The Cous is Back!

["Josh Farber" <joshfarber@home.com>]

Cousy, FSNE strike a deal


By Howard Manly, Globe Staff, 08/27/99


ob Cousy has come to terms with Fox Sports New England to work as a color
analyst and with the Celtics as a marketing representative in the team's
front office.


Cousy's future as a broadcaster became uncertain when FSNE landed a
television deal to broadcast every Celtics game. The television rights were
available after Channel 68, the Boston University-owned station, was
purchased by PAX and refused to air the team's road games. Cousy worked for
Channel 68 last year and covered about 40 games.


The new agreement calls for Cousy, 71, to work as many as 10 games next
season and work in the booth with Tommy Heinsohn and Mike Gorman.


''I guess everybody is happy now,'' Cousy said.


The Celtics legend said he doesn't plan to hold his tongue because the
Celtics are signing his paycheck.


''The only thing I have to hold on to is my credibility,'' Cousy said.
''When those turkeys go out there and don't show up, I'm sorry, but I have
got to tell the world. I used to have a lot of heated discussions with Mr.
Gaston Sr. After a game he would come up to me and say, `Geez, Bob, you
didn't have to be so hard on us.'' I'd tell him the same thing. Don't shoot
the messenger.''


It's that kind of candor that FSNE needs to give its broadcasts the
necessary weight. ''If I were told what to say or how to say it, I wouldn't
do it,'' Cousy said. ''There's a way to be honest without being destructive.
If I jump all over coach [Rick] Pitino or 'Toine [Antoine Walker], it's
because I thought they deserved it.''


By all accounts, Cousy's integrity will continue.


''The thing that everyone has to remember is that viewers don't watch a game
because of the announcers,'' Cousy said. ''If the product is solid and the
team is competitive, then everybody's job is a lot easier.''


This story ran on page D09 of the Boston Globe on 08/27/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.