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Guns and Weapons Policy
This policy applies to all employees of the NFL and its member clubs, including players.

Prohibitions. Whether possessed legally or illegally, guns and other weapons of any kind are dangerous. You and your family can easily be the losers if you carry or keep these items in your home. You must not possess these weapons while traveling on League-related business or whenever you are on the premises of the following:

• A facility owned, operated or being used by an NFL club (for example, training camp, dormitory, locker room, workout site, parking area, team bus, team plane, team hotel/motel);

• A stadium or any other venue being used for an NFL event (for example, a game, practice or promotion);

• A facility owned or operated by the NFL or any League company.

Put simply, the League, the Players Association and law enforcement authorities urge you to recognize that you must not possess a gun or other weapon at any time you are performing any service for your team or the NFL.

Legal Possession. In some circumstances, such as for sport or protection, you may legally possess a firearm or other weapon. However, we strongly recommend that you not do so. Any weapon, particularly a firearm, is dangerous — especially so when it is in a vehicle or within reach of children and others not properly trained in its use.

Understanding the Law. If you legally possess a weapon, you must understand the local, state and federal laws that apply. The NFL Security Representative in your area will help you get information about these laws. You should be aware that if you take a weapon from one place to another — for example, across state lines — a different set of laws may apply in the new place.

Discipline. If you violate this policy on guns and other weapons, you are subject to discipline, including suspension from playing. And if you violate a public law covering weapons — for example, possession of an unlicensed firearm — you are not only subject to discipline, including suspension from playing, but also subject to criminal prosecution.

Remember, be careful and understand the risks.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Strasburg has a torn elbow ligament and most likely needs Tommy John surgery, bringing the pitcher’s promising rookie season to an abrupt end.

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday an MRI on the right elbow revealed a “significant tear.” Strasburg will travel to the West Coast for a second opinion, but Rizzo anticipates the 22-year-old right-hander will need the operation that requires 12 to 18 months of rehabilitation.

“I look at the bright side,” Rizzo said. “Tommy John surgery is a surgery that we’ve had great success at. The success rate for guys coming back from Tommy John and retaining their stuff is very good.”

Strasburg was pulled from Saturday’s game at Philadelphia when he grimaced and shook his wrist after throwing a changeup. The Nationals initially called the injury a strained flexor tendon in the forearm, but an MRI taken Sunday raised enough questions for the Nationals to order a more extensive MRI in which dye is injected into the arm.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft, Strasburg struck out 14 batters in a sensational major league debut in June. He is 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 68 innings.

But he has had medical setbacks along the way, despite the team’s best efforts to be as cautious as possible with their prized youngster. He was placed on the disabled list a month ago with inflammation in the back of his right shoulder. He was making his third start since returning from the DL when he had to leave the game against Philadelphia.

“The player was developed and cared for in the correct way, and things like this happen,” Rizzo said. “Pitchers break down, pitchers get hurt and we certainly are not second-guessing ourselves. … Frustrated? Yes. But second-guessing ourselves? No.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times reported on its website Thursday that federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The Times said it based its report on information from two people briefed on the matter and said an announcement is expected in the near future.

Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified under oath at a hearing before a House committee and contradicted each other about whether Clemens had used the banned substances.

The committee held the hearing in February 2008.

McNamee has told federal agents, baseball investigator George Mitchell and the committee that he injected Clemens more than a dozen times with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998-01.

Clemens has maintained that McNamee was lying.

Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ lead attorney said he was unaware of a pending indictment.

“We’ve heard nothing,” Hardin said by telephone from Houston, “so I can’t knowledgeably respond at all.”

Earl Ward, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said he, too, “had no indication something was coming.”

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SI.com sends it’s writers out to various training camps around the league.  Here is Don Banks’ view of the Bears camp.

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SI.com has dispatched writers to report on the 32 NFL training camps across the country. Here’s what Don Banks had to say about the Bears camp. For an archive of all camp postcards, click here.

Setting the Scene

The Bears have trained at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., about an hour south of Chicago, since 2002. But I still hear some folks around here fondly recall their training camp days in Platteville, Wis., where the team spent the 18 previous years. The facilities are said to be better here, but the nostalgia is probably attributable to the fact that Mike Ditka‘s Bears went to Platteville each summer, and everything about this franchise is still measured by (and comes up short) when compared to Chicago’s only Super Bowl-winning squad of 1985.

