My concentration level blocks out everything. Concentration is why some athletes are better than others. You develop that concentration in training and concentrate in a meet.
I think it is that parents just don't kick their kids out the door as much as they used to. I think the demise of sandlot sports has had a lot to do with it.
Regardless of the obstacles or hurdles that are ahead of you, regardless of the opponent, regardless of the odds, your goal and objective always is to win. I think that's part of sports.
My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.
The ultimate would be to compete in a couple more Olympics, hopefully break some world records and wind up my sports career with a couple of years in the WNBA.
I long for the days when athletes were revered. I want to see the romance return to sports, to see people enjoy the game purely for the game and the players.
I was a better basketball player growing up in high school than I was a swimmer. Basketball to this day is my favorite sport.
Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making.
Every actor has a strength, and sometimes you just respond to things that you see yourself better at. I'm aware of what I can and can't do.
The thing I loved the most - and still love the most about teaching - is that you can connect with an individual or a group, and see that individual or group exceed their limits.
I've never been scared of contact. Now I get to bring it, that's what I love to do, so I'm going to bring it.
I feel like I'm just like anyone else. I just happen to play football, and obviously with that comes responsibility, but I love that.
For me, music makes my smile brighter during my workouts. It adds that extra something that motivates me to go further or work harder!
Tennis is interesting because the women are almost more popular than the men. In the U.S. Open, women even get exactly the same money as the men.
When I was in top shape I'd go to the ring and show my conditioning.
I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them.
I've had two unlucky injuries that are the equivalent of walking under 1,000 ladders and seeing 1,000 black cats.
I guess if you're a normal person and all of a sudden you're getting $10 million a year, it can go to your head.
If these are the last 34 games of my NBA career, I want them played as tough as I can.
Very few people could make me fight out of my system. Burley was one.
That's what really motivates me: to make my coaches proud, my teammates proud, and the fans proud.
