Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.

History

See also: Construction of Mount Rushmore


The carving of Mount Rushmore involved the use of dynamite, followed by the process of "honeycombing". About two million tons of rock were blasted off the mountainside.
Originally known to the Lakota Sioux as Six Grandfathers, the mountain was renamed after Charles E. Rushmore, a prominent New York lawyer, during an expedition in 1885. At first, the project of carving Rushmore was undertaken to increase tourism in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. After long negotiations involving a Congressional delegation and President Calvin Coolidge, the project received Congressional approval. The carving started in 1927, and ended in 1941 with some injuries and no fatalities.
As Six Grandfathers, the mountain was part of the route that Lakota leader Black Elk took in a spiritual journey that culminated at Harney Peak. Following a series of military campaigns from 1876 to 1877, the United States asserted control over the area, a claim that is still disputed on the basis of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie (see section "Controversy" below). Among white American settlers, the peak was known variously as Cougar Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain, and Keystone Cliffs. It was named Mount Rushmore during a prospecting expedition by Rushmore, David Swanzey (whose wife Carrie was the sister of author Laura Ingalls Wilder), and Bill Challis.
Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. In 1924, Robinson persuaded sculptor Gutzon Borglum to travel to the Black Hills region to ensure that the carving could be accomplished. Borglum had been involved in sculpting the Confederate Memorial Carving, a massive bas-relief memorial to Confederate leaders on Stone Mountain in Georgia, but was in disagreement with the officials there. The original plan was to perform the carvings in granite pillars known as the Needles. However, Borglum realized that the eroded Needles were too thin to support sculpting. He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to the sun. Borglum said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."Congress authorized the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission on March 3, 1925. President Coolidge insisted that along with Washington, two Republicans and one Democrat be portrayed.


Construction of Mount Rushmore.
Between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the colossal 60-foot (18 m) carvings of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. The image of Thomas Jefferson was originally intended to appear in the area at Washington's right, but after the work there was begun, the rock was found to be unsuitable, so the work on the Jefferson figure was dynamited, and a new figure was sculpted to Washington's left.
In 1933, the National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction. Engineer Julian Spotts helped with the project by improving its infrastructure. For example, he had the tram upgraded so that it could reach the top of Mount Rushmore for the ease of workers. By July 4, 1934, Washington's face had been completed and was dedicated. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and the face of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated on September 17, 1937. In 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add the head of civil-rights leader Susan B. Anthony, but a rider was passed on an appropriations bill requiring that federal funds be used to finish only those heads that had already been started at that time. In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated.
The Sculptor's Studio—a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting—was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, continued the project. Originally, it was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist, but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Borglum had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase commemorating in eight-foot-tall gilded letters the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from Alaska to Texas to the Panama Canal Zone.

A model at the site depicting Mount Rushmore's intended final design. Insufficient funding forced the carving to end in October 1941.

The entire project cost US$989,992.32. Notably for a project of such size, no workers died during the carving.
On October 15, 1966, Mount Rushmore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An essay from Nebraska student William Andrew Burkett, selected as the winner for the college-age group in 1934, was placed on the Entablature on a bronze plate in 1973.In 1991, President George H. W. Bush officially dedicated Mount Rushmore.
In a canyon behind the carved faces is a chamber, cut only 70 feet (21 m) into the rock, containing a vault with sixteen porcelain enamel panels. The panels include the text of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, biographies of the four presidents and Borglum, and the history of the U.S. The chamber was created as the entranceway to a planned "Hall of Records"; the vault was installed in 1998.
Ten years of redevelopment work culminated with the completion of extensive visitor facilities and sidewalks in 1998, such as a Visitor Center, the Lincoln Borglum Museum, and the Presidential Trail. Maintenance of the memorial annually requires mountain climbers to monitor and seal cracks. The memorial is not cleaned to remove lichens. It has been cleaned only once. On July 8, 2005, Kärcher GmbH, a German manufacturer of cleaning machines, conducted a free cleanup operation; the washing used pressurized water at over 200 °F (93 °C).




Controversy

                                                                                                Air Force One flying over Mt. Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore is controversial among Native Americans because the United States seized the area from the Lakota tribe after the Great Sioux War of 1876–77. The Treaty of Fort Laramie from 1868 had previously granted the Black Hills to the Lakota in perpetuity. Members of the American Indian Movement led an occupation of the monument in 1971, naming it "Mount Crazy Horse". Among the participants were young activists, grandparents, children and Lakota holy man John Fire Lame Deer, who planted a prayer staff atop the mountain. Lame Deer said the staff formed a symbolic shroud over the presidents' faces "which shall remain dirty until the treaties concerning the Black Hills are fulfilled."
In 2004, the first Native American superintendent of the park was appointed. Gerard Baker has stated that he will open up more "avenues of interpretation", and that the four presidents are "only one avenue and only one focus."
The Crazy Horse Memorial is being constructed elsewhere in the Black Hills to commemorate a famous Native American leader and as a response to Mount Rushmore. It is intended to be larger than Mount Rushmore and has the support of Lakota chiefs; the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation has rejected offers of federal funds. However, this memorial is likewise the subject of controversy, even within the Native American community.
The Monument also provokes controversy because some allege that underlying it is the theme of racial superiority legitimized by the idea of Manifest Destiny. The mountains were carved with Borglum's choice of four presidents active during the time of the acquisition of Indian land. Gutzon Borglum himself excites controversy because he was an active member of the Ku Klux Klan.
In 2009, author Ivan Eland released Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty, a book that advocates a reappraisal of the presidency of three of the four presidents on the monument.




Ecology

The Black Hills opposite Mount Rushmore.
The flora and fauna of Mount Rushmore are similar to those of the rest of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Birds including the turkey vulture, bald eagle, hawk, and meadowlark fly around Mount Rushmore, occasionally making nesting spots in the ledges of the mountain. Smaller birds, including songbirds, nuthatches, and woodpeckers, inhabit the surrounding pine forests. Terrestrial mammals include the mouse, chipmunk, squirrel, skunk, porcupine, raccoon, beaver, badger, coyote, bighorn sheep, and bobcat. In addition, several species of frogs and snakes inhabit the region. The two brooks in the memorial, the Grizzly Bear and Starling Basin brooks, support fish such as the longnose dace and the brook trout. Some endemic animals are not indigenous to the area; the mountain goats are descended from goats which were a gift from Canada to Custer State Park in 1924 but later escaped.
At lower elevations, coniferous trees, mainly the Ponderosa pine, surround most of the monument, providing shade from the sun. Other trees include the bur oak, the Black Hills spruce, and the cottonwood. Nine species of shrubs live near Mount Rushmore. There is also a wide variety of wildflowers, including especially the snapdragon, sunflower, and violet. Towards higher elevations, plant life becomes sparser. However, only approximately five percent of the plant species found in the Black Hills are indigenous to the region.
Though the area receives about 18 inches (460 mm) of precipitation on average per year, alone it is not enough to support the abundant animal and plant life. Trees and other plants help to control surface runoff. Dikes, seeps, and springs help to dam up water that is flowing downhill, providing watering spots for animals. In addition, stones like sandstone and limestone help to hold groundwater, creating aquifers.
Forest fires occur in the Ponderosa forests surrounding Mount Rushmore around every 27 years. This was determined from fire scars in tree core samples. These help to clean forest debris located on the ground. Large conflagrations are rare, but have occurred in the past.



Geology

Mt. Rushmore, showing the full size of the mountain and the scree of debris from construction.
Mount Rushmore is largely composed of granite. The memorial is carved on the northwest margin of the Harney Peak granite batholith in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so the geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore. The batholith magma intruded into the pre-existing mica schist rocks during the Precambrian period about 1.6 billion years ago. Very coarse grained pegmatite is associated with the granite of Harney Peak. The light-colored streaks in the presidents' foreheads are due to these dikes.


Model of Mount Rushmore in Legoland Windsor.
The Black Hills granites were exposed to erosion during the late Precambrian, but were buried by sandstones and other sediments during the Cambrian Period. The area remained buried throughout the Paleozoic Era, but was exposed again to erosion during the tectonic uplift about 70 million years ago. The Black Hills area was uplifted as an elongated geologic dome. The subsequent natural erosion of this mountain range allowed the carvings by stripping the granite of the overlying sediments and the softer adjacent schists. The contact between the granite and darker schist is viewable just below the sculpture of Washington.
Borglum selected Mount Rushmore as the site for several reasons. The rock of the mountain is composed of smooth, fine-grained granite. The durable granite erodes only 1 inch (25 mm) every 10,000 years, indicating that it was sturdy enough to support sculpting. In addition, it was the tallest mountain in the region, looming to a height of 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. Because the mountain faces the southeast, the workers also had the advantage of sunlight for most of the day.


Tourism

The entrance to the site.
Tourism is South Dakota's second-largest industry, and Mount Rushmore is its top tourist attraction. In 2004, over two million visitors traveled to the memorial. The site is also home to the final concerts of Rushmore Music Camp and attracts many visitors over the week of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Source:wikipedia

Kelly Bensimon

Kelly Killoren Bensimon is an author, model, jewelry designer, and former editor of Elle Accessories. She currently appears on Bravo The Real Housewives of New York City.

