Expect MJ to root for Chicago

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It was only a matter of time before the name of Michael Jordan and the topic of his relationship with the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards had to come up.

Yesterday, following the Wizards' intense-but-brief practice in preparation for tomorrow's Game 1 of their best-of-7 series with the Bulls, it did.

Asked which of the two teams Jordan favors, Washington's Larry Hughes replied, "Oh, Chicago! No doubt."

Few, if any, will doubt Hughes.

Jordan left the Bulls in 1998, after winning a sixth NBA championship for the team and reaching a still-unparalleled level of sports superstardom and commercial branding. Until this year, the Bulls had not made it back to the playoffs since his departure.

Jordan didn't fare so well in his stint here. Named president of basketball operations and minority owner Jan. 19, 2000, Jordan returned as a player for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. His presence lifted sales at MCI Center and of Wizards merchandise.

But Jordan, who had planned to return to the front office, was fired by owner Abe Pollin on May 6, 2003. The last time Washington reached the playoffs, they were dismissed by Jordan and the Bulls in 1997.

Jordan, who has been to games in Chicago but hasn't set foot in MCI Center since he was fired, still looms large in this series.

Jordan signed Hughes, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, to a three-year deal. In the last year of his contract, Hughes has emerged as one of the best guards in the league.

In 2001 Jordan drafted Kwame Brown fresh out of a Georgia high school, making Brown, who has yet to come close to expectations, the first high school player selected with the top pick in the draft.