Happy Birthday big Bird, who turns 50…NBATV is marking the occasion by showing “All Bird, All Day.”…I can’t do any more justice to him than Bill Simmons has done here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/copy/030425
OK, maybe a little justice…the first time I discovered “Basketball Jesus” was as a 13 year old in 1985…to be clear I had watched him before, but he had not yet become religion for me...it was March break (Canada's version of spring break) and my parents had taken the fam down to Florida for a week of sun and fun…about three days into the trip (a Monday) I had gotten badly sunburned out deep sea fishing with my Dad and was confined to the Hotel room for the next day so that I could be covered from head to toe in a disgusting combination of Aloe gel, Noxema and Solarcaine (remember? Solarcaine stops Sun Pain!!!)...Anyway, that night as I lay on a plastic sheet on the couch covered in guck, my Dad was flicking the channels around and he found an NBA game about to start: Celtics vs. the Atlanta Hawks…weird thing about the game was that it was held at the University of New Orleans' Lakefront Arena…to that point I had watched the occasional game with Dad and I knew a bit about Dr. J, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Adrian Dantley (Dad's favourite player, he was a wrestling coach after all) etc, but none of it really made me want to watch anything other than hockey…well here’s what happened: Bird scored 60 points…He made an assortment of defenders look absolutely silly…I remember the Hawks running Domimique Wilkins (Dad reminded me that he was the one who made all the “dunk shots” as he called them…an understated way to describe Dominique if there ever was), Antoine Carr (before the sunglasses), Cliff Livingston, Scott Hastings, Walker Russell, and just about every one else and it made no difference, Bird just destroyed them all…and he did it in every imaginable way… he pulled up for jumpers from anywhere, shot hooks with either hand, made running teardrops, dunked on the break, got rebounds and 1, shot step back threes, posted up with up and unders and even made a lefty finger roll over Tree Rollins…by halftime Bird had scored 23 points and the Celtics led 65-58…my father was standing and pacing around the room he was so excited…my sunburn was a distant memory as I hurriedly took a cold shower during the halftime show to wash off the evil concoction my mother had been making me apply all day…I just get back as the third quarter starts and by the end of the 3rd Boston extends the lead to 11 going up 100-89…Bird has another 19 points…so after 3 quarters he has totalled 42 points…Dad has now stopped going to the fridge for beers (Colt 45’s by the way…Billy Dee Williams was so cool) and I’m now standing on the couch I’m so excited…in the 4th quarter Bird scores 18 points, including the Celtics last 16 for a 125-116 victory…as Bird scores the last 16 Dad and I are actually yelling at the TV and Mom is yelling at us to shut up…it’s no use, it’s hotel room pandemonium…the next day Dad and I go Schuler’s Sports in downtown Clearwater and Dad buys me a Larry Bird jersey (away jersey with stitched lettering…I still have it), a Celtics satin warm up jacket and a pair of dark green track pants with elasticized cuffs with Celtics stitched down one side…I wore this outfit every day for the next 2 weeks, until my mother steals it out of my room and puts it through the wash…My Montreal Canadians jersey (Guy Lafleur of course) never leaves my closet again…it’s too late…I am now a basketball, Celtics and Larry Bird fan…
OK a little more…here’s a bunch of terrific news stories about Bird…I think this officially makes me Rob Killen’s best friend…
http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=170883
http://www.nba.com/nba_tv/birdwaltonint_061204.html
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/12/07/a_day_to_celebrate_birds_greatness/
OK a little history lesson:
- In high school he averaged 30 ppg and 17 rpg during his senior year, scoring scored 54 points with 38 rebounds in the county championship…
- He played three years at Indiana State (1976-79) winning: The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1979), Naismith Award winner (1979), John R. Wooden Award winner (1979) and being named Sporting News All-America First Team (1978, 1979)
- He Led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA championship game against Michigan State, led Indiana State to an 81-13 record, including a 50-1 record at home
- He holds 30 Indiana State records, including most points (2,850), steals (240) and rebounds (1,247) and graduated as the NCAA's fifth all-time leading scorer (30.3 ppg)
- As a pro: NBA Rookie of the Year (1980), NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-86) and runner up (1981-1983), All-NBA First Team (1980-88), All-NBA Second Team (1990), NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982-84), Twelve-time NBA All-Star (1980-88, 1990-92), NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982), Long Distance Shootout Winner (1986-88), NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986)
- Scored 21,791 points (24.3 ppg) in 897 games, including a career-high 28.1 ppg in 1987, scored a career and team-high 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks in New Orleans on March 25, 1985, led the NBA in free throw shooting (1984, 1986, 1990)
- NBA championships with the Boston Celtics (1981, 1984, 1986)
- NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996), Member of gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team (1992)
- Record as coach of the Indiana Pacers (1997-2000), 147-67 (.687), including NBA Coach of the Year (1998) following an 58-24 season and led Pacers to the 2000 NBA's, first such appearance in team history
OK that’s it…
Other news:
Gilbert Arenas was bananas against the Knicks last night, lighting up Stephon Marbury for 38 points including 6 treys…
Did anyone think that Cavs rookie PG Daniel Gibson was going to step in for Larry Hughes and drop 18 points on the Raptors, including some clutch free throws in the last 30 seconds? Not me…I thought he was a bust…
