In things MJ or Kobe would never tweet news

We bring you this from the Twitter feed of Lebron James apparently distraught over his dismal performance last night...

Pretty sure if Pau Gasol asked Kobe if he wanted to talk about it after a tough loss, he would be listed as day-to-day.

Find things we would tweet @MiniVanGundy

NBA Lockout: The main issues holding up a deal

Yesterday was not a good day for the NBA. After marathon negotiating sessions produced no deal, the respective sides took to the media to spin their side of the demands. The players have said from the beginning that the owner's proposal is unreasonable and we tend to agree with them. We've provided a list of 10 of the major issues below though so you can judge for yourself.

1. 50 percent of all televised free agency decisions revenue.

2. Must cover at least 50 percent of Michael Jordan's gambling losses.

3. Ability to sell naming rights on any future name changes by players (Metta World Piece presented by TD Ameritrade).

4. Player's must agree to purchase at least 10,000 WNBA season tickets.

5. Portion of their income to go into escrow to pay for Mark Cuban's fines.

6. Agree to cover damages from any future sexual harassment suits against Isaiah Thomas and the Knicks.

7. Charles Barkley and Antoine Walker must only enter the Palms in Las Vegas as this will serve as the primary financing of new arena in Sacramento.

8. Future players are prohibited from dating Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

9. Anytime Dwight Howard misses a free throw, each owner gets a $100 Best Buy gift card.

10. Lebron's free fries from his new McDonald's commercial.

U.S. Open Preview: NBA Finals Edition

To all of you casual sports fans out there who only seem to turn the dial to golf when Tiger Woods is playing, the U.S. Open is this weekend at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Still three days later, all the talk in the sports world seems to still be revolving around the recently completed NBA Finals so with that in mind we give you a look at some of the principles in this weekend’s U.S. Open and there closest NBA Finals counterpart.

Lee Westwood – Dirk Nowitzki



Supremely talented Europeans. Lee, like Dirk (before Sunday night) has never really been given his due thanks in part to some close calls and heartbreak on the biggest stage. Westwood can take the next step with a major victory this weekend.

Rory McIlroy – Lebron James



Has all the talent in the world to win multiple championships. Could be immaturity, could be putting too much pressure on themselves, whatever it is they have yet to put 4 rounds (or quarters) together and win the ultimate prize.

Phil Mickleson – Rick Carslile



The elder statesman. Has always shown themselves to be a winner. Willing to take some risks to get the job done and seems to have a few more tricks in their bag than their opponents.

Dustin Johnson – Mark Cuban



Willing to go for broke to get to their goal. Also seems to have issues with authority (i.e. Mark Cuban vs. David Stern; Dustin Johnson vs. non-existent bunkers).

Rickie Fowler – J.J. Barea



Not the biggest guys out there or even the most talented, but they certainly are the flashiest.

Graeme McDowell – Dwyane Wade



They don’t always get talked about as much as those around them, but no one can take away that they have reached the top of the mountain.

Steve Williams – Chris Bosh



Have made a mark for themselves in their game, however, their ultimate task is to aid the brighter stars around them in getting to a championship level.

Bubba Watson – Jason Terry



No one around them will ever say they lack confidence, and what can I say… Chicks dig the long ball.

Luke Donald – Erik Spoelstra



Have spent a lot of time climbing the ladder and putting themselves at what seems like the top of their profession, to be taken seriously though, they need to take that next step.

Matt Kuchar – Brian Cardinal



A hairline joke would be too easy, not to mention cruel (and I don’t want or need that karma coming back to me). What I will say is that you have to admire how hard each of them works out there and they seem to be having fun doing it.

Tiger Woods – Kobe Bryant



Neither one of them make it to their sports biggest stage this year, and you have to ask yourself what it will take for them to get back to the top.

Lebron, a wise investment?

Take a look at the diagram below, it charts the fluctuations of Nike's stock from the start of the NBA Finals to it's closing today after the Miami Heat were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks and Lebron's quotes about people having to go back to their personal problems circulated throughout the world.



