Older Fans who watched Prime Jordan...

[sammichoffate]

Were there people in the media who spent their entire time praising Jordan and absolving him of any criticism while trashing his teammates/other legends?

[scuzzy]

yes, Skip Bayless was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune during his tenure



one of many

[sammichoffate]

yes, Skip Bayless was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune during his tenure



one of manyCould you like something as an example? I wanted to see if he trolls as hard as his tv shows in writing lol.

[BigShotBob]

Jordan got enormous praise early in his career. Approximately his first 4-5 years. That's around the time the infamous All-Star game freeze out happened.

Then he was criticized for being a ball-hog, and the narrative that a scoring champion couldn't lead his team to a title started to surface.

When he won his first title he was regarded as the best in the world and after his first three peat he was considered the GOAT by consensus.

[Dray n Klay]

Yes, Stern basically had ESPN, NBC, and the NBA act as Jordan's own marketing agency.

Propping up his successes and hiding his failures.

Why do you think noone discussed 1-9 until only a few years ago?

[LAmbruh]

the propaganda was forced down kids mouths so much back then and he was the only NBA player getting big endorsements


it's no surprise you see cats like 3brick, Straight Altin, Coach, Snagglebot so emotionally invested and insecure without having watched a lick of ball in 20 years


https://i.postimg.cc/qvLczh5f/820x510xfeel-like-mike-gatorade-michael-jordan-jpg-pagespeed-ic.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/P5hzXzKz/e92ee2421af805c01b228b3098e0c2b5.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/Yq7mY2gt/be-like-mike-22990039-std-png.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/MKYfDkbV/jh-lhjlhvjlhj-lhj.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/2jhZ1L1H/michael-jordan-gatorade-be-like-mike.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Big164]

MJ was the all time GOAT in the summer of 92 for sure.


Shaq was the

[3ball]

No

There no discussion of the goat at all, at least not an ongoing one.... It wasn't a topic... and when MJ 3-peated in 93', the former goats (magic, larry) simply conceded and said he was goat along with everyone else..

Kareem was never brought up.. MJ was the consensus goat and this lasted until Kobe briefly had a minority number of media members on his side, and now ditto lebron..

but social media wasn't a big factor in the Kobe era, so only recently was there an ongoing "debate" that fizzled this year when lebron was exposed by the Western Conference.. but during the debate, Kareem was resurrected as a goat candidate, mainly to boost lebron by making it seem like MJ isn't the consensus goat

[Mr.GOAT2408]

Jordan pretty much began the GOAT talks, there wasn't really a clear GOAT before him

I mean, Mikan, sure, but that was short lived as Russell/Chamberlain dominated a far tougher era, then it was never really a clear cut GOAT until MJ won his 3rd title when it was no longer in doubt.

Before MJ most pegged Bird in the mid 80s then Magic in the late 80s but old timers had Wilt/Russell above Magic/Bird. Kareem often got shafted for a variety of reasons, had Magic not joined the Lakers and he'd be way less regarded, I think.

I started watching right when MJ was entering his absolute prime, it was easy to pull for him because he was such an exciting player to watch. I wasn't too mad about 91 for that reason, knew I was witnessing the GOAT then and there

He set the standard so high that it's made it really difficult for later GOATs to live up to them, but no one before or since has been better although Shaq at his peak was the closest to matching MJ's best

Hoping Giannis can challenge him, maybe even Zion, but that's really it based off of the players we know will be in the league next year

[DaHeezy]

It's hard to reference because it's almost like you had to be there to witness. There isn't much reference points because back then everything was in print. But you can tell that the league was geared to hype him as a marketing machine. Jordan was blessed with the perfect storm. Everything fell into his lap perfectly. Any short comings were conveniently covered. His attitude. His brashness towards teammates. His inability to connect with fans outside the media...

He was an amazing talent. One of the best of his time. You're best bet to gauge MJ's greatness is to talk to people BEFORE his time. You'll get a more honest assessment. This forum is way too bias to gauge an honest answer. There are a lot of programed drones.

[Big164]

Kareem was never even considered In the conversation until AFTER mj retired.

[SpaceJam2]

the propaganda was forced down kids mouths so much back then and he was the only NBA player getting big endorsements


it's no surprise you see cats like 3brick, Straight Altin, Coach, Snagglebot so emotionally invested and insecure without having watched a lick of ball in 20 years


https://i.postimg.cc/qvLczh5f/820x510xfeel-like-mike-gatorade-michael-jordan-jpg-pagespeed-ic.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/P5hzXzKz/e92ee2421af805c01b228b3098e0c2b5.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/Yq7mY2gt/be-like-mike-22990039-std-png.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/MKYfDkbV/jh-lhjlhvjlhj-lhj.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/2jhZ1L1H/michael-jordan-gatorade-be-like-mike.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Very true, after Bird and Magic basketball was in a very weak era with no legitimate players. They scoured the local Jiffy Lubes and Grocery stores looking for the next big thing and found mechanics and grocery baggers to fill the roster starting spots but it wasn't enough to lift the sport up and then along came the hype machine for Jordan.

The NBA was in a very weak era so they had to do something drastic in the form of propping up a good player as being the "best" player.

[julizaver]

Were there people in the media who spent their entire time praising Jordan and absolving him of any criticism while trashing his teammates/other legends?

