Sports
Kevin Garnett’s Number Retirement Best Power Now signature Anything Possible
Every Boston Celtics fan will remember this moment, and it’s a quote that has become synonymous with Kevin Garnett’s career. No one will ever forget the sound of Garnett’s now-signature “Anything’s possible!” as the Celtics and their fans celebrated Banner 17 in June 2008, with confetti descending from above and the Larry O’Brien trophy gripped between his palms.
The best power of Kevin Garnett is being a lifelong Celtics fan.
That night, I was there ostensibly as a sports reporter but primarily as a lifelong Celtics fan. “I got mine,” Garnett quietly whispered over and over as he leaned into Celtics veteran Bill Russell, he of the 11 championship rings, from the side of the parquet court. Mine arrived. “I got mine,” she said before adding, “and I hope we did you proud.”
As a Celtic, I grew to admire Kevin Garnett, who eventually became one of my all-time favorite players. With only one championship in six seasons in Boston, I believed it was a long shot that his No.
5 would be put to the rafters of TD Garden with Russell, colleague Paul Pierce, and the other Celtic greats. He was a fantastic player, but he only spent a portion of his Hall of Fame career with the Celtics, so it seemed doubtful that he’d join the Celtics’ longer-serving players on those retired number banners.
But, I suppose, everything is possible, as Garnett lifted his No. 5 at the Garden last night, and I honestly have no idea why I ever doubted it.
I covered the Boston Celtics for the Standard-Times for more than a decade. After firing Rick Pitino the previous season, I started when the Celtics were at their lowest moment. In my first season covering the team, they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals and advanced to the playoffs in each of the following three seasons.
Then the bottom fell out, and the Celtics missed the playoffs over the next two seasons, including a disastrous 24-58 season in 2006-07, in which the C’s lost 18 games in a row at one point.
Something radical had to happen in the following off-season, and it wasn’t going to be choosing someone with the fifth overall pick in the forthcoming draught – which, by the way, was the Celtics’ worst-case scenario in the draught lottery, meaning they missed out on Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.
On Draft Night, then-Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge made a trade that appeared to make the Celtics much better, giving that fifth pick, along with Wally Szczberiak and Delonte West, to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for future Hall of Famer Ray Allen.
That was only the first domino to fall that season, as Ainge pulled off what may be the single greatest trade in NBA history, and probably the largest trade for a single player in league history, when he traded about half the squad to Minnesota in exchange for Garnett a little more than a month later.
When I received the email informing me that a press conference would be held later that day at TD Garden, I was less than enthusiastic about the transaction.
I got in the car and started driving from Wareham to Boston, thinking about how he seemed like the wrong guy for what Boston needed at the moment, rather than what a tremendous player the Celtics were going to bring to town.
Garnett was undeniably a fantastic player; he was a powerful scorer and a tenacious defender. But what troubled me was that he was extremely emotional and wasn’t the kind of leader the Celtics needed – or so I believed. At the time, all I could think of was how Paul Pierce had yet to prove he could be a true captain, and how Allen was a quiet, restrained guy, and how they needed a true general on the floor.
I didn’t think KG was the right fit, but I was completely wrong. I believe this interview he conducted in Minnesota with John Thompson, where he started crying because his team had lost so much, damaged my perception of him. I took that at the time as complaining rather than what it was – a guy who was so desperate to win that it physically hurt him not to.
It didn’t take me long to discover that after the Celtics began their 2007-08 season. Garnett was the team’s heart and soul, setting the tone with his zeal and determination to go to any length to win.
As the new Big Three found a way to sacrifice a little of each of their personal games to become stronger as a team, he also elevated up Pierce – who truly became a true captain – and Allen. The Celtics not only went 66-16 that season and won the NBA title, but they also gave the team an identity that they still have today.
Garnett didn’t give it a name until 2012, but the Celtics had been demonstrating grit and balls since he first donned the green and white: grit and balls. That’s how he described the team, but it’s truly the imprint he made on the franchise.
Courtesy of Getty Images
Sure, KG had a good time as well. Nobody was more eager about “Gino Time” at the Garden, when the JumboTron would show a clip from an old ’70s episode of “American Bandstand” featuring a disco dancer wearing a Gino Vannelli t-shirt, and the audience – including Garnett – would erupt in applause.