A couple of observations and we are only speculating here because we are in no trying to position ourselves as experts: the dip after the Heat's win in Game 1, could that have been attributed to the feeling then that Miami was going to walk through the Mavericks to the title and was fueled by the anti-Lebron sentiment? Also, it is hard to ignore the dips after Lebron's disappearing act in games 4 and 5.

One question to ponder, how does Lebron's marketing team and the gurus at Nike work to repair the damage done? America loves a comeback story, we've seen numerous other athletes fall, whether personally or professionally only to come back and be admired for it, however, with Lebron it is different. He had the chance to own up for his shortcomings last night and instead used his platform to essentially spit in the face of middle America i.e. the consumers his advertisers count on. He looked as lost in the post game press conference as he did out on the floor, deferring to Dwyane Wade to answer the tough questions. The fact is, and it's a scary and puzzling one for Nike and other Lebron sponsors, their spokesman has a serious image problem.

Another Reason Lebron James isn't Michael Jordan

If I am not mistaken Lebron James is one of the most visible athletes on the planet. Lebron has said he wants to reach billionaire status and has taken great steps in extending his marketing reach domestically and globally. Lebron, however could learn a lesson in advertising in that when you are the most notable spokesperson for Company A, let's call them Nike, it is usually not a good idea to be spotted with the logo of Company B, let's call them Adidas, who happens to be Company A's biggest competitor. I give you example A, where you will notice Company B's logo (circled in green) front and center on the T-Shirt Lebron James is wearing.

Now I understand Adidas may be the official apparel supplier of NBA gear, however, there are always ways to get around that, especially when what you are wearing is under your direct control. Michael Jordan was notorious for never allowing himself to be in this type of situation as he famously used the American flag to hide the Reebok logo on his U.S.A. warmups during the gold medal ceremony of the 1992 Olympics.

Lottery numbers from the world of sports

With tonight's mega millions jackpot currently residing at approximately $355 million, lottery fever has captured the nation. We were fortunate enough to obtain some of the lotter numbers from figures in the world of sports.

Lebron James
2-Second banana.
3-Don’t you dare call him anything but a small forward
4-Everything was good until Game 5 vs. Boston
23-He told everyone this number should be retired so he’s hoping to be the only one to play it.
56-The highest number you can choose in Mega Millions and the approximate number of bad nicknames Lebron is going to give himself.
?-Still trying to figure out what he should do.

Brett Favre
0-How much effort was required for his cameo in There’s Something about Mary.
2-The number of interceptions in NFC Championship Games Favre wishes he could have back.
4-Did you see the Deadspin photos?
18-Number of guy who will break most of his records.
46-Approximate number of days Favre will hold ESPN hostage waiting to make his retirement announcement.
8-Number of the greatest iron man in sports.

Rich Rodriguez
1 the number of plays made by the Michigan defense this season (2 point conversion against Illinois)
2-Rich Rod got 2 more seasons at Michigan than he would’ve gotten at Alabama for the same results.
11-Closest he ever came to Ohio State
24-How many hours a day he wishes he would have never left West Virginia.
48-Number of states he is welcome in after his last two coaching jobs.
50-That’s five oh, as in call the police if he were to take the Pitt job.


Jim Harbaugh
1-Number of questions he answered from Michelle Tafoya last night.
2-Number of seconds he thought about taking the Michigan job.
6-Number of picks the San Francisco 49ers would like to trade up in the draft.
7-Number of wins Stanford can expect next season.
8-Number of wins it would take for the 49ers to make the playoffs in the NFC west.
49-Number of points he will try and hang on Pete Carroll every time they meet.

Do with these what you will but if you happen to win playing any of these numbers tonight, how about a little cut for us?

