[分享] Finest person I've ever been around - Vlade Divac（一）

[santabrelai ()]

http://0rz.tw/USZJT

He is not yet eligible to claim a spot in the international wing of the
Basketball Hall of Fame, but you suspect that Vlade Divac won't have to wait
through too many more Septembers.

    他還沒有在國際籃球名人堂裡獲得一個位置，但你可以預期 Vlade Divac不用等得太
久。

Not when you could start in Portland and scour the globe and still struggle
to find a bigger trailblazer in the game.

    除了在波特蘭之外，你應該很難找到另一個比他更大隻的籃球拓荒者。

The résumé stands up well nearly five years since he last played, no matter
what you think of his famed, uh, defensive theatrics. Divac's huge, soft
hands entrenched him as Europe's first successful long-term export to the
NBA. He is one of just four players ever to amass at least 13,000 points,
9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks. His name likewise answers
this rather significant trivia question: Who is the only player in league
history to be traded for Kobe Bryant?

    距離上次出賽已經有五年多了，不管你對 Divac影帝般的演出怎麼想，他巨大而柔軟
的手段確立了他是第一位成功歐洲輸出作品。他是僅有的四位球員能達到 13000分、9000
籃板、3000助攻、1500火鍋。由下列的問題可以證明他的身價：誰是歷史上唯一一位被拿
來交換Kobe Bryant的球員？

Hoop historians will put that name right up there with Bill Walton and
Arvydas Sabonis in the pantheon of slick-passing big men and remember him
even more readily as one of the groundbreakers in the NBA's globalization. It
was precisely 20 years ago that Divac began to break down the barriers that
helped make it possible for Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to reach an
agreement this week to buy the New Jersey Nets and become the league's first
foreign majority owner. Two decades later, meanwhile, Divac has convinced
countless countrymen that he will wind up serving as president of Serbia
someday, such is his post-NBA devotion to humanitarian causes.

    籃球史學家們在排列優秀傳球長人時，總會提到他與Bill Walton、Arvydas Sabonis
，他使用地板傳球的技巧真是出神入化。 Divac的成功帶進了文化交流，所以在他加盟NBA
的二十年後，我們看到了史上第一位外籍老闆。而退休後的 Divac也承認有許多國人都希
望他有朝一日成為塞爾維亞的總統，因為他的博愛形象已深入人心。

Eligibility for the Hall remains another two years away, in 2011, after five
full seasons in retirement, but Vlade has already scored the ultimate stamp
of approval from The Logo himself.

    雖然距離名人堂的票選還有兩年的時間（必須確定退休五年）， Divac因自身形象所
獲得的支持票卻已超標。

Asked recently about the pioneering center he drafted in 1989, Jerry West
said: "He's the finest person I've ever been around in my life.

    被問到這位他1989年所選進的中鋒時，Jerry West回答：「他是我一生中遇過最好的
人。」

"Ever."

    「最好的！」

Bigger names and more prodigious talents have certainly blipped in and out of
a lifetime so closely associated with the NBA that West's silhouette was the
inspiration for the league's insignia. The reality is that Divac played in
only one All-Star Game in 16 seasons. But it's also true that no endorsement
will mean more to Divac, who, to this day, refers to the Lakers' former top
executive as "my favorite man in the NBA."

    West這位 NBA標誌人物和太多偉大球員有過連結。雖然 Divac生涯十六季只有入選過
一次明星賽，不過有了West這一句的背書，他也不需要太多其他的證明。因為他是這位前
湖人名將最喜歡的NBA人。

Not even the sting of West's informing him back in the summer of 1996 that
L.A. had no choice but to trade him to Charlotte for the rights to Bryant --
and the salary-cap space that ultimately helped the Lakers sign Shaquille
O'Neal -- could dent Divac's regard for his old boss. Divac insists,
furthermore, that no bitterness lingers from the Sacramento Kings'
oh-so-close failure to get past the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers in 2002, or from the
detractors who ignore West's gushing assessments and prefer to remember
Divac's flopping more than his passing.

    雖然在1996的選秀會上他被湖人交易給黃蜂，只為了換來Bryant的選秀權以及給Shaq
的薪資空間，2002年又以如此近的差距被湖人所擊敗，Divac 卻堅持他對於老東家沒有什
麼不好的印象。

He's too busy and giddy, at 41, to dwell on the negativity, fully engaged in
his new job as president of the Serbian Olympic Committee and still reveling
in the afterglow of the ceremony in late March when the Kings retired his No.
21.

    他實在是太忙了，41歲的 Divac沒有時間消極，他現在正以塞爾維亞奧委會主席的身
份奔波，還剛參加完三月國王為他舉辦的球衣退休儀式。

Fresh off a brief return to the floor for a legends trip to Korea and the
Philippines with Dominique Wilkins, Tim Hardaway and Robert Horry, Divac has
also been helping to organize the forthcoming American tour of his original
club team back home. Partizan Belgrade is scheduled to play two exhibition
games against an all-star team led by former Kings teammates Scot Pollard and
Mateen Cleaves during a weeklong stay in Chicago and Detroit that starts
Thursday, followed by Partizan's two preseason games in early October against
NBA teams: Denver on Oct. 3 and Phoenix on Oct. 6.

    才剛與 Dominique Wilkins、Tim Hardaway、Robert Horry等人結束一趟訪問南韓的
行程。Divac 也還在替他的初隻效力球隊歸劃美國賽行程。Partizan Belgrade 將會在芝
加哥與底特律和他的前國王隊隊友Scot Pollard及Mateen Cleaves所率領的明星隊打兩場
表演賽。接下來在十月Partizan還有兩場與NBA 球隊的季前賽，分別是十月三號對金塊及
十月六號對太陽。

In honor of Partizan's U.S. visit and the 20th anniversary of his rookie
season -- with a bow to the No. 12 that Divac was wearing the first time I
saw him play, alongside Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja for a
still-unified Yugoslavia on the best team you probably never saw -- ESPN.com
has collected a dozen remembrances and updates from Divac's life to fete one
of the sport's most heralded ambassadors.

