http://www.ardemgaz.com/today/spt/C02wally19.html "A friend once bet lunch that Kleine would have a better NBA career than Olajuwon. Kleine, who retired this season after 15 years in the NBA, asked if the friend had a drinking problem." loLz ------------------ PHILOSOPHY "Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: 'mankind'. Basically, it's made up of two separate words -- 'mank' and 'ind'. What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind."
Thanks for the link JC, very good article. So good in fact, I am posting it here: Like it is: Pippen not the only superstar headed to Alltel WALLY HALL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE When Scottie Pippen is introduced tonight, there should be a roar coming out of Alltel Arena that can be heard all the way to his home town of Hamburg. He might play in Portland and might have won world championships in Chicago, but he's still from here. Yet, there's another person that will take the court tonight who is worth the price of admission. And he'll be wearing a Houston uniform. This is Hakeem Olajuwon's 17th, and final, season in the NBA, and he hasn't been back to this state since he played for the Houston Cougars and Razorbacks fans hated to admire him. In the early 1980s when the Razorbacks and Cougars -- who became known as Phi Slama Jama en route to three consecutive Final Four appearances -- hooked up, it was worth the price of admission just to see Olajuwon and Joe Kleine battle down low. A friend once bet lunch that Kleine would have a better NBA career than Olajuwon. Kleine, who retired this season after 15 years in the NBA, asked if the friend had a drinking problem. "If there has been anyone better than Hakeem I'd like to meet him," Kleine said. Los Angeles Lakers' center Shaquille O'Neal claims Olajuwon is the best center to play the game. A glance at Olajuwon's statistics might question that, until one looks beyond the obvious. He ranks 10th on the NBA's all-time scoring list and 11th in rebounding. Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone are ahead of him in both categories. However, on the other end of the court where it counts just as much, Olajuwon is the NBA's all-time leading shot blocker, averaging 3.3 per game. Abdul-Jabbar is 11th at 2.1, Hayes is 12th at 2.0 and Malone is 14th at 1.3. Still not convinced? Olajuwon ranks No. 6 in NBA history for steals with 2,018. Malone is No. 15 with 1,654. "Hakeem has been such a complete player, no one ever wanted to be assigned to guard him or worse, be guarded by him," Kleine said. "What really set him apart was his competitiveness. He always gives 100 percent." One play he made in college will forever stand out in the memory of those who were there the afternoon he blocked a shot to Reid Gettys. Gettys dribbled four, maybe five times and then made a perfect alley-oop pass to Olajuwon, who slammed it home. Total time, less than five seconds. Don't expect to see a lot of heroics tonight. And not because it is a preseason game. Olajuwon, 37, has announced his retirement after this season for a reason. The last three seasons, he's battled the injuries that come with age and a career of pushing your body to the limit every minute of every game. Which is why he should be saluted tonight. Along with his great playing career, there have never been stories about Olajuwon and gambling or alcohol or drug problems or even rap songs. In his own quiet way, he has lived an American dream. He came to this country as a 17-year-old with a strong background in soccer and little knowledge of basketball. The day he landed in Houston, he told the cab driver to take him to the University of Houston. But either his accent or a tricky cabbie decided he said "Austin." They had driven 30 minutes in the wrong direction before they got it straightened out. That led Olajuwon to pretend he couldn't understand English for several weeks while he got a feel for whom he could and couldn't trust. After sitting out a year at Houston, Olajuwon's first public encounter with basketball resulted in an 8.3 points per game scoring average and a 6.2 rebound average. The Coogs were knocked out of the Southwest Conference Tournament in the second round by Arkansas and Olajuwon tried to turn in his uniform. He had never heard of the NCAA Tournament. Three years later he was on the NBA's All-rookie team after averaging 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. After more than 688 hours of playing time in the NBA, he has decided it is time to make his final moves in the NBA. Tonight, everyone at Alltel Arena can forever say they personally saw the greatest NBA center of all time play. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Now if he could only breathe. DaDakota ------------------ All you MO-FO's better stop ripping off my lines !!
