I agree with Cortez, he didn't try to sugarcoat anything. Instead of the typical, I thank God, I thank my family, etc... that we always hear, he just went up there said it like it is. Some people might not like it, but that was Jordan uncut, haha. I find it kinda funny that even after all these years, he still remembers how personally he took it when Russell said he could guard him.
bawful, u r losing your touch....months back, ur posts really cracked me up, but now i think ur writing charm died off in the middle of livin' large :( ....
I'm all for honesty and openness in these kinds of events, but I think Jordan could have gotten his point across without throwing so many people under the bus. I mean, did he really have to invite the guy who got picked over him in high school just to throw his success in the face of his former high school coach? And don't forget the "sucks to be you" he gave to his kids. Gee, thanks dad. That's so nice of you to say.
It's sort of sad when a man who has accomplished so much in the public eye still feels the need to dig up past offenses.
It did make for some great entertainment, though. :-)
I really think MJ's foray into being a team executive was at least partly motivated by a desire to beat Jerry Krause at his own game. In the executive arena, though, Crumbs is the MJ-type alpha dog and Jordan is Stacey King. A list of his draft picks (Kwame Brown, Adam Morrison) looks like an NBA All-Vagina team.
If the Bobcats really want to be successful, they should make him a consultant and do the opposite of whatever he says.
I guess the lesson is, if you're going to be an asshole, you should try and be a famous asshole, because everyone and their mother will defend virtually anything you do or say. Thank you for not being one of those people, Mr. Bawful
Fishinastorm -- Well, sorry the continuing adventures of this blog aren't doing it for you. Just know that your criticism lights the will of my fire and one day I will be forced to destroy you, MJ-style.
Anonymous -- Crap, you're right! I originally intended to use one of the last four panels for Jordan's kids but forgot. My bad.
AnacondaHL -- That was totally intentional, which is why that's the only frame where I used two speech bubbles. I meant to do it the second time I used that pic too, but of course I forgot.
DocZeus -- It was a glorious example of wanton, unapologetic superdickery. The evil side of me loved it.
Lucas -- You're welcome. We don't sugarcoat things here.
Bawful: I'd call this a heel turn, except considering the life and times of MJ as an "executive," and his money management skills that led him to Retirement #1...I think the whole weekend was a massive debutante ball on par with Starbury's live video streaming rants.
As for your response to Anonymous...well, that's clearly about as much attention as His Airness pays his own offspring, isn't it?
When viewed with a mindset skewed toward professional wrestling, this speech constitutes one of the greatest heel-turns of all time. I fully expect "Hollywood" Jordan to run wild over the NBA this upcoming season.
BTW, perhaps this will inspire some footbawfulness on its own: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/buf/gallery/im:urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:nfl,photo,2219f30a4faa4ac3806967236f51844a.patriots_football_mass108:1#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Anfl%2Cphoto%2C4af95581d037428e88fa09f142fef1b3.patriots_football_mass107%3A1
Mr. Bawful - It's a somewhat embarrassing admission on my part I suppose, but I've seen that movie dozens of times (at least). To say I'm a fan of Fright Night is putting it mildly, so I daresay that few references to it, no matter how subtle, will go past me unnoticed :) I will say though, that it took me a shocking number of viewings to realize that the movie takes place in Iowa...
Okay, I also have to confess that I'm a big Fright Night fan. So much so that several years ago, back before you could find anything over the Internet, I paid a lot of money to import a copy of the soundtrack from Europe.
It was classic vampire goodness from back before vampires became lame. These days, they can walk around in daylight and go to high school and have no weaknesses. Basically, they're Superman with a pale complexion. Meh.
My favorite scene in Fright Night was when Dandridge confronted Charlie and gave him what was really a pretty generous (and seemingly sincere) offer: Forget about me, and I'll forget about you.
Of course, Charlie, like the idiot he was, refused. Fool.
Cortez - In my mind it's not even close. Underworld is a decent movie, but Fright Night holds a very special place in my heart.
Mr. Bawful - I too am one of the deranged people who spent endless hours and blew countless riches on not only the soundtrack to Fright Night, but to the Brad Fiedel score as well. You're totally right about that scene in Charlie's room though. When I was a kid I never realized how generous Jerry Dandridge was there, but as an adult I gotta say, he seems like a pretty nice and affable guy (except for the whole beheading prostitutes thing).
A year ago I found out about this the morning after it happened, and I'm still pissed I didn't know about it sooner :(
Yams -- I don't know what CD or CDs you got, but I have a combo CD with the soundtrack and Fiedel score. Because I had to have both the vocal and instrumental versions of "Come To Me."
Dude, I'm pissed FOR you. That would have been very cool.
AnacondaHL -- Wha, huh, wha...?! I don't know what you're talking about. ;)
Mr. Bawful - Yeah, that's the same disc I've got, and I got it for the exact same reason. I've got tons of movie soundtracks, and in there I've got a couple other similarly cheesy ones from the mid 80s (Teen Wolf & another Brad Fiedel gem, Terminator among them).
I was mainly pissed about missing that event I linked to above because Stephen "Evil Ed" Geoffreys was there. Since the guy went on to apparently have a long career in gay porn, I was curious as hell to see what kind of questions a room full of Fright Night nerds might ask him. Plus, seeing the movie on the big screen would be a treat :)
Japes - Spandex nothing, she was wearing skin tight vinyl in that movie. You gotta love clothing that needs to be washed with Windex :)
I'll tell ya why Jordan laughed and smirked through the whole thing. Because more than he loved the game, he loved crushing the people in his way, so Leroy Smith, Bryon Russell, et al, were fond memories for him.
