Breadboard layout question
Let's take a look at Diagram 2 on the link you posted, which shows how breadboards are wired internally.



Each red line represents a series of holes which are electrically connected together. Anything that's connected to holes in the same red line are thus connected to each other. Each horizontal row has two signal networks, one for each side of the board (left/right). The LED in this case uses the two networks in row 7, one for each of its leads. It just as easily could have been connected to row 7 (left) and then have the other lead and the black wire in row 9 (on either side).

Now let's take a look at the electrical circuit schematic of the wiring in Diagram 3.



Note how there is a path that starts at the red wire and ends at the black wire. This is the path that current takes from the positive battery terminal to the negative battery terminal. If you were to connect the black wire and the LED as you described, the black wire, the resistor lead in row 7, and both LED leads would all be connected directly together. The circuit would look like this:



This extra connection provides a direct connection from the second resistor terminal (I7) to ground, bypassing the LED. It's a fair bet that the LED won't light up.