HoopsHype.com Rumors

The NBA Board of Governors is poised to approve the sale of the New Orleans Hornets to Saints owner Tom Benson for $338 million, sources familiar with the transaction said Friday. The league's owners and their representatives were meeting at the St. Regis Hotel and still have to vote in the affirmative for Benson to assume control of the franchise, but at this point there isn't expected to be any roadblocks standing in the way of a positive vote. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, David Stern, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson 

Sources said the NBA, which acquired the Hornets in December 2010 from founding owner George Shinn to prevent Shinn from selling to an investor who planned to move the franchise out of New Orleans, confirmed the purchase prices. The league paid about $318 million for the Hornets, then contributed additional capital into the last 16 months, reportedly in the neighborhood of $18 million. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, David Stern, George Shinn, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson 

The league chose Benson, who will be purchasing the team by himself, over a group of investors including businessman Raj Bhathal and former NBA head coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy, and former minority owner Gary Chouest, who had tried unsuccessfully to buy the team from majority owner George Shinn three years ago. The Bhathal group also included Larry Benson, Tom Benson’s younger brother. NBA.com

New Orleans Hornets, Mike Dunleavy, David Stern, George Shinn, Gary Chouest, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Raj Bhathal, Tom Benson 

Kevin Ding: Kobe watched Tebow today: "The guy wins. If he was an a------, he'd tell everyone to kiss his ass." Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, NFL, Tim Tebow 

During timeouts, the arena entertainment department cut to live action of today’s AFC Wild Card match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos. A diehard Steelers fan, Tyreke Evans wasn’t pleased to watch the black and yellow go down at the hands of Tim Tebow. ”I seen it on the screen, I was a little upset,” Evans said postgame with grin, simultaneously shaking his head. ”Man, Tebow, [expletive].” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, Tyreke Evans, NFL, Tim Tebow 

You look at the Hawks, if you look at our payroll vs. the Falcons—I don’t want to crap on the Falcons in the paper but everybody acts like Falcons do whatever it takes to win—their payroll the last three, four years as been in the lower third in the league. They were 25th in 08-09, 26th in 09-10, 26th in 2010-11. Now let’s contrast that with us. 2010-11 we were ninth; 2009-10 we were 21st. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta Hawks, NFL, Michael Gearon Jr, Atlanta Falcons 

Hamed Haddadi: my agent @MayarZokaei tells me some info about tebow every weeks. he is playing like he is a memphis grizzlies ;) Twitter

Memphis Grizzlies, NFL, Hamed Haddadi 

Despite those indicators, there’s a big difference from thinking you can play NFL football and actually thriving in the league. It’s why former NBA player Jalen Rose and NFL player Warren Sapp both doubt that James could really play in the NFL. He’s a tremendous athlete, probably the best physical specimen you’ll see in sports,” Rose said earlier this week while serving as a guest panelist on the NFL Network’s No Huddle. “The one thing about football — you can go up for the football — I don’t think his feet’ll hit the ground on the way down because they will take him out. I think that game is too physical, I think it’s too demanding, I think that it’s hard to block defensive ends — it’s more to that job of being a tight end than just running routes.” San Antonio Express-News

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Jalen Rose, Lockout, NFL, Warren Sapp 

Sapp was even more forceful, wondering if James was competitive enough to play against the NFL’s best. “How about LeBron do one-sixth of what Jordan did, let’s see him go win a championship,” Sapp said. “Go do that. Go see if you can conquer your sport before you come over here because them boys on defense, we like pretty boys like that. We want to split them.” San Antonio Express-News

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Jalen Rose, Lockout, NFL, Warren Sapp 

The N.B.A. — like the N.F.L. and M.L.B. — files league office personnel data to Lapchick at his Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. In the latest round of grading, baseball received an A in racial hiring and a B-minus in gender. The N.F.L. scored an A-plus and a C, while the N.B.A. earned an A-plus and an A-minus. The report cards have chided colleges for their record in hiring people of color and women to run athletic departments and given poor grades to newspaper sports sections in the United States. Lapchick also releases annual graduation rates of college football teams bound for the bowl games and men’s basketball teams in the N.C.A.A. tournament. New York Times

