The Air Jordan 5 'Bel-Air' Releases Saturday

For sneaker heads, Saturday is often an important day. That's when a lot of the highly anticipated sneakers are released for sale in stores. This Saturday, October 5 is a big day for fans of the J's. The Air Jordan 5 "Bel-Air" is being sold at limited stores nationwide and is expected to sell out.

The 5's continue the lucrative trend by Jordan Brand of releasing retro sneakers in new colors. You have people my age and older who remember when these sneakers were originally released in 1990 and they want them today partly because of the nostalgia or because they can afford them now. And then there are the teenagers like my nephews who are intrigued by the sneakers that originally came out before they were born.

This release of the Air Jordan 5, or V, which retails for $185, has been given the nickname Bel-Air because the colors are reminiscent of the flashy and funky styles Will Smith wore on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The colorway for the sneakers are cool grey, court purple, game royal, club pink. Guess you could say it's a classic's ode to a classic, and one of the best sitcoms of all time also debuted in 1990, the same year as the Jordan 5's. Will's character often wore Air Jordans on the show.

If you're looking to buy these sneaks tomorrow, good luck. They're only being sold at select stores. If you're looking for them in the Charlotte area, the Foot Locker stores at SouthPark Mall and Carolina Place Mall are selling them, but you won't be able to just show up to buy them. Having learn from the craze, headaches, and even potential dangers of crowds forming outside of stores on the morning of popular sneaker releases, stores like Foot Locker now do sweepstakes or lotteries--just for the opportunity to buy the shoes. Specifically for the Bel-Airs, the Foot Locker at SouthPark and Carolina Place (as well as other select FL stores nationwide) issued tickets on Wednesday and Thursday to people who came by the store. You had to designate the exact size you wanted. Then today, Foot Locker called the winners, who'll now be able to come to the store tomorrow to buy the sneakers.

If you want to buy them from a store locally, you'll have the chance to cop the kicks from Social Status, the high-end sneaker boutique and men's clothing store in Plaza Midwood (1519 Central Ave., 704-632-9902). I called the store and the representative said they're selling the Bel-Airs on a first-come, first-served basis when they open at 11 a.m. tomorrow, and that you must also spend an additional $100 on merchandise to be able to buy the sneakers.

Social Status. Credit: socialstatuspgh.com

Foot Locker also says the sneakers will go on sale online tomorrow at 8 a.m. at Footlocker.com.

And artists are still making new songs about wearing J's.

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Did You Know: Michael Jordan Played His First-Ever College Basketball Game In Charlotte

An interesting piece of video footage has been making the rounds on the 'net this week. It's of Michael Jordan's first-ever college basketball game. The game took place between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks on November 28, 1981 at Charlotte Coliseum. A nine-minute highlight video was posted on YouTube in July 2007, but it's resurfaced on people's radars after some major sports websites "dug it up" this week (I saw it on CBS' Eye On Basketball).

There are several interesting things to note about the first-ever college game played by the greatest basketball player of all-time:

• Many sports fans know this, but it's worth pointing out that Michael Jordan used to go by Mike Jordan.

• The game was held at Charlotte Coliseum, which today is Bojangles' Coliseum. Many of you might think of the arena where the Charlotte Hornets used to play, that used to be located on Tyvola Road, when you hear of Charlotte Coliseum. But Charlotte has had multiple venues named Charlotte Coliseum throughout its sports history. When a new sports and entertainment facility opened on East Independence Boulevard in 1955, it was named Charlotte Coliseum. But when a new, larger, 24,000-seat arena was being built on Tyvola Road in the mid- to late-1980s with the primary intent of hosting college basketball tournaments, and Charlotte was awarded an NBA franchise that began playing in 1988, the Independence Boulevard arena closed, and the Tyvola Road arena took the name Charlotte Coliseum (what's now known as Bojangles' Coliseum reopened in 1993). Charlotte sports fans soon gave it the nickname "The Hive" and proceeded to sell out 364 consecutive Hornets home games and lead the NBA in attendance for several years. And then, of course, as the story goes, Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn moved the team to New Orleans in 2002 because the city wouldn't build him a new publicly funded arena with the amenities and plethora of luxury suites that had become customary in NBA arenas, the league awarded Charlotte another franchise that would be called the Bobcats that started playing in 2004, with a new Uptown arena, eventually named Time Warner Cable Arena, opening in 2005. Charlotte Coliseum on Tyvola Road, not quite 19 years old, was demolished in June 2007.

• And as the above long-story-short continues with its twists and irony, Jordan would eventually become majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010, after spending a few years as a minority owner and front office executive with the team. Then this past May, after the New Orleans Hornets' new owner changed his team's name to the Pelicans, and after plenty of Charlotteans lobbying, Jordan made the decision to rename the Bobcats the Charlotte Hornets, which will take effect for the 2014-15 NBA season.

