Jeremy Roenick Recalls a Wild Story of Golfing and Gambling With Michael Jordan – The Action Network

You could get into Michael Jordans pocket on the golf course back in the day, just dont challenge him on the court.

At least, thats the story former NHL star Jeremy Roenick is sticking with.

Speaking recently about a past golf bet with His Airness, the former Chicago Blackhawks forward recalled a full day of 36 holes on the links beers included before MJ played a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The day started when Jordan asked (or told) Roenick to meet him at Sunset Ridge for an early 18-hole match.

We played a round, I beat him for a couple thousand and got ready to leave, Roenick said on the McNeil & Parkins Show, a Chicago-based sports radio program, as reported by Golf.com. Now, the Bulls are playing that night. They played Cleveland that night. Im thinking hes leaving, its 10:00. He goes, No, lets go play again.

So we go and fill up a bag full of ice and Coors Light and walk again. We roll around another 18 and I take him for another couple [thousand dollars]. Now weve been drinking all afternoon and hes going from Sunset Ridge to the stadium, to play a game. Im messing around. Im like, Im gonna call my bookie. All the money you just lost to me, Im putting on Cleveland.

Thats right. He dared suggest that hed bet against Jordan, even after a day of golf and drinking.

He goes, Ill tell you what, Roenick continued. Ill bet you that well win by 20 points and I have more than 40 [points]. Im like, Done. Son of a gun goes out and scores 52 and they win by 26 points or something.

The story may not have occurred exactly the way that Roenick tells it, but only a stickler lets facts get in the way of a good story. If Cleveland was the opponent, Jordan scored 40 or more points against the Cavaliers at home five different times in his career as a member of the Bulls and four times in the playoffs (in four of those games, he scored 50 or more). The Bulls didnt win any of those games by 20 or more points, but that means theres an 80% chance that Jordan was gambling and day drinking in Chicago before a playoff game.

Moral of the story? It didnt really matter what Jordan did before games, even if that included two full rounds of golf and a few bags of Coors Lights. He was still going to dominate when it mattered most.

For another Michael Jordan-related golf gambling story, as reported by The Action Network, click here: