LITTLE ROCK — One Laker would take Jordan now
Ever wonder how Michael Jordan would fare against the current crop of NBA players?
Los Angeles Lakers forward Antawn Jamison has put some thought into it.
“I wouldn’t doubt that in the right situation with a LeBron [James] on his team or with a Kobe [Bryant] on this team, he could get you about 10 or 11 points, come in and play 15-20 minutes,” Jamison told ESPN Los Angeles on Friday. “I wouldn’t doubt that at all, especially if he was in shape and injuries were prevented and things of that nature.”
Keep in mind, Jamison is speculating about a 49-year-old Jordan, who turns 50 on Feb. 17.
“That’s saying a lot,” wrote ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin, “considering Jamison has Bryant on his team, and only averages 8.1 points per game in 20.5 minutes per game and he’s ‘only’ 36 years old.”
Jordan averaged 20.0 points in 37.0 minutes per game in his 15th and final season in the league before retiring for good at age 40.
“This generation, and even the ones younger than some of the guys in here, he’s still having an influence on guys who have never even seen him play in person,” Jamison said. “That’s saying a lot.
It’s been, what? Ten years since he’s played? Name me another player that’s been out of the game for 10 years and still has an impact on the game the way he does.”
Taking a powder
According to the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, a high school basketball game was forced to change venues - at halftime - after a student prank went a little too well.
The game, which started at Woodcreek High School was moved to rival Roseville High at the half after officials determined conditions were unsafe - because of a massive buildup of baby powder, thanks to a stunt perpetrated by Woodcreek’s student support group, the “Black Mob.”
Inspired by LeBron James’ pregame ritual of tossing baby powder in the air, the Mob decided an imitation was in order, although rather than having one member perform the stunt, they all did it, forcing the start of the game to be delayed while the cloud of powder was mopped off the court.
The game was delayed several more times because of a slippery floor, then officials decided they’d had enough, moving the game across town to Roseville, about 5 miles away, during the halftime break.
Roseville won 87-71.
Back in the fold
Danny Foster, 41, on the lam for 16 years after allegedly wounding his wife and son, was arrested in Miami on Friday - just two days after the boy he abandoned signed a national letter of intent to play football at Alabama.
From Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Rivals.com, saying it just couldn’t help itself, immediately declared Foster a five-star fugitive and ‘a good get’ for the U.S. Marshals.”
All a-Twitter
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, tweeting during Saturday’s five-overtime college basketball game between Notre Dame and Louisville, a 104-101 victory for the Irish: “Even Manti Te’o thinks this Notre Dame Louisville game is unreal.”
Brad Rock of Salt Lake City’s Deseret News, after Jose Canseco tweeted “I need to find Manute Bol,” not knowing that Bol, the tallest man (at 7 feet, 7 inches) to play in the NBA, died three years ago at age 47: “How come the only thing Canseco seems clued in on is who used steroids ?”
Quote of the day
“We have been so close many times and I think we deserved this.” Arkansas women’s basketball coach Tom Collen on the Razorbacks, who beat Alabama in triple overtime Sunday
Sports, Pages 14 on 02/11/2013