Man, color me disappointed after viewing this one, and why Lebron allegedly had this clip confiscated is beyond me. The dunk is pretty good, but nothing really to write home about. If Lebron had just laughed it off, and wished the kid well, it wouldn't have been an issue. Here's the clip if you haven't seen it yet....

Update: Here's a much better angle via Barstool Sports....

The Secret Dunk Exposed! (TMZ)

(Thanks to GITG for the heads up)

The infamous dunk on Lebron has been acquired by the gossip site, TMZ, and will be aired tonight on their website at 6:45pm. Co-executive producer of TMZ, Charles Latibeaudiere, broke the news on JT the Brick's radio show on KLAC, and also mentioned that they are trying to get a hold of Lebron for a reaction. Via Sports Radio Interviews....

“Nike went around and confiscated the video that they knew was shot, what they didn’t know is there was someone else there who shot it just on their cell phone. Apparently, Nike guys haven’t discovered that cell phones have video cameras as well; this person had it on a cell phone. I wish it was a camera that was right underneath the hoop where you could see the look on LeBron’s face, but it’s awesome. You can see Jordan come down the lane, and after he gets dunked on, LeBron is kind of standing there and you can tell something just happened that he didn’t wanna have happened, and ‘Oh crap. It’s on video too.”

Well it's about time! I can't believe it took TMZ this long to acquire the footage, but thank god they did. I'll try to get it up later on tonight.

Charles Latibeaudiere: The Dunk Was Awesome (Sports Radio Interviews)

I made the mistake of "Billy Packering" the Magic after a terrible first quarter, but it was for a good cause. Lebron finally figured out that he needed to drive to the basket, and in his deciding to do so, opened up the floor for his teammates. So much so, that he was a part of almost every basket for the Cavs in the 4th (A point or assist on 32 straight points is just ridiculous). Here are your highlights from the end of the game....

So that was pretty a pretty entertaining Game Five, but the Magic still have the upperhand and none of the pressure. On a side note, I loved that section of the vid where Reggie couldn't get a single person's name right in the crowd (Hi A-Rod!!!). Who is this Mario Rivaro you speak of? At least he wasn't the only person on TNT's crew who couldn't figure out exactly who Ben Roethlisberger was. Via Sparty and Friends....


TNT Knows Their Quarterbacks! (Sparty and Friends)

The Magic were up eight with two minutes left, when they decided to continually jack threes during the last minute, while Lebron and the Cavs took it to the hole and hit free throws to take a one point lead. With 6.4 seconds left, Rashard Lewis hit a three to take the lead back, but after a controversial call with Lebron driving to the basket and two free throws from the Cav, the score was once again tied with .5 to go. The Magic tried a lob to Howard, who was basically fallen on top of by Varejao, and the game went to overtime.

In the extra period, Howard dunked all over the Cavs early and free throws helped them close it out. It didn't come without a scare or two though. Here are the highlights if you missed them...

This was obviously the biggest game of the series, and the Magic are actually on the verge of shocking the world and closing this thing out. All you TV execs and advertisers can start getting your resumes together. As far as the refs are concerned, they obviously blew some key calls in this one. Lebron got a foul call while falling down in regulation, and the subsequent Varejao tackling of Howard wasn't even close to being whistled. The league would normally receive some flak tomorrow, but with the Magic closing out in OT, it will all get swept under the rug.

Everyone saw Lebron's buzzer beater over the holiday weekend (yes it was amazing, no it wasn't one of the best ever), but the best reaction could have come from WEWS Channel 5 News. The team was trying to sign off right as Lebron was hitting his shot with one second left, and here is the reaction....

Now that's just plain fun. I love before the weather when the anchor tells them to change the channel, and then freaks out and scares the entire set. Great stuff.

LeBron Runs Cleveland News Anchors Through Full Spectrum of Emotions (The Sporting Blog)

I really didn't give Orlando a shot in this series, but after game one, they definitely proved me wrong. On the strength of a Rashard Lewis three at the end of the contest, and great defense in the last few seconds, the Magic took game one of the series and put all of the pressure on the Cavs. They even managed to injure Lebron at the end of the game, causing him to stay on the court for about five minutes following the final buzzer....

Just an amazing performance by Howard and Lewis, and if those to are going to put up 30 and 22 each game, the Cavs might be in a little bit of trouble. With that said, Lebron James had a hell of a game (49/8/6), but he had little help on the offensive end. Great first game, and let's hope the series stays this way throughout.

