3,000 Calories for 3,000 Points

New York, NY - June 30, 2005 - Vickie Johnson has many accomplishments to her name. All-Star. Eastern Conference Champion. Sandwich? That's right, now the nine-year Liberty veteran can add a sandwich to the list of many accomplishments during her career. Sandy Levine, owner of the world-famous Carnegie Deli in Manhattan, created the "VJ Classic," a 3,000 calorie belly-busting sandwich in honor of Johnson's 3,000 points scored. Johnson was at the Deli on Wednesday to chow down on her namesake.

The sandwich, consisting of turkey, muenster, American and Swiss cheese, tomato, honey mustard and mayo, weighs in at two pounds. According to Levine, it is the first sandwich in the history of the Deli to have turkey and three cheeses. Johnson was presented with a platter of the concoction before sitting down to attempt to eat it.

More than 200 celebrities have had sandwiches named after them at Carnegie, but only a handful of those are women. "It's a great honor," said Johnson. "People like Rosie O'Donnell, Becky Hammon and Liz Smith have sandwiches named after them. I'm not even from New York, so it's a great honor to have a sandwich named after me here."

Johnson scored her 3,000th career point on June 18. She became just the seventh player in the history of the WNBA to do so. So the folks at the Carnegie Deli thought that deserved some recognition - in the form of cold cuts.

But Deli owner Levine said the "VJ Classic" is only the beginning. "This sandwich will stay on our menu until Vickie scores 10,000 points. Then we will create something even bigger."

You've got to see this sandwich to believe it!