<i>Worrell remembers coinage of the Dream Shake By DAVID BARRON Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Hakeem Olajuwon invented the Dream Shake, but Bill Worrell helped. Worrell's role in this particular confection, along with other stories from 20 seasons with the network that began as Home Sports Entertainment and is now Fox Sports Net, will be told and retold at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when Worrell and Kevin Eschenfelder anchor a 30-minute FSN special on Olajuwon's two decades as the best ballplayer in Houston. Worrell will be joined in the Houston studio by former University of Houston coach Guy V. Lewis, which means you can expect to hear plenty of stories about Olajuwon's UH days as well as his exploits with the Rockets. More on that later, but first, Worrell's explanation on how the Dream Shake -- Olajuwon's signature collection of footwork, spins, fake spins, jumps and hooks -- came to get its name. "In that period of time, which was 1984, '85, shake and bake (as in the packaged chicken batter) was the phrase that everyone was using," Worrell said. "We were sitting in an airport in Cleveland, back in the days when we flew commercial, and I was trying to come up with something new and different. "I said, `Dream, what's this about everybody using shake and bake?' And he said, `What about Dream Shake?' And I said, `That's it.' "And that's how it came about. I started using it, and then some other people picked it up, and then when Marv Albert used it, everybody started using it." As the Rockets' longtime broadcaster for one of the first regional sports networks in the nation, Worrell had ample opportunity to witness Olajuwon unveil new moves and now views with infinite sadness -- mixed with gratitude -- the center's departure for Toronto. "He never failed to astound me with something new back in those old days, and I owe him a lot," Worrell said. "He got me on a lot of highlight shows. Think about it: To get your calls on highlight shows, you've got to have a superstar, and he was very good for my career." Worrell's primary concern for Tuesday's show, which will be produced by Patti Smith from the Houston studio, will be putting at least two hours of material into a half-hour. Expressing his emotions over Olajuwon's departure, however, will be no problem. "When he comes back to town (with the Raptors), I will lead the standing ovation," Worrell said. "I have nothing but great things to say about Hakeem Olajuwon. He is one of the real class acts in our business. "I always thought he would finish his career here, but this seems to be something he feels like he needs to do. Maybe he felt he had stayed a little too long, and this will be new and exciting for him. He's happy, and the Rockets are sad, but he gave us our two championships. I have two championship rings I owe to him and some others, but he is the man who made it happen."</i>