I was very happy to read this and By The Horns and see that you didn't pussy out on the issue. Not that I expected you to, but still. It's exactly why I love this site because noone is safe, and judging by the comments so far, you seem to be getting away with it (apart from the one Kobe troll). Nice work on doing the basketball version of what Stephen Colbert, Eric Cartman and Charles Barkley do. (although on this issue I somehow don't think Barkley would call Jordan's speech "turrible"...)
And thanks for making me feel left out with these old school movie references. I remember something about you making a list of movies/shows that a basketbawful reader should know to fully appreciate all the references. Today's comments section was like a straight man watching project runway.
Hey Bawful, how about some bawfulness in ongoing Euro 2009? $56m-man Hedo Turkoglu layed bricks all over the court tonight, shooting 1 of 16, but team Turkey still managed to carve out a win in overtime. Good night and good luck to everyone (especially in Toronto).
I have really enjoyed watching Jordan over the years, but was disappointed that he appeared so bitter in this speech. I would have thought with all of his accomplishments, he would have let go of such trivial things.
the jordan speech was okay, have to watch it a couple of times to appreciate it, and also realize that no one is perfect. Read this blog: http://benhinson.blogspot.com/2009/09/michael-jordans-hall-of-fame-speech.html
He certainly didn't fuck around with the niceties, did he?
It's sort of sad when a man who has accomplished so much in the public eye still feels the need to dig up past offenses.
It did make for some great entertainment, though. :-)
If the Bobcats really want to be successful, they should make him a consultant and do the opposite of whatever he says.
Best part was when he told his kids "I wouldn't want to be you." Yeah, thanks, pop.
Later, bitches.
Kobe is such a lame-o trying to be like the greatest player ever. Why does he even try?
Kobe is such a copy-catter.
Lebron is already 10 times greater than Kobe will ever be even though he hasn't won a ring or really done anything period.
good job Chris's. It's good to know people still bring up Kobe's name even though he wasn't mentioned anywhere in the post.
And I'll admit I've always wanted to win a major award and only thank myself for being awesome.
Anonymous -- Crap, you're right! I originally intended to use one of the last four panels for Jordan's kids but forgot. My bad.
AnacondaHL -- That was totally intentional, which is why that's the only frame where I used two speech bubbles. I meant to do it the second time I used that pic too, but of course I forgot.
DocZeus -- It was a glorious example of wanton, unapologetic superdickery. The evil side of me loved it.
Lucas -- You're welcome. We don't sugarcoat things here.
As for your response to Anonymous...well, that's clearly about as much attention as His Airness pays his own offspring, isn't it?
BTW, perhaps this will inspire some footbawfulness on its own:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/buf/gallery/im:urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,ap:20050301:nfl,photo,2219f30a4faa4ac3806967236f51844a.patriots_football_mass108:1#photoViewer=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Anfl%2Cphoto%2C4af95581d037428e88fa09f142fef1b3.patriots_football_mass107%3A1
Fright Night > Underworld.
It was classic vampire goodness from back before vampires became lame. These days, they can walk around in daylight and go to high school and have no weaknesses. Basically, they're Superman with a pale complexion. Meh.
My favorite scene in Fright Night was when Dandridge confronted Charlie and gave him what was really a pretty generous (and seemingly sincere) offer: Forget about me, and I'll forget about you.
Of course, Charlie, like the idiot he was, refused. Fool.
Mr. Bawful - I too am one of the deranged people who spent endless hours and blew countless riches on not only the soundtrack to Fright Night, but to the Brad Fiedel score as well. You're totally right about that scene in Charlie's room though. When I was a kid I never realized how generous Jerry Dandridge was there, but as an adult I gotta say, he seems like a pretty nice and affable guy (except for the whole beheading prostitutes thing).
A year ago I found out about this the morning after it happened, and I'm still pissed I didn't know about it sooner :(
Dude, I'm pissed FOR you. That would have been very cool.
AnacondaHL -- Wha, huh, wha...?! I don't know what you're talking about. ;)
While this is true, it goes without saying that:
Kate Beckinsale >>>> Marcy
I think half of what made Underworld good is the fact that you see Kate Beckinsale in spandex for almost 2 hours.
I was mainly pissed about missing that event I linked to above because Stephen "Evil Ed" Geoffreys was there. Since the guy went on to apparently have a long career in gay porn, I was curious as hell to see what kind of questions a room full of Fright Night nerds might ask him. Plus, seeing the movie on the big screen would be a treat :)
Japes - Spandex nothing, she was wearing skin tight vinyl in that movie. You gotta love clothing that needs to be washed with Windex :)
http://chockblock.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/kate-beckinsale-underworld-evolution.jpg
And thanks for making me feel left out with these old school movie references. I remember something about you making a list of movies/shows that a basketbawful reader should know to fully appreciate all the references. Today's comments section was like a straight man watching project runway.
http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid_toT,ovGDH2EaLKL67XnPo2.gameID_6366-F-6-2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundID_6366.teamID_.html#{5E70D78D-E480-4F66-9B60-839D032EE21A}
Oh. My. God.
http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/61583/20090914/ostertag_looking_to_make_nba_comeback/
And, I'm not the type to usually point out something along these lines, but goddamnit Jordan's daughter is finnnne
Remembering Michael Jordan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSbpyxFC24k