2/7/12

Larry Bird on Bill Simmons B.S. Report

 

Larry Legend was on Bill Simmons' BS Report podcast today. I am a huge fan of Bill Simmons and I have read both his book and mentioned his work on here in the past. He is from the Boston area and went to school at Holy Cross. His hilarious writing style and gambling references can be seen at Grantland, and definitely worth checking out.


It must have been special for Bill to be able to chat with his idol Larry, and you can clearly sense how genuinely excited he is to pick the Legend's brain about Indianapolis and the Celtics' history. Larry mentions how he thinks that the Colts and Peyton Manning should try to make it work, so that Manning is a Colt for life. Larry relishes his experience and believes that elite players should stay in their market, unless a trade is made. Bird is a bit of a parallel to Peyton, both are loved in their respective cities by sports fans and are transcendent athletes.

I also found that it was interesting that Bird said that he would have retired after they drafted Len Bias, had Len not passed away. I never watched the Bird, I was a baby when he was a champion, but my parents and grandparents speak of him reverently. I love that he was a reknowned trash talker, which I think is hilarious. I also admire that he is still passionate about basketball, and is still a GM for the Pacers. It seems that they are having a ton of success, relatively speaking, and Bird's strategic acquisition of talent is the genesis of that success.

Here is a link to the podcast.

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