The Rest, Only Noise

Ahead of media day, Louie confirmed the last man on the roster.

Mario Elie, also the class of 1985, was a seventh-round pick.

The Hawks who selected him actually gave up his ownership without even giving him the training camp contract. Elie did not lose heart and continued to seek opportunities to play in the NBA.

At first, Louie just thought his name sounded familiar and offered him a training camp contract.

After a long time of contact, the secret, or memory, of why he felt familiar with the name Eli was awakened.

In 1995, in the Western Conference semifinals between the Rockets and the Suns, Eli used a desperate three-pointer and the iconic kiss of death gesture to ruthlessly destroyed the last hope of the Suns and Barkley.

Louie didn't watch that series and didn't know anything about the Rockets that year.

Familiar with this name, all thanks to "NBA Frontline". The show aired a documentary about the 95 Rockets in a certain episode, and one of them was Eli's kiss of death.

After coming into contact with the training camp, Louis was surprised by Eli's energy and vitality. He has a certain shooting skills. As long as he works hard, he can practice three-pointers. Moreover, his physical fitness is very good.

How could such a player fall into the seventh round? Not even a training camp contract?

Louie can only think that the league's scouts have bad eyesight.

Sign Eli, and the Knicks' 12-man roster is full.

Louie persuaded several other marginal people in the training camp, and the remaining people were all selected, that is to say, they can officially build the system for the new season.

Louie was worried about this by reducing his training time a few days before the media day.

On the media day, the new Knicks team made a collective appearance.

Ewing put on the new season's jersey, and in front of many media, he gradually showed a surprising side.

His indifference to the media during his college years was largely attributed to John Thompson's isolationist policies.

Thompson encouraged his players against the world, is the media part of the world? Of course it is, and it's still the bad part.

Ewing's indifference, lack of enthusiasm, and impatience with questions made many reporters uncomfortable.

There are plenty of players in the league who treat the media this way, but Ewing shouldn't be.

He was seen as the man who would rule the NBA in the future, the face of New York basketball, if not as popular as Frazier in the 1970s, at least with Bernard King as an example.

No one liked King Kong when he came to New York, and both the media and fans felt that too much money was spent on him.

What's more, he has a black history of smoking and reading. When he was in the Nets, he would open a drug party in his hotel room whenever he had the chance.

Later, he was able to control his drug addiction and became the king of New York. He was accepted by the media because of his strength. Although he was not easy to deal with, he would never write his disgust for the media on his face like Ewing did.

Louie noticed Ewing's problems, and he had so many problems, from playing football to being a public figure, that he didn't know what kind of poison John Thompson had put in his head.

The day after Media Day, the New York Times published a lengthy piece about the Knicks Media Day, in which they pointedly wrote: "Perhaps the Patrick Ewing we imagined was just a fantasy. , maybe he is completely different from what we imagined."

The Times saw the essence of the matter for the first time, and Louis was relieved.

It's a pity that they couldn't help much. The next day, Louie halved the training time, and only this day's training time was halved.

After practice, everyone on the team went to eat at Ewing's restaurant.

This is also a disguised advertisement for Ewing's restaurant.

However, Ewing approached Louie privately and said, "I don't want you to come to my restaurant to eat with a lot of fanfare."

"Then how do we get there? Sneak and pick the lock like a thief?" Louie asked hilariously.

Now, Louie knows how strong Ewing's dislike of the media is: "Just don't alarm the media."

"You don't like being noticed so much, why?"

"no reason."

"You're the most watched rookie in the country."

"Is it attracting attention? I don't think it's a good thing. They treat me as the strongest in the Colosseum. They just treat me like a beast. Should I be happy about it?"

Louie just realized how badly Thompson's influence was on Ewing: "Michael Jordan made $100 million last year for a company with a logo that looked a lot like Giba, can you find a second beast to do it? ?"

Ewing didn't pick up Louis's words. On this day, the Blue Palace did not hold a confrontation. Louis asked them to complete the basic training without any discount, and then set off to Ewing's restaurant one after another.

Don't go together, just for what Ewing said, don't make a big deal.

The restaurant of Ewing's family is called "Dorothy's House". The location of the restaurant is neither bad nor bad, indicating that Ewing just wants to find a profitable job for his family, and does not want to use his reputation to attract money.

Dorothy is Ewing's mother, and without her Ewing would not have come to America from Jamaica. Dorothy and her husband Carl Ewing had seven children. Initially, the couple immigrated to the United States, and Ewing stayed in Jamaica for four years due to financial problems. Later, when Ewing came to the United States, his basketball talent was quickly discovered. When he graduated from high school, more than 100 universities gave him scholarships.

