Browsing: Michael

Was the most nervous shot at a Ryder Cup a basketball shot?

Maybe, maybe not. To decide that, the ball’s in your court, so to say. But the shooter did say he hadn’t felt nerves like he did that day in a while.

And that shooter was also Michael Jordan.

The story comes via the first night of NBC’s coverage of the NBA, on a segment featuring Jordan and announcer Mike Tirico called “MJ: Insights to Excellence.” The exchange can be found by clicking on the video below, and below that will be some additional thoughts.

Michael Jordan was nervous over a free throw at a Ryder Cup?

He said he was. The story started when Tirico asked him when was the last time he’d picked up a basketball.

Said Jordan: “I haven’t picked up a ball in years.”

Said Tirico: “No, come on. Just like walk past. There’s got to be a hoop somewhere at your place.”

Said Jordan: “You don’t see a hoop anywhere around here, right?”

Said Tirico: “I don’t. So seriously, the last time you picked up a basketball and shot it?”

After a pause, Jordan said that came at a Ryder Cup. [He didn’t say which one, though; Jordan has been to several.]

Here is how the shot came about:

“I rented a house from the owner,” Jordan said. “He came over to do pictures. He had grandkids. And I was meet-and-greet and thank him for allowing me to stay in the house, and he had a basketball court. He says, ‘I want you to shoot one free throw.’ I said, ‘Really?’ Now, I already paid for the house; it’s not like he got to see me.

“So when I stepped up to shoot the free throw, that’s the most nervous I’ve been in years.”

Really? Why?

“Those kids heard the stories from the parents about what I did 30 years ago,” Jordan said. “So their expectation is 30 years prior and I haven’t touched a basketball.”

Good point. Here on the segment, Tirico asked if Jordan swished the shot.

“Absolutely,” Jordan said. “I got the most gratifying of that — that made my whole week is that I was able to please that kid not knowing if I could.”

The takeaway: We’d love to see a picture or video of this moment. If you’re reading this and are the owner of the house, please email the writer at nick.piastowski@golf.com.

Were there any more insights from Jordan?

There were. Tirico wondered if Jordan still loved the game of basketball — and Jordan said “love it like you wouldn’t believe.”

“In all honesty,” he continued, “I wish I can take a magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball today because that’s who I am. That type of competition, that type of competitiveness is what I live for. And I miss it. I miss that aspect of playing the game of basketball, being able to challenge myself against what people see as great basketball.

“But it’s better for me to be sitting here talking to you as opposed to popping my Achilles and I’m in a wheelchair for a while.”

Said Tirico: “But it’s nice to be able to share the things that can still make the game great going forward from your perspective.”

Said Jordan: “Yeah. I think one of the things why I did this [the interview] is as professional athletes, we have an obligation to pay it forward. That’s part of what this is all about is to pay it forward.”

The takeaway: The Jordan Q&A should make for an interesting watch, for sure.

Oct 21, 2025, 09:55 PM ET

Michael Jordan made his debut as a special contributor to NBC Sports’ return to NBA broadcasting on Tuesday night, saying he’s doing so as a way to give back to basketball.

Jordan, speaking to NBC play-by-play voice Mike Tirico in the first installment of a series the network is calling “MJ: Insights to Excellence,” said he makes a conscious decision to prioritize time with family over being seen more in the public eye.

That said, he also acknowledged a desire to “pay it forward.”

“I have an obligation to the game of basketball … as a basketball player is to be able to pass on messages of success and dedication to the game of basketball,” Jordan said during a segment at halftime of the season-opening game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

Jordan’s presence was part of a night in which NBC — back in the NBA broadcasting game for the first time in more than 20 years — delicately blended the present with the past. The opening intro included some players from this era being asked for their memories of when the game was on NBC, and of course, many of them didn’t have any since they either weren’t born yet or were very young.

John Tesh’s famed “Roundball Rock” — the soundtrack that was NBC’s NBA theme music through 2002 — was back. And with some help from artificial intelligence, so was the voice of the late Jim Fagan, a longtime NBC Sports narrator who was part of those NBA broadcasts a generation ago.

Jordan starred in plenty of those games. Now, he’ll talk during some.

At 62, Jordan — a six-time NBA champion, a Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest player ever — said the competitive fire that he was famous for still burns but that he rarely touches a basketball anymore. He rented a home when he was watching the Ryder Cup and the owner, whose grandchildren were there, got Jordan to agree to some photos and asked him to shoot one free throw on the court that was on the property.

Jordan got nervous — more nervous, he said, than he had been “in years.”

