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Pacers Hall of Famer Mel Daniels dies at 71
http://goo.gl/NRFcND
Freddie Lewis can recall the last time he spoke with his friend Mel Daniels.
Freddie Lewis至今仍記得最後一次與Mel Daniels閒談的情景。
It was two weeks ago. Daniels had just been released from the hospital, but
seemed more concerned about Lewis, his former teammate with the Indiana
Pacers. The pair stayed close through most of their careers in the American
Basketball Association, even sharing a room on road trips during their six
years together as Pacers teammates. Daniels was the guy who would use his
fists to stick up for his teammate. And up until mid-October, he was still
fighting for Lewis.
那是兩週前的事。Daniels剛從醫院出來，但看起來他似乎更關心Lewis這位溜馬前隊友的
狀況。這對哥倆好的ABA職業生涯大半都在一起，甚至在六年的隊友期間他們的客場之旅
也住同間房。Daniels是個會為隊友兩肋插刀的男人。即使到了十月中旬，他仍然在為
Lewis助拳。
“Roomie, how you doing …” was all Lewis could get in before Daniels
switched topics.
「朋友，你最近過得如何……」一直是Lewis在Daniels改變話題前的起手式。
“Roomie, I’m glad you called and everything,” Lewis remembered Daniels
saying, “but we got to see about getting your jersey retired.”
Lewis記得Daniels曾說過：「朋友，我對於你的來電和所有的一切都很開心，但我們最該
關注的是你球衣何時退休。」
Daniels led the ABA Pacers to three championships, won two Most Valuable
Player awards, made seven All-Star appearances and later earned induction
into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Daniels, a loyal teammate
and companion, died Friday. He was 71.
Daniels帶領ABA時期的溜馬拿下了三座總冠軍，得過兩次MVP，入選七次全明星賽並進了
奈史密斯籃球名人堂。他這位忠心耿耿的冠軍隊員在星期五去世，享壽71歲。
“He was always there for you,” Lewis told IndyStar. “He stood up for me
and anybody else. He was such a fierce competitor that he should never be
forgotten.”
Lewis告訴星報：「他永遠都罩著你，他總是會為我以及其他人出頭。他是個非常強烈的
競爭者，永遠不應被遺忘。」
According to the Pacers, Daniels died in Sheridan, north of Indianapolis in
Hamilton County, and is survived by wife, CeCe; a son, Mel Daniels Jr.; two
granddaughters and two sisters. The team gave no cause of death; Daniels had
quadruple bypass heart surgery years ago.
根據溜馬的報導，Daniels在謝里丹，位於印第安納波里斯北部的漢米爾頓縣去世。身邊
有他的妻子Cece、兒子Mel Daniels二世、兩個女兒和兩位姊妹相伴。球隊並沒報導他的
死因。而幾年前他曾接受過四重心臟繞道手術。
“The tremendous outpouring of prayers being sent our way is overwhelming,”
CeCe Daniels said in a statement released by the team. “We are so grateful
for all the love. His charisma, poise and passion for life — be it horses,
basketball or friends — is a template for us all, his family and his fans.”
根據溜馬的報導，Cece Daniels表示：「我們收到了非常多，多到有些喘不過氣來的祝禱
。我們對於所有的關愛都十分感激。他的個人魅力、泰然自若與熱情洋溢，無論是在照顧
馬匹、打籃球與做人方面都是我們所有人，包含家人與球迷們的榜樣。」
On Friday afternoon as news spread of Daniels’ death, former teammates, who
now live hundreds of miles apart, shared similar stories of an aggressive big
man and a loving friend.
禮拜五下午當Daniels的死訊傳開以後，他那些住在幾百英哩外前隊友們，都一同緬懷了
這位積極進取的長人，同時是個和顏悅色的朋友。
Indianapolis native Frank Kendrick admired Daniels during the days Kendrick
worked as a Pacers ball boy and later when they were teammates in Baltimore.
