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Ainge's plan: Blow it upCeltics President Danny Ainge is planning to re-shape the team's direction. "I got a lot of feedback last year in my conversations with players and agents, and they told me some interesting things," Ainge told the Boston Herald. "They told me they didn't like the way the Celtics play and they didn't like the weather and the media and fan pressures in Boston. And guys just didn't like a team that had players that didn't share the ball. Those were the sad realities of what I discovered when I took over. "So I figured there's nothing I can do about the weather and nothing I can do about the media scrutiny, but we can do something about the style of play. We had to create an environment that people want to come to." Via Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Cavs' Silas relates to Baker's plightCLEVELAND (AP) Paul Silas would follow a 20-rebound game by trying to drink as many beers. The Cavaliers coach remembers nights he would chug down a few cold ones before hoarding unopened beers left for his teammates who didn't drink alcohol. ``I would have five or six before I left the locker room,'' Silas said Tuesday. ``I could really drink a lot, and I liked it.'' About 15 years ago, he quit. ``I had to,'' he said. ``They say you can't quit on your own, but I did.'' Now a recovering alcoholic, Silas can relate from personal experience to the current plight of Vin Baker, the four-time All-Star released last week by the Boston Celtics for violating the terms of his alcohol treatment program. One of the league's greatest all-time rebounders, the 60-year-old Silas was able to pull his life together. He now prays Baker can one day do the same and hopes others can be sympathetic to his struggle. ``I just hope he can get the desired help he needs and goes through sobriety,'' Silas said. ``Because it (alcoholism) is devastating. I hope people understand what it is _ that it's a disease. It's something I can sympathize with him with because I've been there. He has a disease. And I have it, too.'' Silas' candid revelation _ he hasn't spoken to Cleveland's players about his alcohol problems _ that he was a heavy drinker was prompted by a question before Monday's game on whether the Cavs were interested in signing Baker. On Tuesday, Silas went into greater detail about his ``demons.'' Growing up in Oakland, Calif., Silas was around alcohol at an early age. His late father would come home from work drunk and pass out in a chair. Although aware of his father's problem and the potential that he could follow a destructive path, Silas loved the taste of that first beer as a 16-year-old and continued to drink during four years at Creighton. An NBA lifestyle of late nights, first-class plane trips and luxury hotels contributed to his drinking in the 1960s and 70s, Silas said. So did an American culture, which didn't stigmatize drinking and smoking as it does today. ``When I was with the St. Louis Hawks, we would come in at halftime and there would be a cigarette on each player's chair,'' Silas said. ``Guys would light up. I just smell the stuff now and it makes me sick to my stomach.'' Silas's 16-year playing career ended in 1980 when he retired after three seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics. However, his drinking only increased. He took a job with a consulting firm in New York with his former agent, and Silas said many evenings included post-work cocktails _ a lot of them. It was following one such night that Silas decided he had had his fill of alcohol. Driving aimlessly in a drunken stupor, he made a wrong turn and got lost as he tried to get home. Silas decided immediately it was time to straighten out his life. ``I started praying,'' Silas said, ``and I said, 'Lord, if you let me find my way, I won't take another drop.' And there was like an illumination and I saw the (street) sign for where I was. I went home and told me wife, 'That's it.' And I just quit.'' Although he was twice an All-Star and won three NBA titles, Silas is sure his drinking affected him as a player, but he'll never know just how much. ``I'm sure it did, but somehow I made it through,'' he said. ``Having a couple of beers after the game, if you can handle it, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. But if you can't, you have to stay away from it _ totally.'' Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Union files grievance; asks for expedited hearingNEW YORK (AP) The NBA players' union filed a grievance on behalf of former Boston Celtics forward Vin Baker, whose contract was terminated earlier this month. In the filing to grievance arbitrator Roger Kaplan, the union asked for an expedited hearing. Baker stands to lose $35 million if the arbitrator finds the Celtics were within their rights when they terminated the final 2 years of his contract. At the time his contract was terminated, Baker had missed 10 games while on suspension for violating terms of his alcohol treatment program. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Celtics Feb 2004 Archive
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