Special Quote of the Week- Michael Jordan

Today's quote comes from His Airness Michael Jordan who won six NBA titles for the Chicago Bulls (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998). Curiously, much like Bjorn Borg got burned out with tennis, Jordan shocked the world by retiring at a young age to try baseball. So, he played mostly minor league baseball with teams like the Birmingham Barons where he hit three homeruns.

But, he came back in a veyr big way perhaps to the nausea of other NBA stars like Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz who went to Jordan in the 1998 NBA Finals.

Jordan is the pride and joy of my state of residence, which is North Carolina (I'm from Roanoke, Va.), and he has arguably replaced NASCAR legend Richard Petty (who hails from Randleman, NC) as the Tarheel State's favorite son.

His Airness went to Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, NC, and he later played and won a NCAA title with the University of North Carolina Tarheels, a team that then coached by Dean Smith.

Here is Jordan's quote:

"Even when I'm old and grey, I won't be able to play it, but I'll still love the game."

Incidentally, the Birmingham Barons lost to the Huntsville Stars 6-2 in Huntsville, Alabama, last night. The two plays play each other again this evening.

My Ten Favorite NBA Teams

For the first time since listening to NPR's sports show "Only a Game" some ten years ago, I am regularly watching NBA basketball and sports in general.

My favorite team is the Orlando Magic because they have a player named J.J. Reddick, a former Duke star from my hometown of Roanoke, Va., and a Turkish player named Hedo Turkoglu, who was named the NBA's sixth man of the year a few seasons ago.

There was a piece in the liberal journal "The Nation" which appeared while the Magic were playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals last year which did cause me reason for concern. The article mentioned that the Magic were run by an arch conservative named Rich DeVos, the founder of Amway (coincidentally I found out we share a common birthday, though since he was born on March 4, 1926, DeVos is quite older than me), but nonetheless the Magic remain my favorite team. The Orlando Magic also feature stars Dwight Howard (pictured) and Vince Carter.

In NBA action today (Sunday), Orlando beat the New York Knicks 114-102. The Minnesota Timberwolves upset the Denver Nuggets 106-100. The Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Hornets 112-96. And, the Boston Celtics won out over the Miami Heat 92-85.

Here is a complete list of my ten favorite NBA teams


1. Orlando Magic
2. Denver Nuggets
3. Washington Wizards
4. Utah Jazz
5. Charlotte Bobcats
6. Chicago Bulls (mascot is pictured)
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. New York Knicks
9. Boston Celtics
10. Sacramento Kings

PS_ I found out that Hedo Turkoglu is apparently now with The Toronto Raptors; I did not hear about the trade!