And he'll petition the rest of the league to do likewise:

"He can't get the logo, and if he can't, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I'm starting a petition, and I've got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."

[...]

"If you see 23, you think about Michael Jordan," James said. "You see game-winning shots, you think about Michael Jordan; you see guys fly through the air, you think about Michael Jordan; you see fly kicks, you think about Michael Jordan. He did so much, it has to be recognized, and not just by putting him in the Hall of Fame."

LeBron says he'll wear No. 6 in homage to Dr. J, the day of his first child's birth, the month of his second child's birth, his own Olympics jersey and the total number of people in America who do not yet own any LeBron James-related merchandise.

LeBron James planning to give up No. 23 out of respect for Michael Jordan, urges others to do same [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
LeBron James Plans to Change Number, Asks Others To Do Same For Michael Jordan [The Baseline]

•Bosh won a suit against a cybersquatter, and gained control of 800 domain names. On a related note, welcome to Boshspin.

•Our top story this morning: In a preseason loss to the Celtics, Chris Bosh led all scorers with 21 points in just 28 minutes. He also added four boards and three assists, and is clearly primed for an MVP-caliber season.

•In non-Chris Bosh news, Michael Vick reportedly declined an invitation to visit with eight of his former pit bulls. Good move. I know a trap when I see one.

•Stafon Johnson appeared healthy and smiling, but didn't speak at a press conference yesterday. He's a walking metaphor for the Trojans: looks good, but falls silent under the spotlight.

•On the eve of the NLCS, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is separating from his wife. California is a community state, so the former Mrs. McCourt is entitled to exactly half. She will receive two losses to the Phillies.

•Boise State squeaked past Tulsa, probably the team with the best chance at ending the Broncos' undefeated season. And when you read that, you realize just how relative it is and why the BCS is a joke.

•Well, fuck it, if he can't heal himself, how can he be the Chosen One? LeBron has the flu, and he and the team is being tested for H1N1.

•Want to know how the young season is going for the Maple Leafs? Their defensemen are headbutting in own goals:

•Despite MLB.com's merchandise on offer (thanks to reader Nathan for the screencap), the Twins won the right to get swept by the Yankees. If you want more details, I think Dash is still liveblogging the game.

•Shaq and LeBron looked good together in their first game, but call me after Shaq has 80 games on that odometer. And it's not a preseason game. Against the Bobcats.

•At least Miguel Cabrera's drinking led to a humorous police report in addition to what you've already read. In August, Cabrera "taunted an overweight 15-year-old boy" and had to be escorted out.

•A vendor died of a heart attack while servicing the coffeemaker in the Dodger Stadium press box yesterday, which can't bode well for the team. Or at least the media members who want coffee.

•It's Brett Favre news, but don't stop reading. The gunslinger was named the league's most overrated player in an unscientific poll of his peers.

•The Brooklyn Fishing Derby is being held this month, and it's a real thing. So that means the most likely catch, an empty can of StarKist, will not count.

•Courtesy of reader Jeffrey, we have a camerawoman getting a little too caught up in the excitement of the Twins' victory:

Club promoter Edward Givens filed a police report stating that he was given a black eye outside a Cleveland nightclub last night. The suspect's name was not given in the report, but Givens had no problem telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer that it was Edwards—and also that Givens' face was merely a proxy for Braylon's jealousy of mutual acquaintence LeBron.

Here's Givens' side of the story:

"After the club closed, I was outside greeting and saying goodbye to people. Braylon comes up and started saying things, degrading me. He said if it wasn't for LeBron or the Four Horsemen, I wouldn't have what I have, nor would I be able to get girls. Everyone knows Braylon has a problem with LeBron. So I had to speak up for myself. The conversation started to escalate. As some of his teammates started to pull him back, he punched me. I have a black eye and a cut. I'm not a violent guy.

"As long as I've known Braylon, I've allowed him and his friends to come into our events free of charge. Whatever jealousy he has with LeBron, he felt he needed to take it out on me."

Edwards—obviously amped up after his zero catch performance against the Bengals—then allegedly got involved in another disturbance that police had to break up, although it appears that he was not arrested for either incident. The whole story is a nice little capper to the Browns 0-4 start and Braylon's anti-LeBron violence can only further endear him to already swooning populace of northern Ohio. I believe that earlier in the evening he also sent a text to Bob Feller telling him to "get bent."

