I was shocked ( in a very pleasant) way that McGrady risked his life going over there to witness these things with his own eyes. So what.....he never advanced in a ultimately meaningless game. He's done alot more for these individuals in Darfur than any other player/organization in the NBA. Like other people said, McGrady more than likely has no genetic connection w/these people. It is know that most Afro-Americans and other black groups where taken from the Western coast of the African continent. Sudan is on the Eastern side of the continent. Keep it up Tracy. Like the jersey change. Thanks for doing for something that actually mattered.......instead of money *cough* Kobe *cough*
Thanks. Some things simply beg to be said. Others beg not to be repeated ad nauseum with no semblance of balance, vision, or reason. The shame of it is he's not some bumbling teenage idiot incapable of formulating coherent, cogent arguments. He just happens to be overly fixated on one side and one extreme side only of this extremely talented, and sometimes maddeningly fragile, player on his most beloved team.
You act like T-Mac is the only one. T-Mac isn't the only who deserves a thread for charitable contributions Well atleast he's doing something productive.....somewhere. I was beginning to think he go 23mill/yr for doing nothing
Actually, yes he is the only professional athlete who has actually travelled to Darfur and/or made any significant effort to raise awareness and aid for the worst genocide and oppression situation in our world today. Money isn't the most important thing in life. People like Tracy command respect for their good deeds. Spreaders of hate like you don't.
People actually HATE someone due to their respective basketball skill set? rotflmao Why would anyone waste time and emotions to hate someone, playing a basketball game? Damn that's pretty sad...
Yeah .. a lot of posters on this BBS go overboard with the hatred. They talk as if Mac is a devil who has sucked the life out of the team in the past few years.. terrible.
Well at the risk of going too terribly philosophical and verbose, let me just say this much: it's all out of love. Anti's vitriol is sparked from his love of the same team we all love. Tracy's a convenient target because he horribly mismanaged his health last year. Horribly. I have no problem seeing that because it is clear that the best course of action would've been to completely sit out until he was 100% healthy, mentally and physically, to contribute to the team. Mac's love for the team (ironically, since last year was NOT a contract year and many will claim his performance this year is only out of a need to gain a new contract), desperation to prove himself a winner on his best team ever, and ego got in the way of that, imo. It was a horrible sequence of events. However, to conclude that Mac is the sole reason for our failures collectively is incredibly short sighted. When Yao went down, repeatedly, it was Mac that shouldered the burden. That innate talent led to what were, ultimately, unrealistic expectations for what the team could do post-Yao. People say "yeah but he couldn't lead us out of the 1st round" but conveniently forget that he is arguably the most prolific post season perfomer in history. The reality? BBall is a team sport. Mac's claims of "its on me" were terribly inaccurate, regardless of his intent. It was never "on him" but was on "the team" as it is waaaaay to easy to dedicate a defense to stopping a singular dominant player from winning a 7 game series. Tell me...who was supposed to step up and help him win vs Utah? Its the reason Lebron got swept vs the spurs. Its the reason Jordan couldn't beat Detroit initially. Its the reason why (then) Akeem could drop 49/22 on Seattle and still lose. Its the reason Madmax had to hit the dagger 3 to beat NYK. Or Kenny droppin 3s to beat ORL. Mac's immaturity didn't allow him to accept that...until 2007...when he accepted that it was never truly "on him". Last year was a horrible year for him. No doubt. But i know that his talent is real. I know that our team without him last year didn't "succeed" (if you call that success) simply because he wasn't there. More accurately, they won because Brooks stepped up...Artest stepped up...etc. Had those guys been around and done that in 06, 07, etc vs Utah we wouldve advanced then, as well. Heck, one could argue that if Rafer was healthy we wouldve beaten Utah. But time and emotion has a way of making us blamelayers...quick to lay blame at someone's feet so we can find a quick "fix". Mac makes himself an easy target, but critical thinking reveals that he was not the reason for our failures. Lack of talent was. All those that say that he couldn't play in Adelman's "motion" offense are taking the easy way out, imo. ANY offense is designed around getting your best player the ball in the most advantageous position possible...and Adelman's offense did exactly that with Mac...to the tune of multiple 30/10 games. Yes, he got nullified in the 4th in some games after dropping an EFFICIENT 40 pts and 8 assists. That's why Jordan had Pip and Pax. That's why Tim had Ginobili and Parker (finals MVP...hmmm...i wonder why). Its why Kobe had Odom and Gasol. No matter your feelings on Mac's immature staements, the reality is that he really hasn't had (healthily) those supporting characters. Mac's an idiot for handling last season the way he did....yes. But I refuse to ostracize him for it, on account of the talent and desire he does have to succeed. Put him with a quality team and I'll bet my name on it that he'd defer at the proper time. Heck, how many times has he said it's Yao's team?? Who gave Novak the winning shot when the D rotated? I think he understands that he needs teammates. He just got stupid and frustrated last year because for once in his life he was set up for success and his body (and to a degree, his mind) failed him. Was he to blame for it, at least to some degree? Absolutely. Were the doctors to blame as well? Absolutely. It took multiple trips to multiple docs to finally find the most advanced and exhaustive MRI tests IN THE NATION to unveil what was troubling him. So i say "fine". 4+ years of being the cornerstone of this franchise buys that mulligan from me. Now its time to show and prove. And i won't prematurely condemn Mac before he gives me - on court or off - reason to do so. As for Darfur, he is beyond reproach on those efforts. Anyone criticizing those efforts or attempting to besmirch or belittle them should take a line from Michael Jackson and look at "the man in the mirror". What are you doing to make a difference in someone's life...particularly someone(s) that you have literally no attachment, responsibility, or moral obligation for? Live to that, then criticize what is, imo, a truly monumental humanitarian effort.
Tax shelters for what? You have to spend to get the deduction, the spending goes to those who need it. At least he's not dumping it on the ground.
Truly, that's not even necessary. The Tracy that was remotely healthy for a select number of games last year (admittedly few), that found his improved teammates, would suffice. Superior wingmen with his vision are rare coins.
this is the most becautiful thread i've read in the forum, i think the writer is very reason ,cos he can see a people according to the truth,thanks to t-mac, because of him ,there will be alot of children who can go to school ,bcause of him ,houston still has a slim chance to move forword ,because of him ,many people get help in darfur.
It's very special to have a star on your team who is selfless and charitable. That's something I always appreciated about both McGrady and Yao. They're humble and great guys no matter how negatively the media portrays them at times. That's one thing about sports that I would like to see change. If you're going to put these athletes on a pedestal when everything is going right, you can't completely eat in to them when the chips are down. The media and fans are so bipolar. McGrady or any athlete for that matter does not deserve to be scapegoated and made out to be a bad guy when he is injured or underperforming. Some of the stuff said about Mcgrady on these boards and in the media is totally unnecessary and out of line. He's a good guy and a damn good ball player when healthy. I'm really pulling for him and I wish him success in everything he does in the rest of his career and the rest of his life. I hope he does it in Houston too.
Like him or hate him, Tmac is a ( still ) Rocket. He has done things and led the team to a winning record a couple of years. He may not have led the team past the 1st round but give credit where credit is due. He did help the Rockets.
It clearly states that this is not about on the court T-Mac.. I still dont understand the HATE for him. Dislike somethings he has done is ok, but to completely neglect the things he DID do is being hypocritical.
Yep. The Francis/Mobley era was the worst era this team had since the championship years. Bringing Tmac in made us a 50 win team year in year out and atleast we competed with some of the best competition in the west. We brought dallas to 7 games and competed with a really good utah team 2 years in a row. I never questioned his play. His health, yes. Who knows what the team could have done if both he and yao were healthy the last two years. We took the champs to 7 games without a 25/5/5 talent like mcgrady and a 20/10 center in yao. The timing of their injuries has been really frustrating.
Yeah.. He knew what would happen this year, so he got ready before they would trade him so he could be back to begin the season. He will be MVP3 next year. He knew if we traded him it would be the biggest mistake of the Rockets franchise.
