the world will finally know who nba superstar lebron james will play for next year. cleveland? new york? chicago? miami? l.a.? new jersey? lebron could change the financial fortunes of cities. by playing there or not. we have got live reaction from across the country. plus steven a. smith, john sally, and rick fox here with their takes on the lebron james' sweepstakes. it's next on "larry king live." >> larry: good evening. we have cameras around the country where millions are holding their collective breath. they'll be delirious with joy feeling the pain any minute now. we are going to meet lebron james' high school basketball coach, john sally, former nba star, chomping at the bit to let us know what he thinks, the one, the only, stephen a. smith, with a startling revelation coming, and rick fox, former l.a. laker and boston celtic and star of spike tv's pros vs. joes. when i sat down, this all really started after the season when lebron james did his first interview with us, at his home in akron, early june. we talked about his free agency and his big decision. here's what he

lebron james with no regard for human life! lebron james is taking over. makes his way inside and scores. >> larry: before we get to some future things, they played last night so we don't know who won the first game. but who do you like in this lakers-celtics series? >> i mean, me being an eastern conference guy, i like boston. i mean, i've played against those guys and lost to them in the second round. you know, just the caliber of players they got, the winners they got, i think they have a great opportunity to win. >> larry: you think they can win? >> i think they can. >> larry: how did you lose to them? >> you know, their team was just, i think, a little bit better than ours. and they took advantage of some of our weaknesses. you know, when you have paul pierce and ray allen and kevin garnett, you kind of forget about rajon rondo. and that's exactly what happened at times. and he kind of controls the whole ship that goes on in boston. and they did a good job. i mean, we're a really good team, but they were better than us in this series. >> larry: even th

it's about the miami heat and lebron james coming. you, you talk about bringing three players together, free agents, lebron, dwyane wade, chris bosh, pat riley, certainly pulled a coup together and you have all willing to take less money to come here to play together, quite a deal here in miami, larry. >> kim's got his own campus par and grill and plantation. i want to mention that because it's quite a hot spot. >> like the super bowl in football. the people in the background. >> larry: he pointed out that they will take a cut. >> that's impressive where in today's age where you heard me say, follow the athletes, follow the money. he stayed true to his word. he's going where he has the best chance to win. let's talk about his health for a second. he broke down in the last playoff run. he's been covering that team for seven years. maybe he needs some help, a dwyane wade and a chris bosh to help him carry that load. >> they'll make the outside money, too. >> they need a big man because chris bosh doesn't want to play power forward. besid

in addition to winning the lebron james sweepstakes the heat also scored commitments this week from two other highly sought after players and free agents chris bosh and miami's own all-star dwayne wade. the mood in northeast ohio where james grew up and played for the cleveland cavaliers for the past seven years was starkly different. a few angry cleveland fans took to the street, lighting james paraphernalia on fire. they also expressed their heartache with words. >> he's one of our own, that's what makes it so painful. >> i knew it was coming. it's cleveland. we're used to deployment. >> the bitterness was shared by the cavalier's organization. in a letter to cleveland fans, team owner dan gilbert wrote this was announced with a several day narcissistic self-promotional buildup culminating with a national tv special. the letter goes on to describe james' decision as a cowardly betrayal. beyond the emotional anguish james depar ture will also hurt the team's bottom line. and some contend the economy of cleveland. the value of the cavs franchise has grown by more than $200 million since

lebron james on espn.here he is announce his dramatic choice where he was going to take his talent. he told it to jim gray. how did that happen? >> well, he is best friends and he is managed by a man who represents shim a man named maverick carter. >> rose: i know maverick, he's a great guy. >> he's an honorable upstanding guy with a whole lot of integrity. i approached him at game two of the n.b.a. finals at the staples center between celtics and lashgs and he was sitting with a man namedar i emanuel who is a super agent who is the president and the owner of william morris and i asked him how the free agency stuff was going to go on, they were sitting in the front row together, i approached them... i don't remember if it was the pre-game or half time and we got to talking about it and i said maverick, can i do the first interview with lebron james after he decides where it is he's going to stay and maverick said yes, that's no problem. well, i had had a history with lebron, i interviewed him once hen he w

