MJ and AA: A What-If Story

Flashback entry - 22 May 1994

As anyone who keeps up with professional basketball knows, Michael Jordan not only retired but made the unorthodox move to professional baseball and now plays for the Birmingham Barons, a AA team. The Barons recently played a series of games against the Huntsville Stars, where my wife and I had the privilege of seeing MJ strike out - what a strike zone, too!

And as you know, MJ's been in the news lately (that's Michael Jordan, not Michael Jackson). On his most recent trip to Huntsville to play against the Stars, he stopped at a quiet, out-of-the-way spot (the Golf Club of Tennessee, MJ's private golf hideout), where a semireliable source picked up the following story and relayed it to me.

During MJ's heyday with the Chicago Bulls, he liked to place bets on pro baseball and football games. At first, he was lucky. Because of his luck, he started increasing his bets. Inevitably he started losing and losing big. His debts increased to the point where he knew he'd be noticed by the press so he got in touch with the local loan-fixing organization (my source won't say if he's a mole but you can guess).

Although no numbers were mentioned to me, some guesses place the bets in the millions. MJ covered some of the bets but the debts kept climbing to the point where his loans were called in. He begged for more time but the loan organization wanted its money.

When MJ couldn't pay, the organization told him he could pay his debts by swaying the outcome of the Bulls games. MJ refused so the organization decided to show him that all borrowers must pay a price. Within days of MJ's refusal to pay, the organization sent someone to track down and kill MJ's father. By coincidence, two teenagers ransacked the Lexus that MJ's father had driven and were charged with the murder.

When MJ still refused to throw a Bulls game, the organization promised to seek payment from other family members. MJ then quit basketball to prevent his having to ruin the game his father loved to watch him play and who had already paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The organization was not pleased and contacted major league baseball players who also owed large loans on bets. They agreed to to convince MJ to try out for the game.

Thinking he could pay his debts by fixing MLB games, MJ gladly entered spring tryouts. To his bewilderment and the expensive pleasures of the loan organization, MJ was unable to qualify for the big game. Instead, he was told by the organization that he would play for AA teams for as long as the loan organization felt it was necessary for MJ to lose in income what he owed in debt before he'd ever be able to get back to basketball.

So the next time you go to see the Stars and Barons play, remember there's more to MJ's playing AA ball than just his low batting average.

The Stars next home series games are 5 June against Nashville and 8-12 June against the "Memphis Chicks." They play the Barons at home on 11-13 August.

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6 May 2009. Thanks goes out to Jamie, KnoxBlab, Red Cross, Colonial Bank and family who recognized my big day. It's the small gestures - real, sincere, genuine - that I appreciate most. Another year older, wiser and free of debt. Thanks, folks!

Taught class last night so my Cinco de Mayo celebration consisted of a few Olde Towne hefeweizen beers while cleaning house before my 92-year old mother in-law comes to stay for a few weeks to see my niece receive her RN bachelor's degree, get married and start a job (a few weeks of freedom in between, though!). Real life is scrubbing the toilet bowl while enjoying a light buzz. Life is simple - enjoy the small things, too. But first, a last question - what exactly is that substance that causes toilet bowl rings?