“The reason being is those kids heard the stories from the parents about what I did 30 years ago,” Jordan said. “So, their expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched a basketball.”

“I hope you swished it,” Tirico said.

“Absolutely,” Jordan replied. “That made my whole week.”

NBC said the next installment of Jordan’s conversation with Tirico would air Oct. 28 and that one of the next topics covered would be load management.

“I wish I could take a magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball today because that’s who I am,” Jordan said. “That type of competition, that type of competitiveness is what I live for, and I miss it. I miss that aspect of playing the game of basketball, being able to challenge myself against what people see as great basketball. But it’s better for me to be sitting here talking to you as opposed to popping my Achilles and I’m in a wheelchair for a while.”

Source link

• 

  Dan HajduckyOct 21, 2025, 02:37 PM ET

  Close

  Dan Hajducky is a staff writer for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities.

An “aftermarket” signed 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card has sold in a private sale via Goldin Auctions for $2.7 million. According to the auction house, it’s a record paid for a card with an “aftermarket” signature.

“Aftermarket” signed cards are autographed outside the chain of card production; physically autographed cards are either hard signed directly onto the surface, signed onto a hologram sticker which is later placed onto the card’s surface, or embedded as cut signatures — autographs cut from documents such as checks.

The 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card was one of the nine signed by Jordan “in private with witnesses†at a 2024 signing. Photos Courtesy of Goldin Auctions

Because of Jordan’s longtime exclusive deal with Upper Deck, signed Jordan rookie cards were hard to find for decades outside the 23 copies Jordan signed for a 2006 20th anniversary buyback Upper Deck promotion. But Jordan has recently started to do private signings, including on the Fleer rookie card, which are still considered rare.

Goldin Auctions founder and CEO Ken Goldin confirmed through a representative that the card — graded a PSA Mint 9 with a 10 autograph grade — was one of the nine signed by Jordan “in private with witnesses” at a 2024 signing.

Another card from that signing (one of three PSA 9s; the remaining six received 10 grades from PSA and, as of June, haven’t surfaced publicly) sold via Joopiter, Pharell Williams’ auction house, for $2.5 million in late June. Goldin also confirmed to ESPN that this $2.7 million Jordan is not a reselling of the $2.5 million Joopiter card.

“Signed rookie cards of greatest-of-all-time athletes, like Michael Jordan, represent the pinnacle of sports collectibles,” Goldin said in a statement. “This record-breaking sale is a testament not only to Jordan’s enduring legacy but also to the recognition of aftermarket-signed cards […].”

Source link

Shohei Ohtani ended his playoff slump in spectacular fashion on Friday night, hitting three homers and striking out 10 in six innings in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

As the Dodgers are trending toward becoming a dynasty, Mookie Betts invoked Michael Jordan’s name to describe Ohtani’s historic performance on Friday night.

“It’s like we’re the Chicago Bulls,” Betts told reporters after the game, “and he’s Michael Jordan.”

The Jordan comparison might actually be underselling how amazing Ohtani’s feat in this game was. His stat line is one that has never been accomplished in the history of Major League Baseball.

Even more fitting is Ohtani did that at the same time his postseason struggles were starting to draw scrutiny. He did have a very un-Ohtani-like slash line of .202/.336/.384 in 25 playoff games dating back to last season, though some of his 2024 numbers were impacted by a torn labrum suffered in Game 2 of the World Series that required offseason surgery.

Whatever issues Ohtani was having at the plate, it didn’t impact what he was doing on the mound. His first playoff pitching performance in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies saw him allow three runs on three hits with nine strikeouts in six innings.

The Dodgers have steamrolled their way through the NL to reach the Fall Classic for a second consecutive year. They are 10-1 in the postseason with wins over the Brewers, Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

Ohtani and the Dodgers will await the winner of the ALCS between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 24.

Source link

On Thursday, journalist Pablo Torre reported that North Carolina general manager Michael Lombardi traveled to Saudi Arabia in August to fundraise for the program.

Later in the day, UNC vice chancellor for communications Dean Stoyer confirmed as much to Brendan Marks and Christopher Kamrani of The Athletic.

Stoyer called it an “exploratory fundraising trip” and said it came “at the invitation of the Saudis,” per that report. It was not funded by university or athletic department funds but rather by the Saudi government, and it did not result any sort of agreement, though Marks and Kamrani reported it was unknown if further communication has taken place.

