Who has heard about this controversy with a college player dunking over LeBron James? If you haven't, I'll recap the story:

LeBron was at his LeBron James Skills Academy when a pickup game started. Jordan Crawford, a college player at Xavier University (here in my hometown of Cincinnati), was playing when he blew by his defender and then hurled himself at the basket. He unleashed a monstrous two-handed slam dunk, over the top of the hapless defender -- who just so happened to be LeBron James.

Imagine that, Jordan Crawford -- who usually unleashes his fury on the powers of the Atlantic-10 Conference, stepped up his game and dunked on one of the best current players in the NBA. Yes, this dunk alone is enough to make news on basketball message boards -- but why am I discussing it here in JockStocks? Because of Nike's (NKE) reaction.

University of Connecticut Huskies coach Jim Calhoun was recently asked about his $1.6 million salary by a reporter during a press conference. Calhoun didn't like the question and thing went a little well, off-kilter.

Now the Connecticut General Assembly's higher education committee wants the coach reprimanded for his outburst. "His recent behaviour was unacceptable and we request that the university take appropriate disciplinary action to reinforce the high ethical standards we have come to expect from our flagship institution," they wrote in a letter to UConn's president.

No matter how much you plan, calculate, speculate and research sometimes you just cannot avoid turmoil and it is going to affect your business. It does not matter what kind of business you're in, you are going to have surprises.

This week when I read Miami Heat forward Shawn Marion out for season with foot injury, I could not help but think how ironic. When the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball franchise traded all-star forward Shawn Marion (and guard Marcus Banks) to the Heat for Shaquille O'Neal I am quite certain that there was unanimity of thought that it was Shaq that would be more prone to injury. He had already missed many games this season and was just coming off an injury right before the trade.

After a very slow (losing) start with the Suns Shaq has done well (ignoring his pitiful free-throw shooting) and they have reversed course over the last ten games. The Suns are still in the same hunt for a Championship they were before, but now with a monster in the middle perhaps giving them greater hope for a storybook ending.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of the Phoenix Suns or Miami Heat , but I am saving up to buy the Los Angeles Lakers.

This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Jeffrey Jordan live up to the legacy of his father, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

By Mike Brewster, guest blogger.

Since legendary hoopster Michael Jordan retired for good in 2003, none of the "next Michael Jordans"-- from Tracy McGrady to Jerry Stackhouse to Vince Carter -- have come close to matching Jordan's gaudy stats, six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, or impact on the game (not to mention his poker losses, but that's another story). Perhaps we have to look closer to home to find the real heir to Air Jordan?

Son Jeff Jordan is a freshman at the University of Illinois, and the first thing that strikes you about the younger Jordan is that he earned an academic scholarship to Illinois, certainly impressive but not exactly predictive of a Hall of Fame NBA career. Jeff's stats -- he's averaging five minutes and under one point per game this season for one of the worst Illinois squads in memory -- suggest that he might have been better off playing at one of the schools where he was offered a basketball scholarship, such as Loyola University of Chicago or Valparaiso.

Ticketmaster, the leading ticket sales website owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (NYSE: IACI) is being sued by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The NBA basketball team accuses the company of anticompetitive and monopolistic practices.

According to the Associated Press, "The Cavaliers allege in the lawsuit that Ticketmaster is trying to prevent the team's Flash Seats secondary-ticketing Web site from competing with the ticketing giant. Flash Seats provides season ticket holders a way to sell and transfer seats electronically _ a system that is superior to Ticketmaster's TeamExchange program, the lawsuit says."

Ticketmaster has also sued the team, claiming that its contract makes the relationship with Flash Seats illegal.

As Doug McIntyre wrote earlier, IAC reported disappointing earnings today sending the stock down more than 5%. But the drop does not appear to be attributable to the Ticketmaster lawsuit.

Zac Bissonnette is a partner and writer for Hedge Funnies, a satirical take on the financial markets.