Three Observations

1. If you’re wondering how the Mike Martz-Jay Cutler relationship is going early on, suffice to say the honeymoon rages on. Speaking to the media for the first time in more than two months on Wednesday, the Bears new offensive coordinator did everything but name Cutler the NFC Pro Bowl starter after the first week of Chicago’s camp. “What we do really fits him,” Martz said. “He has that Kurt Warner awareness, if you will. He has such a keen sense of where everybody is at. He can see everything and can diagnose it without even thinking about it.”

Martz has always had a touch of Sparky Anderson-like hyperbole in him and loves to slather his guys in praise. But it seems a bit early to trot out the Warner comparison, because there’s no higher compliment in Martz’s book. But Cutler has handled everything Martz has thrown at him, according to the coach, and then some. “He’s been pretty remarkable so far. He’s everything I had hoped he would be. Absolutely.”

Wow. That’s a mouthful for a quarterback who was so frustrated with his play at one point in Tuesday afternoon’s practice that he fired a pass that hit one of the hospitality tents that line the field. When a reporter asked Martz about the perception that he and his quarterback, both strong-willed types, would struggle to mesh, he fairly well guffawed. “If you knew how silly that was and how easy things are between he and I,” Martz said. “[I] just thoroughly enjoy his company, and just enjoy being around him outside the football part of it. He’s got a great sense of humor, by the way. He’s a little screwed up in his sense of humor like I am, so we kind of fit pretty good.”

Cutler reciprocated the love when he spoke to reporters shortly thereafter. “I think me and Mike have clicked very quickly in our relationship,” he said. “We have the same goals and the same thought processes on and off the field. Mike’s fun. It’s been fun getting to know him and being around him. He’s 24/7 football. There’s no getting around that, but every once in a while, he has a few jokes. He has a few stories. It hasn’t been a bad thing meeting with him a lot right now.”

It doesn’t matter so much, of course, what they’re saying in early August. It only matters how the Martz-and-Cutler marriage is clicking come September and beyond. So far, so good, but stay tuned.

2. Didn’t get to see much practice time while I was with the Bears, but apparently Julius Peppers has been conducting a defensive end clinic of sorts during workouts. And both Bears offensive tackles — Frank Omiyale on the right side and Chris Williams on the left side — have been taken to school a few times. Peppers looks rejuvenated by the change of NFL venues after eight seasons in Carolina, and Bears head coach Lovie Smith said there has been no sign of the inconsistent effort that some believe marred his tenure in Charlotte.

“That’s what I haven’t seen at all,” Smith said, midday Wednesday. “He’s done everything we asked him to do and more. Since we got in pads, now I’ll say he’s been dominant. I heard he takes plays off and all that stuff. But he has a chance to just dominate the game. I know it’s early, but I’ve seen good defensive linemen before, and he’s exactly where we want him to be at this point. He’s going to show up every day for us.”

That’s the idea. Especially given that he’s set to earn $20 million in 2010. The Bears have lacked a pass rush for three years now, and Peppers is being paid to not only provide some, but to draw attention away from other Bears defenders so they can provide some heat of their own (Tommie Harris and Mark Anderson, we’re looking in your direction). Peppers has played both ends in practice, but it’s expected that he’ll line up mostly on the right side, next to Harris.

3. The happiest group in Bears camp are the receivers, because they know they’re going to benefit from Martz’s pass-centric offense. The Bears are talking about having a balanced approach, but everyone understands the ex-Rams head coach never met a forward pass he didn’t love. I talked with Devin Hester briefly and he’s having a hard time believing he’s still in Chicago, given the unfamiliar feel of a full-throttle Bears passing attack.

“I never really imagined us being so wide open like this,” Hester said. “On designed plays you can actually find yourself wide open. I’m not used to that. That may be the hardest thing in football, catching a wide-open pass. It’s like a fast break in basketball. If you’re that wide open you can get some nerves going. But I love this offense. It fits the receivers we have.”

Despite bringing a gunslinger like Cutler in last season, no one on the Bears caught more than the 60 passes snared by tight end Greg Olsen, and no receiver totaled more than Hester’s 757 yards. Under Martz, those numbers will go up for the likes of receivers Hester, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett.

