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tv   Larry King Live  CNN  July 9, 2010 12:00am-1:00am EDT

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miami, l.a., new jersey, lebron could change the financial fortune of cities like playing there or not. we've got live reaction from across the country. plus stephen a. smith, john salley and rick fox. they're here with their takes on the lebron james sweepstakes. that's next. >> larry: good evening. we've got cameras around the country while millions are holding their collective breath. they'll be delirious with joy or feeling the pain a minute from now. we'll meet lebron james' high school basketball coach, john salley champing at the bit to let us know what he thinks. stephen a. smith, nationally syndicated radio host with a startling revelation coming. rick fox, the former l.a. lainger and boston celtic and the star of spike tv's "pros
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versus joes." when i sat down, this all really started after the season when lebron james did his first interview with us at his home in akron, early june. we talked about his free agency and the big decision. here's what he said then. in your head, are there places you'd like to go. if you want to commit, you can do that right here. >> for me my ultimate goal is to win a championship. and i understand that me going down as one of the greats will not happen until i win a championship. >> for me, the team i want to go to that has the best chance for me to win a championship, not one year but multiple years and for me to get better and help that team win will ultimately be my decision. >> larry: so we can say it won't
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be a poor team. a team of players that you do not calculate to win championships. because you cannot play forever. >> i cannot play forever, that's absolutely right. but the team i go to or whatever the case may be, will have the chance to win championships in multiple years. >> it would have to be a good team. >> absolutely. >> larry: do you lean at all to the place you know the best. do they have an edge going in? >> absolutely. absolutely. because this city, these fans, i mean, has given me a lot in these seven years. for me it's comfortable. i got a lot of memories here. it does have an edge. >> larry: all right. anybody with any knowledge of basketball knows that the miami heat would be the best right now. they've added chris bosh and they've kept dwyane wade. we'll get our panelists' forecasts but first to stephen a. smith who has an interesting bit of news. >> the miami herald news has leaked out that a little over an
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hour ago the miami heat pulled their full page welcome lebron ad out of the miami herald that was scheduled to show up in the papers tonight after his announcement. right now people like myself who predicted he was going to miami a few weeks ago, we're up in the air right now. nobody can possibly know what he's going to do right now because all this has transpired in the last few minutes. >> drew joyce, you and lebron go back a long way. he said you're like a father figure to him. were you involved in any counseling in this? >> not at all. i've been a fan like everyone else. just anxious and waiting to find out what his final decision is. >> larry: what do you think of the ad being pulled, john salley? >> i think that stephen is down there. for stephen to be down there means he had a pretty concrete idea that that was going to happen. but them pulling that ad means he's going to have a new york
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jersey on next year with big number 6 in the middle. like when dr. j. wore number 6 for philly. >> larry: you're saying no way bulls and cavaliers. >> no. he's got jay-z. he's going to get a driver. he gets to hang out with jay-z. like i get to hang out with you. >> larry: we got cavaliers, knicks, heat and bulls. >> i'm going with the knicks. >> larry: where are you going, rick? >> miami. new york laid out the plan for him. >> larry: the money, he would make more in cleveland. >> but that projection of a billion down the road with the marketing, the madison avenue effect, the global effect of new york to his brand is something that you can't find in any other city. i think the pulling of the ad might have been just a typo, an edit. could have been an error.
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they may be saying thank you, lebron for showing up. >> you're such a nice guy, rick. >> larry: i sat down with lebron in june. we ran through some of the major teams in the running. watch. are you humbled by the fact that the mayor of new york city, gotham, wants you to play there? >> well, absolutely. >> larry: the mayor of new york. >> absolutely. the mayor of new york, he's great. he's done some great things. i is humbling. not just from the mayor of new york. you have the president saying -- >> larry: go to chicago. >> go to chicago. and you have other cities and people wanting you to be part of their cities and their franchise. it's very humbling because i work hard at my craft. >> larry: you already said it has to be a good team. >> absolutely. >> larry: there's not a good team where speculation is, how about the clippers which would
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put you in the same city as kobe, in the same arena as kobe with a team with some nice young players. >> some really good players. i think everybody in clipper land is looking forward to griffin coming back and being healthy. baron davis, really nice solid pieces that, you know, if they add a free agent here or there could be a really good team. >> larry: stephen smith, do you think we're going to be really surprised in a couple minutes? >> i'd be shocked. i've been reporting that he's going to the miami heat. i'm going down with the ship. if i'm wrong, i'm wrong. i've been hearing for weeks that he's going to go to the miami heat because the priority is to win a championship. when we talk about his marketability we were talking about darren revel. it isn't about your marketability like a global iconic figure like lebron james.
