Let me guess . . . BASKETBALL, right?
Wow, I DO know something about pro sports after all!

I.P.

  Yup all great ones. There was only one Pistol alright. When they make a
big deal out of one of todays players getting a triple double, (at least 10
points-rebounds-assists in a game), I remember when Oscar AVERAGED a triple
double for an enitire season!  Frazier had the single best important game I
ever saw against the Lakers when Reed was out.  36-19-12 and 5 steals.  My
HS went up against a young Alcindor in HS. We had a white 7 footer named
"Dave shorty Newmark" that was going to teach him a lesson.  Lew sat out the
entire 2nd half after scoring 50 in the 1st!

Hello Steve,

You are right.  The press coverage was rather underwhelming.  Had to
pay $4.00 for a transcript of above radio program.  But you have to
start somewhere.  It was only in the last few weeks that I have seen
several public service commercials on TV for pca.  I think the momentum
is building however slowly.

I also looked at the prostate cancer foundation website
(pcafoundation.org) and they have a link to "athletes for a cure".
They have sponsored some sports events for charity whose proceeds go to
pca research.  First I have seen of that. You can also register to
create a web page on that site but I am kind of cyberdumb so I think
maybe you have to be an athlete to do so.  But check it out.

You confused me!  Thought Alcinder was a drug (really).  Spouse had to
translate.

I think KAJ will be a good spokesman for pca because he sounded good on
the radio: smart and articulate.  He has done a variety of things in
his life (see transcript below) and it sounds like he's done them well,
so why not this.  He was in Airplane, which is a hilarious movie, but I
can't say I really know who KAJ is.  However, my husb remembers him in
the movie. It is one of his favorite slapstick comedies.

Jumped the gun on that.  Husb said to me, "I wouldn't be surprised if
KA-J had it if he has become a spokesman for the cause."  Wouldn't
surprise me either but I don't know that he has had pca.  Sorry. But
I'm sure there are plenty of fine athletes out there who have had pca
including basketball players.  We all know that pca affects black men
disproportionately.  Just go to a uro waiting room.

Now if you want to see a real MAN  who has had pca come look at my husb
or send me a SASE and a few dollars and I'll send you a photo.  Was
just thinking Saturday how handsome he looks.  And the ladies seem to
agree.  We were at a party and a willowy blond draped herself around
him (homage to KH?) and I gave her a look that could kill but it didn't
quite take.  And he just stood there smiling and blushing and fiddling
with his tie.  Why is it that a man reaches middle age and tires of so
many things except being a chikmagnet.

If you want to be a Man just get yourself some big, chocolatey-brown
eyes ringed with NEVER-ENDING EYELASHES.  Find myself wondering how
long he is going to be around.  I tell you, someday he is going to trip
over those brooms.

Is Big O the same as Shaq?

leah

Here is a transcript of the npr show:

A Chat with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

December 16, 2006 from Weekend Edition Saturday

SCOTT SIMON, host: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the highest scoring NBA
player of all time and still considered one of the most elusive
personalities in sports. Since his retirement in 1989, the man who led
every basketball he ever played for, from All-American with the Power
Memorial High School Panthers to five NBA championships with the LA
Lakers, he's been extremely hard to pin down. He's been a jazz promoter
and a producer. He's played a pilot in the movie "Airplane." He's
written books, including 2000's "A Season on the Reservation: My
Sojourn with the White Mountain Apaches," about coaching basketball on
an Apache reservation; and two year's ago, the book "Brothers in Arms,"
the epic story of the 761st Tank Battalion, World War II's forgotten
heroes.

He's now working with the National Basketball Association and the
Prostate Cancer Foundation to raise funds and awareness. Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar joins us from our studios in New York.

Thanks for being with us.

Mr. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR (Former NBA Player): My pleasure.

SIMON: Tell us a bit about how the program in which you're speaking is
going to operate. There are these, what inevitably - I guess in this
day and age we call these Lance Armstrong-like wristbands that are
being sold in NBA arenas around the country.

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, the wristband program is under the auspices of
the NBA. And you can go online to nbastore.com and order any of 18
players' wristbands. All the profits will go to cancer research,
specifically prostate cancer.

SIMON: Mm-hmm. We'll explain, there are some contemporary stars, like
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan and Lebron James; you can get their
wristbands, and then...

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: Old-timers, like myself.

SIMON: Well, I wasn't going to phrase it that way.

(Soundbite of laughter)

SIMON: But you and Jerry West, who's - my God, a basketball executive,
of all things, now; and Walt Frazier and Oscar Robertson.

When you talk about prostate cancer, prevention and cure, is it hard to
get attention for something like that, when there's so many, for lack
of a better word, other maladies that cry out for public attention,
when there's so many wristbands, for that matter?

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: Well, I think prostate cancer deserves the attention
that we're trying to bring to it. Thirty-four percent of all men will
have to deal with it in some way or another. And it's very easy to
treat, given the fact that early analysis is part of the picture.

SIMON: I have to ask this while we have the chance. Would you still
like to coach in the NBA?

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: Yeah, I think I could do a good job. Of course, you
know, it all depends on the opportunity, and I haven't had the good
fortune to come across one. But I've been working with the Lakers now
for a little over a year, teaching a young player name Andrew Bynum,
who's 19 years old and wants to be a dominant center player. And I've
had a good experience with that. And I'm hoping to see him continue to
improve.

SIMON: You were the most famous high school basketball player in the
nation, but still went to UCLA. As a generalization, what do you think
about youngsters going from high school into the NBA?

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: I think in this day and age, with so much financial
reward involved in it, I think it's not a bad choice for a youngster to
go from high school into the NBA. But when I had the opportunity to do
it back in 1965, it really didn't make much sense. Getting an education
and making sure that you have the means to do something with your life
other than basketball was an important thing.

SIMON: May I ask? You're working on another book?

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: Yes, I am. I'm working on a book that relates what
happened during the Harlem Renaissance and the early days of
professional basketball. One of the best basketball teams that they
never heard of played in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance and into
the 1930s, and was the first professional championship team in this
nation.

SIMON: Forgive me. What team was that? I know it wasn't the
Globetrotters, because they actually...

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: It wasn't the Globetrotters. That's right. The
Globetrotters were from Chicago.

SIMON: Right.

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: They used the name Harlem to let people know that
they were a black team. But the New York Renaissance Big Five, also
known as the Harlem Rens, that was the best team in early professional
basketball. Nobody knows their story.

SIMON: Mr. Abdul-Jabbar, been wonderful talking to you. Thanks very
much.

Mr. ABDUL-JABBAR: Thank you. It's a pleasure talking to you.

SIMON: Speaking with us from New York, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He's the
all-time NBA scoring leader. He's raising funds to find a cure for
prostate cancer.
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