• Got all that? Good. (Whenever I run through elements of Charlotte's history like this, it's primarily for the many newcomers who move to this city each year. Many of whom don't know much about Charlotte's history, even its recent history and how much things have changed in this growing city in the last decade alone.)

• Now, back to the video of Jordan's first game. During the player introductions, we're reminded that another Tar Heel great and NBA legend, James Worthy, is from nearby Gastonia. This was a true "home" game for him, much closer for his family, friends, and former high school classmates than the Tar Heels' usual home court in Chapel Hill.

• The first shot Jordan took in this game, which he missed, looks a lot like the famous game-winning shot he made four months later during the 1982 NCAA Championship Game against Georgetown.

• Early in the game, one of the television analysts makes these remarks about Jordan: "So many things have been said about him. Comparisons to Walter Davis and David Thompson, in this part of the country. That's pretty heavy metal for a youngster of 18 years old. He is talented, and he really is kind of going against the system. Dean Smith normally doesn't start even the most talented of freshmen." Two things about that. I guess we all tend to compare new talent to more established talent, whether it's in sports, music, or whatever. But it's funny to hear that the players Jordan was being compared to at the time were viewed as sort of big shoes to fill, when he would eventually become the greatest basketball player of all-time (and sell the most popular basketball shoes). Secondly, Dean Smith knew early on the special talent he had with Jordan, hence the reason he started him as a freshman. 

• Jordan made his second shot attempt in this game, on his way to scoring 12 points, on 5 for 10 shooting, as the Tar Heels defeated the Jayhawks 74-67 in front of a sold-out crowd of 11,666 fans at Charlotte Coliseum.

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Michael Jordan Is 50; We're Getting Old, Yet We Still Want to Be Like Mike

I'm an '80s baby, which means I was born at the greatest time ever. I grew up listening to music by--and trying to emulate the dance moves of--Michael Jackson. I watched great television shows created by Bill Cosby. I ate sweetened cereal that came with prizes in the box, and sat down with a big bowl in front of Saturday morning cartoons. I witnessed some of the greatest movies come to the big screen, and when my parents bought a VCR sometime around 1985, we watched many of those movies at home on our floor-model TV. But of all the entertaining marvels I was fortunate to have witnessed because of the era in which I was born, there are two that top them all: the aforementioned Michael Jackson and the other MJ: Michael Jordan.

Jordan turned 50 today, which you already know, sparking reflection throughout the sports and non-sports world. It's only fitting that his 50th birthday falls on the same day as this year's NBA All-Star Game (he threw a star-studded bash Friday night in Houston), and that sports news giant ESPN has spent the past two weeks counting down to this momentous occasion.

Sports analysts, reporters, bloggers, and anyone with a social media account have opined on what Jordan has meant to the game of basketball, sports as a whole, pop culture, fashion, and to their individual lives. He's widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, and he's the player every great player after him is and will be forever compared to, i.e. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

For me, personally, it's kind of hard to believe that Jordan is now 50 years old. But contrary to the media reports as to how he's dealing with growing older, we're the ones who are actually getting old. When you're as great and legendary as Jordan--and for him to have played his entire professional career at a time that allowed it to be captured on video--the stories that will be told about him 50 years from now will be supplemented by highlight films of him hitting game-winning shots, dunking over star players, waving championship trophies in the air, gliding from the free throw line, endorsing major brands and products, and releasing sneakers that bear his name and that people rush to the stores to buy years after he's quit playing.

I was a Chicago Bulls fan growing up, even though I'd never been to Chicago nor had I seen the Bulls play in person. I was a fan because as I was learning about the game of basketball and watching NBA games on TV for the first time, No. 23 was mesmerizing us. When my brother and I and numerous friends would play countless games on our backyard court, we all dreamed of playing like Jordan. When he retired for the first time in 1993, I was devastated. And when Jordan returned to the NBA in the spring of 1995, I remember his first game back being on a Sunday and how I couldn't wait to get home from church and watch the nationally televised game. Then the following season, when the Bulls won a record 72 games and embarked on their second three-peat, I couldn't wait to watch every game I could. His absence during his year-and-a-half-long retirement taught me not to take witnessing greatness for granted.

No other athlete, entertainer, or icon, for that matter, has had as large an impact on culture the way Jordan has. I was happy when he became majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats a few years ago and made Charlotte his part-time home, just so I could have that association with him (and be able point to his Uptown condo when I have guests visiting from out of town). Now, Jordan needs to prove he can build a winning NBA franchise as an executive.

I'm sure Jordan feels he has a lot left to accomplish in life, and why wouldn't he? But regardless, he's already left an indelible mark on the world and hundreds of millions of people. We all want to witness greatness, even if it's from a distance. Or for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to come face to face with it, like some kid named Justin Bieber had a few weeks ago.

