Saturday Night LeBron

LeBron James' rendention of the old Bobby Brown song "My Prerogative" with the MC Hammer pants and Gumby haircut, was the only memorable thing from when he co-hosted the ESPY Awards last July with Jimmy Kimmel.
And that's what apparently helped sell the folks at NBC's "Saturday Night Live" to invite him as the host to open the 33rd season of the show (Saturday, 11:35 p.m., KNBC Channel 4). James will be the first NBA player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to open the series, and the first NBA player to appear since Charles Barkley did it in '93 (all back when NBC was covering the NBA on a regular basis).
"We started talking internally last year (about having James on) and then after the playoffs, and watching the ESPYs of course, and the Nike ads, you can tell when someone has a sense of humor or perspective on theirself and can laugh at stuff," said Lorne Michaels on moments ago on a conference call with media writers. "He's known by all sorts of people who don't follow basketball that much."
Kimmel said of James during the EPSYs: "He can do it all -- except sing and dance." Now the 22-year-old has another chance, especially with muscial guest Kanye West busting a few moves.
Thursday, James wouldn't say if he's going to reprise a song-and-dance number. That's mostly because he's not sure if any of the skits they've rehearsed so far are getting on.
"Right now, we're about 30 minutes long and we're going to wait to see after dress rehearsal so I hate to say what's in," said Michaels. "He's really good at this stuff."
"I've been a fan of the show since my mom let me stay up to watch it," said James. "If I wasn't a fan, I wouldn't be doing it."
"We have been on 12 years long than he's been alive," Michaels reminded us.
Here's a Wikipedia list of sports figures who have hosted the show over the years.