Wow…Stevie Nash with 20 assists the other night, including 11 in the 1st quarter against the Kings…
Same game but too funny…after Shawn Marion hit a jumper at the end of the 1st quarter for their 41st point, he immediately ran into the locker room with his hands up to get high fives from the fans as if it were halftime. His teammates were killing themselves on the sidelines cracking up…
Trade Rumor: Nets send C Jason Collins to Portland for C Jamaal Magloire…
Grasshopper seeks the Shao-lin master…apparently Bulls rookie PF forward Tyrus Thomas went to the Bulls management looking to contact Scottie Pippen for some one on one tutoring...Pippen now works with Thomas for 40 minutes after every practice…
1) Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald on the Birdman at 50:
A legend turns 50: Bird reflects on his milestone birthday
Larry Bird does not shock easily, but that is what children are for. Not long ago, the personnel chief of the Indiana Pacers was talking with his son Connor when the 15-year-old high school sophomore openly wondered about his famous father’s beginnings. It wasn’t so much the question as the phrase Connor Bird used - back in the olden days - that rocked his father’s grip on advancing age. “Can you believe it? He called it the olden days,” Bird lamented earlier this week. “I was shocked. That’s the only word for it. “He wasn’t talking about basketball when he talked about that,” he said. “He was asking about how I grew up. When I think about the olden days, I think about the Depression. But I said to him, ‘Hey man, we had cars. We didn’t get around on horses and buggies. We had all the things you have.’ “Well, not the video games, anyway.” Many elements of this exchange are bound to shake those who grew up watching Bird lead the Celtics through their last great era two decades ago. Bird’s parents, like those of many of his fans, were the ones who grew up in the Depression. But these Baby Boomers are going to feel even older with the realization that Connor Bird, the cute toddler who famously dawdled by the stage as his father was feted in a huge retirement ceremony in the middle of Boston Garden in 1992, is now playing soccer, basketball and baseball in high school. But nothing will trigger a collective groan - and quite a few arthritic twinges - like the news that Bird is celebrating his 50th birthday today. Take solace in the fact that the man is bearing up to the milestone with the same heartiness he brought to any game against the Lakers. “When I turned 40 I started to lose my eyesight a little bit, and I let myself worry about it,” he said. “But I think 50 is a good number. Health is everything. You can’t do all of the things that you used to do, but you can still feel good.
“At 50 you can’t run and move like you used to,” said Bird. “But there is still plenty you can still do.” Like running a basketball team, or heading over to the gym for some time on the treadmill. Though Bird has held onto the family home in Naples, Fla., he hasn’t kept up with what was once his chief form of post-basketball relief. “I haven’t played much golf in the last few years,” he said. “I’m not into golf so much right now.” Bird doesn’t sound like he misses the golf course, just as he doesn’t sound worried about 50. He can’t get in the way of it, just as his old fans can’t stop the onslaught of creeping age. Time waits for no one. Most athletes, even the icons, change shape or hair color. Charles Barkley is rounder now than even he probably thought possible. Jerry West has turned a refined shade of gray. Julius Erving looks like a grandfather, and Bill Russell like a great-grandfather. Michael Jordan figured out early that by shaving his head he could defeat the curse of a receding hairline, though look close, and it’s not difficult to notice Jordan’s retreating scalp. “When I saw Larry I thought, ‘Man, he’s a little puffy,’ ” said Cedric Maxwell, Bird’s former Celtics teammate and radio analyst who was on hand the night of Nov. 15 when the Pacers lost to the Celtics in the TD BankNorth Garden. Bird was in the stands and, beseeched by a typically adoring crowd, reluctantly stood and waved to their cheers. Many were a bit stunned by the man who, a little red from embarrassment, sported such a healthy paunch and beefy face above his mock turtleneck. “I think the thing is that people keep athletes in this suspended state of animation,” said Maxwell. “People like to think of a guy as being the same as when he was playing. The one guy who escapes that, I think, is Magic Johnson. Because of the fact that he has HIV and has to take steroids to treat that, and also because he’s in the public eye so much, he’s aged in front of people. That doesn’t happen to many others.” Maxwell’s own experience with future shock occurred prior to a recent game in Auburn Hills, Mich., between the Celtics and Pistons. Maxwell was walking down the hallway in The Palace when someone behind him called out, “Hey, Ricky.” This person wasn’t calling out for Ricky Davis, either. “They thought I was Ricky Mahorn,” groaned Maxwell, talking of an infamous Celtics nemesis who was known for having one of the largest and most active rear ends in the NBA. “But that got me to thinking that I had to do something about this. That’s something I was happy to hear about Larry. When he was in town, the people in a gym I go to told me that he had just been there, getting some work in.” Bird, too, talks of health now as an increasingly important factor in his life. “The kids keep me pretty young,” he said. “It’s the best thing there is.” Indeed, Bird may actually feel younger now than 14 years ago at the time of his premature retirement from chronic back pain. This, according to Bird, is what most fans don’t realize about the young, seemingly indestructible athletes on the floor. “When you played the way that I played every night, even when I was 25 or 32, I knew that when I tried to play through the pain or some