I just put my foot on an actual-size cutout of Bob Lanier's sneakerprint on the floor of the National Basketball Hall of Fame.

OK, he's big. Size 22.

There are others. Lisa Leslie, her foot is bigger than my 9 1/2, Dawn Staley, about the same, Michael Jordan, a little bigger. Shaq O'Neal? Yee-ow. Size 23. If his footprint was a trapdoor, I'd be in David Stern's subterranean diamond mine right now, digging for gems to stud championship rings.

And speaking of championship rings, Pat Riley was wearing the one he got in 2006 when the Miami Heat won the title. It's gigantic.

As a lifelong basketball fan who started rooting for the Wasington Bullets when they had guys like Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Phil Chenier and Bobby Dandridge, it was treat to snoop around the Hall of Fame, which doesn't limit itself to the NBA, for a little while. It's pretty much a crime I've never been here before.

The cool stuff on display included Rick Mount's Purdue jersey, and a Chenier from his Baltimore Bullets days, with the funky vertical stripes. Guys I loved, like Jordan, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley, were well represented, but it was also amazing to see, for instance, the faded No. 22 worn by Elgin Baylor.

Of the inductees, Hakeem Olajuwon, as you would expect, was a picture of grace and dignity, and seeing him sitting next to Patrick Ewing on the dais really took me back. I had a strong dislike for Ewing (and all the Hoyas, for that matter) when he played for Georgetown, but I loved him as a Knick.

If he and Olajuwon squared off right now, I'm not sure who would win. Since retirement, Ewing has put on some weight, and Olajuwon, I believe, may have lost some. He looked as lean as a distance runner.

Dick Vitale was aboard, too. I really have a strong aversion to his schtick, and anyone else's that relies so heavily on shouting and hyperbole. Vitale has made hyperventilation a cliche. But as I've heard before and can attest to now, he is impossible not to like in person, and he genuinely cares about the game.