Flyer: Talk to me about the draft workout process when you were coming into the league and compare it with today’s era of the NBA?

Roth: I think the biggest difference now is just everything is more scientific and more detail-minded as the years have progressed. With the Internet, and cable television there are no undiscovered players nowadays. Everybody knows everybody. When I was coming up, teams would just focus on two or three guys maybe and try to work them out. When I was coming out there were seven rounds. Now we have two. So the homework is much more involved in picking these guys in the first two rounds.

Flyer: A week before the draft how tough is it for clubs to scout guys and finally get that last look at them before the selections are made?

Roth: As coaches we don’t have a great opportunity to really meet them and see them so we have to rely on our scouts, Toni Barone, Grizzlies Director of Player Personnel and then Jerry West, President of Basketball Operations expertise to go in there and make the right choice for us. So for us it’s just a chance to familiarize ourselves with the players.

Flyer: Are you impressed with some of the guys you’ve seen work out?

Roth: For me it’s just seeing their personalities on the floor and how they react with the coaches. And how they react with people on the court. You see certain players during the course of the year on television but you don’t get a feel for them because you don’t have a chance to meet them so this is our chance to do that.

Flyer: Take me back to when you were drafted — what that feeling was like and the workouts you went through.

Roth: It was an exciting day for me. I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me. I knew I was probably going to go to Europe and then try and get back into the NBA. And that’s exactly what happened for me. Back then I was a 4th round pick (San Antonio Spurs). I was able to go through the whole procedure, go to Europe, the CBA, and get back in the NBA so I had a lot of fortitude to stay with it and make a team.

Flyer: Tell me about some of the superstars and some of the guys you played with and some of the clubs you were on?

Roth: I was with the Utah Jazz, My first game was actually in the Forum. I guarded Magic Johnson that year. That was my first NBA game ever. Playing with John Stockton and Karl Malone and now to be coaching and see them still playing is just a tremendous credit to them as great players. Going in the expansion draft playing in Minnesota with Sidney (Lowe) where we had the best expansion record in NBA history. In San Antonio being coached by Larry Brown was a great experience. I had a short career but it was good, I learned quit a bit. I was very fortunate to be around good coaches.

Flyer: What kind of players and NBA season do you see in Memphis for 2002-2003?

Roth: We’re going to get a good player at number 4. I think there has already been a change since Jerry West has been here throughout the organization. I think it’s going to be nothing but a positive situation from this point on.

Flyer: What about selections number 32 and 46 in the second round of this years NBA draft?

Roth: The 32nd pick is gonna be a very important pick for us, I think there’s going to be a player there that can make our roster and feel a need for us. At 46 I think we’re also going to find another good player there that we will probably bring to summer league with us and then see how he does.

Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson got weighed in separately Thursday for their Saturday night title fight here, as they have done everything separately so far, and that suits the two fighters’ camps and all the other interested parties just fine.

The first time heavyweight boxing champion Lewis and ex-champ Tyson will actually encounter each other in this week of their long-awaited showdown, will be at approximately 10:15 p.m., Central Standard Time, Saturday night — when they start flailing away in earnest and one of them first feels the, er, bite of the other’s leather.

They’ won’t even do the ceremonial pre-fight touching of gloves, and they will have already received their instructions from the referee separately — each fighter in his own dressing room at The Pyramid, the ten-year-old facility which is doomed to be replaced as the prime local sports arena by the new one about to be created expressly for the city’s newly acquired NBA Grizzlies.

No one responsible for this second-chance Bout of the Century (alternately — depending on which flack or writer is doing the describing – “of the Millennium”) is taking his chances in this second-chance venue — not after the riot that broke out in January at the New York press conference that was supposed to be announcing the fight in one of the familiar Las Vegas watering holes.

On the heels of that debacle, in which the two fighters and their handlers became involved in a brawl and Tyson allegedly sank his infamously errant teeth into Lewis’ leg, Nevada canceled out of the fight, and the other two major boxing states, New York and California, refused to license it.