kind of injury that I was going to have to pay for it at some point,” he said. “I could bring up the name of a guy like John Havlicek, and all guys like that will tell you now that when something starts to hurt, it’s all the result of playing through something way back then. “When John Havlicek turned 40 he told me that they actually took a whole wedge out of his knee once, and he can still feel it,” said Bird. “I knew right then that I was going to be feeling it as I got older.” Though Bird weathered everything from bone chips in his elbow and both heels to a fractured cheekbone, disc trouble was ultimately his undoing. The Celtics became one of the first teams in the league to lease a private charter plane for the simple benefit that Bird could lie down during flights. He often spent games in those later years belly-down on the floor to ease the back pain when on the sideline. Post-retirement back fusion surgery was Bird’s salvation. At least he could travel and play golf. He could sit on airplanes. Not all have been so lucky. Where the ever-health conscious Robert Parish has always been the shining example of improvement with age, the other third of the Big Three, Kevin McHale, is still paying the price for his toughness as a player. McHale, who now walks with a noticeable limp, may forever suffer for playing in the 1987 NBA Finals on a broken foot. “Kevin shows the result of it now,” said Bird. “Ihate to watch him walk, but that’s also something you understand is part of the game. What people don’t realize is that we played the equivalent of two full years of playoff basketball. That takes a hard toll on your body.” Not that Bird would have played a single minute differently. “Larry hit a point (during the 1985 playoffs) when he had a bone chip that kept him from fully extending his elbow, and he had to miss one game (against Cleveland) because of it,” said Jan Volk, the former Celtics general manager. “He told me, ‘The pain doesn’t bother me. I can play with pain. What troubles me is when the body part won’t work.’ “That was really an interesting observation on his part,” continued Volk. “I’m glad he shared that with me. It gave me some insight into what he had to go through. He played hurt as much as anyone I’ve ever seen, and he played well when he was hurt as much as anyone I’ve ever seen.” The NBA’s last golden age is what many now call the ’80s. But the young Pacers who spot the laid-back, mellowed Bird in Conseco Field House also view his contributions in the same way Bird once felt about old, grainy black-and-white tapes of the Russell and Cousy era. “Every kid we have here hasn’t seen me play,” he said. “What I’ll hear is something like, ‘I saw you on ESPN Classic. Hey, you guys were good.’ It’s just like Cousy and them guys. That’s how we used to look at them.” So now it’s Bird’s turn to feel a little colder and heavier, a little stiffer in the joints, a little, gulp, advanced. And his legion, and they’re out there everywhere, still as dutiful as Arnie’s Army, will carry along the sympathy pains. They’ll carry along the shock, too, that a number as significant as 50 has crept up without warning. “I think people get surprised because Larry and all the other players of that era are so timeless,” said Volk. “The people who are passionate about that time see them as they were. But we see ourselves as we were back then, too.”
2) Jacki MacMullan of the Boston Globe thinks Birdi s not doing enough in retirement:
Is it time for Larry Bird to take over the Pacers?
Larry Bird turns 50 years old Thursday, over 20 years since he and the Boston Celtics won their last championship. In retirement, Bird returned home and aligned himself with the Indiana Pacers, and when he signed on in July 2003 to join president and CEO Donnie Walsh in the front office, Bird figured he'd hang around "seven or eight years, tops." "This job gets in your blood," Bird said. "I can't even describe it. When you get a call about something bad happening to one of your players, it's like it happened to one of your kids. You die over it. "Now you do that realizing they don't feel the same way about you. That's understood. But you can't help but be involved. Donnie and I are so happy when we win, and so down when we lose. When we play horrible, we're both sick about it." "What we do is not a job," Walsh said. "It's an obsession." Bird and Walsh have shared this obsession for the past three-plus seasons, the most tumultuous period in Pacers history. Both were on the job when their team and the Detroit Pistons engaged in the infamous brawl -- on Nov. 19, 2004, at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. -- that spilled over into the stands and produced the stiffest NBA penalties ever. When Jermaine O'Neal was slapped with a 25-game suspension (later reduced to 15 games), Stephen Jackson a 30-game suspension and Ron Artest a suspension for the remainder of the season, it decimated a Pacers roster that had aspirations of winning it all that June. Indiana has yet to recover. The Pacers haven't made it out of the conference semifinals since then and were bounced by New Jersey in the first round last April. The franchise is at a crossroads, with Artest long gone, Jackson all but untradable and O'Neal wondering aloud what the future holds for him in Indianapolis. He's not the only one pondering what's next. Walsh is celebrating his 20th year with the Pacers and adorns the cover of the team's media guide, unusual for a team executive. But will this be his final season? Rumors of his impending retirement -- and Bird's elevation to president as his successor -- have been swirling throughout the league for months. Walsh's contract expires in July, and he said he has not discussed drawing up a new one with longtime owners Herb and Mel Simon. "With everything that has gone on the past two years, I wouldn't dream of asking them about an extension," Walsh said. "Besides, I'm not sure it's healthy for one person to stay with the same organization for 20 years. If you do, the same things tend to permeate. It's important