MITCH BLATT

I reported last week on how ESPN had a record of cowtowing to LeBron James.

As noted:

[ESPN writer Tom] Friend didn’t get his facts wrong but LeBron felt he portrayed his mother, Gloria, in an unfavorable light. From that day forward, LeBron put The Magazine on his banned substance list.

Who knows whatever could they have been reporting about Gloria in an unfavorable light???

Well now ESPN deleted a story one of its writers wrote about a LeBron James-hosted Vegas party that James was paid $100,000 to host.

Sportscasm reports: “The story was full of tales of James’ ego, naked ladies, and the out-of-control party James threw that night.”

Luckily, the story was captured and is available at Sportscasm in it’s entirety.

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CNBC reported last week that Jim Gray, LeBron James’ interviewer during their greatly criticized “The Decision” special, was paid for expenses by LeBron James’ camp, not by ESPN.

Of course that would be a tremendous breach of ethics to accept payments from the person on whom you are supposed to be reporting, but it’s not like ESPN is going to report critically on LeBron James, anyway. After all, isn’t ESPN receiving revenues from their positive coverage of LeBron simply by the fact that he is one of their networks biggest draws?

LeBron wasn’t going to go to ESPN if they asked him tough questions or reported critically on him in the past. The show got a 7.3 rating, their highest rating for any programming this year outside of NFL games (that includes NBA playoff games). ESPN has continued to interview LeEgo a few more times since then, and Bleacher Report notes that in none of ESPN’s interviews with James did ESPN ask why James chose to announce his decision in such a public manner that was destined to leave his hometown fans heartbroken (more so than if he had announced it quietly).

ESPN knows well what happens when you aren’t on LeBron James’ good side. Early in James’ career, he boycott doing interviews with ESPN The Magazine because he thought they *portrayed his mother in a negative light.*

According to The Sixth Man by ESPN reporter Chris Palmer:

[ESPN writer Tom] Friend didn’t get his facts wrong but LeBron felt he portrayed his mother, Gloria, in an unfavorable light. From that day forward, LeBron put The Magazine on his banned substance list.

Of course its natural that athletes and other public figures try to control their image and part of that includes seeking out favorable media portrayals. It’s nothing new. Reporters were also reluctant to report on Jordan’s alleged gambling problems and other negative factors about him lest they lose access. It happens with public figures in all disciplines.

However in sports, ESPN isn’t called “the worldwide leader” for nothing. ESPN is THE sports outlet, so I suppose they have more influence over public perceptions of the people they cover than other news organizations in other fields. It was kind of weird seeing ESPN hyping this one-hour special sponsored in part by Taco Bell of a player they had played a large part in building up themselves for his whole career now to reap huge ratings based on their building him up. Now ESPN is already asking “How many titles will LeBron win?”

UPDATE: Just like I said, ESPN is in LeBron’s kool-aid cooler and painting him like he wants them to.

They just delted a story on of their writers wrote about a “wild” LeBron James party.

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In the wake of LeBron James’ shocking betrayal of New York, Spike Lee is up in arms that LeBron didn’t sign with one of the worst teams in basketball, the Knicks.

Lee said: “We got hoodwinked. Led astray. Hornswoggled. We got bamboozled.”

Ain’t that the truth, Cleveland?

Ever since LeBron James was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, every single New Yorker thought that LeBron James was going to win a championship for the New York Knicks, who last won a playoff game in 2001.

Why does Spike Lee feel entitled?

Lee does say that James, Wade and Bosh had been planning to play together for years. Probably true. But why is Lee so mad about it, having absolutely no connection whatsoever to LeBron James’ former team?

It’s as if Lee is outraged that James spurned New York. Who would not want to play with a team that just a few years ago was paying Stephon Marbury $20 million a year?

Maybe he thought that Wade, James and Bosh should all have left their respective teams for New York.

But why would they want to play in the Big Apple, anyway? Let me say this, Spike Lee: Not only do the Knicks suck, but South Beach itself is much better than New York.

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Considering that only one of the players has a title so far and that LeBron completely flopped in last year’s playoffs, is it just a little too soon to be asking “How many?”

