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On playing his final year in Los Angeles: "I was in Arkansas [in 2003], and I said, whatever team wins [between the Lakers and Spurs], I'm going to the opposite. And I wanted the Spurs to lose, so I could go to them. But the [Spurs] won, but I had made up my mind 'cause I didn’t want people sittin' there sayin', 'Oh he went there [because] they won it last year.' I wanted to go help 'em." Deseret News

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Karl Malone 

Relationship with John Stockton: We had the most unbelievable function connection on the court. We didn’t even think about it. That started from the Olympic tryouts when he got cut by Bobby Knight and I got cut by Bobby Knight. Personally, Nada and Stock is the godparent to our daughter Kadee and we’re the godparent, me and my wife, to Samuel, their last son. Our friendship and family connections is from now til the end. But we have differences. I’m an outdoorsman to the core, to the heart. I carry a knife all the time. That’s just part of me. Stock is more into wildlife saving, if there’s such a word. I’m more into the wildlife management part of it, but it take both. … Stock would fish. He love fishing, by the way. People don’t know that. We had one of the most unbelievable function trips ever when we went to see him and we went fishin. Trust me, Stock know how to do it right. So we went fishin and had a great time. I have to say the rest, ’cause he’ll rub it in. [in Stock voice] “And you say you’re this big-time fisherman.” He out-fished me that day. The fishin and huntin god would punish me if I don’t tell the truth, but he did outfish me that day. Living and Dying by the Jazz

Utah Jazz, Karl Malone, John Stockton 

We take a break from your regularly scheduled programming today to highlight a story featuring humor, intrigue, psychic ability and a Mailman. Wait ... what? It was Nov. 16, 1988, and the Trail Blazers were scheduled to play the Utah Jazz one night later in Salt Lake City. The Oregonian’s David Kahn — now the general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves — went to the Jazz’s practice at Westminster College in Salt Lake to preview the game, when he and another reporter stumbled upon some breaking news about future Hall of Fame forward Karl Malone. Oregonian

Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, David Kahn, Karl Malone 

“You guys might laugh and say I’m crazy, but I do believe I have psychic powers,” Malone told the two reporters. “I don’t have the power to just sit here and move stuff, but I do have the power to look into the future.” According to a story Kahn wrote for The Oregonian, Malone said he inherited his psychic ability from his mother, Shirley Turner, who also was psychic. Although she had nine children, Malone was the only one to gain his mother’s “special talent,” Kahn wrote. Oregonian

Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, David Kahn, Karl Malone 

Shaquille O'Neal: Just before the start of the ’03-’04 season the coaching staff called us in and said, “No more public sparring or you’ll get fined.” Everyone knew it was simmering, but Mitch [Kupchak] never came down. Magic Johnson, who was around all the time, never said anything. But Phil was tired of it. Karl Malone and Gary Payton were sick of it. I said, “All right, I hear you. I’m done.” So what happens? Immediately after that Kobe runs right out to Jim Gray and does this interview where he lets me have it. He said I was fat and out of shape. He said I was milking my toe injury for more time off, and the injury wasn’t even that serious. (Yeah, right. It only ended my damn career.) He said I was “lobbying for a contract extension when we have two Hall of Famers playing pretty much for free.” I’m sitting there watching this interview and I’m gonna explode. Hours earlier we had just promised our coach we’d stop. It was a truce broken. I let the guys know, “I’m going to kill him.” HoopsWorld

Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, Magic Johnson, Jim Gray, Karl Malone 

Patrick Rishe, sports business professor at Webster University in St. Louis, said the unparalleled consistency is invaluable to a small-market franchise in a big-market league. Factor in Salt Lake’s geographic isolation and the lack of entertainment options in the region, and the Jazz have come to represent Utah as much as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does. “Much like Chicago still benefits from all those [Michael] Jordan years, Utah still benefits from all those Stockton and Malone years,” said Rishe, who is also the director of Sportsimpacts, a consulting firm. “[The Jazz are] going to have fans. Even though I’m sure they get frustrated at times — the level of success maybe isn’t as consistent as it was during those years — there are always going to be Jazz fans because they got hooked in those days.” Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Karl Malone, John Stockton 

GQ: Fine. It's safe to assume it's a big name player. Is the NBA starting to become a league of Super-Teams? Carmelo Anthony: I think people fail to realize that teams and organizations have been stacking teams since way back in the day. The Lakers had the Showtime era. Boston had six hall of famers on one team. You had Detroit, the New York Knicks, and now the Miami Heat. They were stacking their teams back then, it just fell off over the years and now it picked back up. Boston did it first, then LA. I was fortunate enough to play against them when they had Shaq, Kobe, Rick Fox, Gary Payton, Karl Malone... that's five hall of famers on one team! So you can't get mad at Miami for doing what they did. A lot of people don't agree on how they did it, or how LeBron did it. GQ.com

Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Hall of Fame, Rick Fox 

The Mailman is going on a USO entertainment tour this summer with "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, popular illusionist David Blaine and Admiral Mike Mullen, the current Joint Chiefs of Staff. The group will entertain and visit with military personnel for seven days in two countries. While it will be the former Utah Jazz star's first overseas USO tour, this will be the 10th such trip for Mullen. He has worked with the USO since 2007, leading tours in 13 countries and helping entertain 74,300 service men and women, according to an NBA press release. Deseret News

