Re: McDonough: pitino Says They'll Make Playoffs; Pierce A Top Player

[opi@unesco.org]

>
>                                 [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
>                                 [Boston Globe Online / Sports]
>
>                                 It didn't pay to overspend
>
>                                 By Will McDonough, Globe Columnist,
>                                 10/02/99  <Snips>
>
>
>                                 Celtics coach Rick Pitino on second-year
>                                 man Paul Pierce: ''He is on his way to
>                                 being one of the best players in the
>                                 league. I have never seen anyone work as
>                                 hard as Paul has this offseason. Every day
>                                 he has been working out for five hours.
>                                 Five hours. His work ethic is fabulous. He
>                                 wants to be a great player, and because of
>                                 the way he works at the game, he will be a
>                                 great player.''

Most of us would surely love to play basketball five hours EVERY day, if only
our talent made this use of our time make sense. Still, I love reading about
Paul Pierce and know he finally might be a "keeper" (by the highest Celts
standards). I love Paul Pierce and the fresh sense of destiny and expectations
he brings to Boston. I love watching his enthusiasm during the player
introductions before each game. Go Celts!

"Beat LA in 2000" (caveat: at least sweep 'em in the regular season)

Joe

p.s. you all may have noted from my misc. posts that I'm an unusually
superstitious person with all kinds of rituals on game days etc., but anyway I
made a vow last summer to get myself in the best shape of my life by October
in exchange for the Celts also coming to camp in great shape, and
unfortunately I failed my end of the bargain. In fact, I'm still the same
weight and have developed a connoisseurs passion for burgundy wines after
blowing them off for years. So "Plan B" I'll try to run every morning and
lunch during training camp, and have already belatedly taken on a strict gym
workout routine since this past week. I hope everyone else on the list gets
into this too. Seriously guys, I totally believe in connecting certain
short-term life goals with my hopes for the Celtics each year. This is totally
messed up and unscientific, yes I know, but if Antoine comes to media day out
of shape today  (triple chin etc.), I'll know who's fault it partly was and
blame myself for being a hypocrite (expecting more discipline from them than I
do myself on vacation).

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