It reminds me of when LeBron was a senior in high school and everyone thought he was already the best player in the NBA. There were comparisons to Jordan; there was talk of him being better than Kobe. Well now Kobe has five championships after having stayed on his team for his entire career even during losing seasons (to be fair, he did criticize his team and ask for trades a few times). Michael Jordan didn’t announce his decision to stay in Chicago with an orchestrated one-hour special; he used one simple fax to say he was staying.

Now LeBron is playing on a “Dream Team” with two other stars–and that’s about it–and everyone expects him to win a title immediately. Probably not.

The Heat is already trading Michael Beasley. James and Wade don’t really compliment each other; they have very similar games. When ESPN showed a projected starting five for Miami there was no center. Who do they have? Joel Anthony? Dexter Pittman? Dwight Howard is going to have his way with Miami!

The Celtics have a big three and Rondo and Rasheed and Perkins. The Bulls have a much more well-rounded (and better) team, especially after adding Boozer.

To answer ESPN’s question, How many titles will the Heat win?, I’m going to say none, not until they get a team together.

Of course you can always bet on who is going to win, but sports betting and live betting aren’t my areas of expertise. I’ll make my picks, but I’m not going to put money on it.

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SCOTT JACOBS

From the people who brought you The Bachelorette, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol comes a special so big, it literally may stop the world.  Look out Truman Show, The LeBron show is coming to a city near you.  Live on the Worldwide Leader of O No they Didn’t Programming.

But yes they did.  And yes they can.  And yes they will.  ESPN has won the rights to broadcast a 1 hour special of the most mind blowingly over-hyped free agency decision since Moses managed to part the Red Sea. Yes, on Thursday July 8th (cue dramatic music, dim the lights), ESPN will bring you a show unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.  One man.  Basketball player by day.  Superhero by night. He has replaced Chuck Norris and that guy from the Dos Equis commercial as the most interesting annoying man in the world. He put the city of Akron on the map and high school basketball on national TV.  He co-authored a poorly written book with Buzz Bissinger, and has yet to win an NBA championship.  In one day he has more Twitter followers than you will ever have in your life.  Introducing number 23, errr… excuse me, introducing number 6 LeBron “I want to be a billionaire so freaking bad” James!

It will be drama unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Will he choose Cleveland?  Chicago?  Miami?  New Jersey?  New York?  Guadalajara, Mexico?  The Clippers?  The answer will be revealed.

How will he do it?  Will he don a hat with that team’s colors, prompting an exclusive NBA Free agency hat collection to further broaden his image?  Or will he put on that team’s jersey?  Will their be a patch to commemorate this historic moment? Will the announcement also be on Youtube, and shortly re-aired on ESPN Classic?  You can only find out if you tune in.

While other players get a press conference, we’re giving LeBron the whole world.  Wars will stop.  Babies will stay tucked in the womb.  Drive by shootings will cease for one hour.  The cure for cancer will be found.  We’re talking bigger than Titantic and World War II combined.  Israel and Palestine will rest peacefully as the King makes up his mind.  People will get out of their cars in the middle of the street to wait for the siren on which town was picked. All babies that were supposed to be born within the 1 hour exclusive special will be named Le-whatever.  It will truly be a day unlike anything man kind has ever witnessed.

The planets will stop orbiting.  Global warming (if you believe in that kind of stuff) will stop happening.  Tim Burton will cast a movie without (gasp) Johnny Depp.

The President will stop whatever he is doing to gather everyone in the Oval Office to watch his announcement.

David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Jon Stewart will be subsituted with the press and given 30 minutes to ask any ridiculous questions they want.  It will be must see Le-TV.

ESPN, like Dade County will change their name, only their’s won’t be Wade County.  It will be LESPN.

All website chatter will freeze, wth the planet’s communication lines stopped until mighty Le-Savior makes his mind.

So tune in on Thursday when one rich, spoiled, obnoxiously over-publicized soon to be billionaire gets richer and destroys the hopes and dreams of 5 other cities in the process.

Who will he choose?  The phone lines are open now.

Photo: AP

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SCOTT JACOBS

Well, we’re officially one day into free agency, and I kind of havta admit– I feel ripped off.

