Boston To Honor Bill Russell

From ESPN.Boston:

The Boston Celtics announced Wednesday that, at long last, Bill Russell will be honored with a statue in the city of Boston.

"We are honored to play a role in paying tribute to such an extraordinary athlete, leader and legacy," Celtics managing partner/co-owner Stephen Pagliuca said. "Bill Russell will forever be remembered in Boston, and it's fitting that the ultimate benefactors of his legacy will be future generations of our beloved city's youth."

Said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who convened and hosted the first meetings of the newly formed Bill Russell Legacy Committee: "I am so proud to be part of an effort to honor Bill Russell. He is not only one of the greatest champions the sports world has ever seen, he is a man who has stood by and delivered for our young people through his support of mentoring programs. I want all Bostonians and all who work or visit here to recognize Bill Russell and all his accomplishments."

The team also announced the creation of a mentoring program in Russell's name.

For his part, Russell was humbled by the honor.

"I am uncomfortable with honors such as this but my years as captain of the Boston Celtics were the proudest moments of my career," Russell said. "Mayor Menino's Boston has proven to be a city that embraces the diverse contributions of all its people and neighborhoods. I am thankful to the Celtics and all the contributors for the effort to create such a wonderful mentoring program."

During a White House ceremony earlier this year in which he awarded Russell a Medal of Freedom, President Barack Obama said he hoped Boston would build a statue of Russell.

"I hope that one day in the streets of Boston, children will look up at a statue built not only to Bill Russell the player, but Bill Russell the man," Obama said.

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Bill Russell And The Presidential Medal Of Freedom

Bill Russell will be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom this week.

I shook Bill Russell's hand in Plattsburgh, NY in 1976 and was as humbled and honored as an obnoxious 17 year-old Celtics fan could be. I had read that autographs weren't his métier and I knew better than to ask.

Curt Gowdy, however, signed my matchbook cover. He had his own pen; I had my own matchbook.

(I was a Curt Gowdy fan, too, but I must confess that I remember the hand shake and likely lost the autograph on the way back to the '69 LTD...)

From the NY Times:

Given his blast-from-the-past ’60s positions on race and just about anything, Russell is often asked about his reaction to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he will receive from President Obama on Tuesday, as will former President George H. W. Bush, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Stan Musial and 11 others. Is this the greatest personal honor in his life? “A close second,” Russell replied.

More here, and cheers to Bill Russell; the greatest team player in American sports history and--anachronistic, I know--a man's man, a winner of games played in shorts, a winner of bigger things.

Didn't Alan Siegel Have A Picture Of Bill Russell Handy?

The NBA playoffs are in full swing, and Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times confirms the oft-told Logo Story.

Jerry West claims he's not so presumptuous as to assume his image is depicted on one of the most recognizable emblems in sports: the NBA logo.

The NBA too is coy.

Alan Siegel is not.

"It's Jerry West," he says.

Siegel, 71, designed the familiar logo in 1969, taking a Wen Roberts photograph of the Lakers star and turning it into an iconic image.

In red, white and blue, it shows a player in silhouette purposefully dribbling the ball upcourt with his left hand.

Siegel, a branding expert and lifelong basketball fan, believes he knows why the NBA is reluctant to acknowledge the obvious.

"They want to institutionalize it rather than individualize it," he says during an interview over lunch near his office in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. "It's become such a ubiquitous, classic symbol and focal point of their identity and their licensing program that they don't necessarily want to identify it with one player."

Well, Mr. Clutch did win one NBA title as a player (maybe he would have won more, but there was that team from Boston...)

West is still the only Finals MVP from a losing team, the Lakers having lost--again--to, um, that team from Boston...

But why was West chosen as the NBA's icon?

C'mon!

11 NBA championships in 13 years. A total team player. The league's first black coach, winning two titles in his three years as the Celtics' player-coach.

Bill Russell.

Icon.

'Nuff said.

Michael Jordan Is Not Jackie Robinson.

News item.

From the AP:

LeBron James wants NBA players to give up their No. 23s to honor of Michael Jordan.

The Cavaliers superstar, who has worn 23 since he was a high school sophomore, says players should pay tribute to Jordan for the Hall of Famer's long-lasting impact on the game.

He made the comments following the Cavs' win in Miami on Thursday night, and the news was first reported by The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

James said he's willing to make the switch and he wants to start a petition to get every player in the league to give up their numbers.

The reigning MVP says he will switch to No. 6, which he wore on the U.S. Olympic team and frequently wears as a practice jersey with the Cavaliers. James said he wears No. 6 because his second-favorite player is Julius Erving.

Major league baseball retired Jackie Robinson's number 42 from use by all teams in 1997 in recognition of Robinson's historic breaking of baseball's color barrier.

I love ya, LeBron, and Jordan is one of the all-time greats, but the only real barrier that MJ broke was the one causing basketball shoes to cost a hundred bucks.

And No. 6? Dr. J was great, too, but that number will always be best remembered as belonging to arguably the winningest athlete in American team sports--Bill Russell. 11 NBA championships in 13 years, a pair of NCAA titles and an Olympic Gold medal.

But, 'Bron 'Bron, you'll surely pick up some extra scratch from all those new jerseys you'll sell. Just ask Kobe.