The first part of the Michael Jordan docuseries debuted on Sunday. The Series explores the story of the final championship of Michael Jordan’s Bulls as well as the story on leading up to the start of the 97-98 season. The episodes so far are excellent. The story jumps between the 97-98 season and the past. I like that storytelling decision because the story of the 97-98 season is the last dance for major players in the Bulls organization and jumping to the past allows for the viewer to understand the stakes, controversy, and story of the final championship run. It is building the main characters of the story of the series. The 1997-98 season story revolves around General Manager Jerry Krause deciding on breaking up the team. Krause said he will not bring back Phil Jackson as well as looking to trade Scottie Pippen. It was looked as their “last dance” with it being their last run at a championship as a group. Krause became a villain for wanting to get rid of the best coach in the league and one of the best players. The way he was treated by the players was awful and wasn’t a good look for Jordan and Pippen. I don’t blame them for being upset at Krause because they disagree with his decision to break up the team but the extend, they went was uncalled for. Krause developed a bad relationship with Phil Jackson over the course of Jackson’s tenure. Krause didn’t invite him to his stepdaughters wedding despite inviting all the bull’s assistant coach and Tim Floyd who ended up replacing Jackson after the 1998 season. It was a terrible idea to break up the talent on their team. There is an argument that they should have traded Pippen because the team struggled for years after the 1998 season. Scottie Pippen’s injury and contract are another storyline. Pippen decided to hold off having surgery till the fall because he wasn’t happy with the front office with his contract. Jordan felt Pippen was being selfish at the time, while Phil Jackson didn’t have an issue with the decision. Pippen signed a bad contract to guarantee financial security leading him to be significantly underpaid. Pippen signed the contract despite being advised against signing it. It the reason why his displeasure with the contract is unwarranted because it is his fault that he is in the situation. I don’t blame the Bulls not renegotiating the contract since it is a very team friendly contract at an exceptional value. They show the intense competitive nature of Jordan. We also saw some footage of Jordan in practice and it lines up with what we heard about Jordan being an intense competitor in practice. One interesting comment from Jordan was about if he had a headache and 9 of the 10 pills will cure it and one will kill you and Jordan said, “depends on how bad the headache is”. That is part of his competitive nature Jordan lost to Danny Ainge golfing before their playoff matchup and Jordan proceeded to drop 63 points afterward. Watching the highlights package, they put together for that scene was amazing to watch. The music used for the highlights throughout the episodes worked perfectly. The highlights showed a great mix of Jordan’s all-around game. It was exciting to see how explosive Jordan was back in the early days of his NBA career given that I was too young to watch Jordan during his Bulls days. I am not very familiar with his highlights from the 80s of Jordan, so it was interesting to watch regular season games of Jordan from the 80s. The next episodes will include the bad boy pistons and Dennis Rodman. It is interesting what they will show for Dennis Rodman to built another major character in this story. I can’t wait to watch the next two episodes on Sunday.
2020 Summer Olympics Postponed
The 2020 Summer Olympics has been postponed due to the coronavirus. It will likely occur in 2021. I am guessing it will get moved back a year to start in late July or early August 2021. With the current situation it is the best move to postpone the games. Nobody knows exactly when the virus outbreak will be contained. Worldwide there is a good chance there will still be cases in early August. It is possible that things could be back to normal by August, but the training of the Olympians are on pause now. Also, if it cleared up by August, people will be hesitant to travel to a big event like the Olympics. Postponing instead of cancelling will allow athletes who have trained their entire life for their only or last chance at a medal. The Olympics are a big event for the economy of Tokyo. They don’t want to lose out on a massive event they have planned for years.
For the Olympics, it is on a different level than domestic sports leagues. The current sports leagues on pause in the U.S. and there is a good chance they could start playing by June if people take the situation seriously. They will likely continue without any fans in attendance. The NBA and NHL should be able to start their playoffs by the end of June or early July. I bet that at least the first round for both of their playoffs would be best of five. The finals would be a best of seven as usual. Major League Baseball is in a tougher position because they are going to lose a chunk of the season. I guess if they could start in the middle of June, they would play 90-110 games and crown a champion in the middle of November. The NFL is safe if it is contained by the end of August in the U.S. They might have to play with no fans or limited attendance. Losing out on the NCAA tournament sucks since it is one of the most exciting events in sports, but it had to be done. it is tough to have it in June or July with players graduating or leaving for the draft if it was even possible. Stopping sports is a precaution to stop the spread of the virus, to save lives. Worst case scenario is sports are cancelled for the rest of the year since that means the virus is still a problem. Hopefully the spread of the virus is stopped earlier than anticipated so we can get back to normal.
Philip Rivers signs with Colts
38 year-old Veteran quarterback Philip Rivers has signed with the Indianapolis Colts for one year on a $25 million deal. . The Colts will likely draft a quarterback in the upcoming draft to develop under Rivers. It is their best move to sign a veteran for a year with a young QB on the bench learning. I expect he will be the quarterback for one year to transition to the young QB they draft. I imagine they will take it at a year to year basis because you are not going to commit to a multi-year contract with a quarterback in their late 30s at $25 million a year. Rivers does a great job this season there is a possibility they resign him depending on the progress from the quarterback they drafted.
As a Colts fan I like this signing for a one-year commitment. He is a quarterback that can help the Colts make the playoffs now. With the talent on the team Rivers doesn’t have to do too much. Rivers is going to have a better O-Line than last season. He also gained a running game with the Colts being ranked 7th in rushing yards and Chargers were 28th last season. The one thing I would be worried about is his age. It is very likely Rivers will continue to decline. The AFC South is a winnable division. The Titans are their biggest competition in the south. The Texans made some questionable decisions recently like trading one of the best wide receivers for a laughable haul. There is a good chance they are a playoff team, but Rivers doesn’t put them into championship discussions. If Rivers channels his 2018 performance than it is possible the Colts could be a Super Bowl Contender. My prediction for the Colts this season is 8-10 wins.
Tom Brady Leaves Patriots
Tom Brady will leave the New England Patriots and is expected to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This will be an end of an era with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady splitting up. Brady wants to prove he can have success without Belichick. People say he is a product of Belichicks system. He was the perfect quarterback for Belichick’s system. We will see how he plays in a new system. I don’t see it working as well as the Patriots because of losing the familiarity of his previous. It is possible that Belichick decided to go in a different direction at quarterback. Belichick wants to show he can win without Tom Brady. He already proved it in 2008 winning 11 games with Matt Cassell. He would want to prove that he can win no matter who is the quarterback.
The Bucs are not going to be a Super Bowl contender. I don’t believe it will help Brady’s career. Brady is a 43-year-old quarterback and has shown decline this past season. The situation isn’t going to hurt Brady if he is terrible because of his age. I feel like he is going to be an average quarterback. They might make the playoffs as a wild card team especially with the playoffs field expanding. I wouldn’t bet on them making the playoffs. I don’t see him making a big difference in a tougher conference and division. It is going to be weird to see Brady in a different uniform. I just don’t see Brady in a Buccaneers uniform.
For the Patriots, it would be interesting to see who they go with. Some of their options include their current quarterback Jarrett Stidham, Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, and Nick Foles. I don’t see any of those quarterbacks winning a Super Bowl. With Dalton, Newton, or Foles I could see then winning the division. Another option is drafting a quarterback. Moving up and Drafting a quarterback is their best move. The most likely option with veterans would be Nick Foles. I wouldn’t count the Patriots out for winning the division. My guess is they would win 8-10 games. The Bills will win the division and put an end to the Patriots dynasty.
Brian's Sports Beat 