Justin Bieber poses with Michael Jordan, backstage at his concert at Time Warner Cable Arena in January. Credit: instagram.com/charlottebobcats

I have three teen-aged nephews who are between two and four years younger than Bieber, and like him they're too young to remember the peak of Jordan's playing days. But they all know who he is, and they all want to wear his sneakers. Decades later, we all still want to be like Mike.

Below are links to a few of the many recent news stories and reflections on Michael Jordan's legacy now that he's turned 50 years old.

50 memories of Michael Jordan - Chicago Tribune

Michael Jordan's 50 SI Covers - Sports Illustrated

In Chicago, Especially, Jordan Still Reigns Supreme - The New York Times

Michael Jordan's Influence Praised By J. Cole, Kobe Bryant - MTV News

MJ at 50: A look at Michael Jordan's final All-Star Game performance - CBS Sports

Celebrating Michael Jordan's 50th Birthday with His Top 50 Career Moments - Bleacher Report

Michael Jordan's 50th birthday stirs memories of his basketball greatness - New York Post

Michael Jordan Top 50 All Time Plays - YouTube/Meir21

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Anthony Hamilton's Got Them J's, Up for Two GRAMMYs

Charlotte-native and platinum-selling recording artist Anthony Hamilton was stuntin' on 'em this week. He celebrated his 42nd birthday a few days ago and took to Instagram to show off the gifts he received from Jordan Brand, the lucrative division of Nike, run by Michael Jordan, and maker of the forever-popular Air Jordan sneaker. A-Ham has had a friendship with MJ for several years now, something he attributes to their "North Carolina connection." Jordan's company sent over a dozen pairs of retro Air Jordans, or J's as they're known in the streets, as well as a nice watch for Anthony's birthday. The company has also thrown parties for him in the past (see here and here).

That watch reminds me of one of my favorite lyrics from rapper Sauce Money, years ago: "Since my watch was a gift, there's no better time than the present."

The good times continue for A-Ham. He's nominated for two GRAMMY Awards this year: Best R&B Song for "Pray for Me" and Best R&B Album for Back To Love. He's up against R. Kelly, Robert Glasper, Tamia, and Tyrese in the album category. The 55th GRAMMY Awards air live Sunday, February 10, 8 p.m. on CBS.

Photos credit: instagram.com/anthonyhamiltonofficial

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Man Named Michael Jordan in ESPN Commercial; THE Michael Jordan in Presbyterian Hospital Commercial

Throughout the NBA playoffs over the past month, I've seen this ESPN commercial several times, about an ordinary man who happens to be named Michael Jordan. The 30-second commercial shows him in several situations where people have his name in reservations or orders--restaurant host, pizza delivery guy, car service, etc.--and expect the basketball legend to show up, only to display their disappointment when it's a middle-aged white guy.

Then this week, I saw the Michael Jordan in a surprising TV commercial. The NBA Hall of Famer and Charlotte Bobcats owner appears in a new commercial for Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, where he seems to want to be a surgeon (it's actually quite humorous). It was surprising because I'd never seen Jordan in any ad campaigns for local companies before. But upon some Googling, I learned, according to Charlotte Business Journal, it's part of a recent 10-year sponsorship agreement between the Bobcats and both Presbyterian and its Winston-Salem-based parent company, Novant Health Inc., that also includes an endorsement deal with Jordan. Reportedly, the Bobcats have a new sponsorship program called Level 23 that charges companies a premium to tie their Bobcats sponsorships to Jordan specifically. Charlotte advertising and public relations agency Luquire George Andrews created the Jordan-Presbyterian campaign.

Jordan is said to own 80 percent of the NBA franchise after buying controlling interest from Bob Johnson in 2010, so with the Bobcats' financial losses continuing to mount, it makes sense (and cents) for MJ to add his star power to the team's brand, something he'd been reluctant to do while he was a minority owner under Johnson.

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2012 Jordan Brand Classic this Weekend

The Jordan Brand Classic, one of the biggest, annual high school basketball events in the country, takes place this Saturday at Time Warner Cable Arena. It's a tripleheader, beginning with the International Game at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Regional Game at 4:30 p.m., and then the big show, the All-American Game at 7 p.m., which will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Jordan Brand, a division of NIKE, Inc. and named after the legendary Michael Jordan, whose sneaker line is as popular today as it was during his playing days, puts on this event for the 11th year, showcasing the best amateur basketball players in the world. Many of them have gone on to become superstars in the NBA, such as Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Blake Griffin, among others. And two of the top five picks in last year’s NBA Draft were International Game alums Enes Kanter from Turkey (drafted by the Utah Jazz) and Jonas Valančiūnas from Lithuania (drafted by the Toronto Raptors).

Credit: facebook.com/jordanbrandclassic.

