"What's all that rumbling up on top of the hill," said one cemetery groundskeeper to his partner.....
"That's Auerbach, rolling over in his grave over this crazy Kyrie Irving flap going on over whether Kyrie Irving should go or stay.now that he's a free agent," said the other....."You know, I get to talk with Old Red every now and then," he continued........"Kyrie is just NOT A CELTIC TYPE PLAYER,"  Auerbach said......"and he most certainly could never play for me......He's just not a team player and, as I've said since my first year as Celtic's head coach-----"You can't have a championship TEAM unless you first build a TEAM." Danny Ainge knows this very well and I feel he's got a couple of things up his sleeve so we should all wait until the second shoe drops on his trading Isaih Thomas basically, for Irving.....Remember Thomas had been shooting his mouth off for months about his upcoming contract negotiations with Ainge....."They're going to have to back up a Brink's truck for me," he kept on spouting.......Old time Celtic fans may remember THAT was one of my (few) cardinal rules for my players......"No negotiating a contract in the media and never criticize management OR your teammates......"Yeh, I know.......MY "NO eating of pancakes rule" on game days" said Red but that's another story. That just costs you a $5 fine, and isn't a tradeable offense......Ask Sam Jones about that one.......(Sam's still ticked off.....BUT he paid it and then shut up about it....)
     The instance I'm thinking of came in a trade I made with Phoenix in 1975......I had drafted a kid from USC, in 1972, who was a scorer and defensive whiz, with our 10th pick (in the first round) named Paul Westphal......He was my first guard OFF THE BENCH but boy was he good......He kept complaining, by his third year, that HE should start ahead of our starting guard.....Heck, he could have started for almost any team in the NBA BUT, instead of just complaining to me, he went to the media people to plead his case even though he knew it was a "no no.".....I took that "challenging of MY authority" as a slap in the face so, even though I knew he was headed for stardom,  I traded him to Phoenix for Charley Scott.....THAT trade has long been considered one of my failed trades BUT, I remind anybody who plays that card that WE went on to win the world championship that year with Charlie Scott being our top scorer after an all star year.......Phoenix came close but never won it with Westphal, who had a great career BUT never won a championship with PHOENIX. (Although he DID win one with us......."Oh, I forgot.....who was the guard that Westphal insisted he should start ahead of......JOHN HAVLICEK  (NOW you know the rest of the story).......Westphal still would have gotten to the NBA Hall of Fame,,,..If he stayed WITH the Celtics and won some titles along the way but, NOOOOOOOOO......The Auerbach way is still the WINNING WAY......Stick to it Danny...................
      
