Tom Izzo was in Cleveland Thursday to tour the Cleveland Cavaliers facilities.
From ESPN to CBS to the Detroit Free Press, a number of media outlets unleashed their fangs Wednesday over what they termed a baseless report stating that Tom Izzo was leaving Michigan State to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But, what a difference a day makes.
A report from a Cleveland sports blog entitled "Waiting for Next Year" stated that Izzo had informed his players that he was leaving MSU and a formal announcement would come Friday.
But after an initial wave of criticism, it seems that the story is beginning to grow legs.
ESPN.com, in particular, published a story this morning which said that Izzo was leaning toward taking the job with the Cavaliers. And, Izzo is in Cleveland today to visit the team and tour its facilities.
Last night, NBC25 spoke with the blogger who first broke the story at waitingfornextyear.com, who defended the credibility of a report which many initially deemed reckless journalism.
"We feel extremely confident in the time frame that was laid out in the report. i know there's been a lot of reports that he's gonna wait 'til July 1, and wait to see the status of LeBron (James). but we feel very confident in that this will be a decision that is handed down, he will decide by the end of the week. And, we've been told that decision has already been rendered, that he's taken the offer. Or, that he's told his players that he's taken the offer. And, from what we hear down here from people close with the Cavs, that the time frame is accurate. We will definitely know if we were wrong or right by the end of the week, and we feel that we're definitely right."
MSU athletic director Mark Hollis released this statement...
"Coach Izzo made me aware he is meeting with Cleveland. The details of any meetings are between him and me."
A slight glimmer of hope for Spartans fans might be that Byron Scott has also emerged as a leading candidate for the Cleveland job.
We'll have fan reaction from tonight's "Keep Izzo" rally in East Lansing tonight at 11 p.m.
