By IAN HARRISON, sportsnet.ca

King James is looking like a lowly knave as he comes back to Cleveland, his first appearance as a visitor since taking his talents to South Beach. LeBron’s Heat have been mostly stone-cold so far, and his talents don’t seem to include a built-in GPS that tells him where to walk heading back to the bench. LeBron insists there was nothing to his much-ballyhooed bump with coach Erik Spoelstra last weekend, but it sure seemed like there was.

Cristiano Ronaldo & Pep Guardiola. Rare are the times people rush to the defence of crybaby Cristiano Ronaldo. Sure, he’s a remarkable talent, but his on-field antics have infuriated thousands of opponents and fans alike over the years. Still, when the Portuguese playmaker shoved Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola during this week’s Clasico, it was the Barca boss who was to blame, teasing Ronaldo by throwing the ball away after the Madrid midfielder had walked over to the sidelines to collect it.

Javier Aguirre & Ricardo Phillips. Like famous college football coach Woody Hayes, who once punched an opposing player after he caught an interception, Mexican soccer coach Javier Aguirre doesn’t allow his spot on the sidelines to stop him getting from involved in the on-field action. During a testy Gold Cup clash last year, Aguirre kicked out at Panama’s Ricardo Phillips, striking him in the groin. An angry Phillips responded with a shove, and both player and coach were sent packing.

Alex Ferguson & David Beckham. According to Beckham, it was ‘a mad scene out of a gangster movie’ when Man U boss Sir Alex Ferguson kicked a football boot into his star player’s face during a 2003 locker room dispute. Furious at the Red Devils’ FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, the rampaging Fergie let fly, cutting Becks over the left eye. Already on the outs with his manager, Beckham had to be restrained by teammates, and left Manchester for Madrid that summer.

Lou Piniella & Rob Dibble. He was known as Sweet Lou, but he didn’t always live up to the name. Recently-retired manager Lou Piniella had a temper that was often on the brink of eruption and he had no qualms about taking on any opponent, no matter how nasty. Reds reliever Rob Dibble found that out the hard way in 1992, when the so-called Nasty Boy was wrestled to the ground by his skipper during a clubhouse argument.

Billy Martin & Dave Boswell. Never one to shy away from confrontation, Billy Martin had more fights in his career than he did stints managing the Yankees. A noted scrapper (and drinker) during his days as a big league infielder, Martin’s temper didn’t subside when he turned to managing. Minnesota pitcher Dave Boswell needed 20 stitches after a 1969 bar fight with Martin, who was fired at season’s end despite leading the team to a division title. Years later Martin came out on the worse end of a bar fight with Yankees hurler Ed Whitson.

Jim Leavitt & Joel Miller. The fiery football coach from the University of South Florida didn’t lock a player in an electrical closet, like Texas Tech counterpart Mike Leach. But like Leach, he wound up unemployed after allegedly grabbing sophomore Joel Miller by the throat and slapping him in the face during halftime of a 2009 game. Leavitt was accused of lying about the incident, asking other players and fellow coaches to change their stories about what had happened.

Craig Bellamy & John Carver. The Welsh wildman has a reputation for renegade behviour, once arming himself with a golf club before going after teammate John Arne Riise. The reason for that bust-up? Riise’s refusal to sing karaoke. Bellamy has blown off steam in wars of words with several managers, but saved his worst for a skirmish with former Toronto FC boss John Carver, throwing a chair at his assistant coach during the duo’s tumultuous days at Newcastle United.

John Gibbons & Ted Lilly. Former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons wanted to throw punches, not a life preserver, when Shea Hillenbrand complained that Toronto’s ship was sinking in 2006. There was more mayhem a month later when Gibbons went after pitcher Ted Lilly, arguing with his pitcher on the mound before following the southpaw down the tunnel for a physical confrontation.

Latrell Sprewell & P.J. Carlesimo. No player-coach confrontation was more violent than the neck-tightening tussle between combustible guard Latrell Sprewell and coach P.J. Carlesimo. Sprewell went crazy at his then-Warriors coach during a 1997 practice, responding to criticism by throttling Carlesimo and later trying to start another fight. After being suspended for 68 games, losing $6.4 million in salary, Sprewell complained his penalty was too harsh. ‘I wasn’t choking P.J. that hard,’ he told 60 Minutes. ‘I mean, he could breathe.’