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Article from a couple weeks back.
[h1]NBA tattoos, from A to Z[/h1]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Reed Tucker[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]A is for America: Wizards sharpshooter Gilbert Arenas promised that if BarackObama won the presidential election, he'd get a tribute -- and he did. "Change we believe in" now marks the fingers on his lefthand.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]B is for bear: Carlos Boozer doesn't play for the Grizzlies, but maybe heshould. The Jazz star has a menacing bear on his arm "because even in high school, I felt like I turned into some kind of animal on thecourt."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]C is for consent: Before getting his first tat at 17, the Warriors' CoreyMaggette asked his mom's permission: "I'm not sure she believed me because she said, 'Yeah, go ahead.' "[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]D is for demon bird mothballs: Heat forward Shawn Marion thought he was gettinghis nickname, "The Matrix," tattooed in Chinese symbols. What he got instead roughly translates to "demon birdmothballs."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]E is for esteem: Those numbers on the right arm of Hornets guard AntonioDaniels aren't his locker combination; they are a tribute to his brother. "It has his birthday [7-20-73], the day he passed away [2-8-96], as well ashis number [33]," Daniels says.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]F is for Florida: If you ever get lost driving in the Sunshine State, just askto see Udonis Haslem's back. The Heat forward has a large map of Florida, his home, tattooed there.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]G is for Grateful Dead: Trippy, man. The Lakers' Luke Walton shows hisappreciation for the rock icons with a design of four dancing skeletons, each holding a basketball, on his right arm.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]H is for humility: Of which Shaquille O'Neal has none. The Suns' bigman has "Against the Law" inked on his shoulder because, as Shaq explains, "My game's so good, there has to be a law to stopit."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I is for initials: The Cavaliers' LeBron James, who already had multipletattoos, including "Chosen 1" across his entire back, last year had an "L" and "J" inked on the underside of eacharm.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]J is for Jay-Z: The Timberwolves' Sebastian Telfair has a huge "LuckyMe" inked on his upper back. It's a reference to a Jay-Z song, which the troubled Telfair says has particular meaning to him.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]K is for king of the hill: Nuggets floor leader Chauncey Billups reps wherehe's from (Denver's Park Hill) with a "king of the hill" tat on his left arm: "I'm the first person to make it out of there and bedoing what I'm doing." *(A website claims that this is a cover-up for a Celtic tat, the team that originally drafted Chauncey. I don't thinkit's a cover-up. But it's clearly inspired by the leprechaun).
[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]L is for lawsuit: In 2005, Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace got sued byPortland, Ore., tattoo artist Matthew Reed after Wallace's Egyptian sun tattoo (designed by Reed) was featured in a Nike ad.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]M is for mizspelt: The Pistons' Allen Iverson gets an A for loyalty, but anF for spelling. He has the words "Cru Thik" tattooed on his body in three places, in honor of his tight-knit group of friends.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]N is for nerdy pastimes: The Spurs' Tim Duncan can hurt you on the court --and in the Forbidden Forest. He likes playing Dungeons & Dragons so much, he got a tattoo of the wizard Merlin on his chest.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]O is for ouch: The Pacers' Marquis Daniels has a tattoo on his arm of a mancommitting suicide with a shotgun. Cheery.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]P is for Psalms 46: When the father of Spurs' Roger Mason Jr. was dying inthe hospital, his family took comfort in the biblical verse. After his father's death, Mason inked his arm with an angel flying atop mountains and thewords "Psalms 46."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Q is for quite a makeover: Reigning league MVP Kobe Bryant of the Lakersrevamped his flagging image in 2004 following a sexual assault trial. The makeover included a tattoo dedicated to his wife and daughter.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]R is for regret: When he was 15, Hawks guard Mike Bibby tattooed his name onhis arm. He didn't like it. Later, he had it covered with a cross made of chains.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]S is for shameless self-promotion: Stephon Marbury's pro career may bewaning, but there's hope for him in marketing. Marbury recently tattooed the logo of his Starbury shoe line on the left side of hisskull.