Jordan's Hall speech insightful, not petty and bitter

Michael Jordan just did something else that's never been done before - he made the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony relevant.

Thanks to poor timing (opening week of NFL season?) and questionable inductees (Dick Vitale? Bill Davidson? Mirko Novosel?) the basketball Hall of Fame ceremony has always flown well below the radar.

Following Jordan's induction speech Friday, it was the hottest topic in sports. By giving credit to those who motivated him to become great, some have called Jordan's address petty and mean-spirited.

I'd say it wasn't. It was an insightful autobiography and self-analysis. We should be thankful Jordan did more than politely run through a predictable list of thank-yous.

There were a couple moments when Jordan went too far, especially when he brought up the notorious "freeze out" at the 1985 NBA All-Star Game during his rookie season.

Jordan mentioned Isiah Thomas, George Gervin and Magic Johnson as being responsible for the alleged all-star snub. Thomas started alongside Jordan in the East backcourt that day at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. But Gervin and Johnson played for the West squad. How did they freeze out Jordan?

I suppose they could have helped promote the idea, but I don't think anyone knows the true story of that incident, which may have been more concept than reality.

For the record, Jordan took 9 shots in 22 minutes that day and scored 7 points. Thomas led the East with 22 points, while Terry Cummings, of all people, took the most shots (17). The other East starters were Larry Bird, Julius Erving and Moses Malone.

At the same time, by telling that story, Jordan opened his soul in a way; letting us know how much he used that All-Star Game as motivation throughout his career.

There was also no reason to mention Jerry Krause's notorious "organizations win championships" quote. Krause has been beaten up enough over the years and the former Bulls general manager never meant that line as a dig on Jordan, but was simply trying to give credit to others who contributed to the team's success.

We already knew, through their obvious dislike of Krause, that Jordan and Phil Jackson used "organizations win championships" as motivation during the final two championships. Knowing Krause, I doubt if he would change anything that happened, since the end results were two trophy presentations.

The other stuff Jordan discussed was not mean-spirited. His message to Pat Riley and the "little guy," Jeff Van Gundy, was funny. It drew a laugh from the crowd and provided more clues to the makeup of one of the great competitors in American history.

He prefaced the Bryon Russell story by saying he hesitates to tell it, because Russell is such a nice guy. Some wrote that Russell's Utah teammate, John Stockton, looked uncomfortable during that segment of Jordan's speech. But that's the way Stockton is - he never changes expression.

Jordan mentioned a day in 1994 when he visited a Jazz practice in Chicago. Russell approached him and promised to shut him down if Russell ever saw the then-retired legend in shorts again. We all know how that turned out. Russell took the jab well. He told yahoo.com that his shorts are on and he's ready to play Jordan 1-on-1 anytime.

An argument could be made that Krause showed some bitterness by refusing to attend the ceremony. Maybe it's a convenient excuse to say he vowed years ago never to visit the Hall until Tex Winter is inducted.

I'm with Krause on this one, actually. From this day on, I vow never to watch another induction speech until Vitale is removed from the Hall of Fame.