Who could forget the way he would worm his way into the opposition’s psyche? Even if his ex-wife La La and KG deny the tale (which we can’t post here, so you’ll have to Google it), I’m sure Carmelo Anthony never allowed another box of Honey Nut Cheerios into his home again.
Garnett only stayed in Boston for six seasons, according to his records. Nonetheless, he actually lived up to and reinvented what it meant to be a Celtic during that period.
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Golden State Warriors snapped an 11-game road losing streak with a 121-108 victory over the Houston Rockets late on Monday. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 59 points to shine for the Warriors.
The Warriors won on the road for the first time since a January 30 victory at Oklahoma City.
Curry finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Thompson added 29 points and seven rebounds. They combined to shoot 21-for-44 overall and 10-for-28 from 3-point range to pace the Warriors (37-36). Jonathan Kuminga chipped in 17 off the bench for the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors
Following a back-and-forth third quarter that featured five ties and eight lead changes, the Warriors seized control with an 18-6 rally early in the fourth. Golden State made its first four 3-point attempts in the period and Kuminga added a pair of breakaway dunks that fueled a run to a 108-93 lead.
Kuminga helped stabilise the Warriors late in the third after Houston (18-54) grabbed a 78-77 lead on an Usman Garuba corner trey with 2:26 left in the period. Kuminga immediately followed with a 3-pointer and added a 17-footer as Golden State carried an 84-80 lead into the fourth.
The Warriors were victorious despite committing 20 turnovers that Houston parlayed into 25 points. Golden State countered those miscues with 26 points off 18 Houston turnovers.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Rockets. Rookie Tari Eason posted his seventh double-double with 21 points and 12 boards while fellow rookie Jabari Smith Jr. also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Green scored 20 points for Houston, which was without starting centre Alperen Sengun (illness).
The Warriors ran an offensive clinic in the first quarter, scoring 11 points in transition and logging nine assists on their 11 field goals. They used a 15-3 run to secure a nine-point lead, though Houston cut it to 26-21 by the close of the first.
The second quarter was awash with turnovers. Curry tallied 15 points in the period and was instrumental in keeping the Warriors ahead despite their 10 giveaways that Houston converted into 10 points. The Rockets weren’t much better, with their seven turnovers yielding 10 points.
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On Monday night, the Avalanche ran the Oilers off Rogers Place with seven goals against Jack Campbell and an Edmonton team so far from their ‘A’ game they almost ran out of letters.
Thankfully for the Oilers, their video coaches came to their rescue with three goals off the board after challenges — two on narrow offsides and one for questionable goaltender interference — which allowed Edmonton to pull off an amazing 5-4 victory in overtime.
“Our group needed more time,” defenceman Darnell Nurse, who scored with 14.3 seconds left in extra period. “But we remained resilient. There are nights you don’t feel it but you still have to find a way to win and that was our plan tonight.”
Edmonton Oilers Survive
Without video coaches Jeremy Coupal and Noah Segall, the Oilers would still be reeling and wondering what went wrong against a team with only two wins in 16 games. Their efforts saved the squad from embarrassment and set up two pivotal points for future success.
“Those were some big calls,” Edmonton Oilers centre Nick Bjugstad remarked. “Our video guys and coaching staff were right on it; there was no hesitation. That’s an important part of the game and we rely on those guys to assist us – which they did tonight. It definitely changed the game.”
No doubt about it: Edmonton conceded seven goals for the third time in eight games with just an inch or two to spare. That needs to be addressed, but for now they will take comfort in banking these two points.
“We don’t ignore what led up to those (disallowed goals against),” said head coach Jay Woodcroft. “Even if it’s just an eyelash here or there, those are shots you don’t want in your net.”
“There are things we can improve in our game, but I was proud of our will to win and our ability to find a win when an opposition goaltender was having an excellent night,” McGrath said.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted to in the first two periods, but we knew what the stakes were and our players found a way to earn those two points. Nobody is blind to the fact that there are still issues we need to address,” Leboeuf concluded. “While some aspects need improving, everyone agrees on one thing: there are things that need to be fixed.”
