Shortly after he rejected the Knicks, the Cavaliers, and half a dozen other desperate suitors, LeBron James made an ill-thought out prediction for the Miami Heat which helped cement his villain status in the NBA: “We will win not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but more [NBA championships]." James didn't win a championship in his first season with the Heat, but at least he can smile through the pain by parodying that soundbyte in a new McDonalds Monopoly ad. Those millions of dollars in endorsement deals probably help soothe his aching ego as well. Watch the karmic commercial below. more ›

The big Toy Fair opens it doors at the Jacob Javits Center next week, which means toy makers are previewing products they hope will be big sellers later this year. Hasbro just revealed its new Battleship and Monopoly LIVE games, which include a tower that, according to a press release, "reminds players about the rules, tracks the game, keeps score and adds unexpected twists to game play." more ›

Of course a $2MM, jewel-encrusted, 18-karat gold version of Monopoly exists, and of course it's going to be on display (this Friday) on Wall Street (specifically, at the Museum of American Finance). It's the most expensive version of the board game ever created, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sidney Mobell (who fancies himself an "unconventional crafter of decadence") is responsible for the set, and says the only time it was played on was during a showdown between him and England’s former Prime Minster Edward Heath. It will now be on Wall Street for two years, but Mobell says it's "not for sale." Aw shucks, a $2MM board game is just what we need to get through this financial crisis. more ›

Guess what—waiting around for the cable guy to arrive has just gotten a little more interesting, because the city has just worked out a deal with the two major cable companies over their service technicians' tendency to be late. The NY Times reports, "Under the terms of a new contract that has been negotiated with City Hall, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision will have to pay a price for failing to honor appointments... The contract will make cable customers eligible for a credit amounting to full month’s bill if a technician does not arrive on time." more ›

Since February 2009 Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been trying to get their bear paws on each other and today they finally got the OK. I know what you're thinking—now that the two monster entities have joined forces, ticket prices and surcharges will go from just exorbitant to totally obscene. Well actually, by suggesting a merger the two companies brought the heat: artists, anti-trust agencies and competitors protested, and the Dept of Justice investigated. Now they'll be allowed to go through with the deal, but with all the requirements being imposed, AP reported they may actually bring ticket prices down. more ›

In the new version of World Monopoly, New York City's property value barely landed it past the halfway point of the board. New York is a red property on the spot where Indiana Avenue once sat. Meanwhile, the city holding Park Place's spot, the second most valuable property on the board, is Rigo, Latvia. Hasbro's placements for the world version of their game were generated from an on-line contest that began in January. City Room says that the city’s marketing arm was approached by Hasbro about rallying votes for New York but politely declined. Other cities that are worth more than New York (the only American locale to make the board) include Beijing, Belgrade and Jerusalem. Monopoly has branched into making a variety of Monopoly games for different brands (think Spongebob and Transformers). more ›