Remember Tracy Morgan‘s recent anti-gay tirade/joke where he basically said, “I will kill my own child if he’s gay?” After the public got wind of it, he had to come back and apologize, then his bosses bashed him so Morgan said sorry again and then others started going after him so he had to talk about his childhood and apologize again. That’s LeBron right now. They are both backpedaling, struggling to contain the public’s anger. First, it was the congratulatory message for Dallas on his website. Then, he tried to explain his “My life is great…yours sucks” comments. Do you believe in his sincerity? … Not since 1998 has the NBA been so wide open going into the summer. That year, Jordan retired, the Bulls were broken up, some of the West’s best teams (Utah, Houston, Seattle) were on their last wheels and no one was really sure what would happen next. Ironically, they also battled a 32-game lockout. As the season finally ends, we find the game in a similar state now. We broke out the question on DimeMag.com yesterday: who do you think the best player in the league is? It was LeBron before he went Em in his first 8 Mile battle on us in the Finals. Now there are a legitimate 10 guys who can make the case next year. Our early favorite for MVP? We’d say Dwight Howard (he’s due), but when you’re relying on Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu and Quentin Richardson (they combine to bring your potential winning percentage down by like .200 points), you shouldn’t count on anything. They will probably keep Superchild from the award again … The best way to cut into NBA offseason mode? We’ve got summer blueprints for the two finalists: Dallas and Miami. Samuel Dalembert is already being linked as a possibility in Miami … 250,000 are expected for the Mavs parade tomorrow. The last few years have seen some wild parade moments from the likes of Ron Artest and Glen Davis. But that could all be topped by what Abe Lincoln, Mark Cuban (who won’t let go of the Larry O’Brien even as he go to the bathroom) and the unintentional comedy of Brian Cardinal could provide … And after Cuban (is there ANY limit on the amount of money he spends in the next two weeks? Not like it matters to him) proclaimed he was ready to go beyond just championship “rings,” the rest of the Mavs joked that he needed to settle down. Rings are enough. No one needs planes, or even necklaces. DeShawn Stevenson probably wants a grill anyways … According to reports, a former associate of Shaquille O’Neal was beaten and robbed in 2008 by a group of seven assailants in an effort to secure a sex tape featuring Shaq. Supposedly, the man (Robert Ross) used to be friendly with O’Neal and the two had a falling out over a business problem (Ross says he was cut out of a deal). Ross says Shaq knew about the tape’s existence before the group confronted Ross, beat him and robbed him of jewelry, money, etc. He says the tape showed Shaq having sex with other women while he was married to his former wife, Shaunie … Need some advice on fantasy players to avoid and others to bet the house on? The Fantasy Doctor is back and has you covered … Sadly, Robert Horry‘s 17-year-old daughter passed away yesterday after dealing with a number of respiratory problems. RIP … We’re out like Cuban’s bank statements.
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