Great Article Re: Red

See great article below from Jackie MacMullan of The Boston Globe about Red Auerbach's friendship with a local doctor (urologist), who was Red's traveling companion for the last few decades.

A few highlights:
(1) Red took in his last draft from his DC home with Thomspson Jr., JTIII, and Alonzo Mourning.
(2) At age 86, Red suffered from a severe urinary tract infection and was horribly sick, feverish, and shivering when he called his old friend, Dr. Lieberman. Lieberman recognized the gravity of Red's condition and called an ambulance, which was immediately dispatched to Red's apartment. When the EMTs arrived, Red refused to leave his apartment for the hospital until the Celtics game he was watching wrapped up! The EMTs stood there incredulously as he made them watch the last half of the 4th Quarter. Unbelievable.

This is a great article.

For the basketball fans out there, I also commend to you John Feinstein's "Let Me Tell You a Story." It is not a mere hagiography of Red. Rather, it transcends Red and the Celtics and should be read by anyone who considers himself a true fan of the game. For the skeptics, I have a copy if you would like to borrow it. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

We all owe Red a huge debt, as I have absolutely ZERO doubt in my mind that we would not be attending Georgetown games or enjoying things like March Madness (which is absolutely stunning since Red never coached a college game except for a very brief stint as an assistant at, of all places, Duke!!!) or the NBA Finals, without his involvement in the game. This is not hyperbole.

While Naismith might have invented the game, Red was almost single-handedly responsible for popularizing it.

I know his presence will be missed at Verizon this year.

FYI--MacMullan gets one fact wrong in the article. Red's famous Tuesday lunches were always held at The China Doll (which is now sadly closed) not China Blossom.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/12/20/doctors_hours_emptier/