First Cup: Thursday

Patrick McManamon of The Akron Beacon Journal: "The Cavs are going to offer LeBron James the biggest contract possible. He has said over and over he loves playing here, though few people seem to want to listen to him. So he'll make gobs of money here, or he might be able to make more gobs of money there. The choice will be his. The money might be there in Athens now, but so is smog and overcrowding and a lot of stuff, good and bad. No matter, it's two years from possibly happening. Writing James off at this point is so woe-is-me, we'll-never-win Cleveland sports. Let's just take a deep breath and appreciate the fact that, right now, one Greek god wears the hometown colors."Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: "At another time, in another place, he might have been wounded and melancholic about the turn his professional life has taken. Nobody is saying this is the new Vince Carter -- actually, his fans want to see the old Vince Carter -- but he is older and wiser and more tolerant of change than he's ever been given credit for. 'I never questioned what they're doing, and I definitely wanted to be here,' the Nets' superstar said Wednesday of the team's offseason makeover. 'It's the way it goes. It's the business of basketball. Sometimes guys get moved who didn't want to, and sometimes guys are thrown into a deal. You have to accept it, and I'm going to make the best of it. This is my opportunity to step up and be a leader on and off the court.'"Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "At first glance, the release of the Rockets 2008-09 schedule would appear to mark the end of the offseason's run of promising developments. It is brutal early, when the Rockets seemingly would need time to work in offseason acquisitions Ron Artest and Brent Barry. It has a midseason run of back-to-backs that will have the Rockets playing six games in nine nights, with several trips that would indicate the NBA does not own a map. It finishes with a rush of teams expected to contend for Western Conference playoff spots. Upon further inspection, however, the Rockets have reason to be encouraged, starting with the similarities to last season's schedule, from which they extracted 55 wins despite a bevy of injuries." Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "No Saturday games. Oklahoma City will be one of only four NBA teams without any Saturday home games. The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics, the runner-up Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors are the only other NBA teams without any Saturday home games. ... The NBA compiled Oklahoma City's schedule from a list of available Ford Center dates submitted to the league by arena management as agreed to by the team. Teams play 41 regular-season home games, but out of the 75 possible home dates submitted to the NBA, only one was a Saturday, according to schedule maker Matt Winick, NBA vice president of operations. 'It didn't happen because of other scheduling issues,' Winick said."Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: "Not long ago, the Atlantic Division was mocked as the 'Titanic' Division and considered among the worst in sports, but things have clearly changed. Nowadays, the division boasts the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics (in town for the first time Nov. 23), the highly touted Raptors and Sixers, as well as the retooling New Jersey Nets and the Mike D'Antoni-coached New York Knicks, who both may be within sniffing distance of the East's final playoff berth at season's end."Aaron J. Lopez of the Rocky Mountain News: "Marcus Camby's revenge and Carmelo Anthony's return. Those are among the early story lines that emerged Wednesday when the Nuggets officially unveiled their 2008-09 schedule. The Nuggets will open the season on the road against the defending Northwest Division champion Utah Jazz on Oct. 29 before facing Camby and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center on Oct. 31. Anthony will miss both games while serving a suspension for his arrest on drunken-driving charges in April."Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Bucks general manager John Hammond said he had a hunch about facing the Bulls in the opener. 'I called up Scott, and we both had a chuckle,' Hammond said. Skiles said the first thing that caught his eye about the schedule was the road-heavy early portion, with the Bucks playing 20 of the first 33 away from the Bradley Center. And that game in Chicago." Bill Bradley of the Sacramento Bee: "The trade isn't official yet. And it won't be until Aug. 14, or so we've heard. But mark April 9 on your calendar with a big red Sharpie. That's the day Ron Artest returns to Arco Arena as a Houston Rocket. That's about eight months away, and a lot will happen between now and then. But it will be interesting to see how he will be greeted." more...