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PAST ISSUES

     Maybe it's all the talk from the Roger Clemens camp if he is going to return again . . . for "one more season," or just stay retired. Or even better, maybe it's the fictional boxing icon Rocky Balboa who came out of a 16-year retirement to star in "one last film" for the Rocky series. Regardless of wherever his motivation(s) came from, Scottie Pippen is planning a return to the NBA for a chance at "one more ring," just two-and-a-half short years since calling it quits.

     Pippen used this past weekend's All-Star festivities as a stage for him to announce his intentions of a return, I'm sure, in hopes of stimulating team interest in the possibility of acquiring his services. Ironically, he's taking a page from the book of the man he played in the shadow of for much of his career --- "His Airness" --- by coming out of retirement. Pippen is best remembered as Michael Jordan's sidekick in Chicago when they won six NBA Championships together during the '90s (and of course for quite possibly having the deepest voice in America).

     Not surprisingly, he's taking a page from another famous athlete's book --- "Roger Clemens" --- as he is trying to join a contending team part-way through the season. "The Rocket" is infamous for retiring and then coming back for a third time to rejoin his hometown Houston Astros for half of the 2006 Major League Baseball season, and is considering joining half-way through the upcoming 2007 season as well (which team he will play for is yet to be determined).

     At All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, the 41-year-old Pippen announced that he wants to join a contending team, and preferably one that has a warm-weather climate. So as far as contending warm-weather cities/teams, that pretty much narrows it down to Orlando and Miami in the East, and then Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, and Los Angeles (Lakers) in the West that he'll consider gracing with his presence. Would you like the league to fluff your pillow too Scottie?

     This is where Pippen is going wrong --- where he doesn't know what he's doing and he could end up damaging his legacy. Don't get me wrong, I love Scottie Pippen and Roger Clemens (Clemens a little bit moreso because he played for my beloved Red Sox), but requesting preferential treatment in pro sports locker rooms and clubhouses is basically a taboo, and is grounds for being ostracized.

     Even though some teams and players express their approval to the media on the matter, they're not being entirely truthful, especially if one person is speaking on behalf of the whole team. Just think if you were a bench player and you worked hard all season long to earn some quality playing time, quite possibly even a spot in the starting line-up. And then 3/4 of the way through the season, here comes Mr. Pippen strolling into the gym, and just because he's Scottie Pippen he's going to get all your minutes and park your butt back at the end of the bench. This is wrong because it will cause a rift in the locker room.

     But not only is it wrong for team chemistry, it's also wrong for Pippen and his legacy. It's wrong for him being an established basketball star (17-year NBA career with three teams, 6 NBA Titles, 2 Olympic Gold Medals, selected as one of the Top 50 NBA players of All Time); that's disrespecting the game. It's wrong for him as a role model for young aspiring hoopsters; that's disrespecting the youth of America who idolize sports figures. But most importantly, it's wrong for him as a person and an athlete, because he's taking the easy way out; that's disrespecting himself. What happened to the work ethic he had during his 17 years in the league, where he earned his paycheck and earned those six rings, two gold medals and a spot on the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All Time list?

     He's acting like a spoiled child right now by wanting everyone to roll out the red carpet for him and for all of his demands to be met. He wants the season to play out and then when he feels he's "ready," even if that means there's only seven games left in the regular season, he'll just hop on a (postseason-bound, warm-weather) team and expect everything to go smoothly and for his seventh ring to be handed to him on a silver platter.

     The bottom line is he wants to see everyone's hand before he puts his poker chips in. If he's that determined to come back to the NBA and he still has the fire and the passion and the work ethic to run with all younger players, then why doesn't he just go all in?