Today we got the news that LeBron James wants to doff his #23 in order to facilitate the number being retired by the league. Instead, James claims he will soon switch to #6. James says the move isn’t about marketing or merch, it’s about remembrance. About honoring the legacy of Michael Jordan.

One small problem: #6 was worn by a NBA player every bit as influential as Jordan, a player who won nearly twice as many championships as Jordan and who changed the way the game was played. The player? Bill Russell. Oh yeah, and there’s the little matter of Julius Erving’s personal digit too. Like he didn’t have something to say about how the NBA game is played today?

Jordan’s number should not and will not be permanently retired, because if it is, you can get busy mothballing dozens of numbers of players who were just as influential as Jordan. And it goes without saying that Jordan is no Jackie Robinson, something that is apparently lost on the embarrassingly myoptic James.

James’ numbers game is one more fake news story that he’s manufactured for the sadly dogmatic media. Much like his recent, ridiculous claims that he’s tired of the speculation regarding his impending free agency. Jim Rome had an epic take on that yesterday, via ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning:

But while Rome’s relentless beatdown of James brought me tears of joy, James claim that he cared more about winning than money elicited tears of laughter. Read more…

Sure, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel just released a new book, but did Buckeye boosters give him $1 million to write it? Because that’s what Bill Russell will be receiving for sharing stories about Red Auerbach.

The NEW YORK OBSERVER slams down news that the former Celtics center will be receiving a cool mil to pen a missive about the former cigar-chomping Celtics coach & GM. Read more…

• Julius Erving doesn’t like it when you call him Bill Russell.

(Dr. J & Bill want to know where’s Kareem’s white hair & beard)

• Here’s probably the only blogger Mark Cuban doesn’t hate.

• Ray Allen’s daughter has been diagnosed with diabetes.

• Rashard Mendenhall is on the warpath with his former Illinois team.

• Rocco Mediate knows to keep quiet around Tiger Woods. But will that silence the scorn of NBC soap viewers?

Read more…

When we were growing up, we saw this ad in all the comic books:

(We’re hopelessly old. Shut it.) We weren’t quite sure yet who this Dr. J was and who his fine sidekick with the jumper might be, but we knew we needed a Spalding rubber ball. When we got one, we needed Dr J. to shoot it for us, too, but he didn’t come in the box.* (Note that Rick says, “You don’t need magic.” He didn’t come in the box, either.**)

However, Julius Erving may want to staple a copy of that ad to his lapel when he heads out on the town to avoid having a couple approach him at a Finals party in LA, thrilled to finally get their picture taken with Bill Russell. As you can imagine, Erving took it all in good spirits. (No, not really.) Read more…

With this year’s dunk contest regaining much of the fun of the old days, it’s worth pointing out that today is Julius Erving’s birthday. Hard to believe Doc is now 58 years old - as we enjoy this video demonstrating how smooth the man was on the court. Plus, a little mid-day Stevie Wonder is good for the soul.

Nobody in the game today rocks a fro the way Dr. J did back in the day. And even though the man is getting up there in age, he still seems to have it (at least with the fairer sex). Read more…