MIA MJ Insulting, But Chicago Endures

COPENHAGEN -- Oprah is here. Oprah is smiling. Oprah is talking to the Great Danes, both humans and dogs. Oprah is shopping on the Stroget, the world's longest pedestrian street, carrying a colorful bag with just-bought goodies. Oprah is ready to pump flesh and exchange hugs with any and all International Olympic Committee members -- or, better still, their wives. Oprah even has no problem, after a long plane ride, appearing at a Chicago 2016 dinner/revival/love-in with hundreds of supporters.

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"For me, this is beyond exciting because here we are, just hours away from a decision that could be a landmark in Chicago history," the indefatigable Ms. Winfrey said. "For us to be able to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games would be what my grandmother used to call our crowning glory -- something that certainly would be worthy of a brand-new star on our Chicago flag. It's tremendous that we are all here as we now sprint to the finish line on Friday with the best team captain and co-captain we could ever have."

As anticipated, Oprah kept a promise to President Obama and the first lady and flew overseas to support Chicago's Olympic campaign, which continues to resemble a Steelers-Ravens trash-talkfest more than an elegant competition. Too bad the same schedule couldn't be kept by Michael Jordan, who is associated with Chicago more than any human being alive -- including Winfrey -- and has mere hours to get his expanding gut to Denmark, start politicking starstruck IOC voters and give new meaning to "Come Fly With Me." Amid a hotly competitive backdrop that welcomed Michelle Obama and her rivals Wednesday and awaits the arrival of her husband Friday, it occurred to the ever-nitpicking American media that one of the planet's most recognizable figures is MIA.

Nor is MJ expected in town, according to the Chicago 2016 camp. "A scheduling conflict," said a bid spokesman, offering no specifics. Which means advantage, Rio de Janeiro, in this category, because Brazil has its most famous sports legend in the house. And how fascinating, in the spirit of the crossfire, to hear Pele point out that he is here and Jordan is not in reponse to a direct question about the absence of the the greatest basketball player ever.

"It is important to participate when your country needs you," Pele said at a press conference. "If I have to die for my country, I would die for my country. If I have to die for my sport, I would die for my sport. I feel very happy if I can help my country."

At first, Pele referred to Jordan as "Michael Jackson," which drew howls in the room. Sad to say, Jordan has as much chance of showing up as Jackson. Never mind that a statue was erected for him outside the United Center, where he led the Bulls to six NBA championships. Never mind that Chicago adores him more than an 82-degree sunny day. Never mind that he won two Olympic gold medals and was the foremost member of the heralded Dream Team. When he didn't show up at a major fund-raising function last month, on a night when the Dream Team was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, it was Mike's way of saying he wouldn't be hob-nobbing with the Jorges, Henriks and Jacques of the IOC world.

Which is pretty lame, if you ask me. Just what is Jordan doing these days, anyway? One son is a junior at the University of Illinois who decided to leave the basketball program; the other is a freshman at the University of Central Florida, where he'll play basketball. He supposedly is running the Charlotte Bobcats, but why do so many people in North Carolina complain that he's an absentee executive who operates the franchise out of Chicago? He just delivered a rambling speech at the Basketball Hall of Fame that I defended but many others derided as selfish, bitter and miserable, all the more reason to do a good deed for Chicago and America. He lives in south Florida with his new girlfriend, model Yvette Prieto. Couldn't he pull away from her for 36 hours and help out the president?

There was a moment here when David Robinson, an original Dream Teamer who is representing the Chicago bid, was chatting with IOC members. Michelle Obama, whose maiden name is Robinson, approached him and said, "I know who you are! Another Robinson. I tell people we're related." Don't get me wrong: David Robinson is a wonderful American and an asset to anyone's bid. But think of the impact if Jordan had been the one schmoozing.

On the eve of the presentations, the vote and the announcement -- which will come just before high noon in the Midwest -- the growing sense is that Chicago is pulling away from the competition. In difficult economic times, Rio is too great a financial and logistical risk. In the bad timing department, the city had to cancel a World Cup swimming event next month due to lack of money. "There are no financial resources. They cannot find any funding. They say they cannot do it," said Cornel Marculescu, executive director of FINA, swimming's governing body. There is a strong sentiment -- even among U.S. sportswriters, if that matters -- to have the Games in an exotic location where the nights are long and the thong bikini happened to be invented. But 2009 might be a weak time for practicality, which is why Chicago makes more sense. You wonder if Rio has the money and time to finish $11 billion in infrastructure initiatives when Chicago's infrastructure largely is in place, except for a makeshift Olympic Stadium to be built 10 miles from the city core, not terribly far from the home the Obamas keep on the South Side.

Nor did it help Rio when the vice president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Jose Maria Odriozola, continued the crossfire between bid cities Wednesday when he told the Efe news agency, "Rio is the worst bid" of the four candidates. "The IOC is not going to risk it and take the games to a site where it doesn't have total confidence that it can be done well," said Odriozola, which prompted the Rio bid team to submit a formal complaint to the IOC. This is interesting in that Rio representatives have spent the week forecasting a victory and saying Obama's presence "changes nothing." Those Brazilians can dish out the trash, but apparently, they can't take it.

"This gentleman is clearly out of step with the report of the IOC's own Evaluation Commission," Rio 2016 said in a statement.

What Rio can't refute is its crime problem. The homicide rate is much higher than Chicago -- and, for that matter, Madrid and Tokyo. With terrorism casting a permanent dark cloud over every major sports event, murder and drugs don't seem like an appetizing part of an Olympic formula. The sturdy pick seems to be Chicago, unless there's an upset and the European influences in the IOC push for Madrid.

"As my husband would say, are we fired up and ready to go here?" said Michelle Obama, who was wooing IOC voters only minutes after arriving. "When I looked at the bid initially, I was overwhelmed at what a beautiful concept was presented. Everything about this bid speaks to what the city has to offer. Using the lakefront, using the existing park structure to ensure we're making the kinds of investments and will have the kind of leave-behinds that will benefit the city in the long run.

"It will be an athletes' paradise in so many ways, and we will have it at a time in the city's climate that it will actually be nice. The lake won't be frozen over. So I am thrilled, I am proud of our bid and I'm proud of our team. So I have to ask you, are we ready to go with this?"

The assembled Chicago partisans roared like they were watching a Jay Cutler touchdown pass. In unison, they await the president, who arrives too late to have solo conversations with IOC members. Will that be a tactical error? Remember, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin did plenty of productive one-on-one work in securing the last two Olympic bids at IOC meetings. Will the first lady impress these voters by her lonesome? Or will they view her as the No. 2 weapon when they want to see The Man?

"We're Chicago, we're the U.S., we're going to be the best we can," said Pat Ryan, Chicago's bid leader. "We don't want to get into the political competition that way. This is about sport. It's not about the influence of any individual."

Oh, but it is. And Michael Jeffrey Jordan, wherever he is, would have helped the cause dramatically. Unless a valid excuse is forthcoming, Chicago should feel insulted.