    為了替Partizan訪美造勢，以及他的第二十個新秀紀念日。 Divac將會再度穿上十二
號球衣（這是我第一次看見他時所穿的號碼，也是Drazen Petrovic、Toni Kukoc、Dino
Radja 等人所組成的最強南拉斯夫隊。）ESPN也收集了十幾個 Divac球員生涯最值得記憶
的時刻，來招待這位運動大使先驅。


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Hooray for Hollywood

The legend, as it is written in Lakers lore, holds that West went around the
room on the night of the 1989 draft asking every team official present to
submit the name of the player he should take with the No. 26 overall pick.
None of his basketball people tossed out "Divac," but that's the name West
called in to New York, having kept the secret from his own staff.

    讓我們將故事由1989年說起，在選秀會時，West詢問了每一隻球隊的總管，他應該在
26順位選擇誰？沒有任何人回答 Divac，但這正是West在台上宣布的名字，他連對自已的
團隊都保守了秘密。

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0407/nba_g_divac-lakers_200.jpg
One of the greatest passing big men the game has ever seen.
West says it's all true.

"There hadn't been a lot of foreign players in the NBA draft at that point,"
West recalls. "But I had watched him play the Celtics over there [in the
McDonald's Open with his national team], and I just felt this guy, because he
had played in international competition, was ready to play right away. You
wondered if he was going to work hard enough to succeed over here and he
wasn't the most gifted player athletically, but his hands were like Super
Glue and you could see that he could do all the little things. He was the guy
for us."

    「當時的外國球員還不多，但當我看完他對抗塞爾提克的比賽（麥當勞公開賽），我
覺得就是他了，他有許多國際比賽的經驗，讓他能夠馬上上場。你會懷疑這個球員是否能
努力獲得成功，他也不是最有天賦的球員，但他有一雙像膠水般的手，他也能做好所有的
小事情，他就是我們的人選。」West回憶說。

Yet West also concedes that he immediately had to fight the urge to
second-guess himself upon greeting Divac and wife Ana at the airport, where
the 21-year-old's notoriously ragged look was even rougher than usual after
all the international travel. With Divac carrying two duffel bags -- and with
his trademark beard in full sprout -- West doesn't deny having some
what-have-I-done convulsions.

    不過West也承認當他前往機場迎接Divac及他的老婆Ana時，不禁開始懷疑起自已的決
定。這位二十一歲的球員破爛的穿著在經過長途飛行後使他更顯狼狽。他們全部的行李只
有兩個粗呢包， Divac的招牌鬍子也亂七八糟。當下的West也有一種「我到底做了些什麼
？」的感受。

"But the one thing I could tell right away," West says, "is that there was an
unbelievable warmth that just radiated from him."

    「但那時我也感覺到一股不可置信的溫暖。」West說。

Dropping all the way to the penultimate pick of the first round, when he
thought he had a shot to go as high as No. 5 in what turned out to be one of
the most ridiculed drafts in league history, worked out for Divac as well as
it clicked for West. He admits that he put his name into the draft thinking
that "I would go to the NBA for a couple years, get strong and come back
home." He came to America speaking no English and never having seen a live
NBA game on television. He wound up with the legendary West as his boss, Pat
Riley as his first coach and Magic Johnson as his mentor.

    Divac 原本預想自已最高能以第五順位中選，卻沒想到自已一路跌到第一輪的倒數第
二順位，不過這也讓West有了機會。 Divac承認自已一開始對 NBA沒有太多想法：「我可
能進去個幾年，變得強壯，然後回家。」抵達美國的這一天，他還不會說英文，一場電視
比賽都沒看過。但他非常興奮能當傳奇人物West旗下的一員，以及Pat Riley、Magic分別
擔任他的良師益友。

Pervis Ellison might have been the No. 1 overall pick that year, but Divac
won the lottery.

    Pervis Ellison是當年的選秀狀元，可是抽中了樂透的卻是Divac。

Says Vlade: "If I went somewhere else, no English, no Magic, no Pat, it could
have been [a] disaster."

    「如果我去了其他地方，不會英文，又沒有Magic、Pat的幫忙，那一定是災難一場。
」Vlade說。

                                                                      待續....

--

    這篇翻得很亂，感謝並希望幫忙指正，或著文句不通順處也可以告知。

    如果有人願意接力翻譯，也非常感謝，不過為了避免撞刊，還請您推文告知。

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 122.116.219.191
※ 編輯: santabrelai     來自: 122.116.219.191      (10/07 23:14)
推 zimi:淚推老狄!!!他的傳球功力真是長人裡數一數二的！
推 Shimagnolo:沙撥尼斯也很不賴，投球姿勢又很可愛
推 Cousins15:老迪有大家長的感覺耶，ＳＡＭＭＹ也有這種氣質
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <

作者: santabrelai () 看板: Kings
標題: [分享] Finest person I've ever been around - Vlade Divac (二)
時間: Fri Oct  8 20:12:21 2010

Trade of the century

There's a reason that Lakers fans, even if they wanted to, couldn't turn on
Divac when his Sacramento Kings came so close to keeping L.A. out of the 2002
Finals.

    對於湖人迷來說，即使 Vlade Divac和他的國王隊差點在2002打掉湖人，他們也不該
對他惡言相向。

Without the deal that sent Divac to Charlotte in the summer of 1996,
Lakerland might have never seen Kobe or Shaq.

    沒有這個與黃蜂隊的交易，2002年的湖人可能跟本不會出現。

The Lakers needed to shed Divac's contract to help create the requisite cap
space to fund O'Neal's escape from Orlando. The Hornets were willing to draft
a player who refused to work out for them because the Lakers, in exchange for
Bryant's draft rights, were prepared to send over the proven big man
Charlotte badly needed to become a 50-win team in the East.

