Article on Amare Stoudemire. 2Pac mentioned!
Amare needs nick, stat!
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
May. 29, 2006 12:00 AM
So, we sidled up to Amaré Stoudemire in Dallas last week, and told him that one of our spies had mentioned that he might be in the market for a new nickname to go with his new number next season when he makes his comeback.
"Is that what you hear?" he said, giving us a mischievous look.
He's been going with the nickname "STAT," which is an acronym for Stand Tall And Talented, since he entered the NBA right out of high school.
"It's sort of a family thing," he said of the nickname.
Anyway, he confirmed that it's possible he might be working on something for next season, or at least he's open to suggestions.
Hey, the Heat Index specializes in unsolicited advice.
Thing is, we have a feeling that Stoudemire will be back stronger than ever, and if he picks up where he left off - and he promises to pick up beyond where he left off - he is going to be impacting the sports landscape for many years to come.
Those kinds of players always have the great nicknames, the kinds that don't even need the government name attached.
Magic.
Sweetness.
Broadway Joe.
Sir Charles.
Tiger.
The Rocket.
The Greatest.
The Great One.
T-Bone.
OK, maybe that last one needs a name. It's the nickname George Costanza gave himself on Seinfeld. It didn't stick.
Anyway, we have a few ideas:
• A-Train.
That's what they call a Swedish train that reportedly can travel up to 200 kilometers per hour. We're pretty sure that's really fast. And so is Stoudemire.
• Meal Ticket.
Sort of a play on Kevin Garnett's "Big Ticket," which is perfect because Stoudemire always eats up Garnett.
• Beast.
It's the name of one of those mutant superheroes from the X-Men, and according to Wikipedia.com, Beast has "superhuman strength and endurance, as well as superhuman speed, agility and coordination . . . Due to his gifts and training in the Danger Room, the bouncing Beast can outperform any Olympic-level athlete, displaying contortionist and aerial feats with astounding grace."
How perfect is that?
One drawback: Kelsey Grammer plays the character in X-Men: The Last Stand, which just hit theaters. Somehow, he doesn't remind us of Stoudemire.
We would consider "Multiple Man" because Stoudemire always seems to reinvent himself, or maybe "Juggernaut," because that's what he is, but those are X-Men bad guys.
• Old School.
"What more could I say? I wouldn't be here today if the old school didn't pave the way."
Those are fitting lyrics from the late Tupac Shakur's tune, Old School.
We think of Stoudemire as sort of a throwback, and he even wears a lot of old-school stuff, like those sweater vests.
The song is off the album, Me Against the World, so that makes sense.
Plus, we know Stoudemire likes Tupac's work. He wears tattoos of a couple more Shakur titles - Still I Rise and Black Jesus.
Let's see what you've got
We're not expecting Stoudemire to adopt any of our suggestions.
Actually, he mentioned that people think of him primarily as a dunker, and he intends to show upon his return that he has added a lot more.
Of course, his nickname should reflect this "total package" theme.
We asked him if he was open to suggestions from fans.
"That would be cool," he said.
So there you go. E-mail your suggestions to the address below, and we'll pass them on in a future column.
:thumb:
Amare needs nick, stat!
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
May. 29, 2006 12:00 AM
So, we sidled up to Amaré Stoudemire in Dallas last week, and told him that one of our spies had mentioned that he might be in the market for a new nickname to go with his new number next season when he makes his comeback.
"Is that what you hear?" he said, giving us a mischievous look.
He's been going with the nickname "STAT," which is an acronym for Stand Tall And Talented, since he entered the NBA right out of high school.
"It's sort of a family thing," he said of the nickname.
Anyway, he confirmed that it's possible he might be working on something for next season, or at least he's open to suggestions.
Hey, the Heat Index specializes in unsolicited advice.
Thing is, we have a feeling that Stoudemire will be back stronger than ever, and if he picks up where he left off - and he promises to pick up beyond where he left off - he is going to be impacting the sports landscape for many years to come.
Those kinds of players always have the great nicknames, the kinds that don't even need the government name attached.
Magic.
Sweetness.
Broadway Joe.
Sir Charles.
Tiger.
The Rocket.
The Greatest.
The Great One.
T-Bone.
OK, maybe that last one needs a name. It's the nickname George Costanza gave himself on Seinfeld. It didn't stick.
Anyway, we have a few ideas:
• A-Train.
That's what they call a Swedish train that reportedly can travel up to 200 kilometers per hour. We're pretty sure that's really fast. And so is Stoudemire.
• Meal Ticket.
Sort of a play on Kevin Garnett's "Big Ticket," which is perfect because Stoudemire always eats up Garnett.
• Beast.
It's the name of one of those mutant superheroes from the X-Men, and according to Wikipedia.com, Beast has "superhuman strength and endurance, as well as superhuman speed, agility and coordination . . . Due to his gifts and training in the Danger Room, the bouncing Beast can outperform any Olympic-level athlete, displaying contortionist and aerial feats with astounding grace."
How perfect is that?
One drawback: Kelsey Grammer plays the character in X-Men: The Last Stand, which just hit theaters. Somehow, he doesn't remind us of Stoudemire.
We would consider "Multiple Man" because Stoudemire always seems to reinvent himself, or maybe "Juggernaut," because that's what he is, but those are X-Men bad guys.
• Old School.
"What more could I say? I wouldn't be here today if the old school didn't pave the way."
Those are fitting lyrics from the late Tupac Shakur's tune, Old School.
We think of Stoudemire as sort of a throwback, and he even wears a lot of old-school stuff, like those sweater vests.
The song is off the album, Me Against the World, so that makes sense.
Plus, we know Stoudemire likes Tupac's work. He wears tattoos of a couple more Shakur titles - Still I Rise and Black Jesus.
Let's see what you've got
We're not expecting Stoudemire to adopt any of our suggestions.
Actually, he mentioned that people think of him primarily as a dunker, and he intends to show upon his return that he has added a lot more.
Of course, his nickname should reflect this "total package" theme.
We asked him if he was open to suggestions from fans.
"That would be cool," he said.
So there you go. E-mail your suggestions to the address below, and we'll pass them on in a future column.
:thumb:
