One hour that comes down to one word.
LeBron James will make an announcement in an hour-long special Thursday night on ESPN, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern. Chris Broussard, the ESPN reporter who has the best contacts in the LeBron James camp of just about anyone, made the announcement on ESPN News.
LeBron and his people will sell sponsorships of the show, with the money going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, according to ESPN.
There is no word yet on where LeBron will be during the announcement.
A national television announcement with money going to a national charity -- hard to read too much into that about where LeBron might play next year. However, reports now say that it is likely down to Cleveland or Miami, where he would team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Of course, the way this free agency has gone, that could all change in the next 20 minutes. Twice.
What you can read into this -- it takes a pretty big ego to ask ESPN for an hour like that. There is potential for backlash, something LeBron saw when he did the Larry King interview during the NBA finals. He either ends up on national television to break Cleveland’s heart, or he has an hour-long special on himself to say he is going nowhere. Both options have public relations problems to deal with.