Pau Gasol Tells a Spanish TV Show That He Hopes the City of Memphis Burns to the Ground

Or something like that. I'm not sure, things get lost all the time in translation.

I'm more than skeptical about any interview conducted in a foreign language that is then translated to English and reveals some wave-making statement that someone spit out. So, before we get to the Pau Gasol quote, I should tell you that I'm viewing it with a skeptical eye, and if you wanted to do the same, I don't blame you.

But here are the first two paragraphs from this TSN article on Paul Gasol's apparent desire to play somewhere other than Memphis:

MADRID (Ticker) -- There is more bad news for the Memphis Grizzlies. Spanish star Pau Gasol would rather play for a championship contender.

Gasol told the "El Tirachanas" program on Spanish television's COPE that he wanted "to be with a team competing for a ring," something that he added would be "very difficult" to do with the Grizzlies.

So ... he might have said that. There's a perfectly reasonable chance he said that. But there's also a chance that he said something less inflammatory. He also might have said that he loves playing in Memphis and is working very hard to win a title. Or he might have said that he thinks Mike Miller should get himself checked for lice. Or he might have said that he's glad Elvis is dead and that Madrid should declare war on Memphis.