Deadspin: Michael Jordan

I Witnessed Carl Lewis Murder The National Anthem

Sean Newell — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:45:05 EST

Maybe Steven Tyler's performance of the Star Spangled Banner before the AFC championship game was the worst rendition ever, maybe not. It's on the list, anyway. And the list jogged my memory: On Jan. 21, 1993, I was in Brendan Byrne Arena when Carl Lewis sang the National Anthem. More »

Michael Jordan Announced His Engagement To His Model Girlfriend On The Five-Year Anniversary Of His Divorce

Emma Carmichael — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:10:50 EST

Michael Jordan proposed to his 32-year-old model girlfriend, Yvette Prieto, on Christmas. MJ's agent confirmed the engagement today—five years to the day after he and his wife of 17 years, Juanita, announced their divorce. (Juanita, for the record, did just fine.) Mr. and Mrs. Airness have been dating for three years. [WCNC] More »

Babies Left In Cars, Shots Fired, Doors Broken Down: Just Another Air Jordan Release Date In America

Emma Carmichael — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST

Nike re-released the Air Jordan XIs early this morning, which led to mini riots, gun shots, babies trapped in cars, and lots of blown paychecks (they run about $180 retail). But it wouldn't be a Jordan sneaker release day without a wash of mall crime across the country, would it? Here's a roundup of today's Nike-related crime. More »

Bill Clinton Cameoed At Today's Fruitless Lockout Negotiations

Emma Carmichael — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:20:00 EST

Let's take a brief respite from Penn State-related news to check in on the second-most miserable topic in today's sports coverage: the NBA lockout! If you've been following even from afar lately, you probably know that Bobcats owner Michael Jordan ruffled some feathers last week when he emerged as an outspoken leader of the owners taking a hardline approach to the deal. He, along with the others, do not want to agree to a deal that gives players more than 50 percent of the league's revenue. More »

Stephon Marbury Has An Opinion About Michael Jordan And The Lockout That Makes Perfect Sense

Luke O'Brien — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:50:34 EST

Michael Jordan has taken a lot of grief since he emerged, in a twist that should surprise nobody, as the leader of a group of hard-ass NBA owners knifing away at the revenue pie. Now he's taking grief from whatever fun-house PC bang Stephon Marbury has decamped to these days. I'll leave the parsing of this tweet to you: More »

Michael Jordan The Player Would've Hated Michael Jordan The Hardline Owner

Emma Carmichael — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EDT

Over at SB Nation, Tom Ziller has compiled some of Michael Jordan's contradictory views on the NBA lockout. In a meeting during the '98 lockout, for example, Jordan the player told Wizards owner Abe Pollin, "If you can't make it work economically, you should sell the team." Ziller points out that in this lockout, Jordan the owner "does not believe the current model allows him to make the Charlotte Bobcats work economically." [SB Nation] More »

23-Year-Old NBA Player With One Losing Season Under His Belt Says He "Can Be Better Than Michael Jordan"

Emma Carmichael — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:10:00 EDT

Jordan Crawford, the 23-year-old guard who has played in a single, 23-59 NBA season: "'I don't tell nobody, but I feel like I can be better than Michael Jordan,' Crawford said, without the slightest hint of sarcasm. 'When I'm done playing, I don't want people to say, Michael Jordan is the best player. I want that to be me.... I feel like I'm better than him, anyway. My mom is going to say I'm better than him.' Crawford cracked a smile, only because the comment was met with stunned laughter, but he was serious." [Wizards Insider] More »

Today In Pollyannaish Things Written About The NBA Lockout: Only Michael Jordan Can Save Us

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:50:00 EDT

Here is the thing that's sometimes hard to grasp when games are being canceled and no end is in sight: everybody wants the lockout to end. No one is actively being greedy or selfish just because they hate you and don't want you to watch basketball. Both sides have demands and one side or both are going to have to give in on each demand before the league comes back. Which is to say, the negotiation process is long and painful and isn't to be solved by "talking some sense" into the sides. More »

Michael Jordan's Golf Bag Would Like To Inform You That Michael Jordan Has Six Rings

Emma Carmichael — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:45:00 EDT

Michael Jordan's golf bag would also like to inform you that he has a Nike brand that you may have seen somewhere. Have you seen it? It's OK if you haven't seen it, because the logo is right there, on his golf bag—right above the six NBA championship rings he won with the Chicago Bulls. (Maybe you didn't know about the championships. There were six of them.) More »

Charles Barkley Says Michael Jordan Should Buy A Dog, Then Maybe He Wouldn't Be So Angry All The Time