he also coached a guy you probably heard of, lebron james.nd jonathan abrams, sports writer for "the new york times." gentlemen, welcome. greatly appreciate it. steven, you and i have talked about this over the years, publy, privately. let me put that to you. do these athlete have a responsibility to the community? >> i think they definitely do have a responsibility. but even more so, if you want to get paid, the reality is that if you want to be a role model, you want to go out there and get paid, you have to be a role model to the masses. you have to set an example that people would want themselves to follow or people would expect of themselves and expect of their children, et cetera. especially when you are put in the public eye. i don't think it's fair to them, but nevertheless, it's a responsibility that isn't going anywhere. >> coach, if there is a handbook to be written, one can argue michael jordan probably wrote the best one. but since this handshake incident, lebron james has really taken that responsibility for image, the responsib

con -- "it's like frickin' lebron james over here!" [ laughter ] pretty much.- "the jersey shore" girls are like florida's new "golden girls." con -- more orange than golden. [ laughter ] if you want to get technical about it. [ applause ] pro -- there's going to be a lot of fighting and a lot of jacuzzi action. con -- it's like being on a date with mel gibson. [ audience ohs ] [ laughter ] that's what happens. pro -- the cast members have names like snooki, j-woww and the situation and somehow managed to get famous. con -- you called yourself the banginator for a weekend in college and you still can't live it down. [ laughter ] that's a lame nickname. >> steve: that's not good. that is not a good weekend. >> jimmy: pro -- snooki got rid of her signature big hair poof. con -- she is now only three feet tall, in heels. [ laughter ] she's a very small person. pro -- we might see sammi and ronnie rekindle their romance and get married. con -- we might hear, "with this nipple ring, i thee wed." [ audience groans ] [ laughter ] it's very romantic. pro -- get ready t

with us tonight, the organizer of the lebron james/chris bosh heist.eat, dwyane wade is here. then later, a terrific band. this is their new album, it's called "night train." they're from england. keane is on the show, from the bud light stage. next week on the show is a good one. matthew fox, christina applegate, zac efron, johnny knoxville, hugh hefner, lisa ling, amanda crew, stand-up from shane mauss and music from grace potter & the nocturnals and rhymefest. so mark all of next week on your calendar. america fell in love with our first guest tonight when, for eight seasons of "that '70's show," he played a man named after a hat. he has a new movie called "the dry land" opening in select cities july 30th. please say hello to wilmer valderrama. [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: handsome as ever. where the hell have you been? i have not seen you in a long time. >> yeah, i took -- hi, how are you? [ cheers and applause ] yeah, i took a little break in front of the camera. i founded my production company. i got awesome deals and doing a lot of great st

if lebron james goes to miami, wins that nba title, we love winners, brands love winners.rsement income goes up even more. >> extends for the touchdown. >> reporter: the nfl may be america's favorite game, bpeyto manning is the only football player to crack the top ten. >> there's a salary cap. and there's a lot of players that an average guy on the street can't recognize without his helmet and uniform. >> only two baseball players live atop this list. both yankees. at five, alex rodriguez outearns derek jeter by $12 million in salary. but jeter makes $6 million more than rodriguez. see, kids? image matters. and as we get into the top of the list, proof that team sports may build civic pride and social skills. but individual stars make friends with a lot more dead presidents. at number three, fighter floyd mayweather jr., who vaulted onto the list with one $60 million payday. at number two, phil mickelson. >> he's the champion. >> reporter: his steady putter won him $10 million on the course. but his reputation as a model husband brought him another $52 million from madiso

we've heard so much about lebron, king james as they're calling him now. never wears the same pair of calling him now. never wears the same pair of shoes twice. stay tuned for this important meefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you call the scooter store today? because their mobility experts are also medicare experts. and that means the scooter store is your best shot at qualifying for a scooter that costs you little to nothing. hi i'm doug harrison. pay little to nothing out of pocket. how do we do it? we know what it takes to get you your power chair it's our strength. it's our mission. and we back it up with the scooter store guarantee. if we qualify you and medicare denies your claim for a new powerchair or scooter, i'll give it to you absolutely free. i paid into medicare all my life, and when i needed it the benefit w

your thoughts on the lebron james trig to mon ami, and i ask this question -- traded to miami. it was too narcissistic. the whole espn thing. what is your sense of how a player, nomatter how big or small, making that kind of decision, how to deal with the media? >> whitson. i think, certainly, we have seen in a very short period of time the landscape of sports has constantly been changing -- listen. as someone who is not as familiar with the basketball salary structure, i do appreciate and understand -- this is the first time that i can recall outside of chicago, and remembering when michael jordan was drafted, and we had hard times for awhile there. we could not get past detroit. and then, finally, we acquired a player, and the other players who were going to be instrumental in that team having success. i think there is a traditionalist in me that loves to see the play year, the magic johnson, who is in l.a., the larry bird in boston, so when it changes a little, and, hey, that is the landscape of basketball. everything that was just done was done haute and collectively bargai

