CosmicDaLoc

As this spring training marks the 20th anniversary of the end of Michael Jordan’s foray into baseball, and the misinformed ridicule that came with it, I was hoping time would’ve judged Jordan’s effort a little more kindly than the Sports Illustrated cover in March of 1994 showing Jordan missing a pitch, with the huge headline of “Bag It, Michael.” And this was merely an anecdotal photo of him whiffing on a pitch in an exhibition game, long before the completion of what I consider to be one of the greatest sporting accomplishments of the 20th century. No, 20 years later Jordan’s spring with the White Sox and summer with the Birmingham Barons is mostly remembered little more than as a failed publicity stunt, an indulgence of someone so famous he couldn’t accrue more global fame, and a punchline. This despite the vouching from his Double-A manager, Terry Francona, on just how seriously Jordan took the game and the confirmed attendance of Jordan at 6:30 a.m. batting sessions. To make a Jordan baseball joke now would be akin to playing Pogs rather than Angry Birds on your phone, but in the 90s jokes about “45” were unrelenting. (#23 was taken by current White Sox manager Robin Ventura.) Of course that tide was stemmed by Jordan’s return to the NBA and three more championships. It was that, and decidedly NOT the remarkable challenge of trying to go from one major sport to another at age 31 which cemented Jordan’s legacy as the unchallenged greatest sporting hero of my generation. But to not appreciate Jordan’s “success” in baseball is to not understand baseball. The folks wont to laugh at Jordan’s baseball career will of course point to his .202 average (127 games) in a MINOR league. This is patently absurd. The fact Jordan hit over .200 in the third-highest level of professional baseball, at 31, 13 years removed from his last baseball experience as a senior in high school, is all the proof Jordan needs to make his case as the greatest athlete who ever lived when combined with his on-court exploits.

IPS is the best in my personal opinion.

Hi guys! Inspired by NukuchAjau's translation games, here's a bit of fun that should get you putting your thinking caps on! (I... really hate that expression >.<) It's simple: write a paragraph about your day, in any language you're leraning! Or more than one language, if you want to ^.^ Try to include a translation in English or your native language, just to make it easier for people who don't know the language you're learning. It doesn't matter if you write a sentence or an essay, this is just a way to practice writing in a new language, because we all know that practice makes perfect! (Another hated expression.. why do I keep using them?!) And since there may not be anybody to help correct your entry, just focus on doing your best and maybe learning a few new words :D Anway, here's mine in Danish: I dag er fredag. I morgenen jeg gik til butikerne med en af mine hunde. Derefter forldod vi bycentret og gik hjem. Min mor drak te og spiste frokost og jeg drak kaffe men spiste ikke. Alle mine hundene drak også, de drak meget vand, men min kat kun spiste. Jeg studerede for få timer om eftermiddagen. Derefter jeg gik til parken med min mor og mine hunde. Aftenen var smuk og kold. Derefter vi gik hjem og jeg spiste aftensmad. Jeg spiste en pizza uden mejeri eller kød. And Greenlandic: Ullumi tallimanngorniuvoq. Ullaaq pisiniarfingnut pisuppoq qimmeramik. Taava pisiniarfingnit illumullu pisupput. Anaanaga tiitorpoq frokosterporlu kaffisorpungalu nerinngilangali. Aamma qimmikka assut imeq imerpaat qitsugali taamaallaat nerivoq. Oqaatsinik ilinniarpunga amerlasuut tiimit ualikkut. Taava naatsiiviliarsuamut anaanagamik qimmikkamillu. Unnuk alianaatsoq nillerporlu. Taava illumut pisuppugut unnukkorsiorporlu. Nerivunga pizza(?) ilaginagu immuliorfik neqiluunniit. And, finally, a rough English translation: Today is Friday. In the morning I went to the shops with one of my dogs. Then I left town and went home. My mum drank tea and ate lunch, and I drank coffee but didn't eat. My dogs drank, too - they drank a lot of water - but my cat only ate. I studied for a few hours in the afternoon. Then I went to the park with my mum and my dogs. The evening was beautiful and cold. Then we went home and I ate tea. I ate a pizza with neither dairy nor cheese. (Ok, ok, it's still early afternoon where I live. But if I write about eating pizza for tea, maybe it will actually happen...)