Michael Jordan attended the University of North Carolina in the fall of 1981 on his basketball scholarship to play for Dean Smith one of the greatest college coaches ever. In his freshman year at North Carolina he averaged 13.4 points per a game and was named ACC rookie of the year. The next season at North Carolina was a big one for Michael, because he hit the game winning jump shot in the NCAA Championship game against Georgetown. He hit the shot against Patrick Ewing who he became rivals with later on in his career in the NBA. Michael described the shot as a turning point in his career and he knew that he could go on to do great things. Michael ended up only playing one more year at North Carolina before deciding to enter the NBA draft a year before he was suppose to graduate. He played three years at North Carolina and thought it was his time to go to the NBA where he could play amongst the best. Michael was picked third overall in the draft to the Chicago Bulls. Two years later Michael went back to North Carolina to get his degree in cultural geography.
During Michael’s rookie season in the NBA he averaged 28.2 points per a game. He grabbed the attention of a lot of fans and then only a month into the season he appeared on sports illustrated and the caption was “A Star is Born.” Later on that season Michael was elected to the all-star game, which not many rookies get to play in. The season went on and Michael played well and the Bulls made the playoffs. They got swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first four games. Next season rolled around and it started off good for Michael until he broke his foot and missed the final 64 games of the regular season. He was healthy for the playoffs and played in the series against the Boston Celtics. He scored a playoff record 63 points, but the Bulls lost four straight games and were sent home early once again. The next season Michael averaged 37.1 points per a game and had over 3,000 points for the season, which only Wilt Chamberlain has done. He also recorded of 200 steals and 100 blocks. The Bulls made the playoffs but lost to the Celtics in the first round. Michael played great the next three seasons, but the Bulls never made it past the Detroit Pistons, but that would change the following season. Michael wanted to be labeled as an all-time great like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, but in order to do so, you need to win NBA championships and that’s what Michael had his eyes on.
The 1990-91 season rolled around and Michael was ready to win a championship. He won another MVP that year, his second so far since he’s been in the league. The Bulls won their division that year and set a franchise record of 61 wins. The Bulls went on to beat Detroit Pistons and finally advance to the NBA championship for the first time in Michael’s professional career. The Bulls played the Lakers and the all-time great Magic Johnson and ended up winning the championship in five games. Michael Jordan was named MVP of the finals. Jordan and the Bulls went on to win two more consecutive championships and that gave them three in a row. He then went on to play for the Olympics in 1992 on the so called “Dream Team.” They were the best Olympian basketball team that anyone has ever seen, every game they played was a blowout and they won the gold medal with ease, adding another achievement to Michael’s resume.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Michael-Jordan
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Michael Jordan’s Background Information
Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. His was born to his mother Deloris who worked in business and his father James who worked as an equipment supervisor. He moved to North Carolina as a toddler with his mother and father and two brothers and two sisters. His two brothers Larry and James are what made Michael so great. They lived in the country side of North Carolina, with not much around them. Michael’s father put up two basketball hoops in the backyard one on each side and the boys played all day long. The court was not your typical pavement or concrete court, it was actually dirt. Well, it started with grass, but the boys played so much on it, that the grass was gone in a couple of weeks and all that left was dirt for the boys to play on. Michael would compete against his brothers all the time and he would never seem to win and this frustrated him. Playing against his brothers it what made him so great, because they were much bigger and stronger than him, so in order for Michael to win he had to work much harder and practice longer hours than they did. Michael never won a game against his brothers until his junior year. As a sophomore Michael was only 5’11” and did not make his varsity basketball team. He was put on junior varsity his whole sophomore year and this made Michael angry, because he knew he could play with the older kids. The following summer, Michael worked everyday on his game from sunrise to sunset and this helped him make his varsity team the following year. Also, helping him make varsity was that he grew another four inches to make him the tallest out of the Jordan boys. Michael Jordan went on to average 25 points his junior and senior years at Laney High School in North Carolina. In his senior season he was elected as a McDonald’s All American Team, which is what the best high school basketball players in the country are elected to. He got there; because he averaged a triple-double his senior season with 29.2 points per game, 11.6 rebounds per game, and 10.1 assists per game. In his senior season he was offered a scholarship from Coach Dean Smith of North Carolina for basketball. Michael Jordan discussed it over with his family and within days they accepted the offer and Michael would attend the University of North Carolina in the fall.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Michael-Jordan
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Michael-Jordan
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Michael Jordan's Different Charities
As everyone knows, Michael Jordan has supported many charities throughout his years as a professional athlete. The main organizations that he has funded and supported are the Habitat for Humanity Organization, the Special Olympics, the Boys and Girls clubs of America, the American Motorcyclists Association, and he has funded many charity golf tournaments, basketball games and dunk contests for these particular foundations.