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:30:00 EDT

Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Sir Charles also weighs in on Glen Rice's Great Alaskan Skeetout. More »

The NBA Fines Michael Jordan $100,000 For Saying The Most Inoffensive Things Ever

Luke O'Brien — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:35:43 EDT

The first rule of the NBA lockout is that you do not talk about the NBA lockout during the NBA lockout. Even if you're Michael Jordan and you're babbling listless crap to a newspaper in Australia. Because then the NBA will get mad and fine you a month later. More »

Michael Jordan Can Still Dunk, Sort Of

Emma Carmichael — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:30:00 EDT

At 48 years old, Michael Jordan can still dunk a basketball. That seems merited. Here's the Bobcats owner at the team's fantasy basketball camp yesterday, throwing down (to use the term lightly!) at the request of a camper. Still, as TBJ points out, we've seen worse from Mike — even when he was a sprightly 39. More »

Here's John Sterling and Clyde Frazier Calling A 1989 Hawks-Bulls Game

David Roher — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:30:00 EDT

Walt "Clyde" Frazier and John Sterling, for better or worse, respectively, are two of New York's most recognizable sportscasters. Sterling has called literally every Yankees game in my lifetime, and Frazier has been on Knicks games even longer. Putting these men in a booth together in 2011 would be some combination of redundant, horrifying, and wonderful. Think rhyming, personalized slam-dunk calls or thesaurus-aided Joe Torre hero worship. More »

Michael Jordan's High School Girlfriend Plans To Take Legal Action Over Love Letter

Emma Carmichael — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:40:30 EDT

The adorable love letter Michael Jordan wrote to his high school sweetheart, Laquetta Robinson, is probably going to end up in a lawsuit. Ah, American love. More »

Before Hanes, Michael Jordan Did Commercials For Ladies' Hair Products

Emma Carmichael — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EDT

Will we ever run out of Michael Jordan revelations? I'd like to think that that day will never come, and the fact we have two in the last week alone is encouraging. First, we discovered 18-year-old Jordan's lusty, misspelled letter to his high school girlfriend Laquette, and today we take a look at his 1986 Johnson's Gentle-Treatment commercial, in which he sweeps away a female reporter during a post-game interview after noticing her "soft, smooth, silky" hair. More »

18-Year-Old Michael Jordan's Gibberishy, Cocky Love Letter To A Comely Lass Named Laquette

Jack Dickey — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:19 EDT

If only we had the grace and verve of Michael Jordan, we've often lamented, we could have been great basketball players. But that powerful desire never extended to love notes, when, clearly, it should have. More »

Scottie Pippen Doesn't Care About Titles

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:40:00 EDT

Why else would he tell Mike and Mike this morning that "Jordan is the best scorer ever but I may go as far as to say LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game?" [via Broussard] More »

Listen To Allen Iverson Recall His Crossover On Jordan, And Other Wonders From Those Who Break Ankles

Emma Carmichael — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:55:00 EDT

The New York Times has a great video today that features some of the best crossover artists to ever play the game. One of the highlights is hearing Iverson, who just looks overjoyed to be talking about better times, reminisce about his famous '97 crossover against Michael Jordan — and that's layered with Dwyane Wade's memory of the move as a kid. [NY Times] More »

How Kevin Durant's Jump Shot Knocked Denver Out Of The Playoffs

Emma Carmichael — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:45:00 EDT

Kevin Durant, regular-Joe wunderkind, came down the court and drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with about 3:30 remaining in last night's Game 5 between Oklahoma City and Denver. Then, on his own, the third-year forward personally outscored Denver 14-6, including his team's final nine points. In that same time, James Harden contributed a three-pointer and Russell Westbrook added a free throw — but really, what we saw last night is the clumsy sentiment people try to convey when they call an athletic performance "Jordanesque." That is, when an athlete decides he or she wants their team to win, and then wills them to win, because, well, because it has been decided as such. More »

Blood On The Walls: Choice Bits From Blazers Owner Paul Allen's New Book

Luke O'Brien — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:25:15 EDT

Paul Allen of Microsoft fame and fortune just published a memoir called "Idea Man." Chapter 14 is about the Blazers and basketball. In it, Allen claims that he beat Clyde Drexler and Kiki Vandeweghe in a game of HORSE. He says his friendship with The Glide affected his judgment and caused him to forgo trading Drexler for Hakeem Olajuwon. For years, Allen also says, Drexler would call the owner in the middle of the night to discuss both basketball and contractual matters. Some other morsels we plucked off Google Books can be found below. More »

Richard Dent Has Some Amazing Golf Pants

Barry Petchesky — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:30:00 EDT

Your morning roundup for April 4, the day an orangutan threw up. More »