No, I don't remember it that way. It was not like in ISH. I don't remember media trashing Pippen & co, and I don't know why it should since Bulls were winning all the time. I am not living in US, but media paid tremendous respect to legends like Bird and Magic at the 90s.
MJ received some criticism for his gambling though and media did not give him a pass for it, esspecially when before important game vs Knicks in the ECF (during 1st 3peat) Jordan spent the early hours at the casino, had a bad game later - off course not like Harden's, or Curry's last games, he scored more than 30 points but with less efficiency than usual.

[sdot_thadon]

Were there people in the media who spent their entire time praising Jordan and absolving him of any criticism while trashing his teammates/other legends?
The media didn't operate in the way it does today. Slander stories weren't necessary for ratings just covering the most popular stories was good enough. Slander magazines weren't respected as real media, so it's funny in a way to see guys like Skip out in front these days. Mj recieved mostly praise and the occasional light criticism compared to today's media minefield. His teammates weren't trashed per say it was more like marginalized as far as their importance goes. This era is the worst media climate ever.

[Wally450]

https://i.postimg.cc/2jhZ1L1H/michael-jordan-gatorade-be-like-mike.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

This is an in-game picture right?

[Nowoco]

Kareem was never even considered In the conversation until AFTER mj retired.

This is true.

There was never any GOAT discussion whatsoever when Jordan was playing. In fact I had never even heard the term "GOAT" until Maurice Greene had it tattooed on him.

Jordan was the consensus best player ever in at least 1992 and certainly after he retired the first time but it wasnt mentioned every ****ing day like it is now. I dont remember a single conversation on TV about it at the time.

[Hey Yo]

Here a tweet from Skip after game 2 of last years Finals.


Skip Bayless
✔
@RealSkipBayless

Think about this: Chauncey Billups just said on ABC that LeBron "looked a little tired." IT'S ONLY GAME 2 OF THE NBA FINALS. I covered Michael Jordan when he was year older than LeBron is now. NOBODY EVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT MJ BEING TIRED. That would've been blasphemous.

4,950
9:23 PM - Jun 3, 2018

Yet Skip was ousted after that tweet by others pointing out that he wrote this about MJ back in 1998:


This will be remembered as the night Michael was mortal. This was his night, his game, his fourth quarter, and Michael Jordan got tired. No. 23 tried and No. 23 failed. With the world waiting to watch him puff his victory cigar, he and his Bulls got smoked by Karl Malone.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/06/nba-finals-lebron-james-tired-michael-jordan-skip-bayless

The link above has other incidences when MJ and others, said he was tired.

[Showtime80']

What happened in game 6 of the 1998 Finals Hey Yo?

People tend to have short memories when you go 6-0 in the most important series of the season rather than getting your as! handed to you 6 out of 9 times specially last year like LeBald did!

Of course MJ got tired at times, he might have the greatest stamina of any basketball player ever but after playing 82 games for numerous seasons and the physicality of the league at that time you are going to feel the effects at a certain point.

The truth is MJ was considered the greatest of all time even BEFORE the first three-peat! There is a video on youtube made during the 1993 Finals BEFORE the Bulls won were everybody from Magic and Bird to Cousy and Russell were calling Jordan the best there ever was. What Michael did from 1996 to 98 was just icing on the cake.

[tontoz]

Keep in mind that Bird and Magic preceded Jordan and were widely seen as having saved the league. They were lauded for playing the right way, team ball.

For years Jordan took a lot of crap for being too much of a ballhog.

[Hey Yo]

What happened in game 6 of the 1998 Finals Hey Yo?

People tend to have short memories when you go 6-0 in the most important series of the season rather than getting your as! handed to you 6 out of 9 times specially last year like LeBald did!

Of course MJ got tired at times, he might have the greatest stamina of any basketball player ever but after playing 82 games for numerous seasons and the physicality of the league at that time you are going to feel the effects at a certain point.

The truth is MJ was considered the greatest of all time even BEFORE the first three-peat! There is a video on youtube made during the 1993 Finals BEFORE the Bulls won were everybody from Magic and Bird to Cousy and Russell were calling Jordan the best there ever was. What Michael did from 1996 to 98 was just icing on the cake.
Winning more titles after quitting the league for almost 2yrs (in your prime) due to mental exhaustion isn't exactly "icing on the cake" It's more like "I can't cut it and need to quit to rest back up

[3ball]

Winning more titles after quitting the league for almost 2yrs (in your prime) due to mental exhaustion isn't exactly "icing on the cake" It's more like "I can't cut it and need to quit to rest back up
You can make up facts because it's a free country, but playing minor league baseball is hardly "rest", and MJ retired because his dad got murdered.. if his dad doesn't get murdered - MJ would've won 8 straight

Btw, his 2nd three-peat was more impressive because his offensive help was the worst of all time - he was already playing 4 on 5 with rodman, but pippen only averaged 17 on 40% for the entire 96-98' playoffs.. and in 1998, he won the ring with kukoc as the starting PF and hobbled pippen - the goat backpack job

Also, lebron is a bitch for team-hopping onto ready-made favorites in 2011 and 2015, thus skipping the team development process.. that's a form of rest.. lebron also averaged 76 games a year, so that's 90 missed games over 15 years

[Showtime80']

Big deal he took a break after conquering EVERYTHING there was to conquer on a basketball court because people forget his national basketball career really started at North Carolina in 1981 and think about all he accomplished from that point up until 1993 not to mention his father being tragically murdered during that off season. Also he didn't exactly sit on his as! from 1993 to 95 he went an tried his had at baseball completely changing his body to suit that sport.