. >>> how bitter are cleveland fans one week after getting jilted by lebron james?till bitter that it's now affecting their beer. in honor of their former king, a cleveland brewery is releasing a beer that leaves a bitter aftertaste. they are calling it quitness. 30 gallons sold out three hours in week. not everybody bitter about what's going on in miami. you can add penny hardaway on that list. the 39-year-old last played in the nba in 2007. he says he still works out and is playing ball and he could make an impact with a team like miami. hardaway played 14 seasons in the league before retiring in 2008. this is just further proof everybody would like to play with lebron james, dwyane wade and chris boesch. >> and he is willing to play with nothing. >> that's about what they would offer him, 5 buck as game maybe, something like that. >> laura, thank you. >>> let's talk baseball again. tonight's program lineup here. mets and giants play in a few minutes. after the game an all-new "dateline." and the latest here on nbc bay area news. >> this weekend only, a free-for-a

it was announced that lebron james will appear on the september cover of "gq," not to be outdone, thewner of the cavs will appear on the september cover of "f-u." [ laughter ] that's exciting. check this out. enrique iglesias says he will follow through on a promise to water ski naked in miami. [ audience ohs ] because spain won the world cup. in a related story, ricky martin says that he randomly and for no particular reason is trying to purchase a waterfront home in miami immediately. [ cheers and applause ] yep. who knows why? i don't know. i was reading about this earlier, a cbs news poll found that 57% of americans support arizona's new immigration law. although if you change it from -- [ audience groans ] if you change it from americans to people living in america, the number drops to 2%. [ laughter ] this is insane. two greyhound trainers in florida are under investigation after their racing dogs tested positive for cocaine. [ laughter ] people knew something was up when the dogs were seen snorting each other's butts. [ laughter ] hey guys, a new study found that pear-shaped wo

rival golfer phil mickelson, lebron james, derek jeter and peyton manning are some of the others on "ort's illustrated"'s top list of the top athlete. >>> mark joins us now. as are on a role. >> in baseball they say it's about a little bit of luck. they have caught the red sox, decimated by injuries, playing some of their worst baseball of the year. matt watson. nice story here, 32 years old. hasn't been in the big leagues since 2003. they just got him up here and he hits his first big league homer. ties the game 1-1. jack cust, jacks one to dead center. that's his sixth of the year. 4-2 as in the 5th. rajai davis continues to play solid baseball. got himself a 2-1 single and watson, as we mentioned, all over the minor leagues. he's played in asia, finally back up in the major leagues for the first time since 2003. he hopes he has found a home here. >> i have seen a lot of guys come and go. when i left to go to asia and -- you go out and hit great in triple-a every year. you know you can do it at this level if given an opportunity. >> it's finding a chance for somebody to believe in y

from china to expand his empire. >> chris: don't you think he would have been just as upset if lebron jamesa white star? >> i don't know. what i do know is that he said lebron quit five times but quitting is very close to -- why would the guy without a contract be attacked in this way by the owner of a team? like his major source of revenue got away. so to me it looked like dred scott and i think gibbs was wrong and i think any other owner who does that to a player should face the consequences. i think it is really wrong. >> chris: and finally, less than a meft, reverend jackson. should charlie rangel make a deal to get democrats off the hook and avoid the spectacle of a public trial in the fall? >> it is a personal choice. if charlie feels that he is innocent, he feels he would vindicate himself and so he may want to go through the due process route or may make a political decision but those are his choice to make and i respect charlie rangel for what across his 30 yearsist 30 of public service. >> chris: thank you for coming in today. always a pleasure to talk with you, sir. coming up, th

