Links: New Celtics Coach Brad Pitt?
Plus Disaster! and Lukasz…
First of all, no new news on The Tentative Official Player of The Links, Lukasz Orbzut. In fact, if you search Google News, yesterday’s post on The Links is the most recent bit of Orbzut news. We need more. C’mon, Indy Star, bring us the Orbzut mini-feature!
Oh, and anyone else notice Phil Ford is an assistant coach with the BETcats now? What’s so interesting about that? Well, you know who else is on their roster? Jeff McInnis. That’s all I’m saying about that.
• In an attempt to get the new and improved Celtics on the same page this season, Linkstigator Doc Rivers has them shouting “Ubuntu!” to break each huddle. Say what? From the Boston Herald…
The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of Southern Africa and is used to describe a philosophy of life that promotes the greater good rather than individual success. Rivers read about the philosophy during the summer as it related to the teachings of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and said it denotes a belief that one person cannot be successful if those around him are not. Nobody wins unless everybody wins, if you will.
The coach asked Gabe Pruitt, Glen Davis, Brandon Wallace and Jackie Manuel to study the concept of ubuntu, and the rookies made a presentation to the team last Saturday before the flight to Italy.
(We have to get video of that presentation — imagine them in front of the team with flow charts and a power point presentation.)
This all sounds very forward-thinking and a bit exotic. Doc Rivers was studying Desmond Tutu this summer? Cool.
Here’s the thing, though: I also read about “ubuntu” this summer as it relates to the teachings of Archbishop Tutu…in a Vanity Fair article written by Brad Pitt. Seriously.
I was on vacation in the Caribbean over the Fourth of July and the hotel had a copy of Vanity Fair’s Africa issue laying around. Seeing as I was similarly just laying around, I picked it up and started flipping through it, when I came to the interview of Archbishop Tutu conducted by Brad Pitt. I read the entire interview, which wasn’t bad, and I recall Brad Pitt asking Tutu about “ubuntu.”
I’m assuming this is where Doc Rivers came across the word. Thanks to this blog, we can read the snippet of conversation that gave Doc Rivers his Eureka! moment…
Brad Pitt: What is this concept of Ubuntu I keep reading about?
Desmond Tutu: Ubuntu is the essence of being human. And in our language a person is ubuntu, and ubuntu is a noun to speak about what it means to be human. In essence, it is something that you find especially in the Old Testament, where you’re not quite sure sometimes-when you are reading, say the Psalms-whether the Psalm is speaking, where it says, ‘I,’ only of an individual, or is it speaking in a corporate sense? We say a person is a person through other persons. You can’t be human in isolation. You are human only in relationships.
Brad Pitt: So that speaks to our interconnectedness.
Desmond Tutu: We are interconnected…
So, Celtics fans, just understand that your team will be shouting out Brad Pitt every time they leave a huddle this season.
That’s surely a good sign.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Food is killing if you not get used to it. Like my first year I was eating (so much) chicken Caesar salad I was … going ‘cluck, cluck.’”—Andrei Kirilenko
THE LINKS…
• You have to love Reggie Theus, because his ambition is so transparent that it’s almost cute. He’s rocketed his way from being an assistant at Louisville a few years ago to being an NBA head coach, and now that he’s in the L, he apparently thinks he’s still coaching the Deering Tornadoes. Theus has instituted all kinds of juvenile rules for the Kings, including banning cell phones on the team bus. The midnight curfew before road games is incredible, really, considering most teams don’t even get into the cities they’re playing until well after midnight.
Ron Artest said, “It just shows that it’s about basketball and you can always have fun later.”
Later, like, after the midnight bed-check?
Wait until Theus tries to put Julie Connor in the starting line-up.
• Nets training camper Rod Benson has my ultimate respect: His XBox 360 was giving him the red rings of death, so he took it apart and fixed it himself. Rod, if I bring my XBox over to your hotel, can you fix it for me? I’m not joking, either.
(Rod also disses The Sez blog — not a wise move from someone fighting for a roster spot. Better backtrack on that, RB.)
• If you ever decide to make a huge, fake open wound on your foot using bubblegum, here’s how to do it.
