Michael Jordan's 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame Moment

(image source: NBA.com)

Finally, his Airness has taken his rightful spot amongst the greatest legends on the hardwood, ever. Many have called Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time, and on Friday, September 11th, 2009, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Jordan's career made the #23, the Chicago Bulls and finesse basketball all part of the art form. His greatness extended from beyond the hardwood floors but to pop culture and mainstream commercials such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Gatorade, Nike and others. MJ and his symbolic Jumpman logo became a iconic household symbol. Air Jordans by Nike became a status symbol, and basketball became the game everyone wanted to play. All thanks to inspirational players which included Michael "Air" Jordan.

The ceremony Friday night had to be moved from the traditional Hall of Fame venue to a bigger-capacity Symphony Hall which accommodates around 2,600 people. Jordan's Hall of Fame speech in Springfield, MA, was full of quips, comments and recollections of what made him the elite basketball player he became. He discussed being cut from his high school team in the 10th grade, and being restricted from appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a college freshman. Jordan also put everyone one notice "There's not going to be another Michael Jordan".

"You guys are constantly trying to find that next Michael Jordan," Jordan said. "First of all, you didn't find me. I just happened to come along and next thing you know, here I am."

Amongst Jordan's fellow Hall inductees were David Robinson, John Stockton and current Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. Jordan was presented by another basketball legend and UNC alumni, David Thompson.

Of course the internet was also buzzing about Jordan's girlfriend, Yvette Prieto. Reportedly, Michael and Yvette, a 30 year old Cuban model, have been dating since 2008, with the duo rumored to be getting married soon. See a picture of the couple here. For years, Jordan had been married to Juanita, with the couple divorcing in 2002 due to "irreconcilable differences". Much like MJ's retire-return to the court career, the couple came back together, then officially ended the marriage in 2006. The couple has three children, sons Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, and daughter, Jasmine.

Jordan joked at one point that he still loves the game and you just might see him one day playing in basketball shorts at age 50. The crowd laughed, but Jordan told them to:

"Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion."

While Jordan may have been joking during his suggestion of a possible third un-retirement at age 50, most fans are content with what Jordan has already given to the sport for many years. His legacy lives on as current players continue to hold their own careers up to Jordan's.

A key closing moment of Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame speech discussed exactly what the game meant to him:

"The game of basketball has been everything to me," Jordan said. "My refuge. My place I've always gone when I've needed to find comfort and peace. It's given me my most intense pain and my most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction."

Read more about Jordan and the Hall of Fame at Google AFP News

Prepare for 2009 March Madness!

Once again that time of year has descended upon the college campuses and states all around the country, March Madness. Die hard fans are preparing all around the US for the NCAA College Basketball tournament. In the 2009 edition, there were 3 conferences with a total of 7 teams sent to the tournament this year: ACC, Big Ten and Big East; displaying the power of these particular conferences. The brackets revealed three #1 seeds this year all from the Big East: Louisville, UCONN and Pittsburgh. The fourth seed will come from the ACC, a team that bounced back and forth at the #1 spot all season long, North Carolina's Tarheels. Here's a quick look at each of the four regions and their top teams.

The Midwest's #1 seed, Louisville finished off their season in impressive style. The Cardinals won the Big East title and then the Big East Tournament as well, defeating a Syracuse team that had showed a ton of heart playing through a total of 7 OT's in 2 games, and logging almost 4 hours playing time on the court by same players through the tourney. Also joining Louisville in their bracket will be the #2 seed Michigan State team who many thought might grab a #1 seed themselves. Fellow Big East team West Virginia grabbed the 6 seed in Lville's bracket. Other top teams include last year's champs the Kansas Jayhawks with a #3 seed, #4 Wake Forest (who was #1 in the country this past season) #5 Utah, and #7 BC.

The West will see the University of Connecticut Huskies as its top seed, despite the team failing to win the Big East and losing in the conference tournament to a lower seeded Syracuse team. The Huskies will have potential spoiler teams in #10 seed Maryland, #3 Missouri, #4 Washington Huskies and at the other end of the brack, the #2 Memphis Tigers, last year's NCAA Championship runner-ups.

In the East, Pittsburgh emerged as the #1 seed. The Panthers failed to capture the Big East tournament after losing to West Virginia this past season, but saw 2 impressive victories over UCONN, the top team in the nation several times. Joining Pitt will be the recent ACC Tourney champs, the Duke Blue Devils who scored a #2 seed. Villanova takes the #3 seed, with Xavier at #4, Florida State at #5 and UCLA at #6.

#1 out in the South, The North Carolina Tarheels were considered one of the top teams at the start of the season and reclaimed that spot again at season's end. A disappointing ACC tournament saw Florida State upset them, but they were without the services of player Ty Law. Law claims he'll be ready when Tournament action starts. Also in the South will be another former #1 this past season in the 2 seed Oklahoma with star powerhouse player, Blake Griffin. The 3 seed will be those pesky Syracuse Orangemen, with Gonzaga at #4. The South may be the region to keep an eye on with all sorts of compelling possible matchups and upsets. Clemson, Michigan State, Butler, Arizona State and Illinois are also in the bracket, hungry to advance to the Final 4.

Play will begin Thursday afternoon with people all over the world betting and filling out their ESPN or office pool brackets frantically over the next several days. Let the madness begin!

View and print out complete 2009 NCAA Tournament brackets here.