L'il Al's muscles et al

[Sean Giovanello]

Thanks for the report Kim.

Its funny your description of the changes of the event reminds me of the
changes the Patriots made to the season ticket holder only draft party they
used to have at the racetrack next to the old Foxobro.  The first couple
years were excellent - small enough crowds, good booze and food, access to
players and writers and cheerleaders.  I ended up on the cover of the Herald
one year and on ESPN as well :)  I also drank beers and talking sports with
Ron Borges, Ron Hobson, and Pete Brock at one of them as well.  They were
really cool.   However, within a couple years they ended up opening it up to
people who who werent season ticket holders but who would pay and the
intimacy was gone, the venue changed, the whole thing just went down the
tubes to the point we stopped going.



On 9/30/06, Kim Malo <kmalo17 at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> Well, having just gotten home from the Celtics picnic for season
> ticket holders I can certify from live and in person that Al
> definitely looks in great shape. And for those bemoaning the loss of
> bulk to throw around on the boards and in the paint, I'll add that
> it's clearly muscle based cut and not just a matter of dropping
> pounds - he's not skinny, he's lean, and there is a real difference.
> Skinny is what his arms and upper body looked like when he first came
> here. I still remember looking at a picture then of him side by side
> with Marcus and it wasn't the new PF who had the more built up,
> powerful looking shoulders, chest and biceps. Even when he was using
> the prior bulk, a point JB made was correct - it was really his
> quickness with things like spin moves on offense that made it
> effective because he was through people before they were set up to
> stop him more than because of the bulk per se. So replacing it with
> muscle could make him more effective rather than less. Anyway, we'll
> see how it translates into play on the court. But if nothing else it
> should help him get the lift back that he lost on his shot last
> season because of the ankle, and that left too many of his shots
> clanging short.
>
> The bad news is that I couldn't get close enough to verify for sure,
> but Telfair does look alarmingly close to eye level with me, which
> doesn't exactly make him a munchkin but does mean the 6'0" he's
> listed at is not pessimism.  Rondo is slightly taller. Telfair
> guaranteed making the playoffs to the crowd. Didn't hear Danny's
> speech as I was talking with someone, but heard most of Doc's. His
> emphasis was on the players learning to trust each other, which isn't
> as left field as it might sound. It's a non-finger pointing way of
> flagging things like the one man seeing the ball offense and attempts
> to do everything yourself that were genuine problems. He also went on
> to say the main issues were improving on defense and running more
> consistently  (noting that you had to have the right personnel -
> presumably his seal of approval on the new PGs), which again isn't
> exactly earth shattering news, but I'd rather hear him admitting they
> were problems and big enough to flag and focus on rather than
> pretending (or even really believing) they weren't.
>
> That being said, this used to be a really nice perk of being a season
> ticket holder, with a genuine this is to thank you for supporting us
> and you're part of the Celtics Family feel, but felt more this year
> like just another marketing tool. It wasn't at the practice facility
> as it's been the past few years, but at the Waterworks outdoor club
> in Quincy "sponsored by Harvard Pilgrim" with corners cut on the food
> and the give aways there used to be and a bit less freedom of casual
> access to people. Even when you'd see a player in the crowd unless
> they were complete unknowns they would have a handler nearby,
> although the Dwayne Jones of the world were left to fend. New
> cheerleaders *cough* -I mean dancers- were prominently on display
> (No, get your minds on out of the gutter - bared navels but not an
> excess of skin elsewhere) of course...
>
> BTW, just downloaded a rather distinctive ring tone
> http://preview.moviso.com/PreviewContent/540/178961/4456621.mp3
> Couldn't resist and if nothing else it should stand out in a crowd...
> Kim
>
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