The 23...

[Cruiser23]

Just on Sportscenter, is inducting Michael Jordan into the NBA Hall of Fame enough? The suggestion that the number 23 should be retired throughout the NBA also because of what MJ did for the game of basketball. The NHL did it for Wayne Gretzky and his number 99, should MJ get the same tribute for his famous number 23?

 

[Theeighthhamster]

yes.

 

[peternorth]

yes.

 

[sblack]

He is live on ESPN now, at the HOF conference.

 

[Wallsy]

Gee I'm not sure he's done enough to warrant a place in the HOF.

 

[sblack]

Some quotes from his interview.

"When people I'm the greatest to play the game I cringe a little bit, I just take it as someone's opinion. I couldn't play against Elgin Baylor or Jerry West or Wilt Chamberlain. I would have loved to...how can I be the GOAT if I've never played against all these other great players in the hall? It's too much for me to ask and it's too much for me to accept"

"Tex Winters is a great coach and I remember one time where I scored 20 pts in a row to win the game. Tex looked at me and said there's no 'i' in team. I looked back at Tex and said, there's an 'i' in win".

On whether their will be another Jordan and if MJ sees imprints of himself in Bryant or James:

"Yea I see some resemblance, that's the evolution of basketball. When I was coming out you could see some resemblance of Doctor J, I was a big Walter Davis fan, and obviously you all know how I feel about David Thompson. How could you not see resemblance of myself in Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? Yea they are going to be fun, I think the game is going to be fun. Don't be in a rush to find the next Michael Jordan. There's not going to be another Michael Jordan. (MJ quiets the crowds applause) I don't mean it like that.....I mean it in a sense.....Look, times are different, the games are different, experiences are different....more or less you guys (the media) than me are constantly trying to find the next Michael Jordan. First of all you did not find me, I just happened to come along and next thing you know, here I am. You didn't have to find me and I'm sure your not going to find that next person but it's going to happen and I'm pretty sure you guys will recognize it.....if you haven't already then in due time you'll know. Those guys have the strong potential to be better then Michael Jordan down the road and they are going to create their own legacy, their own name, their own persona.....just give it time"

On Phil Jackson:

"Phil challenged me to expand my game and my perceptions about the game, about my game, and my teammates. He challenged me with Rodman and thankfully I got around that. Phil's greatest talent is blending personalities. Phil helped me improve my game and he improved me as a person".

"Alot of people said I was not in the same class as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and blah blah blah....but after that game against the Celtics (when Mike scored 63) I earned Larry's respect. It wasn't the points I scored because we lost....Larry gave me the confidence I needed....and he let me know I was on the right track".

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Awful HoF speech

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...?slug=aw-jordanhall091209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

and i agree with the article.

 

[usalion]

Just on Sportscenter, is inducting Michael Jordan into the NBA Hall of Fame enough? The suggestion that the number 23 should be retired throughout the NBA also because of what MJ did for the game of basketball. The NHL did it for Wayne Gretzky and his number 99, should MJ get the same tribute for his famous number 23?

Gretzky also displayed class and graciousness both on and off the ice- Jordan's speech at the ceremony strongly suggests no further honour is needed in his case. Poor show, Michael.....

 

[Carl Hooper]

Absolute legend, amazing man and player - GOAT without a shadow of a doubt Michael, don't downplay your greatness.

Jordan # 23 > Your favourite baller.

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

Nice speech. Took pot shots at everyone he could.

Certainly doesn't let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[DoubleA]

Great player, but a ******** of a human being.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Watching this speech now and it's just incredibly awkward.

 

[Carl Hooper]

Watching this speech now and it's just incredibly awkward.

Why is that?

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Why is that?

The fact that MJ almost fellated himself on stage.

I took a screen dump of Stockton's tux. Highlight of the speech for me.

 

[Carl Hooper]

Its Michael Jordan.

 

[Eagle87]

Nice to see so many of the teenagers who know nothing about Jordan and the 80's or even the 90's taking such umbrage.....

He was the greatest because he has to win .... at everything .... a reporter who Jordan despises trying to get the last word because he can is funny enough - but when he tries to "win" by dissing Mike for pointing out that he always has to win - well, I call hypocrit ....

Jordan is a flawed human being and the greatest player I have ever seen. Some of you guys clearly meet the first criteria but funnily enough dont even realise it.

MJ was always about FU to his opponents .... he always beat them.... they know it .... he was just reminding a few of them ...

And Byron Russell deserved it.

 

[The_Eagles]

The G.O.A.T's girlfriend (?) was delicious

Also don't get the tall-poppy whinging shown. Just seemed like some good old fashioned ribbing, and he let us know what made him Michael. That competitiveness.

