Lebron James

Peyton Manning wanted to stay with his team but was pushed out the door by ownership. LeBron James was leaving a team that desperately wanted him to stay. Which one do you think had the classier farewell? While there seems to be an ever-decreasing level of humility and grace in the sports world, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning gave a farewell news conference Wednesday and thanked the Colts and the team owners for giving him a chance to lead the team for so many years.

LeBron James of the Miami Heat was the leading vote-getter for the All-NBA team, and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant earned his 10th first-team selection, tied for second on the all-time list. Bryant, a first-team pick for the seventh straight season, joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Elgin Baylor , Bob Cousy , Michael Jordan , Bob Pettit and Jerry West with 10 selections to the first team. Karl Malone is the leader with 11. James, who won his third most-valuable-player award, received 118 of a possible 120 first-team votes Thursday from a panel of writers and broadcasters.

LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar, will make his feature film debut by playing himself in "Fantasy Basketball Camp," a comedy from Universal Pictures. The movie is about five guys from different backgrounds who come to Las Vegas to live out their fantasy by attending James' basketball camp. Production will begin next summer, when James can become a free agent. Producer Brian Grazer is convinced the All-Star forward can make the transition to the big screen, as rapper Eminem did in "8 Mile."

A person familiar with the decision has told the Associated Press that Miami's LeBron James will be announced Saturday as the NBA's most valuable player, the third time he has won the award in the past four seasons. James is expected to be presented with the trophy Sunday by Commissioner David Stern before Miami hosts Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana. James will become the eighth player to win the award at least three times, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone.

At some point, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro hopes, starting center DeAndre Jordan will become a factor in the first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. In the first three games, that hasn't been the case. "It's really D.J. gets the first look because he's the starter," Del Negro said. "And then as the game goes on, the matchups and who is playing well and the rhythm of the game, sometimes that dictates a lot of that. " That means that Reggie Evans will get more playing time at center.

Once the final minutes tick down, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James remain a study in contrasts. Bryant looks to make the game-winner, no matter the obstacles: the shot clock winding down, poorly run offense, swarm of double teams. Usually nothing stops Bryant from taking the last shot. A courageous act for some, selfishness for others. James looks to the make the correct basketball play, no matter how much the public expects him to take the final shot. If he sees a double team, James finds the open guy, such as when he found Udonis Haslem open for a 16-footer in the Heat's loss Friday to Utah.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have had an interesting history. Nike hoped its puppet commercials featuring both players two years ago would foretell an NBA Finals matchup between the Lakers and Cavaliers. Instead, Cleveland fell to Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals and Bryant collected his first ring without Shaq against Dwight Howard. Many thought James' "decision" to take his talents to South Beach last season would set up a Lakers-Heat NBA Finals.

Cleveland 100, at New York 91: LeBron James scored 33 in his lone Madison Square Garden appearance. Phoenix 110, at Boston 103: The Suns' Jason Richardson had 34 points. at Orlando 110, Detroit 103: The Magic held off Charlie Villanueva's 22 fourth-quarter points. Milwaukee 87, at Minnesota 72: Andrew Bogut's 17 points countered 20 by Timberwolves' rookie Jonny Flynn. at Miami 96, Denver 88: The Nuggets suffered their first loss of the season. at Indiana 102, Washington 86: Tyler Hansbrough debuted with 13 points.

Don't call Pau Gasol soft. On Sunday afternoon, the 250-pound 7-footer stepped in front of LeBron James and nudged him when he saw James acting aggressively toward one of his teammates. The tussle happened at the end of the third quarter after James, frustrated over a non-call, gave a forearm shiver to Troy Murphy. Gasol immediately intervened and dealt James a bit of push. "I saw that he elbowed a little bit or shoved Troy," Gasol said. "At one point you have to say, 'It's enough.'" "If the officials don't make a big deal about it or don't make a certain call then you have to force the issue a little bit and make them understand this is going on, we're not going to take this kind of thing here.

As he slides into re-election mode, President Obama has been granting a series of local television interviews in key states such as Ohio. But the president Monday didn't do himself any favors while talking to a Cleveland TV reporter, specifically bringing up the one man, in local terms, Who Shall Not Be Named. That's LeBron James, who departed the hometown Cleveland Cavaliers last year for the Miami Heat. Now James is on the verge of an NBA title, a result that the lion's share of Clevelanders view as something on the order of the apocalypse.