Personal life

Kelly Jean Killoren, was born on May 1, 1968 and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She began working as a model at the age of 15. Killoren was the third wife of French fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon, who is 24 years older. He is an internationally renowned photographer and former International Creative Director of Elle magazine. The couple have two daughters: Sea Louise Bensimon (born in 1998) and Thaddeus Ann "Teddy" Bensimon (born in 2000). The couple divorced in July 2007. The former Mrs. Bensimon now resides in New York City and East Hampton.
Education

Killoren Bensimon initially attended Trinity College, Connecticut as a member of the Class of 1990, but left after a year. She later enrolled at the Columbia University School of General Studies, majoring in English,  in 1998
Career

Killoren began her modeling career in New York City. She has appeared in magazines such as ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar. She was also the face of Clarins. She is the editor at large for Hamptons Magazine and Gotham Magazine. She is the founding editor Elle Accessories Magazine. She has authored several books including In The Spirit of the Hamptons, American Style, and The Bikini Book. Kelly also wrote a column in Page Six Magazine called The Socializer: Kelly Killoren Bensimon.
Killoren-Bensimon has been host of the IMG (business) fashion week, and of the IMG swim shows in Miami. She was a spokesperson in 2006 for Wool  as part of their Test Marketing Productions (TMP;) however, a current search of the Wool website indicates no 2009 relationship or representation . Bensimon has hosted menswear events with GQ magazine. She was also an "ambassador" for Spring 2007 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week  in New York City. Killoren Bensimon launched her jewelry line "Kelly" at Bloomingdale's in fall 2007.
Killoren Bensimon appears on Bravo's popular reality show The Real Housewives of New York City.
Bensimon appeared in a six-page pictorial in the March 2010 edition of Playboy magazine.
Lawsuit

Designer Celeste Greenberg, founder of jewelry line Tuleste Market, claims that the owl design that Bensimon displays and promotes on The Real Housewives of New York City was not designed by Bensimon, but by herself. Greenberg initiated a legal case for copyright infringement and breach of contract.
Arrest

Killoren Bensimon was arrested on 5 March 2009 and charged with assaulting her boyfriend Nicholas Stefanov. Stefanov filed an in-person criminal complaint with the NYPD and was photographed as part of the complaint with visible facial wounds.. The criminal complaint stated that Bensimon hit Stefanov "with a closed fist, thereby causing informant to suffer a laceration below informant's left eye and substantial pain."
Source:wikipedia

Benjamin Biolay

Benjamin Biolay (born 20 January 1973 in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône) is a French singer, songwriter, musician, actor and record producer. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément, whose two albums he wrote and produced, and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni.
His low-key vocal style is somewhat similar to French pop star Étienne Daho. With the singer Keren Ann, whose first two albums he co-wrote and produced, he contributed several songs to Chambre avec Vue, the successful comeback album of singer Henri Salvador, and has since worked as a writer, arranger or producer for other icons of French music, including Juliette Gréco, Julien Clerc and Françoise Hardy.
He wrote or performed most of the songs on the 2004 soundtrack to Clara et Moi by Arnaud Viard, and released the album Home with his wife the same year. After two more rock oriented albums in 2005 and 2007 he was dropped by his record company and began working on his first independent release. 'La Superbe' was released on Naïve records in 2009.

Discography

Solo
2001 Rose Kennedy
2001 Benjamin Biolay Remix EP
2003 Négatif
2004 Clara et Moi (Original Soundtrack)
2005 À l'origine
2007 Trash Yéyé
2009 La Superbe
with Chiara Mastroianni
2004 Home
Source:wikipedia

Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry, (French pronunciation: [tjɛʁi ɑ̃ʁi]; born 17 August 1977) is a French footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona and the French national team. Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne (a suburb of Paris) where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.
It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to Barcelona for a fee of €24 million. His first honours with the Catalan club came in 2009 when they won the league, cup and Champions League treble. Later he would go on to achieve an unprecedented sextuple by also winning the Spanish Supercup, the UEFA Supercup and the Club World Cup. Henry has been named in the UEFA Team of the Year five times.
Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. He married English model Nicole Merry in 2003 and had a daughter with her, but they divorced in 2007. Henry is also one of the top commercially marketed footballers; he was ranked ninth in the world in 2006.


Early years

Henry is of Antillean heritage: his father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe (La Désirade island), and his mother, Maryse, is from Martinique. He was born and raised in Les Ulis district of Paris which, despite sometimes being seen as a tough neighbourhood, provided good footballing facilities. As a seven-year-old, Henry showed great potential, prompting Claude Chezelle to recruit him to the local club CO Les Ulis. His father pressured him to attend training, although the youngster was not particularly drawn to football.He joined US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year his father fell out with the club, so Henry moved to ES Viry-Châtillon for two years. US Palaiseau coach Jean-Marie Panza, Henry's future mentor, followed him there.



Club career

Monaco (1992–1999) and Juventus (1999)
In 1990, Monaco sent scout Arnold Catalano to watch Henry in a match. Henry scored all six goals as his side won 6–0. Catalano asked him to join Monaco without even attending a trial first. Catalano requested that Henry complete a course at the elite Clairefontaine academy, and despite the director's reluctance to admit Henry due to his poor school results, he was allowed to complete the course and joined Arsène Wenger's Monaco as a youth player. Subsequently, Henry signed professional forms with Monaco and made his professional debut in 1994. Wenger put Henry on the left wing because he believed that his pace, natural ball control and skill would be more effective against full-backs than centre-backs. In his first season with Monaco, Henry scored three goals in 18 appearances.
Wenger continued to search for the perfect playing position for Henry, and suspected that he should be deployed as a striker instead, but he was unsure. Under the tutelage of his manager, Henry was named the French Young Footballer of the Year in 1996, and in the 1996–97 season, his solid performances helped the club win the Ligue 1 title. During the 1997–98 season, he was instrumental in leading his club to the UEFA Champions League semi-final, setting a French record by scoring seven goals in the competition. By his third season, he had received his first cap for the national team, and was part of the winning team in the 1998 World Cup. He continued to impress at his tenure with Monaco, and in his five seasons with the French club, the young winger scored 20 league goals in 105 appearances.
Henry left Monaco in January 1999, one year before his friend and teammate David Trézéguet, and moved to Italian Serie A club Juventus for £10.5 million. He played on the wing, but he was ineffective against the Serie A defensive discipline in a position uncharacteristic for him, and scored just three goals in 16 appearances.

Arsenal (1999–2007)

Henry was made captain following the departure of fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieira to Juventus in 2005
Unsettled in Italy, Henry transferred from Juventus in August 1999 to Arsenal for £10 million, reuniting with his former manager Arsène Wenger.It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer, and although his transfer was not without controversy, Wenger was convinced he was worth the transfer fee. Brought in as a replacement for fellow French forward Nicolas Anelka, Henry was immediately moulded into a striker by Wenger, a move that would pay rich dividends in years to come. However, doubts were raised about his ability to adapt to the quick and physical English game when he failed to score in his first eight games.After several difficult months in England, Henry even conceded that he had to "be re-taught everything about the art of striking." These doubts were dispelled when he ended his first season at Arsenal with an impressive goal tally of 26. Arsenal finished second in the league behind Manchester United, and lost in the UEFA Cup final against Turkish side Galatasaray.
Coming off the back of a victorious Euro 2000 campaign with the national side, Henry was ready to make an impact in the 2000–01 campaign. Despite recording fewer goals and assists than his first season, Henry's second season with Arsenal proved to be a breakthrough, as he became the club's top goal-scorer.Armed with one of the league's best attacks, Arsenal closed in quickly on perennial rivals Manchester United for the league title. Henry remained frustrated however by the fact that he had yet to help the club win honours, and frequently expressed his desire to establish Arsenal as a powerhouse.
Success finally arrived during the 2001–02 season. Arsenal finished seven points above Liverpool to win the league title, and defeated Chelsea 2–0 in the FA Cup Final. Henry became the league's top goal-scorer and netted 32 goals in all competitions as he led Arsenal to a double and his first silverware with the club. There was much expectation that Henry would replicate his club form for France during the 2002 World Cup, but the defending champions suffered a shock exit at the group stage.
2002–03 proved to be another productive season for Henry, as he scored 32 goals in all competitions while contributing 23 assists—remarkable returns for a striker. In doing so, he led Arsenal to another FA Cup triumph, although Arsenal failed to retain their Premier League crown. Throughout the season, he competed with Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy for the league scoring title, but the latter edged Henry to the title by a goal. Nonetheless, Henry was named both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. His rising status as one of the world's best footballers was affirmed when he emerged runner-up for the 2003 FIFA World Player of the Year award.



