"The fan in me says this is all kind of neat," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, adding that he was especially intrigued by the notion that Jordan's stake means he actually owns more of hockey's Capitals than basketball's Wizards.

"It's exciting for me," said Jordan, longtime friends with both Gretzky and Lemieux and an ardent admirer of the sport of hockey. "I became a partner (in Lincoln) because of their dedication to bringing a championship to Washington. My goal has always been to win, and I think the Capitals are heading in that direction.

"I'm learning more about another game, and it's fun," said Jordan, who took a hiatus from basketball to try his hand at minor-league baseball.

Asked about what appears to be down times around the NBA, with declining attendance and TV ratings, and better times in the NHL, Jordan said: "The NBA does appear to be going through a tunnel right now, with a lot of the veterans retiring and a lot of new young guys coming in. There seems to be a generation gap, from the fans' standpoint. So it's a good thing I'm involved with both sides, the decline of basketball and the incline of hockey. I guess I'm hedging my bets, so to speak."

Lincoln Holdings was formed in the spring of 1999 by Ted Leonsis, its majority owner. Jordan joined the five-man ownership group in January. The others include Jonathan Ledecky, team president Dick Patrick and Raul Fernandez. Other corporate holdings include the WNBA's Washington Mystics, the MCI Center and U.S. Airways Arena.

"Michael has been an owner of the team for nearly a year, and he's acted like one," Leonsis said, "and there is no greater champion in professional sports than Michael."

Jordan said he is looking forward to challenging pals Gretzky and Lemieux for hockey's Stanley Cup, even from the owners' suite.

"It's definitely going to be competitive," Jordan said. "They have the advantage because they understand the game a little better than me. But the trend is that we enjoy having the opportunity to play professional sports and I guess we feel like we can have an influence and we want to make that a part of our business."

And like Gretzky the day before, Jordan also squelched any talk of a comeback -- in either basketball or baseball despite rocketing salaries. Even Jordan raised his eyebrows and shook his head when asked about the 10-year, $252 million deal Texas gave Alex Rodriguez.

"That's a lot of money," Jordan said. "But I'm all for players using their leverage to the best of their ability. Obviously Mr. (Tom) Hicks (Rangers owner) feels like this helps his teams. In terms of whether it helps the league, a lot of people are going to speculate one way or the other but right now we don't know. It could be something that can set a trend. Either way, the business of sports is growing tremendously. (The contract) raises a lot of concerns, but I'm happy for A-Rod. Will other players command that kind of salary? Maybe, but it's up to the owners to pay them."

Jordan also welcomed Lemieux back as a player.

"Mario and I are pretty good friends, and he actually notified me about a week ago of his comeback," Jordan said. "I support that completely. He wouldn't step into the arena again without accepting the consequences. He played at a level in his sport that I played in mine, and I'm sure the game will welcome him back. We all wish him well -- except for the times our team plays his."

The Jordan news conference closed an eventful two-day meeting involving three of the greatest athletes of their generation, representing three different professional sports -- all buying into the National Hockey League.

But Bettman tempered his giddiness with the realistic notion that while it might be nice PR for the NHL it's even more important for the franchises to get strong leadership.

"Our biggest focus should still address the fact that the franchises need to be well-run, with a purpose and that they remain stable," Bettman said. "With Wayne in Phoenix, Michael in Washington and Mario in Pittsburgh, those are all positives for the games. It's great to have people like that very involved in sports and very connected who are committed to our game."