Let's not bring up the other fact of the physical and mental BEATINGS he endured at the hands of the Bad Boys and New York Knicks from 1988 to 1993, a blatant targeted violent onslaught to NO OTHER star player before or after has had to endure.

If anything, Jordan DESERVED that break and that's why NOBODY views that retirement in a negative light specially with what he did afterwards!

[Hey Yo]

You can make up facts because it's a free country, but playing minor league baseball is hardly "rest", and MJ retired because his dad got murdered.. if his dad doesn't get murdered - MJ would've won 8 straight

Btw, his 2nd three-peat was more impressive because his offensive help was the worst of all time - he was already playing 4 on 5 with rodman, but pippen only averaged 17 on 40% for the entire 96-98' playoffs.. and in 1998, he won the ring with kukoc as the starting PF and hobbled pippen - the goat backpack job
Like the facts you just made up??

MJ playing baseball consisted of standing in the outfield with his thumb up his ass doing nothing. Come sit on the bench and do nothing. Go up to bat, strikeout, come back to the bench and do nothing. Wait till inning is over then rinse and repeat.

Rodman's offensive help was his defense and rebounding. Soooooo many 2nd chance points due to him.... see 1996 Finals for reference.

After that, he had no opposing threats on offense. We saw that both times against Utah and in 1997 against the Heat in the ECF where MJ shot 38% and still won handily

[Cali Syndicate]

Winning more titles after quitting the league for almost 2yrs (in your prime) due to mental exhaustion isn't exactly "icing on the cake" It's more like "I can't cut it and need to quit to rest back up

Was it mental exhaustion or was he foreces to quit by stern, stand make your mind.

And for a professional athlete, a 2 year hiatus from the game does more bad than good.

[imdaman99]

Imagine how much fun everyone would have had with Jordan shooting 3-18 against the Knicks and down 0-2.

[Phoenix]

He took his media lumps. A me-too scoring threat who couldn't elevate others to the championship level, and therefore didn't warrant being ranked ahead of Bird or Magic( who played with far superior talent, but I digress). He caught shit for the gambling, and pre-game night trips to Atlantic City partying/boozing and whatever else. Nowadays that shit would be all over first take, undisputed, first things first and 'insert redundant sports talk show here' but his era was 20+ years before that. It would have been interesting seeing him in today's 'dissect everything' social media era.

[tontoz]

Imagine how much fun everyone would have had with Jordan shooting 3-18 against the Knicks and down 0-2.

Didn't he go nuts the next game with Starks draped all over him?

[Elosha]

Like the facts you just made up??

MJ playing baseball consisted of standing in the outfield with his thumb up his ass doing nothing. Come sit on the bench and do nothing. Go up to bat, strikeout, come back to the bench and do nothing. Wait till inning is over then rinse and repeat.

Rodman's offensive help was his defense and rebounding. Soooooo many 2nd chance points due to him.... see 1996 Finals for reference.

After that, he had no opposing threats on offense. We saw that both times against Utah and in 1997 against the Heat in the ECF where MJ shot 38% and still won handily

Hmm, who should we believe about Jordan's two years of baseball "vacation", some anonymous internet troll or a journalist who actually watched Jordan play and his ass off at baseball for those two years, one who wrote a disparaging article about him and then just apologized and told the real story in a lengthy espn article on April 9, 2019. Really tough decision. :rolleyes: But go ahead and keep trolling your nonsense, when did truth ever stop a troll?

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26449232/the-true-story-michael-jordan-brief-promising-baseball-career

[PP34Deuce]

I'm born n raised Chicago and while I was young for his prime (born in 86), I remember a lot.

He wasn't scrutinized in the 90's. Beat writers operated differently than they do now. Social media is a big reason. There were so many other things going on that looked worse, it made him look like a saint.

Barkley was regularly getting in trouble and fights
Magic's HIV
late 80's the league began cracking down on cocaine and serious NBA drug users

Him womanizing and gambling was not as big of a deal. He still dominated and always made it to practices and played hard.

I do think the serious allegations of him betting games and even the father situation is something that will be brought back out in 5-10 years. He was involved with really shady people in the underworld.

He's a high profile black icon figure. Eventually, it seems our people get cases that come back around.

[baudkarma]

The person that immediately springs to my mind is Ahmad Rashad. He was a wide receiver for the the Minnesota Vikings who went into broadcasting after his football career. Somehow he became friends with Michael Jordan, and for the rest of his career he was pretty much a mouthpiece for whatever story MJ wanted to get out. He pretty much owed his broadcasting career to the exclusive stories and interviews Jordan granted him. Rashad Emceed Jordans retirement ceremonies (both of them) and Jordan was there when Rashad was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor.

You have to realize that back in Jordans day it was a lot easier for a superstar athlete to control the media. The internet was barely a thing, cable TV was still developing, people still got their sports news from just a few outlets. ESPN, AP, UPI. If you worked for one of those outlets and MJ decided he was going to ignore your questions, your career was on the rocks. "The Jordan Rules" could have been a major issue, but MJ handled it by simply refusing to discuss it. If a reporter asked him a question about the book, he'd stare at the guy for a few seconds, then move on to the next question.

[imdaman99]

Didn't he go nuts the next game with Starks draped all over him?
But still. You don't think shooting 3-18 down 0-2 is enough to labelled as being 'BAILED OUT'? I am aware he was great the rest of that series.

[3ball]

Imagine how much fun everyone would have had with Jordan shooting 3-18 against the Knicks and down 0-2.
Outside of the legendary game 5, lebron averaged 21.1 on 41.2% in the 2007 ECF

Yet no one cares

Overall, he averaged 25.7 on 44.9% for the series - and his overall stats in the first 3 rounds to make those Finals was 25.8 on 43.4..