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it's about china. that's where the money is being made. he signed a lesser contract with nike. less than that now. for less money. why? because he gets royalties directly for what they ultimately generate from china. so you have a situation where if you're chasing after the dollars and those dollars are emanating from china, then your marketability isn't going to be affected. championships determine your cachet right now more than anything else. he comes to new york, he's not winning with that defense. he's not winning with just amar'e stoudemire. not going to win in cleveland. he's already moved that. but d. wade's a superstar, chris bosh is a star, he's a superstar. it's south beach, it's pat riley. it's no state taxes. all of that stuff. makes absolute sense for me to go anywhere else. but it's not my decision. it's his. so be it. >> larry: drew joyce, you
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coached him in high school. he told me he grew up a bull fan. do you give the bulls a big shot here? >> me being here honestly has nothing to do with his decision. i'm here on business. you know, i'm going to be a homer. i'm going to be the one that sticks with -- i believe he's going to stay in cleveland. i think that what stephen said is very, very true. he can be a global figure anywhere he chooses. it is not about madison avenue as much as it used to be. i think that he's going to stay home. >> larry: rick fox, speaking of home, what about the heart carries a lot of weight. and his heart is embellished in cleveland. >> it sure is. it's been his life. he's known nothing else. he's had success. the cleveland cavaliers have been the leading team last year record wise. they've fallen short. look at the personnel. it might not be the strongest lineup one through 12, but you
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put him with 11 other guys, miami with dwyane wade and chris bosh, the strongest top three than you find anywhere in the league. it's basketball. you need two other starters and a bench. championships are won in the paint. their weakest positions in cleveland were in the paint. can he actually say good-bye to home? >> you don't really say bye to home. we want a team where literally kobe couldn't win without shaq, shaq couldn't win without kobe. he he pau gasol who could have been mvp of the final. when they talk about you can be marketable anywhere, think about this, new york city is still leading this country on the most visited players. when you get a new york jersey and you're on madison avenue, a lot changes. staying in cleveland is great. but those fans will love you to death. if you don't win a championship, they will hate you.
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>> larry: sid rosenberg, i've heard him for years, worked at wqam down in miami. not at qam but in that city. he's at the 4040 club in new york. the bar is owned by jay-z who is a major basketball fan. with the news that this ad has been pulled out of the "miami herald" tomorrow, what are your thoughts? >> i think it's an opportunity for the knicks to possibly grab lebron. we're here at jay-z's club. it is a raucous crowd. amar'e stoudemire is the newest member of the team. it wasn't enough. p it still felt like they wanted more. the announcement of lebron james coming to madison square garden. the herald pulling those ads may be the linchpin for lebron to be a knick. >> larry: are you amazed that
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nothing has been leaked? >> i am. in this area of social media where everyone has a twitter or an opinion, some people have stood pretty strongly on their predictions. in this case with stephen a. smith, he's a few minute away from having the potential of having leaked. >> larry: we'll get opinions of many. go to bars around the country. tom arnold will join us.
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>> larry: joining our panel now is tom arnold, comedian, actor, former host of "the best damn sports show period" and performing july 30th in san bernardino. >> i think there's a lot of emotion going on in cleveland. i've heard you can't move back there afterwards. he's given 26 years of his life to that place. it's like a marriage, larry. a seven-year marriage with that teep. that's a long marriage as you and i well know. i know people are upset. you can't take away someone's home town. >> larry: what are you saying, tom? >> he never got to go to college. he never got to go away and have fun. >> larry: what are you saying? >> i think he's going to miami or somewhere. i feel bad for cleveland, but i'm a chicago cubs fan. >> larry: i'm going to see the cubs tonight. >> i know you are. you're rooting for the dodgers. >> larry: of course. errol porter at sportstalkcleveland.com joins us from the winking lizard tavern in cleveland, ohio.
