My Favorite Blank

There wasn’t any surprise that the NBA’s best basketball player made it into the Basketball Hall of Fame on his first try. Michael Jordan was a sure lock for the Hall of Fame and he joins other great NBA players that played before his time. This is a great tribute and honor for MJ and I know there are a lot of basketball fans living around Chicago right now glad to see number 23 finally in the NBA Hall of Fame. Michael Jordan voted in the Hall of Fame isn’t that shocking of a headline for anyone that knows the career of Michael Jordan. He amazed us in the North Carolina uniform he use to wear in college and it didn’t take him long to become a star in Chicago for the Bulls. He won a couple of Slam Dunk Titles and one of those dunks is locked in everyone’s memory; due to the logo that Nike created for him. Michael “Air” Jordan is going to be remembered long after his days on Earth are done. It’s too bad that future generations won’t get to see this magnificent athlete play in person, but they will have plenty of footage of the games he did play so well in for so many years.

Michael Jordan was the headline name to make it into the Class of 2009. Two coaches were also voted in today and they were the Utah Jazz and Rutgers Women’s basketball coaches. The other NBA players that share this honor with Jordan, were John Stockton from the Utah Jazz and David Robinson that played and won championships with the San Antonio Spurs. It’s a great day for the Basketball Hall of Fame that added 3 super players in Stockton, Robinson, and Jordan. All 3 deserved it and I’m glad to see all three made it in now.

Shaquille Oneal had a big night against Toronto scoring 45 points and Chris Bosh of the Raptors accused him of cheating on this big night. He claims that Shaq was camping out in the lane and the 3 second rule was not enoforced on Mr. Oneal. I didn’t see the game so I really can’t comment on Bosh’s statements, but I did see the dive into the crowd.

Shaquille Oneal is a very large man and when he dives into a crowd of people, they are going to either run or get hurt. It appears while hustling out of bounds against Toronto Friday night that Shaq had room to stop his momentum. His speed had a slight increase at the end before launching his self into the crowd. I think the NBA needs to review this very closely and even perhaps handing down a suspension. It would be the first of it’s kind, but some message does need to be sent to the league office. As an NBA fan, I don’t want to be in the path of Shaq and certainly in a situation that could have been avoided. There was no reason for him to dive into the crowd, but that didn’t stop this 300+ pound man from leaping into the laps of many spectators. Someone can have been seriously injured and for what? Perhaps Shaq was wanting a round of applause of his hustle and effort, but only “boos” need to rain down on him for that little stunt. I hope the NBA takes this matter seriously and suspend Oneal for a game or two, so it sends a clear message to other NBA players. The sport is about basketball and not showing off Mr. Oneal!