So lebron wasn't carrying shit, and those Cavs made the Finals off their defense.. Similarly, their defense allowed them to take the 08' celtics to 7 games despite Lebron's 26 on 35%

MJ wouldn't get out of the first round with those numbers, let alone make the damn Finals.. :rolleyes: .. MJ lost in the 1st round with 44 on 50%

[red1]

mj was marketed like a disney princess. the media colluded to hide his serial gambling and other scumbag behaviors.


mj was the first ESPN and nike produced athlete narrative.

[SpaceJam2]

Like the facts you just made up??

MJ playing baseball consisted of standing in the outfield with his thumb up his ass doing nothing. Come sit on the bench and do nothing. Go up to bat, strikeout, come back to the bench and do nothing. Wait till inning is over then rinse and repeat.

Rodman's offensive help was his defense and rebounding. Soooooo many 2nd chance points due to him.... see 1996 Finals for reference.

After that, he had no opposing threats on offense. We saw that both times against Utah and in 1997 against the Heat in the ECF where MJ shot 38% and still won handily

Ouch :eek:

[jlip]

Kareem was never even considered In the conversation until AFTER mj retired.


:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7971621&postcount=1

[SpaceJam2]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7971621&postcount=1

Wrekt Mr 4/44

[tontoz]

The book "The Jordan Rules" came out in 1992 which aired a lot of dirty laundry. It got a lot of coverage.

Good book actually. Gives an inside look into the day to day life of the Bulls.

[3ball]

I'm born n raised Chicago and while I was young for his prime (born in 86), I remember a lot.

He wasn't scrutinized in the 90's. Beat writers operated differently than they do now. Social media is a big reason. There were so many other things going on that looked worse, it made him look like a saint.

Barkley was regularly getting in trouble and fights
Magic's HIV
late 80's the league began cracking down on cocaine and serious NBA drug users

Him womanizing and gambling was not as big of a deal. He still dominated and always made it to practices and played hard.

I do think the serious allegations of him betting games and even the father situation is something that will be brought back out in 5-10 years. He was involved with really shady people in the underworld.

He's a high profile black icon figure. Eventually, it seems our people get cases that come back around.

Books that were hit-jobs on MJ:


https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/Ng9KM5.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/NRtqEm.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/b0dSBA.gif

[3ball]

I'm born n raised Chicago and while I was young for his prime (born in 86), I remember a lot.

He wasn't scrutinized in the 90's. Beat writers operated differently than they do now. Social media is a big reason. There were so many other things going on that looked worse, it made him look like a saint.

Barkley was regularly getting in trouble and fights
Magic's HIV
late 80's the league began cracking down on cocaine and serious NBA drug users

Him womanizing and gambling was not as big of a deal. He still dominated and always made it to practices and played hard.

I do think the serious allegations of him betting games and even the father situation is something that will be brought back out in 5-10 years. He was involved with really shady people in the underworld.

He's a high profile black icon figure. Eventually, it seems our people get cases that come back around.

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/sv0rMn.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/GEW764.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/yJryge.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/qj_lFw.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/0vusRo.gif

https://i.makeagif.com/media/4-22-2019/8uKQ7l.gif



The biggest star in any sport generally faces the most scrutiny... No one had more media attention than MJ..

[Hey Yo]

Hmm, who should we believe about Jordan's two years of baseball "vacation", some anonymous internet troll or a journalist who actually watched Jordan play and his ass off at baseball for those two years, one who wrote a disparaging article about him and then just apologized and told the real story in a lengthy espn article on April 9, 2019. Really tough decision. :rolleyes: But go ahead and keep trolling your nonsense, when did truth ever stop a troll?

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26449232/the-true-story-michael-jordan-brief-promising-baseball-career
This article was written while Mike was "playing." Here's a snippet of it:


"The huffing and puffing over Jordan's supposed sacrilege is so intense you almost want to root for the guy, just to prove all these baseball snobs wrong. But they are right about one thing: He will never, ever hit. "It's called bat speed," says one American League scout, "and he ain't got it."

He ain't got experience, either. Next to his name and vital statistics on the official list of 1994 White Sox, where his '93 batting stats should be, it reads DID NOT PLAY. It should read HASN'T PLAYED IN 15 YEARS! Says one American League Central manager, "What'd he hit in high school, .280? Pathetic. I've got players in my clubhouse who are only now starting to hit after living and breathing baseball for 15 years, and this guy thinks he can become a hitter in a couple of months. It's a disgrace to the game. All I know is that I wouldn't want to be [White Sox manager] Gene Lamont, having to tell a Mike Huff or a Warren Newson that they didn't make the team because Michael bleeping Jordan did."

Indeed, cither Huff or Newson would have to go in order to make room for Jordan. The 30-year-old Huff isn't a great hitter, but he has made only two errors in 217 major league games, and no player has been more helpful in teaching Jordan to play the outfield than Huff. Newson, 29, isn't much bigger than Muggsy Bogues, but last year, between Triple A Nashville and Chicago, he hit .333.

https://www.si.com/vault/1994/03/14/130652/err-jordan-try-as-he-might-michael-jordan-has-found-baseball-beyong-his-grasp

It's been said that he still hasn't talked to Sports Illustrated since this cover was used. SI saying both he and the White Sox were embarrassing baseball.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YX8AAOSw~T9abp~E/s-l300.jpg

What MJ was doing was far from strenuous and wasn't even close to what the toll was on his (or any other 40min player) body playing in the NBA.

[Stephonit]

What Star Wars was for movies, Jordan was for athletes.

Nike wasn't even an established brand then. Jordan made Nike as much as Nike made Jordan. But I don't think the talk about Jordan being the best ever was that pronounced. It was bandied about because he was the current star and it was good for the NBA product so people went along with it without much rancor. I still remember talk of Scottie Pippen maybe being the true driving force behind the Bulls being a credible stance after the first three-peat.

[SpaceJam2]

mj was marketed like a disney princess. the media colluded to hide his serial gambling and other scumbag behaviors.


mj was the first ESPN and nike produced athlete narrative.


All the way :applause:

[andgar923]

MJ

[andgar923]

This article was written while Mike was "playing." Here's a snippet of it:


"The huffing and puffing over Jordan's supposed sacrilege is so intense you almost want to root for the guy, just to prove all these baseball snobs wrong. But they are right about one thing: He will never, ever hit. "It's called bat speed," says one American League scout, "and he ain't got it."

He ain't got experience, either. Next to his name and vital statistics on the official list of 1994 White Sox, where his '93 batting stats should be, it reads DID NOT PLAY. It should read HASN'T PLAYED IN 15 YEARS! Says one American League Central manager, "What'd he hit in high school, .280? Pathetic. I've got players in my clubhouse who are only now starting to hit after living and breathing baseball for 15 years, and this guy thinks he can become a hitter in a couple of months. It's a disgrace to the game. All I know is that I wouldn't want to be [White Sox manager] Gene Lamont, having to tell a Mike Huff or a Warren Newson that they didn't make the team because Michael bleeping Jordan did."

Indeed, cither Huff or Newson would have to go in order to make room for Jordan. The 30-year-old Huff isn't a great hitter, but he has made only two errors in 217 major league games, and no player has been more helpful in teaching Jordan to play the outfield than Huff. Newson, 29, isn't much bigger than Muggsy Bogues, but last year, between Triple A Nashville and Chicago, he hit .333.

https://www.si.com/vault/1994/03/14/130652/err-jordan-try-as-he-might-michael-jordan-has-found-baseball-beyong-his-grasp

It's been said that he still hasn't talked to Sports Illustrated since this cover was used. SI saying both he and the White Sox were embarrassing baseball.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YX8AAOSw~T9abp~E/s-l300.jpg

What MJ was doing was far from strenuous and wasn't even close to what the toll was on his (or any other 40min player) body playing in the NBA.care to post follow up stories on MJ turning haters into believers?

[Elosha]

This article was written while Mike was "playing." Here's a snippet of it:


"The huffing and puffing over Jordan's supposed sacrilege is so intense you almost want to root for the guy, just to prove all these baseball snobs wrong. But they are right about one thing: He will never, ever hit. "It's called bat speed," says one American League scout, "and he ain't got it."

He ain't got experience, either. Next to his name and vital statistics on the official list of 1994 White Sox, where his '93 batting stats should be, it reads DID NOT PLAY. It should read HASN'T PLAYED IN 15 YEARS! Says one American League Central manager, "What'd he hit in high school, .280? Pathetic. I've got players in my clubhouse who are only now starting to hit after living and breathing baseball for 15 years, and this guy thinks he can become a hitter in a couple of months. It's a disgrace to the game. All I know is that I wouldn't want to be [White Sox manager] Gene Lamont, having to tell a Mike Huff or a Warren Newson that they didn't make the team because Michael bleeping Jordan did."

Indeed, cither Huff or Newson would have to go in order to make room for Jordan. The 30-year-old Huff isn't a great hitter, but he has made only two errors in 217 major league games, and no player has been more helpful in teaching Jordan to play the outfield than Huff. Newson, 29, isn't much bigger than Muggsy Bogues, but last year, between Triple A Nashville and Chicago, he hit .333.

https://www.si.com/vault/1994/03/14/130652/err-jordan-try-as-he-might-michael-jordan-has-found-baseball-beyong-his-grasp

It's been said that he still hasn't talked to Sports Illustrated since this cover was used. SI saying both he and the White Sox were embarrassing baseball.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YX8AAOSw~T9abp~E/s-l300.jpg

What MJ was doing was far from strenuous and wasn't even close to what the toll was on his (or any other 40min player) body playing in the NBA.

You're not much on reading are you? And you obviously know nothing about baseball or what it takes to transition from one professional sport to another. Do you realize what it takes mentally and physically to transform your body's athleticism in your 30's when you haven't played baseball since high school? And what Jordan was doing wasn't strenuous compared to the NBA? From the April 2019 article I posted. Definitely sounds like a cushy vacation. :facepalm :rolleyes:


But baseball is hard, and it was made even harder for Jordan by the winds of skepticism. That spring in Sarasota, as fans flocked to see him in a baseball uniform, trigger-happy judges rendered their verdicts. Seasoned ballplayers, journalists and traditionalists curled their lips. I was one of the doubters. I wrote a cover story for Sports Illustrated ("Err Jordan") that mocked his swing, questioned the sanity of the White Sox and ended with, "Somewhere men are laughing." The SI editors upped the anti-ante with a cover billing that read, "Bag It, Michael: Jordan And The White Sox Are Embarrassing Baseball."

The only saving grace of the story was that it noted that he was working really hard. For most of that spring, his batting tutor was Walt Hriniak, whose hit-to-all-fields philosophy worked well with some, but not all players. Because Jordan hadn't played since he quit baseball two games into his senior year of high school, the lessons were a little like Einstein teaching a sixth-grade student arithmetic. . . .