土生土長的印第安納波里斯人Frank Kendrick在當溜馬的球童與之後和Daniels成為隊友
後都非常敬佩他。
“He may have been one of the best rebounders I've ever known,” Kendrick
said. “I learned how to rebound from Mel.”
Kendrick表示：「他可能是我所知道最好的籃板手。我是從他身上學習如何搶籃板的。」
Jimmy Rayl spent only a few weeks with the Pacers during the 1968-69 season,
the same year the team traded for Daniels, but found the reigning Rookie of
the Year to be humble and approachable.
Jimmy Rayl只在1968-69賽季當了幾週的溜馬球員，和Daniels被交易過來是同一年。但他
也發現這位新人王非常的謙虛且容易相處。
“He was a gentleman,” said Rayl, who lives in Kokomo. “You couldn’t find
anybody who didn’t like Mel.”
「他是個紳士。」現居科科莫的Rayl表示。「你無法找到不喜歡Mel的人。」
Lewis, an original Pacer who signed with the team before its inaugural
1967-68 season and played on the 1970, ’72 and ’73 title teams, cautioned
how the 6-9 Daniels might have been undersized for the center position but
never should have been taken lightly.
Lewis這位在新人1967-68賽季後與溜馬簽約的自家球員，並且是1970、1972和1973的冠軍
成員，提醒我們6呎9吋的Daniels是個較矮小的中鋒，但卻不應被輕忽。
“He always wanted his teammates to know he had their back. He always stepped
forward to take on anybody,” Lewis said from his home outside of Pittsburgh.
“There were so many times we got into fights with different teams and we all
rallied around each other and took up for each other.”
在匹茲堡外的自宅裡，Lewis這樣說著：「他一直希望隊友們能知道他是他們的靠山。他
總是勇往直前去罩其他人。有很多次我們和其他隊起了衝突，而我們都能夠彼此支援。」
Off the court, it was a different story.
而場下又是另一段故事。
Jeannie Brown, widow of Pacers Hall of Fame player Roger Brown, recalls
Daniels' loyalty to her husband. Every morning while Brown was hospitalized
with liver cancer, Daniels showed up with his newspaper and his coffee. Brown
was unresponsive, but Daniels still sat there.
Jeannie Brown，已故的溜馬名人堂球員Roger Brown的妻子，回憶起Daniels對他丈夫的
忠心不二。每天早上當Brown因為肝癌躺在醫院時，Daniels都會帶著他的報紙和咖啡現身
。Brown口不能言，但Daniels仍在旁相伴。
Brown died in 1997. When his daughter, Gayle, married years later, Daniels
walked her down the aisle. Jeannie Brown said she last spoke with Daniels on
Wednesday.
Brown在1997年去世。幾年後當他的女兒，Gayle出嫁時，Daniels牽著她的手進場。
Jeannie Brown表示他禮拜三才和Daniels說過話。
“The last thing he said to me when I got off the phone with him, was ‘can I
do anything for you?’” Brown said. “Go figure. He’s sick and he wants to
know what he can do for me.”
Brown表示：「當我和他通話時，他最後一句對我說的話是：『有任何需要我幫忙的地方
嗎？』設想一下，他正在病榻中，但仍然想知道有沒有能為我做的事。」
Daniels rose to prominence as one of the most dominant big men in ABA
history. As the first pick of the Minnesota Muskies in 1967, Daniels played
as the best rookie in the league but was traded a year later to the Pacers
for two players and a draft pick.
Daniels崛起成為ABA史上最具統治力的長人。在1967年被明尼蘇達麝香隊以一輪籤選走後
，Daniels成了聯盟最好的新秀，但一年後被交易到溜馬換了兩名球員和一枚選秀籤。
Daniels, who averaged 19.4 points and 16.0 rebounds during his six years in a
Pacers uniform, played under legendary coach Bobby “Slick” Leonard. At his
first practice with the team, Daniels was shooting jump shots from 15 feet.
