The NBA and NFL Hall of Fames don't have the same cachet as the Baseball Hall of Fame. It probably has something to do with baseball's long history, and with the same weird nostalgic mess of emotions that people tie to the sport. Whatever cocktail of feeling gets people all riled up about steroids and broken Home Run records is the same as what powers the allure of the Baseball Hall.
So Friday's Basketball Hall news snuck up on us: Michael Jordan -- as well as John Stockton and David Robinson -- are finalists to be inducted into the James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year. They're joined by 13 others, including Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, Rutgers women's coach Vivian Stringer, Dennis Johnson, Chris Mullen ... the list goes on.
Some of the finalists won't make the cut, and some might be held back by the ever-controversial Hall voting procedures. Somehow, we have a feeling Michael Jordan won't be one such player. Criteria for induction: "Best Basketball Player That Ever Lived." We think he'll do OK.
Eamonn Brennan is a writer, editor and blogger hunkered down in Lincoln Park. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, FanHouse, MOUTHPIECE Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com.