Nowadays, sports fans look upon his foray into baseball as a whim, and when they look up his numbers and see that he batted .202, they conclude that his baseball career was a bust. Just like that opening night crowd in '94, they walk away from the memory mildly disappointed.

They could not be more wrong.

I could not have been more wrong.

Just ask Curt Bloom, who's still in Birmingham, calling Barons games for the 27th straight season. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about that '94 season," Bloom said. "I spent 150 days with Michael Jordan. I played basketball with him -- I remember trying to set a pick for him in a pickup game, only to have him tell me, 'I don't need that.' Our daughter Chloe will turn 25 this August -- she was born right after Michael rubbed my wife's belly for good luck. I saw him struggle for a few months, but I also saw him become a ballplayer right before my eyes. He worked his butt off, but he enjoyed himself and bonded with the team.

"I swear, he was going to the majors."

Or ask Mike Barnett, who was the batting coach for the Barons that season and is back with Francona as both the Cleveland Indians' replay coordinator and an organizational hitting instructor. "Michael would go after it five times a day," Barnett, aka Barney, said. "In the cage before breakfast. Regular batting practice. Soft toss. Game BP. Then, after the game, he was back in the cage. His hands were blistered and bleeding, his intensity was off the charts. Don't look at his batting average. Look at his 51 RBIs -- he was never overwhelmed by the moment. He could fly -- look at the 30 stolen bases. He hadn't played since high school, and he was holding his own in Double-A, which is filled with prospects. By August, those routine fly balls in BP were starting to go out. I'm not sure I've ever seen something as beautiful on a baseball field as the time Michael Jordan hit the ball into the gap and raced around to third for a triple. Two more seasons, he would've been a legitimate extra outfielder for the White Sox, maybe even a starter."

[SpaceJam2]

This article was written while Mike was "playing." Here's a snippet of it:


"The huffing and puffing over Jordan's supposed sacrilege is so intense you almost want to root for the guy, just to prove all these baseball snobs wrong. But they are right about one thing: He will never, ever hit. "It's called bat speed," says one American League scout, "and he ain't got it."

He ain't got experience, either. Next to his name and vital statistics on the official list of 1994 White Sox, where his '93 batting stats should be, it reads DID NOT PLAY. It should read HASN'T PLAYED IN 15 YEARS! Says one American League Central manager, "What'd he hit in high school, .280? Pathetic. I've got players in my clubhouse who are only now starting to hit after living and breathing baseball for 15 years, and this guy thinks he can become a hitter in a couple of months. It's a disgrace to the game. All I know is that I wouldn't want to be [White Sox manager] Gene Lamont, having to tell a Mike Huff or a Warren Newson that they didn't make the team because Michael bleeping Jordan did."

Indeed, cither Huff or Newson would have to go in order to make room for Jordan. The 30-year-old Huff isn't a great hitter, but he has made only two errors in 217 major league games, and no player has been more helpful in teaching Jordan to play the outfield than Huff. Newson, 29, isn't much bigger than Muggsy Bogues, but last year, between Triple A Nashville and Chicago, he hit .333.

https://www.si.com/vault/1994/03/14/130652/err-jordan-try-as-he-might-michael-jordan-has-found-baseball-beyong-his-grasp

It's been said that he still hasn't talked to Sports Illustrated since this cover was used. SI saying both he and the White Sox were embarrassing baseball.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YX8AAOSw~T9abp~E/s-l300.jpg

What MJ was doing was far from strenuous and wasn't even close to what the toll was on his (or any other 40min player) body playing in the NBA.

:eek: :eek:

[sportjames23]

Jordan got enormous praise early in his career. Approximately his first 4-5 years. That's around the time the infamous All-Star game freeze out happened.

Then he was criticized for being a ball-hog, and the narrative that a scoring champion couldn't lead his team to a title started to surface.

When he won his first title he was regarded as the best in the world and after his first three peat he was considered the GOAT by consensus.


And then certain folks in the media tried to knock him down by talking about his gambling and his ultra-competitiveness.

See The Jordan Rules & Michael and Me: Our Gambling Addiction...My Cry For Help. Not to mention how crazy it was when his father was killed and his first retirement afterwards.

So, MJ also faced a LOT of criticism and media glare. Shit wasn't all roses for him. There might not have been social media back then, but there was 24-hour news and people always looking to make a buck off his name.

[3ball]

You're not much on reading are you? And you obviously know nothing about baseball or what it takes to transition from one professional sport to another. Do you realize what it takes mentally and physically to transform your body's athleticism in your 30's when you haven't played baseball since high school? And what Jordan was doing wasn't strenuous compared to the NBA? From the April 2019 article I posted. Definitely sounds like a cushy vacation. :facepalm :rolleyes:




But baseball is hard, and it was made even harder for Jordan by the winds of skepticism. That spring in Sarasota, as fans flocked to see him in a baseball uniform, trigger-happy judges rendered their verdicts. Seasoned ballplayers, journalists and traditionalists curled their lips. I was one of the doubters. I wrote a cover story for Sports Illustrated ("Err Jordan") that mocked his swing, questioned the sanity of the White Sox and ended with, "Somewhere men are laughing." The SI editors upped the anti-ante with a cover billing that read, "Bag It, Michael: Jordan And The White Sox Are Embarrassing Baseball."

