Thursday, January 03, 2008

The legendary D'Antoni

From the Arizona Republic, here is a delightful profile of Lewis D'Antoni, still living in West Virginia at age 94, the father of the head coach (and assistant coach) of the Phoenix Suns.

The article says in part:

"Lewis D'Antoni, who turned 94 on New Year's Eve, is a legend in this small coal-mining town nestled among the Appalachians. His daughter, Kathy, an education official, recently gave a speech to the Rotary in nearby Bluefield, and upon conclusion she asked whether anyone had a question.

No one raised a hand, which Kathy found odd. Everyone understood everything perfectly?

Finally, an older gentleman raised his hand.

"You any relation to Lew D'Antoni?"

"Yes," Kathy said. "I'm his daughter."

"Well, I tell ya what," the man said, "if he was playing ball today, he'd be making $80 million a year. The best ballplayer ever to come out of here.""

That Rotary meeting sounds like a Bristol Lions club meeting I once attended, where the wife of one of the members gave a sincere but somewhat tremulous presentation about some charitable enterprise, then opened the floor for questions - all of which were about why a good looking woman like her married such a bum.

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