“By the time I pulled off, they had guns drawn” – Samaki Walker recalls how a speeding ticket almost turned tragic
Youth, immaturity and wealth can create a combustible mixture that can have dire and even lethal consequences. That was almost the case for former NBA big man Samaki Walker.
It was the wee hours of the morning of August 30, 2000, when the 6’9″ big man decided to take his Suzuki Hayabusa, which is the world’s fastest production motorcycle with a top speed of 188 to 194 miles per hour, out for a spin. Little did he know that neglecting to pull over for a speeding ticket would end up becoming a chase he would never forget.
A bad decision
After finally being freed from the shackles of the dismal Dallas Mavericks franchise, wherein he spent his first three seasons in the NBA, Walker had the time of his life playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
Although his numbers didn’t reflect it (5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds), he relished playing for Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, especially since he was learning from legendary big men David Robinson and Tim Duncan, something he had never experienced during his time with the Mavericks.
“After that first little bit of success, man, I think I just wanted to release. I wanted to get out, you know what I’m saying? All the tensions I was holding in. And that’s when you really got to have that veteran leadership. So I’m getting home and that summer I’m riding motorcycles and speeding, doing all kind of s—t that ain’t got nothing to do with nothing,” Samaki disclosed on “Byron Scott’s Fast Break.”
Upon hearing the start of Samaki’s story, Scott butted in and shared that NBA players are actually barred from riding motorcycles or engaging in activities that might result in injury.
“It’s in the contract. You ain’t supposed to have no bikes, nothing crazy. You ain’t supposed to be able to scuba diving, skydiving — none of that. No water sports, like you said. Even softball, because I used to play softball every summer. I had a softball team, and I didn’t know that was considered extreme. You can’t play softball,” Scott relayed.
Walker continued his story, revealing that on that night, a few friends of his were in town and he decided to join them late. He hopped on his expensive motorcycle, dashed to the club and didn’t even go in.
“I’m sitting outside, showing off. Then, when the club lets out, I’m getting ready to go home, and I say, ‘I’m a show off a little bit. I’m gonna hit this thing.’ So I’m on the Hayabusa, and I let that s—t go,” he recalled.
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Samaki made a bad situation worse
Walker said that there was a long stretch of pavement in his hometown where he could rev his motorcycle to its full potential, which he did. Unfortunately for him, a highway patrolman was in the vicinity and flagged him down. At this point, the prudent thing Samaki could have done was to take his ticket and go home. Instead, he decided to show off even more.
Ignoring the officer’s orders, he took off on his motorcycle, weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds.
“No thinking about life, no danger, nothing. Young and dumb. I hit it and I see the highway patrolman off to the side. I’m like, ‘F—k it. He can’t catch me. I’m gone,’” Walker stated.
That decision turned a bad situation worse. Not long after engaging law enforcement officers in a high-speed chase, Walker realized that he was in over his head.
“He ends up calling his buddies up ahead. Soon there’s a helicopter, like 78 cars, and what have not. I’m gone. But the helicopter comes. So by the time I pull off, they got guns drawn,” he recalled. “They’re sitting there waiting on me. It could’ve gotten real bad and ugly if they wanted to. They locked my a-s under the jail that night.”
Although the trouble Walker got himself into with law enforcement was severe (he was charged with three offenses), it paled in comparison to the disappointment he caused Robinson, his mentor. Fortunately, he was able to recover from that episode. He had an even better second season with the silver and black.
Chase Elliott discusses emotional NASCAR win at EchoPark in June 2025
Motorsports Wire
July 1, 2025, 9:45 a.m. ET
Chase Elliott entered the NASCAR weekend at EchoPark Speedway with a long winless streak and left with a locked spot in the 2025 playoffs. On Saturday night, Elliott and the No. 9 team for Hendrick Motorsports won the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark, earning their first victory of the 2025 Cup Series season.