Henry in a game against Charlton Athletic in 2006

Entering the 2003–04 season, Arsenal were determined to reclaim the Premier League crown. Henry was again instrumental in Arsenal's exceptionally successful campaign; together with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pirès, Henry ensured that the Gunners became the first team in more than a century to go through the entire domestic league campaign unbeaten, claiming the league title in the process. Apart from being named for the second year running as the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, Henry emerged once again as the runner-up for 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award. With 39 goals scored in all competitions, the Frenchman led the league in goals scored and won the European Golden Boot. However, as was the case in 2002, Henry was unable to lead the national side to honours during Euro 2004.
This dip in success was compounded when Arsenal failed again to secure back-to-back league titles when they lost out to Chelsea in the 2004–05 season, although the club did win the FA Cup (the final of which Henry missed through injury).Henry maintained his reputation as one of Europe's most feared strikers as he led the league in scoring, and with 31 goals in all competitions, he was the co-recipient (with Diego Forlán) of the European Golden Boot, and is currently the only player to have officially won the award twice in a row (Ally McCoist also had two Golden Boots in a row, but both were deemed unofficial). The unexpected departure of compatriot Vieira in mid-2005 led to Henry being awarded club captaincy, a role which many felt was not naturally suited for him; the captaincy is more commonly given to defenders or midfielders, who are better-placed on the pitch to read the game. Along with being chief goal-scorer, he was responsible for leading a very young team which had yet to gel fully.


After the retirement of Dennis Bergkamp, Henry regularly partnered Robin van Persie up front in the Arsenal attack
The 2005–06 season proved to be one of remarkable personal achievements for Henry. On 17 October 2005, Henry became the club's top goal-scorer of all time; two goals against Sparta Prague in the Champions League meant he broke Ian Wright's record of 185 goals. On 1 February 2006, he scored a goal against West Ham, bringing his league goal tally up to 151, breaking Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goals record. Henry scored his 100th league goal at Highbury, a feat unparalleled in the history of the club, and a unique achievement in the Premier League. He completed the season as the league's top goal-scorer, and for the third time in his career, he was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
Nevertheless, Arsenal failed to win the league title again, but hopes of a trophy were revived when Arsenal reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. The Gunners eventually lost 2–1 to Barcelona, and Arsenal's inability to win the Premier League for two consecutive seasons combined with the relative inexperience of the Arsenal squad caused much speculation that Henry would leave for another club. However, he declared his love for the club and accepted a four-year contract, and said he would stay at Arsenal for life. Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein later claimed the club had turned down two bids of £50 million from Spanish clubs for Henry before the signing of the new contract. Had the transfer materialized, it would have surpassed the world record £47 million paid for Zinédine Zidane.
Henry's 2006–07 season was marred by injuries. Although he scored 10 goals in 17 domestic appearances for Arsenal, Henry's season was cut short in February. Having missed games due to hamstring, foot, and back problems, he was deemed fit enough to come on as a late substitute against PSV in a Champions League match, but began limping shortly after coming on. Scans the next day revealed that he would need at least three months to heal from new groin and stomach injuries, missing the rest of the 2006–07 season. Wenger attributed Henry's injuries to a protracted 2005–06 campaign, and reiterated that Henry was keen on staying with the Gunners to rebuild for the 2007–08 season.



Barcelona (2007–present)

Henry greets the Camp Nou supporters at his introduction.
On 25 June 2007, in an unexpected turn of events, Henry was transferred to Barcelona for €24 million. He signed a four-year deal for a reported €6.8 (£4.6) million per season. It was revealed that the contract included a release clause of €125 (£84.9) million. Henry cited the departure of Dein and continued uncertainty over Wenger's future as reasons for leaving, and maintained that "I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona." Despite their captain's departure, Arsenal got off to an impressive start for the 2007–08 campaign, and Henry admitted that his presence in the team might have been more of a hindrance than a help. He stated: "Because of my seniority, the fact that I was captain and my habit of screaming for the ball, they would sometimes give it to me even when I was not in the best position. So in that sense it was good for the team that I moved on." Henry left Arsenal as the club's leading all-time league goal-scorer with 174 goals and leading all-time goal-scorer in Europe with 42 goals; in July 2008, Arsenal fans voted him as Arsenal's greatest player ever in Arsenal.com's Gunners' Greatest 50 Players poll.


Henry takes on Rio Ferdinand inside the Manchester United penalty area during the 2009 UEFA Champions

League Final.
At Barcelona, Henry was given the number 14 jersey, the same as he had worn at Arsenal. He scored his first goal for his new club on 19 September 2007 in a 3–0 Champions League group stage win over Lyon,and he recorded his first hat-trick for Barça in a league match against Levante ten days later. But with Henry mostly deployed on the wing throughout the season, he was unable to reproduce the goal-scoring form he achieved with Arsenal. He expressed dissatisfaction with the move to Barcelona in the initial year, amidst widespread speculation of a return to the Premier League. In an interview with Garth Crooks on BBC Football Focus, Henry described missing life "back home" and even "the English press". However, Henry concluded his debut season as the club's top scorer with 19 goals in addition to nine league assists, second behind Lionel Messi's ten.
Henry went on to surpass this tally in a more integrated 2008–09 campaign, winning the first trophy of his Barcelona career on 13 May 2009 when Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. Barcelona won the league and Champions League soon after, completing a treble for the Frenchman, who had combined with Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o to score 100 goals between them that season. The trio was also the most prolific trio in Spanish league history, scoring 72 goals and surpassing the 66 goals of Real Madrid's Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo di Stefano and Luis del Sol of the 1960–61 season. Later in 2009, Henry started on the pitch as he helped Barcelona win an unprecedented sextuple, consisting of the aforementioned treble, the Spanish Supercup, the UEFA Supercup and the FIFA Club World Cup.



International career

Henry has had a successful career with the France national team. His international career began in June 1997, when his good form for Monaco was rewarded with a call-up to the Under-20 French national team, where he played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trézéguet.Within four months, France head coach Aimé Jacquet called Henry up to the senior team. The 20-year-old made his senior international debut on 11 October 1997 in a 2–1 win against South Africa. Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that he took him to the 1998 World Cup. Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level, he ended the tournament as France's top scorer with three goals. He was scheduled to appear as a substitute in the final, where France beat Brazil 3–0, but Marcel Desailly's sending off forced a defensive change instead. In 1998, he was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur, France's highest decoration.
Henry was a member of France's Euro 2000 championship squad, again scoring three goals in the tournament, including the equalizer against Portugal in the semi-final, and finishing as the country's top scorer. France later won the game in extra time following a converted penalty kick by Zinédine Zidane. France went on to defeat Italy in extra time in the final, earning Henry his second major international medal. During the tournament, Henry was voted man-of-the-match in three games, including the final against Italy.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup featured a stunning early exit for both Henry and France as the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage after failing to score a goal in all three games. France lost their first match in group play and Henry was red carded for a dangerous sliding challenge in their next match against Uruguay.In that game, France played to a 0–0 draw, but Henry was forced to miss the final match due to suspension; France lost 2–0 to Denmark.
Henry returned to form for his country at the 2003 Confederations Cup. Despite playing without team stalwarts Zidane and Patrick Vieira, France won, in large part owing to Henry's outstanding play, for which he was named Man of the Match by FIFA's Technical Study Group in three of France's five matches. In the final, he scored the golden goal in extra time to lift the title for the host country after a 1–0 victory over Cameroon. Henry was awarded both the adidas Golden Ball as the outstanding player of the competition and the adidas Golden Shoe as the tournament's top goal-scorer with four goals.In Euro 2004, Henry played in all of France's matches and scored two goals.France beat England in the group stages but lost to the eventual winners Greece 1–0 in the quarter-finals. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup Henry remained as one of the automatic starters in the squad. He played as a lone striker, but despite an indifferent start to the tournament, became one of the top players of the World Cup. He scored three goals, including the winning goal from Zidane's free kick against defending champions Brazil.However, France subsequently lost to Italy on penalties (5–3) in the final. Henry did not take part in the penalty shootout, having been substituted in extra time after his legs had cramped.Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament, an award which was ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane and was named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.
On 13 October 2007, Henry scored his 41st goal against the Faroe Islands, joining Michel Platini as the country's top goal-scorer of all time. Four days later at the Stade de la Beaujoire, he scored a late double against Lithuania, thereby setting a new record as France's top goal-scorer. On 3 June 2008, Henry made his 100th appearance for national team in match against Colombia, becoming the sixth French player ever to reach that milestone.
Henry missed the opening game of France's short-lived Euro 2008 campaign, where they were eliminated in the group stages after being grouped together with Italy, the Netherlands and Romania. He scored France's only goal in the competition in a 4–1 loss to the Netherlands.
The French team struggled during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and finished second in their group behind Serbia. During the playoffs against Ireland, Henry was involved in a controversy in the second leg in the game in the Stade de France on 18 November 2009. With the aggregate score tied at 1–1 and the game in extra time, he used his hand twice to control the ball before delivering a cross to William Gallas who scored the winner. This sparked a barrage of criticism against the Frenchman, while national team coach Raymond Domenech and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger defended him.The Football Association of Ireland lodged a formal complaint with FIFA, seeking a replay of the game, which FIFA declined. Henry said that he contemplated retiring from international football after the reactions to the incident, but maintained that he was not a "cheat"; hours after FIFA had ruled out a replay, he stated that "the fairest solution would be to replay the game". FIFA President Sepp Blatter described the incident as "blatant unfair play" and announced an inquiry into how such incidents could be avoided in future, and added that the incident would be investigated by the Disciplinary Committee. Blatter also said Henry told him that his family had been threatened in the aftermath of the incident. In January 2010, FIFA announced that there was no legal basis to sanction Henry.



