[none]

[Theresa Lee <tjoyce@MIT.EDU>]

The writing is on the wall. My guess is that Dee Brown and his cronies are
the ones who don't want Bird in the picture.  Then again, it could be all
of those players who don't like to practice.  Read on....Chris Webber
talking about respect, ha!  Of course players "respect" an opposing coach
who grins and chats w/ them during the game..."like" may be more accurate.


Celtics Notebook: Still searching for answers

                    By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 04/07/97

                    M.L. Carr had a message for his team before yesterday's
game: Just
                    play basketball. That is not an unusual request. But
when you add the
                    lingering question of who will be the boss in 1997-98,
it's easy for a
                    team to drift.

                    Publicly, the Celtics are saying the right things. Some
say they don't read
                    the paper. Others say their job is to play, not
speculate on management's
                    plans. But when the klieg lights and notepads are at
ease, many of them
                    are like everyone else. They want a hint about the
future. Will it be Carr?
                    Rick Pitino? Larry Bird? Two of three?

                    ``Paul Gaston is in charge of the Celtics,'' Carr said
after the 120-114
                    loss to the Bullets at the FleetCenter.

                    Yes, Gaston is the chairman of the board. He never has
claimed to be in
                    charge of the basketball decisions. Who will be?

                    ``There will be no evaluation of that at this time,''
Carr said.

                    All the evaluation now is unofficial. The team is
split. A few players
                    have said they want no part of Bird as a manager/coach.
During a team
                    function Saturday night, one player expressed disgust
with what he
                    perceives to be Bird's self-importance. There are those
who say Pitino is
                    not the answer now, either. And, of course, there are
those who question
                    the leadership ability of Carr.

                    The constant chatter about the Celtics' future has not
been lost on the
                    opposition.

                    ``I can tell you that no matter who the Celtics had in
here this year - Rick
                    Pitino, Larry Bird - that person couldn't do much more
than what M.L.
                    has done,'' Washington's Chris Webber said. ``I can
tell you that he's
                    definitely respected around the league, as far as
players go. He's a Celtic.
                    He's won championships, something 90 percent of the
league has never
                    done.''

                    Those titles, from 1981 and '84, may not be enough to
prevent a power
                    shift, a shift that could leave Carr without one or
both of his present
                    jobs.

                    A money shot

                    One of the highlights from yesterday did not involve a
Celtic or Bullet.
                    Peter Carlson, a Peterborough, N.H., resident who
services copy
                    machines, made a halfcourt shot during a halftime
promotion. He won
                    $77,777. Todd Day quickly figured out the math for
Carlson, saying that
                    he'll see about $36,000 of that. That's fine with
Carlson. He practiced his
                    shot for weeks at the YMCA in Merrimack. He made more
money in
                    30 seconds than he did all of last year. One of his
secrets? ``I ate a Twix
                    bar before I went out there,'' he said. ``My stomach
was in knots from
                    the nerves, so I had to do something.'' ... Antoine
Walker jammed his
                    left ring finger going for a rebound. Players on the
Celtics bench
                    groaned when he held up the mangled finger for them to
see. ``I thought
                    it was broken,'' Walker said. X-rays were negative ...
Rod Strickland on
                    the Celtics: ``They're just playing for stats right
now.'' ... Rick Fox had
                    six steals, bringing his season total to 166. That ties
Bird's team record.
                    Fox joked that he wanted to remain tied with Bird so
people would have
                    to say their names in the same sentence ... Eric
Williams (bruised right
                    knee) did not play ... The Celtics' bench: 26 minutes,
0 for 2 from the
                    field, 4 points.

- -------------------------------------------------------
Theresa Lee
Alumni Officer III, Student and Parent Programs
Association of Alumni and Alumnae of MIT
10-140, 77 Mass Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
ph: 617-253-8280
tjoyce@mit.edu