Tomorrow evening the Broadway play Magic/Bird has its opening night. The play follows the rivalry–and ultimately friendship–between NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Starring Kevin Daniels as Johnson and Tug Coker as Bird, the play chronicles the careers of the two men, from college to retirement, with Johnson’s HIV diagnosis a key turning point.

The play uses the media, from college beat reporters to Bryant Gumbel to a now-infamous Converse ad, to help move the plot forward. Francois Battiste, who plays multiple characters in the play, delivers a dynamite Gumbel impersonation, bringing laughs every time he assumed the role on stage (pictured below).

The role the media plays is not unlike the last play produced by the team of Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser, Lombardi, about the NFL coach.

In Lombardi, the protagonist was  a young reporter looking to profile the legendary Packers coach. His tale propelled the story forward in a linear way.

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We already knew that Diddy and Comcast struck a deal for the mogul to launch his music channel, Revolt, but now another high profile celebrity is getting a chance. The Wall Street Journal reports that Earvin “Magic” Johnson will launch “Aspire,” a general interest channel targeting the African-American community, sometime this year.

Johnson said Aspire will feature original programming, movies and shows. The addition of Johnson’s channel is part of Comcast’s mission to launch 10 minority-owned networks within the next 10 years.

In typical Johnson fashion, he insisted that one of his goals for the channel is to provide as many opportunities for African-American’s in the entertainment business as possible.

You’ve got to love him; he hasn’t played ball in forever but the assists continue to rack up.

Ron Burkle and Magic Johnson have teamed up once again, this time to acquire BlackBook Media. Last February the duo purchased Vibe Holdings, a deal that saw Johnson becoming the Chairman of the company.

The New York Post reports that an enticing part of the BlackBook acquisition was Access Network, a software division of BlackBook Media. The software is used by a variety of companies for listing services.

BlackBook Media will be combined with Vibe Holdings, with Ari Horowitz operating as its CEO.

Magic Johnson and Ron Burkle have invested in Vibe Holdings, the parent of Vibe magazine and the Soul Train TV show. As part of the eight figure deal, Johnson will now be chairman of Vibe Holdings.

By investing in Vibe, Johnson and Burkle are putting a lot of money and power behind the brand, which is sure to attract the attention of competitors Ebony and Jet. It’s also interesting to note that Johnson had previously tried to acquire those magazines, only to have talks break down when he couldn’t settle on a price with their publishing house.

As a way to combat Johnson’s impact with Vibe, FishbowlNY suggests that Ebony and Jet get Larry Bird involved somehow. The rivalry must continue.

While Magic Johnson may be looking to save the beleaguered Ebony and Jet, former Ebony staffer Zondra Hughes is calling out the pub in her latest book, Living the Ebony Life: E-mails from the Plantation.

According to the book’s Web site, “The moniker ‘The Plantation,’ commonly used by current and former Ebony employees, refers to the heavy-handed, often quirky, policies of those in charge and definitely not the magnificent edifice.”

What kind of quirks, you ask? How about eight-track cassette players to share but, get this, no Internet usage. Of course, such policies might have made sense back in, oh, 1975. Hughes, however, was associate editor from ’99 to ’06 and says in a press release that Johnson Publications has no one to blame for its current woes but itself: “New media didn’t derail Ebony magazine, bad management did.”

Read an excerpt from the book here.

Rumor of the day: Magic Johnson, retired NBA superstar and mogul is in talks to buy Johnson Publishing Co., producers of African-American magazines Jet and Ebony. There were whisperings last year that Ebony may have been up on the auction block (publisher Kenard Gibbs bowed out in 2008), but considering that Jet rolled out a new redesign just two weeks ago, Johnson is doing everything in its power to make their titles look salable.

This new rumor about Magic buying the paper can’t hurt (the company wouldn’t even need to change its name!): According to Bloomberg News, it’s Magic’s group that issued the statement “There’s no definitive agreement,” while Johnson CEO Linda Johnson Rice said she has never even had a discussion about Magic Johnson buying the publisher. Interesting power play…you’d think Johnson Publishing would be eager to see Magic’s name attached to its title.

Read More: Magic Johnson in Talks to Buy Publisher of Ebony, Jet Magazines

Previously: Is Ebony For Sale?, JET Magazine Rolls Out Redesign, Kenard Gibbs Out as Publisher of Ebony, Jet