[CANSLIM] Re: Holley Says Reach Out For The Messiah

From: "Dan Forant" <dforant1@nycap.rr.com>
Subject: [CANSLIM] Re: Holley Says Reach Out For The Messiah
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 16:09:15 -0400
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Just a curious question and a statement. How come other NBA teams haven't
been knocking on Larry's door for his expertise?

Larry ran from Indiana, and didn't impress Gaston much. I haven't been a big
post NBA player/coach fan of Larry.

DanF

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Way Of The Ray" <wayray@ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.boston-celtics
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 28, 2002 8:50 AM
Subject: Holley Says Reach Out For The Messiah


> OPINION
> Sale greenlighted
>
> Record $360 million offer for Celtics too good for Gaston to pass up
>
> By Michael Holley, Globe Columnist, 9/28/2002
>
> Let's begin with the professional courtesies. The Celtics have a new
> ownership group, and the trio should be congratulated for coming up
> with the richest team proposal in NBA history. These guys paid $360
> million for one of pro basketball's best brand names, and they didn't
> have to scrape any penny jars to find the cash.
>
> So to Irving and Wycliffe Grousbeck and Stephen Pagliuca: Welcome to
> the world of Boston ownership. When you have a moment we'll have dinner
> and bill it to our friends at the New York Times.
>
> The new Green bosses are from the area, and they said yesterday that
> they have been Celtics fans for life. Since that is the case, they
> probably realize that two more things need to be done before they can
> exhale and become truly comfortable. They have to make one more
> purchase. And they have to make one more phone call.
>
> A trip to an art supplies store should take care of the purchase. The
> phone call is even simpler. Just find the cellphone number for a man
> named Larry from French Lick, Ind., and convince him that he needs to
> be part of the management team.
>
> At the supply store, the owners can buy a paper cutter. Then they need
> to gather all of Paul Gaston's files, suggestions, and memos, and turn
> them into tiny blocks of scrap paper.
>
> If the new guys are indeed Celtics fans, they know that Gaston was the
> worst of Boston's pro sports owners. The bashing of Jeremy Jacobs has
> become institutionalized, but Gaston made Jacobs look like the
> free-spending Mark Cuban. (I hear your skepticism, Bruins fans. But
> I'll assure you this: If Gaston and Jacobs were matched up in a
> worst-of-Boston series, Gaston would win the thing in an
> easier-than-it-looked six games.)
>
> Irv, Wyc, and Steve will have a successful run here if they follow a
> simple formula. Look at what the old boss did and do the opposite.
>
> Part of Gaston's problem was that he often seemed miserable as the
> Celtics' shepherd. We always talk about pro athletes playing solely for
> the paycheck, but Gaston was the same way. It was obvious he didn't
> enjoy the games. When the subject was his team and his players, he was
> as exciting as Barry Manilow. As the years went by, it was more and
> more difficult to find him sitting in his FleetCenter seat. Yeah,
> meddling owners are annoying, but absentee owners are worse.
>
> It wasn't an accident that the team's worst years came under Gaston's
> ''leadership.'' He fired good employees. He allowed Rick Pitino to take
> Red Auerbach's title. After M.L. Carr was reassigned and Pitino
> resigned, he gradually ceded day-to-day power to Richard Pond. Pond
> helped Gaston make a lot of money with the sale of Channel 25, but his
> impact on Celtics culture is - at best - questionable.
>
> The recent Celtics were known as a cheap team, through and through.
> Some organizations are focused on championships. Under Gaston and Pond,
> the Celtics were focused on the location of every dime and every
> quarter.
>
> Get that paper cutter, Irv. You too, Wyc and Steve. Put a pile of
> documents under the blade. Whoosh. It's that easy. You also should
> consider a bonfire to rid yourselves of Gaston's vanities.
>
> Being cheap was bad enough, but Gaston was a cheap owner who played
> keepaway with a Boston legend. His pettiness with Larry Bird ran so
> deep that he refused to sell the team to any Bird-affiliated group.
> Bird, correctly, criticized Gaston's ownership reign and the owner
> couldn't handle it. Bird's group offered Gaston between $350 and $360
> million for the team and was rejected.
>
> If the team's new ruling family reaches out to Bird, it will guarantee
> itself a lifetime of good will. People in Boston may nitpick Nomar
> Garciaparra, lose all patience with Manny Ramirez, and dissect the game
> of Antoine Walker, but no one is going to rip Larry Bird.
>
> Bird has already proven that he can coach in the league. He would be a
> good executive because he knows how to listen and knows how to
> recognize talent. He also understands the psyche of the Boston sports
> fan. So, for example, he wouldn't be ducking a luxury tax when he knew
> that the organization had millions of dollars in the kitty. His
> presence might make members of the basketball operations staff nervous,
> but they should be nervous anyway; a new boss is always examining jobs
> and the people who hold them.
>
> It rained yesterday in Boston, but it was one of the most pleasant
> rainy days of the year. Early in the day, rumors of a sale began to
> circulate. They were confirmed after noon. And at 3 o'clock, Gaston
> removed a roadblock - himself - and turned the team over to three men
> who can quickly be embraced here.
>
> The Celtics are a paper cutter and a phone call away from being one of
> the best-run franchises in the NBA. As for Gaston, he didn't even know
> how to exit with style. He avoided the luxury tax, he left the Celtics
> without a point guard, and, as usual, he took his money and went home.
>
> Michael Holley is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is
> holley@g...
>
> This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 9/28/2002.
> ) Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
>


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