The Legacy of Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan shakes off Bryon Russell, takes a step, and delivers a signature jumper.

With five seconds to go in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, it couldn't have happened any other way. That was the way Jordan played.

The Jazz of course, had no comeback. In their five seconds to force a Game 7, the ball was gifted to their surest chance of a basket – John Stockton. The Point-Guard opted for one of his signature threes, but all he could manage was a bounce off the rim.

Nine times out of ten, that shot would have gone in for Stockton. The way Jordan played, you could only think it would go in all ten times.

The buzzer sounded and the Bulls completed their second “three-peat” in eight years.

So what was Jordan's legacy after these finals? His impact was undoubtedly missed as the next season the Bulls struggled mightily without Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Jordan had of course retired for the second time, while Pippen and Rodman were traded for cups of coffee in an attempt to bring youth into the ageing squad.

Jordan's legacy is crystal clear. Every shining player in history is compared to him, and in most peoples eyes, including mine, all come up short. He had the total package needed to be not only the best of his generation, but the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). Looking at the best players in NBA history, the likes of Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Irving, Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and possibly Kobe Bryant, all possessed something that made them special. What made Jordan special was that he had more than a handful of things that made him special. No one could match what he had, evidenced by the number of titles he won for the Bulls and the number of Finals MVP trophies he won – six, by the way (double that of Magic, Shaq and Duncan).

I see Jordan's game being played today. I don't see one particular player imitating his style and ability (the Bryant comparison is tired) , but rather several players that possess a single quality that Jordan had. No one has what his Airness had. I see Jordan's aggressiveness and cocksure drives to the basket in Dwyane Wade. I see Jordan's fade-away jumper in Kobe Bryant. I see Jordan's dunks imitated by LeBron James (not a true imitation, but who can actually dunk the way Jordan did?)

Wade, James and Bryant are three of the top six or seven players in the game today, and I only see a couple of MJ characteristics in them that define them as being in that upper-echelon. Of course, they're all fantastic players, but I can only imagine Jordan playing them like the stars of his era. The men he denied rings – men like Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller.

All NBA players strive to be the best. Jordan strived to be more than that.

In that Game 6 in '98, NBC announcer Bob Costas remarked that Jordan played every game like he had everything to prove, and he couldn't be more accurate. Jordan played the most intense, dialled-in, focused game of basketball ever seen. For opposing players to match his game and mindset, it was impossible. You could force a seven-game series to go the distance, but ultimately Jordan would come out on top.

Not everything was golden with Jordan. Just look at the way he interacted with opposing players. He talked smack after big dunks and baskets – because he could. If anyone ever had the right to do so, it was him. When we see a player do that these days, we tend to lambaste and look down on them, because at the end of the day, he's not the GOAT. We say, sure, take in the plaudits, talk up a big game, but you'll never be Jordan. The media react in the same way. Not many people criticised Jordan for it because they knew how special he was, but when a guy like LeBron, Kobe or Wade mouths off, they're labelled as arrogant and ego-centric.

Jordan was given a free-pass. Why? Because after the game was over, he'd happily talk to the media and give credit to his opponents – win or loss – and he would give credit to his team-mates for the win. He was the ultimate showman on the court, and the ultimate gentleman off it. Some of todays players should learn from him. Every year LeBron has been eliminated in the playoffs, or beaten in the finals, he's sulked. He's walked away from the cameras and media and even failed to congratulate his opponents. That's not what a sporting gentleman does. It's what a coward does. This sounds like an attack on “King James”, I know, but a little humility might help the man – especially after the way he handled his move to Miami. It's not just LeBron though, we all saw how childish and disrespectful Kobe Bryant can be in the same situation. Also, you don't shout gay-slurs to the referee when a call goes the other way, you take it like a man and keep playing.

The NBA was never a bigger entity than that of when Jordan played the game. It remained a hugely-followed sport in the wake of Jordan's second retirement thanks to emerging stars like Shaq, Duncan, Bryant, Allen Iverson and the 1999 MVP Karl Malone. But in 1999, it seemed like all of American sports was thriving. Football had the Super Bowl champions St. Louis Rams (dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf”), hockey had Jaromir Jagr tearing up the league, and baseball had Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire hitting 60-plus home-runs for the second consecutive season (not to mention an incredible New York Yankees team). Even professional wrestling was at its highest peak.