. >>> think cleveland sports fans forgot about lebron james again, one man won his new head jersey to a game friday night and fans heckled him so badly that police had to stick in and escort him out of the building. the fan told cleave land's television station he is mad because he paid to get into the game and security kicked him out for wearing what he wanted to. he does plan to go to more indians games and he might wear that jersey again. >> those people in cleveland, they are crazy. >> our producer is an ohio guy here, giving him a little bit of trouble there they are passionate about lebron james in their sports though. debate there. >> you guys talk about the giants game as well, i'm reminded that tonight is also orange friday. going to show your support spore, giants game wearing orange. being the traffic guy and safety guy, wearing the reflector vest. see me wearing it around town. >> as long as you wear something underneath t. >> no, we like the mesh. and the half-shirt i have, outstanding with the mesh look. take to the feld, make sure only 50% is orange. >> we will do that

. >> what happens when you wear a lebron james jersey to an indians game in cleveland.curity is forced to escort you from the beginning. one guy find it out the hard way. i don't think he minded. you see it, creating a stir in the stands, he was heckled, sworn at. after they left, they went crazy. >> did you see it? >> i had no doubt it went both ways. >> on that note, thanks for tomosing us tonight. bybye. krr

expectations for the miami heat have never been higher after signing lebron james, chris bosh, and dwyane wade, but what if the trio gets off to a slow start? here's wade's response from this weekend. >> of course, there's going to be times where we might lose one or two games in a row -- i mean two games, three games in a row. you never know. and it's going to seem like the world has crashed down. you know, you're all going to make it seem like the world trade just went down again, but it's not going to do nothing -- it's not going to be nothing but a couple of basketball games lost, and we'll have to get back on track. >> not the wisest choice of words. wade apologized yesterday for his reference to the world trade center. >>> now, how long is too long for a pro contract? what do you say? 17 years? new jersey devils think 17 is just right. the re-signed ilya kovalchuk to a 17-year $102 million deal. kovalchuk turned down similar offers from the l.a. kings and new york islanders. >>> baseball, rangers and tigers. scary moment in the sixth. dustin nippert took a line drive off his head. t

he offered his thoughts to marv albert where lebron james should play basketball. >> the most importanthing for lebron right now is to find a structure where he's got a coach that he respects. >> reporter: even taped pro mows for george lopez. >> could you offer me a position, like ambassador to mexico? >> no, george. you need to change late night. that's the kind of change i can believe in. >> i got kansas state down here. >> reporter: plenty of people accuse the president of being overexposed, but does it really hurt him? >> the white house does not care what we think. they care what the ladies of "the view" think and the ladies who watch the show think. they have come to washington with the firm belief that it is not their job to win over the political press and they don't care if they win over the political press. >> we are going to order a sub right now. >> reporter: the white house is well aware that the boss shines in more casual upon lick appearances versus the formal press conferences, where he gets dubbed professor obama. >> that takes care of about two-thirds of the cost. the

even lebron james does not get to take a shot when the shot clock expires. >> reporter: that's what's been said, those new owners joe lacob and peter guber. >> i was very surprised that the warriors sold for what they did. >> reporter: sports labor analyst said forbes valued the team at $315 million last december. >> let's see what kind of an athlete he is. >> reporter: chris cohen paid $1 million. but there's some things you can't put a price on. most think the odds are good the team will stay, co-owner lacob says this is his dream come true. >> you take the warriors out of oakland and i think you take the heart out of that team. >> i am just excited that there's new ownership. some winning seasons that would be fun. >> reporter: the sale of the golden state warriors is not a done deal just yet. it's still subject to closing, most likely within the next few months. >>> solano county firefighters say they will be watching for flair ups. the fire started on the 1400 block of goodyear road. the fire burned about 7 acres and was put out in about an hour. no injuries or damages were repor

even lebron james does not get to take a shot when the shot clock expires. >> reporter: that's what's been said, those new owners joe lacob and peter guber. >> i was very surprised that the warriors sold for what they did. >> reporter: sports labor analyst said forbes valued the team at $315 million last december. >> let's see what kind of an athlete he is. >> reporter: chris cohen paid $1 million. but there's some things you can't put a price on. most think the odds are good the team will stay, co-owner lacob says this is his dream come true. >> you take the warriors out of oakland and i think you take the heart out of that team. >> i am just excited that there's new ownership. some winning seasons that would be fun. >> reporter: the sale of the golden state warriors is not a done deal just yet. it's still subject to closing, most likely within the next few months. >>> solano county firefighters say they will be watching for flair ups. the fire started on the 1400 block of goodyear road. the fire burned about 7 acres and was put out in about an hour. no injuries or damages were repor

