this probably isn't interesting

When NBDL Director of Media Relations Lenny Peacock* got up on Wednesday morning, it was shaping up like just another day. He probably had his bagel and a glass of OJ, then perused the sports section as he enjoyed a cup of delicious coffee. Then maybe he packed up his briefcase, said goodbye to the wife, and patted the dog on the head before heading out the door and getting into his car.

When he arrived at work, everything seemed normal. He said hello to his assistant and sat down at his desk to get started on a busy day of work. First thing to do: check the old email inbox to see if any media types had contacted him looking for information about the league.

This is where his day took a strange turn. In his email box were two emails, the first sent at 7:28 pm Tuesday night:

From: Big Jim Lang
To: Lenny Peacock/DLeague/NBA@NBA
Sent: 01/17/2006 07:28 PM
Subject: Question about NBDL logo

Sorry to bother you with such a trivial question - If the NBA's logo was modeled on Jerry West, what player is featured in the NBDL's?

Thanks in advance.

Big Jim Lang

The second, more long-winded version came in at 12:41 am:

From: Hans Bungle
To: Lenny Peacock/DLeague/NBA@NBA
Sent: 1/18/2006 12:41 AM
Subject: NBDL logo

Hello Mr. Peacock,

First, I want to wish you good luck with the league. I was a big CBA fan in the 80’s so naturally I have an interest in the NBDL. I am hoping it develops into a viable minor league for the NBA and provides a realistic second chance for all those talented and hardworking players who don’t quite fit the NBA mold on first glance.

The real reason I am writing to you is a simple question. We all know the silhouette on the NBA logo was modeled on Jerry West. But as hard as I try, I can’t figure out whose silhouette provides the basis for the NBDL logo. If I was looking for the best example of what your league is capable of, I’d go with Bobby Simmons. But I’m not sure when the logo was created and frankly it doesn’t look much like him. So who is it?

Also, I would consider buying some NBDL merchandise (T-shirts and sweatshirts) but the Reebok logo is displayed too prominently on them. Anything that can be done about that?

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Hans Bungle

What are the odds, Mr. Peacock must have wondered, two idiots coincidentally asking me for the same stupid information on the same night. He would have had every right to freak out. Most men would have just ignored our moronic requests. But instead, being a sport, he graciously replied to both of us the same way:

No one in particular...It was graphically designed...in fact, we haven't ever said Jerry West was the design for the NBA logo.

So I guess that's it, I figured, apparently the image is based on nobody. Then I thought about it for a minute. If they are denying that the NBA logo is indeed based on Jerry West, when that is pretty much a publicly accepted fact, maybe they are doing it for a reason. Maybe Jerry West never said, "Make me into a logo." And maybe if they admitted that they did just that, Ol' Jerry could come looking for a big payday. Not that he would; I'm sure he's honored. But just to be safe, they cannot admit that it's him. And to be honest, I've never seen a smoking gun photo that could prove it is. This is as close as I've seen (from here):


So, I wondered, if they took an image of West dribbling and manipulated it enough so that it didn't exactly match any existing photos, couldn't they have done the same with the NBDL logo?
And if so, what player would they choose? Surely the player every DL player aspires to be, right? No, not Danny Vranes. Not Sam Vincent. Not Lancaster Gordon. Not Steve Colter.

Michael Jordan.

At 10:49 am, I got an email from BA suggesting as much:

The photo appearing at the following link, although taken from a different angle, sure looks like the NBADL logo--leg position, right arm position and left arm position all seem very similar. Not trying to argue, just commenting on the similarity. I'm sure there are a hundred photos of players in that pose.

Since I generally suck at GP questions, I exercised my bungle-given right to use Google. Google, unfortunately, has let me down. First time ever, I think.

I knew BA was a Chicago guy and as a bitter Knicks fan part of me wanted to write off his guess to Jordan-era-Bulls-fan arrogance. The images didn't seem all that similar to me:

But then at 1:28 pm D. Lee stopped by Haloscan to confirm:

I found out: the logo is Jordan.

I know it's after the fact but i suspected as much. I think the silhouette is from a classic tounge out dunk he did that became a frequently used stock photo.

So I am assuming that D. Lee has some evidence that it's Jordan. Probably not enough to convict, but enough to make his case. If not a photo, a link to a story or something other than a whisper in the hallway. If only to set our minds at ease. Even if he doesn't produce anything, I am splitting the GP's between him and BA. 10 apiece.

As for the acornym challenge, five points go to MrsSmal for getting "Satellite Media Tour." And fiteen go to crsmal for at least taking the time to make up some bullshit about the other three. I have no way of checking his answers, so I will assume they are either right or so stupid that they deserve the ridicu-points. I guess this is a risk I run when I ask a trivia question without knowing the answer.

By the way, you're all welcome for those ESSA files yesterday. Ingrates.

For twelve points each, with no googling allowed please, the "kwacha" is the monetary unit of which two countries? Maximum four guesses to a person.

* Name and title changed so as not to mess with his life.