 

[DoubleA]

The G.O.A.T's girlfriend (?) was delicious

Also don't get the tall-poppy whinging shown. Just seemed like some good old fashioned ribbing, and he let us know what made him Michael. That competitiveness.

Its not tall poppy whinging when you know this guy's character, and knows he's been doing it all his professional life. He never once gave Jerry Krause any credit in his entire career, even though Krause traded to draft Pippen when Jordan wanted to draft Joe Wolf. Do you know Joe Wolf? Nobody knows Joe Wolf.

He hated everyone around him that didnt think he was the greatest or those that had the audacity to stand up to him. He was famous for hating Longley because Longley didn't take his shit.

 

[The_Eagles]

Okay fair enough. Ah well, his weakness became the ultimate, ultimate strength.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Damn, looks like MJ had only the 2nd worst speech
---------------------------------------------------The worst Hall of Fame speech … ever
September 10th, 2009 by Jeff Pearlman


I arrived at the Basketball Hall of Fame here in Springfield tonight expecting to see some interesting stuff at the pre-induction dinner.

This is, after all, admittance weekend for Michael Jordan. For John Stockton. For David Robinson, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer. As everyone who has covered this stuff knows, Hall weekends—in all sports—are riveting Who’s Whos of the athletic world. There’s Charles Barkley talking to Bob Lanier! There was Ann Myers and Dolph Schayes! There’s … you get the idea.

Tonight, however, all the prestige … all the glamor … all the stars … all the food (pan seared Chilean Sea Bass with tropical fruit salsa) were surpassed by one breathtaking moment: The worst Hall of Fame speech of all time.

Without question.

The man of the hour was Peter Vescey, the longtime New York Post basketball columnist who, I must believe, somebody out there likes. Throughout his 32-year career covering hoops, Vescey boasts an unparalleled record of alienation. This is just a guess, but I’d say 90-95 percent of players dislike him. I’d say 97-99 percent of coaches and owners dislike him. And, among his peers in the media … uh, well … yeah. Not a good track record. The problem, to be blunt, is this: Vescey has never come off as a particularly nice person. His writing is snide and dismissive; his tone that of a know-it-all third grader. He’s extremely combative, and (this is a guess, admittedly) would rather try and throw punches than engage in an actual intellectual discourse. That Vescey writes for the Post is appropriate: He and the newspaper deserve one another.

Anyhow, the night was going very well. Speeches were moderately short, the MC—an excellent Ernie Johnson—kept things rolling, Jordan and his gang made their waves. At approximately 8:20 pm, Doug Collins, also inducted as a media member, offered up an absolutely wonderful speech, crying as he asked his wife and children to stand.

And then, Vescey took the stage.

He seemed to have no notes. No thoughts. No … nothing. He began not by expressing his appreciation, but by rattling off all the shunned players he believed belonged in the Hall. From there, he just … babbled. About this. About that. He seemed to be drunk, but I don’t think he was. The man was just, well, lost. He used language one doesn’t use in a Hall speech. He called out people’s names (”Calvin Murphy! Tiny Archibald!”), and you could literally see the men squirming in their seats. I was sitting about 10 feet from David Stern, who—throughout the ceaseless banter—dismissively shook his head while checking his Blackberry. Jordan, the star of the weekend, walked out. Just left, and never returned.

The best part came, oh, 30 minutes in, when Vescey took a breather between points. As if on cue, the entire room started to applaud—a very clear, very audible get-the-f^%$-off-the-stage command. Suddenly, music piped in from above—yet another get-the-f^%$-off-the-stage command. Oddly, Vescey really paid it no mind. It was as if he had a booger dangling from his nose, and everyone in the room was acutely aware of its existence—save for Peter Vescey. He kept talking until, I believe, his mic was turned off (either that, or he got the clue).

Man, it was sooooooooooo bad. I almost felt sorry for Peter Vescey.

Almost.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey Calvin … Calvin Murphy … I haven’t seen you since 1982 during the NBA Finals when you wanted to fight me and called me a “punk ass bitch” Right, right? That’s what you called me right? A punk-ass bitch.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vecsey didn’t thank anyone (not even his family), but in his 30-minute speech (everyone else kept theirs in the 5-10 minute range), he basically bragged about himself
* He fired a barb at Doug Collins (who was in attendance accepting an award), and then strangely said (paraphrasing) “Vivian Stringer … I don’t know who you are …”
* He told a senseless story about John Stockton where the punchline was something to the effect of, “… I went to Utah and Stockton gave me nothing … I ended up writing that Stockton’s given it up more than Madonna…” at which point the camera focused on Stockton, whose facial expression was one of incredulity; the audience laughed, and Vecsey thought they were laughing at his joke

 

[peternorth]

i know joe wolf

what did mj say about bryon russell?

