State attorney: Vick in confrontation before shooting

Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Michael Vick(notes) was involved in a confrontation prior to shots being fired at his 30th birthday party, Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey L. Bryant told WAVY.


"The investigation shows he was not physically present when the shooting took place," Bryant said today. "There were some confrontations between individuals and between groups and Michael Vick was involved in one of those confrontations. A confrontation that involved shouting, words passing, some bumping."


Bryant said that Vick had to be restrained, getting back in his limousine before confronting an unidentified individual.


"In terms of just using good judgment, at one point, he got in the limousine, and should have left at that point," Bryant said. "He got out of the limousine, and with the help of several friends, he was returned to to the limousine and left.


Quanis Phillips, a Vick associate in his federal dogfighting conviction, was shot at Vick's birthday party.


However, police aren't pursuing charges at this point because of Phillips and witnesses' lack of cooperation.


Police have announced that they know who was the triggerman, addding that VIck is not a suspect in the shooting.


Will this new information change the Eagles' stance about standing behind Vick?


Hard to say, but it wouldn't seem to rise to the level that the team would cut him

Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade agree to terms with Miami

As reported by ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have agreed to play in Miami. Details of the arrangement are extremely limited, and it is not yet known whether Bosh will come to Miami outright or through a sign-and-trade, which would free up more cap room for the Heat; but it seems extremely likely both will be getting the maximum contract allowable.



Regardless, Riley is a smart GM, and will likely fill out the rest of the roster well. The Miami Heat may well end up your 2011 Eastern Conference Champions - though anything may happen.

There is a possiblity, particularly if Bosh comes on a sign-and-trade, that LeBron shall join the duo, but for reasons already well-covered both here and elsewhere, that seems unlikely.

Of course, nothing is official until July 8th, but Broussard and ESPN seem fairly certain of their sources, certain enough to place the story on the front page of ESPN.com. Also, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, perhaps the most credible and reliable journalist on any of the Majors, is reporting the same thing, as well as discussing the possbility of the All-Star Triumvirate.



How the Miami Heat fill out the rest of their roster will be critical in determining whether they are true championship contenders or simply a pretty team on paper. They shall need a blend of solid role players comprised of defenders, shooters and slashers, as well as veteran, championship-proven leadership and an infusion of young blood.

Re-signing Haslem is a must if Miami have indeed agreed to a sign-and-trade for Bosh. If Bosh comes outright, keeping Haslem is harder to justify because Miami already have two power forwards in Bosh and Michael Beasley, but his veteran presence, championship experience, work ethic and leadership abilities make it hard to see him being let go.

A true center is also a must, preferably a defensive stalwart. On that count, Brendan Haywood may be Miami's best bet. He possesses size, is a good defender, not overly expensive, is serviceable on offense and blocks shots. He is a veteran, but not too old at 31. He's also not likely to command more than $5-6 million a year. Shooters are also necessary, in which aspect players such as Anthony Morrow and Mike Miller may be desirable. Miami would do well to sign one of the two. Other than that, retaining Dorrell Wright as a shooter and defensive specialist also sounds like a smart move to make.

That would leave Miami's only true need at point guard, a position where not many good prospects are available in the Free Agent market. Raymond Felton would likely be their best choice at this position, though they may instead make a run for Derek Fisher. Chances of them signing Fisher are unlikely, unless Buss truly decides he does not want to pay Fisher any more.

Whether or not Miami can manage all of that with the 10-15 million dollars of cap space (more if Bosh comes in a sign-and-trade) they have left is debatable, but the fact remains that if Miami can put together a good supporting cast, resembling the one suggested above, they should be championship contenders, with their main threat being either a revitalised Magic or a LeBron-to-Chicago scenario.

Now, with Amare's max deal with New York, Joe Johnson's max deal with Atlanta, and Pierce and Dirk re-signing with their respective teams, LeBron James is the only major free agent yet to decide upon a destination, therefore granting him the attention he always craved. He's scheduled to announce his decision on an ESPN special on Thursday night, once again according to Broussard.

Having Wade and Bosh secured changes the free agent landscape dramatically for the only major FA left. I don't claim to be a prophet, I profess I have no idea where LeBron shall sign - however, now I believe that where he signs will define him. If his primary goal is to win as much as possible, I believe he will sign with the Chicago Bulls; if loyalty is what drives him he shall stay in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform; and if he's primarily after fame he'll pick either the New York Knicks or the New Jersey Nets (Knicks would seem to be more hype, Nets have a better chance of winning). I don't see him going to Miami to make a video game roster as a possibility.

Nonetheless, Miami made the first major move involving the 'Big Three' free agents, wrapping up two of them in one sweep. Now there's nothing for the rest of the NBA to do except sit and wait for LeBron to make his decision.

Meanwhile, the Lakers sit and watch from afar, doubtless amused at the shenanigans other teams are going to to draw free agents, to try and get to the position where Los Angeles is now, and has been for the last two seasons. Champions

State of LeBron: Live at 9, from his ego

The Championship of Me comes crashing into a primetime cable infomercial that LeBron James(notes) and his cronies have been working to make happen for months, a slow, cynical churning of manufactured drama that sports has never witnessed. As historic monuments go, this is the Rushmore of basketball hubris and narcissism. The vacuous star for our vacuous times. All about ‘Bron and all about nothing.

