Remember all those absurd rumors about LeBron's mother Gloria and oft-benched teammate Delonte West knockin' boots? Well, I called the Cavs and left a fairly detailed message, asking for comment. And the Cavs called back.
If memory serves, my message was something along the lines of, "Hello Mr. [Cavs Public Relations Person], this is David Matthews from Deadspin.com. We're working on a story about the Delonte West-Gloria James rumor that's been going around today." I went on to note that the rumor was that Delonte and LeBron's mom were caught having sex in the locker room, in Boston, before Game 4, on Mother's Day. (This was not actually the rumor. We just figured the more salacious the message, the quicker Mr. Cavs Public Relations Person would return the call.) And finally: "Call me back as soon as you can to confirm or give a statement."
This morning, I finally received a message from the Cavs' Vice President of Communications Tad Carper. Have a listen:
He seems nice! I've since left two straightforward messages for Mr. Carper, and I've yet to hear back. I did get in touch with one Garin Narain, basketball communications manager for the Cavs, who sounded as if he had been told not to speak with me, or anyone. "Call Tad Carper," he said. "He's the appropriate contact for that." We're waiting by the phone, Tad.
Oh, and Terez Owens got a cease-and-desist for his "exclusive" story about the rumors.