Memphis, which, as HBO analyst Larry Merchant sees it, went after the fight “the way it would go after a new automobile plant,” won out for the rights when even the District of Columbia, where pro-Tyson sentiment is strong, could not or would not put the right deal together.

Merchant stood back shaking his head after Tyson’s 3 o’clock weigh-in, which the former champ, whom Merchant sees as a “psycopath,” had played to the crowd, flexing his muscles and generating by his mere presence the kind of whoops from the attendees that Lewis, whose weigh-in three hours earlier had been a brief and quiet affair by contrast, could never have hoped to generate.

“Boxing will lose if Tyson wins,” pronounced Merchant, whose HBO network is collaborating with Showtime in producing the pay-per-view version of the fight. “He’s convincing people that you don’t have the obey the rules, that boxing has no rules. And it does!”

As Merchant expounded on that theme (a somewhat self-serving one in that Lewis is contractually bound to HBO, just as Tyson has been to arch-rival Showtime), he referenced as cases in point such boxing misadventures as the notorious ear-biting incident in Tyson’s second loss to Evander Holyfield, and his evident attempts to break the arm of another opponent, South African heavyweight Frans Botha, as well as the disturbance caused in the hosting Vegas casino by Tyson backers after the earbite fight with Holyfield.

All of that is on the record, and a scenario of Good vs. Evil, with the dull-normal Lewis playing the good guy and a maniacally grinning Tyson portraying the villain, is just as clearly a part of the buildup to this fight as it is in most World Wrestling Federation ventures.

Yet there is another sense to the notion that Tyson is breaking the rules. Outside the Convention Center where the weigh-ins were taking place Wednesday were Lesbian activists holding signs which read, “THANKS MIKE FOR SAYING BEING GAY IS OK.” This was in the wake of Iron Mike’s leaving the Cordova gym where he works out the other day and making a point of embracing gay demonstrator Jim Maynard, whose sign had been protesting what he then presumed to be Tyson’s homophobia. In random remarks caught by reporters or TV crews Tyson has been at some pains to sound agreeable and professing himself more at peace with himself than ever before – though many of the monologue snatches captured on videotape have still needed to be bleeped a little before being played on the local air.

There were no few defenders of Tyson among the journalists inside the Convention Center – people ike Tony Datcher of BOSS Magazine , an inner-city magazine published in Washington, D.C. Datcher, who had been among those cheering the challenger, defended Tyson as “the people’s champ, who comes from the grass roots. The streets. You know? He’s no worse than Elvis, who got his cousin pregnant and married her at 14. He’s not perfect.” That this account scrambled the histories of two local music avatars, Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, didn’t matter so much as the proletarian sympathies it bespoke.

For better or for worse, the two fighters were certainly leaving different imprints on the event and on the consciousness of those checking it out.. Both fighters are domiciling in Memphis and working out here, as well. But each has allowed a different establishment in the nearby casino town of Tunica, Mississippi, to claim itself as the fighter’s “official” headquarters. In practice, this has meant that each of the two pugilists held a press conference-cum-workout this week at the place in question.

Tyson’s Tunica media op, – at Fitzgerald’s on Tuesday – eschewed elegance and featured a savagely brief speed-bag session involving Tyson, followed by profanity-laced tirades directed at Lewis and his posterity by Iron Mike’s handlers – one of whom, unofficially, was “Panama” Lewis, banned from the sport for life for doctoring one of his pugilist’s gloves so as to permanently maim an opponent.

By contrast, the fastidious Lewis, who upon his arrival in Memphis last week was the subject of a motorcade parade through Beale Street and proclaimed aloud (despite later confessed misgivings about the humidity) “I Love Memphis,” spoke to reporters at length at his media-op at Sam’s Town, across the lot from Fitzgerald’s, then played ten minutes of chess with a local high school student before gallantly conceding. He finished by climbing into a ring and going through an extended workout routine, showing off his fast combinations and hip-hop footwork to an amplified reggae soundtrack. At one point, trainer Emmanuel Steward seemed to tip a bit of his fight plan when he affected a head-on bobbing and weaving style like Tyson and kept coaxing an obliging Lewis to attack his ribs.

