[Stacie18]

Hall of Fame: Michael Jordan gets final accolade with induction - ESPN



SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Michael Jordan's thank you list went well beyond friends and family.

There was the coach who cut him. The player who dissed him. The media who doubted him.

Anyone who ever provided Jordan with motivation to become a better player -- perhaps the greatest one ever.

Jordan recalled all of it Friday night, when he joined David Robinson and John Stockton, a pair of his 1992 Dream Team teammates, and coaches Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer in a distinguished class enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.


[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Stephan Savoia
Michael Jordan, owner of six NBA championships and five MVP awards, joined David Robinson, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer as the latest members enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
"The game of basketball has been everything to me," Jordan said.

Jordan insisted during a press conference that the weekend wasn't just about him, but he was clearly the star before a crowd that included former teammates Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

"He makes one big shot and everybody thinks he's kind of cool," Stockton joked. "I don't get it."

Jordan cried before beginning his acceptance speech, then entertained the crowd with memories of any slights that inspired him to get to basketball's birthplace:

• The coach who cut him from the varsity as a North Carolina schoolboy.

"I wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude."

• Isiah Thomas, who allegedly orchestrated a "freezeout" of Jordan in his first All-Star game.

"I wanted to prove to you, Magic [Johnson], Larry [Bird], George [Gervin], everybody that I deserved [to be there] just as much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I've done that without a doubt."

• Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy -- Jordan called him Pat Riley's "little guy" -- who accused Jordan of "conning" players by acting friendly toward them, then attacking them in games.

"I just so happen to be a friendly guy. I get along with everybody, but at the same time, when the light comes on, I'm as competitive as anybody you know."

• The media who said Jordan, though a great player, would never win like Bird or Johnson.

"I had to listen to all that, and that put so much wood on that fire that it kept me each and every day trying to get better as a basketball player."

• Lastly, Utah's Bryon Russell. Jordan recalled meeting Russell while he was retired and playing minor league baseball in 1994 -- and with Sloan looking on in horror -- told of how Russell insisted he could have covered him if Jordan was still playing. Russell later got two cracks at Jordan in the NBA finals, and he was the defender when Jordan hit the clinching shot to win the 1998 title.


“
I wanted to prove to you, Magic [Johnson], Larry [Bird], George [Gervin], everybody that I deserved [to be there] just as much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I've done that without a doubt.

”
-- Michael Jordan

"From this day forward, if I ever see him in shorts, I'm coming at him."

The enshrinement ceremony took place at Springfield's Symphony Hall, because Jordan was too big for the Hall of Fame. The move to the other building allowed for a crowd of about 2,600, more than double what the Hall can accommodate.

Robinson was enshrined first on Friday before a large San Antonio contingent that included teammates Tim Duncan and Avery Johnson, and coaches Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich. Stockton told the Spurs that his running mate, Karl Malone, was the best power forward, not Duncan.

Stringer, the first coach to lead three different teams to the Final Four, still couldn't believe a coal miner's daughter had made it, calling it the "most unusual, unexpected thing in the world."

She thanked her players -- "basketball daughters" -- and praised her 2007 Rutgers team for the class and dignity it showed after the racially insensitive comments made by Don Imus.

"I know that I stand here on the shoulders of so many," Stringer said.

Sloan also thanked his players, his former coaches from high school to the NBA, and late Utah owner Larry Miller for sticking with him even during the team's bad years.

"Loyalty is the No. 1 reason I'm still coaching the Jazz," Sloan said.

Most of the attention was on Jordan, the five-time NBA MVP, but the others in the class are some of the most accomplished in the sport. Stockton is the career leader in assists and steals, Robinson won an MVP trophy and two titles in San Antonio, and Sloan is the only coach to win 1,000 games with one team.

"Unique, unique competitors," Stockton said during the morning press conference.

Fiery ones, too. Sloan, Stockton's longtime coach, told two different tales of fights he was in as a hard-nosed player for Chicago.

Jordan remembered scoring around 20 points in a row late in a game to pull out a win, which was followed by a conversation with Bulls assistant Tex Winter.

