Peter May: Celtics Team Report

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Just found this.
Ray

              Boston Celtics
              Team Report posted                    
              August 22, 1998                       

              by tsn correspondent                  
              PETER MAY  Boston Globe         
                                                   
              The Celtics are banking on             
              improvement and greater popularity
              in the comins seasons.  How else do
              you explain their interesting             
              television deal announced this past    
              week?                                 
                                                    
              Up for grabs were the rights to the
              team's road games. The Celtics         
              always have had the home games on
              cable and the road games on an
              over-the-air station. But in recent  
              years, the road games have run into          
              conflicts with both the Red Sox and      
              Bruins. The new station, which now      
              carries the Red Sox, no longer
              will. Instead, it will carry the         
              Celtics -- for free.                    
                                                       
              Well, sort of. The station paid no      
              rights fees to the team for the          
              games. Instead, it will split all        
              advertising revenues with the team,      
              with the Celtics getting the bulk
              of the initial payments. Once a         
              certain amount has been sold, the        
              team and the station split the rest.
              As much as $165,000 per game       
              could be available in ad revenue,        
              which translates to around $6.6          
              million. However, that is a              
              best-case picture and relies on 41       
              games; the station and team would        
              get nothing if the games are on
              NBC. The deal is for three years.        
              At that time, the Celtics hope to
              have a better team and could             
              conceivably demand a large rights        
              fee. The cable station that carries      
              the Celtics' home games had offered      
              the club a 10-year deal for total        
              exclusivity, but it was too long a       
              commitment. . . .                       
                                                       
              Former Celtics star Larry Bird was      
              back in town for a ceremony which        
              unveiled a set of bronzed sneakers      
              adjacent to a statue of team             
              monarch Red Auerbach. Boston Mayor    
              Thomas Menino declared the day           
              `Larry Bird Day,' and it was six        
              years to the day that Bird
              officially retired. Asked about the      
              honor, Bird cracked, "Red gets a       
              statue, Ted Williams gets a tunnel,     
              and I get a pair of shoes." (A new      
              tunnel in Boston to Logan Airport        
              was named for Williams.)                 
                                                       
              Bird said he still likes returning       
              to Boston -- he does so now mainly      
              for endorsement gigs and the like        
              -- and was disappointed to see that     
              the old Boston Garden is finally         
              razed. About his new team, the           
              Indiana Pacers, the head coach said
              he hopes they'll do even better         
              next season. "All we need," he
              said, "is a better head coach." . .      
              . One of Bird's teammates, Dennis        
              Johnson, is trying to get back into      
              coaching and is talking to CBA
              teams. Johnson was an assistant         
              under both Chris Ford and M.L. Carr   
              before being fired when Rick Pitino      
              came to town. . . .                      
                                                       
              Pitino's horse, Halory Hunter, has       
              been retired to stud. The horse
              broke his leg before last May's          
              Preakness. . . .
                                                       
              The Celtics' schedule -- assuming
              there is a season -- has them           
              opening on the road for the first       
              time in 13 years. The last time         
              that happened, they went on to win      
              their 16th world championship.           
              They're still trying for No. 17.