Style of play

Henry was the first-choice free kick taker for Arsenal
Although Henry played up front as a striker during his youth, he spent his time at Monaco and Juventus playing on the wing. When Henry joined Arsenal in 1999, Wenger immediately changed this, switching Henry to his childhood position, often pairing him with Dutch veteran Dennis Bergkamp. During the 2004–05 season, Wenger switched Arsenal's formation to 4-5-1. This change forced Henry to adapt again to fit into the Arsenal team, and he played many games as a lone striker. Still, Henry remained Arsenal's main offensive threat, on many occasions conjuring spectacular goals. Wenger once said of his fellow Frenchman: "Thierry Henry could take ball in the middle of park and score a goal that no one else in the world could score".
One of the reasons cited for Henry's impressive play up front is his ability to calmly score from one-on-ones. This, combined with his exceptional pace, means that he can get in behind defenders regularly enough to score.When up front, Henry is occasionally known to move out wide to the left wing position, something which enables him to contribute heavily in assists: between 2002–03 and 2004–05, the striker managed almost 50 assists in total and this was attributed to his unselfish play and creativity. Henry would also drift offside to fool the defence then run back onside before the ball is played and beat the offside trap, although he never provided Arsenal a distinct aerial threat. Given his versatility in being able to operate as both a winger and a striker, the Frenchman is not a prototypical "out-and-out striker", but he has emerged consistently as one of Europe's most prolific strikers. In set pieces, Henry was the first-choice penalty and free kick taker for Arsenal, having scored regularly from those positions.



Awards and honours

Henry has received many plaudits and awards in his football career. He was runner-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award; in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year titles. Henry is the only player ever to have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006), and the French Player of the Year on a record four occasions. Henry was voted into the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade in the 10 Seasons Awards poll in 2003, and in 2004 he was named by football legend Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
In terms of goal-scoring awards, Henry was the European Golden Boot winner in 2004 and 2005 (sharing it with Villarreal's Diego Forlán in 2005) and is the first ever player to retain the award. Henry has also been the top goal-scorer in the Premier League for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006).In 2006, he became the first player to score more than 20 goals in the league for five consecutive seasons (2002 to 2006). Henry is currently third in the list of all-time English Premier League goal-scorers, behind Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Given his accomplishments, France's all-time goal-scorer is today regarded by many coaches, footballers and pundits as one of the best footballers in the world.Rendium for "Greatest Ever Footballers". Arsenal fans honoured their former player in 2008, declaring Henry the greatest Arsenal player. In another 2008 survey, Henry emerged as the favourite Premier League player of all time among 32,000 people surveyed in the Barclays 2008 Global Fan Report.



Monaco
Ligue 1: 1996–97
French Super Cup: 1997
Arsenal
FA Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
FA Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004
Barcelona
La Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10
Copa del Rey: 2008–09
UEFA Champions League: 2008–09
Supercopa de España: 2009
UEFA Super Cup: 2009
FIFA Club World Cup: 2009
International
FIFA World Cup: 1998
UEFA European Football Championship: 2000
FIFA Confederations Cup: 2003
Individual
UEFA Football Championship Team of the Tournament: 2000
Confederations Cup top goalscorer: 2003
Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2003
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2006
Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 1996–97
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04
European Golden Boot: 2004, 2005
Premier League Golden Boot: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06.
Onze d'Or: 2003, 2006
PFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
FWA Footballer Of The Year: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
World XI Striker: 2006
UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
French Player of the Year: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
English Football Hall of Fame: 2008
Goal of the Season (UK): 2003
Barclays Player of the Month: April 2000, September 2002, January 2004, April 2004
FIFA 100
Time 100: 2007
Overseas Team of the Decade: Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02)
Orders
Légion d'Honneur: 1998
Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Monaco 1994–95 8 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3 1
1995–96 18 3 5 3 0 1 1 0 0 22 3 6
1996–97 36 9 8 3 0 1 9 1 4 48 10 13
1997–98 30 4 9 5 0 2 9 7 1 44 11 12
1998–99 13 1 3 1 0 0 5 0 2 19 1 5
Total 105 20 26 12 0 4 24 8 7 141 28 37
Juventus 1998–99 18 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 20 3 2
Total 18 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 20 3 2
Arsenal 1999–00 31 17 9 5 1 0 11 8 2 47 26 11
2000–01 35 17 3 4 1 0 14 4 0 53 22 3
2001–02 33 24 5 5 1 2 11 7 0 49 32 7
2002–03 37 24 23 6 1 0 12 7 1 55 32 24
2003–04 37 30 9 4 4 2 10 5 3 51 39 14
2004–05 32 25 15 2 0 1 8 5 1 42 30 17
2005–06 32 27 7 2 1 0 11 5 2 45 33 9
2006–07 17 10 6 3 1 1 7 1 0 27 12 7
Total 254 174 77 31 10 6 84 42 9 369 226 92
Barcelona 2007–08 30 12 9 7 4 0 10 3 2 47 19 11
2008–09 29 19 8 1 1 0 12 6 4 42 26 12
2009–10 19 4 2 3 0 0 5 0 1 27 4 3
Total 78 35 19 11 5 0 27 9 7 116 49 26
International
(Correct as of 19 November 2009)[83]
National team Season Apps Goals Assists
France 1997–98 10 3 1
1998–99 1 0 0
1999–00 11 5 2
2000–01 8 2 1
2001–02 9 2 1
2002–03 13 10 7
2003–04 12 5 6
2004–05 7 2 1
2005–06 15 7 3
2006–07 6 3 3
2007–08 10 6 1
2008–09 9 3 1
2009–10 7 3 2
Total 118 51 29



Outside football

Personal and family life
Henry married English model Nicole Merry on 5 July 2003.The ceremony was held at Highclere Castle, and on 27 May 2005 the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Téa. Henry dedicated his first goal since Téa's birth to her by holding his fingers in a "T" shape and kissing them after scoring in a match against Newcastle United. When Henry was still at Arsenal, he also purchased a home in Hampstead, North London. However, shortly after his transfer to Barcelona, it was announced that Henry and his wife would divorce; the decree nisi was granted in September 2007. Their separation concluded in December 2008 when Henry paid Merry a divorce settlement close to her requested sum of £10 million. Henry is now dating Bosnian model Andrea Rajačić.
As a fan of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Henry is often seen with his friend Tony Parker at games when not playing football. Henry stated in an interview that he admires basketball, as it is similar to football in pace and excitement. Having made regular trips to the NBA Finals in the past, he went to watch Parker and the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals;[90] and in the 2001 NBA Finals, he went to Philadelphia to help with French television coverage of the Finals as well as to watch Allen Iverson, whom he named as one of his favourite players.
Social causes



UNICEF
Henry is a member of the UNICEF-FIFA squad, where together with other professional footballers he appeared in a series of TV spots seen by hundreds of millions of fans around the world during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In these spots, the players promote football as a game that must be played on behalf of children.



Stand Up Speak Up
Having being subjected to racism in the past, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. The most prominent incident of racism against Henry was during a training session with the Spanish national team in 2004, when a Spanish TV crew caught coach Luis Aragonés referring to Henry as "black shit". The incident caused an uproar in the British media, and there were calls for Aragonés to be sacked.Henry and Nike started the Stand Up Speak Up campaign against racism in football as a result of the incident. Subsequently, in 2007, Time featured him as one of the "Heroes & Pioneers" on "The Time 100" list.



Other work
Along with 45 other football players, Henry took part in FIFA's "Live for Love United" in 2002. The single was released in tandem with the 2002 World Cup and its proceeds went towards AIDS research. Henry also supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Trust.


Endorsements

In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth most commercially marketable footballer in the world,as well as being the eighth richest Premier League player, with £21 million.


Renault
Henry featured in the Renault Clio advertisements in which he popularised the term va-va-voom, meaning "life" or "passion". His romantic interest in the commercial was his then-wife, Claire "Nicole" Merry. "Va-va-voom" was subsequently added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.


Nike
In 2004, Henry signed with sneaker giant Nike. In one of the advertisements, Henry pits his wits against football stars such as Claude Makélélé, Edgar Davids and Freddie Ljungberg in locations such as his bedroom and living room. The advertisement was partly inspired by Henry himself, who revealed that he always has a football nearby, even at home. Henry was also featured in Nike's "Secret Tournament" advertisement along with 24 superstar football players including Ljungberg, Ronaldinho, and Francesco Totti. In tandem with the 2006 World Cup, Henry also featured in Nike's Joga Bonito campaign, Portuguese for "play beautifully".


Reebok
Henry's deal with Nike ended after the 2006 World Cup, when he signed a deal with Reebok to appear in their "I Am What I Am" campaign. As part of Reebok Entertainment's "Framed" series, Henry was the star of a half-hour episode that detailed the making of a commercial about Henry directed by Spanish actress Paz Vega.


