Some kind of LeBronderful

He's the uncommon denominator, this Lebron James, the once-in-a-generation factor who has changed our sports equation, helped us reverse our attitude from "woe is me" to "WHOA! is he ... ???", and who really has made the rest of the sports world root for Cleveland for once (even though anyone who actually things the Cavs will win is apparently a fool).

Sure, we're just happy to be here, kinda like a guy who just got run over by a bus but somehow gets right back up unscratched. For a town that's spent a lot of time under that bus over the past few decades, we have a lot of self-confidence. And that's all because of LeBron.

The dark-cloud-in-front-of-the-silver-lining view says that, no Charlie LeBrown, you're not kicking that football. Just what in the world are you thinking? It's a setup, this whole Cavs-in-the-NBA Finals thing. Our team is being sent like Christians to the lions to be torn apart just to verify to everyone that all is well with the universe cuz the sky is blue, grass is green, and it still sucks to root for a Cleveland team.

But that's not what it feels like. Not this time. Not after LeBron's Game 5 performance against the Pistons. It feels amazing, it feels wonderful, it feels unbelievable, and it feels fantastic, but it also feels right. It feels like the Cavs do belong here. It feels like the start of something big.

OK, now. Close your eyes. Deep breaths. Now look around. The basket's still 10 feet above the ground. The foul line's still 15 feet from the rim. There's still five guys per team on the floor. And one of ours is LeBron james, the uncommon denominator, the difference maker.

It's history in the making, and maybe, just maybe, history in the erasing.