This year's squads in the All-American Game--there's an East team and a West team, each with 11 high school seniors from around the country--feature several members of ESPNUs top 100 players: No.1 Shabazz Muhammad (Las Vegas, NV/Undecided), No. 2 Isaiah Austin (Arlington, TX/Baylor), No. 3 Kyle Anderson (Jersey City, NJ/UCLA), and No. 4 Kaleb Tarczewski (Southborough, MA/Arizona). There are two Carolinas players on the East team: Brice Johnson, a power forward from Edisto H.S. in Cordova, SC, who's committed to UNC; and Rodeny Purvis, a point guard from Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, who's committed to N.C. State.

If you want to see more talent from within the state, the Regional Game will showcase the top high school seniors from North Carolina. The players for the international and national teams are scheduled to arrive in Charlotte tomorrow, and will begin practicing Thursday. As was the case last year, I'm sure they'll make appearances around the city over the next few days. The best way to keep up with their movements is to follow Jordan Brand Classic on Twitter @JordanClassic. Plus, rapper Fabolous is scheduled to perform after the national game, and you can expect to see plenty of other celebrities in attendance.

And then, there are the shoes. The national team will wear the Air Jordan 2012 Deluxe on the court in special East and West team editions. The West team will wear a team orange/cool grey colorway while the East team will wear a university blue/white-obsidian colorway. Both sneakers feature the Jordan Brand Classic logo on the tongue. These special editions go on sale tomorrow, for a suggested retail price of $223.

Tickets to the Jordan Brand Classic can be purchased, from $10 to $125, on Ticketmaster. For more details, visit www.jordanbrandclassic.com.

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Thanks for the Bobcats Support, Cam! But Umm...

It was a great turnout of celebrity support tonight for the Charlotte Bobcats' season-opening win at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Among the big names in attendance at Time Warner Cable Arena in Uptown were New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and Carolina Panthers star rookie quarterback Cam Newton.

Stars align: Cam Newton sits next to Bobcats owner Michael Jordan at Monday's game. 
[photo via @McBeastie_]

I'm sure the Bobcats front office hopes that Cam will come out to home games all season. But I'm sure they--as well as plenty of Charlotteans--hope he doesn't make the same fashion faux pas again. Mr. Yes We Cam wore a Charlotte Hornets snapback hat to the game. I'm sure he did it more as a fashion statement and probably wanted to pay homage to Charlotte's sports history, but someone in his circle should bring him up to speed quickly about how the Hornets' legacy is still a touchy subject in Charlotte.

Even nine years after the Hornets relocated to New Orleans following then-owner George Shinn's ugly split with the city of Charlotte, and seven years after the Bobcats team was born thanks to the NBA granting the city a new franchise quickly, many locals still decry the lost of Charlotte's original NBA team. This includes some who were okay with the Hornets leaving, but wanted the name to stay so that the future franchise would've been called Charlotte Hornets again, similar to what happened with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL in the 1990s. Personally, I've always felt that the Bobcats--name and presence--have represented a fresh start that should be embraced, and it's good to see newcomers like Cam showing their support. Just don't wear anymore Hornets gear, buddy.

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Michael Jordan, Charlie Sheen: Who's Really Winning?

Unless you don't have a TV or Internet access or have been avoiding public interaction, you know about Charlie Sheen's antics/meltdown of the last couple of months. And as people have been fascinated with watching Sheen's train wreck, one of the few things that was actually funny was his seemingly made-up-on-the-spot catchphrases, of which the most popular has been "winning." So when Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan said the word this week in response to an off-putting question about Sheen, "winning" took on even more connotations.

A scene from one of the Hanes TV commercials Michael Jordan and Charlie Sheen starred in together a couple of years ago.

The Charlotte Observer published a series of articles this week about the Bobcats and how their season went, which ended Wednesday night. Earlier that day, Jordan engaged in an hour-long Q&A with reporters and editors from the Observer. He doesn't grant a lot of interviews, but when he does he seems to make himself available in a way that says "ask me all your questions now because it'll be another few months before I talk to you again." While I give him credit for talking to local media more during this past year of him being the team's majority owner than he did the previous four years when he owned a small percentage of the team and ran basketball operations, I think he should grant even more interviews because he's usually candid in a way that fans appreciate and addresses the concerns they might have. Plus, when he talks, he lessens the need for the speculation that surrounds any team.

Here are links to a couple of the Observer stories that came out of their interview with Jordan:

• "Boss says Bobcats can be a destination," by Tom Sorensen
• "Committed to team? You bet. Cheap? NO," by Rick Bonnell

It's in the Sorensen piece that the writer reveals he asked Jordan about his relationship with Charlie Sheen. Here's how he described it:

Jordan is the equalizer. The Jordan brand fills the boardroom. Jordan is charismatic and glib and sounds committed. If he’s acting, he’s too good for a Hanes commercial with Charlie Sheen.

Speaking of which – the bond between Michael and Charlie in the Hanes commercial was more than acting. Human beings are not capable of such work. No, there was something real between them. It was exciting to watch, two performers at the top of their craft.

Michael, I ask, were you surprised by Charlie’s implosions and have you reached out to him?

