Michael Jordan Offered Baseball Contract

Hey, you know all the hubbub last week about Michael Jordan's 50th birthday?  Yeah...it's still going on.

The Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League have offered the 50-year-old former NBA superstar (and onetime Chicago White Sox minor leaguer) a baseball contract.

“Who knows how the book is written if there was no Major League Baseball strike in 1994?” team general manager Chris Franklin said. “It worked out pretty well for Michael and basketball fans around the world, but we would like to offer MJ the opportunity to write the final chapter by playing baseball for the Joliet Slammers or, at the very least, honor him in a way nobody else has.”

And in case you're wondering where Joliet, Illinois is in proximity of the Windy City...it is 45 miles south of the United Center.

“There are a lot of loyal Chicago Bulls and White Sox fans who I believe would fully support his decision to come back to the game of baseball,” Franklin said. “When he started with the White Sox, hitting coach Walt Hriniak asked him if he was serious about playing baseball. Michael may ask us the same question Walt asked him and we have the same answer he did. Dead, dead serious.”

You can only assume the Slammers are just as serious. 

The team is offering Jordan the league maximum contract of $1600 per month with $20 daily meal money and a host family if needed.  Although that's probably unlikely given Jordan still has a home in the area.  The Slammers would also be willing to provide Jordan with a Loaded Luxury Suite for 23 people that includes all-you-can-eat and drink hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, mustard potato salad, baked beans, cookies and Pepsi products for 90 minutes every game.

Mustard potato salad AND baked beans...how can he pass this up?!?

If you ask me, it looks like the Slammers are throwing a lot out there for a 50-year-old who, in one season of minor league baseball hit .202, but then again...what do I know?

“Again, we’re serious about giving Michael the opportunity to play professional baseball with the Slammers this summer,” Franklin said. “We do have an age limit in our league, but like Nike and the red and black Air Jordan’s his rookie year in the NBA, we’ll take the fine. There are dozens of gimmicks we could throw out there in the offer, but we’re playing by the rules and think he would respect that. It could be one last challenge for the greatest competitor of all time.”

I can only assume Jordan will not be responding to (much less accepting this offer) any time soon.

Bronson Arroyo is Selling Cars

From seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens selling soap to one-time White Sox Minor League outfielder Michael Jordan hawking basketball sneakers...there have been a lot of athletes in a lot of different commercials.

Hell, even Bo knows that now is the time to get back into the advertising game.

But while I was searching the interwebs for music videos...I came across my new all-time favorite television commercial starring an athlete.

I bring you Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo for Champion Ford of Alexandria.

White Sox minor leaguer set to join elite company

Typically, I am not one to deviate from my self-imposed niche (whatever THAT is)...but E posted this over at his site and since it had the words "hall" and "fame" in it, I thought I'd re-post it for you all.

Enjoy.

Four more players from this picture have been nominated to join the six already in the Basketball Hall of Fame. The remaining three aren't already in because they're either a) not eligible until next year, or b) Christian Laettner.

My thoughts on this year's nominees:

MICHAEL JORDAN

Depending on your school of thought, probably the best basketball player ever. There's really no need to discuss him any further; he's one of the reasons basketball was invented. And while his bona fides are indisputable, he somewhat damaged his legacy by retiring twice and coming back both times, the second time to a different team in a different city, where he was merely an "All-Star". I won't even mention his attempt to play minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox. An absolute lock; anything less than 100% of the vote is an insult.

DAVID ROBINSON

Excepting (unfortunately) Shaquille O'Neal, the dominant center during the '90s. He almost single-handedly drug the Spurs into the playoffs every year he played, and the one year he missed, the Spurs were so bad that they got the #1 pick and drafted Tim Duncan. Shoo-in.

JOHN STOCKTON

While he is not the greatest all-around point guard in history, there was no one better at passing the ball. The only player in history to have 1000 assists more than once (something he did seven times). After he broke the career assist mark, he tacked on another 5000 just for the hell of it. In fact, if it weren't for Stockton, Karl Malone wouldn't go into the Hall next year. And pretty good defensive player to boot, with at least 700 more steals than Jordan, Gary Payton and Alvin Robertson. This guy's numbers automatically put him in the Hall.

CHRIS MULLIN

The weakest of the four, Mullin was THE small forward in the late '80s/early '90s. A consistent top 10 scorer who would absolutely kill you from 3-point land. He was the man in Golden State's "Run TMC" days, but was shoved to the wayside once their offense was re-tooled for Sprewell and Webber. If anything, the fact that he went from one of the best players in the NBA to a third option in a year, a move from which he never recovered, hurts his chances in the Hall.

We'll find out in April who goes in.

Oh, Jerry Sloan, Don Nelson, Bernard King and Dennis Johnson are up for the Hall, too. But they're not in that picture, so who cares about them.