Magic Johnson is leaving ESPN, and will no longer be part of their NBA coverage team. Although a legend as a player and personality, Magic was pretty basic in his delivery of NBA analysis, and didn’t really seem to improve much over the years. Lots of casual fans enjoyed him, while many more dedicated fans don’t mind seeing him move on. Here’s a statement from the network:

John Wildhack, ESPN Executive Vice President, Production:

Earvin “Magic” Johnson informed us today that he’ll no longer be part of our NBA coverage due to his other commitments. We appreciate Magic’s contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. We are in the process of determining our NBA commentator roles for the upcoming season.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson statement:

I love ESPN. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my schedule and other commitments, I don’t feel confident that I can continue to devote the time needed to thrive in my role. I will always feel a strong connection to the ESPN family and I enjoyed working with them very much. I’d like to thank John Skipper, John Wildhack, Mark Gross, Kim Belton, Amina Hussein, Mark Summer, Adam Hertzog, Bob Rauscher, Stuart Scott, Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry, Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, Chris Broussard and the many others at ESPN for the wonderful opportunity to talk about the game I love. They are the best in the business.

For seven NBA seasons George Karl told TV viewers — in his low-key style — about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat while coaching the Nuggets.

Karl, who recently signed a multiyear agreement with ESPN, will utilize that style as a national NBA analyst, working in a variety of studio shows, including “SportsCenter,” “NBA Coast to Coast” and “NBA Tonight.”

Part of Karl’s job will be assessing the organization that fired him at the end of last season, after he led Denver to a 57-25 record and earned NBA coach-of-the-year honors.

“ESPN contacted me in August,” Karl said from his Denver home. “Obviously, I was intrigued. I’ve spent my life in basketball. I auditioned in Bristol (ESPN’s Connecticut headquarters), and we signed a deal.”

Reported by Dusty Saunders, special to the Denver Post

The recent offseasons haven’t been so easy for Brook Lopez. There was the bout with mono three years ago, and then the three foot surgeries that stalled his career.

But all this time away from the court has provided Lopez an opportunity to advance his eclectic interests, specifically a script for an animated adventure/comedy that he and his twin brother — Robin Lopez, a center for the Trail Blazers — have been shopping to television networks.

“We have a pilot all written out,” says Lopez.

Brooklyn’s All-Star center is quite serious about this endeavor, as well his future plans to create books, comics and video games. He and Robin have visited the studios at Disney and Fox, even sitting at a taping of “The Simpsons.” Like any Hollywood writer, he is keeping the details of the script a secret, providing only the theme.

“This one is Robin’s brainchild,” Lopez says.

Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Dwyane Wade’s appearance on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno early Friday morning offered more insight into his personal life than his professional one.

“I’m going to tell you something personal,” Wade said when Leno asked him about his relationship with actress Gabrielle Union.

“Celebrity relationships is very hard. This was a big year for us in our relationship from the standpoint of she was shooting her show Being Mary Jane. … I was dealing with my injuries, trying to win a championship. We kind of took a step back. We supported each other, but we took a step back for a little while. At the end of the day, we came back together and said, ‘Listen, we want to continue this. We want to try to continue to get better each day.’ She’s been with me and I’ve been with her all summer long. We’re going strong now.”

Reported by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald

LeBron James Has rings

To quote San Diego legend and respected newsman Ron Burgundy, when Jay-Z and Beyonce fly in to sing at your wedding, you’re “kind of a big deal.”

A performance by the two pop icons on Saturday night highlighted the wedding celebration of Miami Heat star LeBron James and longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson, who shared vows in San Diego with family and friends.

And, so, Miami’s king now has a queen.

About 200 people attended the ceremony held at San Diego-area resort Grand Del Mar Hotel. The hotel is considered one of the best in the world. Per the property’s website, the Grand Del Mar Hotel is “serenely nestled amidst Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve” and “seamlessly combines the old-world charm of a Mediterranean estate with the modern luxury of an elegant resort.”

The constant hovering of local TV helicopters apparently detracted little from the ceremony’s ambiance, which was hidden from view under large event tents. Guests were ushered into the hotel under umbrellas.

Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

Many members of the Heat organization were there, including Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, managing general partner Micky Arison and coach Erik Spoelstra. Wade and girlfriend Gabrielle Union posted images of themselves dressed for the occasion on social media, as did Bosh and his wife Adrienne. Some of James’ longtime friends were also in attendance, including his manager Maverick Carter.