Besides watching a bunch of teams throw comedic dollar amounts at complementary players there is a growing feeling within me that this infamous Summer of 2010 that has enveloped our sports world, may be nothing more than smoke and mirrors.  And a change of scenery for a pair of forwards.

As the hours go by I can’t help but feel convinced that LeBron James is going back to Cleveland.  D-Wade looks like a pretty comfortable bet to re-up in Miami.  And Chris Bosh could end up with a team none of us have even had on our radar.  Or maybe not.

But with Joe Johnson being offered a maximum deal, prompting one Yahoo sports writer to immediately pen it down as the worst NBA contract ever (dude, the guy hasn’t even officially signed it, ease up holmes), and looking primed to return to the Hawks, the pieces are falling in place for a whole lot of nothin’ to happen.  Sure, this summer hinges on what LeBron, Wade, and Bosh do, but the reality is, these second tier guys are the ones that may ultimately hold the most water.

If Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer for instance, re-up with their teams (not likely) or go to a team like the Knicks or Nets, it’s possible they could further encourage the NBA’s super 3 to just… well, stay put.  Okay, not Bosh, but you get the point.  Going through the free agency supermarket, GM’s like NY’s Donnie Walsh and others are looking for second tier players to couple with the big ‘pie in the sky’ star.

That seemed to be New York’s intention.  Lure Joe Johnson to the Big Apple and maybe Amare and then LeBron will come.  O s*%$!  You mean he’s going back to the Hawks?  Crap.

The lower-tier guys/complementary guys are lining their pockets flush with cash as the NBA’s biggest free pieces continue to roam.  But I’ve put a lot of thought into this the last few days.  Read a lot of articles.  And I’ve been left with the impression that LeBron would be an idiot if he (wait for it, wait for it) left Cleveland.

Yes!  You’ve read that correct.  Forget the Knicks, Heat, or Bulls, James is best suited to stay in Cleveland and bring home a championship to his home state.  It really is the Jordan effect, and this has nothing to do with Chicago.  LeBron will forever be knocked for an inability to win a ring for the Cavs if he bolts for greener grass in another free agent city.

Forget the scenarios for a second.  Forget the super-pairing he could form in Miami, or the nice duo he could make in Chi-town.  LeBron’s legacy should be going for it in Cleveland.  Win, lose, or fail.  It’s no longer about the parts he has to work with or the new coach or any of that.  It’s about finishing what he started.  Truth be told, LeBron’s legacy will never be greater than if he wins the title starved city of Cleveland a championship.  That would be bigger than him winning a ring as a Knick.  Or a Nyet.  Why?

Because ultimately, people are sick of New York teams.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, New York teams that win are good for any sport and commissioner’s psyche, but you know what?  If LeBron James is so big that all our major sports writers are following him and his posse from city to city, and his house to strange hotels, just to see who he’s meeting with now, than clearly it doesn’t matter who he plays for.

Ahh, I said it.

The Cavs are irrelevant without LeBron.  With him, they’re Lakers East.  They don’t go out to the beach and date supermodels, but they get the job done.  They don’t have Jack, they have average Joe.

You see it hit me today.  LeBron doesn’t need a big city to make him immortal in the eyes of the sports world.  He needs to finish what he started.  He needs to deliver a title to a city that no longer knows what it feels like to celebrate one.  He needs to show that loyalty is not dead.  LeBron can become a billionaire in Cleveland or New York.  Just look at your TV.  Vitamin Water, Nike, the list goes on.  What’s New York going to do?  Will TMZ get into the act?  A couple witty New York post headlines?  C’mon!

LeBron’s legacy is whatever he makes it.  And if he wins titles in Cleveland as ‘the man’ with what many would consider a lottery bound team without him, than boom, there’s your legacy.

Boston-Los Angeles makes for nostalgic conversation and the usual East versus West mumbojumbo, but if the Cavs and Lakers had played in the Finals it would have been a ratings bonanza bigger than Shaq’s head.  So cut the crap with the whole, LeBron’s legacy thing.

