“And that's the soulful thing about playing: you offer something to somebody. You don't know if they'll like it, but you offer it.”

“If somebody offers you Hapi pills, just say no!”

“But that's the thing about basketball: you don't play games on paper.”

“Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”

“You want to do it?""I might. If you offer me enough.""Howard—anything you ask. Anything. I'd sell my soul...""That's the sort of thing I want you to understand. To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul—would you understand why that's much harder?”

“I'm bred for farm work, and for such folk, the only A's you get come from effort. Strife and strain are all the world can offer, and they temper you into something unbreakable because Lord knows they'll try -- without let up -- to break you.”