Cleveland man accuses Browns Braylon Edwards of assault [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

UPDATE: Lebron responds, calls Edwards "childish." [ESPN]

UPDATE 2: Braylon (maybe?) responds: "I have no issue with LeBron. I respect and admire him." [Twitter]

Yes, Mr. Bissinger has bravely decided that it's time to jump in the mud pit for some good ol' fashioned rapid-fire conversation with anonymous angry folk. Obviously, he truly believes in this book.

Chat starts at 3 p.m. Please be on your very best behavior and try to conduct yourselves with a certain level of decency. Do have fun, though.

This should be...enlightening.

Ninjas be watchin', yo.

•Jorge Posada? More like Jorge Pissedoffa, amirite? The Yanks' catcher sparks a bench-clearing brawl with the Blue Jays. Pitcher Jesse Carlson suffered a pretty nasty head wound, making this the worst day of casualties in the history of Canadian wars.

•Bills scapegoat Leodis McKelvin woke up to find painted on his lawn: "learn to take a knee, [obscenity]" As of press time it was still there, since while trying to bring the paint thinner out from the garage, he dropped it.

•They say pitchers are never the same after they come back from shoulder fatigue. In the case of Dice-K, they're right; he looked nothing like the pitcher he was before the injury. He was actually good.

•Was Kim Clijsters cheating by having that baby? Studies show that mothers have higher pain thresholds, and better oxygen flow to the muscles. It's one competitive advantage Caster Semenya will never have.

•Roger Goodell says two Saints won't be suspended as long as the courts are still considering the cases of the Vikings who tested positive for the same banned substance. So, NFLers, now's the time to take whatever you want, and not get punished it. Kind of like always.

•Golden State's Stephen Jackson was fined $25,000 by the league for saying he'd like to be traded to Cleveland, New York, or one of the Texas teams. That's the standard $15k fine for publicly wishing to be traded, and $10k for actually wanting to go to the Knicks.

•Finally, Jon Stewart attempts to lure LeBron James to New York with the promise of Shake Shack. Well, the custard is just as likely to pass him the ball as Nate Robinson.

•Halfway through a wholly unexciting opening night, Troy Polamalu sprained his MCL and could miss 3-to-6 weeks. Steeler fans' humility, however, is listed as doubtful and is expected to report to your office this morning to brag about the game.

•The lawyer for Ben Roethlisberger's accuser says he could ask for a list of all of Big Ben's sexual partners. If just one native Pittsburgh girl is on that list, I'll lose all respect for him.

•Would it shock you to learn that Manny Ramirez has no recollection of ever playing with Jim Thome, his teammate of eight seasons? Well, prepare to be not shocked.

•The Daily News passes along the rumor that Cablevision will offer LeBron James his own TV channel if he joins the Knicks. I know I've used the buddy-cop-show joke before, but I would pay good money to see him fight crime with Darko.

•Two missed practices, and Richard Seymour is nowhere in sight. Still, this is Oakland, so maybe he was just carjacked.

•A judge has raised the possibility that neither Jim Balsillie nor the league will be allowed to purchase the Coyotes. A suggestion: disgraced Predators owner Boots Del Biaggio, in lieu of jail time, be sentenced to buy the Coyotes.

•Maya Angelou gives her predictions for the NFL season, in poem! Obviously it's not really her. But it's a sight better than Gregg Easterbrook's horrible haikus.

•Finally, though my feelings on poker can be summed up as "not a sport," this is the most amazing read you'll ever see:

The visualization of the inside of Sarah Palin's mind: "Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're naïve if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory." This is what that looks like.

Matthew Stafford, No. 1 pick extraordinaire, sure is having fun on his summer break.

Hey, more Detroit Lions! Who wants to re-live 16 losses in a row? Someone!

Before we witnessed the letdown of LeBrondunkgate, we were led to believe that the throwdown was "as good as it could've been hyped up to be." Insert Zapruder witticism here.

And then TMZ pays $3,000 for the tape before we put out a $10k bounty. Thanks for saving us some cash.

In a meltdown of epic proportions — even for Mad Dog's standards — Christopher Russo admits he needs to find a staff of little Mad Dogs, not little Bow-Wows: "We are the Washington Nationals. Check that: We are the Washington Generals." If only they knew something about the cast of Gone With The Wind.

How athletes are spending their summer vacations: the gallery version. This, folks, is intrepid journalism.

A woman files a civil suit against Ben Roethlisberger, alleging that he sexually assaulted her. ESPN sits on the story for 36 hours.