for a franchise to get new ideas." Bird, who has been Walsh's attentive understudy, has his own thoughts on how to turn it around in Indianapolis. Yet, Walsh concedes, he's never sure if the Hall of Famer defers to his boss in personnel matters or presents his honest assessment. "If Larry wants to do something he knows I wouldn't do, I don't want him to think I'm looking over his shoulder," Walsh explained. "Larry would never say it, but I think that happens sometimes. "I really believe Larry is going to be great at this job. But as long as I'm here, it isn't his deal. I want him to have his shot." When Walsh assumed the role of Pacers general manager in 1986, the team had been to the postseason once in its 10 NBA seasons. (The Pacers won three ABA titles in nine seasons.) He drafted future All-Stars Reggie Miller and Rik Smits, traded Herb Williams for Detlef Schrempf and later acquired O'Neal and Joe Kleine for veteran Dale Davis. Beginning in 1990, Indiana made the playoffs 16 times in 17 seasons. In February 2002, Walsh made an acquisition he must profoundly regret, bringing the talented but combustible Artest to Indiana. Artest's role as instigator in the brawl and his insubordination the following season when he returned to the team destroyed the team's blueprint. He was traded last January to Sacramento. Both Bird and Walsh strongly and publicly backed Artest following the debacle in Auburn Hills, a decision that was roundly criticized throughout the league. Artest's subsequent behavior proved to be, in Bird's words, "one of the most disappointing things that happened to me in basketball.'' When Bird retired as a player, he swore the one job he would never consider was coaching. In fact, he rebuffed offers from half a dozen teams before Walsh convinced him to coach his franchise in 1997. Bird said the opportunity to work with the Pacers' president is what changed his mind. Bird submitted a 147-67 record in three seasons, taking the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals three years in a row, including the franchise's lone appearance in the NBA Finals, in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He insisted he would coach only three seasons and kept his word, stepping down following his team's loss to the Lakers in six games. When Bird's friend and former teammate Rick Carlisle was passed over as his successor, Bird declined to stay on in the front office. Walsh lured him back three years later, and Larry Legend's first official act was to sack coach (and former Bird nemesis) Isiah Thomas and replace him with Carlisle. The off-the-court issues that have plagued the Pacers (including Jackson's recent late-night gunplay incident outside a nightclub) have been embarrassing both to Bird and Walsh. Their team takes a 9-10 record into Wednesday's game against Orlando, and Bird confirmed recently, "We're all feeling some heat." Late last week the Simon family, respected within the NBA as model owners who rarely meddle, continued to express strong support for Walsh. "I don't want to own a franchise without Donnie Walsh involved," Herb Simon declared. "If he wants to stay in basketball, I want him with us." Simon conceded that Walsh has given him "mixed signals" about his future; the owner said he has spoken to Walsh about his desire to hand his duties to Bird when the time is right. So is this the time? "Honestly? I don't know," Walsh answered. Bird insists he is neither impatient nor hankering for additional responsibilities. He also said he's amused by unsubstantiated reports that there is friction between him and his boss. "I laugh when I read that stuff," Bird said. "There are times when we are talking about a player, or I bring up an idea about a deal, and we don't agree. But there's never any arguing or yelling about it. That's not our relationship." Asked how he and Walsh split their duties, Bird answered, "Look, I'm smart enough to know who my boss is. Donnie is the boss. He has the final say. He should. He knows this league inside out. He sees things before they're coming." Bird said Walsh has been the man who has made most of the trades happen the past three seasons. "Truthfully, I'm not all that up on the NBA guys," Bird said. "Once the college season starts, I don't have a lot of hands-on contact with the day-to-day workings of the team. I'm out scouting the college kids." Bird said there is no master plan for him to take Walsh's place once Walsh's current contract expires. "My whole objective by getting back into this was I wanted help these guys get back to the Finals," Bird said. "I had no idea how long that would take. I still don't. If it takes another five years, will I still want to do this? Ten years? I don't know. "Look, financially, neither Donnie or I need this. We're doing this because we love it. I don't want Donnie to quit. This is his baby. I'd worry about him if he left. This is his life. "I don't want him thinking at all about my situation." Walsh can't help it. He has maintained a close relationship with the Simon family for two decades and wonders aloud whether that has colored their ability to make a sound business decision on his future. After all, they have been shelling out two hefty front office contracts to Bird and Walsh for three seasons now with minimal results. Walsh said if this is his final season, he will leave with few regrets and a debt of gratitude to the franchise that has been his home for two decades. If Walsh does walk, he would not likely work for another NBA franchise for at least one season. But if the right job came along after that, he wouldn't rule it out. "I'd have to see," he said. "It's hard to walk away from something you love. "I'll tell you this: you can't be mentally healthy and do what we do." Bird knows. He is 50 years old and his players drive him crazy, but he can't wait to show up to work every day to try to make them winners. He's convinced Walsh still feels the same way. "If he's not sure [about leaving], then he should stay," Bird said. "Then we can be sick about this stuff together."
