Naming Names, was Lady and the Tramp

["R. Bentz Kirby" <bocelts@usit.net>]

Just for the record.  I was not happy when Pitino was hired.  I didn't think he
would save the Celtics.  My point is and remains that Pitino is not the problem
here, really.  Walker needs to stay in Boston and report to camp in shape.  We
need some tough veteran players.  Dorine was correct in saying that Fox and
Wesley could have provided some example for the young talented players.  I
agree with her we should have kept them.  But, the problem is what Gaston is
willing to spend.  We can't sign Duncan cause Gaston won't pay him.  Bottom
line, even if he wanted to come, it would not happen.

For you to state that I am a fan of Pitino is factually wrong.  And your
writing style, ie:  "question the sanity" contains implications that are not
factually correct.

My point remains that, if you think that Pitino is the problem here, you have
fallen prey to the ever present idea in American sports, "if we arent' winning,
let's fire the coach."  It is easy to bash the coach, blame the coach, etc.,
and in my opinion, you are wrong when you do it.  Factually wrong.  But it is
an easy thing, and on this list, a popular thing to do.

Now I do think that Dorine is correct about personnel moves that Rick has
made.  And there was a column the other day that made a good point.  Rick needs
to coach and should not be in control of the personnel decisions.  Gaston needs
to do two things, get out his check book, and hire a real GM that can stand up
to RP.  Then, when they have the right players, and Walker grows up, Rick will
be able to coach a championship team.

Again, since you made the point of mentioning me personally in your post as a
Pitino supporter.  I am not a Pitino supporter as much as I am for the fans on
this list to take a realistic view of our talent and situation and realize that
firing Pitino is not not the solution.  And, for the factual record, I made the
statement that if Pitino can not have this team winning by the end of the
2001-02 season, he should be fired.  If you are going to name my name and
characterize me as one who will "will probably always find a way to exonerate
him and blame something or somebody else," at least get your facts correct.

Question:

If the Celtics make the playoffs next year, will you post to the list giving
credit to Pitino for his coaching, or will you find some negative spin to put
on it, like, "well if it wasn't for Pitino we would have won the championship?"

And finally, my point is that the Pitino bashers is that they expect instant
gratification (except Dorine who for some reason has lost her patience) and
don't have the patience to wait until the process can work itself out.  But, if
Gaston won't open the checkbook, it won't happen no matter who the coach is.

Last year, the management of the Knicks wanted to fire Van Gundy, but he got
them to the finals.  Did he suddenly learn how to coach at the end of the
season?  There are a lot of factors at work.  Bashing the coach when you are
not winning is the easy and most popular trap to fall into.  If you think the
Celtics have the talent and experience to be a top NBA team, then it is easy to
blame Rick.  But, in my opinion, you should go back and re-evaluate our
talent.  Cause we don't got it.  It is not Rick.

On the other hand, give Pitino Tim Duncan and I bet he will be as good of a
coach as say that guy who coached the Spurs to the championship.


You comments are improper and factually wrong.  You should take more care.

Kestas wrote:

> At 12:04 3/3/00 -0500, you wrote:
> >
> >Why don't you name who you're actually talking about, because you seem
> >to be talking about list members?
>
> Sure:  Mark Berry, Bentz Kirby, Starke Farrell (who questioned the sanity
> of Pitino critics) and others whose names I don't remember now.  [However,
> read below]
>
> > As far as I can tell, all the Pitino
> >supporters that actively post on this list don't view him as some sort
> >of god. I'd like to know who Pitino could supposedly spit on, or
> >whether you're just referring to some mythical "Pitinoite" that you're
> >just making up to be generally insulting.
>
> It's the averaged views of the people I named (and that generally belong to
> that group) - a prototype of sorts. In that abstracted prototype, whatever
> small qualms these individuals may have about Pitino dissipate, and what
> remains is staunch, unwavering support for Pitino that is not, as far as I
> can tell, affected by any counterfactual evidence - like Pitino's record
> with the Celtics.
> Do I believe that these  individuals actually think of Pitino as a God-like
> entity? Did I literally mean that he could spit on them and tell them it's
> raining, and they'd believe it? Of course not.  These are averaged and
> figurative descriptions of the phenomenon based on the prototype Pitinoite.
> Let me repeat again at the risk of belaboring the point: it is neither the
> actual individuals, nor a "mythical Pitinoite that I'm just making up",
> that I'm referring to - it is the averaged, prototype views of actual
> Pitino supporters on this list ( If you've been exposed to neural network
> or categorization literature, you'd instantly know what I'm talking about).
>  If anyone else  took these comments literally, I'm sorry. But figuratively
> speaking, I still maintain that no matter to what depths Pitino takes this
> franchise, these people will probably always find a way to exonerate him
> and blame something or somebody else.

--

Bentz Kirby
bocelts@usit.net
http://www.public.usit.net/bocelts/