LeBron James celebrates the 4th of July by purchasing Mount Rushmore and slightly altering the landmark (katchop)

Original Photos fractalshead, imagesnet.net

Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards is being investigated for allegedly storing firearms in his locker.

Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards explains out to teammate Gilbert Arenas exactly what he meant when he said to "shoot more" (katchop)

They started investigating two weeks ago, you guys just found about it,” Arenas said. “They just wanted to know where I got them from and make sure they’re not dirty guns.”

Reporters asked if Arenas at any time showed the guns to anyone, and he — despite the protests of Wizards PR staff — said “Yes, I showed them to someone, I showed them to team security when I handed them to them and said give them to the police.”

Did he take the guns out of the locker room at any time? His reply: “Yeah, I took them out of this locker room. I had to take them out to get them out of here to give to security. You see they didn’t take the whole locker out of here.”

Arenas told me last week “I wouldn’t have brought them to D.C. had I known the rules. After my daughter was born, I was just like, I don’t need these anymore. I don’t want them around the kids. We are working with the league and the authorities.”

Original Photos Yahoo! Sports, Policemag.com

The Yankees head to Fenway tonight for a pretty important series for both clubs. The Yankees have been rolling, but the Red Sox feel like they finally have their lineup set.

It's big, but this series likely won't have the luster (or the Sharpie) of the 2004 ALCS (katchop)

You can’t look at the standings,” Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. “If you start looking at standings and what lead you may have, then I think that’s when you lose the intensity level and you lose focus. We’ve got a lot of games left against all the teams that are behind us, so we need to keep winning games.”

Smell the glove (nbc sports)

I think when I look at our lineup, the six, seven, and eighth guys haven’t hit there for the greater part of their career,’’ said No. 7 hitter Mike Lowell of himself, No. 6 Ortiz, and No. 8 Drew. “It gives us more than one option of guys that can do the job in the middle of the lineup now.

“We still have to do our job. Just because we’re hitting lower in the lineup, I don’t think that’s reason to be complacent.’’

Umm.... let's go Mets? (NOT katchop)

The Seattle Mariners will be without Adrian Beltre after he suffered an injury to one of his testicles while attempting to field a ground ball. There was some bleeding, some tearing and some severe bruising.

Adrian Beltre, by the way, does not wear a protective cup.

I hear that a lot, that I’m crazy, stupid,” Beltre said in spring training 2008. “They might be right. There is some stupidity to it.”

He’ now on the 15 day DL, and could be out much longer if he needs surgery to stop the bleeding.

He should have worn a cup, or at the very least just used the glove from this commercial:

The NFL Preseason technically started this past Sunday with the HOF game. However, this weekend is when the NFL silly season truly kicks into high gear with 5 straight days of nationally televised games. Starting with tonight’s Steelers vs Cardinals game on ESPN, there are a total of 7 games on national TV this weekend (but only 2 if you don’t have the NFL Network). So for those of us who do get the NFL Network,  lets all eat some Human Growth Hormone and party like we’re Rodney Harrison!

Rodney Harrison celebrating a Pats win in 2007 (katchop)

Do I look like someone who would rape my co-workers wife? (AP)

Rick Pitino is being accused of raping the wife of the equipment manager for the University of Louisville men’s basketball team. Pitino is denying that he raped Karen Sypher in August 2003, but he admits to having sex with her in a restaurant and paying for a subsequent abortion.

Pitino denied Sypher’s allegations that he raped her at Porcini, after the restaurant closed, and again a few weeks later at a different location, police records show. And prosecutors who have reviewed Sypher’s claims say Pitino won’t be charged.

Sypher has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to extort money from Pitino in exchange for her silence about the alleged crimes, and with lying to the FBI. She has pleaded not guilty.