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I've never been to Chicago, but everything I've heard suggests that it has as many steakhouses as my native San Francisco has coffee shops. It didn't get called the City of Big Shoulders by accident -- they had to eat a lot of red meat to turn protein into that much muscle.

[Related: Michael Jordan's immaculate personalized private plane]

The problem for startup Chicago steakhouses is that the market is already saturated, so it can be hard for a brand new eatery to stand out. One way for a restaurant to get some press, though, is by bearing the name of a municipal (and global) icon. So it should come as little surprise that Michael Jordan's Steak House has gotten quite a bit of attention in only three weeks of existence. There was a huge kickoff event, and now, they've earned a review in the Chicago Tribune from critic Phil Vettel:

I'm old enough to remember the day the Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan, and to remember that it was not a universally praised draft choice. The belief among some was that the Bulls already had guards; why did they need another?

In the same way, the arrival of Michael Jordan's in the InterContinental Chicago had a few people questioning the redundancy, wondering if Chicago would support yet another steakhouse. To which I will answer: No matter how many steakhouses a city might have, there will always be room for a great one.

And Michael Jordan's is going to be a great one. [...]

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In the wake of LeBron James' "Decision" fiasco, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert seized his newfound moral superiority and reminded everyone of it until he alienated them forever. In addition to the infamous Comic Sans letter, Gilbert knocked down the price on all LeBron Fatheads to the year of traitor Benedict Arnold's birth and crowed for months about how great his terrible (but upright!) basketball team was to root for.

Eventually, James opted out of the union's licensing agreement with Fathead, which barred Gilbert's company from selling any image with his likeness. Now, though, LeBron's opt-out has expired and Gilbert is free to sell his wall graphics once again. Except, instead of offering them to consumers at the reduced traitor-specific price, Gilbert has chosen to revert to the level that makes him more money. From Darren Rovell for CNBC.com (via EOB):

But on Monday morning, CNBC discovered that Fathead was selling four wall graphics of James in his Heat jersey. What makes the relationship sticky is that the ownership group of Fathead is led by Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who LeBron of course left to go to the Heat.

When "The Decision" was announced, Fathead slashed prices on James' Cavs wall graphics to $17.41, which is the year the famous traitor Benedict Arnold was born. Fathead can continue to sell the images through the lockout since its deal is with the NBA Players Association. The question is, can James opt out again perhaps to spite his former owner?

Congrats to Gilbert, who will now make $99.99 every time one of LeBron's remaining fans buys one of his Fatheads. Unfortunately, each unit sold will continue to make Gilbert's public posturing look like even more a put-on.

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Leon Rose is the reigning titan of basketball agency, a man who represents Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and LeBron James via his relationship with Hollywood's CAA talent agency. He has less impressive clients, too, but that trio puts him in a position of considerable power.

Over the past few months, Yahoo!'s own Adrian Wojnarowski has written several times about a group of agents who favor decertifying the union and exhausting all possible avenues to ensure that players hold on to as many of their current rights and privileges as possible. Rose is now part of that group, and this weekend they sent a letter to players imploring them to hold strong and not make any more concessions.

The letter has not been particularly successful. In fact, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard on Twitter, Rose's first high-profile client didn't take too kindly to it and even threatened to fire his long-time rep:

Source says Rip Hamilton told his agent Leon Rose he's upset Rose participated in letter, which is perceived by many as anti-union.

Source adds that Rip told Rose he'll leave & take other players with him if Rose doesn't leave the "anti-union" group.

UPDATE: Hamilton denies the report.

"Anti-union" is a bit of a vague term here, because the agents involved would certainly say they have the players' best interest in heart. In this case, the term really means "anti-Billy Hunter," because the agents feel as if he is more concerned with his job security than the outcome of the lockout. That may be unfair, but it's based on their perception of his actions.

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Veteran big man Etan Thomas is the rare NBA player who may be better known for his exploits off the court than on it. In addition to occupying the end of many teams' benches, Thomas has written and performed poetry, become a political activist, and served as a vice president of the players' union. He has many interests -- not quite a renaissance man, but not your typical professional athlete either.

