LeBron makes event of his signing

By Jeff

This blog had a post a few weeks ago about how LeBron James is the biggest free agent in the history of sports. Never before has the sports world followed a free agent's every move in the offseason to see where he would sign. We certainly never had to read stories about how the athlete was dressed and what car he was driving when he went to his meeting.

LeBron changed all that, and he's not done yet.

According to ESPN.com , LeBron announced that he will make his decision during a 1-hour special Thursday night at 9 on ESPN.

That's right. A 1-hour special. Not just a press conference. Not a statement to the press or his website. LeBron is at such a different level, he can call up ESPN and say "Let's have a 1-hour special revolved around where I'm going," and they gladly complied.

Before I go into how ridiculous this is, it's only fair to point out LeBron suggested that all the sponsorships sold for the special would go to the Boys and Girls Club of America. That is great. The special will bring in huge ratings, which will demand higher ad rates. So not only will the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls or Cleveland Cavs win Thursday night, the Boys and Girls Club of America wins too. Tiger Woods' PR people might want to take a page out of LeBron's book the next time they have a major announcement.

Back to the actual event. What the heck is ESPN going to do for the full hour? Did LeBron just propose the idea and tell ESPN they had to fill the other 55 minutes of programming leading up to King James making his selection? Will it just be a 55-minute lovefest dedicated to the most recognizable athlete in the world not named Tiger?

While I love that the Boys and Girls Club of America is going to come away with a nice donation, I can't help but think it was added in there so LeBron doesn't look like a complete attention whore. He already refers to himself in the third person and calls himself King James, despite not having won a championship. Having a television special dedicated to him just appears like he is stroking his out of this world ego a little more. By proposing the sponsorship money go to a charity looks like he is trying to justify the spectacle. But how can you criticize or make fun of someone supporting a charity? Once again, it's a great job by the LeBron PR staff.

Now the big question. Where does LeBron sign? No one knows. ESPN analysts have been making predictions all year, providing percentages of what teams have the best chances, blah, blah, blah. But truth is, they don't have any better idea than you or me.

Mike and Mike actually made an interesting observation on ESPN radio this morning. They said if he has the event at his home or in Ohio, then he's probably staying. It makes sense. How can he hold a 1-hour special like this in his hometown, and then conclude it with leaving for another place?

But it's LeBron James! He's already shown he does or says whatever he wants. People of Cleveland and Ohio might cry as their city and state dies, but what are they going to do. By the end of LeBron's career he could probably buy Ohio and name it King James's Domain.

So once again, no one has a clue what he's going to do and we'll just have to tune in and find out. Exactly how LeBron and his team planned it.

BB King and Eric Clapton - Riding With The King