Per that report, “Lombardi’s trip is not the first time in recent years that North Carolina has explored alternative revenue streams to subsidize its athletic department. According to public records obtained by The Athletic, athletic director Bubba Cunningham had several meetings in 2023 with private equity firms ‘regarding all things college athletics, revenue generation, and conference realignment,’ according to one email thread. Cunningham and UNC ultimately opted not to move forward with any such negotiations after preliminary discussions.”

Marks and Camrani also noted that Colorado assistant coach Trevor Reilly bankrolled his own trip to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Dubai last year to seek out potential foreign state investors.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund has continued to involve itself in athletics across the globe, bankrolling LIV Golf and owning the English Premier League’s Newcastle United, among other ventures. It is also buying video game company Electronic Arts, alongside two other investors, for $55 billion.

The PIF’s various entries into the world of sports has come under heavy criticism, however, for being a sportswashing program aimed at sanitizing Saudi Arabia’s human-rights violations.

Source link

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama named former franchise legend Tim Duncan as part of the best NBA starting lineup of all time.

Wembanyama listed the Hall of Famer alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal when describing his all-time starting five at the 12:40 mark of Tuesday’s episode of LOL Network’s Cold As Balls with Kevin Hart.

The episode aired after Wembanyama debated in September on a live Q&A broadcast on the Spurs’ Instagram whether Duncan or Kobe Bryant would be ranked higher on the NBA’s all-time list.

Duncan, who won two MVP awards and five NBA titles during his legendary 19-year career with the Spurs, has reportedly been involved in Wembanyama’s development since the franchise drafted the star in 2023.

Wembanyama, who missed the end of the 2024-25 season following the diagnosis of a blood clot in his right shoulder in February, has reportedly gained both height and weight while training for his return. ESPN’s Michael C. Wright reports that he has also “added upper- and lower-body strength” ahead of his age-22 campaign.

The 7-foot-4 center will look to follow in Duncan’s footsteps by leading the Spurs back to postseason contention, starting with next Wednesday’s season opener against the host Dallas Mavericks.

Source link

Although O’Neill resigned in April 2020 to take charge of Stoke, his absence lasted only 28 internationals and he returned to the post in December 2022.

The group to which he returned, however, was radically different to the one he left.

Injury ended the international careers of Steven Davis and Dallas earlier than expected, while the retirements of Jonny Evans and Craig Cathcart robbed the group of yet more experienced campaigners.

Leading such a young group presented a different challenge to his first spell, but the impact of O’Neill’s previous time in charge still counted in his favour.

“You saw the success that he had before and he’s a massive name back home,” said Liverpool’s Conor Bradley who has been given a leadership role in the team by O’Neill.

“He’s a special manager. He gives you confidence going into games, and it’s a big part of management to be able to do that, but tactically as well he’s top notch.”

Bingham gave O’Neill his international debut in February 1988 when he was still just 18-years-old and only four months after Newcastle United had signed him from Irish League side Coleraine.

With his new-look Northern Ireland side built around young talents like Bradley, Isaac Price, Shea Charles and Justin Devenny, O’Neill feels the belief shown in him as a teenager has proven instructive to his approach to international management.

“Billy put a lot of faith in me and maybe the fact that he put that faith in me has influenced me to put faith in young players as well,” he said.

One such player is Isaac Price who was given his international debut as a 19-year-old who had played just 13 senior minutes for Everton.

“He’s been perfect for me. He brought me in at a time he didn’t have to,” said Price, who later moved to Standard Liege and is now with West Brom.

“I was playing under-23s football at Everton and he saw something in me he thought he could use and develop.”

Price became the youngest player to score 10 times for Northern Ireland when he netted against Germany in the 3-1 defeat last month.

The 22-year-old had missed a penalty against Luxembourg three days prior to scoring in Cologne and credits a brief exchange with O’Neill as vital in quickly moving on from his poor performance.

“You’ve missed a penalty, didn’t play very well, and it’s a bit of a low point. You feel like everything’s coming down and then you’re going to play Germany,” he added.

“The night before the game Michael comes over to me and just says ‘forget about what happened the other night, you’ll go out and do something’ and then it happens.

“That’s his experience. Michael has been around football so long, he’d have seen it with so many players. He just managed me really well.”

Source link

O’Neill believes the win, which stretches Northern Ireland’s unbeaten streak at home to seven games, shows the maturity of his young side and how good they can be.

“I think they understand now the levels they can get to, there is still more to go with this group of players,” he added.

“Tonight, we showed what we can be like at home, we have shown this before if you look back to the Bulgaria game, but we played a better team tonight and we showed it against a very good team.”

Reluctant to single out players given so many performed well, O’Neill did praise captain on the night Bradley for being the catalyst, particularly down the right side.

