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Rating game

Jordan says game a '7,' comeback odds '50-50'

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Michael Jordan said the tendinitis that had recently slowed him down was no longer bothering him. Doug Pensinger/Allsport

CHICAGO (Reuters) -- Michael Jordan is worried that critics of his possible comeback to professional basketball will "crucify" him if he does not resurrect the Jordan of old, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

"People will be ready to crucify me," Jordan, 38, told the newspaper's columnist Jay Mariotti when asked about whether he can perform at the same level as before he retired in 1999.

"If things don't go quite like people expect them to go, you know I'll be crucified," Jordan said following Tuesday's workout at a Chicago gym where the game's greatest player has been testing his mettle against other pros.

Since retiring, Jordan has become the high-profile part-owner and general manager of the woeful Washington Wizards, the team for whom he would presumably play.

When asked about retired All-Star forward Charles Barkley's comments that Jordan should drop a comeback attempt that Barkley likened to "chasing his own ghosts," Mariotti reported that Jordan -- the leader of the six-time champion Chicago Bulls -- shot back with fire in his eyes.

"Charles never won a championship. He doesn't know what it's like.

"I'm not going to get into a war of words with Charles. He's too witty. He's still my friend and all, but I don't know why he's saying those things."

Jordan said his recent bout with tendinitis of the knee had largely dissipated and that if he resumed playing he would likely sit out some games to rest.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Jordan said his game now rates "a seven." His goal is for it to be a nine when training camp begins in early October in his hometown of Wilmington, N.C. He remained about "50-50" about whether to announce his return to a sport he once dominated.

"I could still say no," Jordan told the Sun-Times. "I'm waiting for the light to go on. I'm getting closer. I want to make sure my knee can withstand what I have to go through in a season."

 

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