Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball Team

There was Rafael Nadal on Sunday after a shockingly disappointing upset loss to Robin Soderling at the French Open answering questions in two languages and manfully owning his disappointment and emotions. There wasn't LeBron James on Saturday night after his Cleveland Cavaliers exited the NBA playoffs being reminded that having the best regular-season record means, well, not so much after the playoffs start. There wasn't any James at the postgame media podium.

Now it's Dwight Howard vs. LeBron James, not quite winner-take-all, but a highly appealing appetizer. So much so that there is a search for another nickname for James on the eve of the Eastern Conference finals, which open tonight between Howard's Magic and James' Cavaliers. For the moment, it's merely Superman (Howard) vs. the King (James). "I thought about that," Cleveland forward Joe Smith said. "Both of those guys are great talents.

Only 568 more shopping days until LeBronmas. What ill wind was it that blew the Cleveland Cavaliers into New York four days after the Knicks unloaded enough salary to sign LeBron James and any other star he designates in 2010? New York being New York, the result was the first . . . LeBronstock!) Knicks fans cheered James as if he were already theirs. The media went gaga.

By the time he was 32, Alexander the Great had conquered the known world. LeBron James is already 22 and all he has conquered is Cleveland. It can't be easy being LeBron, not that we're ever likely to hear about it unless Nike does a documentary. At 21 he won 50 games with the Cavaliers, finished second to Steve Nash in the MVP voting ... and it still wasn't enough after Dwyane Wade became the first member of their 2003 draft class to win a title.

LeBron who? Real greatness is at hand, all right, it's just not the hype ABC and Nike are peddling. If Cleveland's 22-year-old LeBron James is the face of the Finals, however briefly, the Spurs are everything else, including overwhelming favorites. If the Spurs sound familiar but you just can't place them, they're the little team from Nowhere, Texas ... that's expected to win its fourth title in nine seasons ... which would put San Antonio one ahead of the Lakers over the same span.

What's ABC's matchup to watch in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Tim Duncan vs. Anderson Varejao? Game 1's ballyhooed matchup of Duncan vs. LeBron James wasn't exactly one for the ages. Duncan was Duncan, scoring 24 points with 13 rebounds and five blocks. James laid an egg big enough to hatch an elephant, scoring 14 points, missing 12 of 16 shots with six turnovers as the Spurs cruised to an 85-76 win over his Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Just what is it we were supposed to be witnessing, again? As anyone who has seen those Nike-themed banners (RISE UP, WE ARE ALL WITNESSES) or the most recent of his seven Sports Illustrated covers knows, this is the Age of LeBron, in which he finally succeeds Michael Jordan. There's just one problem: We knew Michael Jordan and this isn't him. Little as it's understood, it's possible for LeBron James to be a dazzling young player without ever becoming as good as Jordan.

In other news, the Cleveland Cavaliers may not be sleeping with the fishes yet, but their feet are definitely wet. While millions watched Sunday night's finale of "The Sopranos," the San Antonio Spurs and Cavaliers, the last people to find out whether Tony would get whacked along with the NBA's TV rating, had to play a Finals game, if you want to call it that.

We are all witnesses? Not to the homage of LeBron James, despite Nike's best marketing efforts, but more likely the elevation of the San Antonio Spurs as the league's latest dynasty. The Spurs hammered away, gradually eroding their opponent Tuesday in a game only a lug could love, and the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't prevent their city from sighing, again, at another major sporting event.

With the San Antonio Spurs on the verge of establishing themselves as the NBA's next dynasty, the question became a natural one. Who had the more memorable run in the last 10 years, the Lakers or the Spurs? Robert Horry and Derek Fisher, members of the Lakers when they won championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002, each weighed in on the topic with somewhat surprising answers.