>>>>>>>Mike,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Except fans like lots of scoring more than they like degree of difficulty.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>So lower the rim per point then. *g*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Last nights game results... Spurs 327, Lakers 276
>>>>>>
>>>>>>See? You've improved the game already! <g>
>>>>>
>>>>>But he gave Popovich a heart attack.
>>>>
>>>>Danny Ainge must have gotten his from the possibility of Kevin Garnett missing the playoffs. (A possibility that has been greeted with open skepticism in Chicago, BTW, given the Celtics' long history of gamesmanship).
>>>
>>>Once upon a time I was a major Celtics fan. From the latter days of Bill Russell, through Dave Cowans, and Larry Bird. But now they've morphed from a great finesse team into a bunch of thugs, and I don't enjoy watching them play any more.
>>
>>In the words of Samuel L. Jackson as Jules, allow me to retort <g>. Although I am not and never been a Celtics fan, I don't agree with that at all. Like you, I don't like the thugs in the league, but don't see KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce fitting that label at all.
>
>Tell that to Anderson Varejao. ;) That was a thing that one does not do in professional sports.
>

I am not familiar with the event you refer to. The last I knew he was with the Cavs, to be honest. IAC, one dicey (backup) player does not make them a bunch of thugs, as you called them.

This afternoon I got home from my AA meeting just in time to see the last few minutes, and then OT, of the Bulls at Celtics game. Amazing! Even with KG out, I didn't think the Bulls could beat them. (And it's still only one game). Derrick Rose, another antidote to the view that pro athletes are all thugs who care only about money, had 36 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut. I love the way he plays, especially the explosiveness around the basket, and the way he comports himself just as much. A very cool customer. He's only 20 but acts like he's been in the league 10 years. He also seems genuinely modest, not that faux modesty practiced by so many athletes. Not long ago he was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune and asked to assess his rookie season. He is widely expected to be named rookie of the year so it was a little surprising that he said he would give himself a B or a B-, citing his average of over 2 turnovers a game. That is almost invariably a hallmark of greatness (in any field) -- not focusing on the plusses but the area that can still be improved. I really feel lucky that he wound up with the Bulls.

In the Bulls' starting lineup were Rose, age 20, a rookie; Joakim Noah, 24, a second year man; and Tyrus Thomas, 22, a third year man. All three played exceptionally, which is not necessarily what you expect on the road in the playoffs against the defending champs. It's a good time to be a Bulls fan.