Bob Ryan's Memoir (1 Viewer)

[Mr. Ected]

Heard about Bob Ryan's memoir this week. (Scribe is being published Oct 7)

I have always been a fan of Bob Ryan. I understand that I am 'attached' to him because he is from my town (Hingham, MA), and it's funny to hear him called the 'Hingham Hammer' when he is on PTI. I also listen to Tony K's radio show all the time here in DC, and Ryan is on weekly. Their interaction is wonderful. But mainly I find myself attached to him because I was friends in HS with his son, Keith (RIP).

Needless to say, Bob Ryan is mainly a basketball guy, and he had tons to write about in Boston with the Celtics. Growing up in the Boston suburbs in the 80s was great for basketball. They didn't win every year, but were in it. I was also a big fan of Larry Bird, few worked harder to be better than Larry Bird. He may not be #1 ever, but he is close.

There is an article in the Boston Globe Magazine this week, that has wonderful pieces about Larry Bird, and show how good of a writer Ryan is.

He was always full of surprises. For years we all noted that he stared at the Garden ceiling during the national anthem. He never said why, and no one asked. Then, during his speech at the dinner to celebrate a statue to him that would be placed in the Sports Museum, he explained that he was looking at Bruins great Bobby Orr’s retired number 4 jersey as a source of nightly inspiration. “I want people in Boston to think of me when I retire the same way they do Bobby Orr,” he said. At a nearby table, a man gasped in a loud whisper, “My God.” The man was Bobby Orr.

Unlike Yogi Berra, who may not have said half the things people think he said, all the following are true:

Larry Bird really did stride into the locker room prior to the first Three-Point Shootout in 1986 and ask, “Which one of you guys is finishing second?”

He really did turn down a chance to reenter a game in Salt Lake City in which he had a triple double, plus nine steals, by the end of the third quarter, saying, “I done enough damage.”

He really did say, after learning that Robert Parish had been suspended for punching Bill Laimbeer, “What? For that good deed?”

He really did say, “There’s a secret to playin’ basketball. I ain’t tellin’ what it is.”

Anyway I hope people read the book, I plan to enjoy it.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I'm a big fan of him sitting in for the loudmouth know-nothing that usually sits across from Kornheiser.

 

[D in the D]

I have always respected him because he gave props to the Pistons teams of the mid-late 80s and early 90s, where most other writers just hated.

 

[Rayderr]

I thought he was excellent doing weather for NBC4 in DC.

 

[Mr. Ected]

I thought he was excellent doing weather for NBC4 in DC.

 

[coyote5]

Big fan of Ryan's work. Thanks for the heads up