Gillette
In February 2007, Henry was named as one of the three ambassadors of Gillette's "Champions Program," which purported to feature three of the "best-known, most widely respected and successful athletes competing today" and also showcased Roger Federer and Tiger Woods in a series of television commercials, though Henry was later replaced by Derek Jeter in subsequent spots broadcast in the United States. In reaction to the handball controversy following the France-Ireland 2010 World Cup qualifier, Gillette faced a boycott and accusations of doctoring French versions of their Champions poster, but subsequently released a statement backing Henry.
Pepsi
Henry was part of Pepsi's "Dare For More" campaign in 2005, alongside the likes of David Beckham and Ronaldinho. In the 2008 version, Henry appeared in the Pepsi Universe advertisement along with Ljungberg, Beckham, Cesc Fàbregas, Steven Gerrard and Lionel Messi.
Source:wikipedia

Danniella Westbrook

Danniella Westbrook (born 5 November 1973) is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for being the original actress to play Samantha Mitchell in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1990–93, 1995–96, 1999–2000 and 2009–10. Away from EastEnders she has presented various shows, and was also a contestant on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2003.Westbrook returned to filming for EastEnders as Sam Mitchell in June 2009 and left when the character was sent to prison in January 2010. She competed in the 2010 series of Dancing on Ice with US Pairs Skater Matthew Gonzalez and finished fourth in the competition.
Westbrook struggled with a much publicised cocaine addiction throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, which caused the complete erosion of her nasal septum/colonna. She sought treatment and no longer uses drugs. She is married with two children, and released her autobiography, The Other Side of Nowhere, in 2006.

Early life

Westbrook was born in Walthamstow, East London, but grew up in Loughton, Essex. Her father Andy was a cab driver, later a carpet contractor, while her mother, Sue, was a shop assistant. Her parents were also successful property developers. Westbrook has two brothers, the eldest, Justin — her father's son from a prior marriage — and a younger brother, Jay, who is 8 years her junior. She has commented "I came from a very loving family - you know, 2.4 children with a Volvo".
As a child, she had a keen interest in horse riding, but she has said that she has always had aspirations to be famous. She started off modeling at the age of seven and then progressed to acting. She joined the Sylvia Young Theatre School when she was eight, attending Saturday classes. Throughout the early stages of her career, Westbrook attended a local state primary school, but she was bullied because of her television appearances, and after one bully cut off her hair, Westbrook's parents removed her from the school. She was sent to a local private school, until, at the age of 12, her parents allowed her to attend Sylvia Young Theatre School as a full-time student, where Denise Van Outen, Dani Behr and her future EastEnders co-star, Nicola Stapleton, were among her contemporaries.




Career

Early career
Westbrook started off modeling at the age of seven for the supermarket Asda. She went on to launch Next's children's fashionware, became the face of highstreet store "Tammy Girl", took part in a Weetabix campaign and featured in commercials for Opel cars and Coca Cola. Later she did modeling alongside her younger brother Jay. She progressed into acting, appearing as a child thief in Melvyn Bragg's London Programme and the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.She appeared in a video for the band Queen and had a minor role in Grange Hill. At the age of eleven she appeared as an extra in BBC's EastEnders, roller skating across the soap's setting of Albert Square. At the time her local paper published her picture with the punchline "who knows, one day she may be the show's star!".



EastEnders
At the age of 16, Westbrook was put forward for a much bigger role in EastEnders, Sam Mitchell (the younger sister of Phil and Grant). Her audition was successful and she made her first appearance on the soap opera in 1990.Despite featuring in some prominent storylines, Westbrook decided to leave the soap in 1993 to take another role. In 1995, the producers at EastEnders asked her back to the soap a second time. However, Westbrook was regularly using cocaine and it began to affect her work. Due to her off-screen antics and her poor and tardy attendance on set, the producers of EastEnders terminated her contract and she was written out of the soap again in 1996.
In 1999, EastEnders' producers decided to reintroduce the character of Sam Mitchell. Although they initially considered recasting the role to another actress, and despite all her past problems, they decided to give Danniella another chance and she was asked back for a third time. During her time away, Daniella's excessive use of cocaine had completely eroded away her nasal septum. In order to hide this from the audience, Danniella was only filmed in ways that would keep her septum hidden from view.However, Daniella's drug taking continued and in 2000, she was asked to leave EastEnders for a third time. After her departure, the character of Sam Mitchell was recast and played by Kim Medcalf from 2002–2005. After Kim Medcalf quit in 2005, a tabloid rumour suggested that Danniella would be reprising the role in her place, the rumour was, however, denied by the BBC. In March 2009, it was reported by The Sun that EastEnders bosses were considering in writing the character of Sam Mitchell back into EastEnders, and that Daniella Westbrook would be playing her, despite Kim Medcalf being the latest actress to play her. A source said "[Danniella] was the original Sam and the chemistry with Sid Owen as Ricky was exciting stuff. If she returns it will be the talk of soapland for months."
On 7 April, 2009, it was announced Sam Mitchell was returning to EastEnders and that Daniella would be playing her again, taking over from Kim Medcalf, and playing the role she played throughout the 1990s. She will return later in 2009. The news that Westbrook was returning to the role was then confirmed by both the BBC and EastEnders Executive Producer Diederick Santer later that same day, on the official website. In May, Danniella admitted that her addicitions stopped her from returning to EastEnders sooner, as she did not want to risk her recovery. She returned to filming in June. She returned to screens on 4 September 2009 and departed once again in January 2010. Diederick Santer said he hoped Danniella would return to the show in the future.
[edit]Other work
A week after her initial exit from EastEnders, in 1993, Westbrook landed the part of Dawn in ITV's Frank Stubbs Promotes, which had a second series in 1994. She also played a part in Dave Stewart's directional film debut, Entertaining Mr. Simpson. The film was shown at various film festivals around the world, including Cannes.
In 2003, Westbrook was a contestant in the British ITV reality series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. Despite being a popular candidate for winning, she found the environment traumatic, saying that she missed her children and wasn't psychologically prepared for the hardship of jungle life. She quit the show before being voted off.
Westbrook was offered the role of Natalie Buxton in the ITV prison series Bad Girls, but she declined because of her nose rebuilding operation . Dannielle Brent went on to play Natalie Buxton. Westbrook also turned down a small role in Footballers Wives and the role of money grabber Suzie Samson in Crossroads. Emma Noble went on to portray Suzie Samson
Westbrook — who has openly had several breast enhancements— co-presented Cosmetic Surgery Live alongside Vanessa Feltz. Danniella has also presented a series of fitness DVDs. She has appeared in the reality series I'm Famous and Frightened! and Most Haunted, as well as the television comedy sketch show Bo' Selecta. In addition, she presented Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns with Derek Acorah on LIVINGtv.
Westbrook has featured in several documentaries, including an interview with British journalist Martin Bashir for the Tonight with Trevor McDonald show and Danniella Westbrook: My Nose and Me for Channel 4. In April 2006, Danniella released an autobiography entitled The Other Side of Nowhere, which gives a depiction of her struggles with cocaine.
Danniella competed in the fifth series of Dancing on Ice and was partnered by newcomer professional Matthew Gonzalez in 2010. She was the only competitor to top the leaderboard above Hayley Tamaddon in Week 10 and scored the second highest score for a prop week performance in Dancing on Ice history with 27.5 that same week, with a chair as her prop. She was eliminated from the show in the semi-finals and came fourth overall.


Personal life

Addiction

Danniella famously appeared on chatshow 'The Priory' in February 2001, where she appeared to be heavily under the influence of drugs.
Westbrook's struggle with cocaine addiction has been widely documented in the British press. She has confessed that she first tried the drug at the age of 14, in a nightclub. After winning her role in EastEnders at the age of 16, Westbrook was a regular on the London club scene, and her cocaine usage escalated. By the age of 21, she was spending £400 a day on cocaine. She has commented "I was always in clubs and everyone was doing coke and it was glamorous - except obviously, it wasn't at all. I was just very young, very stupid and very easily led...I think there should be someone at EastEnders to say to young people when they come in, 'Look, your life is about to change, you're going to be invited to things, and you'll be offered drugs.' Someone who can tell them what sort of people are about, and what sort of papers, and how quickly what you've worked for all those years can be gone." It is estimated that she has spent over £250,000 on drugs, used 5g of cocaine every single day throughout her first pregnancy,and has admitted that during her lowest ebb she attempted suicide several times.
In May 2000, Westbrook was photographed at the British Soap Awards, where an image of her missing septum was given to a series of tabloid newspapers, unveiling her secret and highlighting her excessive drug abuse. Danniella was checked into rehab and six months later, she appeared on the Channel 4 show 'The Priory' with the claim that she was clean and had been free from drugs for months. However, hosts Jamie Theakston and Zoe Ball struggled to get coherent answers from Danniella, who was under the influence of drugs despite her claims of abstinence. Reflecting back on the event in 2002, Westbrook commented, "I said I was clean, but it was obvious I wasn't. I looked about 50, and my voice was shaky. I should never have been allowed on. They wanted to laugh at me, rip me apart. I despise that sort of thing, but it did me the world of good because watching it I realised, 'I'm so ill.' When it came to the crunch I thought, 'Hang on. I don't want to die.'"  Danniella re-entered rehab in order to kick her drug habit, which she has now successfully done. Westbrook has since undergone reconstructive surgery on her nose to replace her eroded septum.