A few months back, I wrote, with some scorn, about Brad Duke, an Idaho aerobics instructor who won $125 million and now thinks he can parlay that into $1 billion in 12 years. Duke, who insists he won the lottery because of an elaborate mathematical strategy he developed (for those who are interested, I have Enron shares for sale), is extremely unlikely to end up a billionaire. I would say that there's a good chance he'll give up a good chunk of his lottery payout.

Now comes Lebron James, the 6'8" Cleveland Cavaliers star, saying that he wants to be the first billionaire athlete (although his agent qualified that by saying that that amount would include the value of brands associated with his name that he does not own directly). Lebron just might have a shot. He signed a $90 million endorsement deal with Nike right after he was drafted out of high school, and has numerous other deals. He agreed to an $80 million extension with the Cavs last summer and, best of all, he has a great business hero: Warren Buffett. Last September, Lebron traveled to Omaha to dine with Buffett and the two have become fast friends.

Since then he bought a stake in Cannondale, a privately held line of high-end bicycles, and he also made a number of investments in start-ups and, of course, real estate.

So, does Lebron have a chance? I'd say he has an excellent chance. His willingness and desire to learn from the best, combined with the drive and determination that he's exhibited on the basketball court, are two of the most important characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and investors.

At the very least, I will bet that Lebron ends up a lot richer than Brad Duke.

Even the majesty that is LeBron James couldn't trump Tony Soprano. Game 2 of the NBA finals, which aired on Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC Network, saw a drop in ratings as the San Antonio Spurs won 103-92, going up two games to none against the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.

Early numbers revealed that the game posted an overnight rating of 6.9 on the network, drawing 5.6% of U.S. TV households. This represents a 24% drop from the previous year's 9.1 rating for Game 2 of the Dallas Mavericks/Miami Heat series. NBA officials cited The Sopranos season finale for a large reason why folks weren't tuning in to catch some hoops. Available in 30 million households, the HBO show drew 11.9 million viewers; the game attracted 8.5 million viewers during the same hour-long time slot.

But The Sopranos finale was just one hour on one night. Maybe the sagging ratings are because both San Antonio and Cleveland are relatively small markets (number 37 and 17, respectively)? Or perhaps in the post-Jordan era, people just don't care as much about professional basketball?

According to USA Today, ESPN's NBA playoff broadcasts this season averaged 2.4% of cable TV households - on par with the rock-bottom numbers of 2003 - while ABC says its regular-season games (up to the finals) have seen ratings drop 40% from 2003 levels.

To maintain a fleeting hope that this year's finals won't set an all-time ratings low, ABC needs the series to go 6 or even 7 games. With the Cavs now down three games to none, that's a severely unlikely possibility.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

If mere athletic talent sold product, kids would be lining up for Tim Duncan's shoes, since he is the best player in the NBA. But it doesn't. It takes a combination of extraordinary athletic accomplishment and charisma to push a brand over the top. Three such athletes, Amanda Beard, LeBron James and Tiger Woods, are front and center in this week's news.

Two are at the peak of their pulling power. LeBron James (Nike, NYSE: NKE, Coca-Cola's (NYSE: KO) Powerade) fresh from an astonishing game five of the NBA Eastern conference playoffs, is dominating the sports page, if not the San Antonio Spurs. The Cleveland franchise has gained $185 million in value since his signing, and the $90 million he received from Nike seems like a bargain now. When his contract expires in 2008, he could demand -- $250 million? $500 million? It is possible, by the end of the career, he could be the first $1 billion athlete?

If Tiger doesn't beat him to it. Beginning tomorrow, Tiger Woods (Nike, Buick, General Motors, NYSE:GM) starts his pursuit of the 2007 U.S. Open. He's inked a 5-year, $40 million deal with Nike, and $25 million from Buick. Unlike LeBron, Tiger can look forward to another 30 years of playing, with lots of green jackets and green cash to come.