lebron james is house hunting in florida. offer on a home in coreable shal availables. there is a the owner says lebron is not buying. has a nice infinity pool. >> can you imagine the power bill? he left angst back in cleveland. >> and there is another check of the forecast now. >> people saying show me the sunny. this afternoon there is a time lapse view looking towards sutro tower. there is a marine layer deepening just how deep is it? there is about 1500 deep in the afternoon, getting deeper and deeper. and there is temperatures into 50s. and there is a warming up a little bit inland by afternoon we'll see high temperatures 70s to 80s and not moving out of the 50s along the coast. here is the accu-weather forecast. this cooler than average weather with us and we'll start to warm up thursday. friday will be the warmest day, highs into low 90s, mid-70s around the bay. 60 on the coast then cooling down again. and there coming up next a new san francisco sisterhood. >> a chance to make new friends overseas just ahead. >>> join

after six months of breathless anticipation, america returned to the jersey shore, which, like lebron jameshas been relocated to miami. and none of the people on it are from new jersey and it is new miami. i guess as long as there's techno music and a quiet place to vomit, the jersey shore can really be anywhere. it's a state of mind, if you will. i noticed today that the show isn't in hd, which is weird. it's in vd, this show. [ laughter ] but not in hd. this season, they brought angelina back. she was on the first season, but got kicked out and then after she was kicked out, she bad mouthed the other girls in interviews. so naturally mtv brought her back and surprised -- everyone is getting along really well. >> you want to go outside right now, we'll go right [ bleep ] outside. >> first of all -- >> put your [ bleep ] in my [ bleep ] face. you want to take this -- >> i'm trying to come back here with a fresh start. i'm trying to be classy right now. >> hold on. angelina -- >> [ bleep ] mosquito in my ear. just stop. all right. you're so annoying. you want to do this on me. >> jimmy: they

. >> yeah, lebron james is my half brother. yeah. yeah. >> jimmy: this is your sister?e. that's me on the right there, there am i. >> jimmy: school photo of you -- >> and there's lebron. >> jimmy: this is -- this is cute. this is -- >> yeah. >> jimmy: what year was this? >> that's when things started changing. getting weird in the house and stuff, and -- we started going our different ways and we wouldn't talk as much. he was getting pissed about being in the upper bunk. he didn't like that anymore. >> jimmy: that does happen. >> yeah, so, you know, it was -- >> jimmy: you must be very proud of him. >> i am proud. he's doing well. >> jimmy: and he of you, of course. >> he should be, i think, i mean -- >> jimmy: one would think so. certainly. >> we're built differently. we just took different paths. he's built for dunking and shooting on the outside and i'm built for boxing out and wheezing. >> jimmy: everybody is wondering where lebron is going to wind up. you've been shooting a movie in chicago. >> in chicago now. >> jimmy: by the way, i would weigh 485 pounds if i liv

we had president obama and lebron james.home from that week and i'm thinking to myself, i've done 50,000 interviews. i'm never going to top this. i want to go on. i want new horizons. i want to try other things. i'd like to stay somewhere with cnn. this whole thing was put together in four or five days. and i'm here ready to carry on. i'll be on tomorrow night. >> i did hear people say, you know, larry didn't really understand lady gaga. who understands lady gaga? please? >> larry: i liked her. >> i was thinking, who else gets lady gaga on their show? i never saw lady gaga anywhere else. >> larry: we got you a lot. >> i saw her wearing an aquarium on her head. i never saw her speak to another human being. i had no idea what she was like before she talked to you. >> larry: this is a mixed emotional night. i have a staff, i want to see them all may tan their job. more time with the wife. more time with the kids. more time to spend and more time to do other things. in other words, i can do things now i wasn't able to do before.

