CLEVELAND — LeBron James has joined one of the NBA’s most exclusive clubs. The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar was voted the league’s MVP for the second straight year, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Friday.
James, who averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists this season, is the 10th NBA player to be the MVP in consecutive seasons. He joins Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash.
• Larry Brown is being pulled in different directions as he weighs whether to return for a third season as coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.
While Brown talked about his love for coaching and his eagerness to make the Bobcats better, he also lamented about the time he has spent away from his wife and teenage children in Philadelphia.
“I’ve got a 13-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son and the time I’m away from them I can’t get that back,” Brown said. “I’ll be 70 (in September). I don’t feel that way unless I look in the mirror, but I’ve got to go home and talk to my wife because I love her and I love my kids.”
• A lawsuit claims Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas owes a Beverly Hills (Calif.) company more than $70,000 for storing guns he bought and never picked up.
The suit filed last week by Tactical Operations claims Arenas bought the guns — five Beretta pistols with silencers — but refused to pick them up. Attorney Burton Jacobson said the firm is selling the weapons but Arenas owes storage fees and interest.
In March, Arenas got 30 days in a halfway house for bringing guns into the team’s locker room.
• Indiana Pacers guard T.J. Ford will pick up the $8.5 million player option on the final year of his contract and return to the team next season.
Hudler set to rejoin Red Wings
DETROIT — Jiri Hudler is coming back to play for the Detroit Red Wings after the forward was granted his release from Dynamo Moscow.
Hudler had 99 points his last two seasons, helping Detroit win the Stanley Cup in 2008 and reach Game 7 of the Finals last year.
• Washington Capitals defenseman Tom Poti said doctors are “100 percent confident” he will make a full recovery after getting hit in the eye by the puck during a playoff game this week.
• U.S. viewership of the NHL playoffs increased 24 percent from 2009, the league’s highest average first-round audience in 10 years.
The NHL said NBC and Versus combined to average 742,000 viewers per telecast. That’s the most since ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 had 750,000 in 2000.
Footnotes.
Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan received a one- year contract extension and women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone received a two-year extension.
• Hofstra suspended basketball coach Tim Welsh amid reportes police had charged him with driving while intoxicated.
• Lance Armstrong revealed he will be a five-time father in the fall, then finished fifth in the third stage of the Tour of the Gila to help teammate Levi Leipheimer maintain his overall lead.
The Associated Press
