The Stevenson-Lebron Spat

For those of you who haven't been following the recent Deshawn/Lebron drama, you can read about it here and here. Apparently the following things happened:

1. Lebron said something bad about Deshawn Stevenson and the Wizards; the comments were made within earshot of Deshawn's best friend (Drew Gooden).

2. Gooden relayed those comments to Deshawn who responded by saying: a. these comments were intentional and b. Lebron is "overrated."

Regardless of whether or not Lebron said something inflammatory, I have to ask the question: are we still in third grade? Are we playing a game of phone tag? What the hell is going on here? Did these guys graduate from kindergarten?

"Did you hear what Lebron said about you?"

"I can't believe he said that about me! I have to get back at him!"

Deshawn's "overrated" comment sparked a media frenzy leading up to the playoffs and things quickly got out of hand when Jay Z, a good friend of Lebrons', decided to get involved. Jay Z apparently made a rap song dissing Deshawn which got played a local DC club the night before Game Four. According to the Washington Post:

"witnesses at the club said that the DJ gave the microphone to Cavaliers reserve Damon Jones. Jones allegedly made some unsavory comments about Stevenson and the Wizards, according to people in attendance. And just before 2 a.m., the song was played...One of the people in attendance at the club was Caron Butler. Stevenson said Butler paged him and told him about the song and was so upset that he walked out immediately."

Ignoring the ridiculous fact that Jay Z went out of his way to make a song about a Wizards role player, why on earth was Caron Butler at a night club the night before Game Four? Even worse, why was Lebron hosting a party at 2 AM and having Jay Z play inflammatory music in their opponents home town? A few things to note here:

1. Last time I checked, staying out late the night before an important game is a punishable offense by most teams and coaches. Why? Not getting enough sleep negatively affects your performance unless you are Allen Iverson.

2. Caron Butler's performance has been noticeably lacking during this playoff series. Maybe it's because he's hanging out in nightclubs at 2 AM during the playoffs! Just a guess!

3. Jay Z clearly has some time on his hands if he's making raps about Deshawn Stevenson. I would think that between dating Beyonce, managing a trillion different businesses, rapping full-time and part-owning the Nets, Jay Z would be fairly busy. I guess he and Lebron really like he each other. Beware Cavs fans!

4. I'm half expecting Stevenson and Lebron to start fighting if this bravado continues. Unfortunately for Stevenson Lebron is 6'9, 250 and probably has a longer reach. I wouldn't count out the little guy, though. Stay tuned for a massive brawl if this continues.