    湖人需要足夠的薪資空間來吸引人在奧蘭多的Shaq，黃蜂也願選擇一位不願受他們測
試的球員，這一切都是因為一個長人，因為黃蜂急於成為一隻五十勝的球隊。

It's a trade that obviously changed the Lakers forever, with Bryant and
O'Neal combining for three championships before their messy breakup, but the
rarely told part of the story is that Vlade was never the same, either.

    這個交易改變了湖人的歷史，在Shaq與Kobe鬧翻前，他們已經拿下了三座總冠軍，不
過這個交易也改變了Vlade這位球員。

First, though, then-Hornets coach Dave Cowens had to convince Divac to
rescind his initial threat to retire in response to the trade.

    首先黃蜂教練 Dave Cowens說服了 Divac不要以退休來反對這次交易。

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0407/nba_g_divac-charlotte_200.jpg
Vlade had to be talked out of retirement after being dealt from L.A. to the
Hornets in '96.

"Charlotte actually changed my whole way of thinking about basketball," Divac
said. "Back then, basketball was fun for me. I didn't play for money. I
played for fun. I was thinking, [they're] sending me somewhere I don't want
to go. I don't know anything about Charlotte. It was the first time in my
career that something doesn't go my way. I wanted to play for Partizan
[Belgrade], I played for Partizan. I wanted to play for national team, I
played for national team. I wanted to win European Championships, I won
European Championships.

    「黃蜂隊改變了我對籃球的想法。在此之前，籃球只是好玩而已，我不是為了錢而比
賽，我是為了興趣。我對夏洛特毫無認知。這是我職業生涯第一遭事情沒有照著我的思路
發生。在那之前我想去Partizan，就去Partizan，我想打國際賽就去打國際賽。我想贏得
歐冠，就贏得歐冠。」

"[The trade was the] first time something happened that, 'Oh my God,
everything is terrible.' If I have to be forced to play, [I thought,] I'll
quit. I don't want that. Then I started talking to Jerry, and I started
talking to Dave Cowens, and I [was] impressed with him. So I went there and I
really enjoyed it. My time in Charlotte actually extended my career. I got
more serious."

    「這是第一回『天啊！怎麼回事！』如果他們逼我上場，我可能就會閃人了。我並不
希望事情這樣發生。然後我和 Jerry談了一會，也開始與 Dave Cowens談，他給我很深刻
的印象。所以我就到了夏洛特，而且在那兒的時光還不錯。在夏洛特的日子延長了我的職
業生涯，我開始把他當成一個職業。」

The Hornets, for the record, won 54 and 51 games respectively in Divac's two
seasons there, with West's trade partner -- Bob Bass -- earning NBA Executive
of the Year honors in 1996-97 from his peers … and a lifetime of criticism
even though 12 other teams bowed to the pressure of agent Arn Tellem and
passed on Bryant as well.

    黃蜂隊在那兩季分別贏了54場和51場比賽。和West交易的Bob Bass拿下了年度最佳總
管，還有和十二隻球隊總管一起因為錯過Bryant而被痛罵一輩子。

And West?

    West怎麼想？

He likens trading Vlade to "parting with your brother."

    他說交易 Vlade就像與兄弟分別一般。

(The oft-forgotten postscript here is that Divac wound up as Bryant's
teammate in his final season in 2004-05, only to have persistent back trouble
restrict him to 15 games and a seasonlong stint as a father figure for
Slovenian rookie Sasha Vujacic. But two of those 15 games were trips to Arco
Arena, setting up Divac to record what is believed to be another NBA first as
the recipient of a standing ovation from the Arco crowd while wearing a
Lakers jersey.)

    人們經常忘記在 Divac的最後球季，他成為了Bryant的隊友，不過持續的背部問題
讓他只上了十五場比賽，他也在這個 Sasha Vujacic的新秀球季對他照顧有加。在這十
五場比賽中，他返回Arco Arena兩次。 Divac是 NBA史上第一位穿著湖人球衣到場，卻
能獲得Arco全場起立致敬的球員。


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The king of Kings

They made the cover of Sports Illustrated with Chris Webber and Jason
Williams as the headliners. They made it to the brink of the NBA Finals with
Mike Bibby replacing Williams at the point, Peja Stojakovic rising to
All-Star status, Hedo Turkoglu adding to their worldwide appeal and Doug
Christie, Bobby Jackson and Pollard supplying the role-player grit.

    Chris Webber和Jason Williams登上了運動畫刊頭條。在以Mike Bibby擔任後衛後，
他們一度差點殺進決賽。 Peja Stojakovic打出了全明星身價， Hedo Turkoglu增加了他
們的國際球迷。 Doug Christie、Bobby Jackson、Pollard等人都以角色球員有所貢獻。

Yet the overwhelming consensus in the capital of California is that the
Kings' rise from laughingstock status to the NBA elite -- "We were an
international team, not just Sacramento," Divac likes to say -- was triggered
most by Vlade's arrival as a free agent before the lockout-shortened 1999
season.

    國王不再是一個笑柄，加州首都不再是被拿來諷刺的點。「我們是隻國際性的隊伍，
可不只是沙加緬度的隊伍。」這一切也都由Vlade 在1999年封館球季以自由球員身份和國
王簽約開始。

The view of then-Kings coach Rick Adelman: "I've always said Vlade was the
key to everything."

    Rick Adelman說：「Vlade是一切的關鍵。」

The view of venerable Kings assistant coach Pete Carril: "He was like the
glue that kept this team together."

    Pete Carril說：「他是黏合球隊的膠水。」

The view of Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, as shared during the
jersey-retirement ceremony: "You turned our franchise around."

    Gavin Maloof在球衣退休儀式上說：「你改變了我們的歷史。」

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0331/nba_g_vlad_268.jpg
Vlade's 21 now hangs in the rafters of Arco.

Divac gets those plaudits because the passing, unselfishness, emotion,
positivity and togetherness those Kings were known for started with him. The
Divac-Webber combination clicked so well that Carril openly admits -- while
acknowledging that the new kids have lots of growing and improving to do --
that the organization paired Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson in the
frontcourt because of their potential as a combo to play in a similar manner.