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the winking lizard. what's the mood there, errol? >> you know what? larry, i'll tell you one thing. as long as there's enough beer here, everybody is going to be okay. the people behind me, one thing about cleveland, when we gather together in cleveland and it has anything to do with sports, we expect something bad to happen. that's what we're waiting on, some bad news. we're skeptical. >> larry: stephen smith has reported that the "miami herald" canceled an ad scheduled to run for the miami heat tomorrow welcoming lebron to miami. does that build your lopes? >> right. no. actually, you know what? i got that scoop from you guys with my earpiece in. i spread that rumor around. nobody buzzed on it. we don't believe it till we hear it. >> larry: all right. stephen a. smith, now that you
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have to hedge your bet a little, where would you lean hedging your bet? >> if i was -- well, first of all, i don't hedge bets. i go down with the ship. i make a prediction and i stick with it. if i had to hedge it, it would be chicago. boozer combined with rose and luol deng, i wouldn't want to inherit the legacy of michael jordan and live up to that if i was lebron james. but if i wanted to be big, bad and bold, but i can't imagine it. it comes down to miami. new york because of the billions. james dolan, the chairman for the new york knicks and cablevision, he presented a package how if he came to new york, he can make up to $2 billion. i don't know how plausible that is, but you say $2 billion to a young man and you will get his attention.
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it's about the miami heat right now. until i hear him say otherwise, that's where i'm convinced he's going. >> larry: we'll be right back with more. the tension builds. [ female announcer ] there's a new generation of sun protection... ...that outlasts their energy. [ female announcer ] new aveeno® continuous protection. we've combined natural soy and vitamins with spf 100,
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>> larry: we are back. by the way, president obama had words of advice for lebron. here's what he told me when i interviewed him at white house in june. >> lebron, i've had a chance to meet him. wonderful young man, amazing talent. what i said to him was, i didn't say it to him, i said it to marv albert, he needs to be in a place where he has got a coach and a team around him that can do what phil jackson and the bulls did for michael jordan. michael jordan couldn't win the championship on his own. it's all about having a team concept that works. he hasn't quite gotten that yet. he needs to find that situation. i'll be honest with you, and my folks in chicago may be mad at me for saying this, but i think
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it would be a wonderful story if lebron says, i'm going to stay here in cleveland. he's from ohio. that's a town that has had some tough time for him to say, i am going to make a commitment to the city would be a wonderful thing. s. but he's got to make sure that he's got a team around him and a coach that he respects, he's bought into the team concept. he's willing to be coached. and if he does that, he'll have an even more remarkable career than he's had. >> larry: dru joyce, his high school coach, where would you look him to go? >> well, you know -- i respect everything, you know, your esteemed panel has suggested. but there's a couple things, you know, one you don't win 60 games in the nba and have a bad team. i think they -- they won 60 games. and there were some things that
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maybe they could have done differently in the playoffs that could have pushed him a little bit further. so i'm thinking that they're not that far away. and maybe the key is byron scott. i think that we're kind of overlooking what he might bring to the table. so i'd love to see him stay in cleveland. i think that miami has some definite high points. you know, i think chicago -- they lack, they lack really some, really a real bona fide shooter. i don't know if that is the right place. but again, you know, when you look at things from the perspective of, you know, superstars and pairing up guys, yeah, miami seems like the best place. but, you know, honestly, you, you -- i -- i think we are overlooking that the cavaliers haven't been that far away from it. >> larry: well said.