• Anyone notice that since Chris Kaman cut off all his hair, his game has gone down the tubes? Bigger news in L.A.: The Clips have signed Disaster Dickau! Get ready to win, LA! Disaster is about winning! Got that? WINNING!
• Mike Grange, who had the meanest black eye ever at the NBA Finals, has some good stuff on Isiah here.
• It sounds like Andrei Kirilenko is getting Horny. The Jazz have brought in Jeff Hornacek to work with AK47, and Kirilenko is downright effusive about Hornacek here.
• Marc Iavaroni is copping from Mike D’Antoni and plans on using an 8 or 9-man rotation this year in Memphis. Not that they have a lot of young guys who need developing or anything…
• Looks like Steph is still on Marc Berman’s good side.
43 Responses to “Links: New Celtics Coach Brad Pitt?”
Oct.4 at 1:23 pm
Bryan says:
One day Dickau is gonna be a star..it might be at his saturday morning church league when he’s 35 but still…And the xbox at the local best buy has the red rings of death on the demo model which is discouraging I think.
Oct.4 at 1:23 pm
Ryan Jones says:
I really wanted to like Rod Benson, and now I see that he’s “boys” with the jagoff from Counting Crows. Rod, I hope you get cut. Tomorrow.
Oct.4 at 1:26 pm
Steve O says:
Someone posts comments to Berman’s piece as “The Watcher” can we assume that is you sam?
Oct.4 at 1:31 pm
Myles Brown says:
Im the only man I know who loved Legends of the Fall. And Doc better watch out, C’s fans might wanna give his job to Brad if they don’t get off to a great start.
Oct.4 at 1:34 pm
Proph·et says:
Lang, according to this article (http://e-basket.pl/News__Czwarty_Polak_w_NBA__41876) Lukasz Orbzut is supposed to be the 4th Pole to play in the Nba. The article also says that he signed a non guaranteed contract until May 2008.
Oct.4 at 1:34 pm
Bryan says:
I really like Stephon Marbury and I really hope he’s an all star this year.The year the east won with he and AI you could see the love he had for the game and whether people think he’s a jackass or not isn’t relavant.None of us actually know him at all but you have to root for a guy who loves basketball like that.
Oct.4 at 1:34 pm
Ron says:
I got some gum and I’m trying to get out of work to watch the Phillies redeem themselves. Do I have a chance???
Oct.4 at 1:36 pm
Steve O says:
Myles- As a C’s fan if Doc can’t get it done with this squad, I don’t think giving Pitt a shot would be that bad of a move. Couldn’t be worse than Doc, right?
Oct.4 at 1:36 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
not me Steve O. If I were to post comments on another blog I’d pick a much more offensive secret name.
Oct.4 at 1:43 pm
Captain America says:
You’re tellin’ me that the C’s are gonna be more team because of the Doc’s psycho-babble? Please. Fact is, there is no better team player in the game than KG. Allen fits that mold too. (don’t know about PP). Fact is, the “3″ are gonna need to be more selfish given the limitations of the rest.
Oct.4 at 1:58 pm
SMK says:
“one person cannot be successful if others are not, we are all interconnected” - does the ubuntu game plan mean no clear-outs for Paul Pierce?
Oct.4 at 2:06 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
@Ron: Yes.
Oct.4 at 2:15 pm
Ron says:
Lang, I’ll let you know the outcome.
Oct.4 at 2:22 pm
Rubens says:
“We are interconnected” it sounds like desmond tutu was hitting on mr. angelina
Oct.4 at 2:25 pm
Jake Appleman says:
Incredible. I was actually at the same bar at the same time as Rod Benson this weekend, and I didn’t even no it. That’s a shame.
Oct.4 at 2:25 pm
Jake Appleman says:
*know
Oct.4 at 2:32 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
Jake, were you with Adam Duritz?
Oct.4 at 2:34 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
This site doesn’t have much ubuntu.
Oct.4 at 2:42 pm
jbn74sb says:
Myles - Dramtic hair shots of Pitt aside, Legends of the Fall is a great movie. It almost made me Kirilenko (russian word for cry).
