"I guess you can tell I'm happy to be here. In fact, I'm probably happier than anyone, because most of the people that come up here have an inkling of the idea that someday they may make the Hall of Fame. Believe me, when I was 21, I never thought I'd be enshrined with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan. In high school, I was on overly competitive but underly endowed player. I turned to heavy studies, and eventually won a scholarship to the University of Wyoming. I worked hard at the books, but I always took time to watch Wyoming play.
想大家能够看得出来,我很高兴来到这里。事实上,也许我比在座的各位更感到高兴,因为来到这里的大多数人可能都没有想到自己有一天会成为名人堂的成员。相信我,当我21岁的时候我从未想过自己将来有一天能够与“魔术师”约翰逊,拉里·伯德,还有迈克尔·乔丹享有同样的光环。在高中时,虽然我在球场上非常争强好胜,但是我并不是有天赋的运动员。所以我开始努力学习,最后考上了怀俄明州大学并获得了奖学金。大学期间,虽然我经常把时间花在读书上,但也总会抽出时间去看怀俄明州的球赛。
A lot of people don't know this, as a matter of fact -- Wyoming won the NCAA basketball championship (in 1943).
估计大家都不知道,怀俄明队曾荣获过美国大学体育总会篮球赛的冠军。
After my university graduation at Wyoming, I went to graduate school. I had a lot of offers, but I chose the one with the best athletic program: USC. I became a die-hard basketball fan, with early memories of Walt Hazzard kicking the crap out of my beloved Trojans.
我从怀俄明州大学毕业之后,便去读了研究生。当时我收到了很多学校的录取通知书,可是我最终选择了能提供最好运动项目的学校——美国南加州大学。之后我成为了铁杆篮球迷。记得那时沃玆·哈泽德把我心爱的特洛伊人队打得很惨。
I was awarded a PhD in chemistry, and immediately went out to seek my future. Made a lot of money in real estate, and after 15 years I started to dabble in minor league sports. At one time, I owned a tennis team, a soccer team, a volleyball team, and promoted boxing matches. This entrance into the entrepreneur's side of sports eventually led to me becoming a major league owner.
我获得了化学博士学位,之后马上走出校门开始了未来的征程。我在房地产业嫌了很多钱,15年后,我开始涉足小型联盟运动。有一段时间,我拥有一支网球队、一支足球队、一支排球队,甚至组织过多次拳击比赛。体育赛事企业家的这段经历最终使我成为一支大球队的老板。