http://www.msnbc.com/news/477039.asp Oelipere-any thoughts on a prognosis? My prayers are with Zo. ------------------
Man that really sucks for Miami. They had the potential of kicking some serious ass this year. You gotta feel for Pat. If it's not one thing it's another. ------------------ RocketFuel is dead!
Wow, very hard to believe... puts a lot of things in to perspective. Hope Zo gets healthy soon. ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
It was Finally Zo's year. It wasn't meant to be. Who does that open the door for? Milwaukee, Knicks, Pacers, Sixers? ------------------ humble, but hungry.
The article said 20% of people have this disease??? UGH! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Miami is still a very good team....amazing as it sounds. I still think the assuredly will get into the playoffs. Zo sounds like he has his head on straight though: “There are a whole lot of people that are worse off than me.” Get well ZO!!! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
If there's any one player in the league that quantifies and typifies the terms "warrior", "hard-nosed", and "tenacious", it's Zo. This is just a reminder how even the toughest can succumb... Get back Zo, the NBA needs more warriors like you. ------------------ I got nothin'.
Zo' is definitely a class act and I wish him and his family nothing but the best. Our prayers go out to you Zo'!! ------------------ Too often, we lose sight of life's simple pleasures. Remember, when someone annoys you it takes 42 muscles in your face to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and pimp-slap the mother****** upside the head!
Well, this is congruent with what has been coming out of Florida since late Thursday. I had a call last night on this and received another this AM. Was actually getting ready to post something. Sad thing. Not good. A couple of definitions to help ya'll wade through this: glomerulus - is a cluster of small convoluted masses and is an integral part of the nephron which is the basic unit of the kidney. There are approx. a million nephrons per kidney. This is where the production of urine takes place. The glomerulus's function is to bring blood and waste produsts to the nephron and a continous distribution and filteration process takes place here. Any desease of the glomerulous is serious because it interferes with the basic functions of the kidney which is to filter liguids and excrete the wastes products of metabolism. It also balances certain body components including sodium, potassium, etc… . glomerular sclerosis - cellular changes that either increase the number of cells (hyperpalsia) or decrease the number of cells (atrophy) of the structure. Zo's is a kind of hardening, or extensive lesion occurance of the glomerular tissues. Irregardless of the direct action, the effect is that it markedly decreases the ability of the glomerulus to function. The degree of impairment is directly affected by a number of factors. The health of the individual, the stage at discovery (how much damage has already been done), and the available options to stop or reverse the damage. Note: In some cases, the discovery of the cause is imperative in the cessation of continued damage. Other times, the damage will continue despite steps taken in identifying the cause. The fact remains though, that the key is discovery and that has taken place. Some inflammatory reactions can be the culprit, such as an immunological reaction to an infection (especially streptococcal), infectious hepatitis, syphilis, malaria, and also, in this case the focus is on prolonged use of anti-inflammatory drugs. All of these (and there are dozens more) can cause lesions to build in the glomerulus. For advanced damage a transplant may be the only answer. To Summarize: Recovery depends on the etiology (reason), the amount of damage, the ability of the body to function with the damage already done, the ability to stop or limit the damage in the future, and the activities expectation of the patient (obviously an athlete's point of view would be different than a more sedentery person). Comment Zo is a very strong-spirted person. Deeply committed to his family and his teammates. He may be faced with retirement if he and his doctors look at this as a progression towards a decision of kidney transplant versus being able to live (due to his otherwise prevailing good-health and athleticism) in a "normal (but non pro baller) life", unencumbered by the condition. Tough call. I know what my family would say. The Sean Elliott Factor: One of the dangers here is that Sean had a kidney transplant recently and we as humans tend to think in simple terms. The fact that he was a different person with a different outcome, a readily available kidney, had little or no complications, and yet was able to play (a couple of games so far) without too much of apparent difficulty ... has absolutely nothing to do with Zo's condition, extent of damage, availibilty of tissue-compatible donors, or as favorable a prognosis. Sad situation. Tough call. But, Zo will handle it with as much aplomb and class as everything else he does. Irregardless, Riles will have a tough time replacing the heart of his team. [This message has been edited by oeilpere (edited October 16, 2000).]