On July 4, Steve McNair is found shot to death in a Nashville apartment.

If you're reading this, you already know.

But then, LeBron James is kingly, and we know how people react around royalty. They try to auction off eight scrapbooks stuffed with keepsakes from his high school career: laminated newspaper clippings, e-mails to the Akron Beacon Journal begging for more King James coverage, scraggly joints from a local hotel room.

A quarter of a million buckaroos does sound like some serious cash, especially in this economy, especially for a set of scrapbooks. Even the auctioneer understands. Trust him. This is a collectible for the grandchildren. After all, they won't know what a newspaper looks like.

ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION. "IF ONE OF THESE EXISTED COVERING MICHAEL JORDAN, BILL RUSSEL, LARRY BIRD, OR KAREEM JABBAR, WHAT WOULD IT BE WORTH?"

Fair point, but it's also worth it for the soon-to-be owner to secure some insurance on the scrapbooks while he's at it. You never know when one of LeBron's handlers will try to confiscate them.

8 LEBRON JAMES SCRAPBOOKS VERY UNIQUE COLLECTION [eBay]
Fan selling eight LeBron James scrapbooks for $250K [Steady Burn]

And, awesomely, Buzz Bissinger is involved. Reports the Associated Press:

LeBron James struggled with sudden fame after appearing on Sports Illustrated's cover as a 17-year-old and admits he smoked marijuana during his junior year in high school.

In "Shooting Stars," written by James and co-author Buzz Bissinger, James said the SI cover and the media attention he and his high school teammates received was difficult to handle.

"We had become big-headed jerks, me in particular," James said, "and we are to blame for that, but so are adults who treated us that way and then sat back and smugly watched the self-destruction."

James also revealed he and his teammates smoked marijuana one night after getting access to a hotel room in Akron.

It's a little parable, you see. He "struggled" with fame and as a result indulged in a harmless and all but legal drug that has been used by roughly a hundred million Americans. It'd be like saying LeBron struggled with fame and as a result indulged in a bacon cheeseburger, except that bacon cheeseburgers are not actually harmless. This is not a story. This wouldn't be a story if LeBron rolled a joint as big as a horse's leg and smoked all of Humboldt County out of business. Yet somehow this is deemed newsworthy, not just by the Associated Press, but by an organization so allegedly holy that it won't cover a woman's rape accusations against a famous NFL quarterback. This is yet more wincingly stupid news judgment, and once again we're all witnesses.

James admits pot use in book [ESPN]

Turns out eBaum merely found an entrepreneurial videographer with a steadier hand. In an e-mail, Mike Parker, who works in the content department at eBaum, writes:

We did purchase the video, for an undisclosed amount, from a local cameraman who travels to different basketball camps across the country. The deal has been in the works for a week or 2 now, and with the TMZ announcement we obviously wanted to seal the deal ASAP.

He adds that TMZ was tipped that eBaum had a copy, too, which probably explains why TMZ's much-hyped 6:45 p.m. screening was bumped up a few hours, despite its original excitably punctuated announcement.

Jordan Crawford Dunks On LeBron James [eBaum Nation]

It's unclear how many other places the entrepreneurial dunk-peddler went with this thing or how much he sold it for, and no one seems to have any idea who this Zapruder might be. Ryan Miller, one of two cameramen who got frisked by Nike, tells us in an e-mail that this must've been the work of a third videographer, filming somewhere from the stands or the track above the court.

But here's something fun: ESPN was offered the tape — also for a price — but passed. That doesn't mean they didn't view it. And, according to one individual who saw the video, once it airs tonight and begins making its way around the web, smudged with the ugly TMZ watermark, it's going to, in this person's words, "make LeBron look even more of a bitch." Not because he gets posterized, but because how Lebron was actually "dunked on" was so surprisingly lame. All the tape shows is that LeBron was somewhat lazy about filling the lane before Xavier's Jordan Crawford authoritatively threw it down. That's it. And yet LeBron felt the need to sic his shoe company on the cameramen anyway.

But this doesn't mean it's still not required viewing, in the same way other much-talked about, infamous tapes pique our interest enough to become obsessions. You know, just like that little boy ghost in Three Men And A Baby. What did you think I was talking about?

