Jordan Likes Challenge of Comeback

Michael Jordan would return to the NBA only to prove he could still play at a high level.

“It’s definitely the challenge,” the 38-year-old Jordan said Saturday, adding that he isn’t ready to say he’ll return next season. “I’m not coming back for money, I’m not coming back for the glory. I think I left the game with that, but the challenge is what I truly love.”

In an interview taped Friday in Washington, Jordan said he started thinking about a return after he began playing pickup games when his weight increased to 242 pounds. He says it is now about 218 or 220--slightly above his ideal playing weight of 212.

“I can’t get on a treadmill,” he said. “I’ve got to have movement, so basketball became my cardio.”

Jordan, part owner of the Washington Wizards, conceded that his competitive fire has made him think about a comeback. But from a physical aspect, he remains close to his earlier assessment of being “99.9 sure” he won’t.

“Mentally, I can reduce that, because mentally I’d like to get my skills back,” he explained, but added that desire alone would not be enough.

The five-time MVP and 10-time NBA scoring champion who led the Chicago Bulls to six titles says playing pickup games can’t prepare him for what he’d face in a return after three years of retirement.

“I’m not convinced as of right now that I can find those skills,” he said.

Jordan won’t put a timetable on a comeback decision, but knows he may eventually have to say to himself, “You know what, it was fun, but I think you better let ’98 be your exit.”

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The New York Knicks find themselves in a flap over religion because of a magazine article.

In today’s editions of the New York Times Magazine, point guard Charlie Ward is quoted as saying, “Jews are stubborn. But tell me, why did they persecute Jesus unless he knew something they didn’t want to accept?” He then said, “They had his blood on their hands.”

Guard Allan Houston is then quoted as saying, “Then they spit in Jesus’ face and hit him with their fists,” referring to an excerpt from the Book of Matthew in the New Testament.

The quotes are part of a five-page article in which the writer, Eric Konigsberg, spent several weeks with the team chronicling events such as Marcus Camby’s skirmish with San Antonio’s Danny Ferry and the team’s Bible studies, attended mainly by Ward, Houston, Mark Jackson and Kurt Thomas.

Konigsberg, who is Jewish, says in the article that he attended a few Bible studies and “fancied that the seeds of an interfaith fellowship were being planted.” But then the tone of the meetings changed, he said. The article then follows with Ward’s quote and the one by Houston, which were made during the Bible studies.

The comments by Ward and Houston received a swift response from the Anti-Defamation League, which said they constituted religious bigotry.

Ward and Houston, who made the comments at a Bible study at the team hotel in Milwaukee, said that their comments were taken out of context and that they meant no offense to any religion.

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Jim O’Brien, who coached Boston to a 24-24 record after taking over for Rick Pitino, has reached an agreement by phone with owner Paul Gaston on a three-year contract extension.