LeBron James Announcement Could Come Thursday on ESPN Special

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Just as the constant breath-holding that has been 2010 free agency seemed to be headed for another weekend of non-action from the "Big 3," LeBron James' PR crew made some moves that seem to indicate the end is near.



First was LeBron joining Twitter, and then an actual tweet -- LeBron proclaiming it was really him -- and perhaps most importantly, the leaked news that James and ESPN are in negotiations for a one-hour special at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday in which LeBron would announce his decision.



The leaked news comes in an awkward fashion -- it's being reported by ESPN the Magazine's Chris Broussard (who, quite obviously, works for ESPN) via "independent sources." ESPN itself (the television side, presumably) would only confirm that "active discussions for the special are ongoing."



An interesting wrinkle to Broussard's report on the negotiations was a request by James' representatives that they be allowed to sell sponsorship for Thursday's special, with the proceeds being donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.







Share FanHouse reached out to ESPN's PR, who declined any additional comment beyond the confirmation of the ongoing discussions mentioned on the ESPN.com report.



So, making what seems like a fairly obvious step: LeBron is prepared to make a decision by Thursday night. That doesn't mean that right now James knows where he will go, clearly, but it does indicate that he and his camp have given themselves a 48-hour window in which to decide how and where they'll spend the next five (or six) years.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/07/lebron-james-announcement-could-come-thursday-on-espn-special/