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The Associated Press

Published: April 7, 2009

DETROIT - Magic vs. Michael for the title again?

It was suggested Monday that if the national championship game were tied after overtime, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan should decide it with a game of 1-on-1.

Both Hall of Famers - Jordan was elected Monday - won national championships for their teams and are expected to be in the stands cheering on their schools. Jordan's jumper from the left wing lifted North Carolina past Georgetown for the 1982 title. Johnson led Michigan State over Larry Bird and Indiana State three decades ago.

Jordan got the better of Johnson in the NBA, leading the Bulls to the first of their six titles with a five-game victory in the 1991 finals.

Talk of a rematch brought out the trash talk in the notoriously competitive Jordan.

"You really think he can beat me?" Jordan said. "He couldn't beat me in the finals at all."

EMOTIONAL BOOST: Michigan State's run in the NCAA Tournament has provided a welcome emotional boost to the economically struggling state, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Monday.

"Not to put more pressure on them of course, but they really have become a symbol for our state," said Granholm, who wore a green Michigan State sweat shirt under her dark business jacket Monday at the state Capitol in Lansing. "You know, a symbol of what can happen when you work really hard. As Coach Tom Izzo says he's got a blue-collar team, and all they do is work, work, work. It's a great statement about them, certainly. But it's a great, uplifting moment for us."

Granholm said the Final Four will have an economic benefit to Detroit but that the overall benefit to Michigan - which had the nation's highest unemployment rate in February at 12 percent - is hard to quantify in dollars and cents.

CHAMPIONSHIP PARALLELS? North Carolina's path to the national championship game has a familiar feel, especially when compared to the Tar Heels' past two title runs.

All three teams went into the final with almost identical records to face opponents from the Big Ten Conference. Heading into Monday's game against Michigan State, the Tar Heels had the same 33-4 record as the 1993 team that beat Michigan's "Fab Five." The 2005 team was 32-4 before beating Illinois.

In addition, all three teams lost at Wake Forest in January and headed into the NCAA Tournament following a close loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament despite winning the league's regular-season crown. The 1993 team lost in the ACC final by two points, while the 2005 and 2009 squads both lost in the semifinals by three points.

And on Monday, Ty Lawson won the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard just as Raymond Felton.

The Associated Press

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