Larry Bird

LOS ANGELES -- Dennis Johnson, a five-time NBA All-Star and integral part of the Celtics' 1984 and 1986 championship teams, died yesterday, collapsing after coaching Boston's NBA Development League affiliate, the Austin Toros, in practice in Austin, Texas. According to a spokesman for the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, the 52-year-old Johnson suffered a heart attack. Johnson was unconscious and in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at the Austin Convention Center.

As you watch the Celtics submit their own peculiar brand of Jekyll-Hyde basketball, please keep in mind one thing. This is Year 5 of a three-year plan. By rights, the Celtics easily could have been the Pistons already. But they could find themselves in the Finals. If you ask me, they've been playing with house money for two years. They're already handling what could be considered their declining years better than the original Big Three did. The overall circumstances of the respective Big Threes are different, beginning with the fact that Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish...

Everything always seemed to come so easily for Larry Bird on a basketball court. The way the ball appeared almost destined to swish through the net every time he finished his lightning-quick release with a flick of his right wrist. The way he could suck a defender in while running the break, only to zip a no-look pass to a cutting Boston Celtics teammate for an easy bucket. The way Bird related to his Indiana Pacers players as a coach, pushing the right buttons and drawing up the perfect plays late in games to lead his team to the NBA Finals.

It always seemed as though Larry Bird's 15-year tenure with the Pacers has been on borrowed time. He never looked comfortable on the sideline, as if he were counting the seconds before he could retire and return to French Lick. Bird, who was named NBA Executive of the Year last week, is not comfortable in the spotlight, a primary reason why he stepped down as coach of the Pacers after the 2000 season to become the team's vice president. He inherited the job of president when mentor Donnie Walsh stepped down in 2003, and it has taken years for him to rebuild the Pacers into a...

INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosier hospitality? It's been all the rage since the Patriots arrived here in Nap Town on Sunday afternoon. The locals could not be more helpful and even dour Bill Belichick admitted he's received heaping helpings of Hoosier hospitality since his fourth-and-2 call here two years ago. In our never-ending quest to serve you, I decided to find Indiana's greatest gift to New England sports and ask him about Hoosier Hospitality, the...

NEW YORK - Tug Coker has spent time in French Lick, Ind., to get the Hoosier twang down pat. He sat in Red Auerbach's old seat at the Garden, joined the "Beat LA" chant, and gazed upon the No. 33 hanging from the rafters. Looking for the ghosts of Showtime, he searched the old Forum in Inglewood, Calif. He even trash-talked with Larry Legend by phone. Coker, the 6-foot-5-inch actor and former Virginia high school basketball star, is preparing to play Larry Bird in the upcoming Broadway production of "Magic/Bird.

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff Pacers team president Larry Bird would like owner Herb Simon to plan for his departure, according to a report from CBS Sports. CBS' Ken Berger reports that Bird has told several friends in the NBA that he's decided to leave. The 55-year-old Bird had an agreement to stay with the Pacers until the end of the season. The Pacers are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs. Bird has been the Pacers' president since 2002.

INDIANAPOLIS - Hoosier hospitality? It has been all the rage since the Patriots arrived here in Nap Town Sunday afternoon. The locals could not be more helpful, and even the dour Bill Belichick acknowledged that he has received heaping helpings of Hoosier hospitality since his fourth-and-2 call here two years ago. In our never-ending quest to serve you, I decided to find Indiana's greatest gift to New England sports and ask him about Hoosier...

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff Larry Bird, the Celtics legend and current president of the Indiana Pacers, is one of three NBA greats featured on the latest version of the popular NBA video game produced by 2K Sports. NBA 2K12 features three different covers -- Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. The press release statement from 2K Sports: "Bringing Michael Jordan to the virtual hardwood last year was a huge success for NBA 2K11; however, we didn't want to stop there," said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports.

By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff The Lakers are in town and that means Kobe Bryant holds court with the assorted Los Angeles and Boston media today at the TD Garden. Among the nuggets from the interview is that he said he had never formally met Celtics legend and current Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird. Bird gave Bryant some gracious compliments this week, saying he would have loved to have Bryant as a teammate. Bryant has mutual admiration but said he has never had a chance to express it. "That means the world to me because I...

Pacers president Larry Bird was voted the NBA's Executive of the Year, becoming the first person to win that award, plus the league's MVP and Coach of the Year honors. Bird's moves to strengthen the team during the offseason included promoting Frank Vogel from interim to head coach and signing forward David West . Bird was a three-time MVP as a Celtic player. As a coach, he led the Pacers to a 147-67 record in three seasons and their only finals appearance in 2000.

Shortly after the Tony nominations were announced on Tuesday and "Magic/Bird" wasn't on the list of honorees, the producers of the Broadway production - which is about the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird - announced that the show would end its run on May 12. "Magic/Bird" had its official opening at the Longacre Theatre on April 11. It stars Tug Coker as Johnson and Kevin Daniels as Celtics legend Bird. Baby steps "I did have a fresh eyebrow wax. I got my nails done, I got my feet done, had my hair done, and I had my little lip gloss.

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff Pacers team president Larry Bird would like owner Herb Simon to plan for his departure, according to a report from CBS Sports. CBS' Ken Berger reports that Bird has told several friends in the NBA that he's decided to leave. The 55-year-old Bird had an agreement to stay with the Pacers until the end of the season. The Pacers are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs. Bird has been the Pacers' president since 2002.

NEW YORK — Above the marquee of the Longacre Theatre, where "Magic/Bird" opened Wednesday night, looms a huge blowup of a photo taken of Larry Bird and Earvin (Magic) Johnson during their playing days. Hip to hip, their arms entangled, Larry in Celtic green and Magic in Laker gold, they gaze intently upward as they jostle for rebounding position. It is a portrait of superstars utterly focused on gaining even a fractional competitive edge over each other, but the image also suggests a kinship between a pair of very different men who view the world in...

NEW YORK — Above the marquee of the Longacre Theatre, where "Magic/Bird" opened Wednesday night, looms a huge blowup of a photo taken of Larry Bird and Earvin (Magic) Johnson during their playing days. Hip to hip, their arms entangled, Larry in Celtic green and Magic in Laker gold, they gaze intently upward as they jostle for rebounding position. It is a portrait of superstars utterly focused on gaining even a fractional competitive edge over each other, but the image also suggests a kinship between a pair of very different men who view the world in fundamentally...

NEW YORK - Tug Coker has spent time in French Lick, Ind., to get the Hoosier twang down pat. He sat in Red Auerbach's old seat at the Garden, joined the "Beat LA" chant, and gazed upon the No. 33 hanging from the rafters. Looking for the ghosts of Showtime, he searched the old Forum in Inglewood, Calif. He even trash-talked with Larry Legend by phone. Coker, the 6-foot-5-inch actor and former Virginia high school basketball star, is preparing to play Larry Bird in the upcoming Broadway production of "Magic/Bird.

The Lakers are in town and that means Kobe Bryant held court with reporters in advance of tonight's game between Los Angeles and Boston. Among the things Bryant revealed was that he has never formally met Celtics legend and current Pacers president Larry Bird. Bird gave Bryant some gracious compliments this week, saying he would have loved to have Bryant as a teammate. Bryant has mutual admiration but said he has never had a chance to express it. "That means the world to me because I looked up to him and his worth ethic," Bryant said today.