Power trio to play for N.Y.?
The NBA's latest Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had barely had their names emblazoned on their Miami Heat jerseys before another NBA star announced his intention to form an equally talented trio with the New York Knicks.
While raising a toast to Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony at his wedding at Manhattan restaurant Cipriani on Saturday, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul said, "We'll form our own Big Three," referring to a potential union of himself and Anthony with Knicks center Amare Stoudemire, who also attended the wedding, the New York Post reported.
Anthony becomes a free agent after next season, Paul could be eligible for free agency in 2012, and New York has enough salary-cap space to sign one maximum contract in each of the next two years.
Of course, the Knicks had hoped to sign James, who rejected their offer and was roundly booed by New Yorkers when he arrived at the wedding of Anthony and actress LaLa Vasquez.
■ BLAME IT ON LEBRON -- Knicks fans and Cleveland Cavaliers fans -- and fans of every team who pursued James, for that matter -- weren't the only ones who took his decision hard.
When a 30-year-old man from Flint, Mich., was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving this week, he admitted he had been drinking and blamed the incident on James' decision to play for the Miami Heat instead of the Boston Celtics -- who never had a shot at the former Cavs star.
A breathalyzer test revealed the driver's alcohol level to be at 0.16 percent, or twice the legal limit, which explains why he was seeing leprechauns and shamrocks.
■ DEATH BUT NOT TAXES -- Leave it to George Steinbrenner to come out a winner, even in death.
By dying this year, the billionaire New York Yankees owner ensured that his fortune avoids the federal estate tax, probably saving his heirs millions of dollars, according to The Associated Press.
The 80-year-old Steinbrenner's death of a heart attack Tuesday came during an unplanned yearlong gap in the estate tax, the first since it was enacted in 1916. Political wrangling in Congress has tied up efforts to replace the tax that expired in 2009.
That deprives the government of billions of dollars in revenue but represents an unexpected bonanza for those who inherit wealth.
"If you're superwealthy, it's a good year to die," Jack Nuckolls, an attorney and estate planner with the accounting firm BDO Seidman told the AP.
Forbes magazine has estimated Steinbrenner's estate at $1.1 billion. The federal estate tax in 2009 was 45 percent, with the $3.5 million per-person exemption. If he had died last year, his estate could have faced federal taxes of almost $500 million, depending on how the estate was structured.
That doesn't mean Steinbrenner's heirs permanently escape all taxes related to his assets. They will still have to pay a capital gains tax if and when assets are sold.
COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
