Media’s Thirst for Knowledge Irks Jordan

While the NBA waits to learn if Michael Jordan will return, the Chicago newspapers are extending daily coverage to his pickup games in a local gym.

Jordan, ever sensitive, or over sensitive, responded by swearing everyone to silence.

“He called us together before we started scrimmaging,” a player told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Then he said, ‘I’m happy to see you all here and I’m grateful that you have come to help me try to see whether I’m ready. But I wish that you wouldn’t say anything to anybody, especially to the media.

“Just keep it confidential as to how I’m playing and what we are doing here. This is just between you and me.’

“And everybody said, ‘Cool.”’

Spoofing the hysteria, the Tribune’s Sam Smith reported that after a recent workout, Jordan confided: “I’m thirsty.”

Wrote Smith: “Observers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, speculated Jordan was thirsty.”

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More Mike: Washington Wizard fans are a little upset to learn they have to pay for their season tickets in full, before Jordan makes his announcement.

“We have never tied our renewal efforts to a Michael Jordan comeback,” team spokesman Matt Williams told the Washington Post. “Anyone who buys a season ticket based on that is definitely rolling the dice.

“In a perfect world, we would love for a decision to have been made so we would not have faced this situation, but the deadline is in place because we have to start processing season tickets.”

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Trivia time: Name the only player to score 60 points in an NBA finals game.

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Disconnect: The New York Daily News’ Lisa Olson notes while ephedrine is banned by the NCAA, a recent NCAA survey found that 42% of its athletes had experimented with it.

The NFL and the players union are considering banning it, even as several players, including St. Louis Ram running back Marshall Faulk, endorse it.

LeRoy Butler, a safety for the Green Bay Packers, told Sportsline.com: “Taking Ripped Fuel [a popular supplement containing ephedrine] is dangerous. It gets your heart rate going. It gets your body temperature up. It will give you a little energy, but it’s not worth the risk.”

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We’ve seen better omens: When the Boston Red Sox promoted pitching coach Joe Kerrigan to manager, his old college coach at Temple, Skip Wilson, came to see a game.

Sitting in the stands, Wilson saw Kerrigan’s Red Sox lose, 13-7, to the Baltimore Orioles, and was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Oriole third baseman Tony Batista.

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Trivia answer: Elgin Baylor of the Lakers, who scored 61 points in the 1962 finals.

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And finally: Arizona Diamondback ace Randy Johnson, on Atlanta’s Greg Maddux, to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale:

“He takes pitching to not only the next level but to where few people have ever gone before. I don’t think it’s fair to compare Greg Maddux to Christy Mathewson, but in this era Greg Maddux is the best pitcher that’s played the game.

“It’s like watching Bobby Fischer in a chess match. You don’t know what he’s going to do next. What he’s doing now--in an offensive era--is absolutely mind-boggling.”