Re: Happy Birthday Bill?

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU>]

At 11:38 2/12/00 -0500, you wrote:
>If these kids today understood what Bill, KC, Sam, Bob, Tom, Bill,
>Bailey, etc knew, we wouldn't have to put up with stupid columns from
>folk like Michael Holley and wouldn't have discussions going on this
>list about how it is all "Pitino's" fault.  

Sure, sure. Those kids today... they're "punks", to use  Bob Ryan's
favorite term. They have it easy - not like we used to, walking 10 miles to
school in two feet of snow uphill  - both ways! 
And they shouldn't let young black kids, who side with those "punks" and
dare to criticize the coach (the horror!!!), cover the team. Especially
when you have oldtimers like Ryan on your staff to set the record straight.  

>Blame is more properly
>placed on 1. Gaston, 

Sure, for being foolish enough to give $50M to Ricky, among other things

> 2. ML Carr, 

As I've said before, M.L.'s record as GM is no worse than Pitino's. He made
some bad moves and  and some excellent moves, just like Pitino. As coach,
in his first season he did about as well as Pitino has, but with less
talent. In his 2nd year,  he was told to tank the season for the chance to
get Duncan, and he did exactly as instructed. The golden parachute M.L.
received from Gaston is proof to his following Gaston's instructions
faithfully. 

The continual blaming of M.L. for everything that's gone wrong with this
franchise is a knee-jerk reaction that Pitino has skillfully exploited in
covering his arse  (the latest example being Pitino's  comments in the
Herald today).  Was M.L. a great coach/GM? No, but I think it's very unfair
that he gets blamed for everything short of inducing a cocaine OD in Bias
and heart attack in Lewis, while Pitino gets a free ride from some of the
list members and journalists.

> 3. Salary Cap, 

Wait a minute...are you saying we'd be better off without a salary cap? If
you are, that kind of shows your understanding of the situation right
there. Besides, don't the other teams have to abide by salary cap
constraints as well?
 
>4. Immature spoiled
>players with egotistical agents and posses filling their heads with
>nonsense, and only after all these have taken responsibility for their
>mistakes, can we even begin to examine what Rick has done.

 ...and don't the other coaches and GMs have to deal with the players from
today's generation, too? Or do we have an especially rotten group of
youngsters playing for the Celtics?
(Btw,if you try to get the best deal for your client [as you presumably
do], is it fair then to call you an "egotistical lawyer"?)

The point is, Pitino was hired to do the job in exactly these
circumstances, and he hasn't  done it. If the Celtics had been stocked with
modern-day equivalents of Russell and Cousy signed to $250,000 contracts
in the spring of '97, Gaston wouldnt've shelled out $50M to Pitino the
Savior  - anyone would do in that situation, even the reviled M.L..