trueD
02-05-2007, 12:53 AM
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/118367.html
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:27 am PST Sunday, February 4, 2007
He's used to avoiding the spits of venom, so this was a nice change of pace in that sense.
Official Dick Bavetta, forever remembered by so many Kings fans for his role in the controversial Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference finals, found a supporter in the front at Arco Arena on Saturday night.
"I'm betting on you, Dick," said David Carlson, 53, of Jackson.
Thank you, sir," Bavetta said. "I think that's a wise decision."
The game at hand was not the Kings-Nuggets affair, but the much talked-about footrace between Bavetta and Charles Barkley. The Hall of Famer and TNT analyst has been taking good-natured shots at the 67-year-old Bavetta on the air recently and challenged him to a sprint between the younger, rotund one and the older, but fit, referee.
Among his zingers, Barkley said Bavetta had "parted the Red Sea with Moses" and that his gravestone would read, "He keeled over while racing 'the Chuckster.' "
When Carlson contended that Barkley might weigh twice as much as the wispy Bavetta, Bavetta said: "Try three times. I'm only 160 pounds."
As for whether the race actually will take place, Bavetta wasn't sure. "I don't even know if this thing is going to happen," he said just before tipoff. "I haven't changed anything. I do my eight miles every day whether there's a race or not."
If the race is on, Bavetta has one stipulation.
"I want something with turns in it, not a straightaway (but) back and forth," he said. "The longer it is, the better it is for me."
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:27 am PST Sunday, February 4, 2007
He's used to avoiding the spits of venom, so this was a nice change of pace in that sense.
Official Dick Bavetta, forever remembered by so many Kings fans for his role in the controversial Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference finals, found a supporter in the front at Arco Arena on Saturday night.
"I'm betting on you, Dick," said David Carlson, 53, of Jackson.
Thank you, sir," Bavetta said. "I think that's a wise decision."
The game at hand was not the Kings-Nuggets affair, but the much talked-about footrace between Bavetta and Charles Barkley. The Hall of Famer and TNT analyst has been taking good-natured shots at the 67-year-old Bavetta on the air recently and challenged him to a sprint between the younger, rotund one and the older, but fit, referee.
Among his zingers, Barkley said Bavetta had "parted the Red Sea with Moses" and that his gravestone would read, "He keeled over while racing 'the Chuckster.' "
When Carlson contended that Barkley might weigh twice as much as the wispy Bavetta, Bavetta said: "Try three times. I'm only 160 pounds."
As for whether the race actually will take place, Bavetta wasn't sure. "I don't even know if this thing is going to happen," he said just before tipoff. "I haven't changed anything. I do my eight miles every day whether there's a race or not."
If the race is on, Bavetta has one stipulation.
"I want something with turns in it, not a straightaway (but) back and forth," he said. "The longer it is, the better it is for me."