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mr. salley? >> if you win 60 games two years in a row and don't win a championship, your team is bad. >> larry: what do you mean bad? >> you're not good enough. really, when you get to those 60 games, that's the end of your contract for that year. the playoffs are all pride. you only get playoff money. your team needs to be a better team. if you can't win 15 games and win the championship you are not a good team. >> look at all the fans. >> no, you can't forget the fans. the fans get a vote. they get a vote. if this were on fox, they would have a vote. and they would have little people and monkeys and it would be crazy. they would make a spectacle of this. but the fans deserve it. look at the fans. >> fans is great. those people are going to be at the bar anyway. it's summertime. that's what they do. >> larry: rick, where would you like him to go? >> i would like to see him win. i would like to see him win a championship. when i look at the landscape in terms of personnel all due respect to the coach who has been with him since high school,
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similar to what john was saying, cleveland may have the best record. i don't think they're the best team. i think the best style of play for him is in new york which is up tempo, which suits him. >> how many years before they win it? >> three. three. >> next year? >> the lakers are the champions right now. >> the air i breathe at championship level due to kobe and shaq. no disrespect. when you look at cleveland's team, you see a lebron, and you don't see a second guy that is of his caliber. now, dwayne wade, chris bosh. >> larry: if chris bosh had gone there? >> yes, but that's another one of the problems, larry. free agents don't want to sign and trade. chris bosh left $30 million on the table. >> he hasn't signed. he hasn't signed. >> he hasn't. >> he's announced but he hasn't signed. everything could change. lebron could say what team he's going to tonight and tomorrow wake up and feel really bad. how many times has that happened to us? that's the thing you have to remember. >> larry: stephen, forgetting, aside from where you think he is going, from a personal
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standpoint, where would you like him to go? >> well, i'm sick and tired of people playing games. i am a native new york would love to see him in new york. they don't play any defense. he's got no shot of winning a championship there until they improve that. which is years away. scratch that. look at the chicago bulls. they've got youth. a lot of talent. but youth, very limited shooters. especially since they traded kirk hinrich to the wizards. by the way, lebron james has to live up to michael jordan. unless he wins six championships. he fell short. scratch that. look at the cleveland cavaliers, seven years, no rings whatsoever. you have the talent. engaged in all the histrionics, taking pictures of one another. posing doing all that stuff during the regular season, then folding like cheap tents when it counted. scratch them. it comes down to being along side a superstar in dwayne wade who has proven he can get it done. you got an all-star in chris bosh who you know can play, you got a man with five rings, running the organization, who by the way would probably step down
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to come and coach you guys in the locker room and oh, by the way it's south beach. no state taxes. i don't understand what the complications are about it. can we please stop playing games and trying to fool america? we know what time this is. >> i love stephen. he's 100% right. he's 100% right. >> larry: why was the ad pulled? >> forget about this. shaq and kobe were on the team with you the year earlier, rick. >> until phil jackson got there. >> this is true. >> then came up with a system is how you won the championship. >> system of basketball. >> the system. byron may be a guy from pat riley's school hasn't won as a coach at that level. i'm just telling you everything can change when lebron going into -- >> his heart is in ohio. his heart. >> no, his mama is in ohio. >> she was on our mother's day show. she was hot. yeah. >> his mama is hot. >> take his career to new york. >> larry: all right. we have just learned he picked miami. >> wow! >> that's it.
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stephen is 100% right. >> larry: you were right. stephen. why did they pull the ad, stephen? >> it was a ploy. it was a ploy. you want to build the suspense. if you pull the ad, then you have everybody wondering, which means they'll watch the special even more. and that would be that. >> larry: here's what lebron james had to say just moments ago about his decision to go to miami. he said, only a very small number knew of his decision. he wanted to figure out the best chance for me to win and to be happy. he said i want to thank all six teams that i sat down with. it's been unbelievable and a humbling experience. he said, decided it this morning, said he went day-to-day, woke up one morning think this team. wake up another morning think it's another team. this morning i woke up and had a great conversation with my mom and i was set. he also said -- i don't have any doubts about my decision. we will take a break. come back.
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and get all of our panels' thoughts on lebron james, a heat. ♪
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is how.
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>> larry: it ain't the money is it? >> the money is going to come. it's not about the money. i mean, i think right now if i stop playing the game of basketball, i'm set. my family is set. >> larry: for life? >> for life. so it's not about the money. it's all about winning for me. >> larry: on a personal note, i lived for 20 years in miami. left in '78 to go up to washington. and when i left they did not have an nba team. so i'm very happy for the city. i saw the dolphins come there, broadcast dolphin games. now to see -- the heat has won a championship already. a strong possibility they might win another. i live in los angeles, grew up in new york, have a lot of nice feelings about miami getting this. now, okay, how good, dru joyce, will this team be?
