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Rick Fox


Like just about every other Celtic fan I was overjoyed to see the Lakers go
down in flames. I've been reading the LA papers and lurking in the Lakers
newsgroup because I just can't get enough of the infighting, whinning, and
misery that's taken over Laker Land. On the other hand I really feel bad
for Rick Fox who passed up the Benjamins in Cleveland to play for chump
change with his main goal to win a championship. Here is a snipit from an
article in the LA Times:

Del Harris:

"I will say this: I will not buy into the talk around that our guys
didn't play hard or didn't have heart or emotion or energy. That's
just not the truth. The thing to do is pick a guy. Give me some
names. It's easy to say the team didn't, but give me a name of somebody." 
Fox would never be mentioned, not after a season in which he
played much of the second half despite the pain of a sore foot and
back spasms and refused to accept anything less than a
championship as a realistic goal. The pain of Monday was a
different kind, but just as obvious, his voice cracking and tears
trailing down his cheeks almost the moment he left the locker room
to face a summer of uncertainty. 
He wants to come back and the Lakers want him back. But,under the 
current rules that could be adjusted with a new collective
bargaining agreement, they can only give him a one-year contract at
$1.2 million next season, far less than other teams will offer. 
The sadness? It took Fox 10 seconds to answer, as his eyes
welled up. "I'm just sad, that's all." 
Giving up money a year ago to come here for the opportunity to
win a title? "I'm not retiring, so I'll get another chance, somewhere." 
In Los Angeles? "I don't know." Fox was down to a whisper. 
"Don't know." The emotions about what had transpired and what may transpire
converged. "I just hope somewhere, someday to win a championship, and I
think this team is going to do it eventually," he said. "Whether I'm a
part of it or not, I just don't know."


Tell me you don't feel for this guy.

JC