For the Habitat for Humanity foundation, Michael Jordan has donated at least 500 thousand dollars to their cause. He did this to help in Louisiana following the hurricane. These 500 thousand dollars were used to help rebuild New Orleans following the Katrina hurricane. He raised this much money from just auctioning off 21 pairs of his line of Jordan sneakers. The sneakers were all signed by him. Along with Michael Jordan, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony were also there to make the donation due to their involvement with the Jordan shoe company. Along with this, Michael Jordan made a press release saying, "We want to do our part as well. We want to impact some people that might be going through a tough time. I'm a firm believer in turning a negative into a positive and I feel like this is a way we can do that for victims of Hurricane Katrina."
http://invest.nike.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=100529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1108647&highlight=
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=100529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1072190&highlight=
Michael Jordan has also been a big supporter of the Boys and Girls clubs of America, and has been an exceptional donator to their cause. He also supported the Boys and Girls club in New Orleans when they were destroyed by hurricane Katrina. In their efforts, he donated around 450 thousand dollars. This is important because he supported New Orleans by donating around a million dollars in combination with this donation to the Boys and Girls Club, and for the Habitat for Humanity foundation in attempts to rebuild Louisiana. He has been a supporter of this program, and what they stand for. He has been involved for many years, and is always seen at major charity events donating money to their cause. It is important to notice that he is a member of the foundation himself, and has been a supporter for these children since before he has retired. He is and exceptional person in his involvement with this program for underprivileged youth, along with the many other celebrities that are helping to further support the youth of our nation.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/759328/boys__girls_clubs_of_america_sets_new_record_/index.html
Along with these two organizations that Michael Jordan in involved with, he is also a supporter of the Special Olympics. He has supported the members, and the staff that allow the Special Olympics to take place. Michael Jordan is an exceptional person in the sense that he helps children who have disabilities to play sports, and has funded these organizations for many years. Michael Jordan said "With our efforts, we hope to boost self-esteem and create newfound confidence that puts them back into the starting lineup - where dreams become reality." This was a statement by him in an effort to further support the children participating in the Special Olympics. He is an important icon in the world today, and he uses this to support many different organizations. Michael Jordan supports the Special Olympics along with many other supporters and celebrity icons. He has continuously been seen at many different fundraising events for the Special Olympics.
http://www.specialolympicsdc.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=40427&PID=494019
Michael Jordan is also a member of the American Motorcyclists Association, and has ridden with them multiple times before. He is an avid motorcyclist, and continues to donate money to their cause and to race alongside the members in the annual races that they hold across the nation. Since 2004 Michael Jordan has owned the professional closed-course racing team that continues to compete in the American Motorcyclist Association’s superbike class competition every year. He supports the people involved with this association, and loves to be involved with the competition himself. Michael Jordan commented on his participation both in the superbike races, and with his own experiences through professional sports. He says, “Winning means a lot. You put forth a lot of hard work and dedication. You start the season off with a lot of goals. You go through disappointments in the course of the season, and at the end of the year when you finally step up to that podium and win the championship, nothing’s more gratifying.” Michael Jordan has been a supporter of this foundation since his brother, James, has retired from the 18th Airborne Corps. This has been an important thing for both of them to be involved with. Michael Jordan and his team are currently working on a plan to fund a second team in the American Motorcyclist Association superbike competition this year, and are close to sealing the deal.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51806
Michael Jordan has funded for his own golf tournament, and he has used all of the money raised from the event to help in the Tsunami efforts. "In view of the tsunami disaster, I felt compelled to dedicate a portion of this year's MJCI proceeds to the American Red Cross' admirable relief efforts," said Michael Jordan. "Many of the participating celebrities were gracious enough to step up and donate their winnings to the Red Cross as well." He has created this golf tournament to help pay for many other foundations along with this tsunami relief.
http://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/wmview.php?ArtID=4702
Along with making his own golf tournament, he also plays in other ones as well in support of many other charities and foundations. He has played in many different tournaments that support many different things, and this shows how devoted he is to helping people become better people, and helping people become more accomplished with their current way of living. This is important because it shows how much character Michael Jordan truly has.