And here’s another thing, and this one has really bugged me lately.  Guys wanting to win, but not willing to actually sacrifice to do so.  Example: Joe Johnson, who will most likely re-up with the Hawks, keep them just decent enough to be relevent, but hampered by his absurd contract that they can’t make any upgrades because they don’t have cap space.

Guys are full of crap when they say they want to win.  Prove to me you want to win.  D-Wade could sign for $10 million a season, leaving the Heat tons of cap space to play with, but he wants the max.  He deserves it.  But he could easily contribute to Miami’s chances by taking one for the team.  Then Miami could sign guys like Haslem or Dorell Wright to contracts without worrying if it cuts into their monopoly money.

Just imagine for a second if a guy like Chris Bosh wanted to win so badly, that he took $10 million a season in a sign and a trade so that a team like Heat could also afford to give him a bench too.

But it’s a giant ego-stroke for these guys, who want to win, but want to get their’s.  Must be tough making only 16 million a year.  O the horror.  Because with only $10 million a year and let’s say $20 million in endorsements you can’t really buy any nice toys.  Ha, what a joke.

My rant leaves you with one final thing to ponder: are NBA teams just stupid or ignorant?  Max dollars for Rudy Gay?  $30 million for Channing Frye?  Darko is still in the league, and getting paid $20 million?  How!  Just because you have money doesn’t mean you have to set it on fire, as these soon to be overpaid players roll around in the mud not sure what to do with the cash that just fell out of their backside.  Drew Gooden?  He hasn’t been relevent since … um, I’ll get back to you on that one.

Photo: AP

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Porter signed with Fade Records in 1999 and placed second in America’s Best DJ Award in 2009.

He became famous on YouTube recently for remixing such videos as the Slap Chop rap, which has been viewed 10 million times. The NBA hired him to do playoffs commercials after they saw his remix Press Hop (featuring Allen “Talkin Bout Practice” Iverson). He has also been hired to do remixes of some NBC shows and other network shows and has launched his media agency Porterhouse Media.

(Oh, and he’s a Celtics fans. Ha.)

Watch some of his videos here or keep reading, as I have embedded them.

When did you get started doing remixes of videos? And how did that get started?
A: I just started it as an experimentation, I guess I just started
applying video to my music productions a few years ago, just messing
around with clips. Really, I was just wanting to try something new. I
was feeling like I had done a lot and already accomplished my goal as
a producer, and was DJing clubs for a long time, and making quite a
few tracks. And as I was looking for a challenge, I started
manipulating videos, and then I realized it was fun. It was making an
impact, and kept on honing it on, and eventually, I produced a few
videos.

Did they just get popular on YouTube overnight? Or was there some
development period before people found out about them?
A: Some of them were pretty much instantaneous. I spent a couple of
days before Michael Jackson died, last year, it was June 21st, when I
released the video. ‘A tribute to Michael Jackson’ was viral from the
beginning, and hit the top of the viral charts in a couple of days,
along with a couple of other videos eventually, including the Slap
Chop Rap.

So you released “Press Hop” in June, and got contacted by the NBA in August?
A: Yep. They just told me, ‘Hey, we loved the video you made, what can
you do with our material?’. So I sent out a few demos, they sent back
some instructions on what images they wanted, etc. And, at this point,
there was some good harmony, synergy between us.

And you’ve been some for NBC as well?
A: Yeah, been doing some stuff for NBC, I got a couple of networks
now, actually, and do work for them now and then

When you see an NBA press conference, and how you use the quotes in
the videos, can you tell right off if this going to be a good quote?
A: Definitely, you’re always looking for that wording that will carry
the whole piece. Sometimes, it takes a long time to find it.

Does it take more time to do the audio or the video?
A: It’s a two part process, you have to go over it to make the sure
the video is seamless and tight with the audio, and likewise. At
first, video was a lot more difficult and gave me migraines, but it
still takes a long time.

What’s next for you, having finished the NBA playoffs, are you going
to continue to do work for them? And how do you envision your video
remixing career going forward?
A: I’m pretty much done with the NBA campaign, it was an incredible
experience, awesome employment, they’re always looking to do
something, but I’m not expecting to do the same thing next year. For
myself, things are going great, doing the full campaign has really
beneficial to myself and my company. Right now, I’m doing some work
for VH1, we got some great stuff coming up. Some more comedy style
remixes, a lot on my plate right now.