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>> wow, i mean, it's crazy. it will be a great team. the one thing about it i think all three of those key players are -- are, they have a relationship, they have played together. i know dwayne and lebron have a special relationship. and i don't think anyone's ego is going to get in the way. i think they're going to put their heads together and work hard to make it, you know, to make it what they all want. and they're all winners and they all want championships. i know that this was what lebron wanted more than anything. i knew the decision wouldn't be about the dollar, so to speak. i think that, you know, ultimately, in my heart, i wanted him to stay in cleveland. in my head, you know, i knew that miami was probably, when they signed chris bosh, this was probably going to happen. >> larry: pat riley looked very happy after the meeting with lebron. we have more of lebron's comments to his fans in cleveland.
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lebron has just said, it's hard to explain to them, but my heart of the seven years i gave was everything. those 20,000 fans saw me grow from an 18-year-old kid to a 25-year-old man. my heart will also always be around that area. the greatest challenge for me was to move on. in a perfect world, i would have loved to stay. but it's time to change. we have all discovered those things do happen in life. stephen smith you turned out to be right. now how good will they be? >> they're instantly the favorite to come out of the east and represent the eastern conference in the nba finals. anything less will be completely unacceptable. it will be a flat out failure. the only team they have an excuse to lose to in the nba at all is kobe bryant and the los angeles lakers. the reigning defending two-time champions. there's no excuse to loose to sangle solitary other team. no excuse whatsoever. you have lebron james, you have
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dwyane wade, you have two of the three quintessential preeminent stars in the game. you have an all-star forward in chris bosh. you have a guy, pat riley, who better come from upstairs to come downstairs to coach the team. as much as we love him, he has a bright future. pat riley made his career. you can't have him patrolling the locker room with the personalities, stars in your locker room. this is big time. this is as big as it gets. this has the potential -- not there, but it has the potential to be jordan/pippin. there is no excuse on the face of this earth for this team not to represent the eastern conference in the nba finals next year. anything less would be a flat out failure. >> larry: stephen in the future, try to be more direct in your comments. >> yes. >> larry: we have more comments from lebron. here's what lebron said. when i called my mom, i thought i would hear a different reaction. she said it was a great move. it was ultimately going to make me happy. when i heard that from my mother it was out relief i was looking for through out this whole process.
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rick, how good will this team be? you played a lot of ball and you played on championship teams? >> i have. i caution because i played on teams that were stacked with talent. i can think of kobe bryant, shaquille o'neal, karl malone, gary payton. not in their prime. we were projected to win 80-plus games. it takes role players, it takes veterans that understand how to play the game. >> like you and salley. >> more importantly, it takes a system of basketball. i will bring the triangle to the forefront here. if you look at how many championships have been won the last 12 years of the last 14 years, 12 of them land with the triangle system of basketball. that's all -- one other coach i would play for pat riley in my life i would have wanted to play. >> larry: are any of the guys going to take a cut in pay? >> they all are. they will. the cap. they have to sign guys like you guys they need role players. >> guys are going to go down there. let me tell you. i played in chicago for $365,000, the minimum didn't make me any difference. i was playing with the greatest player of all time. we won 72 games.
