<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Damon Stoudamire was talking to his buddies the other day, talking to them about his new club and his new teammates and, inevitably, Pau Gasol. "I want to pound him," he said. "But I want to pound him in a good way. I think he might have a mean streak in there that we have to bring out. "His initials are PG but I want him to be rated R." You hear that, teetering Grizzlies fans? Yes, Wendi Thomas, this means you. Wendi is the splendid metro columnist for this newspaper. She has also been a serious Grizzlies fan. But Wendi confessed, lately, she was having a hard time warming up to the new Griz. To which the obvious solution is: Bobby Jackson, Eddie Jones and Damon Stoudamire. The three new Grizzlies were introduced at a press conference Monday and it's about time. They were acquired, like, more than a week ago. Whatever happened to FedEx overnight? But it didn't take long for the three to leave a positive impression, if only by comparison to those who left. Jason Williams, Bonzi Wells and Stromile Swift may have been many things, but leaders they were not. These guys are. All three of them. It didn't take 20 minutes to see that. Keep in mind, Memphis can't be an easy move for any of the players. Jones is coming from Miami, which happens to be his home. Jackson is coming from Sacramento, where he thought he'd retire. Stoudamire is coming from Portland, the town where he grew up. So were they pouting? Demanding trades? Making like T.O.? Nope. They were looking at the Memphis roster and thinking about how to unlock the enigma that is Pau Gasol. "I'm not going to have any preconceived ideas, but what I've heard is that he doesn't have a lot of heart," Jackson said. "If I don't like what I see, I'll say, 'Hey, you can't let guys run over you.' " Jackson said this matter-of-factly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He said he'd want Pau to challenge him, too. Isn't that what teammates are for? But which Grizzlies were capable of saying anything remotely like that last year? The young guys would have been laughed at. Bonzi and Jason didn't care. "If nobody is standing up and wants to lead, then there will always be hidden agendas," said Stoudamire. Whoa. Is that last year's Griz or what? But not next year's, if the history of the newcomers is any guide. Jones was a go-to guy in the Miami locker room. Same with Jackson in Sacramento. As for Stoudamire, his image has been tarnished by a pair of drug arrests. But he willingly agreed to be tested when challenged by a Portland columnist two years ago. "I wanted people to believe in me," he said. Beyond that, Stoudamire was never considered one of Portland's bad guys. "That's what a lot of people don't understand about me," he said. "When Rasheed (Wallace) was in the locker room, I was the only one that could go talk to him. I knew what he could do if his mind was right, and I wanted that for the team." </div> Source
