Here is some more about 'The Big Comeback': http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/articles/20010509/315765.html STORY: If you believe Charles Barkley, there is a 99.9 percent chance that Michael Jordan will return next season to play in the NBA -- and Barkley will join him with the Washington Wizards. Barkley said in an interview with The Times that, if all goes according to plan, he and Jordan will make their decisions by the end of June. Noting that Doug Collins is leaving his job as NBC's No. 1 commentator to become coach of the Wizards, Barkley said, "If that isn't an indication that Michael is coming back, I don't know what is." Jordan previously declined an interview with the Times on the subject. Barkley, who was in Los Angeles Tuesday for an appearance on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," said that when his broadcasting duties with TNT end May 24, he'll move in with Jordan in Chicago for a month of serious training before a decision is made. Barkley said Jordan came to his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., last week, and on Saturday, they played in a scrimmage at the gym Barkley uses. Penny Hardaway and some area college players took part, Barkley said. "Michael looked great," he said. Barkley, who says he is working out twice a day and as much as three hours at a time, has lost 45 pounds since he and Jordan began training for their possible comebacks at the start of the year. He now weighs 292 and would like to get down to about 265. Jordan has lost 25 pounds. According to Barkley, Jordan called just before Christmas and said he was thinking about making a comeback and asked Barkley to join him. He said the only reason he is coming back is because Jordan asked. Although a few publications mentioned rumors of a possible comeback by Jordan, the story didn't become news until reported by Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly. "I asked Rick not to write that at that time because the timing was bad," Barkley said, denying speculation that he was the source for the story. Jordan said at the time that he was 99.9 percent sure he was through playing. In an interview with NBC's Ahmad Rashad that aired April 19, Jordan said he had reduced that percentage to 88 percent or 85 percent. Barkley said Jordan wasn't ready to retire in 1998, and Jordan, in the NBC interview, said, "It was an exit in which the Chicago Bulls basically said, 'Hey, you know what, let's change our direction.' And subsequently, I accepted that as being the end of my career. But actually it wasn't one that I chose." Barkley said if the Bulls had retained Phil Jackson as coach, Jordan would not have retired. Jordan is now pushing Barkley to get in shape. "Did you see that interview Michael did with Ahmad?" Barkley said. "He was talking about me getting down to my playing weight . . . if I can do it. "I'm on the phone to Michael right after that saying, 'I caught that subliminal message.'" It seems to be working. Barkley is confident he can lose an additional 25 pounds or so, and be ready, along with Jordan, to play for the Wizards next season. ------------------ Rodney Dangerfield "Business is so bad, hookers are selling toasters" Karma happens...and it tastes like chicken...
I'm impressed with how quickly Ahmad Rashad was able to bury his face back in Jordan's ass. ------------------ All work and no play makes Band Geek Mobster a dull boy. All work and no play makes Band Geek Mobster a dull boy. All work and no play makes Band Geek Mobster a dull boy. All work and no play makes Band Geek Mobster a dull boy.
HAHA Band! I caught that to! I think the man who is most excited about this is Ahmad. ------------------ See the three, be the three.
I'm already sick of the Charles and MJ comeback. ------------------ NBA Draft Lottery is May 20th. Start praying now.
Hey rompa you registered here to make that your first post? Not off to a very good start are ya? I really don't know what to make of these two. Anybody else think they are going to embarrass themselves? ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
http://www.expage.com/pleasemikeno ------------------ C-son -------------- "When life gives you lemons, Shut up and eat the lemons!" - Harry Solomon
I'm going to name my first son Rompa... --------- [This message has been edited by Band Geek Mobster (edited May 10, 2001).]
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2001/05/10/barkley_jordan_ap/ The Odd Couple 3 Starring Michael Jordan as Felix Unger & Charles Barkley as Oscar Madison For some reason, I have the urge to listen to "The Thrill is Gone", by B.B. King. Wonder why? Actually, I just wanted to show Bark's picture. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Live (edited May 10, 2001).]
rompa is sick of DoD's crappy posts. Yet, rompa only has one post total. Ah....the irony...he can rip but can't be ripped because he has no lip . as for the MJ and CB comeback, I hate Jordan for coming back again just to prove that he can. That is the stupidest thing in the world. He left on top and now he wants to come back and leave on bottom. I hope him and CB run into each other during a game and both get paralyzed....the old farts. Neither one of them has anything left to prove. Who cares if they can still play? Maybe that is why they invented the Grandma shot....so they can prove grandparents can still play. If they happen to win a championship together, then the rest of the league just flat out sucks and they should disband the entire league and come out with the XBA. Surf ------------------
Charles Barkley has everything to prove. He is a hall of fame player that gets about as much respect as Bryce Drew. I am so sick of people that say Barkley is not as good as <insert player here> because he does not have a championship ring. This guy could pass, shoot, dribble, defend, and rebound, rebound, rebound. People like Francis for his versatility and athleticism, the same things Sir Charles had in abundance. Yet Kung Fu Karla is put on a whole other level. Before his back problems Chuck worked Karl like an eight year old making clothes for Kathie Lee. I can't wait to see what is shaping up to be the Space Jam reunion tour. Anyway, maybe they can show something besides Kings or Lakers on national television. ------------------ You can't stick a porcupine in a barn, light it on fire, and expect to get licorice.