NBA, NFL, MLB 

To that end, Lapchick recalled a meeting he attended while serving with Bill Bradley, among others, on a commission to study culture and community in 1996. A female commissioner initiated a discussion on how the rap star Tupac Shakur and the industry he represented were in part responsible for a decline in social enlightenment among American youth based on music that objectified women and promoted violence and offensive language. “I was slightly aware of the genre, so it all made some sense to me,” Lapchick said. “But it later struck me that this was the week after Tupac was murdered and she might not even have heard of him until then. The next week, I was going to speak to the N.B.A.’s rookie transition program in Northern Virginia, and I was on a bus from the airport with five African-American rookies. They were talking about Tupac and one was saying, ‘What are we going to do without him?’ “They were all devastated by his death, and I realized that he was their musical wizard, their sage, their storyteller. I was about 50 at the time, and it just dawned on me that here was the same cultural phenomenon being viewed by two different generations as polar opposites. I just decided I was going to start talking about these things, and when I told my daughter what I was going to do, she said, ‘Oh, I love Tupac.’ Then I knew it wasn’t about race but class and culture, about what people have and what they don’t have.” New York Times

NBA, NFL, MLB 

Orlando center Dwight Howard had a Twitter gig for fellow Florida athletic icon Tim Tebow after the Denver quarterback’s huge game against Oakland on Sunday. That game led Howard to congratulate Tebow on his Twitter account, along with posting a picture of him “Tebowing,” or kneeling as in prayer on the top of sports bar along with a friend. That led Tebow to fire back that Howard and LeBron James soon might need to be fitted for their Denver Bronco uniforms if the lockout continues for much longer. San Antonio Express-News

Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, NFL, Tim Tebow 

People who witnessed James' football days in high school remember him as a player who preferred to run out of bounds, rather than take on defenders, and who also displayed "alligator arms" when he was asked to run over the middle on pass patterns. Doesn't sound like NFL material. New York Daily News

Miami Heat, LeBron James, NFL 

James needs neither the money nor the bruises — to his knees, elbows or ego — that a journey into the NFL would bring. We presume he's smart enough to know that the NFL is a fast, violent game, too violent for a guy who has enough time to make hundreds of millions more playing basketball to get any closer to the field than a third-level luxury suite. The thought that he could give it a shot isn't an entirely crazy one — and it certainly is an intriguing one. The thought he could last, however, is a different story. "It wouldn't be easy," Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall said. "I recommend he keep his NBA contract and just play the Madden video games if he misses football." FOXSportsOhio

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Lockout, NFL 

Like James, Bengals safety Chris Crocker also was drafted by Cleveland in 2003. Crocker was picked by the Browns, and he spent many evenings courtside at Quicken Loans Arena watching James up close. "There aren't many guys with the athleticism and strength LeBron has in any sport," Crocker said. "But I also think guys pick the sports they pick for a reason. Just like (Chad) Ochocinco thinks he's a soccer player until he gets up close and sees how skilled pro soccer players really are, there's nothing easy about the NFL." FOXSportsOhio

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Lockout, NFL 

If you somehow missed it on Tuesday, Miami Heat All-Star forward LeBron James sent the media in two sports into a minor tizzy when he "innocently" inquired about the deadline for an NFL team to sign a free agent. That led to a back-and-forth with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who has already invited free agent guard Nate Robinson to his camp, in which player and coach joked about the NFL's rookie minimum salary. On Wednesday, Carroll upped the ante by posting a customized Seahawks jersey with James' name on it to his Twitter account. CBSSports.com

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Lockout, NFL 

Carroll was known as a master recruiter during his days at the University of Southern California, and it's clear he's kept his skills sharp despite his transition to the NFL. "Nice!!! looks great," James replied. Judging by the choice of jersey number (No. 1), Carroll has James slotted in to play either quarterback, kicker or punter. Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst -- Seattle's two-headed monster of signal-calling ineffectiveness -- better prepare for some pressure on the depth chart. CBSSports.com

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Lockout, NFL 

Tuesday, on his Twitter account, James posted a query to ESPN NFL analyst John Clayton, "When is the deadline for a team to sign a free agent?" South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Lockout, NFL 

During that session, James, a loyal Dallas Cowboys fan, worked with the team for about an hour, posting on his Twitter account afterward, "Just got done practicing with the St.V Varsity football team, full pads and all. Felt great being back on the field. Should I?" Actually, he can't, at least not without a significant insurance policy. Unlike the six charity exhibitions James has participated in, which are covered by a "love of the game" clause in his NBA contract, his NBA contract would not be protected by an attempt at football at any level. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, LeBron James, Lockout, NFL 

"Dear tony romo. Don't worry abt all the critics. I heard that same garbage for a long time. Keep working hard and keep improving." Reached by ESPNDallas.com to find out why he decided to weigh in so publicly, Nowitzki cited two main reasons. "First of all, I think support to a local sports figure is important," Nowitzki said. "I love the Rangers. I watched that whole [Cowboys] game against Detroit. I support every local team." No. 2? "Last week he played with a punctured lung and he's the hero," Nowitzki continued. "This week they lose and it's all his fault. I just think every week you [media] guys change your minds. Just let him play." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, NFL