“I, I, I mean I don’t even know how to respond to that one,” says Jordan. “I’ve had a lot of other things on my mind – winning. So my relationship with Charlie is not one where we communicate that way. I did a commercial with him two, three years ago.”

Jordan clearly doesn't want to be associated with Sheen at this point--I don't blame him. He seems to take it in jest though as Sorensen said Jordan laughed when furthering his response by saying: "I haven’t spent any time with Charlie. Don’t put me there."

But does Jordan realize that he said "winning"? Is he sure he didn't get that from Sheen? I wonder if he said it the way Sheen does. More importantly, Jordan needs to bring some "tiger blood" to the team this offseason in the form of an exciting free agent. After a season in which the Bobcats fired their head coach, traded away their best player, and finished with a terrible record, just one year after making the playoffs for the first time in team history and leading many to believe that things were turning around, Jordan has to get it right next season. Or he risks losing fans' interest forever.

So back to the Jordan-Sheen connection. I've posted two YouTube videos below. The first is of the Hanes commercial that ran for a couple of years, showing Sheen trying to become buds with Jordan, even tossing his phone into Jordan's car. The second video is that same commercial but parodied, as someone's replaced the audio with what they humorously assert as what Sheen would say if the commercial was filmed in 2011.

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Knicks Are NBA's Most Valuable Team, LeBron Catapults Heat to 7th, Bobcats Rank 25th

Forbes recently released its annual list of the NBA's Most Valuable Teams. The headlines jumping out from the list are that the New York Knicks have overtaken the Los Angeles Lakers for the number one spot, valued at $655 million and $643 million, respectively, and that LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach has given his new team the Miami Heat the largest increase and his former team the Cleveland Cavaliers the largest decrease. The Heat are now in seventh place, valued at $425 million, up by 17 percent from last year. The Cavaliers are valued at $355 million, a whopping 26 percent drop in one year, essentially having lost one-fourth of their value. Guess we know why Dan Gilbert was so angry last summer--he knew his pockets would soon get a lot lighter.

The Charlotte Bobcats rank about where they usually are on the list, at 25th with a value of $281 million. That's a 1 percent increase from last year and that's even more of a positive when you consider that 11 of the NBA's 30 franchises saw their values decline. Coming in slightly short of being a statistical tie with the Bobcats is Charlotte's former team, the New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets are ranked 26th, valued at $280 million, and saw a 5 percent increase.

Team owner Michael Jordan speaking at the Bobcats Town Hall Meeting last fall. Photo from Bobcats.com.

The Bobcats' value of $281 million is only a little more than the $275 million Michael Jordan reportedly purchased the team for last year. But it should be noted that in describing how it determines team values, Forbes states that "our valuations sometimes differ from the amount teams have recently sold for. Our estimations are based on the team’s current economics (unless ground has been broken for a new building) and do not include the value of real estate." If you consider real estate regarding the Bobcats, the city of Charlotte owns Time Warner Cable Arena, which opened in Uptown in 2005, but the team operates and maintains the building and receives most of the revenue. This is why professional sports franchises usually covet publicly financed arenas and stadiums, though it can often be a tough sell to the public and politicians, which is why the Hornets left Charlotte, when the city wouldn't build them a new arena in the early 2000s.

I predict the Bobcats' value will increase by more when next year's list comes out. The franchise seems to be on the upswing in securing corporate sponsorships, such as its announcement earlier this month that the team had added Duke Energy as a new sponsor. Many analysts attribute Jordan's star power--number 23 still lights up a room and you'd be surprised how many CEOs want to be next to him.

For the complete list of NBA team values, according to Forbes, click here.

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Charlotte Bobcats' Social Network Challenge; Chance to Meet Michael Jordan

The Charlotte Bobcats have become quite the purveyors of social media. From their Bobcats Break blog, to their use of Facebook and Twitter, the team is connecting with fans on the 'net (and beyond the net...pun intended). The latest effort is their Social Network Challenge.

Fans can sign up through a Facebook app to compete in an online ticket sales contest to win prizes. You sell the most tickets and you could win one of these: season tickets for the 2011-2012 season, lunch with team captains Gerald Wallace and Steven Jackson, a live introduction on court during a game with the Bobcats starting line-up, a custom-made Bobcats watch party at your house with the Lady Cats, a Bobcats suite, dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, an autographed pair of Jordan Retro 11s, courtside seats; and the grand prize is an opportunity to meet Bobcats Chairman Michael Jordan and get two courtside seat tickets.

Here's how the contest works. After you register, you'll be given an exclusive link and passcode to sell tickets at a reduced rate for all the remaining regular season Bobcats games to your friends and family. You'll want to share your link and passcode on your social networks and/or via email and try to sell as many tickets as you can. The top-10 sellers get to choose one of the 10 prizes, with the top overall seller winning the chance to meet Jordan, which includes hanging out with him before a game and then you and your guest having a seat courtside. Prize selection is based on order of finish. And as motivation along the way, the first 50 entrants to sell 15 or more tickets will get two tickets to see the Bobcats play the Lakers on February 14.

