No Subject

All right, everyone at once.....  Phew!

Tone

BTW - Herald can be found @ http://www.bostonherald.com.

Tuesday, February 2, 1999

PROVIDENCE - The Celtics dodged a king-sized bullet
yesterday when an MRI examination taken on Ron Mercer's
right knee revealed no structural damage.

Mercer, who underwent tests at New England Baptist Hospital, twisted the
knee when
he landed on Bruce Bowen's foot during morning practice at Brandeis. The
second-year
guard has a sprained medial collateral ligament but is holding out hope of
playing in
Friday's season opener against Toronto.

``I want to play, but it's really up to how my knee feels later in the
week,'' said Mercer, who accompanied the team to last night's open practice
at Providence Civic Center. ``I've never had a knee problem. It's hard to
say how much time I'm going to need right now.''

Regardless, the Celtics escaped this injury cheaply. When he left for the
hospital,
Mercer feared his knee was seriously damaged. Celtics coach Rick Pitino had
the same
concern. ``Certainly we're all fortunate it wasn't a torn ACL,'' said
Pitino. ``We're going to take our time with it and let it heal. He could
play this weekend or he could be out a month.''

Mercer's condition will be evaluated today. His injury is the latest in a
string of physical woes the Celtics have weathered for two weeks. But the
rest of the injury report was far more promising yesterday.

Schintzius nose pain

Dwayne Schintzius underwent successful surgery to repair his broken nose at
New
England Baptist in the morning and was at Brandeis taking part in light
workouts
afterward. Meanwhile, Bowen (slightly fractured left wrist) and Greg Minor
(bone spurs,
left ankle) practiced for the first time in eight days, and Walter McCarty
(sprained right
big toe) and Popeye Jones (right quadriceps) expect to return to practice
today.

McCarty also received good news off the court. The Celtics signed the
6-foot-9 reserve
forward to a three-year contract extension worth approximately $8 million.



01:49 PM 2/2/99 PST, Jim Meninno wrote:
>I keep looking for news on Ron's injury.  This report looks fresh and 
>hopefully means that the MRI came back negative.
>
>Jim
>
>By Associated Press, 02/02/99 03:59 
>
>BOSTON (AP) - Two Boston Celtics players have been temporarily sidelined 
>with injuries suffered in practice.
>
>Guard Ron Mercer twisted his right knee in practice Monday. Celtics 
>spokesman Jeff Twiss said Mercer sprained a ligament, and will be 
>evaluated day to day.
>
>Also Monday, center Dwayne Schintzius underwent surgery for a nasal 
>fracture he suffered in practice last Saturday. He will be fitted with a 
>protective mask, and will return as soon as he is approved by medical 
>staff.
>
>Team physician Arnold Scheller assisted with the surgery at New England 
>Baptist Hospital.
>
>The team did not say how long either player could be out of action.
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>