At the other end of the ice, Campbell made his first start since March 4 and spent most of the evening trying to stay on track. He allowed four goals in the opening 40 minutes, was saved by the goal post on another and had three goals against reviewed; however, he finally found some consistency down the stretch and secured victory.
“Jack was just like our team,” Woodcroft said. “He found a way to win on an off-kilter night – that was all that mattered for him and his self confidence. Getting two points for the team is all that mattered to him.”
His night was a 60-minute adventure, but he received no assistance whatsoever from his teammates who were consistently one step behind until the third period when they came alive.
“Last week we had three good opponents in playoff race battles, so this might have been an opportunity to breathe a bit,” defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who scored twice including the game-tying goal with 3:47 left in regulation, said. “I don’t know what you want to call it; we could’ve been better but these games are hard. You need to build yourself up and get going – and we did just that.” “It could’ve been much better but these games are tough; we snuck it out but tough things happen sometimes and move on,”
Edmonton’s problems began early when Campbell let in his second shot of the game at 1:12. Fortunately, it didn’t count due to an offside call, and four minutes later Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose with a goal.
Nick Bjugstad tied it in the first and Kailer Yamamoto made it 2-1 early in the second. But San Jose scored four times (only three of which counted), while Edmonton responded with Ekholm’s first goal of the night.
Noah Gregor scored on a two-on-one early in the third to make it 5-3 Sharks, but an offside challenge revealed he was inches offside.
“Video coaches deserve more credit than they get,” Ekholm lamented. “They put in long hours and are relentless – but what’s their margin for error? Offside can sometimes be by inches – yet you expect them to always be right. That said, video coaching won us the game tonight.”
LATE HITS — Yamamoto’s 10th goal of the season gives Edmonton an incredible 11 players with double-digit goal scoring this season. Erik Karlsson had two goals for the Sharks in 27:57 of ice time while Evander Kane went minus three for Edmonton.
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World Baseball Classic 2023 is underway and can be streamed live with a TV service. The World Baseball Classic will conclude on March 21.
What Happens During the World Baseball Classic?
World Baseball Classic
Baseball boasts some of the world’s finest players, representing their countries in the tournament and ultimately determined by how well-played each game. Major League Baseball offers much of this talent but doesn’t guarantee victory to always go to USA; players have the option to represent their home nation even if they reside here in America. Let us look into some past winners to gain a better insight into this statement.
Japan captured the title of World Baseball Classic two times between 2006 and 2009. In 2013, Dominican Republic claimed it, but in 2017, United States finally emerged victorious over Puerto Rico to claim top place in the race.
World Baseball Classic 2023 Schedule
March 17-18: Quarterfinals
On March 19-20 and March 21,the championship game will take place.
The Sky is the Limit: Richest Team Owners In Major League Baseball
Steve Cohen
Baseball has never seen so much money invested in it as now. America’s wealthiest businessmen have all viewed the sport with a kind eye and an even kinder wallet.
Steve Cohen, a billionaire hedge fund manager with an estimated net worth of over $13 billion, failed in his attempts to purchase the New York Mets. Had he succeeded, Cohen would have become the richest team owner in Major League Baseball (MLB), which has long drawn America’s wealthiest.
Here are the five wealthiest team owners in Major League Baseball today:
(Image Credit: AFP)
Where Can You Watch World Baseball Classic?
Cable subscribers to the game will have access to Fox, FS1, FS2, and Fox Deporters; you must have cable if you wish to watch on Fox Sports website and app. Those without cords can watch through livestreaming services like Hulu (with Live TV), YouTube TV (or similar services such as DirecTV Stream, fuboTV or Sling TV), while those without access will find services that carry those channels helpful too.
Three non-USA games can be watched on Tubi, and for those who prefer listening only, Sirius XM and TuneIn provide great options.
FAQs
When does the World Baseball Classic start this year?
On March 8
When is the final match of World Baseball Classic 2023?
Disclaimer Statement: This content has been created by a 3rd party and does not reflect the opinions of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, endorse or support any of its contents in any way whatsoever, so it’s your responsibility to verify all details provided are correct, up-to-date and verified. ET expressly disclaims any and all warranties (express or implied) related to this report and its contents.
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