How can you compare a Center to a Shooting Guard? They both had different roles to play in the championships they did win. If you ask me, there will be another Jordan before there will be another Hakeem Olajuwon. He just took the whole meaning of Center to a new dimension.
Only proves my point even further... That's two teams that were championship quality that Magic's Lakers or Bird's Celts would have to have beaten.
I'm so freaking tired of seeing Jordan's tongue on the front page of ESPN. I want a picture of him grimacing in pain after inadvertently biting it.
I can live with the national media giving us minute-by-minute updates on the "greatest player ever" because I realize that most of them are camped out in his ass on a daily basis. What I can't take is the local media heaping it on. When I pick up a copy of the Houston Chronicle, I don't want to see a big ass story on MJ and practically a sidebar on the Rockets. That would be like coming to the front page of cc.net, finding Jordan as the headline every day and the Rockets stuff relegated to the side stories. What will be really bad is when the Wiz go down missing the playoffs and every day will be: "Is losing too much for Jordan?" "Will he play another year?" "Should he be the coach, gm and #1 option on offense?" "Where did Jordan's team go wrong?" It's bad enough that ESPN kept a Jordan "Return-o-Meter" going all summer, but having to see it in my daily is just pathetic.
For those upset that Jerry Stackhouse stole the show but only got mentioned once - I think these exerpts from a raptors-Wizards post game article are a bit of fresh air: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vince Carter finally shrugged off the spectre of Michael Jordan. Yet, the Toronto Raptor star wore his best post-game poker face, insisting, once again, it was no big deal. "The matchup was between the Raptors and the Wizards," said Carter, when prodded about the much-ballyhooed matchup with Jordan. Carter scored 31 points to lead the Raptors to a 113-96 win over the Wizards on Thursday, in a pre-season game that didn't feel like one, featuring the first on-court meeting between high-flying NBA superstars. Jordan led the Wizards with 22 points in 27 minutes in front of a crowd of 19,800, the first ever pre-season sell-out at the Air Canada Centre. Carter shot 10-for-23 including four three-pointers. But perhaps most impressive was his defence, something Jordan said was sorely lacking in his fellow North Carolina Tar Heel's game. Twice Jordan failed to score when guarded by Carter -- once throwing up an airball with Carter draped all over him, to the delight of the crowd. "He made a couple of shots that are indefensible," Collins gushed about Carter. "Falling out of bounds as the clock was winding down, from the three-point line ... those kinds of plays, you pat the guy on the back and say, 'Great shot.' He's a brilliant basketball player, and getting better every year." Jordan, chomping on gum all night, showed flashes of his former self, but also exposed his age. He shot just 5-of-17 shots from the floor, missing on his lone three-point attempt. Carter has been touted the second coming of Jordan since his college days at North Carolina, a comparison that pleased neither player. Carter took the floor for warm-ups with a furrowed brow, the same intense look he wore during last season's playoffs. Yet, when asked about the matchup, he wouldn't bite. "I think (Jordan) still has it," said Carter. "Like the Dream. They're just pacing themselves. They're a little older. They understand how to push themselves gradually." The two rarely made eye contact and barely acknowledged each other as the game wore on, with Jordan showing almost no emotion and Carter being only a little more animated. They did not speak. "No, not a word," Carter said. Carter had 26 at halftime (to Jordan's 14) and 31 after three quarters before leaving the game for good 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. Jordan checked in for the final time with 7:15 remaining and Washington trailing 93-85, and the Raptors were ahead by 14 by the time Jordan left with 2:59 remaining. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It'e a pre-season game but with a standing room only crowd (19,800+) who took delight in Carter out-doing Jordan - it didn't feel like an exhibition game at all. Jordan needed to make 12 free throws to make his scoring look decent, getting all the calls of course. For those following Hakeem, here's his line: 24 mins - 15 rebs - 2 assists - 2 blocks - 2 points - 4 fouls Good thing he gets better as the season goes along, but if he and Davis can combine for 22 rebounds, 22 points and 4 blocks on a regular basis - which shouldn't be a problem - then all is good.
I love the way NBA.com highlights a Wizards game on the front page (i.e. Jordan v. Charlotte) and then puts no story about it after the Wizards lose AGAIN. From a news perspective, it makes perfect sense: build up Wizards game because Jordan is interesting, but no one's interested in a Wizards loss, unless Jordan scored bunches. Still, I just think it's funny that NBA.com essentially cheers "Go Jordan!" and then shuts up after the opposing team wins like fans after an opponent's cold-blooded three or free throw. By the way, Wizards are 2-8, 11th overall in the East. I have nothing against D.C. and would like to see the Wizards succeed, but I love hearing the media silence with regard to Jordan and turning the Wizards around, making them a playoff team, Eastern Conf. contender, etc. Of course, it's still early, but it's nice anyway.