this is kind of like lebron james announcing -- >> a little bigger than that, yeah, but same deal, yeahe have some music. let's go outside for the big unveiling. >> jimmy: there it is. on the stand. it's going to be a good sized book. and you have spectacular unveil i ing. >> i look the pomp and circumstance. >> jimmy: well -- oh. yeah. well, someone should pull the cover off. >> jimmy: that should have happened. wow. >> oh, you don't kick it! what is he kicking it for? >> jimmy: probably trying to put it out, i guess. >> why don't you pull it out with your hose and not your foot, a-hole. >> jimmy: well, fortunately, i have a miniature version of the book. it's called -- this is really it, huh? >> sad that the mockup that you guys did -- your art department did in 20 minutes -- >> jimmy: you look like a male prostitute in this. >> well -- how dare you. >> jimmy: the book is called "in 50 years we'll all be chicks." it comes out november 2nd. you can preorder it on adamcarolla.com, amazon, any of those things. and you can see him life at the san diego house of blues this saturday night a

pretty clever, but that's not going to stop me. [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] ♪ thank you, lebron james wade, for joining pat riley in miami. [ scattered boos and cheers ] you guys are like the new "golden girls." bosh is rose, d. wade is blanch, pat riley is sophia, and lebron is such a dorothy. [ laughter ] the last thank you note right here. [ audience aws ] ♪ thank you, bp, for finally capping that oil spill. i originally wrote this thank you note a month and a half ago. [ laughter ] there you have it. those are my thank you notes, everybody. we'll be right back with "say what?" come on back! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ there aren't many of us who use a cellphone just to make phone calls. but when at&t or verizon offer you an unlimited plan for $69.99, that's all it's good for -- phone calls. with sprint, for the same price, you get unlimited text, unlimited web and unlimited calling to every mobile phone in america. now that's more like it. [ male announcer ] get our $69.99 plan and experience america's most improved customer satisfaction. only from sprint. deaf, hard-of-hearing and

. >>> and they're still bitter in cleveland, imagine that, about lebron jame depm miami. selling out of quit-ness ale, which is described as leaving a bitter aftertaste. that's a quick look at the headlines. >>> now, to marysol with the weather. >> unbelievable. the big story today, the heat. we look at the high temperatures. seattle is 74. phoenix is 111. atlanta is 86. new orleans is 89. it's cooler there than it is in denver, 104. so, not all these temperatures are in the 90s. but some portions of all of these states will see 90-degree or better weather, as the day progresses. we're also keeping a look on severe weather. two trouble spots. in the middle of the country, from fargo, to minneapolis, and omaha. you are going to see severe weather io th afab thanks so much. this weather report has been brought to you by avon. dan and bianna? >> mary, thank you. >>> coming up on "good morning america," he's an actor, artist and student. how does he do it all? i sat down with james franco to talk about his complicated career. >>> and it's the time of the week when we see how

. >> first lebron james. >> of course. >> he continues to create online ripples on yahoo searches for him. people want to know about his mom, his shoes, and one of the most popular search questions is what is his twitter handle. >> what else have we got? >> world cup is still a hot topic, even though seven days ago spain hooked the crown. people in san francisco still want to know about the finals and the fallout from it. we also have the oil spill. >> i'm sure that's a big one nationwide. >> nationwide and specifically in san francisco people are looking at the live oil spill feed, and that's up 300% in san francisco. here's a live look at the oil spill, at least what's supposed to not be spilling at this hour. what else do we have? >> lindsay lohan is making headlines. >> going to the big house. >> people want to know about her tattoos and what she's going to bring to jail. >> what's the last one? >> america's favorite sweetheart. she really did a great job of keeping her secrets about her baby adoption, and that is still people wanting to know the details of her, how her baby is. >

boxer floyd mayweather, lebron james and alex rodriguez round out the top five.ow for the highest paid bay area athlete. raiders receive darrius heyward- bey who caught only 9 passes last year will make 21.43 million. he didn't receive a signing bonus last year so that's why the figure is inflated. if you are scoring at home, that's about $2,381,000 per catch. >>> as for the local broadcasters, do we have that list? dana king -- [ laughter ] >> we don't have that list. okay. [ laughter ] >>> louis oosthuizen did not make the cut on the money list. fresh off his british open championship, he is out to prove he is no one-hit wonder. in stockholm oosthuizen carted fight birdies on the back nine and is tied for the lead with johnson and australian richards green at 5-under par. >>> to pete rose, to get his final bat base hit the all-time hits record was auctioned off today apparently the $158,000 sale was less than expected. rose got that final hit off the giants in 1986. >>> the famous mannequin which greets customers at lefty o'doul's restaurant named after the for

