Points in the Paint

» March 2, 2009 5:58 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: “Prepare to step down, Dan Marino. The time is near — if it isn’t already here — to call Dwyane Wade the greatest athlete in the history of professional sports in South Florida. It is with no disrespect to the Dolphins’ No. 13 but with increasing appreciation and marvel for the Heat’s No. 3 that we would dare propose the change on the pedestal. But gradually, inexorably and increasingly, it is Marino who should be pleased to be considered in Wade’s company rather than vice versa. Don’t get this wrong. Marino hasn’t instantly stopped being our most beloved athlete, and he might never. He served 17 seasons, a longevity Wade won’t match. And the Dolphins’ unquestionable flagship status in what clearly remains a football town helps assure that Marino might always own the popular vote.”

Tim MacMahon of The Dallas Morning News: “While marveling about Jason Kidd surpassing the 10,000-assist milestone, Dirk mentioned that he might not hit it if he plays 60 years. He was exaggerating, of course. Dirk is on pace to get his 10,000th assists about 40 years from now.”

Chauncey Billups: “Every All Star game that I’ve played in, as I’m sitting on the bench at the start of games or whatever, I look at players on my team, guys on the court, players on the other team, I look around and I’m sitting there saying ‘Not one of these dudes traveled my path. Not one. Most of the guys they came in the league, they were already stars, they continued on that path, they never fall off. They just ride it all the way through. Nobody fell all the way off then climbed and got all the way back to the top like I have. I just appreciate, I appreciate those things, being mentioned as one of the best. I don’t know if it’s more than the next man, but I know my appreciation for it is high.”

Jamie Samuelson for the Detroit Free Press: “Iverson has been a huge disappointment here. The team has a losing record when he plays. His presence clearly has altered what was a winning chemistry. He hasn’t been horrible off the court or anything — but the rumors of a late-night casino trip in Minnesota and fan stories about late nights downtown haven’t been helped at all by sub-par play on the court.”

Hoops Addict’s Rashad Mobley covered the Bulls-Wizards game that President Barack Obama attended. Mobley comments on the increased security: “I arrive at the media entrance of the Verizon Center only to be re-routed to some makeshift media entrance. As soon as I walked in that door, I was greeted by a policeman, two secret service agents, and some other mysterious looking gentlemen. They asked me to place my bags down, and then take the metal objects out of my pocket. First they frisked me, and put their hands on me like I was rock star who just jumped in a mosh pit. Then they took the metal detector and ran it over my body once again. Then the aforementioned mysterious gentlemen emptied my bag, opened my laptop, and just looked for anything shady. The guy in front of me complained and complained about this security checkpoint, and he kept telling anyone within earshot that he had stories to write and this was holding him up. A Secret Service guy stepped up and calmly said, “Sir you can talk and yell as much as you want, but this is how its going to happen or you can leave.” The guy kept running his mouth, but he did everything he was told like a good boy.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on why Andrew Bynum doesn’t shoot the sky-hook: “He doesn’t shoot the skyhook because he thinks that he doesn’t have the grace and the fluidity that I have. That’s okay he can shoot it, it doesn’t matter how it looks, the only thing that matters is does it go in the hoop.” [HT: TLN]