Sports: Magic Heads the U.S. Dream Team

MAGIC HEADS THE U.S. DREAM TEAM

Magic Johnson's life in the fast lane has not slowed down since his retirement from professional basketball. As co-captain of the 'Dream Team,' the official 1992 U.S. Olympics basketball team, Magic headed a contingent of superstars whose chances of recapturing the gold medal were estimated in the 'death and taxes' certainty range.

During the qualifying rounds, opposing teams asked to pose with Magic before being annihilated by margins of up to 70-plus points. In those games, Magic, whose fitness had been questioned, proved to be his old dazzling self with no-look passes, drives to the hoop ending with the finger-roll, and his famous on-court demeanor and leadership. Magic looked rejuvenated both physically and in spirit. Playing for the first time without knee braces, he looked more like the player Spartans saw in the old Jenison Fieldhouse. And his famous smile reflected how happy he was being able to hang around with his peers- -superstars like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. Indeed, one day Magic, a non-golfer, even went out and caddied a round for Clyde Drexler.

During some of the televised games, a cute commercial spot was aired. It featured Magic and his son Andre, 11, trading cards of members of the U.S. team. Father and son bantered with each other and smiled with great charm. During the NBA playoffs and finals, Johnson did television commentary for NBC. In between he attended a book party in Corona del Mar, CA, to plug his upcoming book, My Life, delivered a commencement address at Harvard's medical school, focusing on the HIV-virus which forced his retirement, and attended the delivery of his new son, Earvin Johnson III.

'The Lord blessed me,' Johnson told a TV audience just before the telecast of a Portland-Bulls game. 'We just got the baby tested, and the baby is healthy, strong and negative. So yeaa-uh!'

Magic has indeed been blessed. He is more than a great athlete. He's one of those rare phenoms who appear once in a generation and transcends his sport and becomes part of the cultural landscape. He and Larry Bird basically saved the NBA from boredom and turned it into perhaps the world's most popular athletic force today.

Like the Pepsi-Cola, Polo and Uncle Sam, Magic has become, like Babe Ruth a few generations ago, a quintessential American icon to youngsters everywhere. Every move he makes as his career nears culmination should be savored. For the record, Baby Magic weighed in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20 inches long.