Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Big Country and Big Tka-chunky
After a lockout wiped out a portion of the NBA season in 1999, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, one of the league's most promising and productive centers at the time reported to the Vancouver Grizzlies training camp at 315 pounds - 40 pounds over his regular playing weight. Big Country had just signed a big 6 year/$65 million dollar deal, paying him approximately $8 million that year.
Fast-forward five years later and after a lockout wiped out the entire 2004-2005 NHL season, St. Louis Blues' best forward Keith Tkachuk was suspended by the team for reporting to training camp 25 pounds overweight. (Pierre Maguire from TSN once mentioned that Tkachuk was pushing 270 pounds.) Tkachuk is scheduled to make $7.6 million this year.
Blues owner Bill Laurie may have avoided paying Big Country's bloated salary when he failed to buy the Grizzlies; unfortunately for him, he is on the hook for Big Tka-chunky's.
Fast-forward five years later and after a lockout wiped out the entire 2004-2005 NHL season, St. Louis Blues' best forward Keith Tkachuk was suspended by the team for reporting to training camp 25 pounds overweight. (Pierre Maguire from TSN once mentioned that Tkachuk was pushing 270 pounds.) Tkachuk is scheduled to make $7.6 million this year.
Blues owner Bill Laurie may have avoided paying Big Country's bloated salary when he failed to buy the Grizzlies; unfortunately for him, he is on the hook for Big Tka-chunky's.
2 Comments:
Bryant "Sleep Country" Reeves
Didn't you just know that was an awful pick from the start?
*shuddeR* bad memories...thanks for bringing some of them back ;)
Honestly, I thought he was one of the better centers in the league at the time. Before his "big" summer, there weren't many centers who could be a double/double threat every night. Shaq, Zo, Duncan, David Robinson, Ewing, Sabonis, Hakeem for sure... but after them the list starts to include notables such as Ike Austin, Benoit "20/20" Benjamin, Stanley Roberts, Adonal Foyle, Oliver Miller, Eric Montross, etc.
It's just too bad Country's big contract afforded him a heckuva lot of big dinners and Big Macs as well.
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