May: Auerbach Not Fazed By Bird; C's Exhibition Schedule

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

                                                         [Image]

                                [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
                                [Boston Globe Online / Sports]

                                [ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print
                                      version | Add to Daily User ]

                                Red dismisses being left in dark by Bird

                                By Peter May, Globe Staff, 09/02/99

                                 [Image]ed Auerbach found out for the
                                        first time Tuesday that Larry Bird
                                had a heart problem while still with the
                                Celtics. His reaction: ''No big deal.''

                                Auerbach was president of the franchise at
                                the time and said last night that he
                                wasn't the least bit upset that Bird never
                                brought up the subject.

                                ''He's a big guy; he was no kid,''
                                Auerbach said. ''It was no big deal. It's
                                not like he had a diseased valve or a lack
                                of circulation or he needed a balloon
                                [angioplasty] or something. It was up to
                                him to tell us. From what I understand,
                                it's no big deal.''

                                Bird revealed this week that he had an
                                irregular heartbeat called atrial
                                fibrillation at the end of his playing
                                career but never told the Celtics about
                                it. He finally came clean years after he
                                retired and still needs medication to
                                control it. Celtics team physician Arnold
                                Scheller said he thought Bird needed to
                                modify his lifestyle, from alcohol intake
                                to diet to exercise, to control the
                                problem.

                                Auerbach said he understood exactly why
                                Bird chose to talk about the situation now
                                - he has a book to sell.

                                ''You [media] guys amaze me,'' Auerbach
                                said. ''Why now? If it was really big
                                news, don't you think it would have come
                                out before now? He's got a book.''

                                Asked if he felt at all disappointed that
                                Bird did not tell him about the situation,
                                Auerbach said, ''Look, all I know is that
                                he passed all the physicals. And at that
                                time of his career, he was under a
                                doctor's care almost all the time for his
                                back. Who knows? It's always serious when
                                it's the heart, but at the same time he
                                didn't seem to be concerned about it, or
                                he would have mentioned it. I just don't
                                think it's a big deal.''

                                The Celtics released their exhibition
                                schedule yesterday, and it features two
                                games each against Utah, Atlanta,
                                Charlotte, and Washington. Three games
                                will be played in New England - two in the
                                FleetCenter (Oct. 13 vs. Charlotte and
                                Oct. 27 vs. Washington) and one in
                                Providence (Oct. 15 vs. Atlanta). The
                                other ''home'' game is at Lexington, Ky.,
                                vs. Utah Oct. 23. The most exotic stop is
                                Oct. 25 in Biloxi, Miss., vs. Atlanta. The
                                other non-NBA locale is Nashville, where
                                the Celtics play Utah Oct. 20.

                                This story ran on page C09 of the Boston
                                Globe on 09/02/99.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

                                [ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print
                                      version | Add to Daily User ]