Whatever its dimensions as a morality play, the Big Fight represents the potential coming of age for Memphis. The city is on something of a roll, sportswise, having not only having coaxed the Grizzlies away from Vancouver last season but attracted as team president and brand-new resident the NBA legend Jerry West, ex-of the LA Lakers as player and official.

Larry Merchant probably has it right. Tyson-Lewis may have been unacceptable to most places on the established landscape of professional boxing, but it is pure opportunity for an up-by-the-bootstraps place like our own. At the head of the effort to land the fight was Memphis’ African-American mayor of the last decade, Willie Herenton, a polished former schools superintendent who went after the fight once it got chased out of Vegas (abetted by such durable local figures as pol Joe Cooper, who kept on being an unofficial spokesman for efforts even after seasoned promoters had cut him out of the action).

His Honor will no doubt find in the consummation of his efforts Saturday night personal as well as civic satisfaction. At 6′ 5″, which would put him eye-to-eye with Lewis, the lanky 60-year-old Herenton is a former amateur boxing champion who has always believed he got sidetracked from his real destiny – which was to be a pro champion himself, a headliner..

“I never got beat once I got my growth,” says Herenton. He’s got two champions on his hands right now, and one of them, depending on how things get resolved Saturday night, may end up a champion for the ages. The loser may be compelled — WWF-style — to slink out of town. And out of boxing. A lot of people will be watching, both at home, via pay-per-view and in The Pyramid – at ticket prices which, to start with, ranged from $500 to $2400 but have been dropping at the street level as advance scalpers got stuck with too much inventory.

Meanwhile, the world won’t come to an end no matter what happens — not even the boxing world. As even Larry Merchant reluctantly concedes, “A big fight is good for boxing. Even if it’s boring.” Nobody imagines that this one will be.

One of the host of boxing characters who have descended on Memphis in this last week is a man named Steve Fitch, a.k.a. “The Motivator,” a member of Tyson’s entourage who seems to play the same exhortatory role with Iron Mike that Drew “Bundini”Brown used to with Muhammad Ali. All week the Motivator has been going around doing general trash talk and loudly counting down the days to the fight.

“Four days and a wake-up call,” he said on Tuesday, and he’s kept up the refrain all week, dropping the number a notch on each succeeding day. After Tyson’s weigh-in Thursday, which was two days and some-odd hours away from the promised wake-up call, he discovered HBO’s Merchant holding forth about the ill fate awaiting the boxing world if his man, Iron Mike, should win.

“Remember that man right there when you become champ of the world,” Fitch said to his two-year-old Malik, whom he’s been hoisting about on his shoulder, sometimes prompting him, parrot-like, to repeat the “wake-up call” line. “As long as you’re a winner, he likes you,” said the Motivator to his child… “But when you lose he don’t like you no more. Remember that guy right there.”

Merchant shook his head. “When you lose I’m going to say you lost. I’m not going to say you won.”

Then the Motivator began to dip back into some incident from their shared past.when, as he reminded Merchant, he was in the camp of another boxer, Lonnie Smith. “Remember it was dark one night in Santa Monica. It was a long time agoÉ.”

Whatever this was about, Merchant interrupted it with a quick, dismissive “All right” and waved Fitch off.

“See you fight night,” said the Motivator, evenly, and he and Malik took their leave.

They like Mike.

Flyer: What kind of fight can we expect to see?

Steward: I think it will be very explosive, and emotional fight for the first three rounds, and then the big man knocks out the little man.

Flyer: Is this the greatest fight in history?

Steward: I donÕt know, ItÕs gonna be hard to beat Ali v. Frazier but it has the potential because there’s two things that make great fights — emotion and dislike for each other — and both of them have that.

