#MJMondays featuring Larry Bird
Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan make your Dream Team come true, one star at a time.
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.” - John Wooden
#MotivationalMondays
What is the highest technique you want to achieve?
To have no technique.
On the mental attitudes of combat:
A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously. A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself.
May 20, 1991 - Michael Jordan is named NBA’s most valuable player
In the 1990–91 season, Michael Jordan won his second MVP award (Jordan also won the award in 1988) after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. The Chicago Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season.
“People have always doubted whether I was good enough to play this game at this level. I thought I was, and I thought I could be. What other people thought was really always irrelevant to me.” - Steve Nash
May 19, 1984 - The Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Islanders in 5 games
During the 1983-84 season the Edmonton Oilers finished first overall in the NHL, winning a franchise record fifty-seven games and earning 119 points (fifteen points ahead of the second place New York Islanders). They were the first team to feature three players with fifty goals (Gretzky, Kurri and Anderson). Wayne Gretzky started off strong by scoring at least a point in the first fifty-one games of the season. Paul Coffey became the second defenceman ever to score forty goals in a season (with forty exactly). The Oilers scored a grand total of 446 goals as a team, an NHL record. The Oilers were so determined to win the Stanley Cup that they hired Roger Neilson as a video analyst. They started the playoffs strongly by sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in the Smythe Division semifinals. They faced a tougher test in the Calgary Flames, but they defeated them in seven games in the division finals. They then swept the Minnesota North Stars in the conference finals to earn a rematch with the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers split the first two games in Long Island, but then won three in a row in Edmonton to become the first former WHA team to win the Stanley Cup. After the series, Mark Messier was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” - Vince Lombardi
May 18, 1956 - Mickey Mantle hits a HR from both sides of plate for record third time
“It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game (specifically about his switch-hit home run record) you’ve been playing all your life.” - Hall of Fame Outfielder Mickey Mantle (Ten Time “Member” of the Home Run From Both Sides of the Plate in a Game “Club”)
Mickey Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
MJ vs. Kobe?
In his upcoming 339-page memoir “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success” Phil Jackson writes about how Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant measure up against each other.
On basketball mindsets:
“Michael was more likely to break through his attackers with power and strength, while Kobe often tries to finesse his way through mass pileups,” Jackson wrote. “Michael was stronger, with bigger shoulders and a sturdier frame. He also had large hands that allowed him to control the ball better and make subtle fakes.
“Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.”
On defense:
“No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender. He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense.
“Kobe has learned a lot from studying Michael’s tricks, and we often used him as our secret weapon on defense when we needed to turn the direction of a game. In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price.”
On leadership:
“One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” Jackson said. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had.”
Bryant gradually evolved during the 2008-09 championship season, when the Lakers successfully retooled with a more finessed look with Pau Gasol instead of the brute force of the Shaquille O’Neal teams.
If Bryant talked to teammates in his earlier Lakers years, it was usually, “Give me the damn ball,” Jackson wrote. “But then Kobe started to shift. He embraced the team and his teammates, calling them up when we were on the road and inviting them out to dinner. It was as if the other players were now his partners, not his personal spear-carriers.”
“It’s what you get from games you lose that is extremely important.” - Pat Riley
May 17, 1970 - Hank Aaron became the 9th MLB player to get 3,000 hits
Hank Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the team against which he played his first game. He was the first player to get 3,000 career hits and 500 career home runs. Also during that year, Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League.
“If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That’s all I am. I live it.” - Marvelous Marvin Hagler
May 16, 1985 - Bulls’ Michael Jordan was named the NBA Rookie of the Year
Michael Jordan averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds. 5.9 assists, 2.4 steals.
During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas, and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading “A Star is Born” just over a month into his professional career. Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season. Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so-called “freeze-out” on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I didn’t like the ’50s, you know. I appreciate Elvis, but I’m not a big fan. I’m not a rockabilly fan. And the ’60s and early ’70s were, to me, the greatest times to live.” - Brett Hull
May 15, 1941 - Joe DiMaggio began his MLB hitting streak of 56 games
Joe DiMaggio holds the MLB record with a streak of 56 consecutive games in 1941 which began on May 15 and ended July 17. DiMaggio hit .408 during his streak (91 for 223), with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs.
