Cleveland rejoices as LeBron comes up short in Finals

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't win the 2011 NBA championship.

But neither did the Miami Heat, which was the next-best thing for fans of the wine and gold.

Among them was Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who saluted the Dallas Mavericks just minutes after they won the crown Sunday with a 105-95 victory in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

"Congrats to Mark (Cuban) & entire Mavs org," Gilbert said on his Twitter account. "Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

Not surprisingly, Gilbert couldn't resist tweeting -- or tweaking the Heat -- after Miami's "Big Three" of ex-Cleveland superstar LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh came up two wins short of claiming the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

The same attitude prevailed on Northeast Ohio's airwaves, where each late local newscast led with highlight packages of the Heat defeat, and flooded social networking sites.

"Well deserved Dallas," former Cavaliers guard Mo Williams said on his Twitter account. "Dallas just healed my HEART."

Current Cleveland guard Daniel Gibson, who James once referred to as "my little brother," also went online after Miami dropped the series 4-2.

"That Emotion you see (on) Dirk (Nowitzki)'s face is what it's all about," Gibson said. "It's Real. You work years for that moment. Congrats to the Mavs.

"That's a long road but it's all worth it in the end."

Sports-crazy Cleveland can only imagine that scenario, seeing as its last championship came 47 years ago with the NFL's Browns.

The Cavaliers, who were born in 1970, have only reached the NBA Finals once. It came in 2007 and was powered by James, but ended with a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.

James, of course, fled the franchise last July 8 to take his talents to South Beach as a free agent. He departed Cleveland after seven seasons as its all-time leading scorer, but left behind countless hard feelings.

"Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks for slaying the forces of evil tonight," Avon, Ohio resident Nathan Obral said. "You saved the NBA and did Cleveland proud.

"Just be careful when shipping the Miami Heat champs t-shirts to the poor in Guatemala. They could be a choking hazard."

Medina, Ohio native Adam Daher agreed, saying, "Mavs! They should have the team come up to Cleveland for a parade."

Those comments sum up the way James has been regarded in his one-time kingdom for the past 11 months.

Local television ratings for Heat playoff games have routinely topped the charts in Greater Cleveland -- outdistancing the viewership of the Cleveland Indians, who held the best record in Major League Baseball for most of April and May.

It also wasn't uncommon to find more people watching Miami basketball games than Cleveland baseball games in local bars, even establishments near Progressive Field.

Considering that rabid response, just imagine how crazy the scene would be if the Cavaliers can back up their owner's "guarantee" that Cleveland will win an NBA championship before James does.

"Until it doesn't happen, I'll believe it," Gilbert said of his promise. "Who knows what happens, right? But I still believe it."