    Divac 獲得了喝彩，因為這隻傳球、無私、激情、積極、團結的國王由他開始。兩大
長人Divac-Webber組合搭配是如此精彩，所以Carril公開承認希望Spencer Hawes與Jason
Thompson也能成為為這樣的搭檔。

"When I decided to come to Sacramento, all my friends thought I was crazy,"
Divac said. "They said they still have cows and sheep around Arco. All the
buildings [that] surround Arco [today] didn't exist.

    「當我要去沙加緬度時，我的朋友都說我瘋了。他們說那裡只有一堆牛和羊，沒有什
麼建築物。」

"But I talked to Geoff [Petrie], and he convinced me. He showed me that
management wants to make a big improvement. So I went there, but never [was
it] in my mind that we're going to almost [win a] championship. We put
Sacramento on the map. Wherever I'm going, people ask me about our team,
because the Kings played basketball the way it is [supposed to be played]."

    「但在我與Geoff Petrie對話後，他成功打動了我。他告知我管理層想要前進一大步
。所以我就到了沙加緬度，不過在我心中留下的不是我們幾乎拿到了總冠軍。而是我們把
沙加緬度標誌到了地圖上。不管我去哪裡，人們總會問起當年，因為國王打的籃球就是籃
球該有的樣子。」
                                                                      待續....

--
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◆ From: 122.116.219.191
推 DeAmorFati:讚啦
推 kikijuice:
推 RUD:在我心中國王有兩枚戒指.一枚在50年前.一枚在2002
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <

作者: santabrelai () 看板: Kings
標題: [分享] Finest person I've ever been around - Vlade Divac（三）
時間: Sat Oct  9 12:51:14 2010

Do wedding rings count?

During his Sacramento visit in March for the jersey retirement, sensing the
skepticism in every audience, Vlade made the claim again and again:

    在他的球衣退休儀式上，疑惑還是在每個觀眾的心中，不過 Vlade再次澄清：

I'm over it.

    我已對此釋懷。

As in: Divac swears that he can live with the Kings' having missed out on a
potential 3-1 lead over the Lakers in the '02 West finals when his long
tap-out to Horry led to Horry's game-winning triple at the Game 4 buzzer. He
swears that he is not haunted by the 27 free throws awarded to the Lakers in
the fourth quarter of Game 6 that helped L.A. stave off elimination … or the
14 missed free throws that sealed a crushing Game 7 loss at home.

    不管是那個搧到 Horry手上造成最後一擊的籃板、第六戰第四節給湖人的二十七顆罰
球、在主場第七戰失手的那十四顆罰球，都是過去了。 Divac發誓說他還是能活在擁有以
上的回憶中。

When you consider the off-court burden he carried for most of his Kings
career, with war overrunning his homeland and his first season in Sacramento
coinciding with multiple NATO-led bombings of his hometown, Divac probably
shouldn't have to work so hard to convince us.

    在他替國王出賽的時刻，他的家鄉戰火連天，他的第一個沙城球季就碰上了北約轟炸
南斯拉夫。那些籃球場上的勝負，與擔心遠方的家人相較，並不是那麼地重要。

But the Kings' steady slide from relevance ever since seemingly makes the
memories even more painful.

    不過國王的狀況在那之後不停下滑，才是比較不好的回憶。

"Back then it bothered me," Divac said. "From this distance, I am OK. I know
we didn't win [the] championship, but I think we were a championship team.

    「當時會很困擾。不過到了這個時刻，那已經無所謂了，我知道我們沒有贏得冠軍，
但我想我們是隻冠軍球隊。」

"People here [in America] are making a big deal about ring or no ring. I was
playing against the Lakers and I remember someone [in the crowd] shouted,
'How many rings you got?' I told him one. He looked at me [funny], so I said,
'I got one in '89 when I got married, I got a ring from my wife.' That's the
most important thing."

    「這兒的人們很在意手上的戒指。我記得一次我和湖人對上的時候，一位觀眾對我吼
說：『你拿過幾個戒指？』我告訴他我有一個戒指，他以為我在搞笑。我接著說：『從我
89年結婚後，我和我老婆就各有一隻戒指。』那才是生命中最重要的事物。」

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0407/nba_g_divac-frustrated_300.jpg
The Kings reached new heights during the Divac era, but the lows were
especially painful.

In a subsequent conversation, Divac adds: "It doesn't bother me at all. I
think we did something special [in Sacramento]. … People around the world,
not just in Sacramento, liked to watch [that team]. So that was, right there,
[a] big accomplishment for our team. … In my heart, I believe we were the
champions. We didn't win, but we played the way champions should play."

    在隨後的交談中， Divac補充說：「這一點也不會困擾我，我想我們帶給了沙加緬度
些很美好的時光。世界上的人們，不只是這個城市的居民，都喜歡我們。這是我們最大的
成就。在我的心裡我們就是冠軍，我知道我們沒有贏球，但我們打得就像個冠軍。」

From the recent legends tour, with Divac and Horry traveling together and
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar along as a coach, Horry reported that the 3-pointer he
sank after Divac batted the ball out to him was "all they wanted to talk
about everywhere we went."

    最近Divac與Horry以及Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 曾一起出訪， Horry說因為那顆籃板及
三分球，每到一個地方，都會有人問起相關的問題。

Horry said, however, that he and Divac spoke easily about "how we will
forever be linked to one of the greatest moments" in NBA history.

    而Horry與Divac的回答是「這讓我們連結在一起，成為見證NBA偉大時刻的一員。」

Not that Vlade's take is anywhere near unanimous among his ex-teammates.

    不過並不是每個前隊友都這麼想。

Late last season, back for a second stint with the Kings and plotting a
transition to coaching, guard Bobby Jackson was asked whether he's over it
nearly seven years later.