“We’re still Chicago and we have to be able to run the football, especially late [in the season],” Smith said. “But we have offensive weapons at the skill positions and we have to be able to take advantage of that.”

New Face, New Place

Could it be that Martz wasn’t even the best coaching hire named Mike that Smith made this offseason? New Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice might wind up being the real steal. The ex-Jaguars and ex-Vikings coach has been brought in to reshape a Bears line that was dreadful at times last year, and from early indications, his work is being enthusiastically received by the team’s linemen.

Tice has made it clear that three spots on Chicago’s offensive line are up for grabs, with only left tackle Williams and center Olin Kreutz secure in their starting jobs. Veterans Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer are competing at right tackle, Roberto Garza and Lance Louis are dueling at right guard, and Josh Beekman and Johan Asiata are battling for the starting left guard slot.

Tice will get the Bears line playing tougher and with more attention to detail, because that’s his calling card. I saw his strong work up close when he had a bevy of Pro Bowl selections coaching the Vikings offensive line in the late ’90s, and he’s adept at getting the best from formerly underachieving players. The Bears gave up 35 sacks last season and at times Cutler’s penchant for interceptions were a direct result of the line’s breakdowns.

Rookie Report

Not owning first- or second-round picks this year, the Bears aren’t loaded with rookies. But safety Major Wright had started camp impressively before being sidelined with a groin muscle strain on Monday. The third-round pick out of Florida was the Bears’ top selection this season, and he’s slated to compete for the starting strong safety job once he returns.

The Bears have been pleasantly surprised thus far in Wright’s ability to make plays on the ball. He’s aggressive in run support, but he has caught Smith’s eye with a nose for the football in pass coverage. In the best-case scenario, Chicago this season will have a starting safety tandem of Wright and Chris Harris, the former Bears free safety who was reacquired from Carolina on draft weekend. But at the moment that tandem can only stand and watch, because Harris is out with a back injury.

Memorable Image

Everywhere you look in Bears camp you see an ex-NFL head coach. There’s Martz, the ex-Rams No. 1 guy over there working with Cutler and the offense. There’s Tice, the ex-Vikings boss barking out orders to his offensive line. And there’s Rod Marinelli, onetime Lions head coach, overseeing the defense in his role as coordinator/assistant head coach. That’s an impressive array of decision-making experience on one staff, and they’re all here knowing that they’re working for a head coach in Lovie Smith who is clearly entering a make-or-break season in Chicago.

After stints in Detroit and San Francisco that didn’t go exactly as planned, this may be Martz’s final opportunity to re-establish his reputation as one of the game’s premier offensive coordinators. He is one of the game’s finest play-callers, and his creativity in that department should be a significant upgrade over the departed Ron Turner. Tice was a great offensive line coach in Minnesota before ascending to the top job and he’s still young enough to get his name back on the radar screen for a head coaching job. As for Marinelli, who was the Bears defensive line coach/assistant head coach last season, Smith and he go back to their days together on Tony Dungy‘s staff in Tampa Bay and the two work together like hand in glove.

Parting Shots

1. Everybody knows the hot seat is cranking in Chicago this year, but you’ll never get Smith to blink and acknowledge it. And I kind of like that. But he knows what’s at stake this season, even if he doesn’t feel the need to increase the pressure he faces by talking about it. The Bears have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons after their Super Bowl team of 2006, and a fourth out-of-the-money finish figures to bring his seven-year tenure to a close.

2. Recently retired 49ers receiver Isaac Bruce just got to Bourbonnais and will spend the rest of camp with the Bears as a coaching intern. The longtime Ram obviously flourished under Martz’s offense in St. Louis and will be helping the likes of Hester, Knox and Bennett learn the intricacies of the offense. Hester and Bruce both live in South Florida and the two have been working out together this offseason. Recently Bruce was quoted saying it will take “2 1/2 years” for Bears receivers to fully learn Martz’s offense. Martz didn’t dispute that estimate, but said Hester, as a veteran, is ahead of the curve and that only rookies would take that long. If that sounded like a bit of damage control to you, the same thought occurred to me.

3. Trying to get Cutler and Bears backup Caleb Hanie up to snuff in the offense, Chicago has given its top two quarterbacks almost all the snaps in camp. That’s not really helping rookie Dan LeFevour‘s bid to lock down the team’s No. 3 job. The ex-Central Michigan QB was taken in the sixth round by Chicago, and his arm hasn’t looked too strong in the few attempts he’s had in camp. He and former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel are competing for the No. 3 spot, but Teel pulled a hamstring in Wednesday night’s practice and will be out for a while.

4. Brian Urlacher is healthy again in the middle and the Bears still have Pro Bowl weakside linebacker Lance Briggs to count on. But in the strong side slot, veterans Pisa Tinoisamoa and Nick Roach are splitting reps so far. I’d give Tinoisamoa the slight edge, but performances in preseason games will determine who starts.

5. I get the theory that the presence of Peppers should make everyone on the defensive line more effective, because teams will be keying on the former Panther. But I’m going to have to see Bears left end Mark Anderson produce in the sack department before I fully buy it. The 2006 sixth-round pick was a rookie sensation in Chicago with 12 sacks in the regular season and another 1 1/2 in the playoffs, as the Bears went to the Super Bowl. But he’s had just 9 1/2 sacks in the three seasons since, and it’s way past time for him to prove 2006 was no fluke.

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MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Brett Favre‘s spectacular stint with the Minnesota Vikings appears to be over.

Favre has informed the Vikings he will not return to Minnesota for a second season, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old Favre called coach Brad Childress to say his injured left ankle is not responding as well to surgery and rehabilitation as he had hoped, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not made an official announcement.

Speaking to reporters after practice Tuesday, Childress wouldn’t confirm Favre’s status with the team, saying he could have a new message from the quarterback waiting for him. The coach told reporters: “I’m not a big hearsay person. I gotta hear it from the horse’s mouth.”

With Favre, of course, nothing is ever necessarily final after 19 NFL seasons. He told the Vikings last year he wouldn’t play, but changed his mind and joined them immediately after they broke training camp, with Childress even driving to the airport to pick him up. Camp this year ends on Aug. 12.

Favre has waffled on retiring every summer since 2006. It led to an ugly parting with the Packers that got him traded from Green Bay to the Jets in 2008. After a so-so season in New York, he announced his retirement in early 2009 for the second time, then reconsidered and signed with the Vikings.

He had one of his best seasons last year, with career bests in completion percentage (68.4), quarterback rating (107.2) and fewest interceptions (7), while throwing for 33 TDs and 4,202 yards to lead the Vikings to an NFC North title. He hurt his left ankle in the NFC championship game loss to the New Orleans Saints and had arthroscopic surgery in May.

Favre was under contract for $13 million this season, but only if he plays.

Nearly everyone had assumed Favre would return and he did nothing to discourage that. He threw passes for a second straight summer with high school students in Hattiesburg, Miss., joked about playing until he’s 50 and said playing another year wouldn’t worsen his already-damaged ankle.

Childress shrugged off all the questions and admitted he didn’t know whether Favre would really come back. The Vikings didn’t pursue a trade for Donovan McNabb and declined to select a quarterback of the future in the draft.

Still, Favre took a beating in the loss to the Saints and said afterward that he would not take long to make a decision on returning for the second year of his contract. As the months ticked by, Favre posted a statement on his website reminding everyone that his ankle problems didn’t mean his career was over.

If Favre doesn’t play next season — and if he decides to actually retire for good — it will end one of the most storied careers in NFL history.

A three-time league MVP (1995-97), Favre won Super Bowl XXXI with the Packers. His 11 Pro Bowl appearances are the most ever by a quarterback.

Indeed, Favre holds most major NFL records for a quarterback, including career touchdowns (497), yards passing (69,329); wins (181); and seasons with at least 3,000 yards passing (18).

Of course, he also has thrown the most interceptions (317) and been sacked 503 times — a long, long history of wear and tear.

Many of Favre’s sacks came on scrambles, and so did the picks as he fearlessly tried to force the ball — underhanded, left-handed, whatever worked — where few, if any, could put it. He brought a sense of danger to the game and Vikings fans responded in droves. He was a classic gunslinger and has never minded the label.

