Bob Ryan's "Greatest of the green"

Another basketball post, as the new World Champion Boston Celtics got the Duck Boat treatment yesterday, with a Rolling Rally through downtown (Major cool if you are a fan ... A royal pain-in-the-ass if you work downtown, make deliveries, or otherwise, have to go there).

In yesterday's Boston Globe, Bob Ryan puts things into perspective, with his rundown on the All Time Top Ten Celtic teams.

I'm old enough to remember when Ryan came to the Globe, in the late 60's, becoming the beat writer covering the Celtics, then soon becoming the Supreme Deposit of Basketball Knowledge throughout the land.

Here's a snip of Ryan's piece;

This was a championship for a Lost Generation of Boston Celtics fans.

These are people for whom Bill Russell, the greatest winner in American team sports, and Bob Cousy, the legendary "Houdini of the Hardwood," are like figures out of King Arthur's tales. These are people for whom John Havlicek, basketball's consummate 'sixth man," and Dave Cowens, the mercurial redheaded center, are as personally relevant as comic book characters. These are people for whom even the great Larry Bird is just some guy wearing short-shorts who pops up occasionally on ESPN Classic.

The Celtics began winning championships in the Eisenhower Administration with players born either before or during the Great Depression. They continued winning through the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Reagan administrations before hitting a snag following the 1986 championship. Now, after a 22-year wait, they have won a championship under the stewardship of George Bush with players born after man first walked on the moon.

Check it out - Greatest of the green; New champs near the top in storied franchise's all-time Top 10

No.17! ... Celtics Demolish Lakers!

Oh, man, was this ever something ...

If the Los Angeles Lakers are "Showtime" then the Boston Celtics are "HBO".

World Championship No.17 was delivered tonight with a nearly unprecedented thrashing of the LA Fakers, the final score ringing in at 131-92, winning the title in six-games.


















The Celtics, after a close first quarter took control of the game in the second, with suffocating defense, keying a potent offense and never looked back.

The Celts rode the 3rd and 4th quarter, throughout, with a 30+ point lead.

The Lakers, most of its' players having mailed it in, struggled to keep it that close, perhaps the only motivation was not to lose by 40+ points.

Terrorist suspects in Gitmo haven't come close to suffering an ass-whuppin' like the Laker got this evening.

Kobe Bryant as the next Michael Jordan?

No, Virginia, Kobe Bryant is not the Next Michael Jordan.

The Next Michael Jordan (whoever that may be), doesn't shoot 7-22, and allow his team to lose by 39-points in a "must-win" game.

It was embarrassing.

If I were the LA Laker Management, I'd make the team walk home to Los Angeles, for their thoroughly underwhelming, lack-of-urgency performance.

But enough about the Tinsel Town Tankers.

You'll be hard pressed to come up with a championship game, in any sport, where one team imposed its' will on the other in such an overwhelming, completely dominating fashion as the Celtics inflicted on the Lakers.

• Paul Pierce, stepping up, named MVP of the series.
• Ray Allen, dead-eye shooting, tying a series game record with seven three-pointers.
• KG (Kevin Garnett), coming up big!
• As a team (I haven't heard the final stats), came close (or tied, possible broke) to setting a series records for steals.

This is especially sweet, well, for one, the kicked the snot out of the Lakers, and, it's the first Celtic championship in 21-years (perhaps lifting the Len Bias curse; If Bias didn't die, we'd be celebrating, most likely, Championship No. 22 or 23).

But it also capped a truly storybook season, a team that went from 24 wins a year ago, to league-leading 66 wins this season.

It was a Secretariat, wire-to-wire, run for the Celts.

All is green, as the Boston Celtics are back atop the basketball world, emphatically putting their signature on this championship, unmistakably telling the hoop world "It's ours, baby, it's ours!"

And, as a bonus, they made me look good.

In our post last week, "Celtics-Lakers ... Not Quite The Old Days, But It Will Do", we made the call;

"Oh yeah, as to predictions ... Celts in six!"

Yes, 131-92!

That's not a typo ...