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It is absolutely unbelievable the lengths to which New York teams have to go to get on the back page of the city's sensational tabloids.
Trading for Brett Favre and the media circus he'll trigger is just the latest.
Until about midnight, the New York Jets were behind the Staten Island Ferry in news value.
The Yankees, Billy Wagner, the Giants and Eli Manning were all far ahead of the Jets.
So were George Steinbrenner, Jason Giambi's mustache, A-Rod's dalliance with Madonna and the entire road cast of Hairspray.
Now, with the fabled No. 4 due in camp at Hofstra, the Jets suddenly are Big Time.
Ya gotta love The Apple.
What jersey? Even the bubble gum companies were hedging their bets on where Favre would land.
According to the Associated Press, Topps has put out two Favre cards. One is the usual "player" card that kids of all ages collect.
The other is a special "retirement" card that shows Favre on a tractor in Mississippi.
There's no word on whether Topps put out a card with Favre on a fishing boat off Tampa Bay.
Or one with him posing beside the Statue of Liberty.
But they'll be worth money when No. 4 enters the Hall of Fame.
How big will it get? Josh Childress isn't a big name.
Neither are Earl Boykins, Carlos Arroyo, Nenad Krstic, Carlos Delfino or Jorge Garbajosa.
But they all have one thing in common - they have left the NBA for European teams and for much more money than they would get in the United States.
The 5-foot-5 Boykins, who played for the NBA minimum last season in Charlotte, signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league on Tuesday. Childress, Atlanta's sixth man last year, got a three-year $20 million deal from Olympiakos of Greece last month, starting the mini-trend.
The dam is about to break, whether the NBA recognizes it or not.
Kobe Bryant was joking when he told reporters after a pre-Olympic exhibition game: "Italy, Greece, Russia, $40 million a year? Yeah, I'm there, as simple as that."
At least, people thought he was joking.
Now ESPN.com reports that LeBron James would consider playing in Europe for $50 million a year when he is eligible to opt out of his contract with Cleveland after the 2009-10 season.
"If it happens, it happens. I'd be surprised if it did with players of that caliber," Joel Litvin, the NBA's president of league and basketball operations told the Associated Press.
"But certainly we would deal with it if it happened, and I continue to think that the NBA will be the gold standard for the top players in the world for a long time to come."
But the NBA may be in for a tough fight to retain its superstars. Under the collective bargaining agreement, James could not make more than $20 million a year in the NBA. Plus, league teams face a dollar-for-dollar tax once they reach $71.15 million in total payroll.
European leagues face no salary cap, and many are awash in cash because of the sinking dollar, which earlier this year reached a historic low against the euro.
Throw in some creative tax loopholes and maybe James wearing a CSKA Moscow uniform isn't an outrageous prospect.
"Ultimately, it's about money," Atlanta Hawks general manager Rick Sund told the AP after losing Childress. "The more money they get, the better they feel about the commitment."
No argument from Bryant.
"You cut the check," the Lakers star quipped, "and I will bring my Nikes."
Post a question or comment for staff writer Don McKee at http://go.philly.com/askmckee or by e-mail at dmckee@phillynews.com.
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