Tank McNamara Sports Jerk of the Year - Karl Malone!

this is a tough one

Karl Malone or Scottie Pippen....

 

I'd like to share a Karla story that I just found out about. Back in the 80's, he was playing for Louisiana Tech and they were playing a game against Rice. Karl went up for a rebound and came down swinging his elbows into the face of a Rice freshman. He literally broke his face - shattered the cheekbones. The guy was down on the court screaming in pain. Karl just sort of looked at him and walked away. The Louisiana Tech coach could be heard telling Karl that he needed to go over there and show some concern. So eventually he went and gave some sort of quick half-hearted apology. The Rice player never played basketball again - his career had been ended right there by these elbows that so many NBA players know about.

So, for those who want to nominate him for Sports Jerk, there's yet more evidence that he's been doing this for a long time and hasn't been sorry about it.

 

Isabel...

At the expense of giving away my age, I would've been at Rice then. I don't remember us playing Louisiana Tech. Maybe I had an all-nighter that day. Would loved to've seen that game. I used to play pick-up with Teddy Johnson, Tyronne Washington, Kenny Austin and Coach Willis. One day Ricky Pierce (he was a senior when I was a freshman) played. I was smart enough to give him an alley-hoop and leave the floor on a high note before I embarrassed myself by fumbling the basketball away while my jaw was gaping in awe. Teddy, Ricky, Tyrone, Kenny and Coach Willis (team captain) were all in my dorm, so they always invited me to play. Ricky played with the Moses crowd though.

Teddy always told me, "if you can hang you can play". I said what the hell; I'll bring out my turnaround j from the cornfields of Illinois. They taught me that I better learn to get a quicker and higher release. hehe. them were the days.

Do you recall the name of the Rice player who got elbowed?

Did you go to Rice then?

 

Karl Malone it is!

 

heypartner - thanks for the Rice stories! My husband was at Rice then (I didn't go until ten years later). The La. Tech game was a road game (in Ruston), so he didn't see it firsthand, but the Thresher sent someone to cover it and he passed the story on to everyone. The player who got elbowed was David Reimer (sp?).

Oh well. I might actually go watch us get creamed by Tulsa tomorrow...

Isabel
(Go Owls and Rockets! Just win! Just once! Or just get close! OK, just have enough healthy people to field a team!)

 

I've got another good Rice story.

Our center in the Phi Slamma Jamma era was Cunningham. He dated a short student who was next door neighbors in Jones to my sister. damn, I can't recall her name. She liked tall men.

Cunningham was good friends with Hakeem...at least he thought, until Hakeem stole his girl. I remember one day leaving my sisters room and seeing the Dream round the corner with his head tilted so he wouldn't hit the ceiling. We joked about it. Then watched him go to Cunningham's girl. That's when I realized Cunningham was going to play with fire the upcoming UH game.

Well that "girl" is the mother of Hakeem's daughter now. Hakeem was a jerk to her. She's the one he said he couldn't marry until she proved her fertility (by getting pregnant), claiming some Nigerian tradition. She proved it, but he reneged. Well, she eventually got a law degree and sued is ass. This was about the time Hakeem renewed his Muslim faith. We always wondered whether the timing was somewhat tied to the mother of his child going public and his family finding about about is lame Nigerian promise. Soon afterwards she was calling him the best father for her daughter.

The rest is about inner peace ... heart ... never giving up. and the picture at the top of the window shows the exhiliration.

GO Owls, Go Rockets

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited January 15, 2000).]