Le-Brizzle is cooler than life

November 1st, 2006 | Posted by PostmanR

Some Interweb scribes such as Dan Shanoff and also this uber-popular blog without access, favor, or discretion have chimed in on Nike sponsoring the entire 6 p.m. SportsCenter to market the new LeBron James sneakers this evening. Turn to either one of them for some solid analysis on the situation including the whole Jeremy Schaap interview that’s been running on SC.

(Which, by the way, probably totally peeved off Schaap. “I have to do what? Interview a bunch of different LeBrons? I’m confused. Isn’t Kenny Mayne available?”)

I can get down with Nike’s move here as per the reasons described by Dr. Lawyer IndianChief:

LeBron James is not a businessman — “he’s a business, man.” From Sprite to Nike to Bubble Yum, ‘Bron’s face is ubiquitous. Apart from the mere marketing blitz, and in addition to establishing himself as a brand name a la Jordan, LBJames is positioning himself to become a one-man empire. MJ had traditional Joe Namath/Wilt Chamberlain aspirations of athlete coolness. Shaq went the entertainment route, going for juvenile Denzel-meets-Biggie status. Lebron, in an unprecedented manner, wants to be Donald Trump: surrounding himself with a personal business team (AKRON FAMILY), pioneeringly rejecting a maximum contract extension in favor for waiting for a new NBA Labor deal (so he can cash out even bigger), and publicly proclaiming his hopes to become the world’s first billionaire athlete.

I can’t floss with FreeDarko. Their scribing is at another level.

(Also, Shanoff types about Borat, so you should read it. Veery nice!)