You need to register by January 23, and the Bobcats organizers will send out links and passcodes soon after. You'll then have until March 21 to sell tickets and compete to win. Click here to register.

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Michael Jordan Is Taking My Advice with the Release of the Air Jordan 11 Retro at TWC Arena

Michael Jordan and his Jordan Brand are releasing the Air Jordan 11 Retro on Thursday, December 23, and it looks like MJ is taking my advice. I've written about Jordan often on here, but there's one particular post from more than two years ago that shows me he's a Grown People Talking reader (yeah, right). In August 2008 leading up to the release of his highly anticipated Jordan Six Rings sneaker, I said, "We need to have special release parties in Charlotte, signings at local sneaker stores, Jordan Brand fashion shows—something." Well, we're having "something" next Thursday.

The Jordan 11 Retro shoes will be released during a special event at the Charlotte Bobcats Team Store inside Time Warner Cable Arena (333 E. Trade St.). You'll be able to purchase a pair of the Jordan 11's while supplies last. And Bobcat players Gerald Wallace, D.J. Augustin, and just-added-to-the-event Stephen Jackson will be there signing autographs. There will also be music by DJ Complete, so it's going to be an afternoon sneaker party, y'all.

The event takes place in the main lobby at the arena (enter from the Fifth Street side), and fans/customers will be allowed to begin lining up at 12 p.m. with the shoes going on sale at 2 p.m. The players will sign autographs from 2-3 p.m. And currently, you can enter to win a pair of the Jordan 11's autographed by Jordan himself, by visiting the contest page on Facebook.

While I would like to take credit for this event, it's more likely that Jordan is doing stuff like this now that he's majority owner of the Bobcats and calling all the shots. When Bob Johnson was majority owner and Jordan had a small percentage of the team, I don't think he felt obligated to leverage so much of his brand and resources. But now with him owning more than 70 percent of the franchise, he needs to put a lot of eggs in this basket to make the venture profitable. I want to see him succeed because if he does, the team does, and so does the city.

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Recap: Charlotte Chamber 2010 Annual Meeting at NASCAR Hall of Fame

The Charlotte Chamber held its 2010 Annual Meeting last night at NASCAR Hall of Fame. I attended the event for the first time in 2008 (when Michael Jordan was honored), so I knew to look forward to a great evening. You wouldn't necessarily think that a business event such as this would be entertaining, but there's a reason 1,800 people showed up (at $75 a ticket). The Charlotte Chamber and the teams of creative people they hire to put on the event, once again gave a top-notch performance.

With the theme "Brand New Day," including an opening performance by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (I can still hear the catchy tune in my head), the annual meeting was a celebratory event after a worrisome last couple of years for people in all levels of business. The Chamber touted the number of companies it helped relocate to, expand, or open new offices in Charlotte during the past year, and the number of new jobs created as a result--4,400--reminding us of the big announcements that came in 2010 from Husqvarna, Electrolux, Siemens, Fifth/Third, and others.

And there was another big announcement, saved especially for the event. Shaw Power Group's CEO took the stage and announced that his company would be adding 225 jobs in Charlotte, 80 percent of those being engineering jobs with an average salary of $95,000. The audience was instructed to ring the little gold bells that were placed in our seats. The ringing of the bells was to mirror a practice that has become a tradition at the Chamber whenever a new business announcement is made.

The evening also featured the passing of the gavel from the 2010 Chamber chair, David Darnell of Bank of America, to 2011 chair Pat Rodgers of Rodgers Builders. Carolinas HealthCare System was given the Belk Innovation in Diversity Award. And Leon and Sandra Levine were honored with the Citizen of the Carolinas Award. As the founder of Family Dollar, Leon Levine has amassed a fortune, and he and his wife have given a lot of it away to charities, the arts, and education.

Perhaps the best thing about the program is that it only lasted an hour. So the crowd quickly got to the food. If you've ever been to the Annual Meeting, you know the food offerings are always spectacular. I was actually a little embarrassed as I walked through the crowd with a plate that looked like I didn't want to have to get up for seconds. Complimentary drinks made the cycle complete.

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Michael Jordan Returns to Basketball This Fall

While NBA free agency news and anticipation is almost at a fever pitch, Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan grabbed headlines today as well. But the Bobcats aren't expected to do much in the free agency hunt this summer. M.J. returned today as number 23, in his old Chicago Bulls uniform, as 2K Sports unveiled the cover of the upcoming game in its series, NBA 2K11.

NBA 2K11 will be released for all major video game platforms on October 5, but 2K Sports has yet to reveal what Jordan's character will be like, though they're touting that this will be "the best basketball game that's ever been put out." For more info, visit www.2ksports.com/games/nba2k11.