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]T is for testimony: That's what the Suns' Amare Stoudemire says histattoos are: "If I died right now, my kids could get to know me by my tats -- what I stand for and what I believe in, and how I made it out ofpoverty."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]U is for "unicep": Tattoos are so popular in the league that evencoaches have them. The Bulls' Del Harris has a b-ball going through a hoop inked onto his arm. "It's on my 'unicep,' " Harris cracks."I don't have biceps anymore."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]V is for very, very stupid: In 2001, a die-hard fan had the phrase "ISlept With Shaq" tattooed on his forehead to win Lakers playoff tickets from a radio station.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]W is for wasted endorsement : The Suns' former slam-dunk champ JasonRichardson isn't exactly a slam-dunk when it comes to marketing. He had the logo for shoe company And 1 tattooed on his arm and then went on to sign acontract with Reebok.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]X is for Xavier: A contribution to the school library would have been enough,but the Hornets' David West got "X" on his arm "to show some loyalty" to his alma mater, Xavier.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Y is for younker: The Cavaliers' Ben Wallace hit on his nickname while justa younker, or a young man. In 10th grade, his teacher assigned a report on London's famous clock tower. "Big Ben" sketched the picture himselfthat he later had tattooed on his arm.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Z is for "Zoinks!": Kings fans will probably want to shoutShaggy's catchphrase when they get a load of Brad Miller's tattoo of Scooby's pint-sized nephew, Scrappy-Doo.[/font]
http://www.usaweekend.com...090208sports-tattoos.html
[h1]NBA tattoos, from A to Z[/h1]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Reed Tucker[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]A is for America: Wizards sharpshooter Gilbert Arenas promised that if BarackObama won the presidential election, he'd get a tribute -- and he did. "Change we believe in" now marks the fingers on his lefthand.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]B is for bear: Carlos Boozer doesn't play for the Grizzlies, but maybe heshould. The Jazz star has a menacing bear on his arm "because even in high school, I felt like I turned into some kind of animal on thecourt."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]C is for consent: Before getting his first tat at 17, the Warriors' CoreyMaggette asked his mom's permission: "I'm not sure she believed me because she said, 'Yeah, go ahead.' "[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]D is for demon bird mothballs: Heat forward Shawn Marion thought he was gettinghis nickname, "The Matrix," tattooed in Chinese symbols. What he got instead roughly translates to "demon birdmothballs."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]E is for esteem: Those numbers on the right arm of Hornets guard AntonioDaniels aren't his locker combination; they are a tribute to his brother. "It has his birthday [7-20-73], the day he passed away [2-8-96], as well ashis number [33]," Daniels says.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]F is for Florida: If you ever get lost driving in the Sunshine State, just askto see Udonis Haslem's back. The Heat forward has a large map of Florida, his home, tattooed there.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]G is for Grateful Dead: Trippy, man. The Lakers' Luke Walton shows hisappreciation for the rock icons with a design of four dancing skeletons, each holding a basketball, on his right arm.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]H is for humility: Of which Shaquille O'Neal has none. The Suns' bigman has "Against the Law" inked on his shoulder because, as Shaq explains, "My game's so good, there has to be a law to stopit."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I is for initials: The Cavaliers' LeBron James, who already had multipletattoos, including "Chosen 1" across his entire back, last year had an "L" and "J" inked on the underside of eacharm.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]J is for Jay-Z: The Timberwolves' Sebastian Telfair has a huge "LuckyMe" inked on his upper back. It's a reference to a Jay-Z song, which the troubled Telfair says has particular meaning to him.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]K is for king of the hill: Nuggets floor leader Chauncey Billups reps wherehe's from (Denver's Park Hill) with a "king of the hill" tat on his left arm: "I'm the first person to make it out of there and bedoing what I'm doing." *(A website claims that this is a cover-up for a Celtic tat, the team that originally drafted Chauncey. I don't thinkit's a cover-up. But it's clearly inspired by the leprechaun).