“What a wonderful evening!!” Adrienne Bosh wrote on Twitter. “Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. James…Thanks for sharing Ur night & love with us”

The ceremony was the obvious highlight of a three-day wedding weekend for the couple, who were high school sweethearts and are the parents of two sons. They were engaged just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2012, when James dropped to a knee and surprised his longtime girlfriend by finally popping the question as many of their close friends were gathered around.

Reported by the Associated Press

Lamar Odom’s crack cocaine addiction had reached such dangerous levels … even his dealer thought the NBA star had gone over the edge, and cut off his supply last week, TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the dealer tell us, the crack slinger had delivered the drug to Lamar all summer, but last week, Lamar was insatiable … calling incessantly and demanding more and more crack. His go-to dealer apparently got scared enough to cut Lamar off.

Reported by TMZ.com

Jay-Z selling his Brooklyn Nets ownership stake to Jason Kidd

Jay Z is selling his minority ownership in the Brookyn Nets to coach Jason Kidd, sources exclusively tell Page Six.

We’re told Kidd will take over Jay’s .067 percent (1/15th of a percent) stake in the team for about $500,000.

The move comes as Jay was forced to sell his Nets shares over a conflict of interest after he started a sports agency, Roc Nation, signing clients including Yankee Robinson Cano and Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant.

A source told us, “Other owners want to give Jason a part ownership of the team, and urged Jay to sell his shares to him.”

Reported by Page Six of the New York Post

Having produced two NBA championships with the Miami Heat, the next step for LeBron James will be producing scripted television comedy.

The Starz cable network announced Tuesday that the Heat forward along with Tom Werner, Mike O’Malley, Maverick Carter and Paul Wachter will develop a half-hour scripted comedy series, Survivor’s Remorse, for Starz, with James serving as an executive producer.

Mike O’Malley will serve as executive producer and writer. He previously worked as consulting producer and writer on Shameless and as an actor in Glee, Justified and My Name is Earl.

To James, who is not scheduled to appear in the series, it expands a presence that already has moved beyond the confines of the court.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Here’s an InsideHoops.com photo of Michael Rapaport at last week’s Elite 24 high school all-star game in Brooklyn, New York. The man loves basketball:

En-route to Friday’s Justin Timberlake and Jay Z concert, Miami Heat superstar LeBron James was given a police escort to navigate the bumper-to-bumper traffic into Sun Life Stadium.

A grateful James posted the clip of the good deed on his Instagram account with the caption: “They treat us so well! Needed it cause traffic was nuts!!” James has a little under 3.5 million Instagram followers.

“Light police escort on the wrong side of the street,” James said. “Headed to the big homie concert, JT. Holla.”

On Monday, Miami-Dade police said the officer who gave James and his fiancée the wrong-way escort into the stadium “violated departmental policies.”

Reported by the Miami Herald staff

Former ‘N Sync singer Lance Bass and New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire highlight the list of judges for next month’s Miss America pageant in Atlantic City.

Joining them will be Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell; comedian and performer Mario Cantone; and Barbara Corcoran, an investor from ABC’s entrepreneurial competition show ”Shark Tank.” Also on the panel are Carla Hall, co-host of ABC’s food-and-talk show ”The Chew,” and Deidre Downs Gunn, an obstetrician and gynecologist who was the last Miss America to be crowned in Atlantic City.

Reported by the Associated Press

Michelle Obama will release a hip-hop-inspired album. Although she probably won’t rhyme or sing on any songs, it will be the first time that a first lady has delved into hip-hop for a greater cause.

The album will promote Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign in an effort to fight childhood obesity. Obama enlisted DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Ashanti, Monifah and other artists to create songs on the 19-track album.

The project, sponsored by Partnership For A Healthier America and Hip Hop Public Health, will seek to raise awareness through entertainment.

Track no. 11: “Pass the Rock” f/ Iman Shumpert and Artie Green

Reported by Amir Shaw of RollingStone.com

The 19-track album with song titles like “U R What You Eat” and “Veggie Luv” is being released by the Partnership for a Healthier America, an independent group found in conjunction with Let’s Move.

Ten music videos released with the album are set to be distributed to schools in New York City before being circulated to other major cities.