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Is Michael Jordan Helping LeBron James Find a House?

That question itself is the product of one of the latest (and most unlikely) rumors surrounding LeBron James' upcoming decision as to where he'll play basketball next season. But not only is it not confirmed as to whether or not Michael Jordan was helping James house hunt, Charlotteans need not get excited because the rumor places the scene in Chicago's ritzy Highland Park suburb. Which means the rumor was probably started by some Chicago Bulls fan.

A couple of Chicago Tribune reporters looked into the rumor and in the process they report on an interesting actual fact: former Carolina Panther Julius Pepper, who now plays for the Chicago Bears, recently purchased B.J. Armstrong's Highland Park home. Click here to read more.

Not much has been reported over the years as to what kind of relationship Jordan and James actually have, though the younger 23 has made it clear the respect he has for the legend and how much he idolized him growing up. If you'll recall, James announced at the beginning of this season that he would be switching his jersey number from 23 to 6 out of respect for how much Jordan means to the NBA and how he revolutionized the way people play--and the way we view--the game of basketball.

Since NBA free agency doesn't open until July 1, we can expect several more rumors, speculation, and "sightings" of LeBron James in the coming weeks. Charles Barkley said on TV the other day that he's sick of all the LeBron talk. I think it's fun. There hasn't been a potential player move this big since Babe Ruth was "sold" from the Red Sox to the Yankees. I was at a social event last night and some friends and I were joking about what it would take to lure James to Charlotte to play for the Bobcats. Such comments made were: "They would have to pay him more than the NBA would allow." "Jordan would have to give him future ownership stake in the team." "He'd have to at least give him ownership stake in Nike." Last week, a friend of mine even started a Facebook page called "Why LeBron Should Play For Charlotte!" And let's not forget, last month New York Times columnist William Rhoden wrote a column titled "Want to Make an Impact? Join Jordan," in which he surprisingly stated his case for James to play for the Bobcats.

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Read About It: Tiger, M.J., Skipper

The Quail Hollow Championship tees off in Charlotte next week, and everybody's abuzz now that Tiger Woods has committed to play in the tournament. It's going to be interesting to see what the atmosphere is like--how composed is Tiger, will the fans behave, are the paparazzi going to set up camp? I can only think back on better days, like when Tiger came here and won the tournament in 2007. That week was memorable from start to finish, beginning with Tiger's famous pairing with Michael Jordan and Skipper Beck in the Wednesday Pro-Am.

In the April 21-27 issue of Creative Loafing, you can read my cover story, "Quail Hollow Trilogy: The paths (and downfalls) of Tiger, M.J. and Skipper," where I chronicle how the lives of the golf great, basketball legend, and astute businessman have changed immensely since that fateful spring day. Click here.

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Michael Jordan's Open Letter to Charlotte

New Charlotte Bobcats majority owner Michael Jordan wrote an open letter to Charlotte and it was published inside of an advertisement that ran in The Charlotte Observer yesterday. In this letter, Jordan has chosen the right words. And by now owning 80 percent of the Bobcats after officially buying majority ownership from Bob Johnson last week, he has clearly put his money ($275 million) where his mouth is. It's time for Charlotte and this city's basketball fans to support MJ and this NBA franchise. But more on that later...

Click on the image below to see Jordan's letter.

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5 Reasons Why We're Better Off with Michael Jordan as the Bobcats' Owner

News broke a few days ago that Michael Jordan has until the end of this month to get together the funds to buy the Charlotte Bobcats. It's been known for almost a year that majority owner Bob Johnson, who owns a little more than 70 percent of the team, has been trying to sell it. And for the past few months, George Postolos, a businessman and former president of the Houston Rockets, has been the leading contender to buy the team. It's speculated that Postolos and his group of investors have put together an offer that Johnson is ready to accept. But Jordan, who is a minority owner of the Bobcats (I'm guessing about 10 percent) and managing member of basketball operations, reportedly has first right of refusal, which is how the timeline for him to match Postolos's offer came about.


Here are five reasons why Charlotte would be better off having Michael Jordan as the Bobcats' majority owner than George Postolos.

