Ghost of Most

Watching the Pistons' thuggishness on the court today, and the calls and non-calls they keep getting, I keep hearing Most's voice in my ear. Johnny Most, for young'uns, was a longtime radio broadcaster for the Celtics. He's the voice of "Havlicek stole the ball!" He was great at describing the scene, and had some nice phrases -- juking and faking was a player who "fiddled and diddled", for example. One great moment was when Most dropped a lit cigarette out of his mouth while calling a game...setting his pants on fire. Another great moment came when Most was confounded by the names of the players of the Yugoslavian National Team...so during the introductions he settled for describing them rather than pronouncing the names of the backups. When Most finished his career, they retired his mike. It's at the Gahden.

But above all Johnny was a homer. He makes Remy seem like a dispassionate voice on high. And if the Celtics were the good guys, anyone else was a bad guy. But especially -- especially -- the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons' star Isaiah Thomas was "Little Lord Fauntleroy". Their big man Bill Lammbeer...a horrid man who would "mug" Celtics players. Here's a clip from a Celtics-Pistons game, and the "disgusting" actions of one player: