Re: FW: [Celtics' Stuff ''He's in fantastic physical condition,.. ."

[Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
In terms of fan support, I don't find any of this condemnable much less
"racist".
--- end of quote ---

Have to agree with Joe here. Herren has shown very little, as far as I can
tell, and the attention he's receiving from the Celtics is far out of
proportion with his accomplishments (rather, lack thereof). El-Amin impressed
me a lot more, but they didn't sign him Yeah, he may be a defensive liability,
but Herren is not exactly All-Defense 1st team, and El-Amin could actually run
the team and score - something which Herren has yet to show, injured or not. 
As for why he interests the Celtics so much, let's not forget that the Celtics
under Auerbach had a nearly-official affirmative action program  for BWS. I'd
bet you anything that someone in the Celtics management looked over the roster
and said, "Geez, we only have one white guy on the roster, and he's Ukrainian!
How 'bout that local boy who really wants to play for us, can we make a human
interest story out of him?"  It's not necessarily racist, they're simply trying
to drum up some interest in the team among the casual fans. 
Maybe I'm wrong and Herren will turn into John Stockton, but I really doubt
that. He's physically unimpressive, hasn't shown point guard abilities at this
level, and is not a great shooter, even accounting for injuries. He's 26 and
has a lot of baggage, including quitting on a team when he realized he wasn't
good enough to star in the Italian league. His only positive attribute is his
feistiness, but a nasty disposition, a Southie (or is it also Fall River?)
permascowl, local ties, and a pinkish complexion  shouldn't be enough to earn a
spot on the Celtics. I'm anticipating his not being "100%" because he'll be out
of shape, worried about his wife's pregnancy and childbirth, excited about his
newborn, injured, reinjured etc. ad infinitum. 
Kestas