“I would hope 20, 30 years from now, I’m remembered for something else besides records,” Favre told The Associated Press in 2007, when the annual summer waffling was still sort of new. “Whether I have them or don’t have them. If that’s the only way I’m remembered, apparently I didn’t do something right or leave a good enough impression on the fans. …

“I know when I leave the game, I’m going to miss it. I know that. I’m not going to sit here and say, when I leave, it’s over and I felt like I’ve done everything there is to do.

“I feel like I’ve given every ounce of energy I can give every single time I stepped on the field.”

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Not too long ago we heard some news from the Pacquiao camp that they couldn’t come to an agreement on a fight with Mayweather and they needed to find another fight for later this year.  Mayweather has denied being involved in any negotiations…now we hear from Ross Greenburg (HBO sports president) said he was in negotiations with both sides and couldn’t come to an agreement.  Why is the Mayweather camp lying?  I think Mayweather is a bitch, plain and simple.  I hope this fight happens and I hope Pacquiao kicks the living hell out of him.  I’d pay the 50 buck ppv and hope for a 34 second knock out.

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Floyd Mayweather is a bully, one neatly wrapped in a cut 5-foot-8, 147-pound package. Like most bullies, Mayweather is intimidating. He sends promoters, managers and networks cowering in the corner with the mere threat of withholding his services. He holds the boxing world hostage by saying he will take his gloves and go home unless the fight isn’t when he wants, where he wants and at what weight he wants. He perpetuates a lie — like the one about his advisor, Al Haymon, not being involved in negotiations with Manny Pacquiao — because he is confident in the fact that no one in the industry will stand up to him.

Well, someone finally did. Late Monday night, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg — the man in the middle of this mess — issued a statement. In the statement, Greenburg confirmed what everyone in the world already knew. Yes, there had been negotiations. No, there will not be a fight between the two biggest names in the sport this year.

“Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world,” said Greenburg. “It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010. I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”

Mayweather’s team issued a series of swift denials. But it is preposterous to suggest that Haymon, Mayweather’s chief negotiator and the man Mayweather praises for his work at every … single … press conference would be involved in any kind of talks for a Mayweather fight without Mayweather’s express approval. Greenburg has no reason to lie. Haymon has a large stable of clients that include Andre Berto, Paul Williams and Chris Arreola. But Mayweather is Haymon’s golden goose. He brings home the biggest paycheck. And to believe Haymon pretended to speak on Mayweather’s behalf for two months — two months — strains credulity to Avatar-like levels.

It didn’t happen. Mayweather knew exactly what Haymon was doing, just like Leonard Ellerbe and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer did. Ellerbe is Mayweather’s mouthpiece. He’s a good man, one well-liked in the industry. But as sycophants come, he may be the definition. He parrots everything Floyd says — “All roads lead to Floyd Mayweather” — to the point where it almost doesn’t matter who says it. The words are the same; the voices are just different.

Schaefer’s stance is even more baffling. Schaefer, too, is well-respected in the industry and has advanced boxing as much as anyone with his innovative marketing strategies. But by backing Mayweather and denying any negotiations took place, he not only is calling his boss Oscar De La Hoya a liar — De La Hoya, remember, went on Univision last month and said the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations were “very close” to being completed — but he’s calling every journalist he has spoken to on the subject a liar, too.

Sure, Schaefer has offered a firm “no comment” when asked about negotiations, but his words have been laced with hints that there was indeed something to comment on. Earlier this month, after Arum told SI.com that a deal had been struck, I called Schaefer looking for confirmation. Again, he said he had no comment. But he later announced, somewhat triumphantly, that I should tell Arum that he had “won the shut-up contest.”

Shut up about what, exactly? Right.

The truth is Schaefer and Golden Boy have attached themselves to Mayweather because his affiliation with the company is one of the few assets keeping it viable. Click on the fighters page on Golden Boy’s website and check out the four faces highlighted at the top. De La Hoya is gone, Bernard Hopkins should be and Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez are one bad loss away from potentially following them out the door.

They have a heavyweight champion (David Haye) who won’t fight anybody. They have a former middleweight champion (Winky Wright) who won’t either. There is talent at junior welterweight (Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz, Amir Khan) but not enough to carry the company. No, Golden Boy needs Mayweather and to cross him would burn a very lucrative bridge. And they are not going to do it.

