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 »

That was according to Charles Barkley, leading up to yesterday’s Hawks/Heat game. Recapping Joe Johnson’s subpar showing in the series’ first three games, Barkley blurted out, “He can’t be the best player on a team.” As Kenny Smith was fixing his mouth for a nice way to ask Chuck, “The hell are you talking about?” Barkley clarified that he thinks J.J. is better suited as a complimentary player (like he was in Phoenix) rather than a franchise guy. While you can win with guys like Joe on your roster, you’re not gonna win if he’s The Guy. Read More »