You gotta admire the will and class of Zo. It's enlightening to hear him keep a positive attitude through this difficult situation, and appreciate everything's he's been blessed with. But it absolutely sucks that he's gone for the season, and his career is in jeopardy. It's bad for Miami, bad for basketball and just bad for everyone. The already depleted East is vastly inferior to the West now, especially in the Big Man department. But more importantly, at least he has his health. Here's to you getting better, 'Zo. Azim da Dream ------------------ We don't live for the destination. We live for the journey. http://www.clutchtown.com
I'm not sure how this relates to the status of Zo's condition, but Elliott played for a few years with knowledge of his kidney problems (his kidneys were the reason he failed the physical when Detroit traded him to Houston, IIRC). ------------------
I think the Pacers, Magic and Knicks now have a shot that wasn't there before. The Heat were already thin on the bench, they are really hurting now. Best wishes for Zo ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Zo is gone. Pat still likes to win. Interestingly, if they get approved for the medical hardship league average, that's about $3.5 to 4 Million, I wonder who Riley would like to add to the roster? B. Grant is playing strong but he still needs sopmeone to take pressure off (and it doesn't even have to be the same position (center)? Is Smith (Assuming he loses his bid to stay in Minnesota) a possibility? Man, there are not a lot of players to select from ..... Here is something I will throw out for speculation: 1. Who would Pat Riley go after when (almost assuredly he will) he gets a medical hardship exemption? 2. If Riley came looking at Cato (he would do almost anything to save his year, so that is not inconceivable), who would you take in return? (Remember, there are a lot of new players, and newly signed players, in Miami ... so you would probably have to parlay a third team into it somehow.)
The only guy on the Heat I would take for Cato is Anthony Mason (Grant is not available) He is the banger we need. Mason and draft picks for Cato? Everyone agree? ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
This is terrible news. I hope the treatment works and he's able to return to normal. If there's a bright spot in all of this, it's that he just won a Gold Medal before all this came down. If this does turn out to be the end of his career, at least he got to go out an Olympic Champion. ------------------
Yeah Mickey, but Mason is not available. If a Cato trade was possible, and If we wanted to do it, we would probably have to go through another team for an available player there. I doubt any available players ( read: Miami players Riles kept after the trades were all over, and thus exempted from trade 60 day rule, December 15 rule, etc ..) would be let go by Riles(important to Heat roster mix) or would be wanted (scrub) by us.
Sailor Man, I'm not very clear on the hardship rules, but I thought they were pretty difficult to meet. Didn't NJ try for a medical exception once or twice for J Williams and someone else and get turned down? I'm not sure Miami would meet the requirements if the prognosis is that Zo only misses one year. But let's say they get it, as in your question. I'm not sure of a guy I'd take from Miami for Cato. Only player who I covet on that team is Eddie Jones, and he's not going anywhere. And Miami draft picks aren't worth much since they are always in the 20+ range. *, Mason doesn't fit. He's like Charles Barkley of a couple of season ago (but not nearly as good). He demands the ball in the post, back it in, back it in, dribble down to 2 seconds left on the clock, and then pass out to the open man. A good defender, solid rebounder, but not a player who fits in with a running game. And everywhere he goes people say he's a cancer in the clubhouse. I bet Riley does little about the center spot. The 2000/01 eastern conference is the first conference I've EVER seen that had absolutely no centers that you had to worry about. None. Yeah, Dikembe is a good defender/rebounder - but he's 35 and doesn't scare you at the offensive end. And the Hawks scare noone, period, except their own fans. Cleveland has Ilgauskas, but he's got health concerns. And, again, noone expects anything out of Cleveland. So in that conference, Miami could get bye, playing its fake center (Mase, Grant) against any other team's fake center (Camby, A Davis, Perkins) and do just fine. ------------------
An acquaintence of mine kept telling me how good the Heat was and how they were a lock for the NBA Finals. This was months ago, mind you. I told him, I had a feeling that something would happen. I didn't know what, but I just thought things down there in Miami were just ripe for something to go wrong. Of course, I could be full of crap, but I don't think I've lied on this board before, so I stand by my reputation. Not that I want to gloat over Mournings injury. That's definitely not what I thought would happen. My thoughts and prayers go out to Zo and his family. May he get the proper treatment and react well to it. I have a brother with a kidney problem that got him discharged from West Point, and he was on the football team. I have another brother who at age 20 had a friggin' heart transplant. I know what his family is going through at least, and I wish them all the best. [This message has been edited by DREAMer (edited October 16, 2000).]
Sammy 1. the medical exemption/relief: It is very difficult to get from what I understand. The new agreement (CBA) gives the league a lot of leeway in the decision and if I remember correct, it is not redressable. That is, once they make the decision, that is it. No appeals. No arbitration. But Zo's case falls close enough, in my estimation anyway, to a "potential career ending injury" that was "unforseeable" and "not exacerbated by the player's own actions". (These are quotes I remeber distinctly from a discussion between Stern in an interview last year, when questioned on the Elliot relief case. Sorry can't remember anything else.) I think Riles has a case here. I also here he has already had some indication that he will get the $3.7 or $3.9M whatever it is. Mason won't be going anywhere IMHO. So his value is a moot point. You are right though, credible centers in the East are almost an oxymoron. The question I posted above, on what would you do if Riles came after Cato, was meant to stimulate some mild discussion on: Would you let Cato go? And, what would you want in return? The proviso being there is nothing in Heatland that we want that Riles would let us have. But surely there are some players out there in a three way that might make interesting posting. Cheers,ET.
