[tvp2003]

Some love for Steve Nash:

30. On the morning of the gold medal hockey game at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, I walked into the IHOP next to the rink. Out came Steve Nash. I said, “Don’t you have practice today?” He didn’t break a smile. “I told (coach Don Nelson) to fine me.” A year or two later, he was preparing to play for Canada as a number of other NBAers were being told to sit. I asked him about it. “(Nelson) said, ‘I don’t want to see you playing for Canada this summer.’ I told him he better not turn on his TV,” Nash replied. When Jason Kidd was traded to Phoenix, Canadian reporters worried for his career. He simply said, “Everything will be okay.” Boy, was it ever. What a spectacular career.