I want to be on that team that wins the world championship here in Chicago and sees the city go crazy.

Sometimes it's more fun to compete with your friends, because you can talk a little trash with them.

It's not like I'm an introvert. You get to know me, I can have a conversation with you. But in front of the media, I'm probably more of a quiet guy.

If they watch me play, people will say I'm not into it or whatever. That's okay. I kind of like it. People don't know how much work I'm putting into it. They don't need to know.

Defense is something I take pride in. I feel it's just as important as offense. They should have RBIs for defensive plays.

As a first baseman, hitting home runs is what's expected of me. But I don't really try to hit home runs.

I miss basketball every now and then.

I felt I was good in basketball but I wasn't a blue-chip prospect.

You just get better with age. You learn yourself and the league. I'm starting to understand more about hitting every year.

If you write in the paper 'Lee stinks,' that's not going to affect me. I'll just laugh. And if you write 'Derrek Lee is the best player in the league,' that won't affect me either. I'll laugh.

The chance to go to the postseason, it's hard to pass up.

Follow your dreams. They know the way.

God gave us our relatives thank God we can choose our friends.

I have a deal with HBO to develop television, and I am also developing a movie called 'The Abstinence Teacher, ' which is based on a book by Tom Perrotta.

A fool must now and then be right, by chance.

You can block a marriage, but you cannot force a marriage.

A cardinal rule in budgeting and saving is to pay yourself first. Once your paycheck hits your account, wisdom has it that you should move some amount to savings even before you pay the bills.

Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves

Help thyself, and God will help thee.

The permanence of all books is fixed by no effort friendly or hostile, but by their own specific gravity, or the intrinsic importance of their contents to the constant mind of man.

It is the privilege of tale-tellers to open their story in an inn, the free rendezvous of all travellers, and where the humour of each displays itself, without ceremony or restraint.