Following the event, the Hendrick Motorsports driver climbed out of his No. 9 car to a crowd of happy race fans. Elliott spoke about the emotions of winning at his home track in his post-race press conference at EchoPark on Saturday night.
“It was, yeah, truthfully a pretty surreal moment,” Elliott said. There’s really only been one other time in my career that I felt like — I don’t know. I’m not sure anything has ever matched that. It was crazy. I’ve never, like, been onstage and been a singer or anything like that. I would have to imagine it would feel something like that. It was such an incredible experience. To your point, I think it just kind of goes to show how great our fans have been to me and to us. It just kind of really makes you appreciate them even more for really sticking with us and not giving up hope, ultimately being able to give both me and my team an experience like that, because their determination and unwillingness to quit on us is really cool.”
“Yeah, grateful to have experienced that. Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Winning at home was incredible the first time. They feel different. But this one, Saturday night under the lights, been a while since we won, just getting ourselves a win and advancing up on the Playoff thing. Just all the things that have come with this, that one was up there, for sure. Yeah, just grateful to have experienced it.”
Elliott described his Cup Series victory at EchoPark as one he would never forget, as the No. 9 team has gone through so much over the last three seasons. Brad Keselowski led the race at the white flag, but Elliott’s victory in the Quaker State 400 solidifies him in the 2025 NASCAR playoffs with hopes for a deep run.
Joe Piscopo Will Never Forget the Day Eddie Murphy Auditioned for ‘SNL’
The pair recreated a classic sketch to land Murphy the job
March 27, 2025Add Cracked to GoogleMatt Solomon
Joe Piscopo had just been hired at Saturday Night Live, and he was scared to death. Sure, landing the show was a huge break. But he would also be part of an entirely new cast “tasked with one of the most impossible assignments in television history,” he writes in his book Average Joe: The Memoirs of a Blue Collar Entertainer. “To replace the original cast of Saturday Night Live.”
If Piscopo was terrified, what must have been going through the head of another potential new castmate, a 19-year-old with little-to-no actual showbiz experience? Shortly after being hired, Piscopo was brought up to the SNL offices to meet other comics the show was considering, including a young Eddie Murphy. “Chemistry, whatever it was, we hit it right off the bat,” Piscopo told me when we discussed his book a few months ago. “Laughing, talking, feeling comfortable.”
But producers hadn’t made their final decision on Murphy. They pulled Piscopo aside and asked for a favor — would he perform a sketch with the kid so they could see if he had the goods? Absolutely, responded Joe. What did the producers have in mind?
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“The Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase ‘Word Association’ sketch,” they said. “We want to see what Eddie can do.”
One of the most iconic sketches in the show’s history? How could either performer top the original? Plus, Piscopo explained to me, they made the two perform the scene in a cramped office. “(Executive Producer) Jean Doumanian’s there, the writers are there, the managers are there. Me and Eddie are standing there — it’s the worst thing to do if you’re a performer.”
A pretty intimidating set-up for a teenager trying to break into the biggest comedy show on television. But Piscopo gamely read Chase’s part while Murphy took on Pryor’s role. (In Murphy’s memory, he was so familiar with the sketch that he didn’t need a script.)
“I’m telling you what,” said Piscopo. “With respect to the great Richard Pryor, Eddie was funnier than Pryor on the TV show. And I was taken aback.”
Piscopo was absolutely, positively convinced: Murphy was the next Pryor. But SNL producers didn’t quite know what to do with him. “‘He’s a little edgy’ was their line,” Piscopo writes in his book. “He was politically incorrect and said what he wanted to say. Did I mention he was 19? Also, let’s not shy away from the idea that the network was afraid to have a person of color being that edgy and in your face — this was 1980.”
Piscopo advocated for Murphy’s hiring, which did happen. Sort of. “They make him a featured player, which I thought was an insult,” Piscopo told me. “They put him on the bench.”
Spoiler alert: That didn’t last long, as Murphy’s talent (and chemistry with Piscopo) soon made him one of the biggest stars in the show’s history.
