Papa John’s Pizza to pony up 23-cent pizzas today

CLEVELAND (AP) — It’s time for Papa John’s Pizza to make good on its promise to sell a large, one-topping pizza for 23 cents in Ohio.

Eighty-six stores in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown are in on the deal, each prepared to sell more than 900 pies on Thursday.

The Louisville, Ky.-based company agreed to the deal as an apology to Cleveland Cavaliers fans after a franchisee in Washington, D.C., made T-shirts calling star LeBron James a “crybaby.”

The shirts referred to James’ complaints about hard fouls during a playoff series with the Washington Wizards.

The 23-cent price of a pizza is an homage to James’ jersey number.