Karl Malone 

Realityfanforum.com is reporting ... well, speculating ... that former Utah Jazz all-star Karl Malone and his wife, Kay, are contestants in the upcoming season of "The Amazing Race." There's no confirmation on this, because CBS will neither confirm nor deny anything about upcoming seasons of "The Amazing Race." The network doesn't even announce who the contestants are on this reality/competition show about a race around the world until shortly before a season begins. And the next season doesn't begin until September. The show is, however, in production. And reports like this crop up every year because racers are spotted in airports or something like that. If they're familiar faces, word leaks out. Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Jazz, Karl Malone 

"I think everybody just expects you to be this big bruiser type of person, and if you're not, they're just going to attack you, attack you, attack you," Bosh said. "At the end of the day, man, you just have to be yourself. Because it's going to happen obviously. So, any power forward, get used to it." He acknowledged that the previous era's power forwards - think Karl Malone - might have been stronger. "Then one day, somebody figured out, I'm going to use my quickness to be effective, and they got the job done," Bosh said. Palm Beach Post

Miami Heat, Chris Bosh, Karl Malone 

Which of your seven rings means the most to you? Robert Horry: The Rockets in ’95 when we swept Orlando because all the teams we had to beat had top 50 players on them. The first team was Utah with Karl Malone, the second team was Phoenix with Charles Barkley, the third team was San Antonio with David Robinson, so that run was remarkable and in all those games we started on the road. We did some incredible things to win the championship that year. SLAM

Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, David Robinson 

"During our prime we would have never left," Payton said. "I always wanted to play against Karl and them, I wanted to play against John (Stockton). I didn't want to play with them and make the game easy. We wanted our own market." Orlando Sentinel

Utah Jazz, Seattle SuperSonics, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, John Stockton 

Thanks to moni for transcribing Tony Abbott's (KFAN's outdoor guru) interview with Jerry Sloan's son, Brian. From it, we get this incredible story as told by Tony, Someone shoots an elk on a mountain hunting trip that Karl Malone had helped them arrange and Jerry and Tony walk up to it. "In a split second, this bull elk jumps up and comes at me full bore at about 10 yards. I'm a sitting duck. Your dad, without a blink, steps in front of me, pulls up [his old rifle that he got for $80 at a garage sale], puts a bullet in this elk's chest, and it falls at my feet. I have no chance to even react. I turn and look at your dad and he looks at me and he goes, ‘That's as good as a fast break.'" SLC Dunk

Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone 

Karl Malone said Sloan once challenged him to a fistfight during a team huddle. “He said, ‘I’ll fight you as long as I can see you,’” Malone said Friday at a news conference. “And I said, ‘It won’t be long.’ We laughed about it. That’s the coach I know.” New York Times

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone 

An agitated Karl Malone says the Jerry Sloan he knows would never quit anything, and suggested his longtime Utah Jazz coach just grew tired of garbage that came with the job and certain players. "They changed the floor back to old school. They changed the uniform back to old school. Somebody tell the damn players to start playing like old school," Malone said before the Jazz hosted the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. "It may work. They spent a lot of money on the rest, now how about you tell the players. I'm just calling it like I see it." ESPN.com

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone 

Malone, who has exchanged phone messages with Sloan since his resignation, also took issue with some national analysts and players who were particularly critical of Sloan. The most outspoken player in recent months had been star guard Deron Williams, who clashed with Sloan about the coach's practice schedule and study demands. "You're a professional," said Malone, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and one of greatest power forwards in league history. "You don't need for me to break a film down for you. If you want to stop the guy you're playing, they pay you millions of dollars. You get you a TV and break the player down yourself." ESPN.com

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Deron Williams, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone 

Asked if today's players have too much pull, Malone thought back to his own contentious battles with Sloan over the years. "I remember [late team owner] Larry Miller in this locker room, right here when me and coach Sloan was butting heads after a game in front of everybody," Malone recalled. He said Miller would drop his head and not say a word but check on both player and coach a bit later. Sloan and Malone always said they were fine and asked about the other. "Larry never got in that because he knew we'd work it out," Malone said. "That's the way it should be." ESPN.com

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Larry Miller, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone 

Malone's money quote: "I will say this: I know my coach. I know my coach. And I know my assistant coach. And I know all these coaches. The coach I know and the man I know have never quit or resigned in anything. That's what I want to say." When pressed on it, Malone said, "What I said is what I said. I know Jerry Sloan. And the people that know him the closest know that man would never resign or quit if you want to, on nothing. I don't care what it is." CBSSports.com

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone, Greg Miller 

Brian T. Smith: Malone said ESPN analyst who said game has passed Sloan by is "bullshit." Twitter

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone, Greg Miller 

Jim Burton: Saw the Mailman and Jazz CEO Greg Miller having what looked like an intense conversation just before tipoff Friday. Do not know the context. Twitter

Utah Jazz, Coaching, Jerry Sloan, Karl Malone, Greg Miller