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American idol Jordan honored by Defense Secretary before Wizards' gamePosted: Monday April 14, 2003 7:53 PMUpdated: Monday April 14, 2003 8:04 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Before his final home game as an NBA player, Michael Jordan received a flag from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at center court. It was the only bit of ceremony preceding Jordan's final home appearance Monday with the Washington Wizards, for whom he has played two seasons in his second comeback. A bigger tribute was planned to follow the game, with the details kept secret. Rumsfeld, who received a loud ovation, presented Jordan with a flag that flew over the Pentagon on the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Jordan cradled the flag in his right hand with head bowed during the national anthem before tipoff of the game against the New York Knicks. Jordan's introduction during the starting lineups was a letdown, with the cheers not much greater than the ones for Rumsfeld. The MCI Center crowd gave Jordan a standing ovation that lasted a mere 25 seconds, some 3 1/2 minutes shorter than the one he received in his final game at Chicago earlier this season.
Then again, Jordan himself tried not to make a big deal out of the game, with his greater focus on what he says will be his final NBA game ever -- Wednesday's season finale at Philadelphia. "It's just another night really," Jordan said after the morning shootaround. "I know that this is my last home game in Washington, D.C., and that is something I definitely will treasure, but I woke up this morning and I thought that there was this certain feeling that I should be feeling -- and I had breakfast, coffee, did my normal stuff -- and nothing seems out of the ordinary." |
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Michael Jordan insists his final home game will be just like any other.
