RIP, Chocolate Thunder

This is what I'm saying.

 

his autobiography (written with Charlie Rosen) is hilarious and also has some genuinely sad episodes. but it feels like a real and honest portrait of a kid at 18, rich and famous and living the life of a man who introduces himself as being from Planet Lovetron. while we look at the NBA as being all about the holy Quest for the Championship, he was a reminder that that's value in entertaining the paying customers along the way.

 

One of the great quotes about Dawkins was something like, paraphrasing, "He's the only one whose flashiness and potential overshadowed the disappointment of his career, not the other way around."

 

Cause of death? I didn't see that in any of the stuff I just read. Guessing perhaps, heart attack?

RIP.

That 77 Sixer team with him, Free, Erving, Caldwell Jones, Collins, McGinnis, etc. would have been one of the more entertaining groups in an entertaining time to have hung around with.

 

Dawkins = part-time starter for great Sixers teams. Personality like Shaq, stats like Andrew Bogut:

Player Comparison Finder | Basketball-Reference.com

 

Question of the board: Is Dawkins the most famous and/or beloved pro athlete of all-time that was never an All-Star?

 

I loved Dawkins as a kid... especially as I was at "the game".

1979. Kansas City. Municipal Auditorium. We had Kings season tickets as I loved them even more than the Royals. Back then you cared about the Celtics, Blazers, Lakers, Spurs, Sonics and the 76ers games. Everyone else I could take or leave.

Dawkins shattered the backboard and I... missed it.

We were in line for popcorn at the end of halftime and didn't get back to our seats in time. Heard a big scream from back in the arena. Came out of the concourse to a mess on the floor. Shattered glass everywhere.

Craig Sager showed up - his station was across the street - conducting interviews while the cleanup crews were across the street.

I did not see what happened - only heard about it - until the following night's 6 pm sportscast.

Three years ago while back home for the MLB all star game, son and I "trespassed" into Municipal (Fan Fest was next door) and we stood on the floor where it happened in this empty arena 33 years before.

 

Family has released a statement. Heart attack.

 

Remember that Blackhawks announcer who got fired because she said "the Blackhawks are having a lot of sex" instead of "success" and then a further examination of her work revealed some racy YouTube clips? One of those clips was a reading of Dawkins' autobiography, specifically the passage about his introduction to cunnilingus.

This is one of the funniest clips of all time. Oh, and NSFW.

 

That is an interesting question....I think jim plunket never made a pro bowl, but not sure if he is beloved outside of oakland.

Does tim tebow count?

 

I remember that happening when I was a kid but I always assumed it was at Kemper. When did they move out of Municipal?

 

Are Sports Nutz related to Deez Nutz?