Potential is a dangerous word in this game. How many GMs have drafted or thrown big free agent cash at someone solely on the “P” word rather than actual accomplishments? Players often claim that they can be all-stars if given more shots, more minutes and more touches. One guy who is going to get that chance this season is Trevor Ariza, who spent last season basking in Kobe’s, Pau’s and Lamar’s shadows. Over the summer, the Rockets inked up Ariza to a multi-year contract.
Ever since I was out in Akron for the launch, the Nike Air Max LeBron VII has been creating quite a buzz around the world. While the shoe is set to officially release in October, the More Than A Game tour has been dropping limited edition versions in cities around the world. But for those of you that couldn’t get your hands on a pair of those, here are some releases that will be dropping throughout the NBA season. Read More »
Here’s one straight from the Go Somewhere And Sit Down files: After Michael Jordan jokingly called out Bryon Russell during his H.O.F. speech, of course somebody had to go track down Russell for his reaction. And of course the 38-year-old Russell — who as recently as this summer was talking about trying an NBA comeback — had to go make himself look like the “Can’t let the game go” retired ballplayer, challenging MJ to a battle. “I’ll play his ass right now,” Russell told Yahoo! Sports. “This is a call-out for him to come play me. He can come out here in his private jet and come play. He’s got millions of dollars. He can pay for the jet. He can meet me at the Recreation Center in Calabasas. We can have Mark Jackson do the commentating. We can have Mitch Richmond do the officiating. We can put it on TV and see if Michael’s still got it.” Read More »
Two days later, Michael Jordan‘s Hall of Fame speech is still the biggest topic in basketball. And for the most part, the reviews were not positive. Common accusations were that MJ was confrontational, bullying, petty, ungrateful, and that he primarily used his stage to settle old scores. Our take? It’s obvious who amongst the critics have never played sports, or is so far removed from playing that they forgot what it’s like to be competitive. True, Mike didn’t exhibit anything near the vulnerability of, say, Michael Irvin‘s H.O.F. speech, but he wasn’t that bad. Read More »
Doing what we do for a living, we get to experience some very cool events that often include at least one surreal moment or two. Last night’s induction ceremony for the ’09 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class was no different. Of course there was the general shock and awe you get anytime Michael Jordan makes a public appearance, but beyond that, the weirdest moment of the night was when we spotted Dennis Rodman in the building. The odds on Worm even being aware of the H.O.F. festivities — let alone knowing he had a good reason to be there and showing up on time — were slim to none … With respect to the rest of the inductees, the night was really all about Jordan. Read More »
My standout memory of Michael Jordan does have Byron Russell prominently involved — but it’s not the moment you’re thinking of.
We’re going back to Game 7 of the ’96 Western Conference Finals, Jazz versus my Sonics. This was our year. Stockton and Malone weren’t willfully passing the Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside torch to Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp; Glove and Reign Man were TAKING it. The city had gone all-in for this squad. Three calendars after he’d recorded it for the ’93 Sonics, Sir Mix-a-Lot‘s “Not In Our House!” was back on the radio. Read More »
Cruising down memory lane, it’s hard to pick just one favorite MJ moment. You got the six threes on Portland, the 55 on the Knicks, the ‘shot on Ehlo’…I could go on forever. But for me, my favorite Jordan moment was seeing him play in the flesh when he came to Salt Lake City to play the Jazz in ’95. We’re not talking about upper bowl or 15 rows up. We’re talking front row beside the Bulls bench!
It was one of the first games of the 1995-’96 season and I was a freshman in high school. This was MJ’s first full season back from his retirement and was also the year the Bulls won 72 games. Read More »
Many people benefited and profited from Michael Jordan. One person in particular was former Bulls GM Jerry Krause. Despite the fact that MJ won his franchise six NBA titles and helped boost Krause’s own personal net worth, he wasn’t on hand to celebrate MJ’s induction. While the reason wasn’t because of a personal grudge against Jordan, it was rather a personal grudge against the Hall of Fame. Krause is upset that legendary Bulls assistant Tex Winter has not been voted into the HOF to this point. Read More »
With the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony taking place today, we wanted to give the true diehard fans of the Dime Magazine community an opportunity to write about the 2009 class. Dime reader and Chicago native Jason Oliver, better known to you as “smity far away,” shares his thoughts on Michael Jordan:
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It’s hard to say something about Mike Jordan that hasn’t already been said by much more established and accomplished men. But Mike’s impact and influence on basketball means as much to me as Pac‘s impact on music and Malcolm‘s impact on ethnic empowerment. Read More »
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