“From the word ‘go’ he was magnificent, his energy, him and Ethan [Galbraith] on were terrific on that side with their link-up and quality,” O’Neill said.

“We have so many good young players who love playing together. It is difficult to pick one player, Conor does stand out because he does so many good things, it was good for him to captain the team on a night like this.”

The only dampener on a positive night for NI was that 22-year-old Liverpool full-back Bradley picked up the yellow card for a foul that will rule him out of the crucial meeting with Germany in Belfast on Monday.

O’Neill was frustrated by the decision. When asked how harsh he felt the yellow card was – Bradley’s second in three qualifiers – O’Neill said it was “extremely” so.

“I have watched it back and he tries to pull out,” O’Neill said.

“The referee, at times, it was good he didn’t want to hand out yellow cards, but if he was going to give a yellow for that he should have dished out more. Especially for the opposition.”

Source link

WWE brought an Aussie-style celebration to the Crown Jewel kickoff show—and it ended with a shoey party fans didnâ€t see coming.

Grayson Waller kicked things off by hitting the stage in Perth, Australia with cans of beer in hand, and it didnâ€t take long to see where this was going. Waller and fellow Australian Rhea Ripley were clearly ready for a shoey, and the crowd knew it too.

But the celebration didnâ€t stop there. Waller pulled out a third can and turned to IYO SKY, asking if she wanted to join them. The Genius of the Sky didnâ€t hesitate, stepping up and joining the impromptu beer-soaked moment to the crowdâ€s delight.

Then came the curveball. Waller pulled out one more can and asked the crowd who should join next. The fans chanted for Michael Cole. Waller asked him directly, and Cole replied with a grin that heâ€d never turn down a beer.

Rhea, IYO, and Waller all did their shoeys like pros, pouring the beer into their shoes and chugging it. Cole opted to skip the footwear and just drank straight from the can—but the crowd still popped huge for the whole segment, closing the kickoff show on a high note.

The celebration wasnâ€t just entertaining—it was a perfect example of WWEâ€s connection with international crowds. With Ripley and Waller proudly repping their home country and IYO SKY and Michael Cole joining in, the moment captured exactly what WWE does best: creating unforgettable memories, even before the first bell rings.

What did you think of the shoey moment at Crown Jewel? Should WWE do more regional celebrations like this? Let us know in the comments and drop your take on who shouldâ€ve joined next.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

What did you think of the shoey moment at Crown Jewel? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

Source link

• 

  Greg WyshynskiOct 9, 2025, 12:58 PM ET

  Close

  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Michael McLeod, one of five Hockey Canada players who were found not guilty of sexual assault charges in July, has signed a three-year contract with Avangard Omsk of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart were members of Hockey Canada’s 2018 National U-20 Junior Team. They were criminally charged in early 2024 for an alleged incident that took place after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala in London, Ontario. In July, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia found the five players not guilty of sexual assault. McLeod also was acquitted of a separate charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault.

The NHL said at the time that those players were ineligible to rejoin the league until reinstated through its own investigation. The league announced in September that the five players would be eligible to play in the NHL again beginning on Dec. 1.

Editor’s Picks

“Taking into account that the players have been away from the game for 20 months — including since their acquittals in July — we have determined that the players will be eligible to sign an NHL contract no sooner than October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games no sooner than December 1, 2025, bringing their total time out of the League to nearly two years,” the NHL said in a statement.

The NHLPA said it was “pleased [the players] will have the opportunity to resume” their NHL careers.

McLeod, 27, last played in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in the 2023-24 season. He played 19 games with Omsk in 2024-25, one of two KHL teams he joined as the Hockey Canada investigation and legal process played out.

Avangard Omsk is coached by former Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher.

Alexey Sopin, general manager of Avangard Omsk, said via Telegram: “Negotiations with Michael and his representatives were brief. The player everyone has been waiting for will once again don the Hawks’ uniform. We are very pleased that this difficult situation has ended positively for both us and the player.”

There was speculation recently that the Carolina Hurricanes were interested in signing McLeod. That news created immediate backlash from Hurricanes fans, including a petition urging the team to reconsider signing McLeod that had over 1,700 signatures. A deal with McLeod and Carolina never materialized.

McLeod was drafted 12th overall in 2016 by the Devils and had 85 points in 287 career games. He was one of the team’s top defensive forwards when he and Foote were granted “indefinite leaves of absences from the team” on Jan. 24, 2024. The players were charged with sexual assault in the following month.

Of the remaining Hockey Canada players who are unsigned, multiple reports have linked Hart, a former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender, with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Source link