If there is one thing that the sporting world knows it is that Michael Jordan is one ultra-competitive individual. He proved that time and time again during his days with the Bulls, in college with the Tar Heels, and heck, even with the Chicago White Sox minor league team he played for.

We know this man wants to win, so why isn’t he doing anything to improve the worst team in the NBA—his team, the Charlotte Bobcats?

Yes, he has gone into the locker room and given the guys a piece of his mind, something that had to hold weight with this young team since most of these guys probably grew up idolizing Michael Jordan. Other than that, has he even showed any emotion in regards to all the losing? Not that I’ve seen.

Being a competitive guy with his own money on the line, one would think that he would be making an effort to improve the team now rather than wait and see who he gets in the next draft. Other than the rumored possible trade with the Washington Wizards, Tyrus Thomas for Andre Blatche, there is no help for the Bobcats on the way.

So free agency is open and the whole world is falling to hell. What we thought was the NBA is no more. All sorts of weird things are going on. Dwight is actually wanting to go to New Jersey, CP3 to LA (or not according to Stern), Caron Butler (32 years old) going for 3 years of 8 million coming off knee surgery to the Clippers. That last one really confuses me, way to screw up a promising young team.

However, I have heard very few rumours about the bobcats, we never usually are a team to be floating information round and our front office tends to keep pretty quiet. Remember the TT trade? I had never heard that rumour until the day it happened, I was like wtf!? I thought he was on his way to San Antonio for sure. There are reports we have enquired about certain players, all seem to be of the sg/sf mix: Al Thornton and Reggie Williams. We also apparently made an offer for Mike Dunleavy at 3million a year, but he went for 3.5 a year over 3 years in Milwaukee instead, fair enough I am glad we did not go over that for an injury prone veteran who isn’t getting any better.

But I can see some of you… yes you there. Getting twitchy thinking, are we going to miss out on this free agent frenzy!? The answer… YES! Or at least I hope it is a yes to some extent. Remember the Eric Dampier trade? “In Dust We Trust” yer… how did that turn out? That’s what I mean, we forced ourselves into a deal then and we got nowhere. I want to see a new player in Bobcats uniform as much as anyone; it’s always exciting watching a new player come in. However I am going to argue that perhaps we should just simply wait. You can see teams getting carried away all around the league, signing people for too much money, or simply overloading their roster with players they don’t really need. Sorry to pick on you again clippers, but seriously what are you thinking? Clippers again now have Caron Butler, Ryan Gomes and Al-Farouq Aminu. 16 million all tied up in one position, with no hint of a star, I expect they will regret that decision. Also, look at the Nets using the Amnesty clause on Travis “7 million a year” Outlaw just one year after signing him.

All around the country (and likely some parts of the world) basketball fans are enjoying an early Christmas present—their favorite NBA stars are returning to work.

A handful of Bobcats—including rookies Bismark Biyombo and Kemba Walker—along with Anthony Morrow of the New Jersey Nets and Derrick Brown of the New York Knicks took to the court at Time Warner Cable Arena Friday (facilities were opened up on Thursday). Coaches can’t join workouts yet, but it’s good to see guys eager to return to the home floor.

The deal isn’t set in stone just yet, but every indication says it is going to happen. Plans have been put in motion for the season to start with a flurry of games on Christmas Day featuring some of the NBA’s marquee teams (ho ho ho, right?).

Charlotte isn’t on that list, but that’s okay; Bobcats fans will see their team all in due time. Fans will also finally get a chance to see if all the wheeling and dealing last season along with the two first round picks in the last draft can change the team’s playoff fortunes.

Sometime ago there was an article printed on one of the many online news outlets that called for His Airness, Michael Jordan, to get involved in the contract negotiations between the players and owners of the NBA. Now that he has done so there are many that wished he had not.

The last time there was a labor impasse (and he was a player) he was quite instrumental in getting a deal done. If he got involved this time around—as an owner of the Charlotte Bobcats—a deal could actually be struck that both sides would be able to accept.

Since he made his views known there has been article after article printed that was not too kind to Jordan. Those people had one image of him in their minds and since he didn’t say what they wanted to hear—that the 50-50 split was a good deal—they are out to turn him into a turncoat and villain.

I think that MJ might just be trying to save his team and the rest of the NBA in the process.

The “I want to be like Mike” were some of the most iconic commercials of their day. At the time, the idea of signing a single person to represent a brand for such a long period of time (and for so much money) was unheard of.

Gatorade knew what it had in Michael Jordan. Bernie Pitzel, the creative head for the advertising firm they used felt like he knew what people wanted:

“I knew that a million people wanted to be like Mike,” Pitzel said.

When you have a career like Michael Jordan, now the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, had it is understandable that up and coming players now and for generations to come are going to use him as a measuring stick. After all, who would not want to have a career with the following on their resume:

• NCAA Champion (1982)
• 6× NBA Champion (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
• 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991–1992, 1996, 1998)
• 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002–2003)
• 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998)
• 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
• 2x Olympic Champion (1984 and 1992)
• Owner of the Charlotte Bobcats

Is there anyone that would not want to own their own NBA franchise and win champions everywhere you go? I think not!

Apparently there is a guy in Washington that wants a resume like that and he is not afraid to tell the world that he thinks he is good enough to get it. In case you haven’t heard, this is what Jordan Crawford said in reference to his Airness:

“…I feel like I can be better than Michael Jordan. When I’m done playing, I don’t want people to say, Michael Jordan is the best player. I want that to be me. That’s how I am. That’s how I was built.”

Kwame Brown

When Michael Jordan brought Kwame Brown into the fold last season there were a lot of people that thought His Airness was making a big mistake. Jordan screwed up back in 2001 when he made Brown the first No 1 pick straight out of high school. Was he trying to make up for the mistake by giving the kid—now an adult—a job?

Lately there have been a few stories in the news that talked about Kwame when he first entered the league. He was young; he was brash. He thought he was something special by being the first high school player taken at No 1.

The reality of the situation is that he was special. The problem is that he was still just a kid. A mistake that most people mistake is thinking that someone is an adult when they turn 18. They’re allowed to vote, they can buy cigarettes, they can die for their country; the fact of the matter is that age means little if there is not a maturity to match.