Expanding Lebron James Vocabulary (a short list of other words Lebron James does not know the meaning of)

"That’s crazy, because I had no idea what the word ‘contraction’ meant before I saw it on the Internet,"


Those are the words of Lebron James, who showed a complete lack of sense, not to mention respect for his NBA peers, who happen to be locked in a fairly public (not everything concerning the NBA is about you Lebron) and ugly battle with the owners over the next collective bargaining agreement. And while union president Derek Fisher may say publicly Lebron's stance has not hurt their cause, he certainly couldn't be happy with the most public and talked about NBA player making comments that go along with what the owners want. Despite his designation as the "chosen one," Lebron has shown that he is not all-knowing in his NBA career, so we decided to give him a little vocabulary lesson to better help him on his way.

Championship-designation as champion.
Lebron James’ performance in the NBA playoffs has left him without a championship.

Persevere-To persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition or discouragement.
Following game 5 versus the Boston Celtics, Lebron James could have put forth more effort in his quest to bring the city of Cleveland a championship, however, he chose not to persevere.

Clarity-the quality or state of being clear.
Lebron James’ decision to announce his intention to sign with the Miami Heat on a nationally broadcast special showed a lack of clarity (as well as common sense).

Chorus-Something performed, sung, or uttered simultaneously or unanimously by a number of persons or animals.
In visiting arenas across the NBA, Lebron James hears a chorus of boos.

Outspoken-Spoken or expressed without reserve.
Since joining the Miami Heat, Lebron James has become outspoken, as evidenced by his comments on contraction in the NBA.

Between Two All Stars: Lebron James interviews crazy Florida Atlantic announcer Dave Lamont

New video mashup, Lebron James interviews Florida Atlantic announcer Dave Lamont in this Between Two Ferns parody.

Ohio Radio host hires witch doctor to curse Lebron James

The host of an Ohio radio program hired a witch doctor to curse former Cleveland Cavaliers player Lebron James.

The witch, Samhain and assistant witch Lady Magick used bones, blood, and James' Miami Heat jersey to place a hex on the star live on the air. Rover asked all Cleveland-area listeners of the show, which is based at 100.7 WMMS-FM, to simultaneously focus all their negative energy towards James during the ceremony.

"A broken leg, hand or other debilitating injury would be the best outcome," says Rover. "At the very least a sordid sexual misconduct accusation against LeBron would be alright I suppose."

LeBron James was widely criticized for the way in which he declared his departure from the Cavaliers, announcing it on a live television broadcast on ESPN titled The Decision.

"The city of Cleveland has been cursed for decades with losing sports franchises," notes Rover. "Now we're going on the offensive to curse others. It may not help our teams win, but it will sure make us feel better."


It'll be interesting to see how things play out tonight with Miami visiting Boston and Lebron already having to compete against the luck of the Irish.

Lebron James inspired David Stern

Sorry I missed his hater day on Twitter but Lebron James will be the death of the NBA. How else do you explain the latest actions from NBA Commissioner David Stern? First the report, that hewants to cut player salaries by a third, cutting $750-800 million in expenses from the owners. They all no doubt saw the act by Lebron James taking less money to chase a championship and said to themselves: if the most recognizable star in our league is willing to take less money then everyone else should be willing to fall in line. There is also the report that Stern is considering contraction. This was no doubt inspired by Lebron as well, as his idea of a super team has caught on, which has Stern questioning why should we even have a teams like the Raptors, Bobcats or Grizzlies if we only have 5-6 viable teams? It may have taken David Stern years to realize this, but Lebron James has shown him the light and ugly (or not so ugly, depending which side you are on) truth... that the smartest people in the league are not the guys signing the checks, but the ones cashing them.

Tracy McGrady = Lebron James

T-Mac is jealous of Miami’s Big Three and inconspicuously compares himself to Lebron James.

“I look at all the teams I've been on, and I never had a Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the same team. I'm jealous…”

Notice whose name McGrady left out?

T-Mac will always wonder what could’ve been in Orlando with Grant Hill and possibly Tim Duncan, but if I am Duncan, I am a little upset that I am being compared to Chris Bosh.

How NBA Free Agency really went down