Leon Bibb's comments about TBS phony Cleveland pic

[Falcon Fanatic]

Falcon Alum, Leon Bibb tells TBS exactly what he thinks!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmQrnoX1koA" target="_blank

#GoLeonGo
#ClevelandRocks

[hammb]

Good stuff.

TBS's coverage of the ALDS was absolutely horrid from top to bottom. From talking about Boston as an all star team, never giving credit where it was due when Cleveland was kicking their asses, and then capping it off with a phony pic of a nearly 50 year old issue that has been greatly addressed.

The national bashing of Cleveland everytime they get into the spotlight is hilarious. They dogged Cleveland when they were going to host the RNC, but garnered nothing but raves from those that attended; and the press even seemed to prefer it to Philly for the DNC. We heard the bashing during the NBA playoffs as the Cavs were making their run to the title.

I'll never understand why the media feel the consistent need to bash the city of Cleveland. Yeah, they've had a storied history of sports futility (thank you Cavs!), but the city? The CITY? pfft...Cleveland is a freaking gem. It's got world class beer, it's got world class food, it has a world class open air market, it's got world class museums, it's got pretty much anything you'd want in a city except for the perennial great weather of a place like San Diego. To top it off my wife & I feel no qualms about walking around the downtown area at any hour of the night either. Cleveland really does Rock, and anybody arguing otherwise has simply never been there.

[gmartin]

The city of Cleveland is very nice and I am a Detroit Lions, Tigers and Redwings fan. I think Cleveland has taken a bad rap because of the Major League movies and how Art Moddel took the Browns to Baltimore. I really those 2 things make people feel the way they do about Cleveland. Cleveland has excellent museums, a top notch transit system, great waterfront property, excellent shopping and restaurants and a smaller but easy access major airport. I have no problem with the city.

The only thing I don't understand is Dan Gilbert. Gilbert was born and raised in Michigan. However he owns the Cavs. In the past 6 years Dan Gilbert has purchased over 673 properties in Detroit. He is majority owner of Jack's Greektown Casino. Part owner of Jack's Cleveland Casino. But in Detroit since 2010 he has purchased 673 properties not including moving Quicken Loans HQ to Detroit. That's not including Greektown. An article in Detroit paper earlier this year stated that Dan Gilbert or Mike Illitch Enterprises owned over 72% of all properties in Detroit. 65% of downtown employees were from lllitch or Gilbert. Where would Detroit be without these two guys. Spare me the talk about tax breaks etc but Mr. Illitch is building a new ice arena, adding 7 restaurants, 2 hotels, shopping and condos to an area that was rundown. You can add the Fords to Detroit success. Detroit would be dead without Ford, Illitch or Gilbert.

As mentioned I think Cleveland is a great city. Imagine what Cleveland could become if they had an Illitch or Gilbert taking charge. I just never really understood why Gilbert doesn't buy and develop property in Cleveland like he does in Detroit. I'm going to Cleveland tomorrow for dinner.

[Flipper]

They do the same s**t to Detroit...even though the city has emerged from bankruptcy...started a great deal of renewal (new arena district light rail linking viable business centers) and has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country for the last couple of years. They focus on the remaining pockets of decay.

You can move through Detroit from roughly the river up to the casino and Wayne State w/o worrying too much. soon enough, that area will lengthen out to New Center (Fischer Theatre) and some really fantastic 1920's era skyscrapers.

[Redwingtom]

Love what they're doing in DT Detroit. Campus Martius is awesome and they're building another one on the other side of downtown from what I hear. It's so cool in the middle of summer to see a beach, bands, people dancing and drinking and sitting in Adirondack chairs during the middle of a work week! And the walk along the Detroit river is a ton of fun. I went to the Detroit museum for the first time this year and it's incredible as well. Never knew that Detroit was such a huge part of the underground railroad.

I haven't been to Cleveland in a number of years, but I always enjoyed the downtown area. And I've been going to downtown Detroit my whole life as well and never had any issues.


It's great to finally see both areas getting things back in order. People just don't realize how hard it is to transition huge urban areas that were so heavily dependent on their manufacturing bases back to viable options for the current day.

