According to multiple NBA sources that have spoken with Newsday, LeBron James is expected to announce he will join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. ESPN's Chris Broussard confirms the report that James will sign with Miami, barring a last-minute change of heart.
LeBron is set to officially make his choice known to the world on ESPN at 9 o'clock tonight.
The entire Wade/LeBron/Bosh saga has been crazy-ridiculous from the get-go. From Heat fans suffering through sleepless nights after it was reported that Wade was seriously considering joining the Chicago Bulls, to yesterday's news that Wade was back with the Heat and bringing Bosh with him, to rumors that James was flying in to Miami last night -- it's been a never-ending cycle of unhinged madness, complete with sources saying contradicting things, unconfirmed reports, misinformation, dogs and cats living together, polar bears appearing in the middle of deserted islands, and otherwise mild-mannered men stabbing each other in the face with tridents. And now, with this Newsday report, along with a plethora of other sources coming out of the woodwork, the King James to Miami Rumormill has officially hit ludicrous speed.
790 The Ticket's afternoon radio host, Dan LeBatard, announced on his show yesterday that a very reliable source -- one he claims has never been wrong -- was telling him that LeBron-to-the-Heat was a done deal.
Unconfirmed reports have been making the rounds that James made an offer on a multimillion-dollar waterfront home in Coral Gables. ESPN's Shelley Smith reports LeBron to Miami remains a "strong possibility." Then there's Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweeted that an NBA official who had made a formal presentation to James believes the decision is down to Cleveland or Miami. Meanwhile, even before the Newsday report came out, Broussard told SportsCenter he believes the Heat is the favorite to land James.
Keep in mind that most of these reports and rumors are coming from ESPN, which is banking on the entire population of planet Earth to watch its hourlong LeBron-apalooza special tonight. So it might just be one of the network's devious ploys to send out misinformation and red herrings before it broadcasts The Biggest Event in the History of Sports and Humankind Ever tonight.
Expect more rumors and speculation to crop up before the day's end. And believe nothing. If you're a Heat fan, it would be wise to temper your enthusiasm, no matter what you hear or read, before the official announcement is made tonight by the man himself.
But just in case, be ready to run into the streets with your arms jovially flailing in the air like a Muppet.