Quickie: The Smart Guy

It's nice to be able to write something positive about a superstar.

I don't know why all of the ones I've been running into are basketball players but maybe football players aren't as visible to me (although come to think of it, I did see one of those, too, but I didn't talk to him so it's not worth mentioning). Anyway, on with the story.

I've never been a huge fan of him, not because of his personality or anything like that, but just because he has been on team(s) I could never root for (not if I wanted to go back home, that is). But I had the absolute pleasure of randomly chit-chatting with this NBA superstar and I must say, he was quite impressive. He seems like an intelligent guy on TV, even in his "holy role," but he's not just smart, he puts his money and time where his mouth is, and encourages his teammates to do the same.

In a 20 minute convo with him and another sports figure, basketball was not on the agenda. Instead, we discussed topics such as why our society is in poor health. By all accounts, he is a rare breed indeed in any sport, but every team could use a guy like him in their locker room.

The sky is definitely the limit when it comes to his post-NBA vocation.

If this isn't easy enough, I'll add that he and his team are in the playoffs.

Quickie: What's the Answer?

(Note: If I already told you this story, you are NOT allowed to guess! I know, I know . . . there IS a downside to being in my entourage.)

Unfortunately, this is all I have time for these days. But I keep having anonymous run-ins with "greatness" so I thought I'd share with you all.

This one is probably entirely too easy, so I'm not giving too many clues.

Recently, I ran into this NBA superstar in a place where he's not normally known to be . . . at the casino. I wasn't gambling, but from the looks of it, he probably wished he hadn't been either. This could be due to some other issues, even though his team had actually won just a few hours before, and he had a pretty good game. He hasn't put up his usual superstar numbers recently, but he's due.

The one thing I really like about this guy is that, love him or hate him, he is and always will be a man of the people. Because while some of his superstar counterparts were probably also at the casino that night, they certainly were not sitting where our man was . . . with the common folk. Blinged out, yes, but in the dead center of the casino at the poker table. A serious crowd had begun to form, but he didn't seem to care. It's not like he couldn't afford to sit in the baller's room, but from my experience, that's just not his style.

Quickie: Terry Porter Ain't Got No Rings

I try to avoid discussing my personal experiences so as to protect the innocent (and the guilty) but this one was completely anonymous and worth sharing.

I was out and about the other night, standing at the top of the stairs of a restaurant when I saw what looked to be an older basketball player coming up the stairs toward me. As he got a little closer, I said to myself - which ended up being out loud - "Oh, that's Terry Porter!"

The response from "Terry Porter" as he ascended the stairs: "You must be drunk, baby!" (I hadn't had a drop of alcohol)

The man next to me quickly makes the correct identification: "It's [insert name of (way) former role player who won several NBA championships alongside a superstar]!"

(I won't out him since I don't want to start any trouble)

Yes, upon further inspection, the man next to me was right. So "way former role player" ("WFRP") says to me, just to make sure I never got it confused again: "Terry Porter? Terry Porter ain't got no ___________ rings!"

I apologize, WFRP, you're right. I should have looked for rings. That would have totally cleared things up.

But mostly, I apologize to nice guy Terry Porter for getting him confused with this character. People really crack me up . . .

Two Quickies: Kenny George; The Replacement Players

Last college basketball season, I wrote about a player named Kenny George from UNC-Asheville. At 7'7" and in possession of the top field goal percentage in the NCAA, you'd think he had it made, but his size seems to get in the way of him living a normal life. This is a guy whose dad has to drive across the country to pick him up from school because he can't fit on an airplane. And I felt a tinge of sadness watching him play, mainly because he seemed to be in pain. Although I'm sure he loves basketball, there's an air of exploitation surrounding him. I'm not suggesting that UNC-Asheville is necessarily the culprit, but it's just an uneasy feeling I get.

Well, now it looks like he's going to miss the entire upcoming season. George is currently laid up in a Chicago hospital following two surgeries due to a foot infection, and his coach says that he's probably not going to even attend school this semester, which sucks because this is his senior year. (Although he could possibly have another year of eligibility if his injury is non-sports related. I actually had an extra year of sports eligibility when I started law school. . . but God denied my petition for 28 hours in a day.) Hopefully, he will be able to at least return to graduate even if he can't play . . . something tells me that even if he takes the year off, he has a good shot at being picked up by an NBA team who wants to take a chance on him. While I don't think his body will handle too many years in the league, though, I do hope he gets a shot - for his own sake and no one else's . . .


The latest episode of "Pull the Plug on the QB," features the Minnesota Viking's Tarvaris Jackson. Vikings coach Brad Childress announced Wednesday that Jackson will be riding the pine from here on out until further notice. In his place will be 15-year veteran Gus Frerotte - aka the poster child for "one time a bride, usually a bridesmaid." He made a name for himself with the Washington Redskins where he made the Pro Bowl in 1996 (12 years ago) but was perhaps even more famous in our nation's capital for spraining his neck during a touchdown celebration (but at least he scored, DeSean) and ending up in the hospital.

Only two weeks in and the coach is shaking things up. Childress clearly doesn't like what he sees and apparently neither do the fans as they vocally expressed their disapproval of Jackson's playing during the last game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings have certainly woefully underperformed in their first two games, but I'm not sure anyone on the team was expecting this move, not even the two men who are swapping jobs. Right now, Jackson has barely 300 yards in his two starts - Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb both had about that on Monday night. Which doesn't have to be a bad thing (everyone can't be Romo and McNabb)...if you're still getting it done other ways. Oh, there's the problem: Despite Adrian Peterson rushing for 160 yards, the Vikings never scored a touchdown in Sunday's game against the Colts. Childress probably thinks, like many folks, that if you've got a player like AP, who's still performing at AP-level (i.e., LT - I know, the toe, but 2007 counts, too) you ought to be winning, or at the very least, scoring.

Frerotte has had a very, very (very) long time to become a premier QB in this league, and if it hasn't happened in 14 years, I don't see 15 being the charm, so we'll see how long this lasts. But, boy oh boy, life is tough for a starting QB, isn't it? We're just two games in, and this season has already changed at least one institution: fantasy football. All those "draft the best QB first" owners will definitely be re-thinking that strategy next year . . .

2 Quickies.

Two other items that I am waiting for more details to develop before I comment:

1) The father of a California high school (female) basketball standout was gunned down during half time of her game. The father was apparently very involved with the team and his daughter's development as a basketball game. The game was called before it ended after officials learned what had occurred. The man's daughter had been pulled from the game prior to that. No word on a motive. Very sad.

2) Orenthal James Simpson may be heading back to jail for violating the terms of his bail by contacting one of his co-defendants in the case to discuss testimony. If this is true, he should be tethered to his lawyer at all times.

Quickie Answered

Kudos to Patrick for allegedly knowing the answer to my "Quickie!" I don't know if I believe that he didn't look this up, because I don't even know all the people on my favorite teams, much less all the people on two teams. But even if you looked it up, I'm impressed.

If you didn't see his comment, the WNBA finals features the Detroit Shock v. the Phoenix Mercury. The Shock are up 2-1 after their win last night. I watched the game last night on ESPN2 and I was surprised that I knew several of the young ladies, Diana Taurasi being the most famous, but I'm not sure I can give you a starting five. Even Google is in on the WNBA bash, because when I searched for images by typing in "wnba finals," it asked me whether I meant "nba finals." Ouch. Of course, this didn't work the other way around.

If they really want to make the sport more appealing, I think they should start by lowering the baskets. I have some other ideas as to why it's not so popular, but I think I'll save my likely controversial comments for another time when I'm ready to get hate mail.