Morning Links: A day with Big Baby, Paul Pierce is great, etc.

Posted by Zach Lowe on Mar 4, 2009 6641 commenthttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F03%2F04%2Fmorning-links-a-day-with-big-baby-paul-pierce-is-great-etc%2FMorning+Links%3A+A+day+with+Big+Baby%2C+Paul+Pierce+is+great%2C+etc.2009-03-04+13%3A45%3A26Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D664

Some Celtics-related stuff on the Interwebs this morning:

• This “a day in the life of Big Baby” piece from the Globe is a fun read. Baby seems like a fun guy. He’s lost 40 pounds since college, and he attributes the weight loss in part to this diet regimen:

“I have this concept,” he reveals. “You’ve got to eat like a king in the morning, eat like a worker for lunch, and eat like a peasant at night. So I try to stick to that.”

He passes on burgers and chocolate muffins and instead orders two chicken wraps for lunch (he weighs 289 now).

Other things we learn about Baby: He wants to be an All-Star, and he was not ashamed of being caught crying on national television after KG’s tirade.

• Slam has this lengthy profile on Paul Pierce, interspersed with commentary from the author. It’s a good read for both hoops fans and people interested in the process of writing. Here’s an excerpt that features two of my favorite underrated Pierce games from last year’s playoffs (Game 6 at Detroit, Game 5 at Los Angeles):

In the Game 6 clincher against Detroit, he sees a chance at a trophy in the distance and refuses to let another series go 7 by scoring 27 points on 12 field goal attempts and multiple trips to the free throw line. It’s a performance—on the road against opponents known for their defensive prowess—that’s efficient and exact in its surgical precision; a masterpiece that demonstrates a keen understanding of what the situation called for.

In Game 1 of the Finals he provides the drama and the clutch shots—but not the wheelchair, that’s provided for him. In Game 4, he leads the most ridiculous comeback Finals history. In Game 5, he tries to ice it on the road, and nearly does, only to realize that, while he grew up in Cali, his home will forever be in Boston. It’s the final, gut-wrenching twist before the anti-climactic final battle that validates his first crown.

• Speaking of PP, he’s one of several celebrities trying to raise money for an NYC girl suffering from a rare form of leukemia.

• Finally, our old friend Kevin McHale fires some early shots in the collective bargaining wars that could shut down the league in 2001:

“I think you’ll see a lot of changes coming down the road,” McHale said Tuesday before his team hosted the Golden State Warriors. “I think that the players’ association knows it. You’ve got to put up the good fight, but I mean, you’re not going to get a lot of sympathy from fans for the amount of money and stuff. But there will be changes.”