OK, maybe a little justice…the first time I discovered “Basketball Jesus” was as a 13 year old in 1985…to be clear I had watched him before, but he had not yet become religion for me...it was March break (Canada's version of spring break) and my parents had taken the fam down to Florida for a week of sun and fun…about three days into the trip (a Monday) I had gotten badly sunburned out deep sea fishing with my Dad and was confined to the Hotel room for the next day so that I could be covered from head to toe in a disgusting combination of Aloe gel, Noxema and Solarcaine (remember? Solarcaine stops Sun Pain!!!)...Anyway, that night as I lay on a plastic sheet on the couch covered in guck, my Dad was flicking the channels around and he found an NBA game about to start: Celtics vs. the Atlanta Hawks…weird thing about the game was that it was held at the University of New Orleans' Lakefront Arena…to that point I had watched the occasional game with Dad and I knew a bit about Dr. J, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Adrian Dantley (Dad's favourite player, he was a wrestling coach after all) etc, but none of it really made me want to watch anything other than hockey…well here’s what happened: Bird scored 60 points…He made an assortment of defenders look absolutely silly…I remember the Hawks running Domimique Wilkins (Dad reminded me that he was the one who made all the “dunk shots” as he called them…an understated way to describe Dominique if there ever was), Antoine Carr (before the sunglasses), Cliff Livingston, Scott Hastings, Walker Russell, and just about every one else and it made no difference, Bird just destroyed them all…and he did it in every imaginable way… he pulled up for jumpers from anywhere, shot hooks with either hand, made running teardrops, dunked on the break, got rebounds and 1, shot step back threes, posted up with up and unders and even made a lefty finger roll over Tree Rollins…by halftime Bird had scored 23 points and the Celtics led 65-58…my father was standing and pacing around the room he was so excited…my sunburn was a distant memory as I hurriedly took a cold shower during the halftime show to wash off the evil concoction my mother had been making me apply all day…I just get back as the third quarter starts and by the end of the 3rd Boston extends the lead to 11 going up 100-89…Bird has another 19 points…so after 3 quarters he has totalled 42 points…Dad has now stopped going to the fridge for beers (Colt 45’s by the way…Billy Dee Williams was so cool) and I’m now standing on the couch I’m so excited…in the 4th quarter Bird scores 18 points, including the Celtics last 16 for a 125-116 victory…as Bird scores the last 16 Dad and I are actually yelling at the TV and Mom is yelling at us to shut up…it’s no use, it’s hotel room pandemonium…the next day Dad and I go Schuler’s Sports in downtown Clearwater and Dad buys me a Larry Bird jersey (away jersey with stitched lettering…I still have it), a Celtics satin warm up jacket and a pair of dark green track pants with elasticized cuffs with Celtics stitched down one side…I wore this outfit every day for the next 2 weeks, until my mother steals it out of my room and puts it through the wash…My Montreal Canadians jersey (Guy Lafleur of course) never leaves my closet again…it’s too late…I am now a basketball, Celtics and Larry Bird fan…
OK a little more…here’s a bunch of terrific news stories about Bird…I think this officially makes me Rob Killen’s best friend…
http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=170883
http://www.nba.com/nba_tv/birdwaltonint_061204.html
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/12/07/a_day_to_celebrate_birds_greatness/
OK a little history lesson:
- In high school he averaged 30 ppg and 17 rpg during his senior year, scoring scored 54 points with 38 rebounds in the county championship…
- He played three years at Indiana State (1976-79) winning: The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1979), Naismith Award winner (1979), John R. Wooden Award winner (1979) and being named Sporting News All-America First Team (1978, 1979)
- He Led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA championship game against Michigan State, led Indiana State to an 81-13 record, including a 50-1 record at home
- He holds 30 Indiana State records, including most points (2,850), steals (240) and rebounds (1,247) and graduated as the NCAA's fifth all-time leading scorer (30.3 ppg)
- As a pro: NBA Rookie of the Year (1980), NBA Most Valuable Player (1984-86) and runner up (1981-1983), All-NBA First Team (1980-88), All-NBA Second Team (1990), NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1982-84), Twelve-time NBA All-Star (1980-88, 1990-92), NBA All-Star Game MVP (1982), Long Distance Shootout Winner (1986-88), NBA Finals MVP (1984, 1986)
- Scored 21,791 points (24.3 ppg) in 897 games, including a career-high 28.1 ppg in 1987, scored a career and team-high 60 points against the Atlanta Hawks in New Orleans on March 25, 1985, led the NBA in free throw shooting (1984, 1986, 1990)
- NBA championships with the Boston Celtics (1981, 1984, 1986)
- NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996), Member of gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team (1992)
- Record as coach of the Indiana Pacers (1997-2000), 147-67 (.687), including NBA Coach of the Year (1998) following an 58-24 season and led Pacers to the 2000 NBA's, first such appearance in team history
OK that’s it…
Other news:
Gilbert Arenas was bananas against the Knicks last night, lighting up Stephon Marbury for 38 points including 6 treys…
Did anyone think that Cavs rookie PG Daniel Gibson was going to step in for Larry Hughes and drop 18 points on the Raptors, including some clutch free throws in the last 30 seconds? Not me…I thought he was a bust…
Wow…Stevie Nash with 20 assists the other night, including 11 in the 1st quarter against the Kings…
