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ESPN will have a 30 for 30 airing on August 24 about Michael Jordan's decision to play baseball back in 1993.

And reading the summary (http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/media- ... maries2/#E) from ESPN, it would seem that the angle of the documentary is how majestic and wonderful it was that Jordan walked away from the game of basketball to do the noble thing and fulfill a childhood dream to play baseball.

This is what I'm talking about. If LeBron James had decided a few weeks instead of signing with the Heat, that he was going to sign with Cleveland Browns, he would be villified and lampooned by the media. But not Michael Jordan.

Maybe this doc will enlighten to previously unknown details about Jordan's decision to quit basketball and play baseball instead. As I understand the death of his father had a lot to do with it.

But the point is if you were to replicate the circumstances, do you think today's media would be as forgiving (and revering) to any superstar today as they were 17 years ago?

Yes Pudge, it would be huge if LBJ decided to play football. It would drive the ESPN Sports machine and all other sports shows 24/7. Because The NFL is 10 times more popular than the NBA. People would be falling out of their chairs wanting to see the game where LBJ puts on pads and goes onto the field to wreck havoc, just like the commercial. MJ going to play baseball wasn't that big of a deal to baseball fans, because it was clear he sucked at it.

I thought MJ had already one at least one championship before he moved onto baseball. Lebron hasn't done that yet and in the media's eye it does make a difference. Once you win one chammpionship you've reached the mountain top.I don't know how many championships Jordan won before going to baseball but it must have been a few. This is why Jordan wasn't villified he's already been to the mountain top.

Jordan was huge back then when he decided to go to baseball so I think we would get the same kind of media attention. In all this Lebron talk why isn't Kobe talked more about since he's only 1 championship away from equaling Jordan?

Jordan won 3 straight championships before deciding to play baseball. And it does make a difference in the perception of finished vs. unfinished business.

But I think if past players were held to today's media scrutiny that today's players have to deal with, they would not hold up nearly as well.

Easy answer, he had already won 3 in a row, was completely dominating the nba, like no other player I've ever seen (or prob will for that matter). I think he wanted a new challenge to some degree. But really, you're forgetting that this was the same time his dad got murdered, can you really imagine going through that b/c of your fame? I think he wanted to take a looooooooooooooong step back from the NBA scene, and the minor leagues provided him a temporary haven. Once he didn't excel in that, he came back for that late season push, but it was too late that year. Then, he comes back like hell on wheels the following and proceeds to win another 3 titles. Right back to completely dominating the sport, except this time he altered his game to some degree b/c of his age. I've not seen an athlete adjust his game as well as Jordan as he aged, to still dominate, just is slightly different ways. He basically went from dunking on you, to killing you w/ that turnaround unblockable fadeaway that Kobe copies now.

You're not wrong about LBJ if it was him, but you're also completely forgetting about the dad angle. Makes the situation actually pretty different for me.

I'm not forgetting about the dad angle. From what I understand it, in dealing with his grief over his dad's death, MJ seemingly asked himself "What would be my father's dying wish?" and somehow managed to get "See me play baseball like he really enjoyed when i was 10 years old."

And I'm just saying that if you applied the same circumstances to any player (LBJ or another) today: 3 rings, parental death, and decision to play another sport, it wouldn't hold up as well with today's media as it did with the media of 15 years ago.

Today's media is a completely different animal than the one that existed 15-20 years ago. I mean, would Charles Barkley be as beloved if he played under today's scrutiny? Barkley would be like T.O. times 10.

It's just I've noticed how much media attention has been devoted to how much LeBron James is not Michael Jordan in the past few months, when the fact remains that he is still going to be a HOFer when all is said and done, and 99% of the basketball-viewing world agrees that he's one of the Top 3 players in the league today.

Jordan is better than LeBron, but he definitely has never had a coach like Phil Jackson who understands matchups, Mo Williams is the only other all-star player he's had with him (i.e. Pippen-like partner), and he plays in a guard-dominated league when Jordan played in a center-dominated league.

I'd bet that Jordan if he had Big Z and Mo Williams as his main running mates thus far in his career, and Mike Brown as his coach would also have ZERO championships just like LeBron if he were to play today.