For the Habitat for Humanity foundation, Michael Jordan has donated at least 500 thousand dollars to their cause. He did this to help in Louisiana following the hurricane. These 500 thousand dollars were used to help rebuild New Orleans following the Katrina hurricane. He raised this much money from just auctioning off 21 pairs of his line of Jordan sneakers. The sneakers were all signed by him. Along with Michael Jordan, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony were also there to make the donation due to their involvement with the Jordan shoe company. Along with this, Michael Jordan made a press release saying, "We want to do our part as well. We want to impact some people that might be going through a tough time. I'm a firm believer in turning a negative into a positive and I feel like this is a way we can do that for victims of Hurricane Katrina."
http://invest.nike.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=100529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1108647&highlight=
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=100529&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1072190&highlight=
Michael Jordan has also been a big supporter of the Boys and Girls clubs of America, and has been an exceptional donator to their cause. He also supported the Boys and Girls club in New Orleans when they were destroyed by hurricane Katrina. In their efforts, he donated around 450 thousand dollars. This is important because he supported New Orleans by donating around a million dollars in combination with this donation to the Boys and Girls Club, and for the Habitat for Humanity foundation in attempts to rebuild Louisiana. He has been a supporter of this program, and what they stand for. He has been involved for many years, and is always seen at major charity events donating money to their cause. It is important to notice that he is a member of the foundation himself, and has been a supporter for these children since before he has retired. He is and exceptional person in his involvement with this program for underprivileged youth, along with the many other celebrities that are helping to further support the youth of our nation.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/759328/boys__girls_clubs_of_america_sets_new_record_/index.html
Along with these two organizations that Michael Jordan in involved with, he is also a supporter of the Special Olympics. He has supported the members, and the staff that allow the Special Olympics to take place. Michael Jordan is an exceptional person in the sense that he helps children who have disabilities to play sports, and has funded these organizations for many years. Michael Jordan said "With our efforts, we hope to boost self-esteem and create newfound confidence that puts them back into the starting lineup - where dreams become reality." This was a statement by him in an effort to further support the children participating in the Special Olympics. He is an important icon in the world today, and he uses this to support many different organizations. Michael Jordan supports the Special Olympics along with many other supporters and celebrity icons. He has continuously been seen at many different fundraising events for the Special Olympics.
http://www.specialolympicsdc.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=40427&PID=494019
Michael Jordan is also a member of the American Motorcyclists Association, and has ridden with them multiple times before. He is an avid motorcyclist, and continues to donate money to their cause and to race alongside the members in the annual races that they hold across the nation. Since 2004 Michael Jordan has owned the professional closed-course racing team that continues to compete in the American Motorcyclist Association’s superbike class competition every year. He supports the people involved with this association, and loves to be involved with the competition himself. Michael Jordan commented on his participation both in the superbike races, and with his own experiences through professional sports. He says, “Winning means a lot. You put forth a lot of hard work and dedication. You start the season off with a lot of goals. You go through disappointments in the course of the season, and at the end of the year when you finally step up to that podium and win the championship, nothing’s more gratifying.” Michael Jordan has been a supporter of this foundation since his brother, James, has retired from the 18th Airborne Corps. This has been an important thing for both of them to be involved with. Michael Jordan and his team are currently working on a plan to fund a second team in the American Motorcyclist Association superbike competition this year, and are close to sealing the deal.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51806
Michael Jordan has funded for his own golf tournament, and he has used all of the money raised from the event to help in the Tsunami efforts. "In view of the tsunami disaster, I felt compelled to dedicate a portion of this year's MJCI proceeds to the American Red Cross' admirable relief efforts," said Michael Jordan. "Many of the participating celebrities were gracious enough to step up and donate their winnings to the Red Cross as well." He has created this golf tournament to help pay for many other foundations along with this tsunami relief.
http://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/wmview.php?ArtID=4702
Along with making his own golf tournament, he also plays in other ones as well in support of many other charities and foundations. He has played in many different tournaments that support many different things, and this shows how devoted he is to helping people become better people, and helping people become more accomplished with their current way of living. This is important because it shows how much character Michael Jordan truly has.
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