    上個球季，我們詢問重回國王並準備執教的後衛 Bobby Jackson是不是已經不在乎那
麼多了。

"Until somebody brings it up again," Jackson said. "Those days you do think
about, because it's very rare you get to experience that in life, when you
get to go to the Western Conference finals, almost have a chance to win the
NBA championship … and having eight people on the basketball court instead
of five."

    「只要沒有人提起來就好。那是一生中難以觸及的體驗，我們到了西區冠軍戰，也只
差一線就能拿下總冠軍。可惜我們在場上對抗的是八名對手。」


The greatest teammate

If you can't win an NBA championship, snagging the title of "Greatest
Teammate" isn't a shabby consolation prize.

    如果不能拿下冠軍，成為一位最偉大的隊友也是值得讚頌的一點。

And if you're going to be a stickler and point out that Divac doesn't
officially possess that title, be advised that:

    若你要求很高，並認為這個頭銜沒有官方認證，讓我告訴你：

A) We're merely passing on the theme from the Kings' video tributes on
Vlade's jersey night, which proclaimed him to be "The Greatest Teammate."

    1.我們只是借用了 Vlade的國王球衣退休夜那晚的影片標題，這部影片就是稱他為最
偉大的隊友。

B) No less an authority than West makes pretty much the same claim.

    2.一個像West這樣的權威有權力頒發這個頭銜。

"He might have been the best teammate anyone has ever had," West said.

    「他是每個人有過的最好的隊友。」West說。

"That was his gift."

    「這是他的天賦。」


A born diplomat

This isn't baseball.

    這並不是棒球。

So if he is fortunate enough to be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame --
which rates as a strong possibility because of the separate wing for
international players and coaches and given Divac's on-court achievements
along with his ambassadorial work -- Vlade doesn't have to worry about which
hat is going to end up on his plaque.

    所以如果他有幸被選入名人堂（我想這可能性相當高，因為他是個成功的國際籃球員
，球場上的成績不俗，場外的大使工作也是他的優點）， Vlade不用擔心戴哪一頂球帽進
場。

Which is good news for him, since Divac has made a career of dancing around
such prickly decisions.

    這是一個好消息，因為他的球員生涯分屬兩個對抗的球隊。

He's been asked a lot lately about how he sees himself today. As a Laker? Or
as a King?

    最近常有人問他如何看待今日的自已，是湖人呢？還是國王？

"I'm in between," Vlade says. "I'm around Bakersfield and Fresno."

    「我在兩者的中間，大概是Bakersfield或Frenso吧。」
    （譯註：Bakersfield、Frenso為加州地名，兩者都介於洛杉磯與沙加緬度之間）

Then he launches into his stock speech about how he spent seven beautiful,
formative seasons with the Lakers before posting the six most productive
seasons of his career in Sacramento.

    接著他開始講起七年在湖人的時光，以及那六年身為國王的球季。

And then he insists that he's a Laker when he's in Southern California and a
King when he's in Northern California.

    他說如果在南加州，他是一個湖人，到了北加州，他就是國王。

And then in a quiet aside, he reminds you that he's actually played for two
teams that arguably share a more contentious history than any two teams in
NBA history. Partizan Belgrade is the team he grew up loving and supports to
this day … but Divac actually played in two games for Partizan's hated
rivals, Red Star Belgrade, during the 1998 lockout.

    不過他說事實上他曾經扮演過比起在 NBA更為對立的角色。他很長一段時間都是支持
並喜歡Partizan的人，不過他也替Partizan的世仇 Red Star Belgrade在1998封館球季時
出賽過兩場。

"I'm kind of [a] split personality," he jokes.

   「我想我大概有點人格分裂。」
                                                                      待續....

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> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <

作者: santabrelai () 看板: Kings
標題: [分享] Finest person I've ever been around - Vlade Divac（四）
時間: Sun Oct 10 11:19:12 2010

Vlade knows what you're thinking

He knows you must be wondering how we've gotten this far without getting into
flopping.

    他知道你一定好奇我們談了這麼久，為何還沒有提到他的演技。

You rarely hear an unkind word about Divac in basketball circles -- "It's
impossible not to like him," West claims -- but this is that subject.

    在籃球圈，提到 Divac的名字，你很少會聽到難聽的形容詞。「不可能不喜歡這個傢
伙。」West說，不過這與那些無關。

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0407/nba_g_divac_300.jpg
He prefers to talk about his passing, but Vlade -- like it or not -- is known
for his flopping, too.

So here is the long-awaited rebuttal/explanation/confession from the man who
used all of his soccer instincts and acting mojo he gleaned from wife Ana's
profession to earn an unshakable reputation for occasionally exaggerating the
contact absorbed while playing defense.

    接下來是這個男人對於假摔的反駁/解釋/自白。他利用了這個他老婆內行的足球技巧
和表演方式（ Divac的老婆疑為足球員）替他賺取了不少名聲，也成為他防守時避免過多
碰撞接觸的方法。

"First of all, I would love to see people remember me as a good passer, not
as a good flopper," Vlade says. "But flopping was, in some period of my
career, a part of my game, especially against Shaquille O'Neal. It was the
only way I could try to stop him. And I did well, I guess."

    「首先，我比較希望大家記得我的傳球，而不是我的假摔。不過這也是我生涯的一部
份，我比賽中的一部份。特別是對抗Shaquille O'Neal的時候，這是我唯一能阻止他的方
式。我想我做得還不錯。」

Yet now that he is no longer flopping, er, playing, Divac might have actually
lost some of his ability to enrage Shaq.

    不過他不假摔（打球）的日子已經很久了， Divac已經在Shaq的記憶中漸漸淡化。

Given the opportunity to proclaim Divac as the NBA's worst-ever flopper, Shaq
decided not to blast his longtime foe.

    當問到Divac是不是NBA最會假摔的球員時，Shaq並認為並不是這位他長期的對手。

"It's the Collins boys," Shaq said, referring to twin brothers Jarron and
Jason Collins. "They always get me."