NOW, as far as the Kyrie Irving situation goes.....KYRIE wants the most MONEY he can get out of any deal SOOOO.......when you consider that no team can come within $40 to $60 MILLION dollars of what the Celtics can pay him (depending on length of the contract).....you find the team willing to satisfy Irving's demands and work out a sign and trade deal......EVERYBODY WINS.......The team that WANTS him, probably the Knicks, Brooklyn or the Lakers., Kyrie.....and especially the Celtics.......They get to pick up a REAL point guard who plays unselfish Celtic style basketball and gets the ball to the OPEN MAN or hot shooter which will help develop the top tier kids like Tatum, Brown,  Rozier (maybe) and the other shooters they may have on the team in the near future........
   If you keep Irving you can count on an early exit from the playoffs next year.......My bet is that Danny Ainge is a great GM and will make the Celtics WORLD CHAMPIONS again.....
     Well, Red, here's hoping.......and thanks for all those flags up in the rafters......Stay tuned.....
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........"Just when I thought I was out, and they pull me back into it........" That famous quote by Al Pacino in Godfather III seems to fit right here.........I've been around since before RED AUERBACH came to the Celtics.....before the BOSTON PATRIOTS, Before Bobby Orr,  since "TEDDY BALLGAME" was in his prime......and since BOB COUSY, "MR. BASKETBALL," was defining what a REAL point guard was and how important it was to a basketball teams championship aspirations......
     Another quote is....."If you don't know where you've been then you won't know where you're going.".......THIS was prompted by the death of a few GREAT sports personalities whose passing was never given enough story coverage in tribute to their outstanding lives, both on the field and off.....
Stories that a younger, and uninformed group of media people, knew next to nothing about and lacked the inclination to even do their own research......SPORTS FANS have a right to know about the history of our teams and their great players...... YES, Harold, BABE RUTH DID win a few world series as a player for the BOSTON RED SOX......Only 8 of 75 college age fans knew that one........
      Hopefully my stories will not only inform younger fans, but illuminate the accountings of a generation or two of the greatest sports town in America and our respective teams........
      Some of these stories are just anecdotes but will illuminate the public perception we've had of them through the years........JOE DENUCCI, JAKE LAMOTTA (THE RAGING BULL), GENE CONLEY,  and,  most recently Winchester's own, JOE BELLINO......more than just a local sports hero......
     Space, and time, does not allow a full story, right here. but I wanted you all to know that I will be doing a short story of personal recollections of each of these great men in the not to distant future.
      I'll also be giving MY comments on what's happened with our CELTICS as well as comments on
 the Patriot's recent NFL draft......I feel that the (very negative)  media, in their hate for Bill Belichick, has totally mishandled the reporting of the future of OUR TEAM......Is anybody else sick of constantly hearing (and reading) of the impending doom of their "over 41 year old Quarterback?)  
     Most disturbing to me is the media's handling of Our BOSTON Celtics early exit from the NBA playoffs AND. most importantly, the IMMEDIATE future of the TEAM.......
      Well, I'm not going to sit back and listen to the rantings and ravings of a gang of writers and reporters spouting off about all sorts of absurdities that THEY think MUST happen.......I hope all the fans of THIS column will stay tuned to MY thoughts, all based on the near 70 years of observing  
the building and rebuilding of Celtic's teams through the generations........
        Auerbach's formula is simple......All you older fans will enjoy recollections and be sure to bring the younger fans to the table to get a taste of Sport's History..........Stay tuned...........







        

      I've been heard to say, MANY times....."IT'S THE SYSTEM" that makes the team great.....
Some call it the Belichick system, and in a way that's kind of true, BUT.....It's really the AUERBACH system and Belichick follows it to the "TEE."  You might say Red's system is for basketball and Bill's is for football......Let me simplify what I'm talking about with a direct quote from the greatest sports mind in ANY sports.......AUERBACH says, 'You can't have a winning team unless you first build a TEAM." That includes cultivating team players who are leaders......Red had Bob Cousy, Easy Ed McCauley, Bill Sharman, Bill Russell and, "the policeman" Bob Brannum......When Brannum retired Red immediately went out and drafted Jim Loscutoff to take over that roll.......From then on the titles just kept coming and  "Celtic Pride," AND "The Celtic Mystique" was born......Case closed......
     Now.....Bill Parcells came along with the SAME philosophy......Build a team of leaders.....It's not difficult to see, since Belichick worked under Parcells for years, that Belichick picked up the same, tried and true formula for building  championship teams......
    Of course Belichick had a load of luck when he came across TOM BRADY, who became the ultimate team leader.....AND, it just gets better with him.....People forget that most all of these players were in grade school when Brady was winning Super Bowls. It's like ME playing with TED WILLIAMS.....         If you look closely you'll notice several TEAM LEADERS that Belichick drafted, then groomed, for just that purpose.  Mathew Slater's name comes to mind just to name ONE.....You know the rest.....
You see them every Sunday, (Monday night or Thursday......
      NOW.....the crux of my story.....After watching the first three games of horrible football from the Patriots, everybody was betting that Belichick, and or Brady, and or Gronkowski were getting ready to quit the team.....The biggest problem, besides the media's constant harping on supposed bad blood between any combination of them, including Bob Kraft..was, well ........NOW is the time to tell you about AUERBACH'S simple rules to building a championship team that Belichick follows.......
     In no particular order-----NO bad-mouthing the team, coaches or players in the media.....ALSO, NO negotiating (OR renegotiating) contracts in the media-----ALSO, No holdouts or even threatened holdouts.....You do that and you GET TRADED......Ask Cedrick Maxwell or Paul Westphal.....They complained in the media and Red traded them.....Incidentally, Red won titles both times.......ALSO---ask Richard Seymour, Ty Law, Lawyer Malloy, and the other FORMER Patriots..... 
      NOW-----after seeing the error of his ways, a TEAM LEADER emerged that helped turn everything around.....ROB GRONKOWSKI---That's right.....GRONK stepped forward and proclaimed that he was dead wrong with all of his pre-season, and early season antics of complaining about Belichick's "THINGS" that irked him.....lastly complaining that the teams lousy pass receivers were causing HIM to be double and triple covered making it too difficult to get open.....THAT is why Bill was trying to trade him....."TEAM HARMONY." was being disrupted......AUERBACH'S biggest rule.....
     THIS is where Gronk stepped forward and publicly APOLOGIZED to everybody for his mouthing off and taking ALL THE BLAME for his bad performances.....He promised to work harder and harder to get things back to where they (he) used to be......AND, he has........
   BUT WAIT, said a couple of my critics......Gronk already was a team leader......NOT SO, I responded......he was a team CLOWN, a FUN guy.....an incredibly talented  player but still not a LEADER.....NOW, the Patriots are a COMPLETE TEAM and have a NEW TEAM LEADER to boot.....
     I hope all you old timers, that lived through what I said about Auerbach's philosophy influencing Belichick's way of building championship teams, will pass this on to the youngsters..... 
     HEART-----The Patriots have HEART.....that's what brings them BACK when ever the going gets tough. NOW, if only they can fix that pass defense.....Stay tuned......BOB COUSY'S coming up soon.....










 







  
     

For some time now all Boston sports fans have been subjected to sports talk show hosts that do nothing but knock Bill Belichick, the greatest head coach in  NFL history.....OR attempt to start controversies that border on fake news.....(are not really worth repeating)., etc.     What it amounts to is just plain drivel.......Truth is these sports show hosts don't really need a great knowledge of sports BUT they must have been on their college debating team.....In other words ARGUE either side of an issue.....I've heard Glen Ordway, more than once, when talking to a new caller who's trying to AGREE with him, turn the tables and take the opposite side, just to create an argument. His very private excuse is---it gets lots of NEW CALLERS, and THAT increases revenue.....THAT is why we are raising an entire generation who doesn't know who Carl Yztrzemski is, or even former household names like Johnny Most, Fred Lynn, or even Dom DiMaggio and Bobby Doerr......A few years ago I was in the Red Sox locker room interviewing Dustin Pedroia with several other (younger) writers.....
One of them Heard Bobby Doerr's name and asked who he was.......I jumped in and told him, in no uncertain terms, he's the guy that will always keep Dustin Pedroia from being the BEST second  baseman in Red Sox history......Dustin nodded his head and just said, "that's the truth."
   Most nights 98.5 FM has the Adam Jones show which is a disgrace......This guy just talks on forever constantly repeating himself three, four, or more times......I just can't stay tuned to his show and the only time I listen, off and on for five minutes at a time, is when I'm driving a distance.....about a month ago, he started a tirade about how Tom Brady was UNDERPAID.....Well, hell's bells, we all know that BUT---BRADY'S NOT COMPLAINING......He and the team have their own deal that BOTH are happy with.....after five straight agonizing minutes I changed the station......TWENTY FIVE minutes later a friend called me on my cell phone and told me about it......I told him I changed the station and he laughingly told me to turn it back on again.....JONES was STILL talking about it......I wasn't sure if it was because he had no callers or just his regular drivel......
    Now I know the kid from before he got the show and he's a good kid BUT, even if he's under orders to conduct his show that way......Please HELP us real sports fans. Talk REAL sports.....
      The crux of this story is that according to two different, reliable sources, help MAY be on the way in the form of National Award winning broadcaster, Jimmy Myers.....Much too long absent from the Boston sports scene Jimmy is by far the best of them all.....For reasons I won't get into here, he's been pretty much "black balled" in Boston.....A few years ago I did a sports talk show on cable TV and every few weeks Jimmy would be a guest......For one solid hour (the whole show) the phone was ringing "off the hook." In his own pleasant, inimitable manner Jimmy fielded each call as if he was talking to an old friend.....Many fans commented, for some time after, that he should be on every show......I didn't tell them BUT, Jimmy would fly in from New York, then fly out after the show.....
Jimmy would go through all that trouble just to help an old friend.....ME.....
     Jimmy Myers has the spirit of Boston Sports past gone when the ONLY subject was sports and nobody cared who wanted more money or who was drunk, etc......SPORTS WAS KING IN BOSTON.....
    Let all TRUE sports fans pray that JIMMY MYERS will soon be on the Boston airwaves and bringing
BACK the real BOSTON SPORTS TALK the greatest sports town in the USA so richly deserves.....
 







