Good bye, Pip
Some of my foundest memories of high schools are of my friends and I watching Bulls palyoff games at my house during the summer. There was nothing like watching the Bulls dyansty deconstruct teams during MJ's heyday.
Of the teams that won the six championships, only two players were on all six teams: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. MJ retired, presumably, for the last time about 18 months ago; Pip retired yesterday.
Pip will never be considered one of the flashiest players ever, nor will he be considered one of the top 20 best, but Pip was an incredible player who, to quote Larry Brown, played the game right. Instead of flashy, obnoxious moves, Pip was an incredible defender (8 all-defensive team selections) and could play multiple positions. He always made the extra pass and stuck to the other team's best offensive player. It wasn't B.J. Armstrong (the point guard) or Michael Jordan (the best player) who defended Magic Johnson in '91; it was Pip.
I'm like 99.9% of the world in perferring Jordan to Pip, but Scottie will always occupy a place in our hearts as Bulls fans.
One of the things I love about MJ and Pip is the connection they both have with the Chicago community. Both still live in Chicago and both still do a lot of charity work within the city. I'm a sucker for that stuff. I was very happy to see that Pip ended his career here and I'm glad that he'll be working with Pax and Skiles to teach the young Bulls a thing or two.
I find it hard to really give enough due to Pip; I find myself understating him. But, that's how he was: understated. He wasn't Batman, but he was probably the best Robin ever in the NBA.
Thanks for the memories, Scottie. We'll miss you.
Of the teams that won the six championships, only two players were on all six teams: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. MJ retired, presumably, for the last time about 18 months ago; Pip retired yesterday.
Pip will never be considered one of the flashiest players ever, nor will he be considered one of the top 20 best, but Pip was an incredible player who, to quote Larry Brown, played the game right. Instead of flashy, obnoxious moves, Pip was an incredible defender (8 all-defensive team selections) and could play multiple positions. He always made the extra pass and stuck to the other team's best offensive player. It wasn't B.J. Armstrong (the point guard) or Michael Jordan (the best player) who defended Magic Johnson in '91; it was Pip.
I'm like 99.9% of the world in perferring Jordan to Pip, but Scottie will always occupy a place in our hearts as Bulls fans.
One of the things I love about MJ and Pip is the connection they both have with the Chicago community. Both still live in Chicago and both still do a lot of charity work within the city. I'm a sucker for that stuff. I was very happy to see that Pip ended his career here and I'm glad that he'll be working with Pax and Skiles to teach the young Bulls a thing or two.
I find it hard to really give enough due to Pip; I find myself understating him. But, that's how he was: understated. He wasn't Batman, but he was probably the best Robin ever in the NBA.
Thanks for the memories, Scottie. We'll miss you.
1 Comments:
Good blog, Ross. A nice tribute to Scottie. I loved Scottie Pippen when he played for the Bulls. Aside from Michael, he was my favorite player; I even had a Scottie Pippen jersey instead of a Jordan jersey, as I knew what a great player he was, but I didn't want to be like all of the other kids in the greater Chicagoland area who had a number 23 jersey. I liked Scottie enough to figure, why should Michael Jordan be the only one with someone wearing his jersey?
I was very happy to hear the Bulls will be retiring number 33.
There's an interesting article on ESPN.com about why Jordan might not have won any championships without Scottie Pippen. I don't really know much about basketball, so I don't know if Sam Smith has any idea of what he's talking about, but at the very least, it's an interesting article.
Now I'm going to read your MLB playoff predictions, Ross. If I can get to the bottom of the page. Seriously, dude, I can never read your blog in its entirety. It ALWAYS cuts off at the bottom of the screen. Today I can't read anything below "The Red Sox have this David complex that just begs to be paired with the Yankees in the ALCS" While I don't doubt that it looks okay on both your home and office computer, I will keep telling you that it doesn't work on my office computer until it loads in full. Dammit, Ross, what are blogs if not things that will entertain me while I am procrastinating at work? Is anybody else having trouble loading Ross' blog? Is anybody else reading Ross' blog?
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