    「我想是Collins兄弟。他們總是搞毛我。」

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Vlade's other vice

I spent a lot of time in Divac's company during his March visit to Sactown.
And I can confirm that I did see him smoke a cigarette or two from a pack
peeking out of his coat pocket.

    在 Divac三月到訪沙城的日子裡，我花了不少時間跟他作伴。我可以證明他幾乎沒抽
過幾根煙。

He doesn't have to hide the Camels anymore. In retirement -- and living back
in Belgrade for the past year after a two-year stint as an executive with
Real Madrid and nearly two decades away -- smoking is hardly taboo.

    他不再需要把煙藏起來了，因為他現在已經退休了。要知道在球員生涯中，抽煙是一
個嚴重大忌。

But the feedback he gets for it now, as I also witnessed, might be more
painful than the whispers about cigarettes throughout his NBA days. Taunting
from his 11-year-old daughter, Petra, is frequent, with a go-to move of
drawing her thumb and index finger to her forehead in the shape of an "L" to
chide Dad for his inability to stop smoking.

    不過他現在抽煙的時候所感受到的痛苦可能更大。因為他的十一歲女兒Petra 不停地
模仿他抽煙的動作，來嘲弄戒不掉煙的老爸。
（譯：http://www.novine.ca/arhiva/2005/1026/slike/m-%201026%20divac.jpg）

Vlade's counter is that he's "really never been a heavy smoker."

    Vlade說他抽得其實不兇。

And that it didn't stop him from lasting 16 seasons in the NBA and joining
that exclusive club mentioned earlier: Divac, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem
Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett form the exclusive quartet of multifaceted NBA
stars to amass at least 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and
1,500 blocks in their careers.

    而抽煙也沒有阻止他成為成功的籃球員。他在 NBA奮戰了十六個球季，並且和Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar、Hakeem Olajuwon、Kevin Garnett是史上僅有的四個 13000分、9000籃板
、3000助攻及1500阻攻的球員。

"Marc was telling me that I'll be picked between 5 and 15, but nobody picked
me," Divac said of longtime agent Marc Fleisher, recalling the night in New
York when he was drafted by the Lakers.

    「Marc告訴我說我會在五到十五順位間被選，不過沒有人選擇我。」（Marc Fleisher
是Divac長期的經紀人）Divac回想著在紐約的那個選秀夜。

"Later on I found out everybody thinks I'm drinking and I'm smoking because
I'm European. So it actually worked well for me because I got to [the]
Lakers."

    「我後來發現那是因為大家都覺得我是歐洲人，一定會抽很兇、喝很兇。不過也因為
這樣，我到了湖人隊。」

--

過去式：Kayte Christensen
現在式：Aviv Casspi
未來式：Petra Divac

--
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甘蝦指正
※ 編輯: santabrelai     來自: 122.116.219.191      (10/10 11:49)

> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <

作者: santabrelai () 看板: Kings
標題: [分享] Finest person I've ever been around - Vlade Divac（五）
時間: Tue Oct 12 13:31:47 2010

The trailblazers of 1989

When the 2008-09 NBA season began, there were 75 players from 32 different
countries outside the United States on NBA rosters.

    在08-09球季，總共有來自三十二個國家的七十五名球員在NBA中奮鬥。

So …

Some 20 years after Divac and four other adventurers from Eastern Europe came
to the NBA in the summer of 1989, forming their own Fab Five, nearly 20
percent of the league's population is foreign-born.

    而在二十年前，正是 Divac及其他四名冒險者從東歐來此拓荒，才會有目前接近兩成
的外藉球員比例。

You can't forget the other pioneers: Divac's national-team teammate Zarko
Paspalj (San Antonio); Ukraine's Sasha Volkov (Atlanta); Lithuania's Sarunas
Marciulionis (Golden State); and Croatia's late, great Drazen Petrovic
(Portland). You can't help but wonder what heights the peerless Petrovic,
with his crazy range, might have reached had he not been tragically killed in
a 1993 car crash just as he was approaching NBA stardom in New Jersey after a
wasted season and a half in Portland.

    其他四位分別是加入馬刺的Divac國家隊隊友Zarko Paspalj、烏克蘭的Sasha Volkov
加入老鷹、拉脫維亞的Sarunas Marciulionis成了勇士，以及偉大的 Drazen Petrovic抵
達波特蘭。人人都會好奇如果不是Petrovic因車禍而意外死亡，他到底能用他的投射打出
什麼樣的成績。

Yet it is Divac, blessed with that unmistakable beard and the NBA longevity
that escaped the others, who resonates most as the early face of the movement
that began to chip away at the Euros-are-soft stigma and truly globalize the
game. "Vlade opened the door for us," said Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk
Nowitzki, who in 2007 became the NBA's first European-born Most Valuable
Player.

    不過正是 Divac，在其他四人因意外或成績離開了 NBA後，他讓世人對歐洲籃球有了
了解，也脫去歐洲就是軟的外衣，進入了籃球全球化的時代。2007年的首位外藉 NBA例行
賽MVP，Dirk Nowitzki說：「是Divac為我們打開了那道門。」


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

President Divac

Riding a bus filled with friends and family members to a charity bowling
tournament on the outskirts of Sacramento, Divac interrupted the conversation
to pull something out of his back pocket.

    在這輛前往一個慈善保齡球賽事的車上，坐滿了Divac的朋友和家族成員，Divac停止
了交談，他由後方口袋裡拉出了某項東西。

"I've got to practice this," Vlade said, wearing a mischievous smile that his
old teammates/prank victims know well.

    「我需要練習這個。」 Vlade說，臉上帶著淘氣的笑容，不管是他的隊友或是被惡作
劇的對象都會很熟悉這張臉。

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0407/nba_a_vladoly_200.jpg
Divac continues to dish out assists in his post-playing career.

The wrinkle this time, though, is how serious he was. Divac handed over a
legitimately slick business card confirming his new role as president of the
Serbian Olympic Committee.

