Hi Everyone, Today's (Sunday) New York Times has a story about "Ambassador" Olajuwon and his early years in Houston. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/library/sports/basketball/061800bkn-vecsey-column.html There is also an interesting piece in the OpEd section written by a homemaker... Not about Hakeem, but it does concern Texas. Link: http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/18thom.html Take Care
Hi again Everyone, Oh, registration is required (it's free) for the online N.Y. Times. I'll paste section on Hakeem below. Nations Being United by Large Round Ball In the blown-up photograph, Hakeem Olajuwon is shooting with his right hand while shoving the defender with his left hand. "That is definitely an offensive foul," said Richard C. Holbrooke, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, pointing at the photo during a reception last Thursday night. Olajuwon chortled. "You are absolutely right," he told Holbrooke, not needing to add that referees, even three of them, cannot possibly call everything. The diplomat and the center were speaking the lingua franca known as hoops, shared by a New York man who once dreamed of becoming the next Vince Boryla or Carl Braun with the Knicks, and a man who grew up dreaming of becoming a soccer goalkeeper for Nigeria, until: "There were people from my country who went to school in the U.S.," Olajuwon said. "They were not sports fans, but they understood that American basketball was great. They came back and told me about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dr. J and Magic. Those three." Olajuwon was recruited to the University of Houston as a 17-year-old who barely knew the fundamentals of basketball. He was a work in progress, albeit a 7-foot work, and as a redshirted freshman, he caught his first glimpse of the N.B.A. "I saw Moses Malone," he recalled with awe. "I saw these guys shoot foul shots. I was amazed if they missed. I thought they could shoot blindfolded." Turning professional, Olajuwon helped form the first true wave of foreign-born pro players. ...
