The golden child

J's World, by Jeremiah Bartz

There have been some hyped athletes in our time. Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, are just to name a few.

None have generated even close to the amount of hype that has swirled around LeBron James.

As just a high school athlete, James has found his name in the news more in the last six months than Tyson, Jordan and Woods combined. The attention has caused the teenager's ego to swell larger than his home state of Ohio.

ESPN has documented his every move. On a dailey basis viewers have to sit through James' high school highlights, while waiting for important things such as National Hockey League news to be aired.

More painful than his highlights are his interviews. The fact that he now regularly refers to himself in the third person frightens me. I only hope that this is a trend that does not spread accross high school athletics. If a local basketball player starts to refer to himself in the third person during an interview, it may cause me to drop my notebook and run away laughing.

The last few weeks the nation has been subject to "Hummergate", the controversy around whether or not Boy Wonder can keep the $50,000 ride his mom allegedly bought for him. Most tennage boys looking for a joyride in their mother's car, not trying to keep the $50,000 land yacht their mother paid for.

The method of payment for the vehicle is truely fishy. The truck was not a product of local car dealer in Akron, but a so-called vehicle dealer to the stars in California. And agents were not involved, yeah right.

An agent may not have paid for the vehicle, but one most likely was involved in the purchase. Right now any bank in the nation would give the James family a loan. He is minutes away from being Nike's newest postercharge. Most banks would probably approve a lone for LeBron to buy a small country.

LeBron did get to keep his vehicle, and I am sure that basketball fans everywhere are sleeping easier knowing that. Since having the vehicle, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has been investigating the ligitimacy of the purchase. Police officials have been investigating an alleged hit and run accident that involved James, his Hummer and an elderly woman.

And if that was not enough for the press to chew on, James has just been declared ineligable. He wasn't booted out of high school basketball for accepting his new ride, but for taking home a pair of jerseys free of charge. These were not just any jersey, but nearly $900 worth of sports memorbilia.

James needs to be brought back down to reality. Right now everything is handed to him on a silver platter. He is a great athlete and could be one of the best players in basketball history. Could is the key term. Right now everyone is telling this guy that he will be better than Jordan everyone. People are filling his head with fantasies and telling him that he can do no wrong. Something must be done before his ego explodes and destroys half of the Eastern seaboard.

Now James can no longer play high school basketball. Some may say that is the proverbial kick in the butt he needs, I disagree. This could be a good thing for him. It is his teammates that are getting hurt. Because of James' greed, his teammates have most likley lost out on a chance to compete for the Ohio state basketball championship. In the meantime, James is gearing up to sign his million dollar endorsement contract with either Nike or Adidas.

A monster has been created here people.

Jeremiah Bartz, is the Frontiersman sports editor (sports@frontiersman.com).