Tag: Bob Cousy

“I can’t say he’s my friend,” Cousy, a …

“I can’t say he’s my friend,” Cousy, a Worcester resident, said about Fauci on Monday from his winter home in Florida, “but I’ve been in his company three times and I’ve been telling people for 30 years that he’s my hero.” The 91-year-old Holy Cross and Celtics legend remembers first meeting Fauci many years ago at the Virginia Dental Association’s annual dinner. Ken Haggerty, co-captain of HC’s NCAA championship team in 1947, when Cousy was a freshman reserve, served as president of the association and invited Cousy to attend because Fauci was the guest speaker.

“Obviously, the last three weeks,” …

“Obviously, the last three weeks,” Cousy said, “you can’t turn on the television without seeing Dr. Fauci, and he handles himself so well. Talk about being unassuming.” Cousy said he hasn’t left his winter home in Florida lately other than to grocery shop while wearing a mask and gloves. He said he’s looking forward to returning home to Worcester, but realizes his health comes first. “I understand the gravity of it, especially at 91,” Cousy said. “If I wash my hands one more time, my skin is going to fall off. So I’m paying attention.”

Boston legend Bob Cousy heaps praise on Dr. Fauci

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics point guard Bob Cousy had high praise for fellow Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Dr. Fauci for his work on coronavirus.

Like many of us, Boston Celtics point guard luminary Bob Cousy was watching television at home in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and noticed something was off.

Watching a show on Fox News, the former Celtic noticed one of the hosts — Dana Perino — made an error, reports the Boston Herald’s Tom Keegan.

Perino suggested a prominent physician who has been working with the Trump administration on the pandemic ought to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A lightbulb went off in Cousy’s head (a Medal of Freedom recipient himself), and the Hall of Famer rifled through his phone book, contacting another one of the show’s hosts, friend Juan Williams, leaving a message.

William quickly returned the call on commercial break, and Cousy said, “[t]ell Dana off air that I love her dearly, but she has to do better research … Tony Fauci already has won the Medal of Freedom.”

That previously-awarded Medal of Freedom put Cousy and Fauci in a very small club — Holy Cross graduates who have been granted the honor of the Medal — so it was immediately evident when he heard the mistake.

Fauci has actually had quite a storied history as an expert on public health, starting with the Tylenol poisoning scare of the early 1980s and soon after, as a senior advisor to the H.I.V. epidemic.

He has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, and headed the U.S. efforts against the Ebola epidemic in 2014 as well.

“He deserved his medal because he has saved so many lives even before now,” Cousy said. ” … And now of course, he’s Trump’s favorite talking head. He doesn’t leave Trump’s side and he’s playing a gigantic role.”

Cousy has met Dr. Fauci several times due to their Holy Cross connections, and is very happy to have such a person at the helm in such trying times.

The Boston legend related he has been his “hero” since the pair met 30 years ago in Washington D.C.

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On this day: trio of Celtics St. Patrick’s Day wins, Bob Cousy retires

The Boston Celtics have a trio of outstanding wins over the last dozen years on St. Patrick’s Day; it’s also the 57th anniversary of Bob Cousy’s retirement.

The Boston Celtics have had St. Patrick’s Day off more often than not over the last decade or so, which is probably fitting given the roots of the team in Boston’s Irish-American community.

But they’ve also had three impressive wins on that day since the start of the “Big Three” era of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, two of which belong to the iterations of the Celtics with that trio on the roster.

The most recent such win, in 2017 against the Brooklyn Nets, saw a young Celtics roster emerging from a rebuild secure a tight game with a huge game from forward Jae Crowder.

The Marquette product scored 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with 12 rebounds to lead all scorers 9 of his total coming in the final frame alone.

Crowder leading Boston to a 98-95 win came despite point guard Isaiah Thomas resting for knee soreness, the Georgian stepping up in his absence.

Boston also beat the New York Knicks on that day seven years earlier, winning 109-97 with an excellent effort from Paul Pierce (29 points) and help from KG (22 points).

It was the most points the duo had combined for that season, both having missed considerable time in the second half of the season to injury.

“There were a lot of toos out there,” Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said at the time (via the Associated Press). “They were too big, too quick, too good, and the road trip a little too long”.

And finally, in the season the Celtics hung Banner 17 — 2007-08 for you reent fans — Boston defeated the might San Antonio Spurs 93-91, with a balanced outing from Pierce (22 points and 8 boards), KG (21 points and 8 rebounds) and point guard Rajon Rondo (20 points and 6 assists).

Reserve guard Sam Cassell added 17 points and 5 boards off the bench in the come-from-behind win against the then-defending champions.

“The Spurs, they’re a well-oiled machine. We knew they were going to come in fired up. They lost some games as of late and any champion is going to come out with its haymakers,” said Garnett at the time (via ESPN).

It is the 57th anniversary of the retirement of Celtic great Bob Cousy, who left the game at 34 in a ceremony held at Boston Garden famous for a fan breaking Cousy’s awkward silence in his emotion-choked retirement speech by shouting, “We love ya Cooz!”.

The legendary Boston point guard even received a message from then-president John. F. Kennedy stating, “The game bears an indelible stamp of your rare skills and competitive daring” (via author Gary M. Pomerantz in The Last Pass).

Cousy would win seven titles with Boston, be elected the league’s Most Valuable Player and would get 13 invitations to the NBA All-Star games, one of the greatest to play the game and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Today is also the 61st birthday of team president and former Celtics two-time champion Danny Ainge., and former Boston and current Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier, who is 26 today.

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Fans will be able to bid on the plaques …

Fans will be able to bid on the plaques of Magic Johnson, Julius “Dr. J” Erving and ‘His Airness’ himself, Michael Jordan. Auction winners will get the 25-by-28-inch black-and-white portrait that was previously found on the Hall’s domed ceiling for every person inducted. Other portraits that can be bid on include Rick Barry, Bob Cousy, Patrick Ewing, Pete Maravich, Isiah Thomas, Shaquille O’Neal and Jerry West.