When you're not practicing, someone somewhere is. And when the two of you meet, assuming roughly equal ability, the other person will win.

Behind all the years of practice and all the hours of glory waits that inexorable terror of living without the game.

Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models.

Basketball can serve as a kind of metaphor for ultimate cooperation. It is a sport where success, as symbolized by the championship, requires that the dictates of community prevail over selfish impulses.

People tell me, "I'm glad you said that." But this is not a spectator sport. This is an activity that requires daily moral awakening as well as a commitment that leads to real change.

Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.

Al Gore clearly has the vision... it's a much better vision than that of George W. Bush.