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the difference is there's only one ball. all three of the guys are slashers to the basket. scottie pippen was a point guard that fed and ran the triangle. a system that they worked in. these guys aren't working in a system. pat riley was a young coach when he won the championship with, with magic johnson. >> larry: we have got a heat fan at a bar in miami. ed jimenez, what's your reaction? >> it's amazing, larry. i'm very excited, and the city of miami and all of south florida is incredibly excited about what's about to happen and seeing the greatest show on earth come to our town. and we're very excited. >> larry: so you therefore expect immediate victories, right? >> yeah, pretty much so. i mean, it's going to take a while for them to mesh. i really believe that after a while, basically, you're just going to watch a highlight reel every night you go to the arena
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to watch them play wherever they go around the country to play the other teams. i think it is going to be an amazing show we are going to witness. the greatest thing that's ever happened in the nba. >> larry: well put. will it not, tom, be the biggest draw attraction in the league, no doubt? >> it will. except you have to remember the lakers are still the champions. lakers, best player, kobe bryant played worst game in game seven against the celtics. the other guys came up and they won. that's what you've got to make sure that they have the guys and they don't just focus on the big three. i mean it is going to be a huge draw down there. i hope so. i hope people show up on time to games. but we'll see what happens. they have to get through the staples center. >> championship, john, big guy in the league. championships are won in the paint. you win with rebounding and defense. all due respect to chris bosh. i would take pau gasol over chris bosh. >> larry: who is the miami center? >> i don't know. >> shaq, shaq. >> shaq is trying to sell his house. lebron move in.
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they should all move in. they're bachelors. dwyane wade. move into shaq's big house. that would be a video. i would want a reality show just of the house. >> that tall. i have seen him. next door neighbor for eight years. >> what were you doing -- >> larry: is sid rosenberg still with us? >> i am. i am. >> larry: all right, sid, what's the disappointment in new york? >> very, very somber, larry. let me say this. i had the most to gain out of anybody there tonight because i'm a sports talk show host in miami at wqam. i think this is a cowardly decision, horrible for the nba two have two of the three best players in the world on the same team. 3 of the top 13 players in the world on the same team. i have a lot to gain working in miami. heat fans are happy. but the balance of power in the league is a disaster now. i disagree with stephen a. smith. i've don't think orlando is as good. i don't think the lakers are as good.
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he should have been here in new york with the knicks. a place to make money. make this town relevant again. a bad business decision and bad for the nba. >> larry: does qam have the rights to the games? >> no, larry. if they did, i'd be happier. >> larry: so, sid, who is, i associate so much with new york is happy that it's going to be down there. >> talk radio guys are insane. >> he's about to get beat up. >> they act like the league did this. it was one man, who was, that is a brave decision, leaving your home town and what he did, you cannot say it was not brave. >> larry: sad reaction from errol porter, the sports director at sportstalkcleveland.com at the winking lizard tavern in lakewood, ohio, where there could be a couple of arrests tonight. errol, how would we describe the mood in ohio? >> right now we have got a lot of angry people here, larry.
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one thing they're saying they don't believe lebron should have stayed and took care of these people. there's unfinished business here. and there's a lot of bad things that are happening behind me right now. cleveland getting pulled off the wall, everything lebron is coming down. and we're a resilient city. worst things happen to us when it comes to sports. we are going to bounce back. we know what it feels like to win. and we want to put a team together that is going to continue. >> larry: i'm not hearing them too clearly. what was he saying? >> he was saying that they own lebron james. >> right. >> he is their property. and that's -- i understand the fans getting upset and everything. but also a lot of them were smiling. because if you are a chicago cubs fan or cleveland fan you are used to this. this is why, you know? you are eternally optimistic. >> why did you think he was going to stay? why would you stay? like the coach said, they won 60 games and couldn't win the championship. >> what about high school? >> this guy is literally changing the league.