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Jordan's speech had a few parts in it that made me think, "Wow, I can't believe he just said that."

He seems to be building himself up when he tells his kids, "I wouldn't want to be you guys. With all the high expectations." It might be true, but it also might be true that you could beat the hell out of a handicapped kid if you wanted to. My point being, just because it's true doesn't mean it ought to be said.

Also, when he said "I didn't see the organization play with the flu in Utah." Please. Building himself up more while bashing somebody else at the same time. That wasn't necessary.

And finally, when he talked about how he told Tex, "There's an 'I' in "win"!" At first I thought he was kidding around, but then he goes on to talk about how he loves to win and so he takes it over himself if he has to. Is that really something the kids need to hear?

Not taking away anything from Michael: He's the GOAT, and he has every right to say what he said. I'm just a little disappointed he didn't handle it with more class is all.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Just on Sportscenter, is inducting Michael Jordan into the NBA Hall of Fame enough? The suggestion that the number 23 should be retired throughout the NBA also because of what MJ did for the game of basketball. The NHL did it for Wayne Gretzky and his number 99, should MJ get the same tribute for his famous number 23?

No for a couple of reasons.

#1. 99 was kind of a unique number. Not many players in NHL history wore it apart from Gretzky and therefore retiring it wouldn't have much of an affect on the legacy of the number like retiring the no. 23 which many NBA players have wore in its history and obviously one of the most notable to date being LeBron.

#2. Jordan was the best player in the NBA during his career but I don't think he totally dominated his sport like Gretzky did, statistically speaking. Jordan averaged 30s per game and won championships but Kobe showed he could do the same in the next decade. LeBron has also shown he can match Jordan's scoring prowess. Nobody in the NHL has come close to matching Gretzky's goals per season record and points per season record and he also has numerous other records which are unlikely to be beaten. To compare, Jordan won 'only' 5 MVPs in his career, Gretzky won 9 MVPs.

 

[Borgsta]

Nice to see so many of the teenagers who know nothing about Jordan and the 80's or even the 90's taking such umbrage.....

He was the greatest because he has to win .... at everything .... a reporter who Jordan despises trying to get the last word because he can is funny enough - but when he tries to "win" by dissing Mike for pointing out that he always has to win - well, I call hypocrit ....

Jordan is a flawed human being and the greatest player I have ever seen. Some of you guys clearly meet the first criteria but funnily enough dont even realise it.

MJ was always about FU to his opponents .... he always beat them.... they know it .... he was just reminding a few of them ...

And Byron Russell deserved it.

He is 46 years old and is being celebrated. This should be a moment that he gets great enjoyment out of and a moment to thank those that helped him. Instead he went over things that annoyed him that he has already mentioned in his book, his documentary, numerous interviews on tv, at numerous events to close friends and also to people he barely knew.

It's sad because he sounds like he is trying to make sure people think he is good. He won 6 championships whilst being the greatest player of his time. There really should be no need for that kind of speech.

 

[Eagle87]

He is 46 years old and is being celebrated. This should be a moment that he gets great enjoyment out of and a moment to thank those that helped him. Instead he went over things that annoyed him that he has already mentioned in his book, his documentary, numerous interviews on tv, at numerous events to close friends and also to people he barely knew.

It's sad because he sounds like he is trying to make sure people think he is good. He won 6 championships whilst being the greatest player of his time. There really should be no need for that kind of speech.

In your opinion....

Michael is the GOAT. He has issues dealing with being middled aged and with his best being behind him. He is in the middle of his life - he is clearly struggling with some aspects. If you heard "trying to make sure people think he is good" you heard a different speech to me.

He has lived an odd life, since age 19. He was THE man internationally and in the US for 20 years and I suspect has a slightly different reality to the rest of us. I have a mate who played with Mike for several years in the 90's - certainly they aren't BFF's but the respect he has for Jordan's ability to deal with what he did OFF court is endless. He is absolutely of the view that he couldnt have coped at all. After spending every minute of your life from 20 to almost 40 being like Mike - there are clearly some issues he is struggling with. He has said repeatedly that he didnt want to be inducted - "because then its over" - he is struggling with that....

He remains Mike. If you dont like that and think he should have done it better then fine.... solid citizens who are mediocre (relative to Mike) might be more your thing...