As you probably know – particularly those of you who live in Cleveland, New York, Chicago, Miami and, uh, Newark -- the NBA’s free agent signing period officially began at midnight on Wednesday, with the sports and media worlds anxious to find out where LeBron James will sign.
ESPN -- which created an online mini-site dedicated to James ("The LeBron Tracker") replete with a clock counting down the hours before his free agency began – hosted a live special at midnight, as did local sports stations – including Cablevision-owned MSG -- in New York.
The media frenzy has reached a fever pitch in New York, where Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and new owner of the New Jersey Nets, enlisted the help of Jay-Z to help lure LeBron eastward.
On Wednesday, Team Prokhorov unveiled a large billboard overlooking Madison Square Garden (where the Knicks play) taunting Knicks owner and Cablevision chief James Dolan:
The Nets also overtook the New York Post homepage on Thursday (above, right), the same day Prokhorov, Jay-Z and Dolan were scheduled to meet with James in Ohio.
The Gotham tabloids – as you’d expect – went to town, with Dolan-owned Newsday and the Daily News running LeBron on the front page, and the New York Post taking the piss out of Dolan and Jigga on the back.
Bloomberg – the mayor, not the media company – already has an official New York City website (called “C’mon Lebron”) with media celebrities like Matt Lauer pitching in to coax King James to play in the Big Apple.
According to James’ camp, all of this sound and fury should end by Monday (July 5), when he says he’ll make a decision.
[Billboard image via the Village Voice]
