[SI.com] McGrady perseveres during frenzied All-Star Weekend

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_mannix/02/22/allstar/index.html

Host with the most
McGrady perseveres during frenzied All-Star Weekend
Posted: Wednesday February 22, 2006 2:02PM; Updated: Wednesday February 22, 2006 4:31PM


After tagging along with Tracy McGrady for a while during last week's All-Star festivities in Houston, let me tell you that being a host is hard work for an NBA star. There are the events, parties and the frequent grip and grins along the way. But at one point on Saturday, the only thing on T-Mac's mind was a Big Mac.

"We need to stop and get some food, man," said McGrady, sprawled out in the backseat as his posh black Escalade pulled out of the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston and whisked him to his next function, a dedication for the new library and play center built by the NBA at McDade Elementary School. "Hamburger or whatever, just get it on the way. I'm starving."

It had been a long couple of days for McGrady, who joined Rockets teammate Yao Ming on the All-Star team, making both of them ambassadors representing the city at the NBA's midseason classic. On Friday night, McGrady hosted a party at the downtown nightspot Sambuca Jazz Café, where friends and celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal and rap mogul Jermaine Dupri were treated to an open bar and a performance from Boyz II Men. In the weeks leading up to the event, McGrady's cell phone and two-way had been inundated with messages of all kinds, so much so that he passed the responsibility of weeding through the requests to his personal assistant, Elissa Grebow.

"I had this one guy, and I'm not going to say his name," said McGrady. "But he called me last week and asked if he could come down and work as my bodyguard for the weekend. I said cool, whatever. He sends me a text a few days later saying I need to fly him out here and put him up in my guesthouse. I mean, is he serious?"

While the All-Star game is traditionally a time for celebration, this year's event couldn't have come at a worse time for the six-time All-Star, whose personal life has been rocked by tragedies he frequently alludes to but staunchly refuses to expound upon. "I'm human, I'm going through some things in my life, things I've got to deal with, and I'm just trying to handle it the best way I can," McGrady said on Friday. "It's wearing and tearing at me. This weight has gotten heavy for me and it's taking a toll."

But as they say, the show must go on, and to McGrady's credit he refused to allow his personal problems to consume him to the point where he would take a pass on the entire

"I wouldn't even consider not playing," McGrady confesses. "I was voted in by the fans. If I didn't play, it would be like a slap in the face to them. I just wouldn't do that.

Several miles pass and still not a drive-thru in sight. "You don't eat that stuff anyways, said one of McGrady's bodyguards in the front seat. "I do today," McGrady replied.

The car pulled up to the school, but there's a problem: what's he going to say? Grebow reached into her bag and began to read some brief remarks she had prepared. "Not saying that," McGrady interrupted. She continued. "Definitely not saying that either," he said again. He looked at a reporter next to him. "What's another word for that?"

A few minutes later the speech was toast and winging it became the best option. "I get real nervous speaking in front of big crowds anyways," he said.

Walking up to the school, McGrady was greeted by waves of kids cheering him as he strolled casually down the hallway. "I love this part," he said. "Hanging with the kids, it's mutually beneficial. I hope I help them and I know I feel good afterwards.

Children have clearly had a major impact on the life of McGrady, 26, who in December welcomed his second child, son Laymen, to the T-Mac family.

"Having kids makes a guy like me want to come home," said McGrady, his droopy eyes lighting up. "They're always doing crazy stuff. My little girl (Layla) always comes into our bedroom early in the morning and stares up at me. I swear, I wake up and she's right there! Surprises the hell out of me." I almost fall out of the bed."

A couple of handshakes later and a trip to a makeshift green room was next, where McGrady mingled with a host of celebrities in attendance, including Shaq, Julianne Moore and the one and only Bill Russell. "I still get nervous being around Russell," said McGrady. "Eleven championships in 13 seasons? Unbelievable. The guy is like Mike [Jordan]; they both have this aura around them."

After delivering a brief speech -- 16 seconds to be exact ["he didn't say a thing we wrote," sighed Grebow] -- and reading session with Moore at the new library, McGrady's day was done. Or so he thought.

"I just talked to the Vitamin Water people," said Grebow as the car pulled away. "They are at the hotel, you have to at least shake hands with them." Tired and still very hungry, McGrady rolled his eyes. "I'm down," he sighed. A host's duties are never done.