George Karl going on about his forty years surviving NBA divas (Carmelo Antohony, Kenyon Martin, and J. R. Smith) , clueless GMs (Wally Walker), and cancer.
If make any money from this book, it’s going to my foundation, which helps cancer patients and their families navigate the ridiculoously expensive, needlessly frightening, and stupidly complicated world of doctors, hospitals, andinsurance: George Karl Foundation.org. (page xvi)
Basketball was my life. Now life is my life. (page xvii)
Sometimes, like at the end of games, the iso is a necessary evil. And, sometimes, the iso was the only play that made Melo happy. That was a conflict. (page 75)
I’ve read that the human mind naturally seeks out negativity and threats, a not very useful souvenir from caveman days when survivial required being alert for saber-toothed tigers or human enemies. Nowadays, with little real danger except fro what we do to ourselves, a lot of people get their highs and lows from how the Steelers or the Cowboys or the Knicks or the Kings did in the game today. Life seems worth living for fans of the NBA champion, and a cheap, hollow thing if you lose in five to goddamn Denver. (page 118)
Before the game I made two points: Malone will try to win it himself and we’ve go to play dirty. (page 124)
I just wish I’d grasped this basic fact: cancer is a disease of abnormal cell growth. The more weight in your body, the more cells you have, and the greater the statistical risk of something going wrong in the cell division. having too many fat cells is particularly dangerous. Toomuch alcohol definitely increases the odds of getting cancer. Those rings and burgers and fries and beers were little time bombs. (page 137)
For 2004-05, the Nuggets traded three future number one draft picks for a good but batshit-crazy power forward, Kenyon Martin. (pages 186-7)
The Nuggets team that I would try to lead and coach had three AAU babies: the starting forwards, Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony. And J. R. Smith. (page 189)
But Kenyon and Carmelo caarried two big burdens: all that money, and no father to show them how to act like a man. (page 192)
I perceived the cancer industry to be not dedicated to curing the disease, but to making money while managing it. I came to believe that until the food industry gets cleaned up, we’re just killing ourselves. The American diet is largely a mess. And cancer and diet are linked like a metal chain. And our cancer educaitonis so poor. For example, did you know that the immune system runs on water, not on blood? So drink more water!. While I was getting thousands of dollars of synthetic morphine patches stuck to my skin, I wondered why no alternatives were presented to me. Where were the experts telling meabout yoga, massage, tai chi, and acupuncture to relieve my pain? Or about meditation to combat the depression that fell on me like a load of bricks? And where in our health-care system are the cash or tax incentives for staying healthy? (page 207)
One of my biggest takeaways was the absolute futulity of trying to control other people – the truth is, few of us have a really tight rein on our own thoughts and actions. Attempting to control even your best friend means automatic frustration. So just help him enhoy what he does. (page 210)
The intellectual workouts and the nearness of death led to a profound change in my thinking. One of the first things I realized was that I had to break my pattern of feeling stress/reacting to stress. I decided to make a point of living every day, instead of being a slave to the score of a basketgall game and of my own bad habits. (pages 211-2)
getting rid of Carmelo Anthony was a sweet release for the coach and the team, like popping a blister. (page 214)
The pool at the DoubleTree hotel in Bristo, Connecticut, is inside, where it has to be, because about half the year it’s too cold to swim outside. (page 221)
Burypensions Blog 