[hammb]

Downtown Detroit is definitely coming back in a big way. Was not that long ago that we'd go in for a Tigers game and get the hell out. Now there are many fun bars, quality restaurants, etc all within walking distance. I can't wait to see what LIttle Caesar's Arena comes out looking like as well.

Illitch & GIlbert have done a tremendous job in Detroit. Yes, they scooped up a lot of property cheap. Yes, they had the city pay to tear down a lot of eyesores, etc on that property. Yes, they did it all with their own personal pocketbooks in mind. But they're also putting a tremendous amount of LIFE back in downtown Detroit. Life that it hasn't had in my memorable lifetime.

As to Cleveland, Gilbert is doing some of that there as well. As mentioned, he owns the Cavs, Quicken Loans arena, and the Jack Casino. He pretty much owns all of Tower City now. The Higgbee Building, the Ritz, and the mall. The mall was originally a high end shopping center, but it has really fallen on hard times...barely has a Victoria's Secret, when it used to house Gucci, etc. I'm anxious to see what he does with that, because even with Cleveland's resurgence, I don't know that they need those sorts of high end shops downtown...

He's bought a lot of Cleveland, and all his properties down there are pretty much connected by tunnels/pathways/etc. The reality is that he doesn't NEED to buy as much of Cleveland as he did Detroit. The area around the Q & Progressive is already thriving. Michael Symon has multiple places on East 4th, Chris Hodge's has his place down there, Jonathan Sawyer's flagship is down there, Zach Bruell has Chinato, there are several high end steakhouses downtown, along with mainstays like the Winking Lizard, Panini's, etc. The Flats East Bank is coming back in a big way without Gilbert's ownership. Just outside of downtown the Suburbs of Tremont, Ohio City, and the Market district are thriving as well without his ownership.

Gilbert has his fair share of Cleveland ownership, I just don't think he's NEEDED to take on us as much of it as he has in Detroit. The food scene in Cleveland is especially booming. It isn't as diverse as Chicago or New York, but outside of those 2 biggies, it's probably one of the best concentrated foodie cities in the country. With the thriving food scene and world class local chefs, the city doesn't need an Illitch/Gilbert to build new eateries/bars. Cleveland has those more organically already.

[gmartin]

Just imagine what Detroit or Cleveland would be like if the Browns or Lions ever make the Superbowl.

[Falconfreak90]

I'll never understand why the media feel the consistent need to bash the city of Cleveland. Yeah, they've had a storied history of sports futility (thank you Cavs!), but the city? The CITY? pfft...Cleveland is a freaking gem. It's got world class beer, it's got world class food, it has a world class open air market, it's got world class museums, it's got pretty much anything you'd want in a city except for the perennial great weather of a place like San Diego. To top it off my wife & I feel no qualms about walking around the downtown area at any hour of the night either. Cleveland really does Rock, and anybody arguing otherwise has simply never been there.

Don't forget the Top 5 in the World Cleveland Orchestra.

BEST. CITY. ANYWHERE.

The Land rules...

[hammb]

I'll never understand why the media feel the consistent need to bash the city of Cleveland. Yeah, they've had a storied history of sports futility (thank you Cavs!), but the city? The CITY? pfft...Cleveland is a freaking gem. It's got world class beer, it's got world class food, it has a world class open air market, it's got world class museums, it's got pretty much anything you'd want in a city except for the perennial great weather of a place like San Diego. To top it off my wife & I feel no qualms about walking around the downtown area at any hour of the night either. Cleveland really does Rock, and anybody arguing otherwise has simply never been there.

Don't forget the Top 5 in the World Cleveland Orchestra.

BEST. CITY. ANYWHERE.

The Land rules...

I'm not an orchestra guy, but certainly that just adds another flavor to the city.

And to anybody that visits Cleveland, if you haven't checked out the Cleveland Museum of Art you don't know what you're missing. It's one of the best art collections in the US.

[Redwingtom]

I learned another cool thing on my mission trip into Detroit earlier this year. If there is an abandon house that gets torn down where they can't find the owner, the neighbors directly adjacent to the property can purchase it for only $100 as long as they keep the grass mowed and the lot cleaned up, it's theirs!