[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]L is for lawsuit: In 2005, Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace got sued byPortland, Ore., tattoo artist Matthew Reed after Wallace's Egyptian sun tattoo (designed by Reed) was featured in a Nike ad.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]M is for mizspelt: The Pistons' Allen Iverson gets an A for loyalty, but anF for spelling. He has the words "Cru Thik" tattooed on his body in three places, in honor of his tight-knit group of friends.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]N is for nerdy pastimes: The Spurs' Tim Duncan can hurt you on the court --and in the Forbidden Forest. He likes playing Dungeons & Dragons so much, he got a tattoo of the wizard Merlin on his chest.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]O is for ouch: The Pacers' Marquis Daniels has a tattoo on his arm of a mancommitting suicide with a shotgun. Cheery.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]P is for Psalms 46: When the father of Spurs' Roger Mason Jr. was dying inthe hospital, his family took comfort in the biblical verse. After his father's death, Mason inked his arm with an angel flying atop mountains and thewords "Psalms 46."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Q is for quite a makeover: Reigning league MVP Kobe Bryant of the Lakersrevamped his flagging image in 2004 following a sexual assault trial. The makeover included a tattoo dedicated to his wife and daughter.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]R is for regret: When he was 15, Hawks guard Mike Bibby tattooed his name onhis arm. He didn't like it. Later, he had it covered with a cross made of chains.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]S is for shameless self-promotion: Stephon Marbury's pro career may bewaning, but there's hope for him in marketing. Marbury recently tattooed the logo of his Starbury shoe line on the left side of hisskull.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]T is for testimony: That's what the Suns' Amare Stoudemire says histattoos are: "If I died right now, my kids could get to know me by my tats -- what I stand for and what I believe in, and how I made it out ofpoverty."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]U is for "unicep": Tattoos are so popular in the league that evencoaches have them. The Bulls' Del Harris has a b-ball going through a hoop inked onto his arm. "It's on my 'unicep,' " Harris cracks."I don't have biceps anymore."[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]V is for very, very stupid: In 2001, a die-hard fan had the phrase "ISlept With Shaq" tattooed on his forehead to win Lakers playoff tickets from a radio station.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]W is for wasted endorsement : The Suns' former slam-dunk champ JasonRichardson isn't exactly a slam-dunk when it comes to marketing. He had the logo for shoe company And 1 tattooed on his arm and then went on to sign acontract with Reebok.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]X is for Xavier: A contribution to the school library would have been enough,but the Hornets' David West got "X" on his arm "to show some loyalty" to his alma mater, Xavier.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Y is for younker: The Cavaliers' Ben Wallace hit on his nickname while justa younker, or a young man. In 10th grade, his teacher assigned a report on London's famous clock tower. "Big Ben" sketched the picture himselfthat he later had tattooed on his arm.[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Z is for "Zoinks!": Kings fans will probably want to shoutShaggy's catchphrase when they get a load of Brad Miller's tattoo of Scooby's pint-sized nephew, Scrappy-Doo.[/font]
http://www.usaweekend.com...090208sports-tattoos.html
★ AMARE STOUDEMIRE
PHOENIX SUNS
INKED: What was your first tattoo?
STOUDEMIRE: My first tattoo [says] "STAT." It's part of my last name. A lot of people say "Statemire." It's kind of an abbreviation of Stoudemire. I was actually 16.
Where do your ideas come from? A couple of them I got from a few dreams. I had a dream about [a tattoo that says] "knowing is knowledge and knowledge is power." I can't remember the exact dream, but in that dream some wise man said that quote. I woke up and was like, "Man, that was a pretty strong little statement." I never heard it that way. So I kind of broke it down to see if it was true. If you know something, you have knowledge. And if you have the knowledge of something, then you have the power to know what you're talking about.
So which one is your favorite? I have a tattoo of a lamppost, like on a street corner. You know how [some lampposts] say Broadway and Third Ave. on the corner? I have a light post with signs for all the cities I grew up in through my childhood. My childhood story is amazing. I've got all my childhood cities on my arm, looking as if they're streets. I have New York, Orlando, Durham. All these cities I lived in as a kid. It's seven signs. But I've got two more that I lived in as a kid, so I'm missing two.
What do your other tattoos mean? All my tattoos mean something to me. They represent poverty. I've got a tattoo that says "Poverty/ Prophecy," and both of those words are off the same P. What that means is when you are in poverty and you're praying for something better, to make it to the NBA or to become a professional skateboarder, you're pretty much prophesizing.
You still skateboarding? I can skate a little bit still, but I grew up to be 6'10". A lot of my friends who I haven't seen in a long time probably wouldn't believe it, but I grew to be 6 foot 10 inch and my skateboard skills slowly evaporated. I can still ride a little bit, though.
