Vlade Looks To Avoid Contact

mjdeadspin — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 17:27:43 EDT

A link in a previous Blogdome went to this post at To the People about Vlade Divac's noble interest in purchasing a heretofore government-controlled newspaper in Belgrade. That is not going to be happening now. Why? Well, mainly because Vlade Divac doesn't want to be killed. Vlade made this sorta vague statement about his decision to withdraw his bid for a share of the company.

I received two phone-calls. The first let me know why I cannot become a Novosti shareholder, and the second advised me why I should back down.

The newspaper, Večernje Novosti, is said to be a little bit better these days, as opposed to the days when it might as well have been a Slobodan Milošević fanzine. According to Wikipedia, the newspaper that he wants to buy once famously doctored a photo of a sparsey-attended Slobodan Milošević rally to make it look like there were a ton of people there.

Novosti is said to have cleaned up it's act these days, but for whatever their reasons, there are obviously those who wish the former Lakers and Kings center he'd just stick to his beard-growing, cigarrette-smoking, and falling down whenever Shaq gets near him.

Divac receives threats, backs down [B92]
Vlade: Winner on the Court, Winner in Court [To the People]
Večernje Novosti [Wikipedia]

Vlade Divac Doesn't Want To Kill You

Leitch — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:30:00 EST

We'll confess a pretty strong affinity for Vlade Divac, if just because he's the only player in recent NBA history who sneaks a cigarette during timeouts. Well, as we were alerted by YAYSports!, Vlade is apparently in trouble with his home country of Serbia-Montenegro for, get this, skimping out on military service. Divac, according to Serb-Mont (our nickname for the lovable geographical area; if you get confused which is which, Serbia is landlocked, while Montenegro is the one with the fjord), was expected to report for duty when he was 18 but was too busy playing basketball and looking as weird as Vlade Divac must have looked when he was 18.

Vlade is now 37 years old — you have to make up the two years of duty by the time you're 35 — and officially has dual citizenship. He could go back and serve, wait until a law is passed allowing people to buy off their service time or simply stay in the U.S. and live in exile. We hope he goes back and serves; honestly, this sounds like the pitch for a really bad Billy Crystal basketball comedy.

Vlade Divac Charged For Avoiding Military Service [JadranSport] (via YAYSports!)

Deadspin: vlade+divac

Vlade Looks To Avoid Contact

Vlade Divac Doesn't Want To Kill You