Happy Fourth of July to one and all! Hope you have some time to enjoy a little summer fun today.

I've been off the grid for a few days, spending much of that time at the Field of Dreams baseball complex in Noblesville where Cornrows, Jr. and his 9U Bombers won their third tournament championship of the summer after winning three games just yesterday. Tons of fun!

The sad thing about the NBA lockout is that I was essentially incommunicado with the NBA world for almost three days and I see this morning that I missed nothing. There are a few stories of interest however, dutifully linked after the jump.

Among those stories is the announcement that Chuck Person is returning to help coach the Lakers with Mike Brown. This raises the one piece of news the Pacers can still break, that being the hiring of Frank Vogel. I mean, from several reports of run-ins with Vogel at the Fieldhouse, it sounds like he's basically already on the job. Not exactly twisting in the wind, as it has been portrayed.

Also, Mike Wells touches on the players and how they will prepare and try to stay on the same page during the lockout.

• Players are on their own to prepare | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
  Mike Wells checks in the some players to see how they will stay prepared for the end of the lockout.
• To avoid repeating history, owners and players can't drag heels - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball
  Great look at the key offseason dates the lockout will likely impact until a deal is struck.
• NBA players lockout tour of China has to win over government first | ProBasketballTalk
• Lakers Hire Chuck Person, Quin Snyder - Silver Screen and Roll
• Taking a look at the numbers behind the NBA labor dispute " Wages of Wins
• Everybody Say Goodbye to Donnie Walsh -- The Sports Section
• John Calipari Invites Former Wildcats Back To Kentucky During NBA Lockout - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
  Calipari is always on the grind, so I'm sure he'll be able to make some recruiting hay with this move.
• 2011 Overpaid Players " Wages of Wins
• The NBA is letting the Miami Heat attend Chris Bosh’s wedding - Ball Don't Lie - NBA Blog - Yahoo! Sports