Wednesday, April 17, 2002
Updated: April 18, 10:47 AM ET
Take a number
From the Page 2 mailbag
With playoff time around the corner, we wondered what these Philadelphia 76ers thought was so funny.
We weren't sure what was going on with Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutombo, so we sought your help for explanations. After receiving more than 500 e-mails, we've chosen the best caption suggestions below.
Dikembe and Derrick try to laugh away the pain of their pregame leg waxing and shave.
Avi Spira
Great Neck, N.Y.
Mutombo: HAHAHAHA. I know, D.C., these socks are funny, but you know what's more funny?
Coleman: What?
Mutombo: Both of us are way past our primes and shouldn't even be thinking about going to the playoffs.
Pat
Dubuque Iowa
I guess the Eagles aren't the only ones with a hole that looks into the cheerleaders dressing room.
Chris D'Amato
Mount Pocono, Pa.
Mutombo and Coleman visit the trainer for a shot of oxygen after laughing at Shawn Bradley's 3-point attempt.
David Wilezol
Palermo, N.J.
"Hey, Derrick, that number in between us, it's how old I'm gonna be when I retire."
Isaac Feeney
Pandora, Ohio
"Hey, Derrick, 76 beers and Mount Mutombo can't feel legs! hahaha."
Ben Goodall
Palo Alto, Calif.
Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutombo react to Shawn Kemp's vow of celibacy.
Manuel R. Jovel
Georgetown, Texas
D.C. transmits a "momma-joke" to Mutombo via their knee mounted ethernet ports.
Will Pagan
Durham, N.C.
Nothing says playoff team unity better than shaved legs.
Luc Rimmer
Dixon, Ill.
Derrick: "Hey Dikembe ... we are sooooooo washed up."
Dikembe: "Dude, I know. HAHAHAHAHA."
Adam P.
Springfield, Mo.
An exhausted Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutombo share a laugh as they realize they are only 0.4 percent of the way to catching Wilt Chamberlain.
Scott Buschmann
Atlanta
Hey, Derrick, who'd you say you got these brownies from, Lamar?
Evan
Newton, Mass.
They are responding to the question "Will the 76ers win the championship"?
C Plows
Atlanta
Mutombo: "So it was a tie game, when Allen passed me the ball, and I hit the winning shot!"
Coleman: "What happened next?"
Mutombo: "I woke up. I mean, Allen passing me the ball? That's too funny"
Roberto S.
New York
Dikembe Mutombo and Derrick Coleman take turns connecting themselves to the "Fantasy Basketball Over-Rate-O-Meter."
Fran Lattanzio
Philadelphia
Work for a living? You're so funny, Derrick
Doug Bisson
Boston
Feet don't stop growing in the House of Mutombo!
Kyle Mas
Yorktown, Va.
With these socks and tank top, all I need to complete the outfit is a nice pair of Bermuda shorts and some white shoes.
Tim Grisham
Silver Spring, Md.
"First, Stern says 'I want to get rid of the long pants'. Then, "I want to have prettier legs to sell the game.' I'm starting to feel cheap."
John Roffmann
Tempe, Ariz.
Trey Wingo! Trey Wingo! That's even funnier than Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo!
Rodney Bruton
Mobile, Ala.
Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutombo watch the Allen Iverson postgame press conference where AI talks about "getting his teammates involved in the offense."
Josh August
Cherry Hill, N.J.
Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutombo share a laugh when Mutombo tells Coleman that when he was in college, as a means of earning money, he was the voice of the cookie monster on "Sesame Street."
Wole Ogunkoya
Waltham, Mass.
Dikembe mocks D.C.'s suggestion that only 90-year-old men wear dress socks up to their knees with shorts.
Steve H
St Louis
"I can't believe we weren't on Page 2's most overpaid players in the NBA list!"
Jeff
New Jersey
D.C. and Mutombo discuss the millions they'll make on the "Tickle me Mutombo Doll," an idea formed at the very same training room two weeks earlier.
Demetus Anglin
Marietta, Ga.
"So then I said, "Rectum?? Damn near killed 'em!"
Rusty
New York
Derrick Coleman and Dikembe Mutombo have a good laugh after stealing $4,000 from Allen Iverson's locker and blaming it on Pat Croce's brother ...
Devo
Washington
Dikembe Mutombo and Derrick Coleman react to the news that Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic just took a number -- and got No. 8,416,539.
Nick Anastasio
Milmont Park, Pa.
The next two prospects for Allen Iverson's posse are getting their physicals to see if they can carry his jewelry.
Thomas Reagan
Arlington, Texas
"OK, Dikembe, put your feet in the stirrups ..."
Angie R
Tacoma, Wash.
"Welcome to the office of NBA players who never lived up to their potential. Now serving number 76, number 76 ..."
Tim Brown
Centreville, Va.
Derrick: "Look, Deke. If you show up in the lobby after the game wearing sandals with those black socks again, I am not, repeat not, going out with you tonight!
Wally Shoe
Providence, R.I.
"... And then I told her I'd give her a call next time I was in San Antonio."
Scott Abbott
Falls Church, Va.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Mutombo loves dirty trainer's-room limericks! Tell one about McGrady again!"
Francis Englert
Philadelphia
Dikemebe: "So Isiah really told you that posing for this picture and hoping it lands on ESPN's Page 2 will help keep the media attention off his coaching performance?"
Derrick: "Yeah, then he asked me what the Easter Bunny brought me."
Joe Salazar
Goldsboro, N.C.
"Hey Deke, you know what else I love about morphine ..."
Brian McNichols
Lexington Park, Md.
And here is the real caption from The Associated Press: Philadelphia 76ers' Derrick Coleman, left, wearing an inflatable cast, and Dikembe Mutombo, having his knees treated, share a laugh after a "take a number" machine and a "now serving" display was added to the trainer's room April 15, 2002, before the Chicago Bulls game in Philadelphia. A Sixers spokesman said that throughout the season, the training room resembled a deli counter with injured players lining up for treatment, and four of their starters lost a total of 92 games due to injuries. In spite of their adversity, the 76ers are making their fourth consecutive NBA playoff appearance. (AP Photo/ George Widman)