ESPN just aired a Kobe documentary last weekend, but they've already lined up a second one. This time it's a combo flick with Lebron James, called "Dream Season: 23 & 24", and will air on Thursday, May 21st at 7pm. But wait, there's more! It will even be narrated by the one and only, Justin Timberlake!

ESPN will televise Dream Season 23 & 24 presented by NIKE, a one-hour special Thursday, May 21, at 7 p.m. The program, narrated by six-time Grammy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning artist Justin Timberlake, will chronicle the past seasons of Cleveland’s LeBron James, the league’s MVP, and Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. From Olympic gold in Beijing to the quest for each to lead his team to the top of the respective NBA conferences, the cameras will provide unique access into James’ and Bryant’s preparation and stellar performances on the court.

They probably could have got Spike Lee to do this one as well, and killed two birds with one stone, but alas....they did not. Still, it sounds interesting, and after watching "Kobe Doin' Work"....I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I love discussions of completely different eras within Sports, but this might be my favorite. While many are in awe of the way Lebron James and the Cavs roll through the Playoffs, there's one person who doesn't seem that impressed. That person is former Cavs Center, and current ESPN Nascar analyst, Brad Daugherty. Brad conducted an interview with his own employer, for an ESPN Media website called the Water Cooler, and had this to say about King James....

“It’d be very difficult matching up and defending LeBron, much like the problems we had to guard Michael Jordan,” said Daugherty, whose teams were eliminated from the NBA playoffs multiple times by Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. “LeBron continues to groom his outside shot, being able to make 15 to 18-footers, and that’s what’s making the difference in him being the player he is today as opposed to the player he was three years ago.

“If we played them, and he started making 18-foot shots consistently, he’d be a problem. But I think we could have altered some of his shots, and we could have thrown a couple of really top-notch defenders at him. Larry Nance could guard out on the perimeter, he could guard a 3 or a 4, and “Hot Rod” Williams was an excellent defender. When you got past them to go to the basket, the game was still on because they could come from behind you and block your shot.”

“LeBron offers all kinds of problems for anyone who has to guard him, but I think with our basketball team, especially if we had Ron Harper, there’s just no way that they could have matched up with us to stop our offense because we were too efficient,” Daugherty said. “But like I said, it’s ok for me to sit here now and say this.”

The Cavs teams of the late 80s were pretty strong defensively, but there was not a person like Lebron in the NBA back then. It is a good debate though, because Daugherty's supporting cast was definitely better offensively than Lebron's. I'm still thinking Lebron would go for 40, 12 and 8, and the current Cavs would win in six games, but I'm rooting for any team that has Mark Price on it.

LeBron vs. ESPN’s ex-Cav Brad? Let the Debate Begin! (Water Cooler)

When I first saw this commercial, I thought I somehow stumbled on an episode of Crank Yankers, but it's actually a new Nike commercial which features puppet versions of Kobe and Lebron. Via First Cuts....

Those little guys are pretty spot on, if you ask me. However, I have no idea what the commercial is about. Is Nike just telling us that the Playoffs are here, a month into them, or are they saying that Kobe Bryant doesn't care about said Playoffs? I'm confused.

LeBron Is Excited To Be In The Playoffs, But It's Old Hat To Kobe (First Cuts)

I can completely understand why a college would put together a website to try and get their kid an award like the Heisman, but when pro teams do it, I find it a little bit weird. Everyone knows that Lebron James is going to win the MVP Award this year, but Cleveland thought they could help out the star by creating a new website called....."LebronIsReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyGood.com". Here is the tagline....

Welcome to LeBronIsReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyGood.com! Please check out all the information that helps explain why LeBron James deserves the 2009 NBA MVP Award. Why six Reallys in the address? Because this is LeBron’s sixth season in the NBA! Enjoy the tour. Just mouse over each of the Reallys above and go directly to each of the six different areas that make the case REALLY clear who should be the 2009 NBA MVP… LeBron James!

I know it's all in good fun, but unless you're Shaquille O'Neal going up against a white point guard, I'm pretty sure you don't need an MVP website. Especially in the NBA where it's pretty obvious the criteria needed for an MVP. Either lead the league in scoring or be in the top three, have rebounds and assists nearing 7 per game, and lead your team to a high seed in the Playoffs.

Obviously this year is a bit of an anomaly, because there are technically three worth candidates, but only Lebron qualifies in all three facets. Seems pretty obvious that he's the leader in the clubhouse. Cleveland probably could have saved some money on GoDaddy fees.

