James revels in Cavs' misery

By John McMullen

Philadelphia, PA - There is an old Latin proverb that has stuck with me over the years -- "Revenge is a confession of pain."

It's pretty self-explanatory -- If you are in the market for a reprisal, you were probably hurt pretty badly at some point. After all, happy go lucky people by nature don't really have a lot of animus built up toward others.

We all know LeBron James faced enormous criticism for the first time in his life after publicly announcing his divorce from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the much-hyped ESPN special "The Decision" back in July. That's when James spurned the Cavs in favor of Miami and the chance to play with fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in an effort to win his elusive first NBA championship.

I certainly had no problem with James choosing the Heat. It's not my place to tell a young man in the prime of his life to give up the sun and sand of South Beach for the harsh winters and reeling local economy in the Forest City. Heck, seven inches of snow here in Philadelphia has me dreaming of the day The Sports Network moves its corporate headquarters to the tax haven that is Florida.

That said, it's understandable why the folks in Cleveland felt a little vindictive toward The King, almost like a spurned lover. The fans is that tortured city worshipped at the altar of LeBron. To them James was Cleveland and Cleveland was James.

"Karma is a b****," LeBron James Tweeted. "Gets you every time. It's not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!".

Those same fans are suffering mightily right now watching the mess LeBron left behind. On Tuesday things hit a new low during the Cavs' 11th straight loss, an embarrassing 112-57 setback to the Lakers.

Los Angeles set a franchise regular-season record for fewest points scored by an opponent in a game, while the Cavs set a franchise-low for points in a game in their 17th consecutive road loss.

"It can't get any worse than this," Cleveland forward Antawn Jamison told the Akron Beacon Journal. "If it does, y'all gonna have to help me because I don't know how much of this I can take. This, by far, is rock bottom. That's impossible with professional athletes how you lose by 55 points. I don't care who you're playing against."

Mo Williams agreed:

"This s@#$ is embarrassing," the veteran guard Tweeted. "I feel like I can't even show my face in Cleveland."

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, a legendary competitor, even relented a bit when asked if he had any sympathy for the Cavs after trouncing them.

"None. You forget who you're talking to," Bryant said before then adding, "I feel for [Cavs coach] Byron [Scott]."

James, however, was feeling no sympathy at all for his former team and faced with a fork in the road the King chose to go low, taking to Twitter in the closing minutes of the game.

"Karma is a b****," James Tweeted. "Gets you every time. It's not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!"

I'm sure James is no theologian so I will forgive him for mixing Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies with the deity in a host of modern religions. After all, he's just a guy relishing in a dish best served cold.

And I hate to rain on LeBron's parade but I would think God has better things to do than watch Cavaliers basketball. I mean you have to believe someone as plugged in as that has one heck of a Dish package and the season premiere of Tosh.0 was on that night.

The moral of the story?

Move on LeBron, you and your new 'mates are 30-9 and atop the Eastern Conference.

More importantly, there is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.