Relationships and family
During the early 1990s, Westbrook notably dated the pop singer, Brian Harvey. Westbrook and Harvey's relationship ended in 1995, and Westbrook began dating Robert Fernandez, the father of her son Kai, who was born in 1996.
In 1998, Westbrook was involved in a car accident, which left her with severe facial injuries, including a dislocated eye. She was flung through the car windscreen, but survived, and after corrective surgery, sustained no long-term or major disfigurement. Fernandez was driving the car, and it has been reported that he was travelling at 85 mph.
After splitting with Fernandez, Westbrook married van driver Ben Morgan in 1998, after knowing him for just eight weeks. The couple went to live in Australia but the marriage did not last, ending in divorce nine months later.
She married again, this time millionaire businessman Kevin Jenkins on 27 December 2001 and their daughter Jody B was born the following year. After appearing on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2003, Westbrook admitted that she no longer wanted to be a 'celebrity', commenting "I made a pact with Kevin I would do no more TV work that would take me away from home. These days, I live an ordinary life. I work occasionally, but I also do the school run and laundry and prepare my family's dinner".
Source:wikipedia

Bumm Bumm Bole

Bumm Bumm Bole,

Bumm Bumm Bole is a Hindi film by director Priyadarshan. The film stars Taare Zameen Par fame Darsheel Safary, Atul Kulkarni, Rituparna Sengupta and new comer Ziyah Vastani. The film is an authorized remake of the 1997 Iranian film Children of Heaven which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in the same year.. Bumm Bumm Bole was released on May 14, 2010. The title of the movie is based on one of the songs of Taare Zameen Par

Plot

Khogiram (Atul Kulkarni), his wife (Rituparna Sengupta) and their kids Pinu (Darsheel) and Rimzim (Zia) belong to a terrorist dominated region. Khogiram and Ritu have a hand-to-mouth income working for a tea plantation and can barely manage things. The kids are affected by this as well. They go to a respectable school as it is Khogiram's ambition to give them the educational opportunities he missed. But the financial crunch makes it difficult for kids to match the standards of the school. They don't have enough money for uniform or shoes. Things become worse when Pinu misplaces Rimzim's only pair of shoes in the vegetable shop!

Rimzim can't go to school without her shoes. They work out a scheme where both of them share the same shoes. However, Pinu always gets into trouble at school waiting for Rimzim to give him the shoes. He comes to know of the Interschool Marathon where one of the prizes is a pair of shoes. Pinu plans to run for it and win the shoes for Rimzim.

Will Pinu be able to win the shoes for his kid sister and avert his fathers' anger? Will god smile at Pinu and bring an end to his troubles? How long will this dark stretch last for Khogiram's family?

Cast

Darsheel Safary...... Pinu

Atul Kulkarni...... Khogiram

Rituparna Sengupta...... Khogiram's Wife

Ziyah Vastani...... Rim Zim

Soundtrack

No. Title Lyrics Music Singers Length

1. "Bumm Bumm Bole" Irfan Siddiqui Azaan Sami Shaan 3:22

2. "Aashaon Ke Pankh" Satish Mutatkar Tapas Relia Rishikesh Kamerkar, Rajeev Sundaresan, Kshitij Wagh, Kirti Sagathia 4:42

3. "Mann Ki Asha" Sameer MG Sreekumar Malini Awasthi 4:09

4. "Rang De" Satish Mutatkar Tapas Relia Clinton Creejo, Shasha Tirupathi, Kirti Sagathia 5:03

(source:wikipedia)

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif,

Katrina Kaif (Kashmiri: कैटरीना कैफ़ (Devanagari)) (born Katrina Turquotte on 16 July 1984) is a British Indian actress and model who has appeared in Bollywood, Telugu and Malayalam films.

Early life

Kaif was born in Hong Kong to a Muslim Kashmiri father, Mohammed Kaif, and a British mother, Suzzane Turquotte.. Her parents separated when Kaif was very young. Kaif has seven siblings. She was raised in Hawaii, United States and later moved to her mother's home country, England.

Career

At the age of fourteen she was approached by an agent and she began modeling; her first job was for a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London, under a contract with the Models 1 Agency and did campaigns for houses, such as La Senza and Arcadius and even walked on the London Fashion Week.

Kaif's London modeling-work led her to discover by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom (2003). She moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were initially hesitant to sign her because she could not speak Hindi.

Kaif saw success with the 2005 film Sarkar where she played the bit part of Abhishek Bachchan's girlfriend. Her next release, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005), where she was paired opposite Salman Khan, earned her the Stardust Breakthrough Performance Award.

In 2007, Kaif appeared in the hit movie Namastey London, wherein she starred as a British-Indian girl alongside Akshay Kumar for the second time after the box office dud Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006). Her hit films stride continued with Apne, Partner and Welcome.

In 2008, she played a negative role for the first time in Abbas-Mustan's hit action thriller Race. She played the role of Saif Ali Khan's secretary who is secretly in love with his hostile stepbrother played by Akshay Khanna. Kaif's second release of the year was Anees Bazmee's production Singh Is Kinng, opposite Akshay Kumar. Upon release the film was a big success at the box office. Kaif's final release of the year, Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj, was a commercial failure, but its script has made its way into the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for artistic merits, original screenplay with a substance and the film as a whole.

Kaif's first release for 2009, New York, with John Abraham was a critical and commercial success.[10] Kaif's performance was highly appreciated with the critic Taran Adarsh writing, "Katrina gives you the biggest surprise. Known for her glamour roles, Katrina proves that she can deliver if the director and writer offer her a role of substance. She's outstanding. In fact, people will see a new, different Katrina this time." She next appeared in a bit role as a biker chick in the multi starrer action film Blue, popularly known as India's first underwater thriller, performed averagely at the box office. At the year's end, she appeared in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani with Ranbir Kapoor and De Dana Dan with Akshay Kumar. Both films were commercial successes.

In the year 2010, she is set to appear in the multi starrer film Raajneeti that opens on 4 June 2010. She is currently filming for Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan along with Akshay Kumar, which is set to release on 24 December 2010.

Awards

Nominated

2005: Zee Cine Award for Most Promising Debut, Sarkar

2008: IIFA Award for Best Actress, Race

2009: Apsara Award for Best Actress In Supporting Role, Race

2009: IIFA Award for Best Actress, Singh Is Kinng

2009: Stardust Award for Star Of The Year, Singh Is Kinng

2009: Stardust Award for Best Actress In A Negative Role, Race

2010: Screen Award for Best Actor In Popular Category, New York

2010: Stardust Star of the Year Award – Female for New York & Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

2010: Filmfare Best Actress Award for New York

Winner

2006: Stardust Breakthrough Performance Award (Female), Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya

2006: Idea Zee F Awards, Fashion Diva of the Year

2008: Zee Cine Awards, British Indian Actor Award

2008: IIFA Awards, Style Diva of the Year

2008: Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards, Sabsey Favourite Heroine, Singh Is Kinng

2008: Apsara Film Producers Guild of India Awards, Style Diva of the Year

2009: Rajiv Gandhi Award

2009: Golden Kela Awards, Dara Singh Award for the Worst Accent

2009: Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards, Sabsey Favourite Heroine

2009: ASSOCHAM Award, Performing Excellence

2010: Star Screen Awards, Entertainer of the year

2010: Stardust Awards, Best Actress - Popular Award for New York & Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes

2003 Boom Rina Kaif/Popdi Chinchpokli

2004 Malliswari Princess Malliswari Telugu film

2005 Sarkar Pooja

Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya Sonia

Allari Pidugu Shwetha Telugu film

2006 Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye Jia A. Yashvardhan

Balram vs. Taradas Supriya Malayalam film

2007 Namastey London Jasmeet Malhotra (Jazz)

Apne Nandini

Partner Priya Jaisingh

Welcome Sanjana Shetty

2008 Race Sophia

Singh Is Kinng Sonia

Hello The Storyteller/God Cameo

Yuvvraaj Anushka Banton

2009 New York Maya Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award

Blue Nikki Cameo

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani Jennifer (Jenny)

De Dana Dan Anjali Kakkad

2010 Raajneeti Indu Pratap Post-production

Tees Maar Khan Filming

Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara Pre-production

2011

Untitled Anurag Basu Project Pre-production

Aarakshan Pre-production

(source:wikipedia)

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team is owned by Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. and coached by Doc Rivers, with Danny Ainge as the President of Basketball Operations. Founded in 1946, their 17 NBA Championships are the most for any NBA franchise. The Celtics' greatest domination came from 1957 to 1969, with 11 championships in 13 years, and eight in a row, the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any North American professional sports team. They currently play their home games at TD Garden.
The Celtics either dominated the league or played a large part in the playoffs in the late 1950s through the mid 1980s. After the deaths of the second draft pick Len Bias in 1986 and Reggie Lewis in 1993, the team fell into a steady decline, only making the playoffs four times from 1996 to 2007. The franchise has recently returned to prominence when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce during the 2007 off-season. On June 17, 2008, the Boston Celtics won their 17th championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 in the 2008 NBA Finals. Four Celtics (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards.

