And, if you want an extra dose of Truth this holiday season, look no further than the information superhighway. The Celtics captain might not be playing basketball for the rest of 2009, but he'll be plenty active in cyberspace, sharing his opinions with the world. That's right: Paul Pierce is a blogger.
Starting last week, the 32-year-old Pierce began his career as a contributor to Boston.com's Celtics Blog, sharing his opinions on everything from his connection to the city of Boston, to his rapport with Kevin Garnett, to the state of the modern NBA. It's The Truth unfiltered — he doesn't hold back with his honest opinions, and some of them are a little out there.
There aren't too many NBA stars coming out with the unorthodox angles that Pierce offers on his blog. Last Friday, Pierce offered up a few proposed changes to the NBA. He would like the regular season shortened by 22 games, from 82 to 60, he wants to do away with the league's age-limit rules and he wouldn't mind seeing the rim raised three inches to make scoring more difficult for even the game's best athletes.
All these suggestions have their merits. Shorter seasons would make each game more meaningful, and they'd lessen the chance of injuries hampering the game's aging stars. Repealing the age minimum would give the game's best players — whether they're adults, whether they're 19 or 16, no matter — the freedom to play at the highest level. Raising the rim would make the game more challenging, dramatically changing the tactics that make a top-notch defensive basketball team.
All of his ideas are interesting. But none is likely ever to be enacted — even the age rules, which have become a hot-button topic in recent years, are probably here to stay. Pierce isn't putting himself out there because he actually expects to bring about change in the NBA. He's just putting himself out there because he can, because he enjoys sharing his views with the fans that have always stood by him.
His opinions, whether they're legitimate or just hypothetical, aren't what really matter. This is really about Pierce the personality — Pierce, the man off the basketball court.
"For me, blogging is going to give me a chance to let other people get to know me even better, which is what I really want," he writes. "When I'm done with this game I want people to know more about Paul Pierce as a person than just as a basketball player.
"When I retire I don't want people to just talk about my accomplishments on the court. When I'm done playing I want them to really know about me, about my life and what I do to make a difference in my community and the positive impact I try to have on other people."
If only more players saw it that way.
Pierce has been in Boston for 12 seasons. He's been the face of the Celtics' franchise for most of that time — he's stuck with the C's through the bad times and the good. Now he's giving a little something back.
He's not David Stern, and he's not Barack Obama. He's just a guy sharing his ideas with a fan base that enjoys hearing them.
Years from now, we won't remember Paul Pierce as a historic figure who changed the NBA forever. But we will see him as a great player and a good man who gave his all to the city of Boston. And if he's got the time to sit down at the keyboard and share a few thoughts along the way? More power to him. We'll be reading.