>> the owner of the cavaliers went crazy and he was fined $100,000 for his angry rant against lebron james. and mel gibson said, you call that a rant, hey, i got something. >> that's it for us. "larry king" starts right now. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> larry: tonight, a palin family bombshell. bristol and levi johnston are getting married. the happy couple once estranged reveal their engagement secret to the world and her mom on the cover of a magazine. what does sarah palin have to say about that? plus, the shocking billboard that compared the president to hitler and lenin. tea party activists are behind it. the naacp condemns it. who's right? who's wrong? next. on "larry king live." good evening. what could be a turning point in the gulf oil spill tragedy. let's get the latest from cnn's ed lavandera in new orleans. what's the latest, ed? >> reporter: well, larry, right now, we know that officials with bp and the federal government are entering into the preliminary testing phase, getting ready for what's called the integrity test. based on the readings they

>> well, paul -- >> it was a takeoff on lebron james's big dish and big interview. >> rose: right. >>nd we just did a skit on that. about my big decision. it is essentially not as big of a decision as lebron. taken just as seriously. >> how hard was it to make this decision? >> in some ways it was incredibly hard and in other ways it was just very hard. and who had you already told about your decision? >> everybody. >> who haven't you told? >> just you. >> i am the only person on earth you haven't told? >> yes. did you tell vice president joe biden? >> i just got off the phone with him. >> what about little lane? >> he is the first person i told. >> how about tito ortiz? >> i don't know who that is. >> he is an extreme fighter, he has a shaved head, wrestle add cow at bakersfield. >> yes, i told him. >> so i will be the last person you tell. >> not necessarily. i might not tell you. >> please tell. >> ask me again. >> please tell me. >> okay. i will tell you. i have decided -- i have decided i am going to take my appetite to the outback steakhouse. you will be eating dinner at the out

. >> that's why lebron james went down there. >> i think that's it. >> one thing. >> i think the most important thing is to empower the voters, strengthen voters. i believe in initiative, referendum, recall. we have recall on the ballot in illinois this year. but i would like to see more opportunity for consumers and taxpayers to enact laws by direct petition and referendum. so that's why. >> while i wish governor schwarzenegger was here because they have that power in california and it creates a mess. does anybody disagree with that? who wants to take it on? >> well, you get a situation i referred to earlier. when you have a vote of the people, it may look appealing on the ballot to vote for reducing class size and increasing teachers pay, but it isn't free. and there was no revenue that came with it whatsoever. so -- >> the you feel you're anti-democracy? >> by no means. by no means. i just think the same scrutiny that goes in the legislative process ought to go into the initiative process to include vetting it publicly the pros and the cons, asking how you're going to pay for it pu

i looked just yesterday and saw lebron james' decision to play in florida. you can't help but wonder if part of his decision making has to do with knowing the state income tax is zero percent. i think that does play a role. what extent do you think the united states need to maintain a competitive tax climate to attract investment and make people motivated to work here? guest: i think that is very important and something we need to be very mindful of. right now the top income tax rate is scheduled to go from 35% to 40% beginning next year. you add in the new taxes that have been passed, healthcare legislation, taxes at the state and local level we are talking rates that are the top marginal rate that is pretty close to 50%. that is not competitive when you look around the world. there are some that have higher rates but we are going to be in the top group in six months. one area that doesn't get a lot of attention is corporate income tax rate. corporate tax rate in the u.s. is about 40%, second highest in the world of economic developed countries. only japan

