Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 5:46 am  |  15 responses

SLAM #29

Please Pat, Don’t Hurt Us

Originally published in SLAM 29

The 6th Man: Yeah, I can hear you laughing, even from deep within the bowels of the SLAM Dome. Putting Chamique Holdsclaw on our cover, saying that she might—through sheer force of will and an uncanny knack for being around the ball—squeeze her way into a league crowded with bigger, stronger, faster men is just ridiculous, right? As a matter of fact, even the writer (Michael Bradley) didn’t like the idea. It wasn’t until we threatened him with the “I was Vernon Maxwell’s teenage bride” fictional essay that he came on board.

I can’t blame Bradley; he’s a realist’s realist. And on paper, ’Mique gets chewed up by every 2 or 3 in the NBA—even Calbert Cheaney. But the next time a game gets decided on paper, please let me know.

So keep laughing. ’Mique doesn’t mind. It’ll make it that much sweeter when she defies expectations for the umpteenth time in her life. And if she never does, if the men just keep growing bigger and stronger and faster, preventing her from catching up, it’s still gonna be fun watching her decimate those female leagues.

Without heaping tons of superlatives on her already-burdened shoulders, Chamique Holdsclaw is the real deal the way Cynthia Cooper is the real deal and the way Cheryl Miller was the real deal. ‘Mique handles herself with a tremendous amount of poise and humility, which is remarkable considering folks are all up in her face, trying to affix themselves to her star ascendant.

Like us, I guess.

It’s my hope that the cover concept does not overshadow the fact that we are finally putting a female baller on SLAM’s cover. After 29 issues, it was certainly time. For whatever it’s worth, we were just about to pull the trigger with Nikki McCray last year, before she turned into a castmember of Fame. After that, it was ’Mique and only ’Mique.

And while she’ll likely end up on the WNBA’s Lobotomized New York Liberty after her senior season at UT—just a hunch, mind you—you never can tell where Chamique’s gonna be in five years.

Take another peek at the cover.

Still laughing?

Peace,

Tony Gervino

P.S. If you are a rabid UT fanatic and strongly object to our cover (and if your name is not Pat, Micki or Kellie Jolly), please mark your envelope N.U.T.S. (which stands for Non-Understanding Tennessee Supporter), so we can make sure that your letter goes to the right place. Thanks.

Issue 29 'Mique

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  • Matthew Posted: Aug.18 at 7:17 am
    After picking up the first couple of SLAM’s, the one’s with Timmy and Spree and the one of John Starks, my grocer went on SLAM hiatus, or maybe I just had bad eyes and and I didn’t cop anymore mag’s until this one. Keep in mind when i got my first two I was in 5th grade. Anyway, since this one, i’ve copped everyone except 3 since. I’ll never forget the Shawn Bradley “golf slamadamonth” an image unfortunately sketched into my mind forever.

  • Thomas Posted: Aug.18 at 7:51 am
    I would love to see the Shawn Bradley “golf slamadamonth” can anybody please scan it??? I would also love to read what the SLAM crew wrote about the picture of Bradley playing golf… thanks in advance

  • baller numero uno Posted: Aug.18 at 1:03 pm
    nice cover but just wait till the ladies challenge the men in the nba can you she ms. 47 putting up points against the dudes. P.S when does slam ish 100 come out ive been waiting for forever

  • X-Man Posted: Aug.18 at 1:54 pm
    hope that the next lady on cover will be Swin Cash…

  • JuniperDog Posted: Aug.18 at 4:09 pm
    “Oh by the way, this cover is from the lockout, so there was no NBA to speak of at the time. ” Do you feel you have to justify putting a woman on the cover?

  • Sam Rubenstein Posted: Aug.18 at 4:19 pm
    Well… I think that it would be pretty coincidental that the first time a woman was on the cover, it was during the lockout. Should I have just left that detail out?

  • Mighty Posted: Aug.20 at 12:28 am
    i remember this issue because of the poster, it had a cartoon patrick ewing and david stern standing back to back with guns

  • Daniel Posted: Sep.22 at 1:08 am
    Honestly, i think it is the nicest picture I’ve ever seen. How do I get this picture put into a poster? How can I get these pictures?? TELL ME!!! Don’t talk foolishness about how it was a bad cover (ish 100). Get big ‘mique! I have tons of love for those pictures!

  • o-2da-luv &smarti Posted: Sep.28 at 3:12 am
    the woman on the title looks nice. olaf wants to …. her!!!!

  • SLAM ONLINE | » This Woman’s Work Posted: Sep.16 at 8:00 am
    [...] and the poster child for the WNBA. She may not have been only female to grace SLAM’s cover like Chamique Holdsclaw, but she was the first WNBA player to catch a dunk in July of 2002. This was one of the women’s [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Chamique Shall Inherit the Earth Posted: Dec.5 at 10:31 am
    [...] headline for the cover of SLAM 29 read, “Is the NBA ready for Chamique Holdsclaw?” And there ‘Mique was, posing on [...]

  • Hussman25 Posted: Dec.7 at 9:13 am
    I had this mag; Vintage Cover! Mique was the truth… Till she went mad (J/K). Still one of the best female ballers to lace em up!

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Converse ATL Takeover Posted: May.2 at 2:33 am
    [...] Stevie Williams, and Atlanta Dream star Chamique Holdsclaw, who remains the only woman to be on the cover of SLAM) and a lot of alcohol, with the NBA Playoffs conveniently showing on a big screen. Showing that the [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Original Old School: Road Rules Posted: May.2 at 2:58 am
    [...] Finals classics, Game 3 of the ‘93 Finals. MJ, Sir Charles and Pip. 3 OTs. Published in SLAM 29, you forget just how colorful Barkley was before he got into the [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Chamique Holdsclaw Signs With Silver Stars Posted: May.22 at 10:59 am
    [...] only female cover subject requested a trade from the Atlanta Dream before training camp and was waived Wednesday. [...]

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