After being raked over the coals by the British media, LeBron James seemingly has been cleared of any wrongdoing related to the friendly gesture he made when posing for photographs with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge very much enjoyed their time in the U.S., including attending the NBA game and meeting LeBron," Laure King, senior communications officer for Buckingham Palace, told the Northeast Ohio Media Group in an email.
"When members of the royal family meet people, they want them to feel as comfortable as possible," King said. "There is no such thing as royal protocol."
The supposed transgression against acceptable decorum occurred Monday night when James met with Prince William and Duchess Kate after the couple attended the Brooklyn Nets-Cleveland Cavaliers game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Cavs superstar was sharply criticized in British tabloids once photographs surfaced of James posing with the couple for violating "royal protocol" by draping his arm around Duchess Kate, purportedly because it is considered a social faux pas to lay a hand on royalty.
"Although I am sure the Duchess of Cambridge won't have worried about it, Mr. James should not have put his arm around her," etiquette expert William Hanson told the Daily Mail. "Americans are much more tactile than we Brits, and this is another example of an American being too touchy-feely with British royalty.
"You'd have to think they'd have learned by now."
Nice job, Cowboy
Wyoming tight end Eric Nzeocha may have saved a teammate's life Wednesday night.
Nzeocha's roommate, safety Xavier Lewis, was having a stroke but Nzeocha recognized the symptoms and drove Lewis to the hospital.
"Not only did he [Nzeocha] notice what was wrong, he knew what to ask him," Lewis' father, Quentin Lewis, told the Casper Star-Tribune. "He asked him to talk. He asked him to try to write something down. He couldn't do it. He took him to the hospital. He took him himself."
After originally being taken to Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie, Lewis was "life-flighted to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo., where he was admitted midnight Thursday."
Quentin Lewis said his son is "resting and recovering."
"Eric Nzeocha saved him," Quentin Lewis said.
Lewis, 6-0, 195 pounds, has 23 tackles in two seasons with the Cowboys and Nzeocha caught eight passes for 65 yards this season when Wyoming went 4-8.
Kentucky blues
Junior Kentucky forward Alex Poythress tore an ACL in practice this past week and will miss the rest of the season.
"Sad and a bit shocking," wrote Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com. "Kentucky had an actual junior on its team?"
Sports quiz
When was the last time the Wyoming Cowboys played in a New Year's Day bowl game?
Sports answer
Wyoming lost to LSU, 20-13, in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1968.
Sports on 12/14/2014