Magic Johnson may be out of the game, but he's not REALLY out of the game. As long as basketballs are bouncing, says Magic, he'll be near.
"I love this game," he said in an interview last week. "Right now I go to every Laker and Clipper game. And when I'm on the road I make my business around going to the games. So I love basketball. I coach little league kids, in my church I have programs for the kids."Johnson will be in Salt Lake to call the All-Star Game, a year after he won the game's MVP award as a player. But this time he'll be there as a television commentator. "I will be here and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. I will be right here at the Slam-Dunk, I'll be right there at the Three-point (Shootout), I will be right there Saturday at the kids thing (Stay in School Jam). I'll be, of course, working the game. So you would never be able to keep from this game."
Johnson adds that he won't feel bad about returning as announcer, rather than a player, to the All-Star Game. "It's not bittersweet. I've had all the sweetness I could dream of having in one year. All-Star Game, Olympic Team, what more could you want? I mean, if I'm going out, I went out the right way."
Remember Billy "The Whopper" Paultz? Who doesn't? Few players have become as much a part of Jazz lore as Paultz, who took the famous sucker punch from Hakeem Olajuwon during the 1985 playoffs.
Paultz is now living in Sebastian, Fla., about 100 miles south of Orlando. He works in marketing for a retail print business and travels heavily.
In an interview with "Fast Breakin"' magazine, Paultz talked about his fondness for his nickname. "The nickname was OK," he said. "But what is good about it is that it really means they (the fans) don't forget you."
At least they won't in Salt Lake City. Forever in their memories, The Whopper will be remembered as the guy who could take a punch.
Orlando rookie Shaquille O'Neal's impressive numbers, including 24 points, 15 rebounds and over four blocks a game, puts him among the elite rookies of all time. Nevertheless, the most prolific of all was Wilt Chamberlain, whose domination of the game was so complete, his records will probably never fall.
Chamberlain entered the NBA in 1960 and in his first season he averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds a game. He broke NBA records for points in a season, scoring average, field goals attempted and made, rebounds, rebounding average and games with 50 or more points (five).
Boston's Robert Parish has always had class. And even in his - and the Celtics' declining years - he is gracious but candid in assessing the Celtics' glory days.
"We were very cocky," says the league's oldest player . "Teams knew it, too. We knew we were going to win, and the opponents knew we were going to win. If they won, they had to play a hell of a ballgame. We are still a very proud team," said Parish.
Now that the Celtics are minus a few superstars, and other teams have improved, life is different. "First of all, not only are we not as talented, but there are better teams in the league also," continued Parish. "Every night is an all-out war. Even for the better teams in the league, even for Portland, Phoenix and Chicago, they have to struggle every night just to get a win. There are no more easy nights. You can't look at the schedule anymore and say, `That's four wins right there.' "
In the gone-but-not-forgotten category - well, OK, maybe they're getting a little fuzzy in the memory, but let's not quibble - come these blasts from the past: Pace Mannion, Corey Crowder, Eric Leckner, Tony Brown, Eric Johnson and Ray Brown. All are playing, and apparently thriving, in Europe.
Mannion, an ex-Ute and Jazzman, is averaging 24.5 points a game for Shampoo Clear Cantu in the Italian League. Other Italian league players and ex-Jazzmen include Crowder (17.9 ppg, Glaxo Verona), Leckner (19.0, Panna Firenze) and Brown (19.1, Sidis Reggio Emilia).
Playing in the Spanish League are ex-Jazzmen Raymond Brown (16.8, Elousa Leon) and Eric Johnson (12.1, Valencia Basket).
This column includes materials gathered from outside sources.