Flyer: How does it feel to be here in Memphis? Fighting in a city with a lot of history and the fight is the biggest deal at the Pyramid.

Steward: ItÕs always good to fight in a city that no one is used to having fights. And so the people appreciate it more than would be in Las Vegas, and you got the whole city coming out to really like host, and not just a casino, so I think itÕs gonna be a very good turnout, and as a result the fighters are gonna fight a little bit better than they would in Las Vegas too.

Flyer: Is this about fighting or boxing or what is it about?

Steward: This is about fighting, itÕs two guys who have been close to fighting each other for many years. And Mike Tyson had to give up his championship nearly five years ago because of Lennox Lewis then, So finally these two are here fighting in this town here and I think itÕs gonna be an out pouring of events.

Flyer: Do you have any closing comments?

Steward: The fight wonÕt go but five rounds, Lennox Lewis knocks him out.

If familiarity breeds contempt, the Memphis Redbirds and Keith McDonald are

dancing dangerously close these days. Now in his fifth year

wearing a single cardinal, McDonald bows only to Rockey

and maybe Stubby Clapp in terms of

recognizability at AutoZone Park. While the dream of every pro

ballplayer is to spend his career in one happy home, the nightmare

is to be cast for the sequel to Bull Durham. Sure,

minor-league baseball is charming … for everyone but the players.

McDonald and relief pitcher Rick Heiserman are

the only two Redbirds to have played in each of the

team’s five seasons in Memphis. Only Clapp has played in

more games as a Redbird than the 29-year-old backstop

from southern California. So McDonald has enjoyed the

highs of a Pacific Coast League champion (2000) and the

lows of a last-place finish (2001), with countless faces

alongside him, either on their way up to St. Louis or on

their way out of baseball. While his sights are firmly set on

a big-league job, McDonald is magnanimous in

describing his Triple-A home. “I enjoy Memphis,” he says. “It’s

hard not to like the facility and the fans. When you’re

moving up, [minor-league] level to level, you don’t really get

to know a place. I’ve got some really good friends in

Memphis now, and that’s nice. The die-hard fans we have

here are really good people.”

Triple-A rosters change as frequently as the cast

of NYPD Blue. McDonald has become Andy Sipowicz

with shin guards and a catcher’s mitt, trying to match

new names with new faces, all the while keeping his sights

set on a permanent promotion. As the Redbirds’

everyday catcher, McDonald’s job is made all the more

challenging by the new faces on the mound. “Position

players moving up and down don’t have near the impact on

a team as does the pitching,” explains McDonald. “We’re

using [pitchers] that didn’t break camp with us. Trying to get the

best out of them is the hardest thing. It’s kind of organized chaos.”

While McDonald’s time in the big leagues to date

might best be described as a cup of coffee, his short stint was

worthy of the finest mug of joe ever poured by

Starbucks. McDonald celebrated the Fourth of July in 2000 by

becoming only the third St. Louis Cardinal in history to homer

in his first at-bat, drilling a pinch-hit tater off Cincinnati’s

Andy Larkin. Two days later, McDonald homered in his

second big-league plate appearance, joining the St. Louis

Browns’ Bob Nieman who pulled the trick in 1951 as the

only players in more than a century of major-league baseball

to homer in their first two at-bats. In only nine career

at-bats in The Show, McDonald has three hits all of them

home runs for a nice little slugging percentage of 1.333.

“I’ve only watched [the homers] on tape once,”

says McDonald. “The Fourth of July, the stadium packed …

it was a great feeling. The second one, I was more

worried about getting Rick Ankiel through the game than the

record. What I have in my head, as far as memories go, is a

lot better than what video can reproduce.”

After getting off to a dreadful start at the plate,

McDonald has pushed his batting average above his career mark of

.271. For a player who feels his glove is his ticket to the

major leagues, that kind of hitting is well above the norm for

his position. If he can carry that figure to the next

level, McDonald feels certain his minor-league career will be

over. “I don’t think my skill level is an everyday catcher’s,”

admits McDonald. “But I think I can back up.”

