The recent retirement of garbled-voiced Dikembe Mutombo after a 16-year career in the NBA inspires the brain to ponder the plight of foreign-born big men. Especially the biggest of them all.
This comes paraphrased from former Sports Illustrated columnist Steve Rushin's blog not too long ago:
Manute Bol, a 7-foot, 7-inch tall oak-tree of a man, isn't exactly know for his vernacular. Yet the Sudanese-born hoopster is unofficially credited as the father of one of the most used phrases in all of sport. Apparently, when Bol would err in practice, he would turn to a teammate and utter the two easiest words his limited vocabulary would allow him to string together. And with that, the phrase "My Bad" was birthed.
Bol, it should be noted, played nine seasons for four teams - three (76ers, Bullets and Warriors) of which he endured two playing stints with. A sense of humor isn't lost on the big fellow in retirement. He's appeared in celebrity boxing and ice hockey matches.
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