ESPN.com has a rather interesting excerpt from the book “The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” which chronicles the story of the highest-anticipated NBA draft pick of all time.
The above link points to a chapter on the bidding war between shoe companies for the right to claim LeBron James as their spokesman. The eventual result - a $100 million contract negotiated the night before the NBA draft - catapulted the 18-year-old James from a star to a superstar and raised an avalanche of questions about the sanity of promising a nine-figure endorsement sum to a kid just out of high school.
If you’ve got the time, it’s definitely a good read. It’s mind-boggling to think about guaranteeing that much money to an unproven talent, but apparently Phil Knight has testicles the size of mine, which are in turn the size of baby hippos. About the same shape and texture, too.
For what it’s worth, I’m also half-Centaur. Which half? I’ll never tell.
The defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers struggled mightily at home in their season opener against Dallas, losing 92-74 on just 28-77 (.364) shooting. James, the charismatic leader of the Cavs, finished with 10 points, all in the second half, and turned the ball over five times.
The AP report also notes,
James arrived in costume a few hours before the game, appropriately dressed as “Business LeBron,” one of the four characters he plays in his popular Nike commercials
That’s his problem right there. He “dressed up” for Halloween in a suit and tie, as opposed to his usual pre-game attire of a different suit and tie. He’s like that lazy guy at Halloween college keg parties who just wears normal clothes while everyone else has elaborate costumes on. If you ask him what his costume is, he’ll say “I’m a drunk college student!” and then laugh like he’s being clever while you think of ways to discreetly urinate in his beer.
Well, drunk college guy, guess what? Your Tevas and digital watch aren’t impressing anyone, so you probably should’ve dressed up. Look at me, I’m a pirate sumo wrestler and I’ve got girls hanging all over me. You can’t talk to a slutty nurse, slutty schoolteacher, or slutty girl-suffering-from-Irritable-Bowel-SyndomeDon’t ask at a Halloween party unless you’ve got a badass costume like mine. Also I’m super-handsome and rich and funny, did I mention that?
^ God bless Halloween and girls with low self-esteem.
