Just got out of practice and Mitchell said that he’s going to start Rasho Nesterovic tomorrow night against the Philadelphia 76ers in place of Andrea Bargnani. I’ll have more on this in tomorrow’s paper but Mitchell went out of his way to stress that it’ s more about getting more production out of Rasho than any problems with Andrea. The thinking is Nesterovic will help set the defensive tone and perhaps leave a few more touches for Bosh, Kapono and Parker. Then, when Mitchell goes to his bench, Bargnani can be more of a first option with the second unit and is a better fit than trying to play Nesterovic and Humphries together.

I’m probably going to take tomorrow off as I’ve got a wicked stack of expenses to wade through. In the meantime here’s a few links for pleasure, though I’m negotiating the possibility of a guest blog. We’ll see.

A special note about this item on cishoops.ca. It’s a mention of a tribute RMC is having on Friday for Kevin Dulude, who starred at the military college – and I mean starred – ending up the OUA’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. And no, he was not a good player on a bad team, as the Paladins finished second in the OUA East in his fourth year. And now he’s a an officer in the Canadian forces. Can anyone out there put me in touch with this guy? I remember following his game, but now that he’s a captain in the military, I’d love to hear his story. 

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Also congratulations to thebasketballjones.net, who posted their 200th podcast the other day. I’m a big fan of consistency.

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Does Michael Jordan have a movie coming out? A new shoe line? Probably. He’s sitting down with his son Jeff for an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show on NBC that airs Friday at 7 a.m. Here’s an excerpt, from :

MICHAEL AND JEFF JORDAN ON BASKETBALL EXPECTATIONS:

MATT LAUER: Michael, let's talk a little bit of expectations.  My dad wanted me to exceed what he had achieved, whether it was success-wise or financially.  And the fact of the matter is it's going to be very, very hard for Jeff.   Have you sat down and had talks about expectations with him?

MICHAEL JORDAN: Oh, yeah.  We-- we do it all the time, you know?  The thing that we have tried to tell Jeff is that you set your own expectations, you know?  And if you're happy, that's all that matters.  You're never going to make everybody happy.

MATT LAUER: But-- but how do you make that work in reality, Jeff?  Because he's exact-- the theory's a great theory.  But you know the first time you're introduced in the arena over here in a game for the Illini and they say, "Number 13, Jeff Jordan," the room's going to stop for a second.

JEFFREY JORDAN: Right.

MATT LAUER: And the crowd's going to go, "Here we go."  And if you hit your first shot, it's going To be loud in there.

JEFFREY JORDAN: Right.

MATT LAUER: You throw up an air ball on your first shot, it's going to get really quiet.

JEFFREY JORDAN: Right.

MATT LAUER: How are you going to deal with that?

JEFFREY JORDAN: I guess the way I've been dealing with it since, you know, since high school is just you got to put it aside.  Since I was young and playing basketball, every time I had a problem with expectations or-- you know, people looking up and, you know, thinking I'm supposed to be somebody I'm not, I always came to my parents first.

JORDAN ON HIS DIVORCE:

MATT LAUER: Hard for you to-- to break that news?

MICHAEL JORDAN: It was, you know?  But he was very mature about it.  And, you know, the thing that his mom and I, we were-- we were very, you know, on the same page when it came to that.  And our kids came first, you know?  We-- we still communicate each and every day.

MATT LAUER: You lost your dad too early.  Has that event, Michael, changed the way you view fatherhood and-- and the way you want to be with Jeffrey and Marcus and your daughter?

MICHAEL JORDAN: Probably more than they know.

JORDAN ON HIS SONS PLAYING BASKETBALL:

MICHAEL JORDAN: It got to the point with him and his brother they are such competitors, and so am I.  You know, it gets to a point where he's more agile, he's more versatile, and I'm trying to limit my motions, I'm going to start limiting my motion, starting backing in.

MATT LAUER: Make a smaller court

MICHAEL JORDAN: Smaller, smaller court, and it gets to a point, you know, where he starts talking trash.  Marcus starts talking trash.  And then my game elevates, you know?

MATT LAUER: So you can't even not be competitive with your own kids.

MICHAEL JORDAN: Oh I can,

MATT LAUER: yeah?

MICHAEL JORDAN: I just don't play

MATT LAUER: Have you beaten him?

JEFFREY JORDAN: Yes.  I-- I've-- I'll put it on the record.  Yes.  We played--

MICHAEL JORDAN: Ask him how many times.

JEFFREY JORDAN: Okay.  But we don't play that much.

MATT LAUER: When I beat my dad in golf for the first time, there was no one happier about it than my dad.  It didn't please-- thrill you that much?

MICHAEL JORDAN: No.  Not at the moment

MATT LAUER: Is-- is that okay with you, that the fact that he drives that hard to compete with you at a high level?  Is that what you want from him?

JEFFREY JORDAN: Yeah.  I wouldn't-- I wouldn't want him to-- to hold that that wouldn't-- that wouldn't make any of us better.

JORDAN ON HIS MISTAKES:

MATT LAUER: What about mistakes, Michael?  Do you ever talk to Jeff and your other kids about mistakes you made and-- and how they should avoid some of them that--

MICHAEL JORDAN: Sure. You know, when it comes to gambling and doing things like that.  I want people to understand, gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the framework of what it's meant to be, which is fun and entertaining.

MATT LAUER: Bet with your head not over your head.

MICHAEL JORDAN: Exactly. So my lesson to him is, you know, don't ever go outside your means.  Don't ever put yourself in a predicament where now you're going to regret it, you know?