Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard is in his 11th NBA season. He's played in Orlando, Fla., and Los Angeles, but he's proving he fits in rather well in Houston.
A profile written by Jason Zwerling on bleacherreport.com revealed Howard has some interesting hobbies and interests, like riding around the neighborhood on Can-Am Spyder three-wheeled motorcycles with his friends.
"He also likes going to the gun range," Zwerling wrote. " 'It's what you do in Texas,' he says. He has about 10 different kinds in his collection encompassing more than 50 total, including shotguns, semiautomatics and handguns, such as one of his favorites, a gold-looking Desert Eagle pistol. He also collects, just for show, miniguns and bazookas."
As if the gun collection wasn't enough to make one feel safe, Zwerling wrote that Howard takes it even further.
"There's no better way to describe Howard's eccentricity and connection to Texas than through his pet snakes at home. All 20 of them." The collection includes two red-tailed boa constrictors named Mickey and Minnie.
"A small armory and almost enough snakes to make a considerably sized snake pit," USA Today's Micah Peters wrote in his blog. "All Howard needs now is a large reservoir of clean water, and when the apocalypse eventually jumps off, he can be the supreme overlord of something,"
Taste the rainbow
Jason Zwerling's profile on Dwight Howard chronicles Howard's time in Orlando and Los Angeles, as well as his adjustment to Houston.
After having dinner with Howard at a barbecue restaurant near Howard's Houston home, Zwerling wrote that Howard can also relate to Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.
"Howard points to about a 15-foot-long container where drinks are stored," Zwerling wrote. "He compares the length to that of a container filled with candy in his house, and that he's been avoiding it lately because of a promise he and his Rockets teammates have made to each other.
"'All of us have different things we've got to sacrifice,' Howard said. 'It's just something that will show us how committed we are to each other, to winning a championship. So mine is candy. I especially love Skittles -- usually during a game, I'll have two or three bags -- so for me to have to give that up, it's like the hardest thing to do. And it's presented to me every day. But I do have a Skittles pinball machine."
They said it
• Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald, after Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said he has only three good friends in the NBA: "You know what Kobe Bryant calls that? A real people person."
• Greg Cote of The Miami Herald on Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel: "Question: Who is the only NFL quarterback with more career apologies than touchdown passes?"
Sports quiz
Where did Dwight Howard finish in the 2004 NBA Rookie of the Year voting?
Answer
Howard finished third behind Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats and Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls.
Sports on 04/24/2015