Hall of Shame Fame Induction Speech

 

I got to see most of the NBA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.  Congrats to some deserving new members.  John Stockton, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer are definitely worthy of their honors.  I thought Stringer’s speech was quite moving and heartfelt.  But I’ll be damn if Michael Jordan’s speech wasn’t the most unusual that I have ever heard in any sport.

On one hand as he sat there before being introduced and the video tribute played for him preceeding his introduction, the man seemed so humbled and out of his comfort zone.   He knew this was the pinnacle of any player’s career and he was about the be crowned.   When he got to the mic he was in tears as he tried to muddle through his first few words.  But boy oh boy did he warm up with the rants regarding his competetors throughout the years such as Isaiah Thomas, Byron Russell, John Starks, and coaches Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy.  He covered just about every controversy on the court too.  Well just about. 

He talked about Thomas for instance freezing him out of that first All Star game in the mid 80s, but not how he in turn froze Thomas out of the 92 Dream Team.  He talked about how then Knick coach Riley wouldn’t allow good friend Charles Oakley have dinner with Jordan during Oakley’s years with the Knicks, and how Van Gundy said Jordan befriended opposing players only to try to embarrass them on the court.  He even talked about how Russell challenged him during Jordan’s baseball days saying that Jordan should come back to the NBA so Russell could guard him.  Of course it was Russell who is immortaly posterized as the cat falling back as Jordan shoots jumpers on two separate occasions to win games over him in the NBA Finals. 

Unlike some Hall of Famers who speak about family and friends who helped them get there, Jordan hit that only briefly.  He used most of the speech to brag about his exploits.  I thought it was funny.  True to form.  The only thing he said about his kids was that he didn’t want to be them.  And he, the master of the Jordan brand that has paid him hundreds of millions of dollars even found time to bitch about all the thousand dollar apiece tickets he had to purchase for family and his lil trophy girlfriend to gain entrance into the ceremony. 

I’m thinking to myself, ‘Damn MJ!  You should have told the boys to watch it on TV!  You blows a thousand dollars within the first 10 minutes of a casino visit.  Your kidding right? ‘

 Serena blows a gasket!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what did y’all think of Serena Williams going off Saturday night?  First off it seems to me that Kim Clijsters is on an amazing role as a new mother and she is truly shining at this years US Open.  She not only beat Venus the other day, she had Serena all over the place too as the younger of the Williams sisters hit shot after shot into the net or out-of-bounds.  It was obvious that Serena wanted some get-back for what happened to her sister the other night and it showed as she tried to out power Clijsters to her own demise.  I knew it was a wrap when Serena slammed her racquet into pieces after losing a critical point.  Kim was all in her head and that’s just the way it is.

In terms of the foot fault; well that was a bad call and I don’t think a foot fault is something that a judge ought to get wrong considering where she was positioned.  Especially at such an important stage in the match.

That being said I am not going to pile on Serena for flipping her lid about it.  Don’t get me wrong.  It looked bad and I cringed as she kept going after the judge throwing on ‘F’ bomb after another.  But on the strength of her overall resume’ and good that she’s been to the sport, I think she deserves a Mulligan because this is the first time I can recall this happening.  If it doesn’t become a habit, it’s not a problem.  Besides that, as I recall when I first started watching tennis back in the day, a certain fellow was notorious for throwing such fits on the regular.  He is not only still revered in the tennis world, he happens to be the main broadcasting host of the tournament on both the men’s and women’s matches.

USC Does The Buckeyes

This just in from former USC fullback LenDale White.   “Ohio State still suckes!

Yes the Trojans went into ‘The Big House’ and rolled the Luckeyes for like the 25th time.  Whenever you get through with it, the Big Ten does not and will not be able to stand against the likes of the PAC 10 and the SEC.  We see it every year in bowl games. 

And big ups to Michigan too whooping up on Notre ShameDame!  You see all that extra work does pay off!  I was pulling for you HARD as I sat watching part of the game.  The Wolverines were the most important team in the world to me at that time.  Now that you have done The Domers, I care not what you do with the rest of your year.  Your season is now complete!

Next week!  My favorite team is…. 

wait for it……… that’s right!  MICHIGAN ST.   GO SPARTANS!