Back in December, the Globe reported that Kevin Garnett was purchasing a minor stake in Roma LLC, a soccer club recently purchased by a US group that includes owners Thomas DiBenedetto of the Red Sox and James Pallotta of the Celtics. KG is a knowledgeable soccer fan and plays the game as part of his off-season conditioning program. LeBron James recently made a similar investment in soccer club, Liverpool FC.

Now, fast forward to today, and the Globe is reporting that Herr Stern has blocked KG's bid to become part owner in the club because one of the club owners is also part owner of the Celtics.

‘If you enter into a business agreement with the owner of a team that doesn’t involve playing service, there are potential problems,’ a league source said. ‘Maybe not in this case. But there is a chance of, say, making a contract a lot larger.’ James is allowed to invest in Liverpool because Fenway Sports Group has no connection with the NBA. ‘With LeBron, there is no tie-in whatsoever, so it’s a different deal,’ the source said. ‘It’s like having a business relationship with Nike. We make it simple — you can’t have a business deal with your team, or any other team, because there is the possibility of an underhanded deal there. It’s pretty clear-cut.’”

Obviously, Herr Stern believes that since he is an underhanded type person, and does underhanded things all the time,  everyone else is going to be underhanded also. 



Another story today involves an interview with former Celtic JaJuan Johnson. Johnson reflects a bit on his time with the Celtics and the experience of being able to learn from a great player like KG.

“I got to see the sacrifices that those guys go through,” Johnson said. “I learned what it takes to get there. Boston was a good team to be a part of. It was a great locker room. I definitely will miss that part.

“The year of learning from Kevin Garnett are things I will take with me for the rest of my life ... just being around a good teammate and learning from a guy like him. It was great being around him every day and practicing against him. That’s going to be valuable throughout my whole career.”

He realizes that in Houston he'll have more of an opportunity to play than he would have in Boston. Johnson was also sad that he and former college teammate, E'Twaun Moore, couldn't continue to play together. Moore was waived by the Rockets and there have been rumors that the Bulls might be interested in him, but they have since signed Nate Robinson so may not be looking for a guard any longer.

I felt really bad for Moore. He had been playing so well for the Celtics in Summer League and had just given an interview stating that he felt very confident in his chances to make the team. Then, suddenly he was no longer a Celtic and just as suddenly, he was no longer a Rocket. I really hope some team picks him up because the guy has skills.

This story underscores the effect that Kevin Garnett has on the young players on the team. JaJuan Johnson and Greg Stiemsma have both mentioned how much they have learned from playing with KG for a year and how much that meant to them. I think back to the time when Patrick O'Bryant was with the Celtics and didn't take KG's lessons seriously and KG just stopped working with him. Doc has since mentioned that if young guys respond and work hard, KG will work really hard with them but if they don't put in the work, they become persona non grata.

When Danny signed KG for another 3 years, it was a good move, not just for the fact that KG still is one of the top big men in the league, but also for what he can teach our rookies. Hopefully, Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo are paying attention and put the work in to apply the lessons that KG teaches them. Sully plays with great fundamentals and a little help from KG on his footwork and his play around the basket will help make him a beast in the paint. Melo is raw, but I think a year with KG will go far to help him round into shape as an NBA player.

Doc has not just been commenting on the Basketball games over in London, he's been enjoying the Olympic events as well. Doc, along with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and others were on hand to watch Usain Bolt win the gold in the 100m race. He watched Michael Phelps swim and watched some of the boxing matches. He also caught some of the cycling races.

In his book, Larry Bird talked about being mobbed every time he tried to leave the hotel. That is until one of the hotel employees showed him a little used back entrance and Larry escaped to watch the softball and baseball and there, he was just one of the guys cheering for the USA. Can you guess what Doc listed as his favorite event? You'd never guess, but Doc's favorite event to watch is Beach volleyball. (It's mine too. Go Misty and Kerri!)

"It's hilarious," Rivers says. "It's a bar and an event at the same time. It's the most fun thing, by far."

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