Jerry Colangelo saw his life pass beforehis eyes last summer. He was in Las Vegaswith the U.S. Men's National Team, of which heis chief manager.

今年夏天，杰里-科朗吉洛見證了自己生命的流逝。當時，他正隨美國男籃在拉斯維加斯集訓，他的角色是這支球隊的大總管。

At the same time, the "National BasketballRetired Players Association was meeting in thecity."

同時，國家退役籃球運動員協(xié)會也正在這座城市開會。

Colangelo was riding up an escalator ofa local hotel. Coming down were more than adozen of the retired players.

一家賭城的酒店里，科朗吉洛正乘著扶手電梯上樓，而二十多個退役的球員正坐著另一部電梯下樓。

Some were in their late 30s. Others werein their 60s. They were a walking, talkingencyclopedia of Colangelo's 40 years in theNBA.

他們有些已經年近四十，其他人也年過古稀，他們邊走邊聊，構成了一部濃縮了科朗吉洛效力NBA四十年歷史的百科全書。

"My entire career went by me," Colangelosaid。

科朗吉洛說：“我的整個職業(yè)生涯從我身邊走了過去?！?/p>

That career will be celebrated tonightwhen Colangelo is inducted into the Suns'Ring of Honor at halftime of the Suns-Cleveland Cavaliers game.

今晚，在太陽VS克里夫蘭騎士的比賽中場，科朗吉洛獎杯授予太陽隊“榮譽之環(huán)”，以紀念他的這段職業(yè)生涯。

Colangelo's family will be in attendance.So will all 10 living members of the Ring ofHonor. (Cotton Fitzsimmons will be representedby his wife, JoAnn). They will pay their respectsto a man who built the Suns franchise fromthe ground up and then used that platform tobecome a civic leader and key player in theredevelopment of downtown Phoenix.

科朗吉洛一家都將出席，曾得到。榮譽之環(huán)的十位成員也將到場(已故的前教練科滕·菲斯西蒙斯將由他的妻子喬安代替出席)。他們科朗吉洛致敬——是他從無到有創(chuàng)建了太陽隊，是他以此為平臺，成為一位市民領袖，并為菲尼克斯市中心的重建做出了杰出貢獻。

" He's had a huge impact on the gameof basketball," Suns point guard Steve Nashsaid. "He brought the team here. He's beenthe director for the national team. He's done somuch...his wingspan is considerable."

“他對于球運動的影響非常深遠，”太陽組織后衛(wèi)納什說，“他—直是美國國家男籃的主管，完成了許多工作，涉足范圍極廣?！?/p>

Colangelo never dreamed he would havesuch influence when he arrived in the Valley in1968. He was the general manager of an NBAexpansion franchise and his office was a smallroom underneath the grandstands of the statefairgrounds.

當科朗吉洛1968年來到“太陽谷”之時，連做夢也都沒有想到自己會給這里帶來如此巨大的影響。當時他是太陽這支NBA擴編球隊的總經理，他甚至只能委身于州立游樂場看臺下的一間狹小屋子里力公。

"I remember sitting in my office one dayand a kid walks in, "Colangelo recalled. "Hesaid he was the voice of the Hawaii Islandersand wanted to know if I had done anything withthe Suns' broadcast positions. "

“我記得有一天，我正坐在辦公室里，有一個孩子走了進來，“科朗吉洛回憶道，”他說他是夏威夷島嶼人隊的播音員，他想知道此前的太陽的播音工作是否由我來分配?！?/p>

The kid's name?

那個孩子叫什么?

Al Michaels.

埃爾·邁克爾斯。

Both men went on to bigger andbetter things.

他倆后來都在更大更好的舞臺上嶄露頭角。

it's hard to imagine a sportsexecutive who's had a moreprofound impact in his adoptedcity than Colangelo. The Suns,Diamondbacks, Coyotes, Rattlers andMercury bear his fingerprints. Especially theopening of America West Arena in 1992spurred the revitalization in downtown Phoenix.

很難想象，還有哪位體育管理者能像科朗吉洛那樣對于這座接納他的城市產生了如此深遠的影響。太陽響尾蛇(MLB)、郊狼(NHL)，響尾蛇(室內橄欖球)和水星(WNBA)的歷史上都曾留下他的足跡。尤其是1992年開館的美西

球館更是刺激了菲尼克斯市中心的再度繁榮。

Think of what the valley would be without him，

試想一下，如果太陽谷沒有他會怎樣?

"I've been fortunate to be in a specialposition where I could get things done, "Colangelo said.

“我一直很幸運，能處在一個特別的位置，完成很多工作，”科朗吉洛說。

Colangelo's influence may havesurpassed his roots, but the Suns are still hispride and joy.

他的貢獻或許已經超越了他從何方而來這個問題，但是太陽依舊是他自豪與快樂的源泉。

They were his first-born. He nurturedthem, endured their rough nights and beamedlike a proud father when they did well. He stillremembers, vividly, standing on the floor ofthe Boston Garden before Game 1 of the 1976NBA Finals, seeing Celtics' general managerRed Auerbach being interviewed on the otherend of the court and thinking,"We've made it."

