John Ireland Will Walk for Autism Speaks Instead of Cleveland to LA

Late Wednesday night we wrote about KCAL-9 Lakers reporter and KSPN show host John Ireland who said he would quit his job and walk from Cleveland to LA if the Lakers lost to the Cavs. Naturally, the Cavs went on to beat the Lakers 104-99 — the same team that had beat them by 55 in their previous meeting. Like many other people, we wondered how Ireland would handle the situation Thursday, and he addressed it with a settlement he figured was fair.

Instead of walking from Cleveland to LA which is a 2,344 mile journey, Ireland said he would participate in the Autism Speaks walk in April. He pledged $1,000 of his money to the charity and has a goal of raising $2,344 (you can donate here). Additionally, he said he would sponsor five kids to attend Dave Miller’s MVP basketball camp.

So how did the the challenge come about in the first place? Ireland explained it to LBS in an email.

“We have a former NBA and college coach, Dave Miller, who works on our Lakers pre and post shows on 710 ESPN. At the start of the seven game, thirteen day road trip, he said something like ‘the game I worry about is that last one–Cleveland. The Lakers could lose that game.’

I responded by saying something like, “Dave, you’re crazy. There is zero chance the Lakers could lose in Cleveland. They beat the Cavs last month by 55 points. You sound like an idiot.”

“I would quit my job and walk home if that happened–there is no chance.”

And that my friends, is how you can end up putting yourself in a bad situation. Ireland of course was right on in figuring the Cavs had very little chance of beating the Lakers, but he learned the hard way you can never count out a team in a sports event. At least he’s trying to make the most of a difficult situation.