Ken Berger can't dunk, and never could, although he was a bench warmer with the West Islip varsity boys' hoops team back in the day. Which is sort of like saying you were captain of the chess team.
But hey, what do you want from someone whose basketball career officially ended with freshman orientation at Indiana University? What do you want from someone who covered the Jets for seven years before going back to the NBA beat?
Back to the NBA beat, as in Ken covered his share of hoops as a sports writer for The Associated Press before coming home to Newsday in 2000.
Some of his favorite moments include the historic (it turns out) clash between Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson in the 1997 rookie game at All-Star weekend in Cleveland; rubbing elbows with the 50 greatest players in NBA history at the same All-Star weekend; Michael Jordan's last All-Star Game at the Garden, where Ken had a better seat than Prince; MJ's ankle-breaking foul-line jumper over a prone Bryon Russell to clinch the '98 title; and Charles Barkley's "last" game in Philadelphia as a member of the Rockets.
Ken doesn't know if he was the only West Islip grad present for Larry Johnson's four-point play in the '99 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers. But he's quite sure that can be said about LJ's infamous rant comparing the Knicks to "rebellious slaves" during the '99 Finals against the Spurs.
Truth be told, Barkley's press-conference zinger after his Philly swan song was ruined by a ruptured quad takes the cake. Flanked by his ma and grandma, Barkley limped into a silent, sullen press conference room afterward, sat down between them at a table, and said, "Well, guys, I guess this means sex is out of the question tonight." Only in the NBA.
Comments (6)
Actually Ruben Patterson was recently released from the LA Clippers not the Milwaukee Bucks.
Check out www.thehoopdoctors.com, Ken
Gambling by Professional Athletes , Coaches , And Referees is not that uncommon
Bradley Beach, NJ 07720 May 18 2008
Just read the headlines this week alone-----
Charles Barkley Troubled by Gambling Addiction Problem.
Dolphins' Will Allen Investigated for Pulling Gun in Dispute Over Gambling Debts.
Tim Donaghy x NBA referee is now in recovery for his gambling addiction
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When you look at the recent headlines about professional athletes,coaches and referees. and gambling,
The odds are very good it might be the tip of the ice burg. Athletes may be more vulnerable than the general population when you look at the soft signs of compulsive gambling:
High Levels of energy
Unreasonable expectations of winning
Very competitive personalities
Distorted optimism
Bright with high IQ's
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In December of 1999 Arnie Wexler, a compulsive-gamblers counselor, went to the National Basketball Association office in Manhattan and met with league officials, players and union officials, concerned about players' gambling. He recalled being told, "We have a problem, and we're trying to find out how bad the problem is." Wexler, a resident of Bradley Beach and former executive director of the New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling, was told to keep his calender open from January through March, to allow him to address every team in the league.
When he didn't hear from the NBA in a few weeks he called and asked, "When do we start?"
You don't, he was told. "They said, "The higher ups didn't want the media to find out.' "
The talks were canceled.
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I run a national help line (1-888-LAST BET ).
And over the years, I have spoken to many college and professional athletes who had a gambling problem. An NCAA study a few years ago said, "There is a disturbing trend of gambling among athletes in college." You can't think that these people will get into the pros and then just stop gambling.
Compulsive gambling is an addiction just like alcoholism and chemical dependency and all three diseases are recognized by the American Psychiatric Association's D.S.M. Yet, we treat compulsive gambling different then the other two addictions. Society and professional sports treat people with chemical dependency and alcoholism as sick people, send them to treatment and they get back to work yet they look at compulsive gamblers as bad people and they get barred from playing in professional sports
If the Colleges and professional leagues wanted to help the players, they would run real programs that seriously address the issue of gambling and compulsive gambling. Education and early detection can make a difference between life and death for some people who have or will end up with a gambling addiction.
"They need to have a real program for players, coaches and referees, and they need to let somebody else run it. When you do it in house, it's like the fox running the chicken coop.
You must be kidding your self if you think any player coach or referee is going to call the league and say, 'I've got a gambling problem, and I need help?"
ARNIE IS A RECOVERING COMPULSIVE GAMBLER WHO PLACED HIS LAST BET 4/10/68
CALL ME I WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS---ARNIE WEXLER
Arnie Wexler (aswexler@aol.com)
Arnie & Sheila Wexler Associates
213 3rd Ave.
Bradley Beach, NJ 07720
Phone 732 7740019
cell 954--5015270
Arnie Wexler (aswexler@aol.com)
Arnie & Sheila Wexler Associates
213 3rd Ave.
Bradley Beach, NJ 07720
Phone : 732-774-0019
Order
Contact Arnie Wexler
Hi Ken!
I have tried to find a contact mail for you on the site (on two separate occasions,) with no luck.
It would mean a lot to me if you contacted me via my email.
Thanks
p.s Sorry for approaching you like this
Please join my RUSH group!
Thanks!
Troy
LOVE your blog. Keep up the great work.