Most of the time, I was shooting hoops alone. Loved the game. I grew up playing more basketball than any other sport. It was my happy place.
I would pretend to shoot fadeaway jumpers as the clock was counting down - just like Michael Jordan.
I consider myself a Timberwolves fan nowadays - because of Kevin Garnett mostly - but as a teenager I was a hardcore Jordan fan, which meant I was a fan of the Chicago Bulls.
There was an old Bulls classic game on one of the Chicago stations Wednesday night. It was Game 6 of the 1996 Finals between the Seattle Supersonics. It was the series-clinching game that gave Jordan and Scottie Pippen their fourth ring together.
And it was the fourth championship in six years for the Bulls. Jordan would have won eight in a row had he not quit to play baseball for a few years.
The fourth championship included Dennis Rodman. As I watched Game 6 on Wednesday night, I remembered how important Rodman was the historic season.
Jordan is the GOAT and was the MVP of the series but Rodman averaged nearly 15 rebounds per game. He grabbed 19 in Game 6 and 20 in Game 3. He also was a huge defensive asset against Seattle's best interior player Shawn Kemp.
That Bulls team went 72-10 in the regular season. It set a record at the time and is now the 2nd best regular season of all-time.
Chicago led Seattle 3-0 before losing back-to-back games on the road. The Bulls clinched the title at home in Game 6 and Jordan won another NBA Finals MVP after averaging 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
The game definitely took me down memory lane. My family and I lived on a farm between Earlham, DeSoto and Winterset during a good stretch of my childhood. We rented the house and a farmer owned the land around us.
The farmer often drove his tractor through our driveway to his farmland and would always make a point to stop if I was shooting hoops. He told me he was a Larry Bird fan and gave me a hard time because I rooted for Jordan.
Those were fun times for me because my guy was always winning. I think he was mostly just giving me a hard time but teenage Troy was just too naive to notice.
ESPN's much-anticipated documentary The Last Dance was scheduled to be released later this year but because of COVID-19 and plenty of requests by the fans, the network is pushing it out sooner.
There is no doubt ESPN should take advantage of everyone being stuck at home. There will be 10 total episodes and about 8.5 hours of never-seen-before footage of the 1997-98 championship season.
That's the final championship for Jordan and Pippen and the final season of one of the best dynasties in NBA history.
I can't wait to watch all 10 episodes. They will be appointment TV for me the next 5 Sunday nights. The first episodes air this week. The time slots each week will be 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Iowa time.
Jordan said Wednesday he expects the documentary to show him as a bad guy.
I think for the most part, the fans know the kind of guy he was. He was a killer on the court. He stepped on opponents when they were down. That's why he won six titles though and why he kept Hall of Famers Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing from winning an NBA title.
I don't care how they portray Jordan. I know he punched a teammate at practice. I know he had a massive gambling problem. And I know he was an average to below average baseball player.
Thanks to those who have checked out the blog as we work through the early stages. I appreciate the comments, too.
On a recommendation from a friend, I checked out Limitless on Netflix on Wednesday. Another good movie that I enjoyed. Bradley Cooper is legit.
Next up: Road to Perdition.
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