New Jersey's Jayson Williams was out to settle an old score when the Nets played the Lakers in L.A. recently.
Seems Williams has never forgotten an incident when he was a high-school-age autograph-seeker and Johnson snubbed him. This occurred more than a decade ago, when the Lakers were practicing at Power Memorial High in New York City."You know how Pat Riley is, he runs practice like he's building a top-secret nuclear weapon," Williams said. "We were 15 years old and our gym wasn't connected to the main building. But he made us stay outside the school. It was 8 degrees. We froze for an hour because none of us had anywhere to go. Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) came out and I asked him for his autograph and he said no. I asked Magic for his and he said no. So I was never a Magic Johnson fan growing up. In my mind, I'll always remember that, the disrespect of Magic toward me."
Williams blocked three of Johnson's shots in the Laker victory, and while they were lining up for a free throw late in the game, the Nets forward related the snub incident to Magic.
"He (Johnson) said, `How can I redeem myself?' and I said, `My mom has been asking for your autograph,' " Williams said. "He said he would send one over, and he did. He personalized it to my mother, Barbara. I'm back to being a Magic fan. I'm a frontrunner."
MEDDLING AGENTS: There's a disturbing trend among today's younger players to run to their agent every time they have a problem with a coach, and for the agent then to take things up with the coach - much like the parent of a disgruntled little-leaguer. Dallas' Jason Kidd did it earlier this season, and Lamond Murray of the Clippers also resorted to that tactic recently.
The latest player to whine to his agent is Glenn "Big Mutt" Robinson of the Milwaukee Bucks. After getting torched for 36 points by George McCloud in a game against Dallas, Robinson was removed with 19.9 seconds left in favor of Randolph Keys.
"Randolph Keys is one of our better defenders, so we threw him in there to put on McCloud," Bucks coach Mike Dunleavy explained. After the game, Robinson and his agent were seen lurking in the tunnel, looking for Dunleavy.
(An idea: Put all these guys on one team, and let their agents coach them.)
SICKO REPORT: More evidence that there's just something fundamentally wrong with a certain element of our society. Remember Mike Hoban, the teenager from Strongsville, Ohio, who air-balled a three-point shot for $1 million at last year's All-Star Game?
TNT did a feature on the 17-year-old last week, where they learned that missing that shot has been a brutal experience. While playing on the Strongsville High junior varsity team last year, some fans at away games chanted "air ball" every time he touched the ball. And people (using the term loosely) still drive by his house chanting "air ball."
"It bothered me hearing those things," Hoban said. "Who wouldn't it bother? It was uncalled for."
Remembering what it was like taking that shot, Hoban said, "There is no way I could have simulated what I was about to go through when I walked out there. The cameras all over. The people screaming. It was all nerves. Everything. All the stuff I had been put through. All the hype. Everything finally came to a head. I know that I did the best I could."
SHORT STUFF: According to folks in New York, the Knicks will let J.R. Reid - acquired this week in trade with Spurs - walk after this season, giving them between $7 million and $8 million to pursue a free agent, such as Reggie Miller, Juwan Howard, Kenny Anderson.
You have to like this attitude: Magic Johnson, asked why he'd come to San Antonio for the All-Star Game instead of staying home, said, "I'm planning on having a good time. I love basketball. I love the game. I want them to put on a show for me when I'm sitting there. I can watch basketball every day of my life. I'm not one of those guys (that) if I don't get picked, I'm not going."
Charles Barkley pushed former Suns center Danny Schayes to the floor on a shot attempt during a recent game, earning a flagrant foul. Barkley didn't like critical comments by Schayes in a recent article. Later in the same game, Schayes threw up an airball on a layup. "It must be my night," Barkley said. "Schayes air-balls a layup, and I get to hammer his (bleep). I could die tonight and be happy."
Of his critical comments, Schayes said: "I think I said they have a different set of rules for Charles and he pretty much did what he wanted. It was probably too close to the truth."