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martin
Posts: 76257 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
![]() http://chernykh.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/timofey-mozgov-talks-about-his-23-14-game/
Timofey Mozgov talks about his 23 + 14 game This time it’s not a post from Timofey’s personal blog, but an interview from the newspaper Sovetsky Sport. Questions by Kirill Zangalis. - Timofey, congratulations from all of the Sovetsky Sport readers. It was hard to reach you. - Yes, my phone got hot from all the calls. The first to call me was my Russian agent Maxim Sharifyanov. This is the man who has supported me really well during hard times. He’s a very jovial guy. Today he started not with excitement but with a joke. He said, “Hey Tim, did they change the rules in the NBA and made the games longer? So this is why you played 40 minutes”. I heard a dear voice and relaxed immediately. Then we couldn’t stop talking. After all, Max and me went through a lot together, and my success is on his part too. - Didn’t your parents cry with joy? - What’s to cry about? Mom and dad didn’t watch the game, but after they saw the stats they dialed my number immediately. Then my brothers called. What can you say, it was a family happiness. - Rejoicing aside… After ten games with no playing time and an ejection in that game vs. Phoenix, it looked like your road in the NBA was getting way too winding… - I won’t lie to you, I was terribly worried. I felt that I could, that I only needed a tiny chance, that if I got 15 or 20 minutes I could do a lot. But like that, when you get on the court for two minutes in the end of the game, when it’s done… What can you do in that time? But I didn’t lose hope, because I was getting prepared to spend my first season sitting on the bench and learning. Still, everything was going great during practices. Then why can’t I mix it up like that in a game? And then that terrible incident in Phoenix… - Remind us about it… - It was a couple minutes before the end of the game. We were losing hopelessly, and D’Antoni put me in the game. I was overwhelmed with desire to prove myself. There was a regular episode where I was fighting to get the ball, and Robin Lopez was doing the same thing. We were battling just like bigs normally do: hard, nearly fouling each other. I was first to get to the ball, but Lopez pressed on my wrist and then quickly moved his hand away and kind of dove with his nose into my hand. So probably it looked like I hit him hard on purpose and that led to a rejection. - Did the guys support you? - The whole team was on my side. But what’s to make of it… It was already enough that I wasn’t playing, and there goes this outrageous rejection. At some moment I was close to a breakdown, I wanted to break a TV in my hotel room. But I’m an even-tempered guy. I told myself that there would be another chance, and went back to practicing hard. My girlfriend Alla was supporting me very well. I don’t even know what I would do without her. - And here’s a chance. Chandler gets injured, Williams is suspended, Stoudamire has health issues. It’s only fitting for you to get to play at last. - Every cloud has a silver lining. I felt bad for the guys, but in a situation like this one should care for himself first. I had a feeling since morning that it would be a good day. But I wasn’t preparing in any special way – whatever happens, happens. During the warm up I felt energized, I started to feel that give me any opponent now and I would tear everyone apart. And then Ronnie Turiaf received two quick fouls. D’Antoni ordered me to play, like, “your time has come”. - But you couldn’t have had a worse start. When the ball left your hands for the first time, one could hardly call it a shot. - Yes, it was a nightmare. I got two fouls, made a terrible shot and committed a turnover. Amare came to me and tried to make me calm down, but I only had a single thought in my head: “It’s over, Mike is going to bench me now”. But he didn’t say anything and I rushed into battle again. I attacked the rim and missed! I rebounded, attempted another shot and missed again! Another rebound, my third shot, and another bad miss! But from there I got really angry, and from that moment everything started to fall in its place. It was like all my countless misfortunes came to an end. After that I almost didn’t leave the court and made 9 of 11 shots and five free throws. - It only seemed that the game was easy for New York. You only managed to reverse the situation near the end of fourth quarter… - It was nice that when the score was tied at 91:91 my friend Danilo Gallinari has started the run. He has hit a three-pointer, and then I rebounded the ball after a mid-range shot by Douglas and dunked it – 96:91. After that we never trailed again, and I scored the last two points of that game. - In the end of the game people in the stands chanted your last name. As American journalists wrote, the noise could be heard it from other parts of the city. - I can’t describe this feeling. I couldn’t even believe that all of that was happening to me. Just yesterday everything was different, and there it goes… I can say that I took a deep breath and could finally exhale. - What did D’Antoni tell you after the game? He was saying good things about you to the media, almost promising to start you in the next game vs. Dallas… - He praised me after the game and thanked me. Actually all the guys