ENOUGH ALREADY!
     ESPN's Sportscenter dissects every single performance. Turner Sports or NBC-TV make it a point to point every ounce of our attention to everything he does. Less than two weeks into the NBA regular season, I'm about ready to break away from the Michael Jordan overload that dominates everything associated with the Association.
     Especially because the focus may be on the wrong Michael.
     The man is 38 years old now. A mere mortal in a league of aerial acrobats like Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. What's more, he looks more mortal everytime I see him. He's hoisting jumper after jumper for a BAD TEAM. Every bit of exposure he gets means the Washington Wizards come along in tow, which provides his audience with a night of BAD BASKETBALL.
     The Wiz have allowed more points than they've scored, hit just 42 percent of their shots and are being outrebounded by 4 boards a game...BAD BASKETBALL.
     To date, we've been force fed three of their five games on national television because No. 23 now wears their gear. This team will not make the playoffs. Is it really entertaining to watch Jordan, a shadow of the player who soared to 6 NBA titles as a Bull, now scuffle to keep up athletically with the league's young guns just to keep his team reasonably competitive? The man's hitting just 40 percent of his shots, attempting more than a quarter of the shots being taken by his team. It is forced theatre (as it was opening night when Jordan missed 14 of the 21 shots he took at Madison Square Garden in a loss to the Knicks) to continue propping up the legacy pretending that history has a prayer of repeating itself.
     Was there an intriguing curiosity to get a glimpse of what Mike had in store during this comeback? Yes. I've seen enough for now.
     The breathtaking air of yesteryear is gone from Jordan's game. Now it's Jumpers-R-Mike. I don't need to see every single fade-away continue to catch more iron than net because Jordan doesn't have the legs or dominant spring he once did. Frankly, watching Jordan's competitive juices turn to humbling frustration isn't real enjoyable. It's no fun watching a living legend flounder. As Paul Pierce of the Celtics taught Jordan Wednesday night by blocking two of his predictable wing jump shots late in the game to preserve a Boston win, the game no longer belongs to only Mike -- NOR SHOULD THE STAGE.
     Network TV execs do today's blossoming greats a disservice with the All-Mike-All-The-Time approach. Shaq, Kobe, the Answer, Vinsanity, Zo, KG, Tim Duncan, Dirk and their contending teams deserve an occasional look. Or better still let's truly feature the best this league has to offer TODAY and provide only an occasional look at Mike, who's a one-man show on a team that can only dream of finishing .500.
     For my money, in the team sport that is the NBA, the Mike that wears No. 4 in Dallas is the more worthy Mike to watch because it's Mike and his upstart, exciting Mavs. Now, THAT'S enjoyable basketball!