By: Michael D. McClellan | “Before Elvis, there was nothing,” observes John Lennon, this in reference to all those popular singers who croon so statically and politely in front of rigid dance bands in the style of Perry Como. But Elvis is different; he grows up in Memphis, drawn to the blues and hooked on the […]
Written By: Michael D. McClellan | Frank Ramsey, the NBA’s first great Sixth Man, is as likeable and as easygoing as they come, but he has an image problem; in the December 9, 1963 issue of Sports Illustrated, Ramsey writes a first-person tell-all that pulls the curtain back on what later becomes known as flopping. Ramsey […]
By: Michael D. McClellan | Red Auerbach has a decision to make. It’s the spring of ’69, and the architect of the Celtics’ championship run faces a post-Russell rebuild, a dreaded day thirteen years in the making. The heavy lifting starts with the first selection in the 1969 NBA Draft. Get it right, and the rebuild […]
By: Michael D. McClellan | Spend a few minutes talking to Wayne Embry, and it isn’t long before you realize that this former NBA All-Star is far more than a link to the days when legends such as Russell and Chamberlain ruled the basketball universe. Embry is as relevant now as he was then, only […]
Written By: Michael D. McClellan | He grew up with a basketball in his hands, idolizing his older brother while forging a remarkable legacy of his own, and hoping that one day he, too, would don an NBA uniform and complete against the best athletes in the world. The spotlight certainly did not intimidate – how […]