[W]hat James proved himself to be Thursday night: A contradiction. An athlete who loves the chase but can’t handle the failure. A star who craves the bright lights, but only wants them to show his good side.
[T]his flimsy, cowardly “decision” [was] a plot so empty and devoid of substance that it needed its own infomercial, and a bad one at that.

James, if nothing else on this pathetic night for the NBA, proved that he isn’t up to that task and doesn’t even want to try. He doesn’t want to beat the best; he wants the best to get him his rings already so his accomplishments can catch up to his hubris — so he can cash in on this make-believe legend in what has been a make-believe career. James’ reputation went from questionable to counterfeit Thursday night, with an assist from the adoring network that pays billions to broadcast a sport that James, ironically, has now done far more damage than good.
–Ken Berger, CBSSports.com

LeBron lost something in the process. James had alienated so many fans with the way he had representatives of six teams trek to Cleveland to play out the entire process, even though, as one of the general managers said, “We knew only two or three teams had a chance to get these guys.” He lost even more people by choosing to announce his decision on ESPN in an elaborate show. How could any non-Heat fan watch this thing play out and think, “I wanna root for this guy?”
–J.A. Adande, ESPN.com

[T]he Summer of LeBron chugged forward, undaunted and a little undeserved. Who was this me-first LeBron James? The LeBron we loved was a dynamic, devoted player who, at his best, played joyously and selflessly—a rare star who seemed to be having as much fun as the people paying to watch him.

But the LeBron James who emerged this summer was a different character—inscrutable, attention-grabby and mysteriously tone deaf, speaking of himself in the third person and gabbing to Larry King as Kobe battled Boston. And the King James label—a little presumptive, don’t you think? Kings don’t get bounced in the Eastern Conference Semis.
–Jason Gay, The Wall Street Journal

How he said it drowned out the meaning of his words. If he was going to divorce himself from the fans who viewed him as one of their own, as a savior to their depressed region, then wasn’t there a less painful way to do so?
–Ian Thomsen, SI.com

The thing is that if LeBron really did care about the hearts he broke back home, he wouldn’t have made his announcement through a vulgar stunt like this. He would have done it the tasteful way – faked some tears while standing in front of a microphone in a basketball auditorium, maybe wearing some shades to make it seem like he didn’t want anyone to see how red his eyes were. He could have pretended to care a little bit.
-Allen Barra, The Village Voice

The silver lining, [of LeBron James going to Miami]: All non-Floridian sports fans can root against the Heat with a passion usually reserved for local teams. The Miami Heat will be the new Yankees.
–Isaac Chotiner, The New Republic

I just didn’t think LeBron James had it in him to create his own ESPN show dedicated to dumping his hometown. I always thought he might leave for another team. But I didn’t think he would do it so readily, so impassively, so cooly, I didn’t think he would so publicly spurn and embarrass the city that has dedicated so much of its energy to loving him. I didn’t think he had that in him.
–Joe Posnanski, SI.com

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his “decision” unlike anything ever “witnessed” in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
–Dan Gilbert, Majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers

I’m keeping my 2 yr old up to watch the LeBron James Special. I want her to see the exact moment our society hit rock bottom.
–Eric Stangel, Head Writer and Executive Producer for The Late Show with David Letterman

However, that quickly changed in the second half, as a Brazilian mistake allowed the European team an equalizer, followed shortly by the goal that would give the Netherlands a lead that they would never relinquish.

Just 10 minutes into the game, Robinho scored the opening goal to put the Brazilian side up for the rest of the half. A scant 8 minutes after the second half got under way, however, an own goal by Felipe Melo allowed the Dutch side to tie the scoreboard. The score would remain tied for another 15 minutes until Sneijder would score off a corner kick for the Clockwork Orange and give the game its final margin.

“And one can’t help but wonder if Barack Obama were white, would McChrystal have made the assumption that he could defy military protocol by undermining the Commander in Chief and remain above the fray?”
–Molly Secours, The Huffington Post

“War is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general or president.  As difficult as it is to lose General McChrystal, I believe it is the right decision for national security. “I welcome debate among my team, but I won’t tolerate division.”
–U.S. President Barack Obama

“…One could argue – or at least wonder – whether McChrystal didn’t willfully commit to this article and the unlimited access the reporter received to circuitously make the point that the U.S. war strategy must be midcourse corrected before it’s too late.

