Air Jordan's visit will elevate hall

Talk about good timing. Just when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is experiencing some financial headaches, the profile of Springfield's hoop hall was elevated to national prominence by the announcement that Michael Jordan will lead the five-member Class of 2009 when hall induction ceremonies are held here on Sept. 11. The hall's profile was further heightened when Jordan shoes and three of his fellow inductees - NBA greats David Robinson and John Stockton and women's basketball coaching icon C. Vivian Stringer - accepted their Hall of Fame '09 jerseys in Detroit, site of the men's Final Four. Inductee Jerry Sloan, who coached Stockton with the NBA's Utah Jazz, did not attend the announcement. Now, that's prime-time exposure to die for. The election of Jordan and his classmates brings positive publicity to the Hall of Fame, a week after the museum's financial challenges wereair jordan shoes made public. The hall is seeking to recapitalize its debt, estimated by president and chief executive officer John L. Doleva at between $4 million and $5 million. While the hall is well on the way to stabilizing its financial picture, support from all possible sources is needed. This year's inductees, a stellar group, should draw attention to the cause. Robinson is a 10-time NBA All-Star, who sparked theAir jordan I sneaker San Antonio Spurs to two titles; Stockton, who spent his whole career with the Jazz, netted 19,711 points there; Sloan is the longest-tenured head coach in U.S. pro basketball history with a single franchise; and Springer has coached perennial women's powerhouse Rutgers. All are outstanding contributors to the game invented in Springfield, but Jordan is in a league of his own. Widely regarded as the greatest player in basketball history, his list of accomplishments includes five-time NBA Most Valuable Player awards, and when he retired the highest NBA Jordan I shoesscoring average of 30.1 points per game. When Jordan and his colleagues arrive in Springfield, we expect they'll propel the Hall of Fame to new heights. Air jordan XI sneaker Air jordan XII sneaker Air jordan XIII sneaker Air jordan XIV sneaker Air jordan XV sneaker The artilcle is from http://www.masslive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/04/air_jordans_visit_will_elevate.html