From Fort Wayne's Reggie Hayes not much to the column, but this stands out .... Alas, Shaq has taken his big booty (paycheck, I mean) and hobbled off into the Sunset (Boulevard), leaving ABC with the least-appealing NBA Finals since the Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships by default while Michael Jordan played baseball in Birmingham.
mayn, he is blind. so what if michael was playing back in those championship seasons? the bulls aint got nuttin to shut down Dream. this writer is blinded by michael's greatness...
I remeber Bob Costas closing statement after the '95 finals "The return of Michael Jordan withstanding, Hakeen Olajuwon simply is the best baketball player in the world."
I hate when people complain about how the whole thing is rigged for the bigger markets like an LA. Than when theyre proven wrong they complain how the final's are boring cuz theyres no NY Chicago or LA. geesh you cant have both ways.
I guess somebody forgot to tell Reggie that his airness was back for 34 games in that 2nd year. I believe that the team that knocked out the Bulls(with his airness) got swept in the finals by the Rockets. Geez, if these writers would stop riding Jordan's jock for a second, they might be able to write better and more informed articles.
It's in Indiana, you know, the state that doesn't know what it feels like to win an NBA championship.
The more people say this nonsense, the more they prove their ignorance. The guy is just bitter because his pacers got beat by the knicks and never got a chance to get swept by....er, play the Rockets in the Finals.
he said the same thing about the marlins world series. I thought that year the 7 games series against cleveland was pretty damn good
I can see people complaining about the '94 finals, from a pure basketball standpoint there was some real ugliness happening in those games. But the '95 series, though a sweep had exciting games. And the Rockets looked damned worthy to me. It's a ridiculous joke.
Here's the e-mail I fired back at him: “Alas, Shaq has taken his big booty (paycheck, I mean) and hobbled off into the Sunset (Boulevard), leaving ABC with the least-appealing NBA Finals since the Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships by default while Michael Jordan played baseball in Birmingham.” It’s not our fault the Pacers couldn’t get past the Knicks in ’94, or the Magic in ’95. And Jordan was there for 32 games in ’95. And BOTH of those Pacers teams would have been DESTROYED by the Rockets. “By default,” of course. By making this tired, still-lame statement, you reduce your credibility with NBA fans. Quit being bitter, and concentrate your next article on finding a way to contain your resident psycho, Ron Artest. Leave the Rockets and their two-more-championships-than-the Pacers alone. If anyone else wants to pile on, his e-mail address is: rhayes@news-sentinel.com Give him hell!!!
I think the 94 finals was the best series of the 90's. If you look at the first three finals of the decade, the bulls werent given a lot of competition. The 95 finals were a sweep. After that Seattle and Utah(twice) stood no chance. Many people still consider the Spurs 99 final a fluke. That being said, the 94 finals was great for these reasons: 1. You had two great centers in a classic battle. 2. Great role players involved in their own battles.(Otis Thorpe and Robert Horry vs Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley. Kenny Smith, Cassell and Maxwell vs Derek Harper and John Starks) 3. You had a rookie playing on basketballs biggest stage with no fear. (Sam Cassell) 4. The series went 7 games with no team really having a clear advantege. It wasnt the prettiest basketball ever played, but it was a physical grind-it-out series and the team with the most heart won. I tried to look at it as objectively as possible.
hey reggie hayes from the fort lame centipede......TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY YOUR PACERS PULLED OFF ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHOKE JOBS IN NBA HISTORY, AND TRY WRITING ABOUT THAT.... the rockets may have "defaulted" to the back 2 back championships...but if my memory serves me correctly, your pacers couldnt got whacked by a flegling center and pt guard in orlando that we ended up sweeping.....................
My take back at rhayes: What constitutes a great Finals? Michael? Shaq? Get over it, there have been some great champions and great Finals. In fact, all champions are great. Regrettably, your column indicates a lack of greatness since it does not measure up to the magnificence that was the NBA’s greatest player in the mid-90s, Hakeem Olajuwon. BTW – scribes and fans have derided the Blazers mercilessly for passing over Jordan for Sam Bowie. No one ever offered the same derision to the Rockets. Signed: A basketball purist.
JORDAN was in the league during out 2nd championship run. Can't help it if he wasn't in shape. Anyway winning back-to-back championships is no fluke
Here's the e-mail I fired back at him: “Alas, Shaq has taken his big booty (paycheck, I mean) and hobbled off into the Sunset (Boulevard), leaving ABC with the least-appealing NBA Finals since the Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships by default while Michael Jordan played baseball in Birmingham.” It’s not our fault the Pacers couldn’t get past the Knicks in ’94, or the Magic in ’95. And Jordan was there for 32 games in ’95. And BOTH of those Pacers teams would have been DESTROYED by the Rockets. “By default,” of course. By making this tired, still-lame statement, you reduce your credibility with NBA fans. Quit being bitter, and concentrate your next article on finding a way to contain your resident psycho, Ron Artest. Leave the Rockets and their two-more-championships-than-the Pacers alone. If anyone else wants to pile on, his e-mail address is: rhayes@news-sentinel.com Give him hell!!!
