Sixteen going on Seventeen

In the early 1990's, when the NY Yankees were abysmal, I heard a broadcaster (who, like yours truly, had been raised in Maine as a Red Sox fan) point out that "baseball needs the Yankees." His implication was that a strong, competitive team in the Bronx would go a long way towards drawing fans back to a game that was awash in its own mediocrity. Does anybody even remember that the Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series during that time?

I was sixteen when the Boston Celtics won their last NBA Title, with arguably the greatest team of all time (certainly in the top 5 on any thinking fan's list). The next year, the made it back to the finals but fell to the LA Lakers in six games. With the Celtics (and, for a time, the Lakers) falling out of the championship picture for twenty years, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I haven't watched an NBA game with any seriousness during that time -- certainly since Larry Bird retired. Regardless of what happens over the next two weeks or so, it's good to have them back.