     








   
  

   Patriot's Nation is shocked by the eleven point shellacking they took from the Jaguars Sunday.....
Of course everyone was looking to blame somebody......The coaching, the players, Brady, Belichick???   First off I'm blaming Josh McDaniel for his play selection......especially in crucial situations---Calling a running play on third and five as the Pats were trying to mount an offensive to get within one score of the lead......of course it only produced FOUR yards.....
   THEN, as they were about to punt, on fourth and one, a defender stepped over the line BUT none of the Patriots linemen touched him which would have made it a five yard penalty and given the Pats a first down which would have allowed them to continue their drive.....They were about midfield and marching......COACHING pounds that into the linemen from day one.....I learned about it in high school......THE PASSING GAME-----the Pats receiving corps is thin BUT to criticize them because they don't get many receptions???  Even Jerry Rice can't catch passes if they're not thrown at him......
THAT is Josh McDaniel's territory......his play selection was/is atrocious.....McDaniel even got a gift thrown at him when the Jag's big mouth star corner back kept mouthing off that Gronkowski was not that good, claiming he shut down Gronk last time they played and would do it again today......THEN, during the game, Gronk was constantly double and triple teamed.......what a gift.....THAT meant that one or two other receivers were going to be open.....McDaniels could have put together a dozen plays (or more) to take advantage of those situations.......BUT Josh kept calling running plays, worst of all right up the middle......Everybody knows (except McDaniels) they don't get you any yardage.....
just wasted downs.......AND, late in the 4th period they eat up precious time on the clock when you're trying to score (and keep the Jags from scoring). 
      Another part of McDaniel's play calling-----I've been told by many enemy defensive pass rushers 
that they love to play against Brady because they ALWAYS know where he's going to be. Maybe you noticed that Brady DID roll out on one play, allowing him to complete a decent pass,,,,,AND did run with the ball for a 12 yard first down when his guys were covered......In other words, McDaniel's play calls are too predictable.....I'd love to see Brady calling his own plays.....
     Brady played a good game (with what he was given to work with) but in a crucial third down play, as they were mounting a drive, he tried to run what we used to call a "swing pass." to Cordorelle
Patterson.....The ball was thrown very slightly behind him,(not noticeably) but caused Patterson to have to slightly turn, taking him off balance and causing him to fall and be touched down.....Now, for you folks who don't know about "secret weapon" Patterson is that he is like Superman when you give him some running room......If he was able to get that pass just a bit ahead of him, in stride, he could do some serious damage. NOTE---ever notice the Pats almost never throw a "swing pass." That's because Brady has a tendency to throw slightly (even just inches) behind his receivers......I'm not trying to knock Brady, it just is what it is.....
      Brady's a great field general and manages the game better than any other QB in the NFL......
Last week's game had a crucial play, as the game was winding down and the Pats needed to hold on to the ball---Gronk made an unbelievable catch for a first down with three men draped all over him.....It looked like it may have been dropped as he came down and, before the other coach could get a review, Brady rushed his guys to the line and hurriedly ran the next play.....That gave the Pats a new set of downs and possibly saved the game.....YES, Brady is the GREATEST OF ALL TIME......
      The other "greatest" is Belichick and you can trust him to fix the mistakes and get the Pats back on track.......God help their next opponent, Detroit and old friend Matt Patricia..... 
      ENDING NOTE:---Pat's pass defenders, on third down and several yards, have a tendency to 
tackle the receivers just AFTER they make the first down......In last years super bowl. on the Eagles last scoring drive that put them AHEAD of the Pats, it happened FOUR TIMES. all by a yard or so and TWO by less than a yard.....If the Pats stopped Philly just ONCE in that stretch the game is over......
     Take a look for yourself.....NOW-----TRUST IN BILL.....Stay tuned............