The USA Today has a pair of interesting features for anyone out there who is participating in those office pools betting on NCAA basketball games, or other sports. Sandra Block reminded readers to report any winnings to the IRS and another piece wrote about the controversy surrounding office betting pools. The USA Today wrote that:

More people seek help to stop or control their sports betting during March and April than at other times during the year, according to a March survey by Bensinger DuPont & Associates (BDA), a Chicago-based employee assistance provider that also runs a toll-free gambling addiction hotline.

While I don't doubt the truth of the statistic, I wonder how many of those gamblers are spurred on by office betting pools, versus larger scale sportsbooks etc. While it seems unlikely to me that an office pool would be the catalyst for compulsive gambling behavior, I can certainly understand why many employers are banning it: People's productivity declines when they're focused on gambling. However, is it also possible that the friendly competition of March Madness could create camaraderie among office workers?

Do you participate in a betting pool at work? How would you say it has impacted the workplace environment?

Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) reported better-than-expected third quarter results and investors couldn't have cared less.

Net income was $350.8 million, or $1.37 a share, versus $325.8 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier. period. Revenue rose to $3.93 billion from $3.61 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected on average profit of $1.33 a share on revenue of $3.92 billion.

Shares of Nike, which are up more than 25 percent over the past year, barely moved in after-hours trading. They last traded at $110.65, up less than 2 percent.

Why did investors shrug their shoulders?

Perhaps they wondered whether or not consumers worried about their paychecks are going to be shelling out $175 for the Air Force 25 or the iPod-compatible shoes that lifted Nike's profit in the quarter.

Come to think of it, consumers also probably aren't going to be too keen on other trendy shoes like Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) and those awful wheeled shoes that kids in every mall wear made by Heely's (NASDAQ:HLYS).

We are in the dawning of the age of Payless ShoeSource Inc. (NYSE:PSS).

College basketball fans will be able to view highlights and game clips from March Madness they happen----on YouTube. The partnership is sponsored by Pontiac, a division of GM(NYSE:GM), and makes CBS (NYSE:CBS)one of the first companies to actively partner with YouTube in offering content, while Viacom has chosen the litigation route. Which is the right way to go?

In investing there is an old adage that I happen not to agree with but, in this case, it applies: Don't fight the trend. The offering of content on sites like YouTube will, in some form or other, be the wave of the future. In gaining a sponsorship from Pontiac, CBS has found a way to profit from piracy: with or without their consent, clips from March Madness were going to show up on YouTube (although probably not in real-time).

Just as record labels are finding a way to profit from online downloading, producers of television content will need to do the same. Congratulations to CBS for being among the first.

This weekend's Financial Times features an interview with Miami Heat star Shaquille O'Neal about his business interests, which include real estate, cash washes, health clubs and, of course, his numerous endorsement deals. His net worth is estimated by Forbes at $250 million, but he shows no signs of slowing down.

His interest in real estate development has led to a friendship with Donald Trump, who joked to Shaq, "'Dammit, Shaq! We're friends, but now we're competitors!" after O'Neal began investing in Miami real estate development.

Another, much younger NBA star, Lebron James, also has an eye for business. Last year, he had lunch with Warren Buffett, whom he considers to be his hero in the business world.

My bet: If Shaq idolizes Trump and Lebron idolizes Buffett, Lebron will become a lot richer. Shaq will probably just become an arrogant blowhard. Oh wait...

The Dallas Maverick's owner Mark Cuban has pulled the plug on a planned weekly NBA basketball show, Mark Cuban's Radio Maverick, for Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI). An ISDN line was to have been installed in Cuban's home so that he could do the show from there. Cuban has received offers to host radio shows before. He's outspoken, inventive, and audacious; the show might have been worth a listen.

Why this decision? He explains his reasons on his popular blog: BlogMaverick. He agreed to the idea of a show only as long as Sirius had a deal with the NBA. Which it does. Basically, Cuban states he felt his presence would enhance the NBA's brand. The show would have paid him nothing; but he likes to help out when he can. "To be a good NBA partner," as he puts it.