Same game but too funny…after Shawn Marion hit a jumper at the end of the 1st quarter for their 41st point, he immediately ran into the locker room with his hands up to get high fives from the fans as if it were halftime. His teammates were killing themselves on the sidelines cracking up…
Trade Rumor: Nets send C Jason Collins to Portland for C Jamaal Magloire…
Grasshopper seeks the Shao-lin master…apparently Bulls rookie PF forward Tyrus Thomas went to the Bulls management looking to contact Scottie Pippen for some one on one tutoring...Pippen now works with Thomas for 40 minutes after every practice…
1) Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald on the Birdman at 50:
A legend turns 50: Bird reflects on his milestone birthday
Larry Bird does not shock easily, but that is what children are for. Not long ago, the personnel chief of the Indiana Pacers was talking with his son Connor when the 15-year-old high school sophomore openly wondered about his famous father’s beginnings. It wasn’t so much the question as the phrase Connor Bird used - back in the olden days - that rocked his father’s grip on advancing age. “Can you believe it? He called it the olden days,” Bird lamented earlier this week. “I was shocked. That’s the only word for it. “He wasn’t talking about basketball when he talked about that,” he said. “He was asking about how I grew up. When I think about the olden days, I think about the Depression. But I said to him, ‘Hey man, we had cars. We didn’t get around on horses and buggies. We had all the things you have.’ “Well, not the video games, anyway.” Many elements of this exchange are bound to shake those who grew up watching Bird lead the Celtics through their last great era two decades ago. Bird’s parents, like those of many of his fans, were the ones who grew up in the Depression. But these Baby Boomers are going to feel even older with the realization that Connor Bird, the cute toddler who famously dawdled by the stage as his father was feted in a huge retirement ceremony in the middle of Boston Garden in 1992, is now playing soccer, basketball and baseball in high school. But nothing will trigger a collective groan - and quite a few arthritic twinges - like the news that Bird is celebrating his 50th birthday today. Take solace in the fact that the man is bearing up to the milestone with the same heartiness he brought to any game against the Lakers. “When I turned 40 I started to lose my eyesight a little bit, and I let myself worry about it,” he said. “But I think 50 is a good number. Health is everything. You can’t do all of the things that you used to do, but you can still feel good.
“At 50 you can’t run and move like you used to,” said Bird. “But there is still plenty you can still do.” Like running a basketball team, or heading over to the gym for some time on the treadmill. Though Bird has held onto the family home in Naples, Fla., he hasn’t kept up with what was once his chief form of post-basketball relief. “I haven’t played much golf in the last few years,” he said. “I’m not into golf so much right now.” Bird doesn’t sound like he misses the golf course, just as he doesn’t sound worried about 50. He can’t get in the way of it, just as his old fans can’t stop the onslaught of creeping age. Time waits for no one. Most athletes, even the icons, change shape or hair color. Charles Barkley is rounder now than even he probably thought possible. Jerry West has turned a refined shade of gray. Julius Erving looks like a grandfather, and Bill Russell like a great-grandfather. Michael Jordan figured out early that by shaving his head he could defeat the curse of a receding hairline, though look close, and it’s not difficult to notice Jordan’s retreating scalp. “When I saw Larry I thought, ‘Man, he’s a little puffy,’ ” said Cedric Maxwell, Bird’s former Celtics teammate and radio analyst who was on hand the night of Nov. 15 when the Pacers lost to the Celtics in the TD BankNorth Garden. Bird was in the stands and, beseeched by a typically adoring crowd, reluctantly stood and waved to their cheers. Many were a bit stunned by the man who, a little red from embarrassment, sported such a healthy paunch and beefy face above his mock turtleneck. “I think the thing is that people keep athletes in this suspended state of animation,” said Maxwell. “People like to think of a guy as being the same as when he was playing. The one guy who escapes that, I think, is Magic Johnson. Because of the fact that he has HIV and has to take steroids to treat that, and also because he’s in the public eye so much, he’s aged in front of people. That doesn’t happen to many others.” Maxwell’s own experience with future shock occurred prior to a recent game in Auburn Hills, Mich., between the Celtics and Pistons. Maxwell was walking down the hallway in The Palace when someone behind him called out, “Hey, Ricky.” This person wasn’t calling out for Ricky Davis, either. “They thought I was Ricky Mahorn,” groaned Maxwell, talking of an infamous Celtics nemesis who was known for having one of the largest and most active rear ends in the NBA. “But that got me to thinking that I had to do something about this. That’s something I was happy to hear about Larry. When he was in town, the people in a gym I go to told me that he had just been there, getting some work in.” Bird, too, talks of health now as an increasingly important factor in his life. “The kids keep me pretty young,” he said. “It’s the best thing there is.” Indeed, Bird may actually feel younger now than 14 years ago at the time of his premature retirement from chronic back pain. This, according to Bird, is what most fans don’t realize about the young, seemingly indestructible athletes on the floor. “When you played the way that I played every night, even when I was 25 or 32, I knew that when I tried to play through the pain or some kind of injury that I was going to have to pay for it at some point,” he said. “I could bring up the name of a guy like John Havlicek, and all guys like that will tell you now that when something starts to hurt, it’s