Now — another wrinkle. When I first received word yesterday that the tape was being shopped around, Lord Denton, in all his checkbook journalismy wisdom, suggested I "put out a bounty on it." You may recall he did a similar thing back in Jezebel's training bra days. His suggested offer? $10,000. (When I was explaining to him why this would be a wise investment, I first had to spend one minute explain to him that, no, LeBron getting dunked on has nothing to do with him getting doused with water. He loves sports!) This was the original title of this post: "My Gay British Boss Will Pay $10k To See Black Man Get Embarrassed." Maybe next time.

Also, TMZ's Harvey Levin just went on the Dan Patrick Show and wouldn't reveal how much he paid for it, but let's put the figure somewhere between our hypothetical $10,000 and the $50,000 BetUS supposedly offered last week. And once the tape airs tonight, remember, the hype is bigger than the dunk. But I still would have used Denton's money to buy it.

The Video LeBron Never Wanted You to See!!! [TMZ]

Remember that it was Kobe who alerted Dwyane Wade to the dunk and who encouraged him to "give [LeBron] stuff about this." And now here, via The Baseline, is video of Kobe at his own camp, saying:

I'll tell you one thing: You ain't dunking on me in my camp.

To which the campers responded with a loud, sustained, "Ooooh." Look at what you've gone and done, Nike. You've made LeBron look like a glowering corporate pout, and you've allowed Kobe — work-doin', self-mythologizin' Kobe Bryant — to pretend to be some puckish blithe spirit, which he most definitely isn't. Lame. Of course, it should also be noted that Kobe was speaking to what appears to be a gym full of 14-year-olds, who, let's be honest, probably haven't dunked on anything not made by Nerf.

Video: Kobe "You Ain't Dunkin' On Me At My Camp" [You Been Blinded]
Kobe Weighs in on LeBron's Missing Dunk [The Baseline]
Kobe Leads 'Free Jordan Crawford' Charge Against LeBron [FanHouse]

4chan, helpfully described as "the asshole of the Internet," also has some boards that don't traffic in furry porn and Raptor Jesus. Specifically, /sp/ their sports board. The lovable scamps discovered that Nike has live customer support chat. What follows are selected unedited transcripts. If only Mumia had such devoted supporters.

Ann: Hi, my name is Ann. How may I help you?
Joy Cotlor: Hi Ann...LeBaron James is my favorite athlete, so that's why I only buy Nike
Joy Cotlor: I've been looking for Lebron video that happened this week
Joy Cotlor: But someone said Nike took all the copies
Joy Cotlor: Do you know anything about it
Joy Cotlor: ?
Ann: Hi Joy
Ann: The Lebron video!
Ann: I have been hearing about that video!
Joy Cotlor: You know the one I mean ;)
Ann: I will check and see what is happening with that
Joy Cotlor: I bet they show it to all you employees
Joy Cotlor: and threaten to break your thumbs if you leak it
Joy Cotlor: BUt at least tell me about it! Did Lebron cry?
Ann: I wonder what happened?
Ann: I am checking
Ann: I don't actually know what Lebron's reaction was
Joy Cotlor: Guess!
Ann: Nike is very interested in any comments you might have about this event!
Joy Cotlor: Will you drop him as your spokesman since he got dunked on?
Joy Cotlor: It's kind of lame - I think I like Chris Mihm better now
Ann: I can forward that to our Nike Team!
Joy Cotlor: Awesome
Ann: And thank you for taking the time to tell us about your reaction
Ann: Are you satisfied with the resolution I've provided today?
Joy Cotlor: Oh yes very
Ann: You prefer Chris Mihm?
Joy Cotlor: Tell LEBron I am unsatisfied with his defense in the paint
Joy Cotlor: Chris Mihm doesn't get dunked on by high schoolers
Joy Cotlor: Ok Ann thanks for all your help
Ann: I will forward that as well

...

Shane: Hi, my name is Shane. How may I help you?
Chris Pablo: Hey shane.
Chris Pablo: release the tape :D
Shane: Hello!
Chris Pablo: ya?
Chris Pablo: Come on :D
Shane: Let me see what I can do.
Chris Pablo: :D
Chris Pablo: You rock Shane :D
Chris Pablo: ._. waiting patiently....
Shane: Well, I've looked through all of my resources to see that I can do. At this point in time all I can do is to put this into feedback for you.
Chris Pablo: Feed back of the video of lebron in mpg format?
Chris Pablo: maybe? :D
Shane: Hah, I'm afraid it isn't that kind of feedback.
Chris Pablo: How about for a cool twenty?
Chris Pablo: :D

...

