artie_fufkin wrote:

Max wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

http://kareemabduljabbar.com/?page_id=74

love of history and jazz.  writes books.  does charity events.

sounds like my kinda guy.

Did you call his agent?

No.  But I generally don't contact people like that and ask if they'd like to have a cup of coffee.  If he gets interested in environmental advocacy I might contact him.

Max wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

Max wrote:

love of history and jazz.  writes books.  does charity events.

sounds like my kinda guy.

Did you call his agent?

No.  But I generally don't contact people like that and ask if they'd like to have a cup of coffee.  If he gets interested in environmental advocacy I might contact him.

I'd think Kareem would be excited to meet one of his admirers on a more personal level, since he's become such a man of the people.

APRTW wrote:

Max wrote:

No.  But I generally don't contact people like that and ask if they'd like to have a cup of coffee.  If he gets interested in environmental advocacy I might contact him.

I said my beer cans and am buying a used wood furnace.  Want to talk about it?

Got a million dollars?

Max wrote:

APRTW wrote:

Max wrote:

No.  But I generally don't contact people like that and ask if they'd like to have a cup of coffee.  If he gets interested in environmental advocacy I might contact him.

I said my beer cans and am buying a used wood furnace.  Want to talk about it?

Got a million dollars?

No, why?

"I'm not sure why you want to go to these lengths to demonstrate your belief that Kareem is an unpardonable jerk."

Yeah, I'm pretty much on an island here. Because it astonishes me why anyone would admire a man who for the better part of his life treated people like they were like something you step in and have to scrape off the bottom of your shoe.

"I imagine that Kareem puts his information out like that in pursuit of new business/marketing/public relations opportunities, not because he's looking for new friends."

So, when Jabbar had a steady job for which he was well-compensated, he really felt no particular need to even acknowledge what he considered to be the servile class. But now that he's unable to find employment in the NBA, he's suddenly available to anyone who wants to write a check. Or at least you can contact his agent and she'll forward enough information about you for him to decide whether you have enough money to be worthy of his magnaminity for an hour or so.

Max wrote:

what would you do with the rest of your life after you had been the best basketball player in history and made more money that you'll ever need?

If Kareem had treated people better during his playing career, he'd be doing what he wants to do--coaching.

You really believe that the 501(c)(3) work is what he wants to doing, or is it simply a way to rehabilitate his image and pick up the occasional paycheck? Personally, I suspect the latter.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"the best basketball player in history"

Sorry. I thought the thread was about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. When did we switch to "the best basketball player in history?"

for a while he was the best basketball player in history.  i think he has been surpassed, but give the guy his due.

when i was growing up i was always much more a wilt chamberlain fan than a kareem abdul jabbar fan, even though jabbar went on to break a lot (all?) of chamberlain's records.  but looking at them as people, there's no question i have much more respect for jabbar.

"jabbar went on to break a lot (all?) of chamberlain's records. "

Chamberlain's 100 points in a game is going to be tough to break, but Chamberlain's record of 50.4 ppg in a season will never be broken as long as the rim is 10 feet from the floor.
Chamberlain grabbed almost 7,000 more rebounds than Jabbar, despite playing five less seasons. Chamberlain also averaged nearly nine assists one season, which is an incredible number for a center. There's no dispute he's the most talented basketball player ever. Wilt's problem was Wilt only cared about numbers.
If I were starting a historical fantasy basketball team, I'd pick Wilt Chamberlain. But if I had to win a championship on the floor over the course of ~100 games, I'd take Bill Russell.

There was a farewell game for the guy.  Many Celtics and Laker legends participated. They all paid tribute by wearing his googles and all had to try a sky hook, no matter how ridiculous they looked in the effort . . . oh yeah, the despise the guy.

"Selfish play isn't gonna impress, even though, like you, I was a big Wilt Chamberlain fan."

Wilt retired just before I started paying attention to basketball. The first player I really remember liking was David Thompson, when he was at N.C. State. He was Jordan, 10 years earlier. But drugs were his undoing. I remember after his umpteenth time in rehab, Seattle played in Boston and during the layup line, he just stood at center court, watching the Sonics. Then he sat at the end of the bench the entire game. Never even took off his warmups. I think the Sonics cut him a few days later.

artie_fufkin wrote:

Max wrote:

There was a farewell game for the guy.  Many Celtics and Laker legends participated. They all paid tribute by wearing his googles and all had to try a sky hook, no matter how ridiculous they looked in the effort . . . oh yeah, the despise the guy.

I have no idea what a "farewell game" is.

well then, just reread it all and say, "There was a game for the guy."

artie_fufkin wrote:

Max wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

I have no idea what a "farewell game" is.

well then, just reread it all and say, "There was a game for the guy."

Seems typically narcisisstic.
Max, if you want to admire a guy worthy of admiration, I would suggest you do some reading on Russell. He could have averaged twice as many points as he did, but he understood the value of involving his teammates in order to win championships. Going back to his last two seasons in college, he won 13 championships in 15 years. And a gold medal. His "farewell game" was an upset victory over the Lakers in Game 7 of the '69 finals, not some stupid ceremonial shenanigan where a bunch of old guys tried to imitate him for laughs.
When he played, he refused to give autographs to fans. He shook their hands instead, because he felt it was a more important gesture. 
And he had to endure horrible episodes of racial prejudice. He was given the same Presidential medal that Musial won a couple of months ago, and I can tell you it was every bit as earned.

Speaking of narcisisstic

"Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won five world championships as a Los Angeles Laker and remains the NBA's all-time leading scorer, believes the franchise owes him a statue outside Staples Center and feels "slighted" that it hasn't already happened."

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6563112