Maybe the general thought it was better to fall on his sword in this public — and perhaps suicidal — way in order to rescue a mission that, if he remained silent and dutiful to his commanding officer, would likely fail.”
–Fraser Seitel, Foxnews.com

“Gen. McChrystal’s remarks about senior officials exposed what has been an open secret in Washington and Kabul for months: The fissures that emerged during the Obama administration’s three-month review of war strategy last year remain, and many of the personalities involved have strained relations that have festered for months.”
–Jonathan Weisman and Peter Spiegel, The Wall Street Journal

“By pairing the decision on McChrystal’s departure with the name of his replacement, Obama is seeking to move on as quickly as possible from the firestorm.”
–MSNBC.com

“Barack Obama, as candidate and president, in effect created the IED known as Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Now that improvised explosive device has blown up in the midst of the Obama presidency. The damage is severe, if not crippling.”
–Howard Fineman, Newsweek.com

He has fired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his combat commander in Afghanistan, in such a way that not only will the general go unmissed but his name will likely soon be forgotten.
Obama’s decision to replace McChrystal with Gen. David Petraeus is a stroke of brilliance, an unassailable move, politically and strategically.
–Fred Kaplan, Slate.com

Obama stated that he has asked Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. McChrystal as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Obama met with McChrystal earlier Wednesday in the wake of politically explosive remarks the general and his aides made in Rolling Stone magazine about key administration officials. Petraeus is the head of U.S. Central Command.

Obama was “angry” after reading the general’s remarks, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

According to TIME Magazine, it was at the Wednesday meeting that Gen. McChrystal offered Obama his resignation.

The remarks in the Rolling Stone magazine article were at least an indirect challenge to civilian management of the war in Washington by its top military commander, according to Foxnews.com.

Military leaders rarely challenge their commander in chief publicly, and when they do, consequences tend to be more severe than a scolding.

Gates hand-picked McChrystal to take over the war last year, calling him a driven visionary with the fortitude and intelligence to turn the war around. Obama fired the previous commander at Gates’ recommendation.

In Kabul on Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: “I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened.”

In the Rolling Stone article, McChrystal and his staff described the president as unprepared for their first one-on-one encounter.

McChrystal also said he felt betrayed and blind-sided by his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. Eikenberry remains in his post in Kabul, and although both men publicly say they are friends, their rift is on full display. McChrystal and Eikenberry, himself a retired Army general, stood as far apart as the speakers’ platform would allow during a White House news conference last month.

The story characterized the general as unable to convince some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the nation’s longest-running war, and dejected that the president didn’t know about his commendable military record.

McChrystal also said he felt “betrayed” by Eikenberry for expressing doubts about his proposed troop buildup last year and accused the ambassador of giving himself cover.

“Here’s one that covers his flank for the history books,” McChrystal told the magazine. “Now, if we fail, they can say ‘I told you so.”‘

Apparently, they didn’t take too kindly to my ignoring their generous offer to communicate with me.

Since that Monday, exactly seven days ago, I have been called FIFTEEN TIMES by that number. Never a message is left. The earliest calls always happen a shade after 9 AM, and the latest just a shade after 6 PM.

Finally, this morning I decided to find out who died and finally answer. That’s when I discovered how lucky I was that someone was calling me OnBehalfOfTheDallasMorningNews, WithAnOfferEspeciallyForFormerSubscribers…. and I type it like that because that is how the caller was talking. I kept trying to interrupt to respond that I was not interested, and not waste his time by allowing him to give me his whole spiel only to be turned down at the end. But God bless his probably-underpaid-soul, he would not give me the chance. I’m guessing he took a deep breath before I picked up the phone, because he didn’t even seem to be pausing for breath, he was so busy speeding through his script, and ignoring my attempts to interrupt him.

It wasn’t until I kept repeating, “no, no, no, no” countless times over him that he finally stopped.
I told him I wasn’t interested, and to stop calling me, and to put me on his Do-Not-Call List, to which he responded, “SureWeCanDoThatLetMeJustTransferYouToMySupervisor” and I heard silence on the line. I checked the screen on my phone, and the timer was still going, so the call was still active. After about a minute of this, I finally hung up.

If you google the phone number that called me, you’ll see that I’m not the only one that has complaints about the Telemarketing company that calls from this number.

Dallas Morning News Circulation Department, you have a call to make. And it’s not to me.