"Tex reminded me that there's no 'I' in team," Jordan said. "And I looked back at Tex, I said, 'There's 'I' in win.' So whichever way you want it."

Jordan and Robinson were All-American college players who entered the NBA with high expectations. Sloan acknowledged he wasn't so sure about Stockton at first -- and turns out, neither was Stockton.

"I thought they'd figure me out pretty quickly. I thought the Jazz would figure out that they'd made a mistake, so first paycheck I saved every cent," Stockton said. "I was pretty sure I was a one-year-and-out guy."

Not Jordan -- who still might not be done.

"One day you might look up and see me playing a game at 50," he said. "Don't laugh. Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion."

[NikNak]

There are no words for how much I love Jordan.

[sunnykerr]

Well, I'm not going to pretend that I don't know who Michael Jordan is, I'm too old to play that game.

So, I'll just say that I'm glad he seems to be a nice guy, considering how many idolize him. And it's not that I have anything against him. Nothing whatsoever. Basketball just isn't my game.

[sunnykerr]

Canadian Grand Prix back on the F1 schedule Auto racing's governing body has ratified its calendar for the 2010 season and reinstated the Canadian Grand Prix, provided contract negotiations with Formula One management and Montreal organizers are completed. The Canadian Grand Prix had been held at the Montreal track annually since 1978 before being dropped this season. There will be 19 races in 2010. The season will start with the Bahrain GP on March 14, FIA said in a statement. If FIA and the Canadian organizers fail to reach a deal, the Turkish Grand Prix, which is scheduled for May 30, will be moved to June 6. The Canadian Grand Prix is scheduled for June 13. Montreal was dropped from the 2009 F1 calendar after negotiations with race organizers collapsed. F1 wanted US$175 million to keep the Montreal race on the 2009 schedule but organizers and the government balked. Earlier this month, local promoter Normand Legault announced that Formula One Administration and Grand Prix F1 du Canada Inc. had settled their financial dispute. But Quebec politicians involved in the negotiations said talk of a deal was premature.

CTV.ca | Canadian Grand Prix back on the F1 schedule

Well, it's not a done deal yet, but in your face, Bernie Ecclestone!!!!

And I don't even like F1.

[NikNak]

Me either.

My 49ers are 2-0, baby! That's the way to start the NFL season.

[sunnykerr]

Yeah, I've never watched a full... half? quarter? inning? set? of football.

I'm not a huge F1 fan, but I know what it does for this city, and I know what this city does for the F1 organization. So I think it was a good decision.

[NikNak]

Originally Posted by sunnykerr (View Post) Yeah, I've never watched a full... half? quarter? inning? set? of football.

It could be half or quarter, LOL. Inning would be baseball and set would be tennis.

[sunnykerr]

Originally Posted by NikNak (View Post) Inning would be baseball and set would be tennis.

I actually knew those two. I was just casting my net as wide as I could.

The truth is, aside from the three periods in a hockey game, I don't think I've ever seen a full "game set portion of time" of any sport.

So, miss Sports board moderator, any sporting news we should all be aware of?

[NikNak]

Hmm. My 49ers are 2-0. Or did I say that already?

[sunnykerr]

I guess that means they've won two and lost none?

How many games does a football team play in a season?

[NikNak]

Yup, they won 2 and lost none.

But after today, they are 2-1. They lost today to the Vikings.

There are 16 games for football in the regular season.

[vc318]

Miami Dolphins lost again last night. Hmm, they're not starting off so good.

[sunnykerr]

The Habs' season starts next week.

[NikNak]

Habs?? What team is that?

My 49ers lost this weekend too... in the last freaking TWO SECONDS! Gaaaah.

[sunnykerr]

Okay, that sound you hear? Is the sound of every single body in Quebec rolling around in its grave.

I mean, I'm not huge on baseball, but I know who the Yankees are. I don't know anything about football, and I know the 49ers. I've never seen basketball in my life, but I know who the Bulls are.

I'm done being a brat.



The Habs are the Montreal Canadiens. They're the most storied hockey franchise in the world. They've got 24 Stanley Cups. The only sports franchise to have more success in North America are the Yankees. And we're not gonna be bitter about it, but let's just say it helps when you can afford to buy talent.