Franchise history

1946–1956: The building of a dynasty
The Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America, and became part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League to form the NBA in the fall of 1949. In 1950, the Celtics became the first franchise to draft an African American player, signing Chuck Cooper.
The Celtics had struggled during their early years, until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach. One of the first major players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, whom Auerbach initially refused to draft. Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags. When that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy was acquired by the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955–56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade. He sent perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the Hawks' first round draft pick, the second overall.After negotiating with the Rochester Royals, Auerbach used the pick to select University of San Francisco center Bill Russell. Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Tommy Heinsohn. Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the Celtics for more than a decade. Russell, who delayed joining until the middle of the 1957 season in order to play for the U.S. Olympic Team, had an immediate impact.



1957–1969: The dynasty


Bob Cousy (left), helped the Celtics win their very first championship in 1957.
Russell went on to play almost every game of the season, and the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, giving the Celtics the first of their record 17 NBA Championships. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, this time losing to the Hawks in 6 games. However, with the acquisition of K.C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade. In 1959, with Cousy at point guard, Russell at center and Heinsohn at forward, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers. Still coached by Auerbach, the Celtics won seven more consecutive championships, extending their streak to eight in a row. During that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals six times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry. The Celtics would eventually meet the Lakers a total of 11 times in the NBA Finals. In 1964, Auerbach made the Celtics the first team to have an all African American starting lineup. The Boston Celtics of the mid-1950s–60s are widely considered one of the most dominant teams of all- time.[
After the 1966 championship, Auerbach retired as coach and Russell took over as player-coach. With his appointment, Russell also became the first African American coach in the NBA.[14] Auerbach would remain the General Manager, a position he would hold well into the 1980s. However, that year the Celtics' string of NBA titles was broken as they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The aging team managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, defeating the Lakers each time in the NBA Finals. Russell retired after the 1969 season, effectively ending a dominant Celtics dynasty that had garnered 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons.The streak of 8 consecutive NBA championships is the longest streak of consecutive championships in U.S. professional sports history.



1970–1978: Rebuilding the dynasty
The 1970 season was a rebuilding year, as the Celtics had their first losing record since the 1949–50 season, the year prior to Auerbach's arrival. However, with the acquisition of Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White, the Celtics soon became dominant again. After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1972, the Celtics regrouped and came out determined in 1973 and posted an excellent 68–14 regular season record. But the season ended in disappointment, as they were upset in 7 games by the New York Knicks in the Conference Finals. The Celtics returned to the playoffs the next year, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals in 1974 for their 12th NBA Championship.The teams split the first four games, and after the Celtics won Game 5 in Milwaukee they headed back to Boston leading three games to two, with a chance to claim the title on their home court. However, the Bucks won Game 6 when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nestled in a hook shot with three seconds left in the game's second overtime, and the series returned to Milwaukee. But Cowens was the hero in Game 7, scoring 28 points, as the Celtics brought the title back to Boston for the first time in five years. In 1976, the team won yet another championship, defeating the Phoenix Suns in 6 games. The Finals featured one of the greatest games in the history of the NBA. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Suns trailed early in the Boston Garden, but came back to force overtime. In double overtime, a Gar Heard turn-around jumper at the top of the key sent the game to an unprecedented third overtime, at which point the Celtics prevailed. Tommy Heinsohn coached the team for those two championships. After the 1976 championship and a playoff appearance in 1977, Boston went into another phase of rebuilding.
In the 1977 NBA Draft, the Celtics drafted a young forward from UNC Charlotte named Cedric Maxwell. Maxwell did not contribute much in his rookie season, but he showed promise. Auerbach's job became even tougher following the 1977–78 season in which they went 32–50 as John Havlicek, the Celtics All-Time leading scorer, retired after 16 seasons.


1979–1992: The Bird years
In 1977–78, the Celtics owned two of the top eight picks in the 1978 NBA Draft. Since the Celtics had two draft choices, Auerbach took a risk and selected junior Larry Bird of Indiana State with the 6th pick, knowing that Bird would elect to remain in college for his senior year. The Celtics would retain his rights for one year, a rule that was later changed, and Auerbach believed that Bird's potential would make him worth the wait. Auerbach also felt that when the college season ended the Celtics would have a great chance to sign Bird. Auerbach was right and Bird signed soon after leading Indiana State to the NCAA Championship game, where they fell to a Michigan State University team that was led by Magic Johnson.


Bird was drafted with the 6th overall selection in the 1978 NBA Draft and spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics.
The other important story of the Celtics' 1978–79 season was the ongoing dispute between Auerbach and new owner John Y. Brown. The dispute nearly led Auerbach to resign as General Manager for a position with the New York Knicks. With public support strongly behind Auerbach, Brown elected to sell the team rather than face the wrath of the city for being the man who drove Red to a hated rival. During his short ownership, Brown orchestrated a trade for Bob McAdoo that Auerbach despised, and the team unraveled.The Celtics would struggle through the season, going 29–53 without Bird. Newcomers Chris Ford, Rick Robey, Cedric Maxwell and Tiny Archibald failed to reverse the team's momentum.
Bird debuted for the Celtics during the 1979–80 season, a year after his selection. With a new owner in place, Auerbach made a number of moves that would bring the team back to prominence. Auerbach traded the unhappy McAdoo, a former NBA scoring champion, to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guard M. L. Carr, a defensive specialist, and two first-round picks in the 1980 NBA Draft. He also picked up point guard Gerald Henderson from the CBA. Carr, Archibald, Henderson and Ford formed a highly competent backcourt, with their unique skills blending in perfectly with the talented frontcourt of Cowens, Maxwell and Bird, who would go on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors. The Celtics improved by 32 games, which at the time was the best single-season turnaround in NBA history, going 61–21 and losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After the season, Auerbach completed what may be the most lopsided trade in NBA history. Auerbach had always been a fan of stockpiling draft picks, so even after the success of 1979–80 the Celtics had both the 1st and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA Draft left over from the M. L. Carr trade. Auerbach saw an opportunity to improve the team immediately, sending the two picks to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for center Robert Parish and the Warriors first round pick, the 3rd overall. With the draft pick, Auerbach selected University of Minnesota power forward Kevin McHale. With these three future Hall of Famers on the team the Celtics had a core in place to become a dominant team in the NBA.
The Celtics went 62–20 under coach Bill Fitch in 1980–81, despite losing center Dave Cowens to retirement late in training camp. Once again the Celtics matched up with the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston fell behind 3 games to 1 before coming back to win a classic 7th game, 91–90. The Celtics went on to capture the 1981 NBA Championship over the Houston Rockets, just two years after Bird had been drafted. Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP.
In 1983–84 the Celtics, under new coach K.C. Jones, would go 62–20 and finally get back to the NBA Finals after a three year hiatus. In the finals, the Celtics came back from a 2–1 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, winning their 15th championship. Bird renewed his college rivalry with Lakers star Magic Johnson during this series. After the series Auerbach officially retired as General Manager but maintained the position of team President. Auerbach was succeeded by Jan Volk as General manager. Volk had been with the Celtics since graduating from Columbia Law School in 1971 and had been the team's General Counsel since 1976 and the team's Assistant General Manager since 1980. During the off-season, in Volk's first major transaction since assuming the GM role, the Celtics traded Henderson, whose dramatic steal in game 2 altered the course of the series and gave the Celtics a chance, to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for their first round pick in the 1986 NBA Draft.
In 1985, the Lakers and Celtics met again, but this time the Lakers took the championship. During the following off-season the Celtics acquired Bill Walton from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Cedric Maxwell. Walton was a big star with the Portland Trail Blazers, but injuries had kept him from living up to expectations. He was willing to come off the bench, deferring to the three big men already with the team. Walton was a big part of the Celtics' success in 1986.
In 1985–86 the Celtics fielded one of the best teams in NBA history. The 1986 Celtics won 67 games, going 40–1 at their home, the Boston Garden. Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. They won their 16th championship and last of the 20th century, defeating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals 4 games to 2.
Thanks to the 1984 trade of Gerald Henderson and the subsequent fall of the Seattle SuperSonics, at the end of the 1985–86 the Celtics owned not only the best team in the NBA but also the second pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. The Celtics drafted Len Bias with the pick and had high hopes for the young University of Maryland star. Fans believed Bias had superstar potential, and that he would be the perfect complement to the aging, but still strong, Celtics. The hope was that his presence would ensure that the franchise would remain a powerhouse after Bird, McHale and Parish retired. Unfortunately, Bias died 48 hours after he was drafted, after using cocaine at a party and overdosing. It would be the first in a long string of bad luck for the Celtics, and many fans believe the Celtics have never recovered from the loss of Bias. Despite the loss of Bias, the Celtics remained competitive in 1986–87, going 59–23 and again winning the Eastern Conference Championship.
After the 1987–88 season, head coach K.C. Jones retired. Jones was replaced as head coach by assistant Jimmy Rodgers. Rodgers faced immediate trouble in 1988–89 when, only 6 games into the season, Larry Bird decided to have surgery to remove bone spurs in both feet. The injury was to sideline Bird until well after the All-Star Break, although supposedly he would be able to return. However, despite his best attempts to return he was unable to make it back as the Celtics stumbled to a 42–40 record and a first round playoff defeat to the Detroit Pistons.
Bird returned in 1989–90 to play in 75 games and he led the Celtics to a 52–30 record. In the playoffs, after winning the first two games of a Best of 5 series against the New York Knicks, the Celtics collapsed, losing 3 straight, including the decisive 5th game at the Boston Garden. In the wake of the embarrassing defeat, Rodgers was fired and replaced by assistant coach (and former Celtic player) Chris Ford.
Under Ford's leadership the Celtics improved to 56–26 in 1990–91, recapturing the Atlantic Division title even though Bird missed 22 games with a variety of injuries. In 1992, a late season rally allowed the Celtics to catch the New York Knicks and repeat as Atlantic Division champions. The team finished 51–31 and again matched up with the Indiana Pacers in the First Round, this time sweeping the series 3 games to 0. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals the Celtics lost a grueling 7 game series to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 4 games to 3. Due to back problems, Larry Bird played in only 45 of the 82 regular season games, and only 4 of the 10 playoff games.
After thirteen seasons with the club and winning a gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics with the Dream Team, Bird retired in 1992 primarily due to his back injuries.



