CHARLOTTE, N. Air Max Baratas Outlet .C. - A humbled and emotional Michael Jordan fought back tears, feeling vindicated after years of criticism, after being named the Charlotte Business Journals Business Person of the Year.The Charlotte Hornets owner said during a nine-minute acceptance speech Tuesday night posted on Sports Business Daily website, that while hes received many awards as a player, this one was different.Ive been criticized in a lot of different areas from a business standpoint, but I take pride in the ideas and concepts and views that come out of this organization to build the type of basketball program... that the city of Charlotte can be proud of, Jordan said as he began tearing up.Jordan won six NBA titles as a player, but his front-office leadership abilities had been questioned — including his decision to take Kwame Brown with the No. 1 pick while an executive with the Washington Wizards.But Jordan has repeatedly said he is committed to turning the Hornets around and members of his team echoed his sentiments on Wednesday.Charlotte president and COO Fred Whitfield said Wednesday that Jordan was genuinely honoured and humbled by the award.Whitfield said Jordan has listened to fans, including changing the teams name back to the Hornets upon their request. The franchise had been known as the Bobcats.He is so proud to be building something in his home state, Whitfield said. So to be recognized with such a prestigious award for his business accomplishments was really, really special to him.Jordans long-time business manager Estee Portnoy was in attendance at the ceremony, and called the speech genuine and beautiful in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday.Jordan, a 14-time NBA All-Star who took over as the Hornets majority owner in 2010, said he plans on winning multiple championships with the franchise.For all of the people that think that Im in this for the short term, you better pull your socks up and just hang around — because my promise to this organization and this community is to bring a winner, Jordan said.Jordan said when he joined the Hornets as a minority owner he never anticipated taking over as majority owner, but rather was interested in helping bring a winning franchise back to his home state.But he said when Bob Johnson decided to sell the franchise, it felt like karma that allowed him the opportunity own a team in North Carolina.I left home. I came back home. And I plan on staying home, Jordan said.Jordan, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, talked at length how much of his family still lives in the state.And he said hes still driven to win.Me personally I could ride off into the sunset and never worry about a thing, Jordan said. But my pride brought me back to North Carolina for whatever reason.Jordan, who won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, went on to say a lot of my credits from a basketball standpoint are going to be attributed to Chicago. But Im from North Carolina.Jordan also thanked his employees and his family for their input on his business decisions.I take input from all sources of this community be it from my family or be it from business leaders, be it from people walking in the streets, Jordan said. And that gives me a sense of my pride in my connection to the community. I dont take that for granted. I take it with a lot of pride and a lot of respect.The Hornets made the playoffs last year but were swept in the post-season by the Miami Heat.They are currently ninth in the Eastern Conference standings this season.We still have a long ways to go as an organization, Jordan said. We are just scratching the surface. Nike Air Max Baratas Online . The roster changes have been constant and continuous since late last year, but even with their 46-man roster set for the start of the season, the banged-up Bombers will be kicking off Week 1 with a handful of fresh faces and back-ups in the starting lineup. Air Max España Baratas .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. http://www.airmaxbaratasoutlet.es/ . Giants manager Bruce Bochy told The Associated Press of the decision before NL West-leading San Francisco opened a 10-game homestand Monday night with the first of three games against second-place Arizona.When last seasons NBA Finals ended, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was all smiles. For a few minutes, that is. Popovichs first order of business after the seasons final buzzer sounded in Miami was to go and embrace Erik Spoelstra, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, giving everyone hearty hugs and offering genuine words of congratulations after the Heat topped his Spurs in Game 7 of one of the most dramatic, thrilling championship series in league history. The pain of losing started setting in later, and lasted for months. But now, the dream scenario for San Antonio has arrived. Starting Thursday, the Spurs get a rematch in the NBA Finals against the only team to ever beat them in a championship series. San Antonio will be holding home-court advantage, so if another Game 7 awaits, the Spurs will have the decided edge this time around. If that wasnt enough, the Spurs even got basically five full days between games to get healthy and prepare. It is, without question, everything the Spurs could have wanted. "We know what were going against," said Spurs guard Tony Parker, who added that he has great respect for what the Heat have done in this four-year run. "Its a great challenge." There are so many things that would seem like a distinct San Antonio advantage right now. First, while everyones better at home, the Spurs dominate in San Antonio, winning 103 times in their last 123 games there. Over the past four seasons, the Spurs are also 25-5 when having three or more days between games. Maybe most importantly, having nearly a week between the end of the Western Conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals gives Parker plenty of time to get his ailing left ankle ready to go for Game 1. "Ill do my best," said Parker, who didnt practice Tuesday but is hoping to play in the series opener, as the Heat expect he will. This is San Antonios sixth trip to the NBA Finals. The Spurs won it all in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, the last title in that run coming when San Antonio swept a Cleveland team that featured a young LeBron James making his debut on the leagues biggest stage. James is no finals apprentice anymore. Hes been to the title round three times since, winning the last ttwo. Air Max Outlet España. And James is quick to point out that the Spurs arent the only team fueled by hunger in this championship round. "Both teams have motivating factors," James said. "They have a motivating factor. We have our own." Losing the finals is one thing. Losing the way the Spurs did last June, thats something else. Forget Game 7 for a moment. Game 6 will be replayed for as long as there are replays, unforgettable for both how the Heat rallied and how the Spurs collapsed. A 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter was erased, in part because Mike Miller scored three points on one shot while wearing one shoe. And a five-point lead with 28.2 seconds left, well, you know the rest. Manu Ginobili misses a free throw. James makes a 3-pointer. Kawhi Leonard makes one of two free throws. James misses a 3-pointer. Chris Bosh out jumps Ginobili for the rebound. Ray Allen started backpedaling to the right corner, hoping for a chance. ABCs Mike Breen described what happened next like this: "Rebound Bosh ... back out to Allen ... his 3-pointer ... BANG!!! Tie game!" The Heat went on to win in overtime that night, then found a way to win Game 7 and the title, 95-88. When this season began, Popovich started camp by showing his team Games 6 and 7, painful as it was. "I try to learn something every game I watch," Popovich said. "Thats what we do." And while there were plenty of teams that looked like contenders this season, neither club was surprised that the end result is the first NBA Finals rematch since 1998. "We got wined and dined with some of the other teams that kind of popped up and showed greatness throughout the year," Allen said. "The Clippers looked great. OKC, they had their issues and then they popped up. Memphis looked good at the end of the year. Indiana was always hovering. But if you go back to the beginning of the year, most people said the same thing. Pop knew how to manage his team to get to this point. Same thing with us." In other words, maybe Spurs-Heat II was meant to be. 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