• Name recognition. I don't care what anyone says, that matters. The average person doesn't know who George Postolos is, while the average person in a Third World country knows Jordan. People in Charlotte would rather brag that Michael Jordan owns their team.
• All politics is local: One of the biggest gripes since Jordan bought a stake in the Bobcats in 2006 and became their top executive is that he doesn't spend enough time in Charlotte. That was the same complaint about Bob Johnson. Well, not only has Jordan gotten more involved over the past year and a half and is in town more, how much more present do you think the guy from Texas is going to be?
• If Postolos buys the team, he's said that he will likely replace the top executives. Any new owner who has put up hundreds of millions of dollars would want to put his own people in place, so that's understandable. But the last thing the Bobcats need is another group of executives who have to learn how Charlotte works. Postolos might have a strong history as an NBA executive, but what the Bobcats need is someone who is going to get more people in SouthPark, University, Dilworth, Myers Park, Ballantyne, Uptown, Gastonia, Concord, Huntersville, and Rock Hill to come to more games. Jordan and his group of execs, while not the most successful at it thus far, have a few years of groundwork under their belts.
• If Postolos comes, then Jordan's out, which means Larry Brown leaves. Brown has said repeatedly that the reason he took the Bobcats head coaching job is because of M.J. He's also at times said that he's asked Jordan to be around more, to which I think Jordan has obliged. The Bobcats can't afford to lose the coach who in his first year led them to a franchise record in wins, and in his second has them headed for the playoffs.
• Jordan has extreme ties to North Carolina. He grew up in Wilimington, played college ball in Chapel Hill, and for the past four years has been a part-time resident of Charlotte (one of his brothers live here also). When I saw Jordan accept an award from the Charlotte Chamber in the fall of 2008, he talked about his North Carolina roots. It's important that the top guy at one of our important institutions has that. We just lost that at one of the institutions up the street from where the Bobcats play.

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Happy Birthday Anthony Hamilton; Good Luck at the Grammys!

R&B singer Anthony Hamilton is celebrating his birthday today and he has a lot to be thankful for. I sent A-Ham a text this morning wishing him a happy b-day and asking him how things are going.

"This is an amazing day for me," he replied. "It's my birthday and I'm in L.A. readying for my party tonight that Brand Jordan and Michael are throwing for me. God is great."

So not only is Michael Jordan throwing a party tonight for Hamilton, 39, but this is a busy week for the Charlotte native. This is Grammy Week, which means there are tons of celebrity and music industry events going on in Los Angeles leading up to Sunday's show (8 p.m., CBS).


Hamilton, who won his first ever Grammy last year after receiving several nominations over the years, is nominated for three Grammy Awards this year:

-Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "The Point Of It All," the title track from his latest album.

-Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for "Soul Music," the song he performed on the Soul Men Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

-Best R&B Album for The Point Of It All.

You can see a full list of Grammy categories and nominations by visiting www.grammy.com/nominees.

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Olympics Don't Pick Chicago; Jordan Chooses Charlotte

President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, millions of Chicagoans, and Americans everywhere are licking their wounds after Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games was rejected yesterday. I was actually watching live coverage on CNN when Chicago was eliminated. Later that day, Rio de Janeiro was chosen as the host city. (I'm predicting now that the USA's usually dominant men's basketball team will not when gold in 2016 because they will be distracted by all the sights of beautiful Brazilian women.) So the star-studded, politically powerful caravan led by Obama and Oprah wasn't enough to impress the International Olympic Committee. Some have criticized another famous Chicago figure--Michael Jordan--for not taking the trip to Copenhagen to present to the IOC.

But Jordan had something more important to do this week: Attend the opening of the Charlotte Bobcats training camp. People, ranging from Charlotte sports fans to national sports writers, have often criticized Jordan for what they consider not enough hands-on involvement with the team. Last year, USA Today scolded him for attending a celebrity-filled celebration in Dubai for the opening of an exclusive resort ("USA Today Disses Jordan for Ditching Bobcats") when they say new head coach Larry Brown needed him. Jordan is a part owner, and as managing member of basketball operations he calls the shots.


Still, and as I have detailed often on this blog, including after I saw Jordan speak at a Charlotte Chamber event last year, he has a lot of obligations. Well, this week he made the Bobcats his top priority. At a time when his loyal Chicago Bulls fans needed him and his country's Olympic hopes rested on the shoulders of powerful people like him, he chose Charlotte. And for that, I think we should say thank you.

Thank you MJ.

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Happy Birthday Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan turns 46 years old today. He's no longer turning heads on the basketball court, but spends much of his time today trying to turn around the Charlotte Bobcats franchise. Even when he turns 96, I'll still see him as the high-flying, tongue-wagging, greatest basketball player to ever live. I see him the way older people view players like Julius Erving and Bill Russell.

It'll be interesting to see where Jordan's life takes him now that his playing days are solidly behind him. That's the thing about being a professional athlete, you retire at such a young age compared to most people. I remember reading as a kid how Jordan would rank at the top of lists of the world's most recognizable people. I think he would only be behind a handful of people like the Pope, the U.S. president, and Michael Jackson. One of my friend's sister teaches first grade and she was talking about Jordan one day in class and none of the six year-olds knew who he was. I'm sure they will in a couple of years, but I'm also fairly certain that they know who Kobe Bryant is right now.

The Bobcats play at Orlando tonight, then at home against Indiana tomorrow. Go show your support for MJ's team and he could very well be in attendance. Then, if you're lucky, you might spot him out at a nightclub later. I recently wrote a magazine article on the best night spots in Charlotte for celebrity sightings and Jordan's name popped up several times during my reporting.

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