The shortened NBA season of 1999 was like a funeral for Jordan's career. It was as if the whole of the NBA decided the only way to commemorate his incredible career was to just not play anything resembling the sport. To some, it seemed like there was no basketball without Jordan. He meant that much. If you ever needed a bigger example of how much Michael Jordan meant to the NBA, then you had to look no further than Game Six.

Commissioner David Stern presented Jordan with the MVP trophy, thanking him for “gracing us with your presence”, like he was a God. The NBC crew repeatedly asked whether Jordan was coming back, and he and Pippen both dodged the question. I can only imagine the look on Stern's face, imagining an NBA he'd inherited in 1984 – Jordan's rookie year, without the man that single-handedly made the sport into a worldwide phenomenon. No wonder he was gushing when he gifted him the trophy.

Michael Jordan reached a level of popularity no other athlete has ever or will ever see. He transcended his talent into an enigma, and into a household name. His character and ability pushed him over the top to the status of icon.

There will never be another Michael Jordan, and I don't whether that makes me happy or sad.

Burn it to the Ground

June 14th, 1994: The Vancouver Canucks lose the Stanley Cup finals to the New York Rangers in Game 7. Riots ensue in downtown Vancouver. The mayhem causes $1.1CAN billion in damage, along with injuries to over 200 people.

June 15th, 2011: The Vancouver Canucks lose the Stanley Cup finals to the Boston Bruins in Game 7. Riots ensue in downtown Vancouver. The cost of the damages isn't known yet. Thousands of angry fans set cars on fire, smash windows of nearby buildings, and start fist fights with one another. When riot police are finally put in place, hooligans throw whatever they can find at them.

The saddest part in all of this is that three people actually died during the riots. And what did they die for exactly? Because their hockey team didn't win a game? To quote Yahoo Sport's Doug Farrar, "what a waste."

The biggest question is "why". What primal instinct causes some people to act in such stupid ways? When Sheffield United were relegated to League One last month did I go tearing through Sheffield, looting shops and starting fights? No, I took it like a man and moved on with my life. Are some people just stupid beyond belief?

What's disappointing is that these people don't understand what they're doing. In that moment they're not worried about the consequences for their actions. As the video below shows, many are smiling, dancing around, taking pictures of themselves in front of fires they've started. The blame doesn't all go on the men though. Young women were seen looting a cosmetic store for makeup.

I'm trying my best not to come off as being hollier than thou and/or a psychologist, but the anger that comes with your sports team losing a critical game has to be dealt from within. Man up. Take the pain. Use it to fuel your support for the next game or season. Think of the families that have lost a loved one because of such senseless crimes.

Just last year, Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics in a resounding success. At the time the city's mayor and police chief exerted their proudness of how the city had matured and moved on from the riots in 1994.

The only silver lining to these riots is that thousands of volunteers have already signed up to help clean up the city. Those are the kind of people that Vancouver is known for, not the drunken miscreants that populated it last night.

The Rotation of a Lifetime

Pitching wins championships.

That notion was lost in the steroid-fuelled nineties, but last year's Giants proved the saying is well and truly back. Working with three pitchers who could be aces on a number of teams, the Giants beat the Rangers with their pitching (and some fluke clutch-hitting from Edgar Renteria of course). Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez (the three aces) had help from the surprisingly impressive rookie Madison Bumgarner, and the four teamed up to allow just eight runs in five games, clinching the Series with Lincecum tossing eight innings of one-run ball.

Pitching wins everytime. You can have a beefy offense, you can have that home-run king who'll knock fifty out of the park every season, but bats don't clinch playoff-berths, nevermind championships. Adam Dunn has hit at least 38 home runs every year since 2004, and he has no rings to show for it. Tim Lincecum has won two Cy Young awards, and he just claimed his first ring last year. Of course, Dunn and Lincecum are not the blueprints for the league, but it shows what is needed to win a championship. It sure helps to have a big-hitter, but it's the lockdown pitcher you need.