Many of them were willing to give the Ewings some undeserved advantages, but they were all stopped by Dorothy. One of the things she taught Ewing was to take it and let it go, and they chose Georgetown, which didn't offer any extra stipend, just because John Thompson promised to make Ewing a real man and not drop his studies.

In 1983, Ewing's mother, Dorothy, died of a heart attack due to an injury caused by years of physical labor. Her only wish was for her children to find a place in this country, and Ewing's athleticism gave him the potential to achieve greatness, but he had to get a degree.

It was because of his mother's wish that Ewing completed four years of college and got his degree.

After learning about this, Louie didn't know what to say. Maybe he shouldn't blame Ewing for not listening to his own words. "Listening to my mother" is not wrong. It was Georgetown who was wrong, and John Thompson who was wrong. Ewing should have gone.

At the Dorothy House, Louie also met Ewing's son, Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. After 18 years, the kid will be in the NBA in the second round.

Louie and Dave Anderson were sitting at a table, and Ewing came over specially to entertain: "What to eat?"

"Do you have any recommendations?" Louis asked him back.

So Ewing walked away, deciding for himself what to give Louie their table.

"Your relationship with Patrick seems to be complicated," Anderson said.

Louis listened to the confusing question and replied with a smile: "My relationship with everyone is quite complicated."

Ewing came to the back kitchen and specially instructed his father, Carl, to say, "Both are a little spicy, and the taste of the guests is heavier."

He was justifiable for his rectification, and by the way, rectifying Anderson can only be said to be a concrete manifestation of his dislike of the media.

"Are you sure your fat friend can handle the spiciness of ours?" Old Carl asked Ewing with a serious accent.

"Absolutely no problem," Ewing said. "Call me when you're ready."

As a result, Louie and Anderson saw two plates of fried rice and a plate of fried chicken.

"This is your Jamaican speciality?" Louie asked.

Ewing's face had an uneasy joy and anticipation on his face: "This is what my dad made for you, try it?"

In front of Ewing, both Louie and Anderson cut up a piece of fried chicken and put it in their mouths.

In an instant, it was as if someone had put a whole millet in Louie's mouth, and his mouth was on fire!

Anderson was so hot that his face was flushed.

Ewing asked, "Is it delicious?"

"Tell your dad, this is the best chicken nugget I've ever eaten since I came to America," Louie said indifferently.

Ewing didn't expect Louis to hold back, and while expressing admiration for his endurance, there was a trace of guilt in his heart.

"Want a drink?"

"You know what I like to drink, and I'll give Dave a random, non-carbonated iced drink."

Ewing went to get it, and Anderson shook his head and said, "I can't eat this."

Louis even said: "We are here for the first time, we have to give Patrick some face and eat more."

"No, I can't eat so spicy." Anderson has been so spicy that he lost his temper.

"Well, give me all your chicken nuggets, and you can eat more of that rice."

"I will try my best."

Ewing came to their table with a drink: "Slow."

Then he walked into the distance and silently looked at Louie's table.

"Coach Lu, do you like spicy food so much?" Anderson asked in surprise.

"Trust me, if I changed the restaurant, I would have smashed these dishes." Louie said as he ate the chicken nuggets that set him on fire. "I hate chili."

Anderson saw the uncontrollable sweat and uncontrollable tears on Louis's face, and knew he was suffering too.

How can someone who doesn't like spicy food make himself eat so much spicy food?

"If you don't like it, why eat it?" Anderson asked.

"Didn't you say, Patrick and I have a very complicated relationship, and I want to make it less complicated~www.readwn.com~Louis looks like he's drunk," I hope to be friends with him, this vital to our future. When you come to a friend's house for dinner, the first thing you have to do is to let go of your stomach and eat whatever you have. Unless you are allergic to that food, just eat it, that's respect. "

Louie finished the fried chicken nuggets for two, a whole plate of fried rice that was unimaginably spicy, and served with at least 800ml of cola.

By the time he finished the meal, he could no longer feel the presence of his tongue.

Before leaving, Ewing came to say hello, and he saw that both of Louie's plates were empty.

"Can you eat that much?"

"I'll give you a piece of advice, if you want me to be a repeat customer of your family, or if you want me to live a few more years, it's better to put less spicy food." Louie didn't want to come back to Dorothy's House to eat with his transformation and squirt. soldiers at the expense.

"Do you want to check out?"

"No," Ewing said, "I'll take this one."

Louis couldn't even control his smile, and his facial nerves were so hot that he couldn't control it: "I won't thank you."