all the result of playing through something way back then. “When John Havlicek turned 40 he told me that they actually took a whole wedge out of his knee once, and he can still feel it,” said Bird. “I knew right then that I was going to be feeling it as I got older.” Though Bird weathered everything from bone chips in his elbow and both heels to a fractured cheekbone, disc trouble was ultimately his undoing. The Celtics became one of the first teams in the league to lease a private charter plane for the simple benefit that Bird could lie down during flights. He often spent games in those later years belly-down on the floor to ease the back pain when on the sideline. Post-retirement back fusion surgery was Bird’s salvation. At least he could travel and play golf. He could sit on airplanes. Not all have been so lucky. Where the ever-health conscious Robert Parish has always been the shining example of improvement with age, the other third of the Big Three, Kevin McHale, is still paying the price for his toughness as a player. McHale, who now walks with a noticeable limp, may forever suffer for playing in the 1987 NBA Finals on a broken foot. “Kevin shows the result of it now,” said Bird. “Ihate to watch him walk, but that’s also something you understand is part of the game. What people don’t realize is that we played the equivalent of two full years of playoff basketball. That takes a hard toll on your body.” Not that Bird would have played a single minute differently. “Larry hit a point (during the 1985 playoffs) when he had a bone chip that kept him from fully extending his elbow, and he had to miss one game (against Cleveland) because of it,” said Jan Volk, the former Celtics general manager. “He told me, ‘The pain doesn’t bother me. I can play with pain. What troubles me is when the body part won’t work.’ “That was really an interesting observation on his part,” continued Volk. “I’m glad he shared that with me. It gave me some insight into what he had to go through. He played hurt as much as anyone I’ve ever seen, and he played well when he was hurt as much as anyone I’ve ever seen.” The NBA’s last golden age is what many now call the ’80s. But the young Pacers who spot the laid-back, mellowed Bird in Conseco Field House also view his contributions in the same way Bird once felt about old, grainy black-and-white tapes of the Russell and Cousy era. “Every kid we have here hasn’t seen me play,” he said. “What I’ll hear is something like, ‘I saw you on ESPN Classic. Hey, you guys were good.’ It’s just like Cousy and them guys. That’s how we used to look at them.” So now it’s Bird’s turn to feel a little colder and heavier, a little stiffer in the joints, a little, gulp, advanced. And his legion, and they’re out there everywhere, still as dutiful as Arnie’s Army, will carry along the sympathy pains. They’ll carry along the shock, too, that a number as significant as 50 has crept up without warning. “I think people get surprised because Larry and all the other players of that era are so timeless,” said Volk. “The people who are passionate about that time see them as they were. But we see ourselves as we were back then, too.”
2) Jacki MacMullan of the Boston Globe thinks Birdi s not doing enough in retirement:
Is it time for Larry Bird to take over the Pacers?
Larry Bird turns 50 years old Thursday, over 20 years since he and the Boston Celtics won their last championship. In retirement, Bird returned home and aligned himself with the Indiana Pacers, and when he signed on in July 2003 to join president and CEO Donnie Walsh in the front office, Bird figured he'd hang around "seven or eight years, tops." "This job gets in your blood," Bird said. "I can't even describe it. When you get a call about something bad happening to one of your players, it's like it happened to one of your kids. You die over it. "Now you do that realizing they don't feel the same way about you. That's understood. But you can't help but be involved. Donnie and I are so happy when we win, and so down when we lose. When we play horrible, we're both sick about it." "What we do is not a job," Walsh said. "It's an obsession." Bird and Walsh have shared this obsession for the past three-plus seasons, the most tumultuous period in Pacers history. Both were on the job when their team and the Detroit Pistons engaged in the infamous brawl -- on Nov. 19, 2004, at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. -- that spilled over into the stands and produced the stiffest NBA penalties ever. When Jermaine O'Neal was slapped with a 25-game suspension (later reduced to 15 games), Stephen Jackson a 30-game suspension and Ron Artest a suspension for the remainder of the season, it decimated a Pacers roster that had aspirations of winning it all that June. Indiana has yet to recover. The Pacers haven't made it out of the conference semifinals since then and were bounced by New Jersey in the first round last April. The franchise is at a crossroads, with Artest long gone, Jackson all but untradable and O'Neal wondering aloud what the future holds for him in Indianapolis. He's not the only one pondering what's next. Walsh is celebrating his 20th year with the Pacers and adorns the cover of the team's media guide, unusual for a team executive. But will this be his final season? Rumors of his impending retirement -- and Bird's elevation to president as his successor -- have been swirling throughout the league for months. Walsh's contract expires in July, and he said he has not discussed drawing up a new one with longtime owners Herb and Mel Simon. "With everything that has gone on the past two years, I wouldn't dream of asking them about an extension," Walsh said. "Besides, I'm not sure it's healthy for one person to stay with the same organization for 20 years. If you do, the same things tend to permeate. It's important for a franchise to get new ideas." Bird, who has been Walsh's attentive understudy, has his own thoughts on how to turn it around in Indianapolis. Yet, Walsh