The only saving grace of the story was that it noted that he was working really hard. For most of that spring, his batting tutor was Walt Hriniak, whose hit-to-all-fields philosophy worked well with some, but not all players. Because Jordan hadn't played since he quit baseball two games into his senior year of high school, the lessons were a little like Einstein teaching a sixth-grade student arithmetic. . . .

Nowadays, sports fans look upon his foray into baseball as a whim, and when they look up his numbers and see that he batted .202, they conclude that his baseball career was a bust. Just like that opening night crowd in '94, they walk away from the memory mildly disappointed.

They could not be more wrong.

I could not have been more wrong.

Just ask Curt Bloom, who's still in Birmingham, calling Barons games for the 27th straight season. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about that '94 season," Bloom said. "I spent 150 days with Michael Jordan. I played basketball with him -- I remember trying to set a pick for him in a pickup game, only to have him tell me, 'I don't need that.' Our daughter Chloe will turn 25 this August -- she was born right after Michael rubbed my wife's belly for good luck. I saw him struggle for a few months, but I also saw him become a ballplayer right before my eyes. He worked his butt off, but he enjoyed himself and bonded with the team.

"I swear, he was going to the majors."

Or ask Mike Barnett, who was the batting coach for the Barons that season and is back with Francona as both the Cleveland Indians' replay coordinator and an organizational hitting instructor. "Michael would go after it five times a day," Barnett, aka Barney, said. "In the cage before breakfast. Regular batting practice. Soft toss. Game BP. Then, after the game, he was back in the cage. His hands were blistered and bleeding, his intensity was off the charts. Don't look at his batting average. Look at his 51 RBIs -- he was never overwhelmed by the moment. He could fly -- look at the 30 stolen bases. He hadn't played since high school, and he was holding his own in Double-A, which is filled with prospects. By August, those routine fly balls in BP were starting to go out. I'm not sure I've ever seen something as beautiful on a baseball field as the time Michael Jordan hit the ball into the gap and raced around to third for a triple. Two more seasons, he would've been a legitimate extra outfielder for the White Sox, maybe even a starter




^^^ exactly - MJ was going to make the majors


Terry Francona says Michael Jordan could’ve played in the MLB


Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona coached a lot of great players throughout his 15-year managerial career, winning two World Series with the Boston Red Sox.

But Francona’s first job after retiring from the MLB in 1991 was the manager of the White Sox’s Double-A team, the Birmingham Barons, where he managed former Bulls legend Michael Jordan for one season.

Jordan hit .202 with three home runs and 51 RBI in 497 at-bats during his 1994 minor league season, and Francona thought if Jordan kept with baseball for another two seasons, he would have eventually made it to the MLB.



“I think if he was willing to invest two more full years, and by that I mean 800-900 at-bats, I really think he would have found a way to get to the major leagues. I’m not going to sit here and say he’s going to be an everyday player, but in his first year in Double-A, after not playing for 14 years, he found a way to steal 30 bases, he found a way to drive in 50 runs. And I found out if you tell him no, he will find a way to make the answer be yes — probably more than anyone I’ve been around. He had so many raw tools, he hadn’t played in so long. I thought it was actually a miracle that he did what he did, and again when he went to the fall league, he got better. I’m going to guess if he would have invested a couple more years, I bet he would have found his way to the big leagues.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/chicago.suntimes.com/sports/terry-francona-says-michael-jordan-couldve-played-in-the-mlb/amp/

[TheCorporation]

And then certain folks in the media tried to knock him down by talking about his gambling and his ultra-competitiveness.

See The Jordan Rules & Michael and Me: Our Gambling Addiction...My Cry For Help. Not to mention how crazy it was when his father was killed and his first retirement afterwards.

So, MJ also faced a LOT of criticism and media glare. Shit wasn't all roses for him. There might not have been social media back then, but there was 24-hour news and people always looking to make a buck off his name.

https://i.postimg.cc/wTqLqW76/SportJamesOwned.png

[Round Mound]

Were there people in the media who spent their entire time praising Jordan and absolving him of any criticism while trashing his teammates/other legends?

The whole media loved Jordan. Its was like he was perfect. He was the best of his era (and i believe all time aswell) but the media acted as if he was like a god. I never liked Jordan's style of play (but his hang time was the thing that impressed me) because he was stronger, faster, quicker, more agil, more hang time, bigger hands and all that favoring him over most in his position. I more so disliked his stans than him though. I was more of a Magic, Bird and Barkley fan: they where less robotic and more humane

[sportjames23]

Damn, bunch of salty little bitches in this thread. :oldlol:

[TheCorporation]

https://i.postimg.cc/wTqLqW76/SportJamesOwned.png

:no:

[SamuraiSWISH]

yes, Skip Bayless was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune during his tenure



one of many
He covered the Bulls only in 1998, son

[brutalBBQ]

:eek: :eek:
Cringe, literally just hand picking quotes that fit your narrative and ignoring the ether's due to your lack of intelligence yet at the same time highlighting your cognitive dissonance.

Will your response be
A - fumming
B - meltdown
C - liar
D - can't handle facts

[Phoenix]

[QUOTE=andgar923]

There was little GOAT talk earlier on (compared to today). It wasn

[red1]

Damn, bunch of salty little bitches in this thread. :oldlol:
I've evolved into a certified MJ hater. The word evolution is intentional - mj stans think the NBA revolves around mj but in reality it's not blasphemous to say that mj was a disgusting and embarrassing human being.


