Your respect for Larry Bird just increased

[Hammock Parties]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...jordans-cooler

In 1998, Larry Bird coached Michael Jordan in the All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. The next year he published a book with Jackie MacMullan called "Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love."

More than a dozen years after the fact, allow me to point out the book is fascinating and fun to read, and includes this anecdote from the "Space Jam" set:

The movie people really took care of us. They had this big room in the hotel filled with food, drinks, anything you wanted. One cooler had beer, another had soda, another had sandwiches. And then there was this big cooler marked MICHAEL ONLY.

You weren't supposed to touch that one, because it was all Michael Jordan's special stuff they flew in just for him. So one day Bill Murray and I are sitting in there, and I go over to Michael's cooler and lift up the lid.

There was this girl there, and her only job was to make sure everything was just right for Michael Jordan, and she starts yelling at me, "Larry, you can't go in there!" I said, "What are you talking about? That's bull. Everyone here is family." She was getting all nervous and said,"No, no. Those are all the things Michael told me he wanted, and if you take something out of there, Michael won't be able to have it, and we just can't let that happen!"

Bill Murray is laughing the whole time listening to this, because whenever Michael walked into the room he always went to one of the other coolers and pulled something out, just like the rest of us. He hardly ever opened his own cooler.

Anyhow, I waited until the girl left, then I reached in and started grabbing stuff out of Michael's cooler and throwing it out to the crew, all over the set. I threw it everywhere! Gatorade bottles, some special drink he liked, candy bars ... She was so mad at me.

For the rest of our stay, every time I went by that cooler I took something out.

[fan4ever]

...Bird was great even before you could take 4 steps without being called for traveling...

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by MVChiefFan

According to many who played against him, he was quite a trash talker too. I remember hearing about a game he played (against the Knicks if I'm not mistaken) where he put up his first shot of the game, which was a three pointer. He shot right in front of the Knicks bench and as the ball left his hands and was still in the air, he turned to the opposing coach and said "you better get somebody that can guard me", then the ball swished through the net...that's just gross!

X-Man: "he said he's gonna get the ball right here, and I'm gonna shoot the ball right in your face"





"I'm just trying to see who's gonna finish second."

[Setsuna]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

fixed it for you

Rawwwr!!! **** you!

[Amnorix]

Doc Rivers (before he was the C's coach), among others, talking about when Bird dropped 60 on the Hawks. One of the sickest shooting displays you'll ever see. You'll also see the Hawks players on the bench reacting -- laughing and such -- to his crazy shots going in.

Coach Fratello after the game: "it's one thing to be in awe, it's another to root for the other team"





longer clip of Bird destroying the Hawks that night.

Watch the absurd shots at 4:10 seconds (and the Hawks bench reaction), then at the 5:00 mark,

[steve--]

Originally Posted by Setsuna

I don't respect him for that. A black man can't have stuff just for him? He has to share it? **** that. Let the racism commence!

What an ignorant child! It had nothing to do with being black, you fool! Larry and Michael don't now, and didn't back then have a problem with each other. They were friendly towards one another. This was just Larry goofing around with Michael out of fun, not out of malice... You petty, angry child.

Cry, snivel, whine!

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by steve--

What an ignorant child! It had nothing to do with being black, you fool! Larry and Michael don't now, and didn't back then have a problem with each other. They were friendly towards one another. This was just Larry goofing around with Michael out of fun, not out of malice... You petty, angry child.

Cry, snivel, whine!

Check your sarcasm meter newb