concedes, he's never sure if the Hall of Famer defers to his boss in personnel matters or presents his honest assessment. "If Larry wants to do something he knows I wouldn't do, I don't want him to think I'm looking over his shoulder," Walsh explained. "Larry would never say it, but I think that happens sometimes. "I really believe Larry is going to be great at this job. But as long as I'm here, it isn't his deal. I want him to have his shot." When Walsh assumed the role of Pacers general manager in 1986, the team had been to the postseason once in its 10 NBA seasons. (The Pacers won three ABA titles in nine seasons.) He drafted future All-Stars Reggie Miller and Rik Smits, traded Herb Williams for Detlef Schrempf and later acquired O'Neal and Joe Kleine for veteran Dale Davis. Beginning in 1990, Indiana made the playoffs 16 times in 17 seasons. In February 2002, Walsh made an acquisition he must profoundly regret, bringing the talented but combustible Artest to Indiana. Artest's role as instigator in the brawl and his insubordination the following season when he returned to the team destroyed the team's blueprint. He was traded last January to Sacramento. Both Bird and Walsh strongly and publicly backed Artest following the debacle in Auburn Hills, a decision that was roundly criticized throughout the league. Artest's subsequent behavior proved to be, in Bird's words, "one of the most disappointing things that happened to me in basketball.'' When Bird retired as a player, he swore the one job he would never consider was coaching. In fact, he rebuffed offers from half a dozen teams before Walsh convinced him to coach his franchise in 1997. Bird said the opportunity to work with the Pacers' president is what changed his mind. Bird submitted a 147-67 record in three seasons, taking the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals three years in a row, including the franchise's lone appearance in the NBA Finals, in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He insisted he would coach only three seasons and kept his word, stepping down following his team's loss to the Lakers in six games. When Bird's friend and former teammate Rick Carlisle was passed over as his successor, Bird declined to stay on in the front office. Walsh lured him back three years later, and Larry Legend's first official act was to sack coach (and former Bird nemesis) Isiah Thomas and replace him with Carlisle. The off-the-court issues that have plagued the Pacers (including Jackson's recent late-night gunplay incident outside a nightclub) have been embarrassing both to Bird and Walsh. Their team takes a 9-10 record into Wednesday's game against Orlando, and Bird confirmed recently, "We're all feeling some heat." Late last week the Simon family, respected within the NBA as model owners who rarely meddle, continued to express strong support for Walsh. "I don't want to own a franchise without Donnie Walsh involved," Herb Simon declared. "If he wants to stay in basketball, I want him with us." Simon conceded that Walsh has given him "mixed signals" about his future; the owner said he has spoken to Walsh about his desire to hand his duties to Bird when the time is right. So is this the time? "Honestly? I don't know," Walsh answered. Bird insists he is neither impatient nor hankering for additional responsibilities. He also said he's amused by unsubstantiated reports that there is friction between him and his boss. "I laugh when I read that stuff," Bird said. "There are times when we are talking about a player, or I bring up an idea about a deal, and we don't agree. But there's never any arguing or yelling about it. That's not our relationship." Asked how he and Walsh split their duties, Bird answered, "Look, I'm smart enough to know who my boss is. Donnie is the boss. He has the final say. He should. He knows this league inside out. He sees things before they're coming." Bird said Walsh has been the man who has made most of the trades happen the past three seasons. "Truthfully, I'm not all that up on the NBA guys," Bird said. "Once the college season starts, I don't have a lot of hands-on contact with the day-to-day workings of the team. I'm out scouting the college kids." Bird said there is no master plan for him to take Walsh's place once Walsh's current contract expires. "My whole objective by getting back into this was I wanted help these guys get back to the Finals," Bird said. "I had no idea how long that would take. I still don't. If it takes another five years, will I still want to do this? Ten years? I don't know. "Look, financially, neither Donnie or I need this. We're doing this because we love it. I don't want Donnie to quit. This is his baby. I'd worry about him if he left. This is his life. "I don't want him thinking at all about my situation." Walsh can't help it. He has maintained a close relationship with the Simon family for two decades and wonders aloud whether that has colored their ability to make a sound business decision on his future. After all, they have been shelling out two hefty front office contracts to Bird and Walsh for three seasons now with minimal results. Walsh said if this is his final season, he will leave with few regrets and a debt of gratitude to the franchise that has been his home for two decades. If Walsh does walk, he would not likely work for another NBA franchise for at least one season. But if the right job came along after that, he wouldn't rule it out. "I'd have to see," he said. "It's hard to walk away from something you love. "I'll tell you this: you can't be mentally healthy and do what we do." Bird knows. He is 50 years old and his players drive him crazy, but he can't wait to show up to work every day to try to make them winners. He's convinced Walsh still feels the same way. "If he's not sure [about leaving], then he should stay," Bird said. "Then we can be sick about this stuff together."
posted by Cornback at
2:59 p.m.
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