. >> that is why lebron james went down there. >> i think it is. >> we need to empower and strengthen voters. i believe an initiative, referendum, recall -- i went like to see more opportunity for consumers and taxpayers to enact laws by direct petition and referendum. >> i wish governor schwarzenegger was here. they have that power in california and it creates a mess. does anyone agree? >> you get the situation i referred to earlier. when you have a vote of the people, it may look appealing on the ballot to vote for reducing class size and increasing teachers' pay, but it is not free. there is no revenue that comes with it. and you feel like you are being anti-democracy -- >> you feel like you are being anti- democracy? >> by no means. it ought to have the same scrutiny. it should be that did publicly. you have to know how to pay for it. -- it should be vetted publicly. >> do you have something to say? go ahead, quickly. >> i believe that we must make government responsive to our constituents. one way to do that is through e-government. we can do a lot more there. we can use the inte

all watched very closely, at least if we read the sports page when we get up in the morning, the lebron james situation. i don't know much about those basketball teams, but i know about a team that i've served on now for the last 18 months. it's been a good team. we've been able to accomplish a lot. in fact, one eminent pundit, scholar of what goes on in congress by the name of norm orenstein, says it's the most productive congress in the history of the country. [applause] he said that because, well, i'll run through a few of the things that this team's been able it accomplishment -- to accomplish. the most significant environmental legislation in more than a quarter century. 1,000 miles of scenic rivers and other things. we were able to pass the lilley led better legislation for equal pay. people fought, in fact ted kennedy had for 40 years to have a program of national service. we now have one where young men and women can be involved in the environment, health care, working with theme -- people that are poor, they can get a few bucks for doing that and then when they finish the program, th

. >> that is why lebron james went down there. >> i think it is. >> we need to empower and strengthen voters. i believe an initiative, referendum, recall -- i went like to see more opportunity for consumers and taxpayers to enact laws by direct petition and referendum. . . tv in topeka, kan. is hosting the event. >> in 2011, kansas will be celebrating 150 years since entering the united states and becoming the 34th state in the union. kansas will also be getting a new u.s. senator with incumbent sam brownback running for governor. two canada's hope to get your vote on august 3. congressman jerry moran has represented western kansas since 1990 sex. before that, he was a member of the kansas state senate from 1988 until 1996. congressman todd tiahrt has represented southeastern kansas since 1995. before that, he was a member of the kansas state senate from 1992 until 1994. both candidates have been reelected time and again from their own congressional districts, but now each wants to move to the u.s. senate and represent the entire state. both candidates have been running hard for the a

watched very closely, or at least when we read the sports page we first get up in the morning, the lebron jamesituation. [laughter] i do not know much about those basketball teams, but i know about that he might have served on now for the last 18 months. it has been a good team. we have been able to accomplish a lot. in fact, one eminent pundit, a scholar in congress says it is the most productive congress in the history of the country. [applause] he said that because -- i will run through a few of the things this team has been able to accomplish. we did the most significant internal piece of legislation, more than 200,000 acres, and many other things. we were able to pass the ledbetter legislation. [applause] ted kennedy bought for 40 years to have a program of national service. we now have one where young men and women can be involved in the environment, health care, working with people that are poor, they can get a few bucks for doing that, and then when they finish the program, they go to college and we help them. that is national service. [applause] every one of my family smokes. they all

lebron james recently chose the miami heatto play with d-wade and chris bosh over the chicago bulls, cleveland cavaliers and other franchises. do they attend college? >> next question, please. >> we will ask one more question, mr. secretary. but first, a few announcements. a couple important matters to take care of. first, remind our members and guests of future speakers. on august 19th, mitch landrieu, the mayor of new orleans, will report on the city's progress and potential. on september 13th, the reverend david beckman, president of bread for the world and this year's recipient of th world food prize will discuss eliminating hunger, the people and congress. and on october 12th, general norman schwarz, chief of staff for u.s. air force, will be discussing military issues and the war in afghanistan. that's our first item of business. our send is to present our speaker with the one token of appreciation that we will give a speaker here at the national press club, our legendary and coveted press club mug. one more question. and now our final question. what is the most important thing

the lebron james situation. [laughter] i do not know much about those basketball teams, but i know about a team that i have served on for the past 18 months. it has been a good team. we have been able to accomplish a lot. in fact, one eminent pundit and scholar says it is the most productive congress in the history of the u.s. [applause] he said that because we have been able to -- we are in of the things that we've been able to accomplish. more than 2 million acres of wilderness, more than 1,000 miles of the seashore and other things, we have been able to pass legislation. [applause] people fought -- in fact, ted kennedy did for 40 years -- to have a program for national service. we now have one where young men and women can be involved in the environment, health care, working with people that are poor. they can get a few bucks for that and when they finished the program, if they go to college and we help them. if that is national service. -- that his national service. [applause] every one of my family smokes.