  










       

Ever since the Pats lost the Super Bowl to Philly all we hear from the media is:---Brady is too old at 40.....OR, any number of derivatives of THAT as well as Belichick blew it when he benched Butler......OR---any other way to attach Belichick and his "LOSING WAYS????" Are these sports talk people CRAZY or just stupid.......I explained a couple of stories ago that it was already common knowledge in PHILLY that the Eagles. with their SIX FOOT, THREE INCH RECEIVERS were going to torch Butler.......Belichick was installing a new pass defense BUT, Butler missed TWO practices, as well as the plane TO the super bowl.......RED AUERBACH would have turned over in his grave if Belichick let Butler play......As it was Bill did him a favor......Butler would have been ripped apart and exposed for his limitations and THAT would have been the end of his $75 million contract.....
       NOW, with the sports media ranting about THAT as well as constantly berating the Patriots because Brady is being underpaid???   Hell, if Brady is happy why should the media complain......
      NOTE-----Brady has been settling for smaller paychecks because of the salary cap......Less for him means more money to spend on building a great TEAM for Brady to run.....Brady knows that and has bought into the TEAM concept.....That means WINNING concept for you dumb media PEOPLE......
     NOW, with all the media constantly babbling this nonsense Belichck, from the draft and a few good trades.....Has rebuilt the team, making it stronger.....They'd be even stronger if their first round pick, left tackle (and soon guard) Isaih Wynn hadn't been injured and out for the year......His answer to protecting Brady is to take the ball out of his hands more often AND to get a MONSTER left tackle via the trade with the 49ers......6'8", 390 pound TRENT BROWN........AND, with his other first round pick, Belichick took running back Sony Michel......The media is still baffled but Bill knew what he was doing.....Michel averaged 7.2 yards a carry for his entire college career and was also the best PASS PROTECTING running back in the entire COUNTRY.......
     Belichick knew he was dangerously short on pass receivers so In their first win of the season Brady threw many more passes to the running backs than he did the receivers shredding the Texas pass defenses for the win.......I consider a pass to the backs as part of a running game......Everybody would have known that if the Belichick-hating media had known enough to ask the right questions.....
But NOOOO.....Just keep on beating the same dead horse with their negativity and ask stupid questions.....Worst part is that they're always the same questions.....Even poor Tom Brady got fed up when he was asked to answer, for the 20th time, the same question about Alex Guerrero, and just walked away from the media......
      Good rule of thumb-----when in doubt TRUST BILL.....EIGHT super bowl appearances and FIVE super bowl victories (should have been seven) stand for something......I'll give you MY predictions in a couple of weeks.....For now-----PAT'S 24-17 over the Jags.....Stay tuned...........














      

    We were all saddened at the death of beloved, long time Patriot's play by play announcer Gil Santos.....He touched, and brightened so many people's lives it's difficult to put into mere "words" all the things that describe what a great loss.we all feel......A kind, "gentlemanly" unassuming man who always brought a smile to your face. Any fan who approached him, whether for an autograph or just to say "hello" was always treated like a special friend.......He, along with long time partner, Patriot great, Gino Cappelletti, brought a unique freshness to the broadcasting of Patriot;s football games. No other team in the country was more admired by their fans.....Gil will long be remembered by all whose lives he touched.....He may be gone but NEVER FORGOTTEN......