    雖然臉上還是有漾起的縐紋，他這次卻非常認真。他遞過來一張名片，上面印著他的
新角色 -- 塞爾維亞奧委會主席。

The notion of Divac as an elected official isn't just an adjustment for him.
Few who know him well ever expected him to agree to work in government, even
in a sports role, after a lifetime as an outspoken activist and champion of
the people, denouncing war at every opportunity.

    擔任民選官員，對 Divac來說並不只是調整而已。了解他的人都不認為他會在長時間
的反戰、代表人民發言、對政府直言不諱後，成了政府官員的其中一人，即使只是運動方
面的職務。

But Divac said he couldn't refuse when Serbian president Boris Tadic called
him personally and urged him to run for the Olympic post. Tadic convinced
Divac that no one else in the country had a better shot at uniting the 80-odd
separate sports federations in the country; making tangible progress toward
improving facilities for Serbian athletes; and, most of all, ensuring that
government money reaches the athletes as opposed to stopping with federation
officials.

    不過Divac說他不能拒絕這個職位，因為塞爾維亞總統Boris Tadic親自打了電話給他
，希望他能爭取這個位置。Tadic認為除了Divac之外，沒有任何人比他更能將國內的八十
多項運動團結起來、替塞爾維亞的運動員改善設施，還有最重要的一點，他絕對會讓所有
經費都到達基層，而不是荒廢在辦公室裡。

The new role requires him to go into a government office in Belgrade every
day -- where he keeps a suit hanging in a closet for formal meetings -- and
has him particularly intent in the short term on trying to secure a sled for
his promising bobsledders.

    新的身份要求他每天都要到Belgrade的政府辦公室報到（在那裡他有一套備用西裝，
讓他可以出席正式會議），也讓他開始了試圖替雪橇運動員取得雪橇的計劃。

"I am asking you as a journalist to promote [my cause]," Divac said with a
laugh, explaining that a sled costs around $100,000 and insisting that his
bobsledders could be medal contenders at the Vancouver Games of 2010 if they
didn't have to train in Switzerland because Serbia doesn't have a single
available sled.

    「我希望你能以記者的身份支持我。」 Divac笑著說。他解釋說每個雪橇需要十萬元
左右，而他的那批運動員有了這些雪橇，就可以不用移地到瑞士訓練，也將有望在2010的
溫哥華冬季奧運會上奪牌。

"We can be like Jamaica."

    「我們可以像牙買加一樣。」

--

附上牙買加奇蹟，讓各位對最後一句有所了解

http://www.tianya.cn/publicforum/content/sport/1/153440.shtml

　　當全世界觀眾都在為來自牙買加的男女飛人在北京奧運會的超凡表現而感到目瞪口呆
之際，相信熟悉這個國家的粉絲們也會想起來，今年恰好也是現代奧運會歷史上另一個“
牙買加奇跡”誕生二十周年。
　　
　　那還是1988年的事。當時，夏季奧運會和冬季奧運會還是在同一年舉行，夏季奧運會
定在韓國漢城，如今叫做首爾，而冬季奧運會定在加拿大卡爾加里。今天要提到的“牙買
加奇跡”就帶著一點喜劇色彩在卡爾加里上演。
　　
　　他們來了一支雪橇隊。
　　
　　這不奇怪，冬季奧運會比的都是冰雪項目，從滑冰到雪橇。奇怪的是，誰也沒有想到
，牙買加怎麼會來了一支雪橇隊。
　　
　　為什麼會這樣，或者說為什麼這會讓其他國家的人們感到意外？原因也很簡單：只要
攤開世界地圖，就會發現，這個位於加勒比海的小小島國，其緯度跟我們更加熟悉的菲律
賓首都馬尼拉差不多，也就是說，接近熱帶，一年到頭都是夏天，根本不會下雪，怎麼可
能跑出來一支雪橇隊？
　　
　 　一連串的問題隨之而來，大家很想知道，他們都是什麼人，在哪里接受訓練，以及
他們怎麼會想到組建一支雪橇隊，等等，等等。可以說，來自牙買加的第一支雪 橇隊在
冬季奧運會的首次亮相，激起了從觀眾到媒體的好奇心。而他們的故事又是如此有趣，以
至於現在哪怕已經沒有什麼人記得他們當時的成績，卻至少留下了一 部好萊塢電影，叫
做《冰上輕馳》（Cool Runnings）。

　　我是在美國人舉辦的奧運會講座上聽說這個故事的，回來以後在 網路百科全書進行
搜索，發現這還真是一個相當酷的故事：話說兩個美國人因為生意關係，經常要去牙買加
，留意到當地一種運動跟雪橇非常接近——當然，兩者至 少有一個區別，那就是牙買加
的版本一定不是在冰天雪地進行的。於是他們帶著好萊塢最喜歡的“敢為天下先”的精神
，想到要在牙買加組建一支雪橇隊。考慮到雪 橇運動要求運動員具有爆發力，兩位美國
人又以好萊塢同樣欣賞的想像力，瞄準了牙買加這個島國的一個強項。
　　
　　今天，從鳥巢見證了牙買加飛人的實力以後，你可能很容易就猜到答案是什麼。但在
二十年前就未必是這樣。
　　
　　不錯，這個強項指的是短跑。
　　
　 　但兩個美國人的計畫到這裏就遇到了不小的阻力，因為水準達到奧運會級別的牙買
加短跑運動員對轉行出戰雪橇比賽一點興趣也沒有——也難怪，夏季奧運會的觀 眾從來
都比冬季奧運會更多一些。如果單說奧運會，相信多數人想到的都是夏季奧運會，而在夏
季奧運會奪取獎牌的意義也因此顯得更加重大。
　　
　　兩個美國人倒是沒有氣餒——這一點也是好萊塢希望外國觀眾相信的美國人的一個性
格特徵——最後想到了同樣勇猛頑強的軍人，排出了以陸軍、空軍和預備役成員外加鐵路
工程師組成的牙買加雪橇隊。
　　
　　這就是二十年前出現在冬季奧運會的牙買加奇跡。
　　
　　好萊塢是如此喜歡這個帶有喜劇色彩的奮鬥故事，而且美國人又在裏面扮演如此重要
的領導角色，以至於一本正經拍了一部電影。
　　
　　並且，這支隊伍在1992年和1994年繼續代表牙買加出征冬季奧運會，而在1994年，大
家不再只把他們看作一個帶有喜劇色彩的奮鬥故事，因為他們排在第十四名，排在美國這
個傳統體育大國的前面。


所以老迪最後一句意指沒有訓練場地卻能在該項運動有所表現

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作者: santabrelai () 看板: Kings
標題: [分享] Finest person I've ever been around - Vlade Divac（完）
時間: Tue Oct 12 16:41:08 2010

President of Serbia?

