books Did fairly well on a beta test (187 questions, 4 hours allotted), managed to leave with an hour to spare. The main reason I took it was to get the fleece jacket awarded to those who pass. After, went to the library to pick up some books. Nothing too literary, Phil Jackson's book ripping Kobe and three other books on Michael Jordan(Playing for Keeps, One Last Shot, When Nothing Else Matters). One dealing with his successful career which was published in 1999. The more interesting ones are the two concerning his final comeback with the Wizards. Jordan is, perhaps, more fascinating as the bad guy who rips teammates even as he is hobbled by a bad knee in the final days of his career. I enjoyed reading Sam Smith's The Jordan Rules, and this book is perhaps more interesting since it deals with the twilight of MJ's career. Just reading about the day-to-day situations, flow during the actual games, the fact that his knee was screwed up the whole time and he kept it from the media, going up against pierce, t-mac, etc.

Kwame was his potential nightmare. Kwame might be his Ishtar. Kwame, he knew, might be the only thing people remembered of his executive days, if they weren't all careful. Why couldn't the kid handle the ball? he asked people in his entourage. Was it just his imagination, he asked, or did Kwane's hands look small? What the hell was happening?

Hehe. Kwame does have small hands. There's also more dirt where he spends all night gambling at the Mohegan Sun. Losing close to 500k before ending up winning money (think $15k blackjack bets). All this and I'm only a hundred pages in. In spite of all thats out there, his enduring image remains the greatest basketball player of all time.

EDIT: Almost done with the first book. The main point the book makes is that MJ's indomitable will to win forced a lot of his mistakes (playing injured, ripping teammates). This and that Doug Collins was his personal beeeyatch. The main thing that resonates with me (again) is the importance of time (and not wasting it). Jordan lamented not playing those years after the 2nd retirement.

Anyways I resolve to be nicer and more humble :p His shoes are still the $hit.  ¶ 6:37 PM