If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in read more

If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming.

Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.

Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.

Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.

Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.

Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, read more

Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball.

I always turn to the sports page first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's read more

I always turn to the sports page first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's failures.

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment... quality is important because it read more

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment... quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life, and there's going to be a life after tennis that's a lot longer than your tennis life.

Tom.
(New coach of the NBA's Houston Rockets, when asked how he pronounced his name, 1966)

Tom.
(New coach of the NBA's Houston Rockets, when asked how he pronounced his name, 1966)

I've won at every level, except college and pro.

I've won at every level, except college and pro.

Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.

Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.