It's the question Divac gets most often these days, seemingly sparked by his
new gig with the Olympic committee and his corresponding role as a deputy
prime minister in charge of sports and humanitarian interests: How soon
before you run for president of the country?

    這是近日以來 Divac最常被問的問題，因為在奧委會的表現、體育方面的副總理角色
、他的人道主義形象。人們都在問：「你什麼時候要出來選總統？」

Stojakovic and Oklahoma City's Nenad Krstic are among Divac's countrymen in
the NBA who have said recently that they think it will happen someday. The
man who brought Divac to the NBA is half-expecting it, too.

    同樣來自塞爾維亞的Stojakovic跟Nenad Krstic也說，他們也認為這一天將會發生。
帶他進NBA的那位傳奇人物同樣期待著。

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if he became president of his country," West
said. "That's how popular he is."

    「如果他成為總統，我一點也不驚訝，因為他就是這麼受歡迎。」West說。

Yet there's no rush or push coming from Vlade himself. He maintains that he's
open to anything necessary that will help his country move away from the
ravages of the civil war that have been mounting since the early stages of
Divac's NBA career, but he's also convinced that getting deeper in political
red tape can only limit the success of his charitable efforts.

    不過 Vlade並沒有什麼急急忙忙的表現。他還是一樣致力於推動國家脫離內戰（內戰
在他的 NBA生涯初期就已開始，至今卻仍未結束），他也相信太多的政治會限制他慈善工
作的成果。

"I'm still [the] same Vlade," he said. "I'm [just] in the process of learning
how to deal with the new job. I've got to experience working in the Olympic
committee before I think about other things."

    「我還是同一尊 Vlade，我現在正在學習搞定我的新工作。我必需先把奧委會搞好才
有時間作其他事情。」

Speaking specifically about his country's presidency, Divac added: "Honestly
I don't like to [imagine] myself doing that. I'm too young for that. And I
think you have to be a different person to have a successful political life.
… If I have to be part of it in terms of [securing] a better life in Serbia
and [moving] forward into something [like] we had in the past, maybe. But
right now I don't think it's going to happen."

    關於競選總統， Divac補充說：「誠實來說，我不喜歡想像自已成為總統。我還很年
輕。我也認為要有成功的政治生涯可能要改變自已。如果是為了讓塞爾維有更好的明天，
或著將過去的不好革新掉，我想我或許會去試。不過現在我不認為這將會發生。」


The center of his post-basketball life

It naturally starts with his family. Divac's oldest son Luka, 18, is a
competitive snowboarder. The middle son, 14-year-old Matija, is a 6-foot-3
center in the Partizan Belgrade youth system. And Petra, adopted as an infant
after both of her biological parents were among the civilians killed in the
war when they were slain on their way to the market, plays volleyball.

    他的籃球後人生以家庭為開端。他的大兒子Luka，現在十八歲，是個滑雪運動員。二
兒子Matija，現年十四歲，正在 Partizan Belgrade青年隊擔任中鋒。 Petra，是 Divac
夫婦所認養的，她的雙親都在內戰被殺害了，而 Petra現在是位排球員。

But the other primary passion for Vlade and Ana is the foundation they
started -- Humanitarian Organization Divac (HOD) -- in response to the
ongoing refugee crisis in their homeland. More than 500,000 Serbians lost
their homes when civil war engulfed the former Yugoslavia soon after he left
for the NBA. More than 15 years later an estimated 5,000 Serbians are spread
among 80 refugee camps, living in terrible hygienic conditions and largely
without jobs.

    除了家庭，Vlade和Ana的熱情奉獻在基金會上，他們成立了 HOD這個組織，主要針對
內戰所造成的難民危機。有五十萬以上的塞爾維亞人在Divac加入NBA時，因為戰亂而流離
失所。十五年後，還有約五千人左右居住在難民營中，他們的生活條件非常惡劣，大多也
沒有工作。

It's believed to be the largest number of refugees in any one country in
Europe. The foundation's mission, relying on Divac's profile as an
international sports figure to keep attention trained on their efforts, is to
build new homes or repair damaged properties in hopes of liberating at least
100 refugee families every year, with HOD having already raised more than
$1.5 million, according to Alex Dimitrijevic, who runs the foundation's
American operations from Chicago.

    據信是歐洲難民營數目最多的國家。基金會的任務是替難民們修繕受損的財物或建立
新的家園，希望每年能幫助一百個家庭離開難民營。根據 HOD在美國的負責人表示，他們
已經籌措了超過一百五十萬美金。

"I had a [God-given] talent," Divac said. "I had a beautiful life as a
basketball player. Basketball gave me everything. I figured this is my way of
giving back something to my community.

    「我有被賜予的天賦，因為籃球讓我有了很好的生活。籃球給了我一切。我想這是我
回報社會的方式。」

"If we don't try to help those people in the camps, they will stay there.
This problem was hidden [from the world] for a long time. I have to try to do
something."

    「如果我們不試著幫助那些人們，他們會繼續待在那兒。這個問題不被世人關注已經
很久了，我必須要做點什麼。」

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打完收工！謝謝指正！

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