Sorry it has come to this....

["Shawn Niles" <shizzjr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've been a Celtic fan my whole life. I'm not as old as some on the list to 
remember the 60's and 70's Celtic teams. I remember the teams of the 80's. I 
am a true fan, not a bandwagon fan. I give my all to the team. No offense to 
those who turn off games where they are getting blown out, but I never turn 
off games. I watch each and every one from start to finish. Even last 
nights, right down to the 'love fest' interview with Jordan afterwards. I 
feel like watching all the bad times will make the good times more 
enjoyable. It has been very hard to watch this team for the past decade. But 
I wanted to stick it out. I have probably watched every game but 6 or 7 a 
year over the last 10 years. I watched friend after friend abandon ship and 
stop following the team as they continued to get worse until I was only down 
to one that still faithfully watched games (BA).

So last year felt great. Even though they were winning unconventionally, 
they were winning again. It felt good. It felt like they were on the way up 
again. Then Paul Gaston screwed us. I don't want to call him the most 
despicable human beings because there are some bad ones out there, (Bin 
Laden, Saddam, Castro), but I will say that I think he is the most 
despicable person in the world of sports. Because of his own selfish greed, 
he tore the team apart. He saw a chance to make some money and he went for 
it at the expense of the entire Celtic Fan base. Most people try and make as 
much money as possible, but it has been stated that it should be different 
when it comes to owning a sports team. It's not like Gaston would have been 
in the poor house without the extra money. He simply did it out of greed. I 
think I may dislike him as much as any other person.

Even still, why did Celtic management make the moves they did? We know they 
weren't allowed to sign Rodney. But did Gaston hold a gun to Wallaces and 
Obie's heads and force them to trade for Baker? I don't think so. They have 
said it was the only trade they could make. If that's the case, weren't they 
better off making no trade at all? Some say, 'but then you'd lose Kenny's 
salary slot'. At this point, I don't see how that would have made them worse 
than they are now. Maybe it would have been better to just let his contract 
run out. I have stated on my website that not only was the Baker trade the 
worst in Celtic history, but that it might be the worst in NBA history. I 
stand by that statement.

What about some of the other guys that have been signed? Sundov? I too was 
made sick watching him fire three's with reckless abandon last night. 
Bremer? Maybe the worst shooter I have ever seen. I've seen him twice in 
person now and I have no idea how he made this team. Wolkowyski? Vitaly, oh 
Vitaly, where have you gone?

The team has taken as big a jump backwards this year as they took forwards 
last year. Unfortunately, I think we are stuck for a while. There is no way 
that anyone on the coaching or management staff will be fired during the 
year. Make no mistake though... Obie, Wallace, and Papile need to go. They 
haven't a clue. More and more I am begining to believe that the success last 
year was mostly attributed a fresh year without Pitino, and some other 
things falling into place. This group butchers drafts, has no idea how to 
teach rookies, and has no clue how to teach offense. This team has no 
discipline, no rebounding, no offense, and apparently no defense. I don't 
know enough about the assistant coaches to know if any of them should be 
kept around. Harter is the only one that I feel should stay. Maybe a 
horrible year will convince the new owners that they all need to be fired. 
Even after that, we have 3-4 years before anything can be done to remedy the 
situation. It's 1997 all over again, and we need someone to come in and 
clean house. This time it needs to be someone who knows what they are doing.

I waited 10 years for a good team and finally got it. Now it has been ripped 
out from under me. I don't know if I have it in me to wait through another 3 
or 4 losing seasons. Last night felt all too familiar. I don't want to go 
through that again. Pierce's and Walker's primes are being wasted. I will 
always bleed green, but right now I feel wounded and I don't know if I can 
recover.


A few side notes....

-Washington up 25, Jordan fouls Pierce taking a 3, gets called for the foul, 
and explodes at the ref. Right in his face screaming at him. The ref does 
nothing. Does anyone have any doubt that if that were Walker or Pierce or 
even anyone else in the league that they would have gotten a technical 
immediately? It is sickening to see Jordan get that kind of treatment.

- It also sickens me to see certain announcers be so biased. At one point 
last night, Fratello called the Wizards 'WE' and had to be corrected by 
Albert that he was not a part of that team. Fratello also wore a Jordan face 
mask part of the night. Nice impartial commentary Fratello.




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