Enough of This False Narrative Pushed by 'The Last Dance': TRAINA THOUGHTS
1. For weeks now, I've watched every minute of the The Last Dance and have enjoyed it immensely. However, I've also been terrified of saying exactly what I think about some things because people on Twitter would hunt me down and kill me.
If you don't nearly pass out from the thrill of all things Michael Jordan after each episode, you will be shunned from society—or at least social media.
Well, I'm ready to get shunned, because Sunday night was just too much for me.
Let me reiterate: I have enjoyed The Last Dance and I think it's been highly entertaining and amusing. I also think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player who ever lived.
Having said that, since Jordan is a partner in the documentary, the creation of drama over reality sometimes becomes tough to watch.
The Last Dance would have you believe the Bulls won all those titles because Michael Jordan was an a--hole to his teammates. The man even shed some tears in a truly bizarre moment while he was trying to explain why he treated his teammates so poorly.
Here's why the Bulls won a billion titles: Michael Jordan was the best player on earth, Scottie Pippen was the second-best player in the league at the time and Dennis Rodman was the best rebounder in the sport.
It wasn't because Jordan punched Steve Kerr in the eye or made fun of Scott Burrell or any other nonsense the show is trying to throw out there.
"I wanted to win but I wanted them to win and be a part of that as well," Jordan said in the closing moments. If you believe that, you must also believe you can drink Clorox to disinfect your lungs. Jordan wanted to win for Jordan. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
And the reason Jordan kept winning year after year after year was because of his on-court talent and Pippen's on-court talent.
Not because he was a tyrant during practices.
I know some of you are now ready to fire off a tweet to call me names and tell me this is a trash take, etc. Please don't. I'd much prefer to hear from anyone, if there is anyone, out there who agrees with me.
2. One more note on Sunday night's episodes of the The Last Dance. The two most eye-opening moments weren't about Michael Jordan. The craziest moment by far was Scottie Pippen saying he had no regrets about sitting out the final play of a playoff game.
The second-craziest moment was George Karl waiting after three losses to put Gary Payton on Jordan.
3. Top Jerry Stiller/Frank Costanza Seinfeld moments:
• Festivus.
• "What the hell did you trade Jay Buher for?" + "Jerry, it's Frank Costanza. Mr. Steinbrenner's here. George's dead. Call me back."
• Del Boca Vista.
• "You got the hen, the chicken and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken, so who's having sex with the hen?"
• The best blooper in the show's history.
4. John Krasinski not only married a couple on the latest edition of Some Good News, but he also got many of his Office castmates to join the show for a special moment.
5. The latest SI Media Podcast features an interview with play-by-play man Ian Eagle. Eagle discusses what it's like to have a new analyst on NFL games with Charles Davis jumping from Fox to CBS and what his role is to make Davis comfortable. Eagle also shares funny stories about doing Zooms with Bill Raftery and being a producer for Mike and the Mad Dog years ago. We also discussed The Last Dance, and Eagle shares some great analysis on the differences among Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.
6. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: If you're a Goodfellas fan, today is the 40th anniversary of Henry going down.
7. SPORTS HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: "Go crazy, folks. Go crazy." Tremendous call from Jack Buck.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