I know you guys are dying for more Jordan news, so here you go... MJ Speaks, with help of course... My First Time by Michael Jordan with Rick Telander ----------------- The ability to perform in the clutch comes from having the confidence to know that you can. Where does that confidence come from? From having done it in the past. Of course, you have to do it that first time, but after that, you've got a model you can always relate back to. It gives you comfort doing something you've done before. The athlete today with more of that kind of confidence than anyone is Tiger Woods. Look at his record. If he's got a lead, he keeps it. If he needs a big shot, he makes it. And the more he does it -- the more he comes through when he has to -- the more confident he is he can do it again. Of course, Tiger's an athlete for golf, nothing else. I can take him to a basketball court and bet him I can beat him seven out of 10 times shooting lefthanded, and he wouldn't have a chance. That's because my confidence is so strong. I wouldn't feel any pressure. Golf? It's the other way around. One time we played, he spotted me five shots a side. I go out and shoot a 75. Guess what he shoots? 65. He didn't beat me, but he didn't lose. I'm pretty sure if he'd given me 12 strokes he'd have shot a 63. Fifteen strokes? I don't know. I think I'd win that bet. But I'm not sure. The key to hitting a golf ball is the same as for shooting a jump shot. You just do something repetitively, until it works consistently. A golf swing or a basketball shot doesn't have to be technically perfect to work for you. There are guys on the Tour who don't have perfect swings like Tiger, guys with big loops in their swings, or somebody like Jim Furyk. But their swings work for them. Putting is not too far from a free throw. Just you and a technique. Very comparable. You're doing something you've done a million times before. But you have to block everybody and everything from your mind. If you let yourself think "What if?" as you're doing it, you won't. What it gets down to is confidence and pride. Confidence is based on having done it before. Tiger's confidence is so high because of his work ethic and his past success. And he performs the way he does in the clutch today because he has such confidence. If he wants to hook it around the damn tree, he'll do it. The rest of us don't have that confidence, or that past success, so when we hook the stupid ball, it hits the tree. Tiger's pride is such that he won't allow himself to be caught off guard. He always has to stay two or three steps ahead of his competitors. That's why he won't take a day off. I was that way too. There were days when I didn't want to work out, practice, whatever, but I did because I didn't want that next guy catching me. That's why, if the game is tied in the last two minutes or down the stretch, I feel I have an advantage over everyone. Tiger feels the same way. But if you fail in the closing minutes, if you're unable to make the big play, it can work against you in the future. The funny thing is, I don't remember ever failing. The shot I made to win the NBA championship against the Jazz in 1998 -- the shot people think was my last one ever -- is probably my best-known clutch moment. But the biggest shot I ever made, the one I always go back to, the one that started it all, was in the NCAA Finals in 1982. The game-winner against Georgetown. And the truth is, I didn't realize the magnitude of taking it, because I'd never had the experience before. You see, I'd never taken the big shot. High school? Shoot, my team never got out of the sectionals. I can't remember any really big shots or big plays early in my career. None. The only thing that was close was in the 1981 McDonald's All-American Game at Wichita State, when I think I made a late steal or a free throw to win. But I don't put that on the same page with real clutch. In that Georgetown game, I had no time to think. The play was designed for James Worthy, not me. We'd called time-out and Coach Smith said, "We're going to try to get the ball into James. But James, if you can't get it up, swing it around. Michael should have a wide-open shot." I knew I was the second option, so it wasn't as if the weight was on me. By the time the ball got to me, I just had to react. Maybe that helped. If we'd had a different play set up, or if I'd thought about it in the time-out? I don't know, maybe things would have turned out different. I imagine I would have tried to stay calm and say to myself, "Hey Mike, it's not the end of life," and hope for the best. I know that at really clutch times, some people try to con themselves into thinking none of it matters. But I also know that's just a rationalization, because it does matter. My whole NBA career I always thought back on 1982. I'm not saying you can't be confident in the clutch if you've never made the big play before -- obviously, I was already confident before that shot. But that one moment initiated so much. Every shot after that, I felt I could make. I responded so well in those situations because I had such positive thoughts. I thrived on last-second shots. It became a trait for me. Against Cleveland in the playoffs in 1989, we could have finished the first round in Game 4, but I missed a free throw with nine seconds left. Now everybody expected us to lose Game 5 and the series. But all I wanted was another opportunity, and when we had the chance to finish them off, I did, hitting that shot over Craig Ehlo. Why did I miss that free throw in the first place? I think I didn't focus. I may have let negative thoughts creep in. It's not the only time I didn't come through. In Game 1 against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals, our first title year, we fought back to go up by two. Then Sam Perkins hit a three-pointer to put them up by one. I took what I knew was the game-winning shot -- I was sure I made it, but it went in and out. It's in the IMAX movie. The shot goes all the way down and then comes out. We lost Game 1 but swept the next four. Why did the shot come out? It wasn't meant to be. What happens to clutch guys in big moments is that everything slows down. You have time to evaluate the situation, and you can clearly see every move you need to make. You're in the moment, in complete control. It's hard to get there, something has to have you thinking that you can do no wrong. But once you do get there, you can just come out at the start of a game and generate the feeling. Being the best means winning. In college, I never averaged more than 20 points a game. If I got hot, the other team would go to a zone and take away my individual performance. But we'd find a way to win, so who cares? So many young kids in the NBA don't think that way. Now, as the Wizards president, when I look at some of the young guys out there, I'm not sure I'd draft them, because they haven't developed that winning attitude. A kid like Kobe? In hindsight, yeah, I'd take him. But when he first came out, I can't say that I would have. If we have the first pick this year, I may trade it instead of running the risk with some kid who still needs so much more education, so much more experience. There are no shortcuts. You can't just "think" you can be clutch. My comeback ... well, it may not even be a comeback. But here's the thing: You're a great player, you're going to play the game you love -- somewhere, somehow. I know the media aren't going to leave me alone until I decide about my comeback. But for now, right now, I wish that kid Tiger would keep everybody off my back. Just watch him win. -------------------- I realize these quotes are fairly boring, but I found this article kind of interesting, so I thought I'd add it to the "MJ Returns" archives... ------------------