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in baseball when steinbrenner goes and gets the players and stacks up the yankees it doesn't hurt major league baseball. you'll still go. >> how do you go from loving some one that much to suddenly hating them? except in my marriages. >> larry: stephen, would you say there's going to be hatred in cleveland, stephen? >> possibly so, but who cares? that's number one. number two, more importantly, lebron james had to make this decision because he had spoken to dwyane wade about it months ago. it was his idea to team up in miami. dwayne wade didn't think it was possible until lebron james brought it to his attention. number three let me address what sid rosenberg had to say as if somehow, some way he has suddenly become a basketball aficionado. they can't defend john salley on crutches. you don't win championships when you don't play defense. anybody that knows anything
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about basketball, knows that. pat riley knows it. phil jackson knows it. doc rivers knows it. and anybody that knows basketball knows it. he can bring up anybody he wants. but the fact of the matter is it comes down to miami, l.a., boston, orlando having outside shots. that's about it. you can't -- it can't explain it any simpler than that. he should know enough about the game of basketball. and if he doesn't he certainly should not think about debating me. >> larry: sid, you're entitled to equal time. >> listen, i have the utmost respect for stephen a. smith. the man does know the game. in this case he is just entirely wrong. i know just as much basketball as he does. yes, boston plays defense. ray allen $20 million is an old man. garnet is broken down. orlando has two good players. pat riley's teams play defense. now they have three best offensive players in the world. stephen a., come on! >> that's what i'm saying. miami is the team to beat. that's what i said. >> larry: you both agree there. all right. you are agreeing to disagree. i don't know what over you
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disagree. rick? >> i just don't think that boston, even the lakers, stephen a., coming off the championship win, gasol is their second best player. he'd be the fourth best player on miami. don't think kobe bryant as great as he is, good enough to beat the miami heat basketball team. the balance of power has been mangled tonight by lebron going to miami. that's unarguable, stephen a. >> it's arguable and debatable. >> larry: let me get a break, guys. and we shall. macarthur to manila. we'll be back. [ female announcer ] fact: children's advil®
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>> larry: dr. sanjay gupta at the top of the hour. what's up tonight, sanjay? >> tonight on "360" we're keeping them honest in the gulf where the future of local fishermen, restaurant owner, really everyone, is being decided hundreds of miles away in places like washington or london. we'll talk to locals tonight about what they're facing. and you are wondering where all the oil being scooped out of the gulf is actually going? would you believe this, it's being dumped in mississippi and other places as well. randi kaye, found out one small town told bp they didn't want the oil there. bp dumped it anyway. an exclusive look inside the fda's fish testing lab. seeing what's being done to make sure gulf seafood is safe for you to eat. a lot of stories, those and more at the top of the hour. larry.
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>> larry: that's "ac 360" 10:00 p.m. eastern, 7:00 p.m. pacific. noticing chris bosh will be there with dwayne wade. remind me when i talked with lebron -- i hope we got this ready to show. there was a story out that he was going to get together with other big name free agents and they were going to figure out a game plan. i asked him to comment. watch. there is a story circulating, i don't know if it's true, so i wrote it down. you can tell me. that you are going to get together. you with bosh and wade and stoudamire and lee and allen and nowitzki and -- is this funny? >> like a little committee, free agent committee. >> larry: free agent committee, no one can stop you. you're all free agents. the league can't tell you not to do this. what if you go there and i go here and we go here, is that possible? >> i don't know to that extent. but it would be fun. it would be fun to get all the free agents together and, you
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know, figure out a way how we can make the league better. figure out a way -- >> larry: how can you do that? >> if we could, you know if it was like baseball we would all go to the same team. >> larry: are you the ringleader of the group? >> i am the ringleader. >> larry: you can bet he spoke with them. let's go to kim, old dolphin, he's with wfor as a sportscaster. at the american airlines arena in miami which will be packed every home game this year. kim, are there people there? >> well, larry, there are people here, if my photographer could pan over. people have gathered at the american airlines arena. certainly when the news came, they got a giant television screen above us. the fans erupted when they heard the news lebron coming. right now on business contain boulevard, all you can hear is a parade of cars honking and letting people know how happy they are. and it's a lot like the feeling in the world cup when the united
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states won a game. you can get that great feeling. this isn't about the country. it's about the miami heat and lebron james coming. i'll tell you, you talk about bringing three players together, free agents, lebron, dwyane wade, chris bosh, pat riley, certainly pulled a coup together and you have all willing to take less money to come here to play together, quite a deal here in miami, larry. >> kim's got his own campus par and grill and plantation. i want to mention that because it's quite a hot spot. >> like the super bowl in football. the people in the background. >> larry: he pointed out that they will take a cut. >> that's impressive where in today's age where you heard me say, follow the athletes, follow the money. he stayed true to his word. he's going where he has the best chance to win. let's talk about his health for a second. he broke down in the last playoff run. he's been covering that team for seven years. maybe he needs some help, a
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dwyane wade and a chris bosh to help him carry that load. >> they'll make the outside money, too. >> they need a big man because chris bosh doesn't want to play power forward. besides that, this is what's going to happen. >> you're done. >> i'm done. i can barely walk here. but i'm telling you, a great thing for his body. no state tax. one thing everybody like stephen mentioned. so the money is there. >> larry: time for cnn's hero of the week. a night of heroes, isn't it? keeping critically ill patients alive on a wing, a prayer and a full tank of gas. when pilot kathy broussard saw people struggling to pay transportation costs to get medical help they needed or forgoing care altogether, she and a group of pilots and drivers stepped in. watch. >> when a person gets cancer, they have to deal with the stress, the financial part of it. people lose everything. they will stay home and die. and that's just not acceptable.