Lang - Don’t forget that Reggie Theus was one of the first hosts of The Best Damn Sports Show Period.
I am going to the Clippers scrimmage at Santa Barbara City College this Saturday, and may embarass my friend who is a season ticket holder and life long Clippers fan. Perhaps I will yell at Dickau.
Oct.4 at 2:52 pm
Jake Appleman says:
No, Lang, and truth be told I don’t know much about Adam Duritz. I was with my Sunday soccer league team. We needed some food. All the Bears fans were actually on the other side of the bar making a lot of noise. Unfortunately, the noise had nothing to do with “Ditka vs. God”.
Oct.4 at 3:00 pm
Alex says:
Rod Benson is the man!
Oct.4 at 3:14 pm
nic says:
yall, READ. ROD BENSON’S. BLOG. what a fantastic voice! read it and let me know - doesnt he sound a little like sam?
Oct.4 at 4:28 pm
jbn74sb says:
Lang posts back-to-back links for the first time since 2002 and gets no love from the linkstigators?
Oct.4 at 4:42 pm
nic says:
we dont want to jinx it, mister esq.
Oct.4 at 4:47 pm
white hot eboy says:
Ubuntu, Lang.
Oct.4 at 4:59 pm
albie1kenobi says:
one of my homies is a friend of Rod Benson, and i’ve met him 2-3 times. cool dude for sure. and i hope he makes it as a NET, so that i can call a kidd/benson alley oop “the golden bear connection”. i mean, he fixed his 360!
Oct.4 at 8:23 pm
surfaceearth says:
Peace. We’ll be shortly updating the Ubuntu section, we will leave it to you to update on Mr. Pitt as the coach. Great space you have here.
Oct.4 at 9:52 pm
Paniscus says:
I”m just excited to see a quote of the day. That’s always been my favorite part of the links.
Oct.4 at 9:53 pm
Paniscus says:
Oh yeah, ubuntu.
Oct.4 at 10:18 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Brad Pitt was incredible in Se7en, Fight Club, Snatch, 12 Monkeys and–of course–True Romance. I’d pay to watch Tyler Durden, Mickey O’Neil or Floyd coach the Celtics.
Oct.4 at 10:40 pm
white hot eboy says:
I liked Bradley as Louie in IWAV. And The Mexican, too.
Oct.4 at 10:48 pm
white hot eboy says:
And sh*t, Mr. and Mrs. Smith was pretty tight, too. This pretty bit*h is alright.
Oct.4 at 10:56 pm
Myles Brown says:
“The first rule of Celtics Basketball is you do NOT talk about Celtics Basketball…”
Oct.5 at 12:25 am
Lang Whitaker says:
Would be great if they made Big Baby grow his breasts out.
Oct.5 at 4:55 am
Andrew says:
great, we’ve covered paris hilton and brad pitt all in a day!
Oct.5 at 7:56 am
Ben Osborne says:
Mike Grange is a very solid post player, and an even better Isiah analyst.
Oct.5 at 8:37 am
DennLive says:
Rod Benson’s blog…Dude is fast moving up there with the Gil Arenas Bloggin skills. That was the best thing I’ve read in a min. eryone should put that in their favorites.
Ubuntu!
Oct.5 at 8:43 am
Obrzut! says:
Lukas’ last name is actually “OBRZUT”. And he wears #48, because this is the area code to Poland.
Oct.5 at 9:06 am
Bryan says:
Snatch is amazing.
Oct.5 at 10:16 am
FLUD says:
@Bryan…Did Zeke teach you language like that?
Oct.5 at 10:52 am
Bryan says:
Har har.
Oct.6 at 2:08 am
wanmansou says:
So now Celtics are sponsored by Linux or sth?
Jul.6 at 12:39 am
Right at the intersection of $16 Million and Ubuntu… | Gilbertology.net says:
[…] If you caught any Celtics game last season, they you’re probably familiar with their rallying cry of “Ubuntu” which translates to “I am because we are.” Doc Rivers was able to get everyone on the team from the All-Stars to the scrubs to buy into the Ubuntu philosophy as they all sacrificed their individual games for the good of the team. Sure, the whole thing was pretty corny, but you can’t argue with the results. […]