Meanwhile, Mayweather sits back, content to amuse himself by working Ellerbe and Schaefer like puppets. He’s comforted by the $65 million he earned in his past two fights, the kind of cash that reinforces the fantasy that he’s the G.O.A.T … when the reality is that he has yet to even prove he is the greatest of this time. He had a chance to cement that legacy this year by following up a win over Mosley with another over Pacquiao.

He passed.

But like it was with LeBron James, it wasn’t so much the decision as how the decision was delivered. Coldly, and littered with a whole lot of lies.

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Last month we asked you to weigh in on a court case, and vote on whether cheerleading should be considered a sport. Nearly two-thirds — 64% — said no way, and today a federal judge in Connecticut agreed with you.U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill says competitive cheerleading is too underdeveloped to be considered a sport. At issue was whether cheerleading could be used to meet Title IX gender-equity requirements.

The NCAA does not recognize competitive cheerleading as a varsity sport, but four Division-I schools fund and treat it as such: Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., Oregon, Maryland and Baylor.

The Connecticut ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by volleyball players at Quinnipiac, after their sport was replaced by a competitive cheerleading squad.

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NEW YORK – George Steinbrenner, who rebuilt the New York Yankees into a sports empire with a mix of bluster and big bucks that polarized fans all across America, died Tuesday. He had just celebrated his 80th birthday July 4.

Steinbrenner had a heart attack, was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and died at about 6:30 a.m, a person close to the owner told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not disclosed those details.

For more than 30 years, Steinbrenner lived up to his billing as “the Boss,” a nickname he earned and clearly enjoyed as he ruled with an iron fist. The Yankees won six World Series titles during his reign.

He was known for feuds, clashing with Yankees great Yogi Berra and firing manager Billy Martin twice. But as his health declined, Steinbrenner let sons Hal and Hank run more of the family business.

Steinbrenner was in fragile health for years, resulting in fewer public appearances and pronouncements. Yet dressed in his trademark navy blue blazer and white turtleneck, he was the model of success: The Yankees won seven World Series titles after his reign began in 1973

Till the end, he demanded championships. He barbed Joe Torre during the 2007 AL playoffs, then let the popular manager leave after another loss in the opening round. The team responded last year by winning another title.

His death was the second in three days to rock the Yankees. Bob Sheppard, the team’s revered public address announcer from 1951-07, died Sunday at 99

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One reporter who is clearly all kinds of pissed about James posted an article on si.com that does have some valid points.  It’s pretty heavy in “hate” rhetoric, but that doesn’t make his points any less valid.

Jordan was 27 years old in 1990, slightly older than James is now. He had never been to the NBA Finals. He had been beaten up by the Celtics and Pistons for years. He doubted his supporting cast was good enough.But he never doubted himself

Back in the day, when I followed basketball like a religion, it was unthinkable that some guys would be on a different team…Jordan, Magic, Bird, Issiah…etc.  Magic came in to a championship caliber team (due to kareem being there), with Bird, Issiah and Jordan the teams were built around them.  It took a little longer for Jordan, but that doesn’t make his play any less dominate or impressive.

James does not have the heart of a champion. He does not have the competitive fire of Jordan, the bull-headed determination of Kobe Bryant, the quiet self-confidence of Tim Duncan, the willful defiance of Isiah or the winning-is-everything hunger of Magic Johnson.

eh, that’s pretty subjective.  From all the stuff I’ve read about Magic I will say the “winning is everything” mentality seems pretty prevalent.  Every commentary I’ve read and every person that I’ve seen quoted seems to agree.

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GREENWICH, Conn., July 8, 1990 — Michael Jordan announced on national television he’s leaving Chicago to join the Detroit Pistons. Jordan said it was tough to bolt Chicago, where he was the most popular athlete in many years, because he thinks he has a better chance to win a championship if he plays with Pistons star Isiah Thomas. Jordan said by playing together, he and Thomas “won’t have the pressure of going out and scoring 30 every night.”

That would have sounded absurd, right? Well, it is no more absurd than what LeBron James is doing. Jordan was 27 years old in 1990, slightly older than James is now. He had never been to the NBA Finals. He had been beaten up by the Celtics and Pistons for years. He doubted his supporting cast was good enough.

But he never doubted himself.

