[ESPN] Young Rocket meets old Rocket

ESPN Page 3 : Dreamday

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=dreamday/houston


You've got to learn to crawl before you learn to walk.When Page 3 asked Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady what his perfect "Dream Day" would be, he didn't double-dribble: "Meeting Roger Clemens. I've always admired him."

Upon hearing T-Mac's passion for the sport of baseball -- which included boyhood dreams of becoming a big-league pitcher -- we felt compelled to make that wish come true.


Hooking up McGrady with his idol was easy. In fact, Clemens invited McGrady to his "compound" -- his Houston home -- to play ball.


When McGrady arrived, the mutual admiration flowed as the two superstars gelled instantly. It turns out that Clemens is a T-Mac fan and has been following the Rockets' season closely. And like any other sports fan, the 42-year-old hurler had some words of advice for how his hometown team, which currently is 33-25 and third in the Southwest standings, can get over the hump.


Going The Distance



Motion: 'Dream Day'




Tracy McGrady steps into Rocket's World



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Walking into Clemens' enormous indoor gym, aptly named "Rocket's World," McGrady flashes a wide smile. The room is filled with toys -- video games, a Ping-Pong table, basketball court, batting cage, and surround-sound entertainment area.


But Clemens isn't just here to play. He's ready to share some words of wisdom with the 25-year-old NBA All-Star. The first topic of conversation is longevity.


"The secret is the work that you don't see, that happens in the gym. The day I pitch is my day off. The days in between are ridiculous, the practice I put in," Clemens says. "I'm going to beat you physically with everything I do in this gym. If that fails, mentally I'm going to look you in the eye and beat you. If that fails, my emotions come into play. Someone says something to you on the field -- boom! -- your adrenaline goes up, and you're throwing 97 miles an hour again. Then -- boom! -- I'm in sync, I'm hitting my spots, and then hopefully it leads to a victory."


McGrady's feeling everything Clemens is saying -- until the Rocket asks him if he'll still be playing at 40. "The miles that I feel after eight years, the rigors that I go through in the season ... 40 would be too much," he says. "I definitely want to walk after basketball."


"I've learned to never say never," Clemens chides.


"No. No. Never and no," McGrady insists with a wry smile.


Father Knows Best


McGrady owns the court but Clemens rules the cage."I need some advice," T-Mac says between shots of a game of P-I-G on the basketball court. The game heats up when McGrady (actually busting a sweat) peeps that the old Rocket has a solid outside shot.

"When the times get tough, when the team is struggling, you're struggling, how do you get out of that funk?" McGrady asks.


Clemens has been there -- in Boston, in Toronto, in New York -- so he's got the answer, "You fall back on the small things. You know, playing for Joe Torre in New York, it was simple. He had simple rules: Be on time, know the signs and get your butt down the baseline. In your game, Tracy, it's defense. Tighten up your defense; that turns around your offense. It's all about your approach. When you step on the court, the guys will feed off of you. When I go to the mound, I want my team to have that feeling: We're going to win tonight!


"All the work I do behind the scenes doesn't translate into wins. It means I'm going to be ready. If I'm pitching tomorrow and you're a hitter, you better get your rest because you're gonna get my best."


"Word of advice coming from Dad!" T-Mac laughs.


McGrady dominates the basketball session. No surprise. But Clemens is just getting started. It's clear there's no way he'll let this kid whip him in his own gym. Without taking two proper sips of water, the future Hall of Famer races toward his batting cage.

Trapped in the Cage
"He was easy on me in this hoop game so I'll throw him some room service," Clemens says, grabbing an aluminum bat, a wooden bat, some baseballs, and a helmet for McGrady.


While most men would be weak in the knees at this point, T-Mac is still standing, "I'm not nervous going in the cage," McGrady assures. "This is my sport right here. Played it ever since I was 5. This is my first love."


As McGrady tinkers with his grip on the aluminum bat and his footing around the plate, Clemens lowers the sturdy, rope curtains around the cage. "Lots of people go in. Very few step out," the Rocket warns.


"Let's get it on!" McGrady shouts, fixing that familiar sleepy gaze on Clemens. "Send that room service; I'll eat 'em!"



T-Mac takes the mound, ready to throw some heat.McGrady quickly finds out that room service was no simple dish, as he swings and misses on all but one of Clemens' warmup tosses. Fortunately for T-Mac, The Rocket pitches some pointers -- "Don't lunge ... Wait for it ... Start moving when you see this ..." -- along with speeding baseballs.

Mac listens to instructions, putting it into action immediately. Result: Whack! Connection.


Surprised and then impressed by McGrady's skill and athleticism at bat, Clemens decides to kick it up. "We'll do about 10 more pitches and [then] we'll get up to 90 [mph]," Clemens says. "I want him to hear what these seams sound like when they're coming at him. But he's a working man, I gotta be careful. He's trying to bring us a championship."


McGrady braces himself and waits for the great balls of fire to come his way. The fastball zips over the plate. Mac swings and misses. "That was moving! Whew! That one was really moving," he says, stepping away from the plate, stunned. Clemens laughs and takes the speed down a smidge. Again, the seven-time Cy Young winner offers up instruction. And again, All-Star McGrady makes it happen, hitting the balls with authority.

Being The Man
Bringing home a championship is no cakewalk. And for All-Stars like McGrady and Clemens, being "The Man" brings added pressures. The two take a break from batting to talk about handling the heat that comes with being an elite athlete.


"Well, 2000 is when I first went to the Magic. I went there because I wanted the opportunity to play for a championship-caliber team and play with Grant Hill," McGrady says. "But we all know what happened to that [when Hill got injured], so everything was on my shoulders. For three years, I basically carried the team. Now, last year, my last year there, we traded some of the core guys away from the team; we had a fairly young team. Grant still wasn't back and everything was still on me. We only won 21 games."


Clemens understands. "I was at one of those 21 games in Orlando. You poured your heart out in Orlando. You worked as hard as you could to rally those guys. Now you're going to do it again."


As a hoops fan, Clemens shares a championship-winning game plan for T-Mac to take back to the court:


Rocket, are you ready for a new game?"You've gotta make Yao Ming a better player," the Rocket says. "And Yao needs to stand up and be a better player; he's a big man. He's got a big future in front of him; the two of you are going to feed off one another. Just like I gotta have my catcher in tune with what I'm doing out there. If we're not on the same page, it's going to be awful."

T-Mac nods in agreement. Averaging 25 points per game, he has made the Rockets his team -- a team that has been moving up the ranks after a slow start and currently sixth in the Western Conference. T-Mac knows the task ahead of him isn't easy, but he's ready for the challenge.


Surviving The Rocket
The cage's ropes rattle open, and McGrady walks out, smile still in place.


"He's so accurate, it's like a pitching machine," T-Mac says. Clemens has more energy than most guys half his age.


Despite the previous day's two-hour practice session, and today's workout with Mr. 300, McGrady is still amped. And with good reason. Not only did the man he calls the "intimidator of baseball," give him props for his performance in the cage, Clemens has invited him to come out to Minute Maid Park to hit with the Astros. T-Mac, still giddy about the day, accepts the offer.


T-Mac at Minute Maid? Sounds like the beginnings of a brand new dream.