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my name is kathy broussard. i started the houston ground angels and we provide free air transportation and free ground transportation for medical patients coming in and out of the houston area. there's probably 300 people volunteering their car, their gas, time. >> when i see them, they give me hope. they'll tell me, stay there with us, fighting. >> god has bypassed me in cancer. and if i could help somebody -- and i'm sorry for crying, but if i can help somebody make their life a little better, then that's what it's all about. it's not about me. >> kathy and her volunteers have completed about 6,000 air and ground missions since 2001. to nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to cnn.com/heroes. we'll be back with our remaining moments after this. right now, there's a nurse saving a life in baltimore.
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>> larry: that was the reaction in miami when lebron said that's where he's going. lebron has just said this about his fans in cleveland. the seven years we had were like no other. at the end of the day, i feel awful i'm leaving. i feel worse that i wasn't able to bring an nba championship to my city. i hope the fans continue to support me. you're laughing. you don't think they will? >> it's like a marriage. if you have children with the other person, you will always be -- just like championships. we'll always love shaq in l.a. because he has three championships. >> you don't want to hang around your mama all the time. you don't want to hang around your babies all the time. >> larry: john salley did mention it's a five-man game, he will need help in miami. here's the ringer who is going to join them. watch this. >> it's a little wet.
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i don't want you to spring your ankle or anything like that. >> larry: that's all i need, to get injured. >> i don't want to mess your nba career up so we'll shoot a little bit. ♪ >> larry: i think he was missing to make me feel good. >> really? >> larry: yeah. dru joyce, his coach, is a high school -- do you think pat riley will come back to coach him? >> it will be great. i think lebron needs that kind of leadership. so i think it would be a great thing for him, pat, to come and coach him. as a coach, wow, how could you walk away from that opportunity to be involved at that level with that kind of talent around you? and to be able to not just take those individual pieces, but then to mesh them into a team and a team that could win,
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that's a great accomplishment. i don't care how good the players are. when you can take all those different egos and all that talent and then make it a team, that's what coaching is all about. >> stephen, do you think pat riley will come down and coach? >> that remains to be seen. y want to apologize to sid rosenberg in new york. i'm here in albany, new york, and i didn't hear him correct me. i owe him an apology. to answer your question directly, it's tough because it's best for pat riley to be the coach of this team. the problem is dwyane wade loves him as an executive but doesn't necessarily look forward to him as a coach because pat riley is such a task master, he wears and wears on you and guys want to save their legs for the postseason and things of that nature. obviously he's a five-time world champion. that's what you prefer, but still a tough call for those guys for pat riley to coach again. >> larry: sid, how do you react to the apology from mr. smith? >> i don't know, larry. i don't feel like it's all that
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sincere, stephen a., but in the end, lebron james made a very cowardly decision. i have a lot to gain being in miami because i get to cover him every single day. but a cowardly decision. here is is a knick fan. tell them how you feel. >> disappointing, upset. new york's the place he should be. >> agreed. larry, thank you for bringing me on. steven a., you know i love you. all the best. >> larry: dru joyce, first high school basketball coach, john salley, stephen a. smith in albany. tom arnold. >> future host of this show. >> larry: see you july 30th. >> that's right. >> larry: another revelation tonight. and he will be at the comedy festival in san bernardino and rick fox, the current star of spike tv's "pros versus joes." great lady with us tomorrow night, queen latifah. time now for dr. sanjay gupta and "ac 360." sanjay?
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