And it became very clear Thursday night that LeBron James does doubt himself. James will be a champion in Miami — if not next year, then sometime after that. If you put James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together and give Pat Riley five years to find the complementary pieces, that team will win a championship.

But James does not have the heart of a champion. He does not have the competitive fire of Jordan, the bull-headed determination of Kobe Bryant, the quiet self-confidence of Tim Duncan, the willful defiance of Isiah or the winning-is-everything hunger of Magic Johnson.

He is an extremely gifted player who wants the easy way out.

And how do we know this?

James said so himself.

Oh, not in so many words. But once ESPN was done ESPN-izing its LeBron coverage — filling it with babbling experts, needless hype and Jim Gray submitting his top six entries in the Stupidest Question Ever contest — the self-proclaimed King said everything you need to know about him.

1. “You have to do what’s best for you, and what’s going to make you happy.”

This is what’s going to make him happy? Sharing a stage with two other stars? Really?

I guess that’s all LeBron is: A complementary player with superstar talent. We should have figured this out before: He got that giant CHOSEN 1 tattoo on his back and calls himself King James because he is desperate for reassurance.

There is no greater challenge in sports getting drafted by a godawful team, planting your flag in a city and working like crazy until you have turned that team into a champion.

LeBron James didn’t want the challenge. He wanted to play with his buddies.

2. “We don’t have the pressure of going out and scoring 30 every night or shooting a high percentage.”

Whoa. Hold on there. Scoring 30 a night is too much pressure for one of the five most talented players ever?

Find me another all-time NBA great who would utter those words. Jordan would rather do an adidas commercial than say that. Bryant must have laughed as he heard the so-called “King” say that. Larry Bird? The next time he complains about pressure will be the first. Magic was the greatest team player of the last 40 years, but he was also so competitive that he wanted to play Jordan one-on-one in a promotional event — and this was when Magic had won titles and Jordan had not, so Magic had more to lose.

3. “I know how loyal I am.”

The man just dumped his hometown(s) on national television. Cleveland (and, by extension, Akron) happens to be the most tortured sports city in America. To do that, then say “I know how loyal I am” … wow, wow, wow.

I wish I could sit in on one of LeBron’s meetings with his advisers. Does he make them all wear mirrored sunglasses, so that when he looks at them he sees himself?

We really don’t ask that much of our sports stars. Try not to get arrested for anything big. Don’t curse at the fans. You know, small stuff. We even understand that 95 percent of the time, they will make career decisions based on money — we might not love it, but we understand it.

But see, the biggest thing that we ask of our sports stars is this: Take the competition as seriously as we do.

When LeBron James loses to Boston in the playoffs, we want him to take the heat, not take the Heat’s offer. We want him to spend the summer adding to his game, calling and texting his teammates, plotting to do better next season.

Instead, well …

4. “It’s about joining forces with the other two guys.”

He sounds like a nine-year-old playing Star Wars games with his buddies at a sleepover. And again: I do believe this Miami team will win a title. But it won’t be as easy as he wants it to be. Miami will have the weakest bench of any contender next season After that, the NBA will have a lockout, and the league could eliminate the mid-level exception, which would be Miami’s best tool for adding talent.

So this is a cop-out, but it’s not as easy of a cop-out as it appears. And that brings us to …

5. “This is the greatest challenge for me.”

LeBron James just jumped into an elevator and wants us to think he can fly. Sorry, but we know better. We know that he did something Michael, Magic, Bird and Bill Russell never would have done. We know he ditched Cleveland for an All-Star team.

But you know what? In Miami, anything short of a title will be a failure. Nobody outside of Miami will root for this team, and nobody in Miami roots for anybody. They’re too busy enjoying the weather.

I thought he would stay in Cleveland, because I thought all he cared about was adoration. I was wrong about Cleveland, but he is wrong about adoration. He thinks he’ll get it by winning a title. He has insulated himself from the world, surrounded himself with yes men. He has no idea how much backlash he is about to get.

That’s one of the great ironies of this — James is trying to flee pressure, but he will just face more of it. He is trying to maximize his “brand,” but he just damaged it.

The first time I watched LeBron James live, I thought he could be the greatest player ever. The sad truth for us, for him, and for the NBA is that he never really believed it himself.

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