If you’re a New York
Knicks fan, you probably
have built up a fair amount
of contempt, if not begrudging
respect, for the
likes of Bill Russell, Dave
Cowens, Larry Bird, Paul
Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin
Garnett over the years.
The question, posed by
The Wire, as a guest at MSG
Studios during the Madison
Square Garden Network’s
coverage of the second game
of the Knicks-Boston Celtics
National Basketball Association
playoff series last Tuesday
night, to former Knicks
legends Earl “The Pearl”
Monroe and Bernard King:
Do you loathe the Celtics as
much as orange-and-blue
supporters do?
Brooklyn’s own King, who
averaged 29 points per game
with Bird, Kevin McHale
and Cornbread Maxwell draped all over him during the
seven-game 1984 series loss to the men in green, was diplomatic
in his response. “There certainly was a heightened
intensity playing Boston, with the history and
tradition throughout the years,” he said during a break
in the studio.
Monroe, also known as “Black Jesus” for his miraculous
moves and shot-making, was more devilish.
“Everybody hates Boston … from around here,” he said
with a twinkle. “I did when I played for the Knicks [a
pair of playoff series victories for New York in 1972
and 1973, a defeat the following year] and [Baltimore]
Bullets. But it’s a great rivalry that keeps us attached
through all the years.”
Pulling a hesitation
move like he often did on
the hardwood, The Pearl
then proffered this gem:
“I grew up a Celtics fan.”
Wow!
MSG studio host Al
Trautwig couldn’t leave
this jewel alone. During
MSG’s halftime segment,
he teased the audience
by saying, “Earl the Pearl
dropped a bombshell.
You rooted for the Celtics
growing up? C’mon.”
Monroe elaborated:
“When the Warriors
moved out of Philadelphia,
I had to root for
someone.”
As he rejoined during
The Wire’s initial query,
King tossed this onair
shot at the man who
helped lead the Knicks to
the 1973 championship:
“Bet you didn’t say anything
about that when
you were wearing a Knicks uniform.”
Consider the above The Wire’s contribution to the
Knicks, who needed help after dropping games one and
two to the Celts.
Comcast’s Werner
Uses Home Security
To Keep Pup Happy
Cable has solved another urgent need of modern life:
monitoring your dog walker.
Tony Werner, Comcast’s chief technology officer, had
his home in Colorado outfi tted with the MSO’s new Xfinity
Home Security system, which provides real-time security,
webcams and homeautomation
features.
The company has
launched a version of the
service in Houston and
Portland, Ore., starting
at $29.95 per month for
a basic monitoring package,
with other markets
to follow this year.
Werner soon discovered
that his dog walker
— who was supposed
to visit his pooch for
one hour every day —
was actually staying for
around 45 minutes, after
looking at the Xfinity Home Security logs, which track when
his house’s doors are opened. (The situation has since
been sorted out, according to Werner.)
Xfinity Home Security: Making America’s dogs happier,
one home at a time.
Son of a Slowsky:
Comcast Reprises
Popular Reptiles
Comcast has brought the Slowskys — the turtle couple
perfectly happy with their slower-than-cable DSL — out of
a two-year hibernation with a new TV spot.
The MSO delivered a little bundle of joy to Bill and
Karolyn Slowsky: Bill Jr., a Cheerio-chomping chip off the
old block. The kicker: They’ve been slow to announce the
news (“We’re not fast like Xfinity,” Karolyn explains) and
had a mix-up on the baby’s name because they didn’t get
each other’s e-mails.
The ad was produced by Goodby Silverstein &
Partners. It started airing after Comcast announced
105-Megabit-per-second downstream service is now
available to 40 million households — that’s 70 times
faster than the Slowskys’ 1.5-Mbps DSL!