In other words, he has a reputation as a thoughtful man. So, when he penned a piece for ESPN.com written from the point of view of the NBA owners during the lockout, I approached it with some interest. Here's a sample:

The fans will always side with us no matter what the facts are. They don't see us as greedy; they see the players as greedy. They don't see us as being unreasonable; they see the players as being unreasonable. Their anger will turn directly toward the players once they no longer have basketball in their living rooms.

We know fans don't want to see their favorite teams broken up because of a strict hard cap or an incredibly harsh luxury tax, which is the same as a hard cap. But it isn't about what the fans want; we plan to impose our will on the players, and the fans will have no choice but to accept the outcome.

We haven't budged drastically from our original proposal because, quite frankly, we don't feel we have to. We're just going to sit back and wait for the players to self-destruct while we stick to our position. [...]

We also know that if teams controlled their own spending, hired the right people to evaluate talent and made better decisions, they wouldn't be operating in the red. But that isn't how we are going to present it to the public. We will divert the attention away from the real crux of the problem.

These passages are indicative of the quite lengthy piece: It presents the owners as condescending, arrogant, and generally disdainful of anyone who dares question their right to make money. (There's also a bizarre reference to the romantic comedy "The Break-Up," presumably because it's Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley's favorite movie.) It's a reasonably accurate portrait of the apparent owner mindset, but also one that seems counterproductive to the task at hand.

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At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Quincy Pondexter: Our taxi just hit a car and kept going #getmeouttahere

Andre Iguodala: Shotout to them skittles that got me thru the 2nd half of that workout...

Brandon Jennings: I had to get Larry Bird felt bad, its was like 100 Larry birds left, smhhh lol twitpic.com/6v2v1i

Sonny Weems: Nothing like the NBA, got a three hour bus ride the day of the game!! Smh #overseaslife

Hassan Whiteside: Man that's crazy 2k12 gave me a rating of a mascot they should of jus left me injured lik I was in the season dam lol

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

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Most of the players who have signed with club teams overseas during the lockout have entered unknown territory. For every European who returns to his homeland, there's a new Nugget who ventures to China for a season-long adventure.

Yet those Europeans still exist, and it's easy to see their returns to their countries of birth as the converse of an American's trip to another country: They are leaving a peculiar work environment for a more familiar one. As such, they may celebrate in ways we do not understand.

Keep that in mind as you look at the photo above. As reported by Brian T. Smith for the Salt Lake Tribune, Andrei Kirilenko signed a three-year deal (including an out clause if/when the lockout ends) with the Russian club CSKA Moscow. So, as befits a man nicknamed "AK-47," Kirilenko naturally celebrated by posing with the assault rifle itself (photo via @monilogue). Because that is apparently totally fine in Russia.

In fact, it appears that CSKA president Andrei Vatutin brought

Tuesday's release of "NBA 2K12" on various gaming platforms marks an important moment for NBA fans, and not just because forlorn diehards can now simulate the 2011-12 season as if it were freed from enforced cryostasis. In addition to the usual gameplay, this year's installment features more than 30 unlockable classic teams, which means you can play as Hall of Famers like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell. In the virtual world, age and rules aren't barriers to these matchups any more.

These new teams will also let gamers decide which championship squad deserves to be named as the greatest team of all time. Then again, everyone probably has a strong opinion on that topic anyway.

Just take it from eccentric San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson, a New England native and big Boston Celtics fan. According to Wilson, who's certainly never lacked confidence, the 1985-86 Celtics are the clear choice. He explained his choice in this exclusive video courtesy of 2K Sports.

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At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Sam Young: You know what I hate most about to lockout. People approach you like they gonna be madder than u if we don't have a season. … I know our job is entertaining but it is our job.

Paul George: First official game.. #ImReady twitpic.com/6upkw2

Vernon Macklin: Will there be a Lockout on NBA 2k that comes out tonight? Like will I be able to play a season? Or jus workout and stuff? Lol

Blake Griffin: First day of training camp finally here can't wait for... Oh what's that NBA owners? You won't let us play? Sorry everybody...

DeJuan Blair: Sometimes we need laughter more than food.

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.