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Who's Excited for Lebron TV?
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News checks in this morning with an interesting rumor:
Speaking of which, the latest LeBron to the Knicks rumor I’ve heard is that Cablevision – which owns the Knicks but not the Daily News – will circumvent the salary cap by giving LeBron his own channel.
For what it’s worth, he also puts the odds of Lebron-to-New York at a whopping 90%, so this may be a case of consider-the-source. Still, we knew all along that one of the motivations for a potential Lebron move would be to gain further media exposure, and his own TV channel would certainly be a step in the right direction.
Global icons should have their own channel, you know?
Well the NBA's regular season is fast approaching, but that's just prelude to the real show, which comes about 8 months later. That's right, it's almost here, folks: the Summer of George Lebron. Bracing for the inevitable whirlwind that will follow King James throughout the year, Tom Withers of the Associated Press sat down for an extensive interview with the Cavs superstar and last season's runaway MVP.
Purple-y bluster, which has apparently become mandatory whenever someone writes about Lebron James:
Police halt traffic so the King can pass. [...] Akron. The Rubber City he made bounce again. [...]
Under a green-and-gold "Fighting Irish Wall Of Fame" sign, James, who writes left-handed, said goodbye to his beloved school by scrawling: "The Greatest of All Time. King James. History In The Flesh."
Bold at 17. Possible at 24.
Movie promotion, for his upcoming documentary More Than a Game:
"Basketball was just the vehicle we used," he said, "but the story really has nothing to do with basketball. It's about kids having a dream, kids being loyal to each other and not stopping, whatever happens, to accomplish their dreams."
Excitement about Shaq:
"Something I haven't had in my career is a dominant force in the paint, a guy I can go to and he's going to get us something good. He's the most dominant force to ever play the game, and to have him on my team, I'm humbled."
And what everyone's been waiting for... Some boilerplate statements on his plans for free agency:
"I'm excited about the upcoming season and I have never given any indication that I'm leaving Cleveland," he said. "I've been happy with what the franchise has done for me and my family. It's been great. Hopefully everything goes right and hopefully I can sign a big contract to stay in Cleveland."Might he sign a smaller one to stay?
"That's possible," he said. "We'll see."
But wait: that last part is actually news. Lebron has held his franchise hostage over the past two years by refusing to commit to any longterm contract with Cleveland. Conventional wisdom has held that the Summer of 2010 will be D-Day for Cavaliers fans--they'll either keep their superstar for the next 7 years or they'll lose him forever. But might Lebron hedge his bets?
Committing to max-deal with Cleveland represents a major act of faith, and a willingness to live-and-die with whoever the Cavs surround him with. Lebron may not be ready to take that step. A smaller contract would still keep him in Cleveland, but with heightened flexibility.
So, then: who's excited for the Summer of 2013?
Jay-Z Talks Nets, Stadiums, and Lebron
There's lots of dry wit in this interview, and I can't decide whether it's incredibly awkward, or two friends riffing off of one another. Nevertheless, later in the interview comes the good stuff: Jay talks about the franchise's plans for a stadium in Brooklyn, and also joins in to speculate on 'Bron's plans for 2010.
He also shared his thoughts on Shaq-to-the-Cavs, and trades some laughs about the Knicks with Dave. All in all, Jay the interview about as cool as you possibly could--which is why Cleveland fans should be worried. Jay-Z is Lebron's friend, yes, but before that, he was his idol. He's played the crossover from hip-hop superstar to business mogul just about perfectly, and that's an impression that's certainly not lost on Lebron, a 24-year-old kid who's got designs on leaving an imprint far beyond basketball arenas across America.
Lebron's transparent ambitions for world stardom may make him damn near insufferable, but in assessing this 2010 circus, it also makes him a good bet to follow his idol/mentor/friend Jay-Z to
New JerseyBrooklyn. That New Jersey has a far better foundation than either Cleveland or New York--with heightened flexibility, to boot--only makes this scenario more likely.Cablevision may give him a TV channel, and Cleveland might be home, but Jay-Z is Lebron's dream in the flesh--that might be the most persuasive angle of all.
Sep 10 11:05a by Andrew Sharp - 0 comments