Forty Million Reasons Why Jordan Is King

Michael Jordan, estimated to earn $40 million from endorsements between now and July, is sports’ leading money man, according to the Sports Marketing Letter. And that doesn’t include his Chicago Bulls salary. Here’s where it all comes from:

Endorsement brands--Nike, Rayovac, Gatorade, Hanes, Ballpark Franks, Coach Leather, Wheaties, Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, WorldCom (phone cards and long distance service), Oakley Sunglasses, Wilson, NBA Entertainment/ CBS-Fox Home Videos, CBS Sportsline (Jordan Internet home page planned for fall), Bijan, Chicago Chevyland, Jordan’s Restaurant, MJ Golf, M.J. Automotive (dealership).

“Long live the king. He’ll stay on top of the list until he wants to be off it,” SML editor Brian Murphy says. “Nothing short of a terrible scandal could knock him off.”

Trivia time: Jordan was the third pick in the 1984 NBA draft. Who was taken ahead of him?

Sound off: One who is not impressed with Jordan and his Bull teammates is Mike Ditka, the former Chicago Bear coach now with the New Orleans Saints.

“I don’t care if they win nine NBA titles,” Ditka said. “The ’86 Super Bowl was the greatest thing to happen to Chicago sports.”

Ditka’s Bears beat New England, 46-10.

Stars and stripes: Pete Rose must wish that Tom O’Brien, Boston College’s new football coach, was commissioner of baseball. Asked to comment on last season’s gambling scandal at BC, O’Brien said:

“It could have happened anywhere. Gambling is a college thing. It’s an American thing.”

First-tee jitters: Goran Ivanisevic may be one of the world’s hardest hitters of a tennis ball, but when he’s teeing off at golf he’s no different from your everyday duffer.

“I hate it when there’s pressure, when I’m on the tee and people are looking,” he said after playing 27 holes in the rain last week. “I like playing in the rain. For 27 holes there was nobody on the course but me and me.”

Shoot ‘em up: For those basketball followers who think a dunk should be worth only one point, a mock ad in New York’s Newsday for a make-believe movie about women’s basketball exploits a good reason for watching the WNBA:

“See them pass! See them score! See them not dunk!”

Dropping fast: Five years ago Steve Emtman was the hottest item in college football. He was the first player taken in the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts--a 280-pound defensive lineman from Washington.

Last week, this is what San Francisco 49er Coach Steve Mariucci said after cutting him: “We were looking for him to be a little quicker and stronger and more active.”

Other than that, he was fine.

Trivia answer: Hakeem Olajuwon by Houston and Sam Bowie by Portland.

And finally: The NBA trade rumor involving Seattle’s Shawn Kemp and Toronto’s Marcus Camby brought this reaction from Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune:

“The trade seems logical enough. Both are big guys. Both like to score. Both need to be burped.”