Sports

LEBRON NEEDS TV TIMEOUT

YA think LeBron and the Ohio Players might be a bit overexposed?

After pistol-whipping (leavin’ welts on their necks from the necklace strippin’) the visiting Mavericks last Sunday (on ABC), they showed up on TNT last night in D.C. against the Wizards (so long 13-game win streak), then tonight it’s ESPN at Orlando and Sunday back on ABC hosting the Spurs.

This just in: The Cavs have preempted the Obamas. Speaking of the president, are you feeling the excitement of the G-20 summit?

Sources say, when it came to the world’s economic condition, all the leaders wanted to pass the buck . . . but no one had one.

The staph (Frank Drucker) ventured/was carjacked Wednesday night to the I-Nod Center, where the Nets actually manned up and whipped the franchise formerly known as the Pistons.

The highlight of the evening — Seth Rogen can’t make this up — was Sly the Mascot and the Nets’ Dancers throwing burritos into the crowd . . . as if the Nets don’t give their fans enough gas.

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Speaking of the Pistons, Allen Iverson, a reserve since returning a win and two losses ago from a “back injury” that sidelined him for 16 games, said he’d rather retire at season’s end than come off the bench for 17 minutes per.

Retirement is apt to come a month or so earlier than Iverson expects. I can’t see Joe Dumars subjecting coach Michael Curry to any additional public squawks from the extinguishing superstar, especially in defeat.

When Iverson’s expiring contract was acquired from the Nuggets for Chauncey Billups, he said all the right things, but, as usual, he’s having a terrible time dealing with adversity when it’s directed toward him.

How many championship contenders/pretenders will be the least bit tempted to invest any significant scratch this summer in an unmanageable free agent (34 June 7) who doesn’t like to come out of games, doesn’t like to come off the bench, suffers severe back pain when things go wrong and has roughly played 36,000 career minutes?

Other than Phil Jackson and Pat Riley and Isiah Thomas, of course, who else would think they can control him?

If Iverson’s unable to accept being demoted to a “strole” — Mo Williams’ term for someone who’s half a star and half a role player — he appears to have exhausted his options.

For the moment, the most pressing question in my peeps’ eyes, did the Pistons fly home after their loss in New Jersey or go straight to Philadelphia for tomorrow afternoon’s game with the 76ers?

One way or the other, the Pistons must be in town no later than tomorrow night. Regardless of whether Iverson is getting superstar time or strole (15-20) minutes, that still gives him plenty of party time with his boys at their old hangouts.

Should A.I. get less daylight than that, prepare for an eruption and the consequent suspension.

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Either Don Nelson, who occasionally coaches the Warriors when assistant Keith Smart is busy, wants to get fired or he’s again angling to re-sign Chris Webber.

If you were otherwise detained — or, more likely, just didn’t care — Golden State was a 143-141 overtime winner against Sacramento Wednesday . . . this despite Kevin Martin outscoring Monta Ellis, 50-42.

In other Warriors’ news, Stephen Jackson shall miss the all-important last two weeks of the season after having bone spurs removed from his left foot. Jackson, who averaged career bests of 20.7 points, 6.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 59 games, plans to convalesce at Corie Blount‘s house.

Hey, I doubt the fuzz could’ve found it all.

The aptly named former Blount, 40, was arrested Dec. 4 after the police confiscated 11 pounds of marijuana sent to him at a relative’s home. They found another 18 pounds of glorious ganja after searching Corie’s aromatic abode.

Some players demand more time, some crave a reduced amount. A guilty plea to two felonies in an Ohio court may have earned Blount a 10-year guarantee in the pokey.

Coincidentally, his plea deal runs concurrently with the league’s first-ever Green Week.

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The Lakers are frustrated with Andrew Bynum. When Rick Fox got injured toward the end of his career, he would travel with the team, go to practice, whatever. Both times Bynum has been hurt, he has gone off by himself with little to no communication.

Evidently, he’s about to be placed back on active duty, reports column conscience Geoffrey Gilbert, “because he just got clearance to compete in full-court workouts with Miss April. After seeing his picture with that playmate wrapped around his neck, we know he can shoulder the load.”

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Slam Magazine’s Lang Whitaker notifies us “The Dominican national baseball program is in such bad shape Jerry Colangelo has been hired to fix things.” While you were reading this, Gov. Paterson taxed the alphabet.

peter.vecsey@nypost.com