Fast Break
Baseball
James takes heat for Yankees hat
Maybe LeBron James stepped over the line with his allegiance to the New York Yankees.
A day after the Indians routed the Yankees 12-3 in their A.L. playoff opener Thursday night, the buzz around town wasn’t about Cleveland’s offensive power surge or pitcher C.C. Sabathia’s gutty performance.
Instead, fans jammed sports talk radio lines and Internet message boards, crying foul over their frustration with the NBA superstar’s traitorous appearance in the stands wearing a Yankees cap.
“The guy is the face of Cleveland sports and he’s not even rooting for a team that’s 100 feet from the building he plays in,” said fan Adam Burke.
Fans have mostly tolerated James’ decision to back the hated Yankees, who have been the Indians’ foil since the 1950s.
But Thursday’s appearance behind home plate wearing the dreaded interlocking “NY” insignia may have been too much to bear. James not only wore the cap, but he flaunted it, at one point holding it high over his head.
“LeBron James. King of Nothing. Fan of Yankees. Get Out of Town,” read a sign Friday at a Marathon gas station in suburban North Ridgeville.
“From a PR standpoint, that’s a terrible decision,” said Burke, 20, who doesn’t like that James has distracted from the Indians’ win. “That’s the sad thing. Maybe he wants it that way.”
Golf
Liberty Lake GC changes in works
The Spokane County Parks, Recreation and Golf Department will hold a public meeting from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday in Ag Building A at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds to present a preliminary master plan for a proposed remodeling of Liberty Lake Golf Course.
Lead architect Rick Phelps will be on hand to explain and discuss his recommended changes.
The remodeling project, according to Liberty Lake Golf Course superintendent Todd Harper, is “definitely in the preliminary stage,” but could eventually lead to a long-range plan that includes bunker renovations, the rebuilding of tee boxes and the addition of water hazards, along with other improvements.
Members of the general public who attend the presentation will be encouraged to ask questions and make suggestions about Phelps’ proposed changes.
Baseball
Pirates fire Tracy
Jim Tracy was fired as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates after two seasons.
Tracy’s patience and back-patting weren’t enough to turn around the Pirates. He produced records of 67-95 in 2006 and 68-94 this season, the shortest run of any non-interim Pirates manager since Bill Virdon was fired late into his second season in 1973.