And if Vince does another infomercial…?
A: Yeah, I just congratulated him on doing another video.

How did he feel about being so famous for the remix?
A: We were both kind of shocked, we had no idea it was going to be
this popular. We were like, Wow, this is crazy. We realized it was
blowing up, and got in touch with each soda, and started to establish
a relationship.

It was just a radio tour. I did a lot of work on my end,
pushing the video forward, and doing a follow up video. It was fun,
and down the road, there may be an opportunity to get back together.

Oh, and on his beloved Celtics:
So how did you feel about that game?
A: Emotionally destroyed. As a sports fan, you usually have nightmares
like this. … It was a great game up until that moment for me. I was having
a good time, it was like a dream ride.

His Videos

Rap Chop

Shamwow Jam

Amazing is the Dream

Amazing is Unity

Stepping Up

Where Defense Happens

Where Clutch Happens

Where Determination Happens

Where Sixth Man Happens

Press Hop

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MITCHELL BLATT

For all the years of Kobe Bryant’s early career, he lead the league in scoring and won three championships, but he wasn’t exactly the most popular player. His critics pointed out that he won all those championships with Shaq on his team. After Shaq left, the Lakers started suffering, and Kobe “wasn’t being a team player.”

The Lakers returned to the championship against the Celtics during the 2007-08 season and lost. Hence the first knock on Kobe’s legacy: He can’t win without Shaq (as Shaq so eloquently put it).

The next year, Kobe beat the Magic, but his critics put another challenge to his legacy: He can’t beat the Celtics. After all, no Laker is a legend if he consistently loses to the Celtics in the Finals. Kobe must beat the Celtics to cement his legacy, Dime said.

Okay, so now Kobe has won a title without Shaq, beat the Celtics in the Finals, and had a sex scandal. What must we add to his Herculean labors before he can put his legacy to bed?

For starters, Kobe has still not played minor league baseball, and Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 20,000 women is still far out of Kobe’s reach…

Kobe’s critics always need something to lord over him that he can never achieve hasn’t achieved yet so that they have a firm reason to hate him. I’ll admit it: I’ve been a hater for some time. But my anti-Kobe feelings are starting to fade.

So he wasn’t found guilty of rape… That was a mentally unstable women who came to his room looking for consensual sex. The only thing we’ve got on him there is adultery. Six years ago.

Sure he doesn’t like hanging out with his teammates, he had leadership problems early on, and he was kind of withdrawn from the team and didn’t get along well early on… But now he’s learned how to pass the ball and has grown in his leadership role.

LeBron James was supposed to take Kobe’s crown away as the NBA’s best… But now that James has fizzled out of the playoffs the past few years–dramatically so this year–no one can credibly put him on level with Kobe.

The truth is us Kobe haters are starting to run out of valid reasons to bash Kobe. I must admit, I’m starting to lose my feelings towards Kobe. Besides, Rajon Rondo is a lot more fun to hate.

(Kobe, you must win another title to tie Jordan’s 6 or else you won’t cement your legacy!)

Photo: Reuters

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Apparently, many of the Cavs were going out to party in Boston. James came back drunk and found his mother and West together in West’s room when he opened the door.

With that said, I was also told that James will stay with the Cavs if he can be guaranteed full control of the team. If not, a sign-and-trade is possible.

UPDATE: NBA Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy has also confirmed the affair, Murphy doing so on ESPN Radio.

Photo: Getty

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Some of them were in Chinese.

Well, it’s not that weird, considering Yao Ming plays for the Rockets, and there will be millions of Chinese watching many of his games.

Chinese companies have been advertising at the Rockets arena ever since they drafted Yao.

From the Wall Street Journal in 2003:

Last summer, the U.S. distributor for Yanjing Beer Group Corp., of Beijing, leased billboards lining the Houston Rockets’ arena, home court of the 7-foot-5-inch Mr. Yao. The advertising deal, valued at just over $6 million for five years, marks the first time a Chinese company has sponsored a National Basketball Association team. It probably won’t be the last.

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