James is throwing a few foosball tables at Boys & Girls Clubs, an empty gesture out of the empty superstar. He’s turned free agency into the title of our times, a preening pageant of fawning, begging and pleading. Hard-working people are dragged into municipalities and told to hold signs, chant scripted slogans and beg a diva who doesn’t care about them to accept a $100 million contract

Privately, Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) weren’t pleased on Wednesday morning with the belief that James’ camp was responsible for leaking their plans to a television partner, but then again it makes perfect sense: This isn’t about Wade and Bosh choosing the Heat. It’s about LeBron getting the stage to himself on Thursday night.

One front-office executive whose team made a presentation to LeBron James told Yahoo! Sports that he believes James is choosing between Miami and Cleveland. And yet, if James wants to deliver the biggest kick in the gut to his hometown, he’ll pick the flat-lined New York Knicks. Whatever the decision, he’s made clear that the teasing and tormenting of the loser isn’t his concern.

Team LeBron is having the time of its life, but has no idea the repercussions of what it’s done here. All that comes to James now is the biggest burden to win a championship that sports has ever seen. They aren’t making James a bigger star with this big-top, but a bigger target. All those teams that marched into the presentations and listened to some of the foolish and naive questions asked of them believed these kids had no idea what they were doing, or what they had gotten themselves into. They’re all feeling more validated every day. From beginning to end, this process has been a farce.


[Photos: See images of the coveted NBA superstar]



On James’ new website, under the headline dubbing this TV debacle “The Decision,” there come these words: “Maverick Carter, CEO of LRMR Marketing said…” This explains everything. Carter’s marketing company isn’t doing so well trying to get its one client Jonny Flynn(notes) a used-car dealership endorsement in the Twin Cities, and now Carter’s going to try to justify all that plush office space, staff attorneys, private planes and resort hotels by translating the Championship of Me into the making of his reputation.

Carter’s pushed one agent – Aaron Goodwin – and one advisor – William Wesley – aside because he wanted to be the voice in James’ ear and the one getting credit on the masthead. So far, Carter’s been a superstar at spending James’ money on LRMR, but now he’s getting the company name out there and turning LeBron into Mr. July after LeBron didn’t have the stomach to be Mr. June.


Team LeBron had discussed a documentary on the free-agent process, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but the narrative changed after James’ Game 5 meltdown in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Carter says there was never a plan for a free-agent tour, but this is what he means: There was never a plan for James to get held accountable, to have his motivations and priorities called into doubt. There was never a plan for the blame to shift from Danny Ferry, Mike Brown and his Cavaliers teammates. There was never a plan that real-world rules applied to the self-proclaimed King.

They scrapped the tour, the documentary and set sights on hijacking the network for an unprecedented special they believe will elevate James’ brand. Only, James has never looked smaller, never more insecure and unsure of who he is and what he wants to be. He won’t look so much like Kobe Bryant(notes) and David Beckham, but rather a three-star linebacker from Shaker Heights picking Bowling Green over Kent and Ohio U. on local access television.

Team LeBron has known all along it was going to do this, and the cushy, protective relationship with that television network culminates with a basketball player commandeering his own coverage on his own terms. Now James and his buddies spoon out misdirection plays on his possible destination – feeding everyone for days and weeks that the Knicks were dead, only to say now, “Well…who knows?” – to build back drama for the infomercial.

This is some plan they’ve hatched and some game they’re playing with those Cleveland fans who’ve been so relentlessly loyal to James. First, he marched the biggest suitors in the sport to come court him in downtown Cleveland with those pointless presentations. He wanted those people out there creating a visual public push-and-pull for him, and because James needed to be told something that probably isn’t completely true anymore: Cleveland loves him.

Well, Cleveland craves him. Love is a strong word, and it ought to be unconditional, but loving a sports hero is the most conditional kind of love there is. Only, it was different with Cleveland. He’s one of them, but you still have to wonder: Are they one of him?

James never shared that town’s angst with the Browns and Indians. He wanted winners in his life, and rooted for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees. He doesn’t feel the pain of a city’s broken heart. Shaquille O’Neal(notes) leaving the Orlando Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers 14 years ago was a hard hit, but LeBron bailing on Cleveland is far more devastating on a different level.

Everyone ridicules Cleveland, makes it a butt of jokes, but LeBron James has the chance to change all of that. And even then, it has to crush Cleveland’s sporting psyche that James could still walk out. If one of our own won’t stay, what does that say to the rest of the country?


That’s the hardest part here, and that makes the possibility that James would go on national television – with those split-screen shots of stunned fans in Akron and Cleveland – and completely crush those people so impossible to believe. He couldn’t be that cold, that callous, that cunning? Or perhaps, maybe this is all a rollout – the website, the Twitter page and the infomercial – to introduce a new LeBron, a new city, to the world.

Whatever happens, James and the television network will hide behind some money going to the Boys & Girls Clubs. But this isn’t about kids and sports, and it sure isn’t about the credibility that comes with winning championships. Something’s changed here, and LeBron James has gone a long way to devaluing winning and losing in the NBA. David Stern has long pushed the individual over team, marketed showy over substance, and LeBron James represents the manifestation of it all.


Greatest talent to ever walk into this league, the self-proclaimed King, and now everyone gets a front-row, primetime seat for how it means to live without self-awareness, without restraint. The vacuous star for our vacuous times, live on Thursday night and fitting himself for a ring as the undisputed Championship of Me. All about ‘Bron and all about nothing.

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