We’re curious to see what you think of this—funny, or messed up?  There’s certainly no middle ground in the practical joke (or scam) that Long Beach State alum Bryon Russell helped Utah Flash D-League owner Brandt Anderson play on Provo fans yesterday.  Anderson (with Russell’s assistance) had been circulating rumors for a few months that Russell and Michael Jordan would be playing a one-on-one game at halftime of the Flash’s home opener.  Russell and Jordan of course have a history, with Jordan making the final shot of his career, to win the 1998 NBA championship, a short second after pushing off of Russell.  In Jordan’s recent Hall of Fame speech, he took some shots at Russell, prompting immediate hype about the possibility of a one-on-one game between the two proud competitors.

Anderson saw an opportunity, and went for it, for better or worse.  He pledged a $100,000 donation to the charity of the winner’s choice, and then, after getting Russell on board, immediately began fueling speculation that it would happen…at his D-League team’s home opener, of all places.  The rumor picked up enough steam that a mid-November headline on NBA.com read “Russell-Jordan Showdown Rolling Along As Planned.”  Seriously.

Not to move the punchline up too far here, but: obviously, this was all made up. Jordan is unlikely to ever “stoop” to accepting a challenge, and if he did play Russell, it would obviously be on his terms, in a much flashier (or more private) arena than in front of a Utah D-League crowd.  Nonetheless, Anderson built hype by hiring an MJ impersonator and sending him around Provo before the game, accompanied by a sizable entourage—the videos went viral, and a franchise-record 7,500+ fans packed the Flash’s opener.

When halftime rolled around, the impostor strolled out, and Russell reportedly announced, “This is embarrassing right now. This is not good.”  (Numerous reports do state that he was aware it was a hoax).

Then, according to the AP, fans “started booing, then leaving.”

Anderson has of course rattled off a quick apology claiming the event he spent three months planning was a mistake: “This was done in fun. If you did not see it as fun or you feel we went over the top I am sorry,” he wrote in a posting on his blog.

We leave it to you in the comments below to answer the question: was this funny, or a ripoff?

Anderson says as an apology, tickets from Monday’s “hoax game” will be honored at any other Flash game this season. Fans attend two D-League Flash games in one season? Now that’s funny.