Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 September 2000 — Page 19

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2000

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

MGEB8

Payton, Mourning likely Dream Team captains

Special to the Recorder Gary Payton has been trash-talking nonstop — .during scrimmages, after (practice and on the team bus. No one is immune and no tppic is off-limits to Payton, iwfco might just yap himself linto becoming the co-captain of the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team. “He’s a character. He’s the life of this team,” teammate Vince Carter said. , .Payton and Alonzo Mourning have emerged as the favorites to be voted cocaptains of the U.S. team, which will begin exhibition play Thursday against Canada. ^ The American team had its fifst informal competition Tuesday and Wednesday in .sqrimmages against the U.S. (1 S?lect Team, composed of many of the nation’s top collegians who got their first taste of what it’s like to be Kn the receiving end of one *bf Payton’s diatribes. His mouth moving at hyperspeed, Payton was at (his trash-talking best during ^Monday’s scrimmages at the sauna-like Lahaina Civic j Center as the Olympic team crushed the Select Team four straight times. The jibes were relentless, accompanied by Payton’s uniquely dismissive facial expressions, whether he was on the court or cheering from the bench. Many were dil reeled at guards Jason Will"iams of Duke, Jamal Tinsley

of Iowa State and Jason Richardson of Michigan State, and they had everybody — from coaches to team trainers to USA Basketball officials to security guards — in stitches. “I’ll talk about anybody’s mother, anything. I cuss a lot,” Payton said. “They started listening to me, then it started blowing up. They missed shots, took shots they weren’t supposed to that let us get off to a fast break. “That’s what you want — you want them to listen to it and try to take shots they’re not supposed to because they’re trying to prove to me that they can shut me up.” No one ever succeeded in quieting Payton, who didn’t let up after the scrimmages ended. Sitting in the bleachers and feeling bold as ever, Payton called Tinsley over and asked him when he was coming to the NBA, then promised to talk even more smack while scoring 30 against him when that day finally arrives. “They’re from the States, we have big fun with them,” he said. “We’re not going to talk like that in Sydney. » We’ve been having three or four hard practices, and when I start talking like this it gets everybody juiced and hyper. It puts a little more fun in the game and takes some of the tension off.” Payton is widely considered the NBA’s biggest trashtalker, and it’s tolerated and even admired because Payton

has the talent to back it up. He had the highest-scoring season of his career in 199900, averaging 24.2 points for Seattle. Payton also shot a careerbest 34 percent from 3-point range while making 177 of them, 43 more than his previous career-high. He also had his highest averages ever in assists (8.9) and rebounds (6.3) while earning his sixth consecutive All-Star berth and seventh consecutive spot on the All-Defensive first team. His place on the all-time All-Talk team was sewn up long ago. The only holdover from the 1996 Olympic team, Payton did not discriminate when yapping his way through those games alongside notorious motormouths Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller. It didn’t matter if the opponent was from China or Canada and spoke Cantonese or English. The non-English speaking opponents responded as if they were “curious, acting like they were scared or whatever,” Payton said. That’s because trash talk, in the basketball world, hits its target through a sort of universal translator. “You might not know what he’s saying, but you know it can’t be good because you’re going to hear it right here for 40 minutes,” Carter said, pointing to his ear. “You’re just glad when the game is over.”

—' V r* V -r

WARRIORS

A • t V buffering from a high and low atfkle sprain. Quarterback Mike 'M’undy is recovering from stretched ligaments in the right knee. Running back Clarence ' McGee has a contusion to the left thigh. 1 Wide receiver Kenny Beatty also has a contusion to the right thigh and linebacker Hunter Marshall is playing with a broken arm. , That’s right, he is playing with a broken arm. “He is playing with a broken arm and it gives our team a never-say-die attitude,” said Warriors Chief Executive Officer and pJjfiSFL Chairman D. Ray. UjJj’He broke his arm on the first

continued from B6 % play of the first game of the year. He finished the game and hasn’t missed a play since. The players respect him. He is a strong leader.” Talk about commitment. Despite having a 3-2 record and the recent loss to the champion Force of Illinois, Ray said the Warriors should heal and gel as the season hits the home stretch. Last year, despite a 7-1 record and a win in the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors ran out of gas and fell in the championship. But this season, the Warriors appear to be coming together at the right time according to Ray. “I expect us to be in the play-

offs this year. We’ve added a lot of new players to the roster. We are trying to blend the new talent with the existing nucleus,” said Ray. “I believe we will peak at the right time. Last year we peaked too early and we weren’t hungry.” After the bye week, the Warriors take the longest road trip in their history when they travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., to face the Michigan Huskies (4-1). “When we travel to Michigan, it will be a challenge for us. We haven’t traveled that far ever,” added Ray. For the determined Warriors, no distance is too far to travel.

T • * * jUi, Holmes, Duran, and I Cooney lend hands to seasons’ best boxing gift

Special to The Recorder NEW YORK — Silk Road Gifts Inc. a technologically advanced supplier for the giftware industry, has unveile its newest project, the Boxing Series. Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Roberto Duran, and Gerry Cooney will each have hand cast in polyresin for the project. “Never before have four boxers of this caliber teamed up on a project like this,” said Steve Strompf, director of sail and marketing for Silk Roads Gifts and the mind behind the Boxing Series. “We actually had several boxers interested 1 being a part of the series, especially since we’ve main-

tained throughout the entire process that this is about the fans being able to own a piece of boxing history.” Each of the four boxers had a mold madb of his hand to be cast in polyresin. Each casted handprint is displayed on a wooden plaque with a brass nameplate bearing the boxer’s name. The handprint plaque is packaged in a unique gift box and also includes a collectible poster of the featured boxer along with his career statistics. Handprints for each boxer will be packaged separately and each will retail for between $50-$60 in stores around the country. The Boxing Series should hit store shelves in time for the holiday gift-giving

season. “All the boxers agreed that this product should be priced so that it would available to a wide range of boxing fans, not just serious collectors,” said Strompf. “And every detail, from the roster of boxers to the design of the gift box, went through incredible scrutiny. We’ve got a finished product that both Silk Road Gifts Inc. and the boxers involved are proud to be a part of.” The Boxing Series will have a formal launch on Sept. 6, in New York City, with Ali, Holmes, Duran, Cooney, and Silk Road Gifts in attendance.

U/fS

irl .it ^ i -G ■on vv .■A jM ■Si .?i to

M •:<!} Even with hlgtF flying talent NN* Kevin Garnett (shown dunking on

New 1000 Ford Focus

New 1000

From sin/ Only If J/mo.

Ford Taurus from { Only mwWIVM*

Stock #209490

Stock #206322

* 36 mo. lease, 12K miles/year, $2000 down plus tax, destination, security, 1st payment & rebate, if applicable. With Ford Motor Credit approval. Expires 5-31-00.

6105 E. 38th St Pendleton Pike West to 38th Street, 1 Mile to Save Thousands!

545-8551

Your “NEW” A-Plan Headquarters!