This Still Won’t Be Last He Sees of Jordan

Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has seen Michael Jordan’s act before, and he expects to see it again: “A prediction: In 20 years when he he beats the Cavs at age 59, he will score on a half-court shot.”

Jordan, closing in on 39, and playing for the Washington Wizards, defeated the Cavaliers on Thursday night in Cleveland with an 18-foot jump shot at the buzzer. In 1989, while playing for the Chicago Bulls, he defeated the Cavaliers, 101-100, with a buzzer beater in a series-clinching NBA playoff game.

Shaw: “For Jordan, Cleveland is a casino where the dealer keeps handing out blackjack. It’s a slot machine that pours pure silver uninterrupted. It’s Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.”

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More Jordan: Bill Suda in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Air Jordan is taking a huge leap--to $200 for a pair of the Nike hoop shoes.

“Packed in a metallic silver briefcase instead of a shoebox, the Air Jordan XVII arrives in shoe stores next weekend, accompanied by a $10-million national ad campaign with TV spots from Spike Lee.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the Laker record for most steals in a game?

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Contrasting styles: Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer commenting on the coaches in Sunday’s Super Bowl game: “Mike Martz is to offense what the lit match is to lighter fluid.

“Bill Belichick is to defense what the Pennsylvania Turnpike is to transportation. One lane here, orange cone there, slow, no exit, under construction, take alternate route.

“Martz is the Incinerator. He turns you to ashes. Belichick is the Detour. He gets you lost and confused.”

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Staggering statistic: USA Today reports that “More than half the adult U.S. population will bet on the Super Bowl.” The source for this information was USA Today’s own odds-making analyst, Danny Sheridan.

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Beats working: Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune, commenting on the loneliest man in football: “This is John Baker, the Ram punter. St. Louis leads the NFL in first downs, total yards and kickoffs.

“Baker punted a measly 43 times. He’s as necessary as the Adam’s apple. Baker says, ‘It’s a great job.’”

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Stanford connection: Bud Geracie in the San Jose Mercury News: “More mind-blowing than Casey Jacobsen’s 49-point game Thursday night is the thought that somebody [Hank Luisetti] scored 50 in a game in 1938.”

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What did you expect? Mark Spector in the Edmonton Journal on Saturday’s NHL All-Star game at Staples Center:

“Typical L.A.--this game had Jewel, Matthew Perry and Goldie Hawn, yet when you boil down the actual game it offers very little substance.”

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Trivia answer: Jerry West of the Lakers with 10 against Seattle on Dec. 7, 1973. It was an NBA record at the time.

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And finally: Jane Kaczmarek, a Wisconsin native and star of Fox’s “Malcolm in the Middle,” on why she didn’t care much about Super Bowl XXXVI, which preceded her show Sunday: “I stopped watching football when Vince Lombardi died.”

Mal Florence