At some point, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro hopes, starting center DeAndre Jordan will become a factor in the first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. In the first three games, that hasn't been the case. "It's really D.J. gets the first look because he's the starter," Del Negro said. "And then as the game goes on, the matchups and who is playing well and the rhythm of the game, sometimes that dictates a lot of that. " That means that Reggie Evans will get more playing time at center.

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose has the top-selling jersey at the NBA Store and nbastore.com since last April, the NBA announced Thursday. Rose, the reigning MVP, beat out NBA superstars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Bryant's jersey has been the top seller six times while James' jersey has been No. 1 twice since 2001.  Knicks guard Jeremy Lin's jersey came in second, even though his apparel wasn't even sold in stores or online until February. Bryant's jersey finished third, James' fourth and Carmelo Anthony's fifth.

Looking Ahead MIAMI AT OKLAHOMA CITY: Sunday at 5 p.m. PDT. TV: ESPN It's easy to imagine David Stern fantasizing about a LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant faceoff in the Finals. Both stars are in their 20s and this could evolve into a Magic vs. Bird-like matchup for many Junes to come. Meanwhile, James is chasing his third league MVP award while Durant is hoping to win his first. Both the Heat and Thunder play up-tempo and are among the few teams with winning road records — last season each won on the other's court in splitting two games.

Is Dwight Howard approaching LeBron James' villainy status? His latest proclamation that he wants to remain in Orlando through the season -- but that he doesn't want to sign a long-term deal or even an extension -- isn't sitting well with fans. Comments on a story written by the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins are turning decidedly anti-Dwight. People seem to be viewing Howard as someone who is trying to have it all ways, and that he is playing team management. Yes, the Magic could keep him around and make him happy, we think.

Peyton Manning doesn't want to play for the Washington Redskins and has informed the franchise of that, according to a report by Chris Russell of ESPN 980 Washington. "A couple of different sources inside the organization have told me that Manning's camp made it pretty clear to Redskins officials that he doesn't want to come here," Russell said, according to ProFootballTalk.com. "There's lots of reasons for that. His brother, Eli, the colder weather, the whole situation down in Miami and so on and so forth.

The whirlwind 66-game NBA season is more than halfway through. At this point, who is most deserving of the MVP award? Here are some leading candidates. Kobe Bryant : He leads the league in scoring with 28.7 points a game and has helped guide a team with a new coach and a new system to fifth place in the Western Conference. Bryant has soared even though he's been hampered by multiple injuries, including a torn ligament in his right wrist, a concussion and a broken nose. In January, he scored at least 40 points in four consecutive games.

In 2002, LeBron James first appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which dubbed him "The Chosen One." He was compared to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Talk about hype: James was all of 17 and a junior in high school. Now 24, James is the NBA's reigning MVP and the best hoops player on the planet not named Kobe Bryant. Today, he views that SI cover as a symbol of the outsized celebrity he attained at a young age. "Now that I look back on it, I'm like, 'wow, that was huge,' " he says.

LeBron James and longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson are engaged. With a number of teammates and close friends looking on, the Miami Heat star surprised his high school sweetheart Saturday night by dropping to one knee and proposing. And yes, she said yes. "It was beautiful," Heat teammate Chris Bosh said. "It was nice. It was real nice. " A representative for James confirmed the news to the Associated Press on Sunday morning, a few hours after close friend Chris Paul and Heat owner Micky Arison were among those tweeting their congratulations.

If you were the greatest quarterback in the history of a team, would you welcome perhaps the greatest quarterback of all-time to come to that team and maybe make you the second-greatest quarterback in team history? If your name is Dan Marino, you would. Marino, the former Miami Dolphins quarterback, says if Manning has any questions about playing for the Dolphins, he would gladly answer them. He has enough people "working with him to help him make the right decisions," Marino said Thursday, but if Manning asks, "I would definitely answer.

Peyton Manning is much more than a typical NFL player. He's also a shrewd businessman who one day could wind up owning a team. Surely, he wants to take his time to evaluate the opportunities in front of him, and to leverage one team against another to get the best deal (with the most guaranteed money.) So it's likely that he won't rush into any decision. Still, he's been in the same offense for all 14 years of his career, so it behooves him to move quickly enough to get the jump on a new system and new personnel.