paragraphs; no more, I promise.) When the Indians stumble or the Browns fumble, America looks on and wonders: What did Cleveland do to deserve this? When LeBron delivers two game-winning baskets in the same playoff series, America looks on and wonders: What did Cleveland do to deserve this? Same sentence, different sentiment. From pity to envy. Cavs fans are understandably unnerved every time LeBron's name is linked to another franchise. New Jersey Nets minority owner and rap mogul Jay-Z is on every watch list in Cleveland. LeBron's contract negotiations this summer produced nothing short of candlelight vigils around Quicken Loans Arena. His eventual signing, securing his services through the 2010 season, prompted the headline: ``We can breathe again.'' No Browns or Indians player, regardless of his value, could elicit such hyperbole. The play-making skills of Charlie Frye, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow give Browns fans hope for the future. With a healthy and happy LeBron, the future will always be now.</div> Source