His new coach walked up and issued a warning. “Next time you shoot from that
far out,’ Leonard said, “I’m gonna punch you in the nose.”
Daniels在六年的溜馬球季中平均19.4分和16個籃板，並在傳奇教練Bobby "Slick"
Leonard手下打球。在他與球隊的第一次練習中，Daniels正在練習15呎跳投。他的新教練
Leonard走過來並警告他：「下次你再在那麼遠的地方投籃，我就打扁你的鼻子。」
“And that was that,” Daniels said in 2014.
「然後事情就變成這樣了。」Daniels在2014年的時候表示。
Though the Pacers featured a strong core of Brown, Lewis, Bob Netolicky,
George McGinnis and Darnell Hillman, Daniels was the intimidator and leader
on those three championship teams.
雖然溜馬有著非常強大的核心球員Brown、Lewis、Bob Netolicky、George McGinnis和
Darnell Hillman，Daniels仍是三屆冠軍隊中最大的威脅和領袖。
Daniels was named league MVP during his first season in Indiana and won the
top honor again in 1971. Over an eight-year career, Daniels averaged 15.1
rebounds per game and finished as the ABA’s all-time leader in rebounding
with 9,494. On Nov. 2, 1985, the Pacers retired his No. 34 jersey. In 2012,
Daniels was elected into the Naismith Hall of Fame by the ABA Committee.
Daniels在他溜馬的第一季便拿下MVP，並在1971年又獲得一次。在八年的職業生涯中，
Daniels平均抓了15.1個籃板並且以9494個籃板高居ABA史上第一。在1985年的11月2日，
溜馬退休了他的34號球衣。2012年，Daniels被ABA協會選入了名人堂。
“I am saddened by the news that Mel Daniels has passed away,” Pacers
President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said in a statement. “I have
known him since I was in college and he was one of my coaches. His
competitive attitude reflected his success on the floor with the Pacers and
the ultimate recognition, a well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame. I
offer sincere condolences to CeCe and his family."
溜馬的執行總裁Larry Bird表示：「我對於Mel Daniels過世的消息感到很難過，我在大
學的時候便認識他，並且他也是我的教練之一。他那有競爭力的態度造就了他在場上的成
功、莫大的讚揚與應得的名人堂榮耀。我向Cece和他的家人致上真摯的哀悼。」
After retirement, Daniels remained a fixture within the franchise, even when
the Pacers moved to the NBA. In 1984, Daniels was an assistant coach and
later became an executive on the basketball side as the team’s director of
personnel.
在退休後，儘管溜馬轉戰NBA，Daniels仍與球隊保持緊密的關係。在1984年，Daniels是
球隊的助教並且之後以執行委員的身分成為球隊人才部門的董事。
“Words cannot express the depth of my sadness today,” Hall of Famer Reggie
Miller said in a statement. “Mel Daniels was a father figure, brother,
consigliere, but most of all ‘MY UNCLE MEL.’ He helped raise me into the
man I am.”
名人堂球員Reggie Miller表示：「言語不足以形容我今日的悲傷。Mel Daniels是位模範
父親、兄弟和顧問，最重要的是他就像我的叔叔一樣。他造就了今日的我。」
Other Pacers, past and current, took to social media to express their
thoughts about Daniels. He was never far from the team. On Thursday night,
when the Pacers played the home opener against Memphis, Daniels was there at
Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
其他的溜馬球員，無論是過去的還是現役的，都透過社交媒體表他們對Daniels的追思。
他從來沒有離球隊遠去。在禮拜似的晚上，當球隊在主場開幕戰面對灰熊時，Daniels人
就在班克斯人壽球館裡。
“That’s the absolute best,” Jeannie Brown said. “If the last place he
went to was a Pacer game.”
「沒有比他人生最後的時光是在溜馬比賽裡更好的事了。」Jeannie Brown表示。
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※ 編輯: k960674 (114.27.175.54), 11/01/2015 13:42:44