A few days ago I was invited to watch a Celtics' game with the family of a couple of very  dear friends.....I met the girl friend of one of the guys AND her eight year old son, Nick, a third grader in the Saugus school system......Of course the boy was into Boston Sports, especially the Bruins and Patriots (although he liked the Sox and Celts as well) .....He already knew I was a sportswriter and we immediately got into some great questions and answers about what was really going on......He admitted that the local sports shows were very boring because they kept on talking about the same one topic all day long.....over and ever again.....
   When he asked me why Belichick (who he greatly admires) kept Malcolm Butler off the field during the super bowl......Of course the "Belichick hating media just criticizes the decision.....BUT, never mentions that Butler missed TWO practices the week of the game.....The new plays had to be run through with replacements and, as none other than RED AUERBACH, and several other GREAT COACHES will tell you. "If you miss the practices you don't play in the games." (This wasn't a punishment, as the media would have you think.)  AND, I added another little tidbit the media 
conveniently left out---The Patriots lost the first two games of the year when Butler, personally, gave up FOUR TD's.  He's only 5'9" and coaches were exploiting him with taller receivers. Philadelphia sports media was talking all week about how the Eagle's receivers would eat him up......After those first two games Belichick kept moving Butler around (hiding him from the opposing coaches) so they couldn't keep targeting him (Butler).....This made sense to young Nick and he then asked me about the older Boston sports teams and great stars of yesteryear......He did know about Bobby Orr, Ted Williams and "a little bit about LARRY BIRD??? I've said for a long time that the sports shows never talk about the older days and there's a generation of kids who are totally un-informed about OUR great sports stars and the history of the teams of their "GREATEST SPORTS TOWN IN AMERICA.....
    Well, Nick, here's a few famous Boston names and some stories for you to look up.........
I'll talk about when I was a kid of eight......there was TED WILLIAMS, of course BUT the Red Sox, back in the 40's and 50's had some other great players.....DOMENIC DiMaggio (Joe's brother and Marilyn Monroe's brother-in-law), Johnny Pesky, (yup, the right field pole's named after him.) Then there was BOBBY DOERR.....BOBBY is the reason Dustin Pedroia will NEVER be the Red Sox greatest second baseman.....NOTE:---DOERR is the only Sox player to hit for the cycle TWICE.....That's a single, double, triple AND home run in the same game.....DOERR and TED are in the baseball hall of fame. 
These four became lifelong friends AND are firmly entrenched in the memories of an entire generation of Sox fans.....I've got tons of stories on them if you have an interest.....Okay, Nick.
    BOBBY ORR put the Boston hockey world back on track after several bad years.....Of course Bobby is legendary BUT there are MANY greats that played with the Bruins in those days and, unfortunately, the Boston Media has let them slip past the memories of an entire generation...... 
   Here's some names to look up who were teammates of Bobby's......Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson, Gerry Cheevers, Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge and several more.....Back in those days they were called "the Big Bad Bruins and there's several good stories to be told......
       The BOSTON Patriots didn't come into being until 1960.......Up until then us football fans had to be satisfied rooting for the  NEW YORK GIANTS.....Yup!!!, the Patriots saved us.....The first year was tough BUT, you knew that these guys had toughness.....A front four defensive line that was the scourge of the old AFL.....and they played together for EIGHT consecutive years....NEVER EVER done before or since......Crazy Larry Eisenhauer, Bob Dee, Jim "Earthquake" Hunt and six-time all pro, Houston "Thunder" Antwine.....The captain of the team (only one captain) was Tom Addison, a linebacker from Texas who has a story of his own that wound up in the movies......Nick, ask me any questions you like about any of these guys.....I WAS THERE and know them all.
       Lastly.....The Celtics, who captured the hearts of two generations of Celtics fans.......Start off with RED AUERBACH then move to Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, Jim Loscutof,
Frank Ramsey (the very first sixth man.)  Move along to John Havliceck who, along with Dave Cowens, and a team coached by Tom Heinsohn headed up the Celtics scond dynasty.....Of course the end of THAT era brought us (after a couple of down years) to the LARRY BIRD era......Ions of stories there.
     NOW.....Danny Ainge has built perhaps the best team of all.....THAT'S RIGHT......and he's not yet finished.... The stories of these kids are just beginning......When Danny gets that DOMINANT CENTER, whether from the Pelicans or the draft.......LOOK OUT NBA.......
    Well, Nick, hope I got you interested in wanting to learn more history of ALL the sports teams of the GREATEST sports town in AMERICA......and the tons of stories that go with it.....Stay Tuned