07/12 Quickie: Spain, LeBron, Wall, ASG

So at this point, everyone knows that as it relates to LeBron and the Heat, at best it was highly unseemly and at worst it was tampering with the biggest star in the league.

Now, it probably wouldn't have mattered: LeBron was going to team up with D-Wade and Bosh anyway -- hmm...or would he?

That's the litmus test of true tampering: In the absence of the tamp effort, would LeBron have made a different choice? In this case, it is unclear, one way or the other.

It is a moot point: The NBA will ignore it, and for all the bluster from the Cavs, they had no problems doing a sign-and-trade to give LeBron as much money as possible.

(For those of us who read the signals a long time ago that LeBron was going to abandon Cleveland, it is easy to say in hindsight that the Cavs should have traded him.)

In today's SN column, I led with Paul the Octopus as an excuse to predict that the league wouldn't do anything about LeBron and the Heat's tampering. More in today's column:

*John Wall is going to spend next season living at the free-throw line.

*Spain wins the World Cup: Gotta love the biggest sports thing to ever happen to a country.

(What would be the US analogue? No question: "Miracle on Ice" in 1980. I'm going to narrowly define it, because it is very hard not to put "Jackie Robinson integrates baseball" at No. 1 of any list related to defining sports moments in the US. It's parsing, but maybe that's the difference. Damn, should have led the column with that.)

*Forlan wins the Golden Boot: Love this pick.

*Nick Swisher might not win the HR Derby, but he will make it more fun.

*If the Heat retain Udonis Haslem AND get Derek Fisher, I'll revise my prediction and say they will win the NBA title. But they won't get either.

*Jordan Farmar is coming to Brooklyn. I mean...

*Putting on my octopus hat, I think that Carmelo's marriage lasts longer than Carrie's.

*Totally approve of EA re-signing with ESPN -- and it's brilliant to put her on GameDay (plus extending GameDay by an hour -- ESPN's best studio show).

Packed column today: See it here. More later. Big week!

-- D.S.