Compiling The Absurd Box Score For Space Jam; Or, Shawn Bradley Sucked Against Cartoons, Too

Andrew Mooney | HSAC — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:35:10 EDT

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This is Regressing, a numbers-minded column by our clever friends at the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective. Over the next few days, they'll be applying rigorous statistical analysis to some of the finest basketball movies in the history of cinema (and also Hoosiers). Today: Space Jam by the numbers. More »

Costumed Man Gets Publicly Shamed For Messing With Canadian Dance Team

Brian Hickey — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 09:45:00 EDT

Your morning roundup for March 13, the day Villanova probably gets the tournament bid it in no way deserves. More »

Everybody's Talking Jordan's Nonexistent Comeback

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST

1989's Back, And It's Here To Blow Your Mind

Barry Petchesky — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:30:00 EST

Your eyes are not deceiving you. This recently-unearthed photo features MJ, both Kid AND Play, Will Smith, and some random fifth guy photobombing them*. It's stunning in its 1989-ness. More »

The Eyes Of Peyton Manning Pool With Sorrow

Luke O'Brien — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 10:10:13 EST

Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »

The Space Jam Website From 1996 Is Still Up

Barry Petchesky — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST

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Commenter StuckBetweenStations points us to the official Space Jam website, unchanged these past 14(!) years. It's a wonderful little time capsule, and I bet I score higher in "Match The Monstar" than you. More »

Nevada Fans See Boise Drivin' 'Round Town With The BCS Bid They Love, And They're Like, F*ck You

Brian Hickey — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

The Invention Of Air: The Myths Of Young Michael Jordan, Deconstructed

Bethlehem Shoals — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:25:08 EDT

There was a time when Michael Jordan was a very different kind of superstar, writes Bethlehem Shoals in this excerpt from FreeDarko's wonderful and wonderfully idiosyncratic Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History. That MJ was edgy and menacing, and he helped make embarrassing music that no one remembers today. A look back at Michael Jordan, basketball punk. More »

Michael Jordan Is Probably Going To Make Gretzky's Head Bleed

Katie Baker — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:15:39 EDT

The broheims over at UrbanDaddy interviewed a Las Vegas "industry lifer" who offered up one recollection in particular that makes me genuinely fear for the life of Wayne Gretzky. More »

Terry Francona: The '94 Strike Is The Only Reason Jordan Returned To NBA

Sports Radio Interviews — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:55:00 EDT

Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: former His Airness manager and current Red Sox skipper Terry Francona. More »

Bag It, Maligners: Reconsidering Jordan's Baseball Experiment

Katie Baker — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:40:59 EDT

"It's almost weirder looking back on it," says director Ron Shelton over the phone to me on Friday evening — "martini time," as he calls it. "You go: Did this really happen?" More »

This Kid Was Promptly Beaten Up By Players From Eight Different Countries

Barry Petchesky — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:30:22 EDT

Look At This Fucking Hoopster: "Michael Jordan," Playing Dodgeball In Williamsburg

David Matthews — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:30:04 EDT

An occasional feature in which we spotlight the ridiculous trend of recontextualized basketball jerseys. Today: Hipster Jordan. More »

Michael Jordan Still Doing Weird Things With His Tongue

Tommy Craggs — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:00:51 EDT

Chicago Faces Epidemic Of Jersey-Wearing Statues

David Matthews — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:45:00 EDT

It is official: Chicago is a hockey town. If the Michael Jordan statue is wearing Hawks threads, it's only a matter of time before Mayor Daley is mispronouncing players' names and crudely dyeing the city's fountain waters red. Oh wait. More »

Michael Jordan Likes A Little More Lebensraum In His Hanes

Tommy Craggs — Mon, 17 May 2010 09:40:13 EDT

How Did That False Amy Mickelson-Michael Jordan Rumor Start Anyway?

Deadspin I-Team — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:30:50 EDT

One of the the hottest Google searches today* is for "Amy Mickelson Michael Jordan affair." The results lead to unsourced nonsense about Phil Mickelson's illegitimate love child and his wife banging a basketball star. How the heck did that happen? More »

Bills Entice Potential Ticket Buyers With "Punt From Own End Zone" Shining Moment

Barry Petchesky — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:30:00 EDT

Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »

Michael Jordan To Attend Tiger Woods Press Conference? (UPDATE)

A.J. Daulerio — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:10:17 EST

Oh...GET THE F OUT. As if this whole thing already wasn't one big giant sham, according to a report from WEEI, Michael Jordan will be in attendance at Tiger's 11 a.m. press conference. More »