LeBron James caught heat, but organization has benefitted from ‘The Decision’

Friday marks the one-year anniversary of “The Decision,” a well-chronicled black eye for LeBron James but a lucrative shot in the arm for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.…

James donated all proceeds from the one-hour ESPN special to the organization — a gift worth about $3 million.…

“His support has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people,” Boys & Girls Clubs spokesman Frank Sanchez said Thursday. “He may have come up a couple of games short of one of his goals, but he’s a champion in our minds.” …

Derek Jeter this weekend could become the first player to collect his 3,000th hit in Yankee Stadium, new or old.…

Anaheim was host to Rod Carew and George Brett’s 3,000th hits, San Francisco to Willie Mays’ and San Diego to Rickey Henderson’s, but Dodger Stadium is still waiting. …

Tony Gwynn reached the milestone at Montreal, the only player to do so outside the United States.…

Also at Montreal, Pete Rose got his 4,000th hit.…

After Jeter, the next player to reach 3,000 might be his New York Yankees teammate, Alex Rodriguez.…

Reader Robert Silver of Los Angeles emails to note that Jim Thome, at his current pace, might not hit five more home runs this season, leaving him short of 600.…

Thome turns 41 next month. …

For Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to say he doesn’t want to think about being traded “as long as there is a possibility that this team can reach the playoffs,” he must never look at the standings.…

Jered Weaver, who moved into first place Thursday night after giving up one run in a complete-game win, would be only the second Angel to lead the major leagues in earned-run average.…

Dean Chance was the first.…

Two other Angels — Frank Tanana and John Lackey — led the American League in ERA. …

Lackey’s losing record and bloated ERA this season led Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein to tell a New England television station, “A lot of times this year, he just hasn’t been good enough and has taken us out of games.” …

Novak Djokovic’s unbeaten record against Rafael Nadal this year includes two victories in clay-court finals, two in hard-court finals and Sunday’s victory on Wimbledon’s grass.…

Regarding the opinion of little-known Dallas Mavericks reserve Ian Mahanmi that Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s most arrogant player, reader Clifford Burton of Santa Monica writes, “You don’t need to be a starter or a household name to draw [that] conclusion.” …

The margin for error in soccer is razor thin, as evidenced Wednesday in the Women’s World Cup when a free-kick deflection off Team USA defender Amy Le Peilbet proved the difference in Sweden’s pivotal victory.…

Reader Molly Freedman of El Segundo wonders whether Bob Miller “breathed a sigh of relief” when the team failed to sign the summer’s top-rated free agent, sparing the Kings announcer the potentially nightmarish challenge of describing plays involving Brad Richards, Mike Richards and Brad Richardson. …

Among the nation’s top 50 college football prospects, as ranked by the Sporting News, is a running back from Oklahoma City with a familiar name: Barry Sanders.…

The similarly built son of the 1988 Heisman Trophy winner reportedly is eyeing Stanford, among other schools.…

Mark McCarter of the Huntsville (Ala.) Times, after a Tennessee tennis player was voted Southeastern Conference male athlete of the year over Cam Newton: “No offense to John-Patrick Smith, but voting for him over Newton … is like voting for a guy playing the kazoo over [Bruce] Springsteen on ‘American Idol.’ ” …

The cost of standing-room-only tickets for Oregon’s opener against Louisiana State on Sept. 3 at Cowboys Stadium is $50. …

The same tickets at Dallas Cowboys games go for $29.…

UCLA, looking for improvement in its fourth season under Rick Neuheisel, opens its 2011 schedule with four September games against teams that had losing records a year ago.…

“I don’t know how an organization that sells a beer for $12 runs out of money,” Jimmy Kimmel says of the Dodgers, “but they did.”

jerome.crowe@latimes.com