Comedian Frank Caliendo turned heads last week with his hilarious impression of Morgan Freeman giving a dramatic reading of LeBron James' instantly legendary "I'm going home" letter. The impressionist was on ESPN's show Mike and Mike In The Morning when he did a monologue in the style of Freeman's character from the Shawshank Redemption. The former Miami Heat star is going back home to Cleveland after winning two NBA championships for GM Pat Riley.
Gossip giant Perez Hilton praised Caliendo's performance, claiming how appropriate it was to mock the gravity of the open letter. True, James' letter poured it on kind of thick, but when you hear it read in Morgan Freeman's voice, it's hard not to feel inspired even though it's supposed to be funny (via Perez Hilton.com):
"This right here, boys and girls, is the impression to end all impressions. And given the melodramatic tone of LeBron's letter, it's only fitting that the voice of Red from Shawshank Redemption deliver it to you in this epic bit that Frank did on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike In The Morning!"
Here's the clip, which is already being called an instant classic (via Triangle Offense):
Somehow, however, despite all this fanfare, critics are now pondering LeBron's choice to return to using the jersey number 23.
King James' decision to return to his hometown of Cleveland (yes, he's originally from Akron but, after all, as he reminded us in "The Letter", Cleveland IS his home) has bet generally met with praise, but slightly more controversial is his decision to revert to his old jersey number. Ridiculously, people have asked the legendary Chicago Bulls number 23, Michael Jordan, how he felt about it. Jordan answered the question the only way he could (via USA Today):
"In a text to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, Jordan wrote that he's 'cool with' LeBron's recent decision to give up the No. 6 he wore in Miami to return to the No. 23 he wore from high school through his first stint in Cleveland. 'I don't own a number,' Jordan wrote."
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