BLAZERS: Rasheed Wallace + Weights = Maturity

Wow. I'm amazed. Rasheed Wallace, professional basketball player, is actually willing to lift weights. Who knew? A few years ago, when he was a member of the Trail Blazers, he had a reputation that refused to lift, citing that it would throw his shot off. From the Oregonian (regarding his summer):

He said he cut back on fried foods and fattening beverages, and spent more time in the weight room. For Wallace, who has blown off weight training in the past, lifting during the summer represents a major shift.
"Now that I'm getting older -- during the summertime -- I have to work out a little bit more. When I was younger, I would go the whole summer without working out and not watching what I eat," Wallace said. "I'm just getting older . . . and you never know how long you have left in this game."

Now he's lifting? What gives? Yeah, he's getting older and feeling the end drawing nigh. Age will definitely do that to a guy. But is that really it? Well, I did a little research and it turns out (I'm educated-guessing here) that it was likely former teammate Ben Wallace that did the trick. Ben Wallace was the Detroit Piston's team captain when Rasheed joined the crew in 2004 and actually required his teammates to lift. Said Ben Wallace:
"Well, my teammates--they don't have a choice," he says. "Once I got the role as team captain in Detroit, that was my biggest thing. I made sure everybody hit the weight room. Even if it's 15, 20 minutes before practice, we had a routine where everybody would come in and hit the weights." So, wait ... you make your teammates lift weights? "Yeah," Wallace says, as though you're asking him if he can dunk. "Twice a week. Mandatory."

Way to be, Big Ben. Apparently peaople CAN change. Possibly even a defiant guy named 'Sheed.