Scottie Pippen's short memory leads him to declare that he's the "greatest Chicago Bull of all time" in a new Foot Locker commercial that also stars NBA legend Charles Barkley and current Houston Rockets player James Harden.
The ad starts with Harden asking Barkley's advice on how to start the NBA season "off fresh."
It's simple, the former MVP says. Wear Foot Locker gear and "have a short memory."
"All the greats have short memories," Barkley tells Harden.
Harden then proceeds to quiz Barkley about past bad games, his "Round Mound of Rebound" nickname and an infamous incident in which Barkley was accused of throwing a man he argued with through a window. Barkley insists he doesn't remember any of it and turns to Pippen (Hamburg, Central Arkansas) to reinforce his point.
"Scottie Pippen knows," Barkley says.
"I sure do, and I'm the greatest Chicago Bull of all time," Pippen says with a smile, seemingly forgetting -- for the sake of the commercial -- that he played with some guy named Michael Jordan, a five-time NBA MVP and 10-time league scoring champion.
"And that's how it's done," Barkley says.
Jordan and Pippen won six NBA titles over eight years with the Chicago Bulls -- three from the 1990-1991 season to the 1992-1993 season and three more from the 1995-1996 season to the 1997-1998 season. The only two seasons that the two did not win a title during that time was when Jordan retired briefly from the game to pursue a professional baseball career.
UNTIMELY STRIP
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad marches -- or runs -- to the beat of a different drummer.
The two-time Olympic silver medalist from France was up to his old tricks Thursday when he was on the verge of winning his third consecutive 3,000-meter steeplechase title at the European Championships in Zurich.
Unfortunately, with roughly 100 meters to go, he was overcome with exuberance and took off his shirt. He then motioned to the crowd asking them to cheer, clutched his singlet in his mouth and crossed the finish line well ahead of his fellow competitors.
He was given a yellow card warning by officials, but following a protest by Spain Mekhissi-Benabbad, 29, was disqualified. Track and field's world governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, has a rule that bibs should not be obscured in any way during the race.
So Mekhissi-Benabbad was stripped of his gold medal for stripping, and as a result countryman Yoann Kowal was awarded the top spot.
This isn't the first time Mekhissi-Benabbad has made headlines on the track. Two years ago, he inexplicably shoved a mascot -- which turned out to be a 14-year-old girl -- during the Euro finals. At another meet a year later, he came to blows with a teammate.
CALL THE COWBOYS
Any NFL team that needs quarterback depth may want to give this referee a look.
One official got a chance to show off his arm during Thursday night's preseason game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chicago Bears. He was positioned behind the secondary on the play, but when he saw a penalty near the line of scrimmage he sent his flag flying.
The official distance of the throw: 31 yards.
QUIZ
What year did Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley play together for the Houston Rockets?
ANSWER
1998-1999
Sports on 08/16/2014