Michael Jordan

WILMINGTON, N.C. - When Michael Jordan left here nearly two decades ago and headed for the University of North Carolina, many in this then-sleepy beach town thought the Laney High School star was making a mistake by going to play for the Tar Heels. Simply put, they said he was in over his head. "I bet a local television guy $5 that Mike would make it - and make it big," recalled Ron Coley, then a Laney assistant and now the head coach at another local high school. "I'm still waiting to collect."

WASHINGTON - Whatever you do and however you choose to describe this season's Washington Wizards, please don't call them old. Or at least don't do it around coach Doug Collins, who prefers to look at the recast lineup as experienced, not aged. "We felt like the moves that we made we tried to better our talent and add different pieces. I don't think it had anything to do with age," said Collins, starting his second season in Washington. It may just be a case of semantics, but the flurry of moves the Wizards undertook, particularly in September and October, got them older and more experienced in preparation for this season, which starts tonight in Toronto.

You're Michael Jordan.OK, you're not -- he has a better jump shot -- but let's pretend.You have enough money to fill every swimming pool in America with Gatorade. You are recognized as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. You have just drained the game-winning shot to lead the Chicago Bulls to a sixth NBA championship in eight years.There's only one thing left to do.Quit.That's right, hang it up, pack it in, call it a day. Be that rarest of athletes. Go out on top.Mike Eruzione did. He scored the game-winning goal in one of the greatest sports upsets ever -- the U.S. hockey team's defeat of the mighty Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics.

It was on a golf outing with basketball superstar Michael Jordan that Minnesota Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham stumbled upon his football epiphany."

WASHINGTON - He is returning to the NBA after a three-year absence. He is a hyper-competitive perfectionist who has never handled losing well and is now with a team in the midst of a nearly two-decade slump. And you thought Michael Jordan is the only one who'll have to make major adjustments coming to the Washington Wizards. The roller-coaster ride is just starting for Doug Collins, the team's new coach. Buoyed by an enthusiastic training camp in Wilmington, N.C., Collins has often been frustrated by his team's inconsistent performance in a 2-4 exhibition season that continues tonight in Toronto against the Raptors.

PHILADELPHIA - The old axiom goes that the gods seldom answer the cries of mere mortals, and so it was for most of the fourth quarter last night at the First Union Center. For nearly the entire fourth quarter, the highly partisan Philadelphia 76ers crowd chanted "We want Mike!" - begging Michael Jordan to make one last appearance in his final NBA game. Finally, after some coaxing, Jordan got up from the Washington Wizards' bench at the 2:35 mark of the period and took a final few trots up and down the floor until Eric Snow ran over and fouled Jordan with 1:45 remaining, sending him to the free-throw line for one final trip.

You'll never be able to slam dunk on Glen Burnie's newest car dealer. But can you jam the dealer invoice price down over Michael Jordan?A group led by the basketball superstar has purchased the old Ritchie Nissan dealership in Glen Burnie -- that's Air Glen Burnie to you. The group plans to renovate a dealership -- whose new president admits it's "not much to look at" -- in a theme befitting the way its new majority owner made his money.Already, the name has changed to Nissan of Glen Burnie.

Calvin Hill's sports career got off to a strong start in 1969. Signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a running back, he finished the season as Rookie of the Year and soon landed a deal to promote the soft drink Dr Pepper.A few other sponsorship deals followed, but nothing spectacular. That was consistent with his expectations: In those days, even a standout athlete, if he was black, knew that racial barriers remained for off-field earnings long after they had fallen for team rosters."I was fortunate that I was able to do some things with Dr Pepper.

Michael Jordan was so high, there was nowhere but down.