These things make a huge difference to me in the two situations. LBJ never won anything for Cleveland, and you're playing to win championships. Thats why Cle is so mad, how will they possibly win a title for the next decade? Also, LBJ's biggest scruitiny, the decision, Jordan's was his dad gettig murdered b/c of HIS fame. REALLY different foundations, but I see how they're comparible on a dominating skill level, basketballwise. Jordan had at least good reasons to step away, he had accomplished something and had a tradegy. LBJ is still trying to accomplish his first title, and his biggest challenge was his own contrived "decision show", not his father being murdered. Again, thats just a big fundamental diff imho.

At the same time, you're 1000% right about todays media. Esp about say a Barkley. The internet, blogs, 14 espn's, nfl network, nba channel, big 10 network, recruiting coverage tothe inth degree, blowing up all of CFB for tv money, the desicion, tmz trying to become a rival and now twitter. Another reason I agree is say the UNC situation w/ Austin, the main reasons he's gonna get hammered is b/c of the internet and social media. Now he was stupid engh to shoot himself in the foot, but this is todays world. Worst part is, how does this EVER GET BETTER??

I probably disagree on Jordan never winning a title, he earned his lumps by banging heads w/ Detroit. The only sidekick he ever had was Pippen, but I do agree LBJ hasn't even had that much. But at the same time, who else, a bunch of journeymen centers and spot up 3 pt shooters. I think Jordan would have also won w/o Jackon, nobody considers he's always alwasys had superior talent. Jordan, Shaq, Kobe and fairly loaded teams for their time period. Coaching is critical, but nobody wins w/o talent. Its not the X's nd Ox, its the Johnny and Joe's.

I don't recall or know all the details of Michael Jordan's father's death, but my recollection is that he was killed randomly, not because he was who he was. The person who carjacked and murdered him did so think he was just some regular old person. I could of course be wrong...

And I'm not talking about Cleveland being mad. They have every reason to be pissed off. I'm talking about more than national media and some of James more outspoken critics, and people talking up the notion that "Jordan, Magic, or Bird would have never went to Miami because they didn't need to."

I'm sure if Bird and Magic ever got the opportunity to play together, they would have done so at the drop of a hat. And Jordan didn't leave Chicago because he had no reason to leave. They were winning. They didn't have piss-poor coaching and poor management while he was there, or at least they didn't have that 7 years into his career.

And you're right, Jordan wasn't surrounded by the greatest talent in the world. But again, I point out that the NBA from 1980-1995 was a center-dominated league. The only shooting guards of Jordan's caliber that he played against were Clyde Drexler, Mitch Richmond, and Reggie Miller. He didn't have to play against guys like Kobe, Wade, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, T-Mac, Sprewell, Stackhouse, Rip Hamilton, and a plethora of other quality wingmen that have populated the league over the past 10-15 years. Brad Daugherty was a 2nd tier center back in the day, but if he played today he would probably be right up there with Duncan and Howard as the best big men today.

And Pippen and Ho Grant are much better than anything James has played with. And while Phil Jackson may be overrated, he's 100x the coach that Mike Brown is.

But the point is not to say that James is as good as Jordan. He's not. And it's not to say that if you put LBJ on those Bulls teams of the early 90s that they would win it all either.

The point is they are different eras, and when people try to compare them things start to get all screwy. Basketball is the only major sport that seems to do this. We don't do this for baseball and football. And when we do compare a current player to a past one, it's almost always said as a praise rather than as a put down about how he is not that player. In basketball, we'll say he's the next Jordan or the next Bill Russell, and then as soon as he fails to live up to those standards we shoot him down.

If LeBron had gone to the Browns people would love it. Jordan going to the Barons was just sort of a whatever-you-want'birthday-boy kind of maneuver by the Bulls management. They knew it wouldn't last. When Bo Jackson signed with Royals rather than Tampa who had drafted him I think people were quite more intrigued as well as Deion and the Braves. It really made those guys' legends greater. As BB says, Jordan was a more petulant situation. I probably watched Jordan play three games in basketball at most. His main exposure to America was selling batteries, sports drinks and underwear.