were happy for me. Gallinari said that he was already getting bored of scoring twenty per game and that now it was my turn. - Do you feel like a hero? - No, because I didn’t score 23 points in 10 minutes. I played a lot, and these are regular numbers in the NBA. And I’m sure that I will not make a double double each game. It’s just that I needed to believe that I could do it. This is the best league in the world, there’s nothing to top that. So if I manage to earn constant playing time, it would be my highest prize. - Didn’t Alla faint in the stands? - She managed to handle herself! She is a very strong girl. - How did you celebrate? - We went to the restaurant that we love which I already told you about, it’s called Mari Vanna. The food at that Russian place is just fantastic. - What did you order: beer or some vodka? - I have a strict regimen. But anyway, I don’t care about alcohol, even beer. During the game I drank so much water that I couldn’t even eat. I ordered some fried potatoes, shashlik and my favorite Herring under fur coat salad. Before, it didn’t happen once that I wouldn’t finish the Fur coat, but this time I couldn’t do it and the waiters packed it for me to go. - Is it possible to fall asleep after a game like this? - I’m not a very sensitive guy, but I was tossing and turning for a couple hours. The game was in my head. I thought about what and where I could have done better. You are never truly content with yourself. - Is there practice in the morning? - No, they let us sleep in. But I will drive to the weight room, because I don’t really have days off, sweating my guts out every day. - The game vs. Dallas lies ahead. Right now you’ve risen high – aren’t you afraid of a painful fall? Some say it was a one-time thing… - I don’t listen to anybody and I believe only in myself. Yes, they will expect great deeds like this in every game now. But as for me, I understand everything; I know how hard it is to stay on this level. I hope that I will be shooting at the rim like a Kalashnikov. There, Andrei Kirilenko is used to scoring about twenty points in a single game. I have a lot to do in order to improve to that level. - Maybe the teammates will be looking not only at Stoudamire now, and the refs will stop giving you so much fouls. - Well, after a heroic deed like this, for sure (laughs). Actually, nothing happened. I’m a regular guy who stays calm about everything. Whatever depends on me, I do, and the rest belongs to fate. 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martin
Posts: 76257 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
![]() Timo very likable guy
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Moonangie
Posts: 24766 Alba Posts: 5 Joined: 7/9/2009 Member: #2788 |
![]() What the heck is in the "Fur Coat" on top of his herring salad? That doesn't sound too appetizing.
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martin
Posts: 76257 Alba Posts: 108 Joined: 7/24/2001 Member: #2 USA |
![]() def adding this site to our lineup. Good stuff. Latest post from the Moz:
Mozgov blogs about his double-double and what’s next Here’s a translation of Timofey Mozgov’s latest post from his personal blog at Sports.ru. Hi friends! I wanted to tell you about our home win vs. Miami. I even had the title for my blog post ready – “Sunstroke”. And then that thing happened – we played against Detroit. So it didn’t work out. But of course I don’t regret it))) I did a lot of interviews with journalist out of Russia after the game. My phone was ringing all the time. I barely managed to have a snack))) It will be hard not to repeat myself here. But I’ll try. My emotions calmed down a bit. I’ll try to recall the facts, which I could have forgotten in the heat after the game. By the way, between phone calls from the media I managed to talk to my parents and my brother and to receive a text message from Kirilenko. Andrei sent me congratulations on the good game. And my fans from Khimki wrote some nice words on Vkontakte (Facebook clone – A.C.). Thanks to you all, my friends. Honestly, it’s very nice to feel your support. SPA-SI-BO!!!))) During last quarter the 20,000 people in the stands of MSG were chanting my last name. You know, it was really like madness. It’s hard to describe those feelings. To tell the truth, it’s even hard to imagine those feelings. Right now I try to recall how it was, and just can’t believe that it was real. It’s like a dream. You can only feel it when it’s happening. I was asked if that ever happened before in my life. Did people in the stands chant my name? Yes, it happened: the fans in Khimki are very grateful, and I heard it on the national team too. But, of course, there were not 20,000 fans. I had feelings like this for the first time. Later I heard that journalists compared me to a bear that broke out of the cage. And a TV announcer even suggested that our arena be renamed as Mozgov Square Garden))) This is funny, if course. Like I say, it’s like a mass madness. Here’s another proof – I found it on the website of the Knicks. It’s a cool thing – I believe it’s called Mozgov Mania)))) Of course, to be sincere, this kind of support really makes me happy. No less sincere, it really feels good to make your true supporters happy with good game. Because I value them so much. But I perceive this great attention philosophically – staying rather calm. I don’t tend to fall for things like that. I understand it perfectly that after I played like that – I’m high in the saddle. Tomorrow it’s going to be somebody else under the floodlights and in front of cameras. But, of course, feedback like this gives me energy. That’s a fact! But star fever doesn’t threaten Mozgov, that’s for sure. Only if stats like this becomes a norm for me, then maybe I will think and start to enjoy the extra attention))) But anyway I promise not to turn my nose up))) Speaking seriously, right now there’s nothing to pride myself upon – there’s a lot of work to do. I know that, on the one hand, it was a game that is hard to repeat. Those are good numbers for a rookie. But, on the other hand, I didn’t do anything outstanding. I scored 23 points not in 10 minutes. For this amount of playing time, this is a normal result in the best league in the world. At least, these are the goals I set for myself. After the game I was literally surrounded by the local media. About 15 journalists rushed to me in the first place. They asked different things. “What do you feel now?” “What was your preparation for this game?” “How did it happen that you scored so many points?” “What’s coming next?”… My English now allows me to talk to them on a decent level. Without the nuances, of course, but still… But what can I tell them? Because actually everything was just as usual. I didn’t know that I would step on the court that day. The coach didn’t tell me anything beforehand. Maybe he himself wasn’t completely sure that it would happen exactly on that day. Maybe he wanted to play it according to situation. Chandler broke down, Williams was suspended, and Stoudemire had health issues. You can’t envy the coach! By the way, Stat ended up running for his regular amount of playing time. I think if there were no problems that I mentioned above, he would have played less. Me, I knew that my chances to step on the court improve. Not to 100 percent, but still they were increasing. I was getting ready for the game as normal. I decided – whatever happens happens. I read a book, listened to some music and practiced before the game… And I kept on thinking that I want to play very much. Journalists counted (I read it in American media after the game) that basically wasn’t on the court since mid-November. That means, I didn’t play in the last 10 games, and the last time that I played for more than 10 minutes was December 4th. It turned out that was my day. During the game it so happened that Ronnie got two quick fouls. And coach made that decision. I’ll be honest, I was really worried and I felt that I could play and I only needed the time. Because everything was going well at practices. I talked to the coach, and he promised it to me that I would be on the court soon. It just wasn’t clear, when exactly. And here, he kept his promise. He kept his promise even though I started the game in a way that made me feel uneasy, to put it mildly. Two fouls, a turnover, bad misses. I though, so now he would bench me for sure. But during timeouts coach wasn’t saying anything to me, he was just giving directions to the team and then putting me back in the game. After the first quarter guys ran to me. They told me not to worry, not to be nervous; to keep on shooting and everything would work out. I braced myself. No, I wasn’t nervous. I just needed the time to feel the rhythm of the game again. Then, after I felt it, I could hit free throws, midrange shots and score in the paint. 9-for-11 – that’s the stat. I even liked it myself. If only I didn’t mess up in the beginning. Should have blocked at least a couple shots too. And I got my share of dunks! One of my slams happened after Danilo scored from behind the arc. That made the score 96:91. After that we never trailed, and I also scored the last two points of the game, shooting from about five meters I guess. After the game coach said that I did well. I also want to say: thank you, coach, that you gave me a chance and worked with me so much. I was glad to help the team win! Guys in the locker room patted me on the shoulder. They were also having fun: they spoke with a terrible accent impersonating Ivan Drago – like, the Russian destroyed everyone))) And when I got to my locker I saw the game ball there. As they later explained to me, it’s a tradition in the NBA that a player gets to keep the game ball after he made his first double-double. I will receive the ball at the next practice – with the date of the game marked on it along with my stats. I’ll be showing it to my kids, my first trophy in the league))) Near end of the game, to tell the truth, I got very tired. All in all, I was running around without getting substituted for an entire European game. It never happened in my career. Alla and me went to our favorite restaurant Mari Vanna. I drank so much water during the game that I had a hard time eating. And then I didn’t sleep too well – thinking about the game, about what I could have done better and how… And also I was thinking about the next game: “What’s coming next?» I really want to learn the answer to this question, which American journalists asked me. Official sponsor of the PURE KNICKS LOVE Program
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jimimou
Posts: 23517 Alba Posts: 36 Lame Alba Posts: 1 Joined: 6/6/2004 Member: #681 USA |
![]() how can you not LOVE this guy
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GustavBahler
Posts: 42817 Alba Posts: 15 Joined: 7/12/2010 Member: #3186 |
![]() "The feel good article of the year!"
GustavBahler |