Pitching is more than half the game. Of course it is. If a pitcher does his job and gives up no runs, it leaves the offense with just one run to have to score to win the game. This is all obvious I know, but the pitcher sets everything up. You could say the hitters set the game up. That they jump ahead with a big lead and give the pitcher less to worry about, but I say the pitcher holding the opposition to a hit or two only sets up the offense as his opponent has to pitch like-for-like. That pressure forces the lesser pitchers to crack, and gives the offense the window to get their run.

Pitching is what will drive the Phillies this season. One of the Fightins will win the Cy Young this season. How can one of them not? Without throwing a collective pitch, this is the greatest rotation to ever bestow the city of Brotherly Love.

This offseason the Phillies added Cliff Lee. The 2008 AL Cy Young had a cup of coffee in Philadelphia in 2009, culminating with a pitching masterpiece in game one of the World Series against the Yankees. Lee threw three complete games in just 12 starts, and the city took to him like a long lost son. Lee was then shipped off to Seattle for another cup of coffee (where better?), before being traded to Texas last summer. A free agent to be after the World Series, Lee spurned long-time friend CC Sabathia and the Yankees to join the Phillies for a reported $120 million over five years. What's funny is that despite the number of dollars in that contract, he'll be the Phillies second starting pitcher this season.

It's pretty obvious who's first. It's the guy that tossed a perfect game, posted a 2.34 ERA, won the 2010 NL Cy Young and threw the first postseason no-hitter since Don Larsen in 1956. It's Roy Halladay.

Acquired in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners, Halladay had a remarkable impact with the Phillies in his first season. He's the ace of this team, and no one can take that from him. I think it's fair to say he's earned it. Halladay is 1. Cliff Lee is 1A (or two).

Number three is Cole Hamels. The 2008 World Series MVP had a bounceback year after struggling in 2009 and complaining of tiredness. Despite poor run support, Hamels went 12-11 last season (like a less dominant Felix Hernandez), achieving a career low ERA of 3.06, and a career high in strikeouts with 211.

Number four is Roy Oswalt. The longtime Astro joined the Phillies last year after veteran Jamie Moyer went on the disabled list. Oswalt played to his hype and more, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.74 ERA in 12 starts. He started last season with Houston as an ace, and now he's the fourth starter. That tells you everything you need to know about this rotation.

Finally, number five. The average Joe. Joe Blanton to be precise. But will he be throwing the first pitch on 6th April (the fifth game of the season) against the Mets? I have my doubts. Blanton has been centre of any trade talks the Phillies have been rumoured to be in as the the club will be paying him $8.5m for each of the next two seasons. The Phillies could still move him if they find a potential suitor, but that's the difficult part. Blanton was up and down in 2009, finishing with an unimpressive 4.82 ERA. Not many clubs will want to pay $17m to a middle of the rotation type guy. The Yankees are most likely to bite if Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia don't work out in Spring Training. If the Phils do manage to move Blanton, they'll likely give Vance Worley the number five slot. Kyle Kendrick hasn't shown enough in recent seasons and likely won't get many starts (if any at all).

While I've hyped this rotation as much as any other writer, I'm not saying the Phillies are destined to win 120 games. The all-time record is 116 wins (by the 1906 Cubs), and I think the Phillies will fall short of that. I do however see them clinching triple digits in the W column. The increase in talent, provided it plays the way it has up to this point, should mean easier matchups every step of the way. Cole Hamels will be facing number three starters, and Roy Oswalt will be facing number four starters. You have to think those are automatic victories every-single-time.

Time will tell though.

The Phillies offense will likely be less impressive as last year as Jayson Werth has departed to the nearby Nationals. His shoes are left to be filled by Domonic Brown. The 23 year-old was okay last season in limited play. He hit .210 with 13 hits and two home runs in 35 games. On the bright side however, is that Brown has added 15lbs of muscle this offseason and considerably lowered his batting stance. And really, can Brown strikeout 147 times like Werth did last year? Possibly, but with any impressive rookie, you expect early success before pitchers can figure him out.

If the Phillies win the World Series, it will be their pitching that wins it for them.

Pitching wins championships, right?