[theboys]

Well, I'm a coupla days late getting in on this topic, but I gotta add my two cents anyway.

I didn't watch the Lebron James spectacle either. I guess the problem I have with the televising of the game is the same issue I have with televising the Little League World Series and other youth events - basically, its being done, not out of a celebration of sport, but a way to make a buck. And, ultimately, that will be the ruination of amateur sports.

Over the years, I've attended high school basketball and baseball games simply to watch gifted athletes perform. But, it was the pure joy of watching the athlete perform his or her sport at an excellent level that made me go.

As for comparing high school athletes to singers or actors of the same age, to me its different. The singer/actor isn't representing an institution. They are simply representing themselves.

Do you think McDonald's, Nike, ESPN, any of those big corporations support high school sports because they "just want to help kids out"? Right. If Nike just wants to help kids out, tell them to send my mediocre high school a check - our fieldhouse is literally falling down around us.