Time dulls our perceptions of the NBA stars of the 60s, 70's and 80s Bill Russell would not star in today's game? Larry Bird is overrated? REALLY? I don't agree! I will focus mainly on the Boston Celtics since I have closely followed them for 66 years. Russell hasn't played since 1969 - when he earned his 11th Title ring . He was big (for his time), supremely athletic, and had one of the keenest basketball IQs ever. He was not a volume scorer (career 16.2 PPG) - but did not need to be . However, his rebounding (24.9 RPG), defense, team play and rim protection were phenomenal. Russ just knew how to win . And he was the ultimate team player. His comrades knew if they slipped up on defense, "Big Bill" was there to correct their miscues. Could he play, or even star, in today's game? Yes on both counts. I immediately put him at the center spot of my all-time Celtics team - and probably on my all-time NBA starting quintet. Ditto for Larry Bird . He joins R...
What cheers you up? Fame, fortune, palatial house, snazzy car? God or Nature gave us the ability to make choices , but it is up to us to try to make the decisions that improve the quality of our lives . Having choices is what has always given me a lift . It was the Spring of 1972 , and I had recently made such a choice, leaving a high-paying job as a research engineer to take a temporary position as game warden for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. My new job was to patrol the rivers and streams close to my home and enforce the fishing laws of the state. In effect, I traded the rigors of a tough commute to the Boston area and the toxic factories of the chemical industry for the clean air and b eauty of the woods and waters of central Massachusetts. It was a time when Harry Chapin's song, Taxi , was all over the car radio. I will always mentally connect that tune to one of the best choices I ever made. "It was raining hard in 'Frisco I had one more fare to make my ...