Clown shoes
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| An exhausted Pippen and
Jordan, had to dig deep to carry
the Bulls to another NBA Finals berth. The 1992 Barcelona Olympics, had
shortened their recovery period. Add to that, the media frenzy that ensued
following the release of Sam Smith's controversial book "The Jordan
Rules" which put unwanted pressure on Jordan and his teammates. Not
the least, Richard Esquinas (co-written by Dave Distel, former sports
editor of San Diego County edition of the Los Angeles Times) book "Michael
and Me: Our Gambling Addiction... My Cry For Help!" about his $1.9
million gambling jaunt with Jordan on golf and poker. It seems every influential
ex-sports writer is trying to cash-in on Jordan's fame by dishing out
dirt on him. The good old tall poppy syndrome. The only way to sell books
is to sensationalise it with dirt and controversy. Sam Smith's book was
a hot seller, I even got one but whether I think some of the stuff is
true or not, or had been blown out of proportion is something I'm very
wary about. Shortly before game one, Jordan ended his media boycott by telling NBC Sports he does not have a gambling problem. "I just felt it was unfair that I was being considered a criminal for doing something that is not illegal," he said. "I enjoy gambling, it's a hobby. If I had a problem, I'd be starving. I'd be hocking this watch, my championship rings. I'd sell my house, my wife would have left me or she would have been starving. I do not have a problem." Nevertheless the off-court shenanigans did not distract the Bulls. Jordan was focussed as ever to complete a three-peat. Something Magic and Bird could not do during the 80's with the Lakers and Celtics. Game one saw Jordan score 31 points and Pippen 27 points as the beat league MVP Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns 100-92. The Bulls built a 20-point lead in the second quarter, saw it dwindle to a two-point margin in the third but never fell behind and made an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter. Phoenix wasted the home-court advantage they had gained throughout the playoffs by amassing the NBA's best regular season record (62-20). In a tense game four, Michael scored 55 points to beat Phoenix 111-105. The win leaves the Bulls one victory away from becoming the only third NBA team to take three consecutive titles and the first since Boston won eight titles in a row up to 1966. Jordan became only the fifth player to score 50 or more points in a finals game, and made the key basket to seal the victory with 13.3 seconds to play. After a Suns' comeback which cut the Bulls' lead from eight points with 3 min remaining to just two points, the seven-time NBA scoring champion curled across the lane to make a tough shot while being bumped by Charles Barkley. Jordan raised both arms in triumph, then converted the freethrow for his 55th point and a 109-104 lead. Horace Grant had a game high 16 rebounds and Scottie Pippen had 14 points. The shoes themselves created their own controversy. The AJ 8's were RADICAL. The design is out of this world. Anti-inversion straps, polycarbonate torsion plate and the shocking multi-colours! Man-o-man what the heck was Nike thinking when they gave it the go ahead. In hindsight, the AJ 8s changed the way high performance shoes were designed technologically and aesthetically. IMHO the AJ 8s are the most advance Air Jordans ever at that time period and for the next 2 years... surpassing the AJ 9 and AJ 10. Comfort is not its key strength. The straps made it restrictive for people with wide feet. Moreover, it is the heaviest Air Jordan ever but once it's on your feet, you will not feel the weight. Air Jordans were renowned for their light-weight and AJ 8 are relatively light compared to other high-end sneakers that were released in 1993 eg. Reebok's Shaq One Pump. The AJ 8 retailed for AUD$189.95 at Jim Kidd Sports and were discounted to AUD$129.95. Cheap back then. They didn't sell too well because the anti-inversion straps make it look hard to get into. |
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"As far as I'm
concerned Michael is Nureyev against a bunch of Hulk Hogans. His talent
is far above everyone else's. Russell was the most productive center
I've ever seen, and he complemented the talent we had. But you can say
that he wasn't as good a shooter as some other people. Jordan doesn't
have any area like that."
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| 1993 Black-Black-True Red | ||||
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| 1993 Black/Bright Concord-Aqua Tone | ||||
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Price : Packaging : Mar 1, 2003 Jordan Face box with paper
wrapper Colorways & pics (from www.air-jordans.com
, www.niketalk.com
, www.promo-shoes.com
and www.ebay.com
) Retro 2003 Retro + |
Head
Designer :