ablo Chris: We meet again shane... the video... gimme nao.. :3
Shane: Hello, Pablo what can I do for you today?
Pablo Chris: Seriously. You don't remember me.... the cool twenty?
Shane: Ha, Yes sir I remember. What can I do for you today?
Pablo Chris:dont play games with me boi.... the vid...nao.....
Pablo Chris: The lebron vid nao....
Pablo Chris: Do not ingore me shane..... D:
Shane: Im sorry, as I said before, we will leave the apporiate feedback in your email.
Pablo Chris: Shane!@ shane listen to me! your better than that! get the vid! dont talk like one of them! your not! even thou you want to be ur not!
Pablo Chris: SHANE!
Pable Chris: ANSWER ME DAMIT!
Shane has disconnected

...

Bonnie: Hi, my name is Bonnie. How may I help you?
Phillip McDillington: Oh hi Bonnie
Phillip McDillington: My friend was talking to me, about this LeBron James video
Phillip McDillington: anyways
Phillip McDillington: he said if I talked to one of you guys
Phillip McDillington: I could see it
Phillip McDillington: and at first
Phillip McDillington: I was like, that's stupid
Phillip McDillington: because, I don't like basketball
Phillip McDillington: but then
Phillip McDillington: he mentioned something about porn or something
Phillip McDillington: and that kind of peaked my interest
Phillip McDillington: and I was like
Phillip McDillington: where do I get this video
Phillip McDillington: because Im not gay
Phillip McDillington: but seeing LeBron James without a shirt off
Phillip McDillington: I would like, celebrate like he did against orlando
Phillip McDillington: where he was like screaming and cheering and shit
Phillip McDillington: I imagine that's how he climaxes
Phillip McDillington: anyways
Phillip McDillington: can I get said video?
Phillip McDillington: and what do you know about it?
Bonnie: Hi Phillip, that video has been removed, we cannot get it or market it and that is all that I know about it.
Phillip McDillington: Seriously?
Phillip McDillington: It has been removed?
Phillip McDillington: So it was up at one point?
Phillip McDillington: So can you like search your site history and like look for it again?
Phillip McDillington: Because thats what I do when I like go find something and then like forget where I found it
Bonnie: I hope you satisfied with the service I've provided today.
Bonnie has disconnected.

...

Shane: Hi, my name is Shane. How may I help you?
Richard Corbeau: Is Bonnie around? I need to speak to Bonnie
Richard Corbeau: It's IMPERATIVE I speak to Bonnie!
Richard Corbeau: WHERE'S BONNIE?!
Shane: Let me see if she is available.
Richard Corbeau: WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER, YOU CREEP?! OH GOD, THE BLOOD
Richard Corbeau: thanks :3

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer got a statement (and then went out of his way to leap chivalrously to LeBron's defense):

"Nike has been operating basketball camps for the benefit of young athletes for decades and has longstanding policies in place regarding what events are open and closed to media coverage," Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins said.

"Unfortunately, for the first time in four years, two journalists did not respect our 'no videotaping' policy at an after-hours pick-up game Monday evening following the LeBron James Skills Academy."

This runs counter to everything freelance videographer Ryan Miller said yesterday. On a Syracuse.com blog, Miller provides a PDF of the camp's media policy (which doesn't mention any special restrictions on videotaping) and notes that the pickup game was not, in fact, after hours:

It was during the regularly scheduled "College Workout #3" portion of the LeBron James Skills Academy. That session ran from 8:30-10:15 on Monday night and the filming took place during that designated time slot.

So now we've apparently come to the fun stage of the story where the corporate factotum starts fibbing like mad, and the newspaper dudes condescend to the whole Internet. Awesome. And all we ever wanted was a grainy YouTube clip of the best basketball player in the world being turned momentarily into Shawn Bradley. We'll never get that now, but here, at least, is Jordan Crawford — suddenly the most famous baller in Xavier history, though he's yet to play a minute for the Musketeers — bearing witness:

I came down the middle. He just happened to be there. ... I was geeked about it, more than anything, just because it's LeBron.

Video of the interview below:

Nike officials claim media rules prompted confiscation of video of college player's pickup-game slam over LeBron James [Plain Dealer]
Ryan Miller's response to Nike's LeBron James Skills Academy statement [Syracuse.com]
EARLIER:
The Dunk Was "As Good As It Could've Been Hyped Up To Be"
LeBron Gets Dunked On; None Of Us Are Witnesses

PHOTOSHOP: Submitted by commenter XavierMusketeer