Lebron James Is Really Good (LJIRRRRRRG)

The NBA released it's first Playoff commercial for this year, and just like with everything else they put together, it's perfect. Here's your first look....

Man, watching that dunk in slow motion is pretty intense. It's almost like Lebron had "no regard for human life"!

New NBA Ad Campaign (Alana G)

If it wasn't for Lebron's ridiculous season (28,7,7), Dwyane Wade would be getting the majority of the headlines. Last night's ridiculous 48 point effort, combined with an insane steal/buzzer beater combo, might make people take a second look at their MVP ballot. Here's the clip....

That's just nasty. With a 29.4 ppg average, and a supporting cast nowhere near as good as the other candidates, I think he'd get my vote.

Way for Lebron to go ahead and make everything about him. Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard put on a heck of a show for everyone, with Robinson winning, but Lebron's announcement might have been the biggest highlight....

Dwight Howard was much more impressive overall, and I think the markets their respective teams play in came into play, but not a bad show. In fact, outside of everything that Vince Carter, Dominique and MJ have done, I think that Howard dunk from the side was one of the more impressive dunks I've seen.

But Lebron in a dunk contest? Yeahhhh....sorry Nate "Kryptonite" Robinson.

No, he's not giving up on Basketball, or joining the Browns full-time, but King James will be an analyst for TNT during their coverage of the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. James will be working along side Kevin Harlan, Kenny Smith and Craig Sager for the game. Via TNT PR....

Perennial NBA All-Star LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a participant in the 2004 and 2005 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, will join TNT’s Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Kenny Smith (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter) as part of the network’s telecast of the 2009 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam on Friday, Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. ET. The Emmy® award-winning studio show Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai will follow the game live from U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix. TNT’s exclusive coverage of the 2009 All-Star Game from Phoenix, AZ will air on Sun., February 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Great job by TNT pairing him with Kevin Harlan, and hopefully we can get Lebron's version of Harlan's famous "No Regard For Human Life!" call. As far as the game, it should be a pretty good one. The Rookies actually look like they could end the Sophmores' 6-game winning streak, and as an added bonus, you get Dwight Howard (Sophs) and Dwyane Wade (Rooks) as coaches. Here are the rosters in case you missed their unveiling yesterday....

Rookies: Michael Beasley (Heat), Rudy Fernandez (Trail Blazers), Marc Gasol (Grizzlies), Eric Gordon (Clippers), Brook Lopez (Nets), O.J. Mayo (Grizzlies), Greg Oden (Trail Blazers), Derrick Rose (Bulls), Russell Westbrook (Thunder)

Sophmores: Aaron Brooks (Rockets), Wilson Chandler (Knicks), Kevin Durant (Thunder), Jeff Green (Thunder), Al Horford (Hawks), Luis Scola (Rockets), Al Thornton (Clippers), Rodney Stuckey (Pistons), Thaddeus Young (Sixers)

Everyone knows about my irrational hate for Lebron James. A lot of it has to do with him killing my Wizards during every Playoff series, but a lot of it also has to do with the constant hype of the Cav, and the fact that (up until this year) he's lazy at times on the court. With that said, I've always thought the powder thing he does before games is original, and pretty badass, but not everyone agrees.

Kevin Ding, of the OCRegister, is now chastising NIKE for sending the message that it's okay to ruin his laptop. From the OCReg via BDL via TSB....

"As stylish as James' "chalk" Nike commercial is both in vision and sound, it sends a terrible message. You have no idea just how horrible that 'chalk' is. (It’s actually a rosin mixture — this is the one the Lakers use — to keep players’ hands dry for gripping the ball.) The powdery stuff gets everywhere — especially in sports writers’ drinks when sitting courtside and even worse ... in laptop keyboards. It’s a nightmare. So boo on James (and Kevin Garnett) for throwing that crap into the air. And kudos to Bryant, who gets his and bends at the waist to lower his hands toward the floor, discreetly dispersing it with slow claps that keep it out of harm's way."

Wahhhhhhhh! First of all, powder isn't going to ruin your laptop. Second, if you know it's coming, just shut the top of the thing for 5 seconds. I know a lot of people whine about all sorts of different thing, I too do my fair share (see tag: Lebron James), but this is just a tad annoying.

LeBron’s “chalk” is a silent killer of defenseless laptops (OC Regsiter)
Suicide Lines (Ball Don't Lie)
Writer Wants Nike To Stop Encouraging Laptop-Killing Pregame 'Chalk' Tossing (The Sporting Blog)

I mentioned yesterday that Lebron James' big announcement was actually just a new commercial for State Farm, and I wanted to share the video of the spot that I just found on Youtube....