Reported by Hadas Gold of Politico.com

LeBron James plays the part of superhero on a basketball court, seemingly from October through June.

But he is a regular human being in the offseason, as those in an Akron, Ohio, courthouse were reminded Thursday morning when the Heat star forward reported for jury duty — just like everybody else has to.

“Jury duty time. Time to serve my civic duty” James tweeted.

Reported by the Miami Herald

James drew a buzz at the county courthouse in downtown Akron but was not seated on a jury for trial and left the building at 10:30 a.m., according to the Akron Beacon Journal.

He has been spending time in his hometown and working out for the past several weeks since returning from a promotional tour to the Philippines and China. This weekend James is hosting several charity events in the city.

Reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

Warriors guard Stephen Curry hung in as the third-round leader for most of Sunday, but he faded down the stretch and watched Billy Joe Tolliver top Mark Rypien in a playoff for his fourth title at the American Century Championship at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

Tolliver made par on the third playoff hole, the par-5, 501-yard 18th hole to claim the title after  Rypien deposited a short pitch into a pond alongside the green.  Tolliver and Rypien, former NFL quarterbacks, tied at 67 points, and Curry ended up with 64 — good enough for a fourth-place finish.

“I think I showed I’ve got what it takes to win here,” said Curry, the 36-hole leader. “Obviously, it takes a lot to win. A lot has to go right. The more I play, the more comfortable I get. It’s a great environment to play golf.”

Reported by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Blog)

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is engaged to Minnesota Lynx guard Monica Wright.

Wright confirmed the engagement following Minnesota’s 91-59 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night…

Wright is in her fourth season in the WNBA. She played her college ball at Virginia and turns 25 on July 15.

Reported by the Associated Press

Miami-based Carnival Corp. & PLC announced Tuesday that longtime Chairman and CEO Micky Arison will step down as company CEO, but continue as chairman in a move to split the two roles.

Carnival said business leader and 12-year board member Arnold W. Donald will assume the CEO role effective July 3, Carnival said in a news release Tuesday.

Arison has held the role of CEO since 1979, and as chairman he’ll continue to provide board level oversight and will remain the company’s largest shareholder, Carnival said.

Donald in turn will lead the executive team, focusing initially on achieving the company’s long-term strategic goals.

Carnival said the move to split the roles has received unanimous approval from the company’s nominating and governance committee as well as the full board of directors.

Reported by Arlene Satchell of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Will Jay-Z actually represent clients of his newly built sports agency Roc Nation Sports in contract negotiations?

Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Roc Nation Sports, confirmed to ESPN.com that, as of this week, Jay-Z is now licensed to work as an NBA agent. Juan Perez, president of Roc Nation Sports, also is now certified with the National Basketball Players Association.

The news was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.

What’s not clear is how soon Jay-Z actually can represent players. A source close to the situation said that, as of Wednesday, the hip-hop mogul had not sold his small share (less than 1 percent) of the Brooklyn Nets.

Reported by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com

NBA veteran Jason Collins has marched in Boston’s gay pride parade with Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III, his onetime roommate at Stanford University.

Collins wore a T-shirt that read #BeTrue when he joined thousands of marchers Saturday.

In April, Collins became the first active player in one of the four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay. He wrote in an article for Sports Illustrated that the decision to go public came when Kennedy marched in last year’s parade and Collins didn’t feel that he could join him.

Reported by the Associated Press

To catch you up to speed on Utah Jazz legends, Jerry Sloan is still mentioned in job-opening rumors, Jeff Hornacek is the Phoenix Suns head coach and Karl Malone has agreed to mentor his old team’s big men.

Oh yeah, and John Stockton is now … an author!?

Yes, really.

The Hall of Fame point guard’s autobiography “Assisted” — co-authored by Kerry L. Pickett — will be released this fall.

Deseret Book posted an Instagram photo of Stockton signing his Shadow Mountain-published book Thursday from the Book Expo America in New York City.

Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News

Metta World Peace has released a children’s book entitled “Metta’s Bedtime Stories.”

Available via createspace.com, “Metta’s Bedtime Stories” was “written to help children think about daily events in a positive light.”

World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, has played the last four seasons with the Lakers — winning his first title in 2010 against the Boston Celtics.

Outside of basketball, World Peace is a spokesman for mental health, currently collaborating with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health with his “Talk It Out” campaign.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)