"The Machine" - Sasha Vujacic of the Lakers

Intro

Since when do robots have such cool hair? Sasha Vujacic is a man from Slovenia who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, but when he’s having a good game, he is no man, he is a machine.

It’s pretty great to be human, but it means you can never be perfect. People get scared or tired and make mistakes. They feel pain and get nervous. But machines can do the same thing over and over flawlessly.

Imagine playing against a basketball player who seems like he can’t miss. He’s a machine programmed to make his shots and block yours. Sounds scary, right? Well, don’t be scared. Sasha Vujacic may be known as “The Machine,” but he’s all smiles, and one of the friendliest players in the NBA. Jason recently met up with him in LA to talk about learning languages, making friends and where he got his nickname.

Dialog

Sasha

Jason

Jason:  Welcome to English, baby! I’m Jason, here with Sasha Vujacic of the Los Angeles Lakers. How are you today, Sasha?

Sasha:  I’m OK. Thanks for having me.

Jason:  You’ve played both in Italy and now in the United States and you’re from Slovenia. So you’ve had to learn two different languages. And then when you came here, how hard was it for you to learn English?

Sasha:  I knew English since I was probably eleven or ten. In school we always had English as a second language.

Jason:  So when you first got here, did you do any speaking Italian with Kobe?

Sasha:  Yes, I did since day one. He speaks really good Italian and we kind of clicked from day one.

Jason:  And so, your nickname is “The Machine.” How did you get that nickname?

Sasha:  I think it started when I made a couple of shots and I was on a roll. You know, on both ends, defense and offense. Our announcers on TV, they kinda started calling me “The Machine.” Fans kind of picked it up, carried it on, and that’s the nickname now.

Jason:  When do you call someone a machine? For people that don’t know, like, what makes someone a machine?

Sasha:  There’s so many reasons that you can call a person a machine. You can be a machine if you don’t sleep at all. You can be a machine if you don’t feel pain or whatever. Whenever you see a little bit of supernatural power in someone, you can call them a machine. I don’t know. It’s just funny.

Jason:  Is Pau Gasol a machine also?

Sasha:  I don’t know. I mean…They gave me that nickname so you can’t just give it to anybody.

Jason:  Sure.

Sasha:  So Pau Gasol is Pau Gasol. Everybody is a machine in their own way, but we just gotta do our thing this year and that’s win the championship. That’s all I’m thinking about right now. Machine or not, the championship is the most important thing.

Jason:  Definitely. Thanks so much, Sasha. Can I get you to give me a high-five and say, “English, baby!”?

Sasha:  OK. English, baby!

Grammar Point

Phrasal Verbs

Sasha says that after the announcers started calling him “The Machine,” fans picked the name up and carried it on. Pick up and carry on are both phrasal verbs. They mean to learn and to continue.

Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb + a preposition or adverb that alters the original meaning of the verb. For instance, the verb “pick” means select or choose. But add the preposition “up” to it and you get a whole new meaning.

Some phrasal verbs are separable, meaning you can separate the verb from the preposition. The object can come after the phrasal verb or in the middle. Both pick up and carry on are separable. But another phrasal verb with pick, pick on (to tease or be mean to someone) is non-separable. You can say “My brother picks on me,” but not, “My brother picks me on.”

Discussion

Discussion - Join the discussion to learn more and make friends.

Sasha began learning English in school as a kid in Slovenia, but before he came to the US, he played basketball in Italy, so he learned Italian as well. When arrived in LA, he and Kobe Bryant bonded quickly because they both speak Italian.

One night, when Sasha was playing really well, the TV announcer started calling him “The Machine” because he was so hot, it seemed like he couldn’t miss. The name stuck. Soon, Sasha’s fans started using the nickname, and even making videos about it and posting them online.

As Sasha explains, anyone who seems stronger or better than a normal human can be a machine. If you get 100% on all your quizzes in school or can play a song perfectly from beginning to end, then you’re a machine. When was the last time you were a machine?

For more with Sasha, read the rest of this interview or visit his official site. It may also interest you to know that this Ebaby! high five was mentioned in the LA Times.

Comprehension Quiz