Paul Mott Quotations

At the end of my second indoor season, my doctor told me, 'You're a bright guy, and you have an ankle that will keep deteriorating over time. We'll take away a lot of bone. My honest recommendation is that you move on,' ... At 23, that's a blow. He made the point, if you try to play on this ankle over time, we're going to keep taking away bone, and you're going to be a prime candidate for a replacement ankle at the age of 40.

Of course, if there are people who need to get that money refunded, then we will work to get that done. For those in Louisiana, especially in Baton Rouge, we're going to offer a presale opportunity for the Baton Rouge games. In our communication with them, we will explain what we are proposing.

I reported to the Senior Bowl healthy and sprained my ankle in practice, ... I reported to the Rowdies right away. I was young and naive, and I was hell-bent on making sure I could get on the field and make the team. I played hurt the whole time. My ankle is permanently destroyed.

We're going to take our resources and spread them across a wider reach. We'll repay the citizens of Oklahoma City and provide them with their best NBA experience, because this might be their only one. But we'll try not to lose step with what we were doing in the New Orleans marketplace. We don't want people (in New Orleans) to ask, 'Where were you?' These are our fans. And our fellow citizens.

George Shinn is the major reason why I'm here, ... I really like the man and respect him. He is a modest, unassuming man who cares about the right things. The NBA is filled with generous owners, and there's no owner that's more sincerely generous. His view on the people that are in the arena and in the community and in his staff ? he's a visionary, he's a leader. He needed a manager, and I think we've formed a very formidable duo. I believe in his vision, he believes in my ability to execute, and together I think we're doing something pretty special in New Orleans.

We're looking at what makes the most sense.

That led me here, ... That's when I decided I wanted to do what I could to help the World Cup be successful.

We'd hope those people would do that. That would be best for us as a company. If it doesn't work for them, and they need that money back, and many people may, we'd refund their money in some fashion.

It's one of those things that I think it's impossible to put into words.

That's how I got back into the game, ... It was really exhilarating to me. I've always loved the game of soccer. I found myself wanting to do more. Because I'd be wherever the U.S. National Team was playing, I'd have time on my hands, and I volunteered with the U.S. Soccer Association. They asked me to do odd jobs.