When you take into consideration some of the

pitchers McDonald has caught in Memphis Ankiel, Matt

Morris, Alan Benes, Bud Smith, Gene Stechschulte you

realize he’s been 60′ 6″ from big-league arms, though still

miles away from the roster spot he covets. While a love affair

with Bluff City fans has its virtues, McDonald would be

the first to tell you that five years of Triple-A ball is enough.

“I haven’t really been given an opportunity to show [the

Cardinals] I can play every day up there,” he says. “[A

promotion to St. Louis] is out of my control, unless

somebody gets hurt or gets traded, or I get traded.”

Does McDonald fear having plateaued at

Triple-A? “I wouldn’t say I’ve plateaued” is the catcher’s quick

answer. “It just hasn’t worked itself out

yet.”

Dajuan, Drew, Or Dunleavy?

By James P. Hill

The Grizzlies look for an impact player with their fourth pick.

Grizzlies management walked away from the NBA draft lottery in New Jersey having learned that

it will pick fourth overall in the first round and 32nd and

44th in the next two rounds. Now the focus shifts to

available talent. The Grizzlies are looking for the type of player

who can make a quick transition to the NBA.

“That’s the most important thing. You need a player

that can step in and make some contribution almost

immediately, particularly when your team is not where you want

to be,” said Grizzlies GM Jerry West.

So who would you pick with the fourth selection in this

year’s NBA draft? How about Yao Ming, the 7′ 5″ center/forward out

of China? Chances are Ming will probably be in New York City

on June 26th smiling and wearing a Houston Rockets cap.

“Somebody that big who’s played fairly successfully

for China and played very well in the Olympic Games,

people will have an interest in him,” West said.

What about going small and picking a guard? Well,

if you’re thinking about Jay Williams from Duke, he may

be in New York grinning and holding up a Chicago Bulls

jersey or even sporting a Golden State Warriors hat.

Since Chicago picks second and Golden State third, there’s a

strong chance Williams will be unavailable. Many observers

believe Williams is arguably the best prospect in this draft.

How about selecting Caron Butler, a 6′ 7″ forward

from UConn? Butler can flat-out score, averaging 19.5 points

per game in the Big East. And Butler goes to the glass

and snatches 7.6 rebounds per contest. He possesses hoop

skills, which can surely help the Grizzlies, but is Butler the

right fit for a team that already has four forwards?

Another player with smooth moves and a solid

post game is 6′ 10″ Kansas forward Drew Gooden,

whom many experts expect to be a lottery lock. The Big

12 MVP is ready to play at the next level, but with

Lorenzen Wright healthy and playing well, what would the

rookie bring to Memphis that the Grizzlies don’t already have?

How would Mike Dunleavy Jr., the 6′ 9″ Duke

standout, look wearing a Grizzlies uniform next season?

Probably pretty good. Dunleavy can dribble, pass, score, and run

the floor. If Dunleavy is available at number four, the Grizzlies

may be hard-pressed to pass him up. He’s a player and not just

because of his father’s legacy. Mike Jr. has proved he’s got game.

How about Dajuan Wagner, last season’s

University of Memphis freshman phenom? After leading the

Tigers to the NIT championship, he’s ready to test his game at

the highest level. But the question remains: Is Wagner

coming out too early? And with Jason Williams and Brevin

Knight playing the point, can the Grizzlies use a quick-scoring

lead guard? Many fans in Memphis would love to see

Wagner stay and play in the Pyramid one way or another.

Finally, a sleeper in the draft may be Western

Kentucky’s 7 ‘ 1″ center Chris Marcus. He brings a big low-post

game to the blocks that could be helpful in freeing up more

scoring opportunities for the Grizzlies’ power forwards.

Whether the Grizzlies decide to go big or small

with their pick, you better believe Mr. Clutch will bring in

a player he knows can help the Grizzlies next season

and for the long haul.