Re: Does he have a tattoo?

[damekmo@teleport.com]

>It's not a
>case of making fun of Toine or anything like that.  Why is it not worthy
>to have him show respect for the opposing team?  Is there some strategy
>behind that?  For my opinion, you call me a Puritan.  Think it over Paul.
>
>Cecil

Cecil:

A couple thoughts.

I'm 41. You're not an old fogie. I'm also going to guess you aren't a
Puritan. Sometimes I'm a little sarcastic. Sorry. I think these discussions
about trash talking tend to be more about nostalgia, aesthetics, and
morality than about basketball. Let me address your question about
strategy. Wallace's foul was the stupidest thing I've ever seen on a
basketball court. Perhaps, just perhaps, it wasn't enough for Rasheed that
the game was on its way to overtime. He wanted to humiliate Walker for all
the trash he'd given out during the game. So...he fouled him convinced that
Walker would choke. His head was more into punishing Walker, making Walker
look bad, than winning the game. Somebody needs to tell Rasheed that the
trash talking is no big thing. Don't get caught up in it. He screwed
up...not Walker. Gary Payton trash talked his way through college and
hasn't stopped. He faced the same criticism from the fans and press. He
said it was no big deal, it's the way he keeps his head in the game. He
can't play if he's not talking. He needs to talk to play. It keeps him in a
rhythm. It's a way of challenging himself...to back it up. It has nothing
to do with disrespecting anyone. You call it disrespect. I call it having
fun...being involved. It might signify nothing more than that. You choose
to read something else into it. Walker is exuberant, expressive, emotional,
volitile. It's his style. It doesn't mean he's cruel, nasty, disrespectful.
It happens all the time on basketball courts all over America. He's from
Chicago. The South Side, the West Side, the entire city is full of kids
trash talking and having fun doing it. They do it, they walk away friends.
"Next time..." Look, every time I hear Barkley complain about these kids
coming into the game I just laugh. His time is done. The elders always say
the same thing, "Our time was better...it had more integrity." Please. I'll
stop now...I'm rambling. I'm going to go tell my kids to get rid of those
piercings, stop listening to that devil's music, and get rid of those baggy
pants before they head off for those Ivy league schools this fall. Know
what I mean?

Paul M.