這支球隊是他的第一個孩子，他哺育了他們。那些艱難的夜晚，他也在默默承受，當他們干得漂亮時，他就像個驕傲的父親那樣露出燦爛的笑容。他依然清楚地記得，1976年NBA總決賽第一場之前，他站在波士頓花園球場的地板上，看著當時凱爾特人總經理“紅衣主教”奧爾巴赫正在球場的另一頭接受采訪，他當時心想：“我們已經做到了?！?/p>

The Suns have yet to win a title, butunder Colangelo's leadership they were themodel NBA franchise. They were successful,profitable and by the early 1990s, playerswere taking less money to play with Phoenixbecause they admired and trusted the Suns'executive.

時至今日，太陽依然沒有贏得過NBA總冠軍，但在科朗吉洛的領導下，太陽變成了NBA的一支模范球隊。他們曾經成功，收益頗豐，在上世紀90年代初期，有不少球員甘愿為了效力太陽而拿更少的工資，因為他們不僅崇拜，而且信任太陽的管理層。

Most famously, forward Danny Manningsigned a one-year, $1 million handshake deal in1994 because he knew Colangelo would makeup for it the following season.

最出名的，莫過于前鋒丹尼·曼寧于1994年與太陽簽訂了一份一年價值100萬美元的友好協(xié)議，因為他知道，在接下來的賽季，科朗吉洛會給他予以補償。

Sure enough, Manning got his $40 milliondeal-even though he had torn his ACL in theinterim and would never be the same player.

那是自然，曼寧最終得到了一份價值4000萬美元的合同，盡管在此期間他的交前叉韌帶撕裂，再也無法恢復到受傷之前的狀態(tài)。

"He has an aura of respect andrespectability about him,"Nash said. "He'sa man of his word. Those qualities seem sosimple, but those are special qualities, the kindthat leave a legacy."

“他廣受尊敬，是個有名有望的人，”納什說，“而且他言出必行。雖然這些都是一些基本品質，但卻并不不凡，是能為我們留下遺產的人?！?/p>

That legacy is why Colangelo couldn'tleave the Suns when other opportunities-perhaps greater opportunities -presentedthemselves. In the early 1980 s he was offered25 percent ownership share of the San DiegoClippers. A year later Sonny Werblin, presidentof Madison Square Garden, asked Colangeloto come to New York and run the Knicks andNew York Rangers.

這種遺產，就是科朗吉洛不能離開太陽的原因——即使他還有其他或許是更好的機會擺在他的面前。上世紀80年代早期，圣迭戈快艇為了挖他開出贈送25％球隊股份的條件，一年后，麥迪遜廣場花園總裁索尼·沃伯林也向科朗吉洛伸出橄欖枝，邀請他管理尼克斯和巡游者。

Colangelo thought about it for a minute,but he felt the Valley tugging at his conscience.

科朗吉洛考慮了短短一分鐘，但一種歸屬感讓他感到太陽谷一直牽著他的心。

"I just didn't think I was done here," hesaid.

“我就覺得我的工作還沒有完成，”他說。

It's a good thing he wasn't. If Colangelohadn't stuck around and eventually purchasedthe team in 1987, there's a good chance thefranchise would have relocated to Columbus.

工作沒完成，這是件幸事!1987年，如果科朗吉洛沒堅持下去，最終將太陽賣掉，那么這支球隊則很有可能搬到俄亥俄州的哥倫布市去了。

"Circumstances kind of worked out, didn'tthey?" Colangelo said.

“環(huán)境起到很大作用，不是嗎?”科朗吉洛說。

Colangelo is listed as chairman in theSuns' media guide, but these days it's asymbolic title. He has moved out of his officeat US Airways Center and into a suite withthe real estate firm JDMD Investments in the Biltmore neighborhood.

在太陽的《媒體指南》中，科朗吉洛的職位是“主席”，但如今，這已成了一個象征性頭銜。他的辦公室也已經從美航中心搬到位于比爾提莫社區(qū)一家名叫JDMD的房地產投資公司的套間里。

He still-has his seat eight rows up fromthe floor behind the Suns' bench—"youcan observe things from there,"—and he'savailable for advice when needed but he hasmoved on and so has the organization.

但他依然保留著在太陽板凳席后第八排的那個座位——“你能夠從那兒觀察比賽”——盡管必要時他還會接受建議，但他已經更進一步了，太陽也一樣。

"I'm not wistful about it," Colangelo said."This has been the plan for a long time."

“對于它(指總冠軍)，我并不十分渴望，”科朗吉洛說，“這是一個長期計劃?！?/p>

As Colangelo sits in a conference room afJDMD, looking at the 400 miniature basketballshe has to sign to commemorate his induction,he shakes his head in wonderment.

當科朗吉洛坐在JDMD的會議室中，望著為了紀念他入選“榮譽之環(huán)”所要簽名的400多個小籃球，他好奇地搖了搖頭。

Where has the time gone?

時間到底跑哪兒去了?

"I moved here when I was 28," Colangelosaid. "A week later I was 40. The next day Iwas 60."

“我從28歲就搬到這里，”科朗吉洛說，“一周后我就40歲了，又過了一天，我成了60歲?！?/p>

He will turn 68 this month. Forty yearshave passed and the one thing he came herefor an NBA championship —has eluded him.

本月末，他將年滿68歲。40年的光陰轉瞬即逝，但是他當初來到這里的目的一座NBA總冠軍獎杯——卻遲遲未到。But it will not define him，但是總冠軍并不能抹煞他的貢獻。

"How can I have any regrets?" Colangelosaid. "I never thought any of this would happen."

“我難道還有什么遺憾嗎?”科朗吉洛說，“我從來不認為會有遺憾種事發(fā)生?！?/p>