I mean usually you have to go to a circus to see this level of clown:

http://photocdn.sohu.com/20130803/Img383306063.jpg

[red1]

https://i.postimg.cc/wTqLqW76/SportJamesOwned.png

sportjames was a good sport for a while I believe he actually paid up briefly



at least he didn't ditch his account like another goof we all know...

[sdot_thadon]

Yep. This is where it just becomes complete disrespect to the game and its history. Pissing on past greats to prop up a contemporary player is, at least in my experience, a recent phenomenon. At least to the degree you see on a site like this which, I reaaaally hope, isn't symbolic of discussions held elsewhere. I don't frequent the other basketball-themed sites.
And by that same token current players weren't dragged down as much as you guys do it today either. It's a cultural shift, hating on things is "cool" now.

[tontoz]

I've evolved into a certified MJ hater. The word evolution is intentional - mj stans think the NBA revolves around mj but in reality it's not blasphemous to say that mj was a disgusting and embarrassing human being.


I mean usually you have to go to a circus to see this level of clown:

http://photocdn.sohu.com/20130803/Img383306063.jpg


No, you just have to go to North Carolina.

What you see as a clown suit others would see as school pride.

[LostCause]

Like the facts you just made up??

MJ playing baseball consisted of standing in the outfield with his thumb up his ass doing nothing. Come sit on the bench and do nothing. Go up to bat, strikeout, come back to the bench and do nothing. Wait till inning is over then rinse and repeat.


Lol, how do you even type dumb shit like this? Do you have any idea how sports actually work?

[ballinhun8]

I've evolved into a certified moron because of this board. The word evolution is intentional - mj stans think the NBA revolves around mj but in reality it's not blasphemous to say that mj was a disgusting and embarrassing human being.


I mean usually you have to go to a circus to see this level of clown:

like you have style boy


FTFY



The hate a guy gets for gambling. Big whoop. If you or anyone had money like that then gambling is not a big deal. Embarrassing human being??? ROFL this guy

[Phoenix]

And by that same token current players weren't dragged down as much as you guys do it today either. It's a cultural shift, hating on things is "cool" now.

Who is 'you guys'? I've never criticized a player on here that was anything other than assessing what I see on the court. I'm all for raising the discourse on this site but there are extreme forces in all directions and some aren't here to talk to you, they're talking 'at' you. Crafting a narrative and then coming up with whatever 'facts' support that narrative. If that's what you mean by 'you guys', fair enough, but I'll ask you not to lump me in with that bullshit. I'm here to discuss basketball and yes my opinion will resonate with some and not others, but I'm not here to hate on any player, past or present.

[sdot_thadon]

Who is 'you guys'? I've never criticized a player on here that was anything other than assessing what I see on the court. I'm all for raising the discourse on this site but there are extreme forces in all directions and some aren't here to talk to you, they're talking 'at' you. Crafting a narrative and then coming up with whatever 'facts' support that narrative. If that's what you mean by 'you guys', fair enough, but I'll ask you not to lump me in with that bullshit. I'm here to discuss basketball and yes my opinion will resonate with some and not others, but I'm not here to hate on any player, past or present.
Fair enough, I actually meant this site in general. Here's my thing I understand crusading against trolls as much as the next guy, i do my fair share. It shouldn't involve pushing false info to try and give the illusuon of a solid point though. It's why i still do tons of reading because alot of the things we criticize guys for now are just reruns of our heroes deeds that weren't broadcasted how things are now. It's crazy how much stuff i didn't know was going on as a hardcore fan in the 90s. Childhood bliss.

[red1]

FTFY



The hate a guy gets for gambling. Big whoop. If you or anyone had money like that then gambling is not a big deal. Embarrassing human being??? ROFL this guy
a disgusting and embarrassing human being

https://youtu.be/Yu8Da3pe9h0?t=25

completely disgusting and embarassing

[FKAri]

Fair enough, I actually meant this site in general. Here's my thing I understand crusading against trolls as much as the next guy, i do my fair share. It shouldn't involve pushing false info to try and give the illusuon of a solid point though. It's why i still do tons of reading because alot of the things we criticize guys for now are just reruns of our heroes deeds that weren't broadcasted how things are now. It's crazy how much stuff i didn't know was going on as a hardcore fan in the 90s. Childhood bliss.
Not as much childhood bliss as the change in media transparency. You were told what was what by a monolithic entity. The NBA had a lot more control over their image and their players' images. Now there's more voices with conflicting opinions. It's much harder for the NBA and the players' PR teams to control how they're marketed, sweep things under the rug, etc.

[Phoenix]

Fair enough, I actually meant this site in general. Here's my thing I understand crusading against trolls as much as the next guy, i do my fair share. It shouldn't involve pushing false info to try and give the illusuon of a solid point though. It's why i still do tons of reading because alot of the things we criticize guys for now are just reruns of our heroes deeds that weren't broadcasted how things are now. It's crazy how much stuff i didn't know was going on as a hardcore fan in the 90s. Childhood bliss.

Admittedly I do more than they deserve as well, if the ignore worked properly where I don't see their posts in any form( including when someone else quotes someone I've got on ignore) that would be ideal in light of the 'tacit' moderation, but I've recently been trying to just look past the morons and keep it moving.

[brutalBBQ]

a disgusting and embarrassing human being

https://youtu.be/Yu8Da3pe9h0?t=25

completely disgusting and embarassing
Oh yes, absolutely disgusting.

[QUOTE] Personal
Made a multimillion dollar donation to Friends of the Children in support of the organization

[3ball]

[QUOTE]Made a multimillion dollar donation to Friends of the Children in support of the organization