Waking from the Dream 大梦方觉醒（八）

His insults were legendary, from commentary on Oliver Miller's eating habits ("You can't even jump high enough to touch the rim, unless they put a Big Mac on it."), to the religious A.C. Green's shooting touch ("If God is so good, how come he didn't give you a jump shot?").

巴克利把冷嘲热讽变成了幽默。

Charles was that rare superstar in sports who did not view the media as the evil empire to be avoided or destroyed. He embraced us with all his outrageous personality, and the bear hugs didn't end once he left the arena.

I remember him hanging out in the media hotel in Phoenix during the 1993 Finals one night, talking trash and tossing down drinks in the hospitality suite with about 15 sports writers. Well, at 1 a.m. the bartender announced last call, citing city laws that prohibited serving drinks in a public place after a certain hour.

View：考虑；认为；期待。教你几个我们中国人常用的说法--view at this angle从这个角度进行考things viewed critically批判地看待的事物viewed historically从历史上考虑view it optimistically乐观地估计这件事view the problem from all angles全面地考虑问题。

"So what will it take to keep this party going?" Barkley asked.

"Well, if this was a hotel room, you could order room service," the hotel employee informed Sir Charles. "And how much will it take to turn this hospitality suite into a hotel room?" asked Sir Charles."Room rate is $150 a night."

Barkley peeled off a couple hundred dollars, handed it to the man, and a few minutes later, the "suite" was a "room," room service sent up a few cases of beer and munchies, and the party never ended.

At the end of the series, a group of us ran into Charles in a restaurant a few hours after the Bulls had beaten his Suns and won the NBA crown. He was on the other side of the restaurant, and we sent him a bottle of champagne.

When the bottle arrived at his table, he picked it up and came across the room and uncorked it with all of us.

Chuck, we love you.

他非比寻常地与媒体打成一片。

Sports in the 21st century is in another evolution. The new generation is taking shape with Iverson, Hill, Kobe, and Vince Carter all sailing above the rim, and Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal making us reconsider the way the game is played in the pivot.

Today, the game may have even more individual hot shots than ever before, and they are getting younger and more talented every day. Yet isn't it funny that now, as the NBA's ranks get more crowded with human highlight film stars, the league's great promotion machine has shifted marketing strategies, eschewing the "stars" for a more team-oriented marketing approach.

Eschew：(有意地) 避开,远离 如eschew a life of ease避开安适的生活。

一代新人换旧人；此一时，彼一时。

Still, the game is essentially the same, fueled by a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately existence that often makes the last generation's stars seem as played out as the Spice Girls or last year's hot sneaker. Penny Hardaway used to be "the next MJ." Then it was Grant Hill, then Tim Duncan, and Allen Iverson. Today's flavor of the month is "Air Canada," Vince Carter.

Flavor：滋味,情趣,风味。看看这两个＂a phrase with a literary flavor有文学味的说法 [措辞] There was a flavor of romance about the affair.那件事带有一点浪漫色彩＂怎么样？

比赛还是那些比赛，但时尚已充斥了赛场。

Fame is fleeting. The "it" player of the moment can become devalued quicker than a failed tech stock IPO. Yet it is impossible to reduce the Dream Team Generation to the fate of such a frivolous dismissal because of the enormity and longevity of their collective popularity. They set a standard that will be difficult to match . . . and impossible to forget.

任世间风云变幻，梦之队的灿烂辉煌却已永垂不朽。