Cute. I'm still bitter at the whole announcement angle, but I guess worse things have been done to consumers over the years.

Sparty and Friends came across a little bit of a goof up on Hulu last night, and has what appears to be Lebron's "Big Announcement" that was supposed to come on January 18th. Yes, it does have to do with the photos you saw of him in the Cleveland Browns jersey. No, he is not joining the Browns. Unfortunately the big announcement is just a new commercial for State Farm Insurance. Here are some screenshots of a Browns inspired dream sequence....


Oh that clever Lebron! It actually looks like a great commercial, there are ten more photos at Sparty and Friends for you to view, but the whole "announcement" thing already has me hating it. Keep your eyes peeled on Sunday for the first airing of the whole spot.

The Next Piece of the “LeBron 011809″ Puzzle Revealed (Sparty and Friends)

I don't know what it is about January 18, 2009, but multiple athletes plan on using the date to launch ad campaigns. The Williams Sisters will battle the Manning Bros in the DSRL on that date, but they might get shown up by Lebron. James was recently photoed wearing a Browns jersey (above), and released this Youtube video a few days ago...

While the possibilities are endless, and Lebron the Football player would be crazy, the real story is that musician Buckethead has decided to create two instrumental songs for King James! You can listen to the awesomeness below....

Lebron James (Buckethead Land)
Lebron's Hammer (Buckethead Land)

ROCK!

LeBron James Going Bo Jackson? (WFNY)
LeBron's Least Probable Fan: That Guy With the KFC Bucket On His Head (The Sporting Blog)

Can we not talk about LeBron James' contract until it's at least the end of the current NBA season? The Knicks and Nets both essentially killing their chances of being competitive in the next two seasons in order to have enough room to sign James in 2010, when he could opt out of his contract, has been the worst kept secret in pro basketball.

Now, James is dropping hints to the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he may just sign an extension in 2009 with the Cavs, and make the whole matter moot for another three years. Tom Ziller at The Sporting Blog makes the astute point that this is a solid business strategy -- James can hold the proverbial gun to management's head to ensure winning in town, giving other younger stars a model for contract extensions -- but that's the only thing that's novel or interesting about the whole thing.

I know the clearing of cap space is designed to say that at least teams have some future planning ahead of them, but it's rather disconcerting to see teams say, not even a quarter into the season, that they're going to trade away any chance of making the playoffs in exchange for stiffs with expiring contracts. Frankly, I'm hoping LeBron stays with the Cavs -- not only because he's a hometowner, but because it would make the cap-clearers look foolish when scrambling for Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade.

At least discuss the 2009 free agents first....oh, yeah, that's not much of a class, is it?

LeBron James tells PD's Brian Windhorst he'll consider signing extension with Cavs this summer [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
LeBron Changes The Game. Again [The Sporting Blog]

I mentioned about a year ago that there were plans to develop a sitcom based on the life of Lebron James. Well with the help of one O'Shea Jackson, or Ice Cube as most people know him, that dream will become a reality in 2009. According to ESPN's Sam Alipour, the untitled show will be a cross between "Friday Night Lights" and "Entourage", and will debut in either this Spring or Fall.

As reported in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine, the Cavaliers superstar has partnered with O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson and ABC for a one-hour drama based on James' experiences as a high school hoops phenom. The series, described as "Friday Night Lights-meets-Entourage," will follow an inner-city 15 year-old prep star who is transplanted to a small town school and forced to come of age while dealing with media pressure, unscrupulous moneymen and the jealousy of his peers.

The pilot script is expected in the coming weeks and, if the network approves, production on the pilot could begin in the spring for a fall '09 premiere. CubeVision and James's newly formed entertainment entity Spring Hill Productions will oversee for the network, while James and Cube will serve as co-creators and executive producers.

"It's a grounded character study of teenage life in small town America, but it's also an exploration of the American Dream and the wish-fulfillment aspect of what his life has become," said Matt Alvarez, President of CubeVision, who pitched the concept and is also an executive producer on the show. "As a teenager, LeBron was dubbed as one of the great ones. Dropping an album as a kid with NWA, Cube could relate to that. They both know what it's like to have success at a young age, and dealing with everything that comes with those expectations."

I was getting ready to bash the idea, but after that description of the character, it actually sounds kind of good. As long as it isn't done too cheesy, I think Lebron and Company might actually have something here. I'll keep you updated so you know when to update your Tivo with the Season Pass.

Lebron Goes Hollywood (ESPN the Mag)