1993–1998: Tragedy and decline
At the time of Bird's retirement former Celtics guard Chris Ford was the coach of the Celtics. 26-year old Reggie Lewis (out of Boston's Northeastern University) was seen as Bird's successor as the franchise player for the Celtics. Lewis, a small forward, fainted during a 1993 first round playoff matchup with the Charlotte Hornets. It was later revealed that Lewis had heart problems, yet he was able to get doctors to clear him for a comeback. He died of a heart attack while shooting baskets at Brandeis University during the offseason. The Celtics honored his memory during the following season by retiring his number 35.
In 1994, the Celtics hired former player M. L. Carr to be the team's new Vice-President of Basketball Operations, working alongside G.M. Jan Volk. In his first draft in charge of the Celtics, he drafted University of North Carolina star Eric Montross with his first round draft pick. The Acie Earl era was already nearing an end, as Montross became the new heir apparent in the paint.
1994–95 was the Celtics' final season in the Boston Garden. The Celtics signed the aging Dominique Wilkins as a free agent, and he led the team in scoring with 17.8 PPG. Second-year player Dino Radja, a power forward from Croatia, added an interior presence to the team that had been lacking in 1993–94. The Celtics made the playoffs, losing to the heavily favored Orlando Magic in 4 games.
In 1995, the Celtics moved from the Boston Garden into the Fleet Center (renamed the TD Banknorth Garden in 2005). Carr fired Chris Ford and took the coaching reins himself. After drafting Providence College star Eric Williams, the Celtics struggled to a 33–49 record. Things got worse in 1996–97 as the Celtics lost a franchise record 67 games, winning only 15 times despite the emergence of 1st-round draft pick Antoine Walker.
Carr stepped aside to another job in the organization when Celtics principal owner Paul Gaston convinced Rick Pitino to join the franchise as the team's president, director of basketball operations, and head coach. Pitino's appointment as team president was controversial as Auerbach, who had filled that role for more than 25 years, first heard about this change from local media people. Unfortunately for the franchise, Pitino was not the savior everyone expected him to be, although he acquired several talented young players during his tenure.
The Celtics received the third and sixth draft picks in the 1997 NBA Draft, and used the picks to select a brand new backcourt. They drafted Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer and dismantled much of the young team that lost 67 games the year before. David Wesley, Dino Radja, and Rick Fox were let go, and Williams was traded to the Denver Nuggets for a pair of second round draft picks.


1998–2007: Attempts to rebuild

Pierce was drafted with the 10th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft
The following year the Celtics drafted Paul Pierce in the 1998 NBA Draft, a college star who had been expected to be drafted much higher than the Celtics' tenth overall pick. Pitino also acquired veteran Kenny Anderson, for future Finals MVP Billups and Dee Brown. Pitino failed to coach any successful teams and resigned in 2001.
Following the resignation of Rick Pitino, the Celtics improved greatly under coach Jim O'Brien. Paul Pierce matured into an NBA star and was ably complemented by Antoine Walker, along with the other role players acquired over the years. The team finished the season going 24–24 under O'Brien (after going 12–22 before Pitino's resignation) and following the 2000–01 season O'Brien was given the job of head coach on a permanent basis. As a result of numerous trades, the Celtics had three picks in the 2001 NBA Draft, a luxury that seemed to set the franchise up well for the long term. General Manager Chris Wallace used the picks on Joe Johnson, Joe Forte (a favorite of Red Auerbach) and Kedrick Brown.
The Celtics entered the 2001–02 season with low expectations. The team's success in the latter stages of 2000–01 was largely forgotten, and critics were surprised when the team, along with the New Jersey Nets, surged to the top of the Atlantic Division ahead of teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, who were fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals. The Celtics won a hard-fought five-game series with the 76ers in the first round, 3 games to 2. Pierce scored 46 points in the series-clinching blowout at the Fleet Center. In the Conference Semifinals, the Celtics defeated the favored Detroit Pistons 4 games to 1 in a series best remembered for the Celtics low-scoring Game 3 victory, which they won 66–64. In their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1988, the Celtics would jump out to a 2–1 series lead over the New Jersey Nets, after rallying from 21 points down in the fourth quarter to win Game 3, but would lose the next three games to fall 4 games to 2.
In 2003, the Celtics were sold by owner Paul Gaston to Boston Basketball Partners LLC, led by H. Irving Grousbeck, Wycliffe Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, Robert Epstein, David Epstein, and John Svenson. The team made it back to the playoffs but were swept by the Nets in the second round, despite bringing Game 4 to double overtime.
Before their elimination, the team hired Danny Ainge to take over the front office, pushing Chris Wallace to another job in the organization. Ainge believed the team had reached its peak and promptly stunned the team by sending Antoine Walker to the Dallas Mavericks (along with Tony Delk). In return, the Celtics received the oft-injured Raef LaFrentz and a first-round draft pick in 2004.
The Celtics made the playoffs, only to be badly swept in the first round by the Indiana Pacers, losing all 4 games by blowout margins.
The Celtics were a young team under new coach Doc Rivers during the 2004 season, yet they seemed to have a core of good young players, led by rookie Al Jefferson, to go along with a selection of able veterans. The Celtics went 45–37 and won their first Atlantic Division title since 1991–92. The Pacers defeated them in the first round yet again, with the series culminating in an embarrassing 27-point loss in Game 7 at the Fleet Center.


Celtics in a game versus the Miami Heat at the TD Garden in April 2006
The Boston Celtics continued to rebuild on the night of the 2006 NBA Draft. Danny Ainge traded the rights to seventh overall pick Randy Foye, Dan Dickau and Raef LaFrentz to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and a future second-round pick. A subsequent trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for Allen Iverson was reported as a potential move beneficial to each team, although such a trade never happened and Iverson was shipped to the Denver Nuggets in December. Orien Greene was waived, and the Celtics replaced him by trading a first-round pick in the 2007 NBA Draft to the Phoenix Suns for rookie Rajon Rondo. In the second round the Celtics added Leon Powe to the team. On July 6, 2006, Allan Ray was signed as a free agent. He played college basketball for four years at Villanova University.
The 2006–07 season was a gloomy one for the franchise. The season began with the death of Red Auerbach at the age of 89. Auerbach was one of the few remaining people who had been a part of the NBA since its inception in 1946. The Celtics went 2–22 from late December 2006 through early February 2007 after losing Paul Pierce to injury, the result of a stress reaction in his left foot (he would later miss the latter part of March and all of April because of swelling in his left elbow). At first, the Celtics received a much needed boost from guard Tony Allen but he tore his ACL on a needless dunk attempt after the whistle in a game vs. the Indiana Pacers on January 10, 2007. The Celtics recorded a record of 24–58, second-worst in the NBA, including a franchise record 18-game losing streak that lasted from January 5 to February 14. As the streak grew, some[by whom?] suggested that Pierce sit out the rest of the season to the let the young players such as Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo and Delonte West get more experience.


2007-2008: Return to Championship Form
2007–08 Boston Celtics season

This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)


The Celtics celebrate after winning the 2008 Championship.
After a dreadful 2006–2007 season, rumors flared that Paul Pierce wanted out of Boston. Furthermore, head coach Doc Rivers and GM Danny Ainge were both in danger of losing their jobs. The franchise was in need of help, in hopes of getting the first or second pick in the first round in the 2007 NBA Draft Lottery pick (in which they were in favor) for either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. But shockingly, the Celtics landed the #5 pick and the Portland Trail Blazers landed with the first pick and drafted Greg Oden, followed by Kevin Durant who was drafted second by the Seattle SuperSonics (who moved to Oklahoma City in 2008–2009 and became known as the Oklahoma City Thunder). Jeff Green was in favor of joining the Celtics franchise, but Danny Ainge traded the rights to Green, alongside with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak, to the SuperSonics for Ray Allen and the rights to Glen Davis. Rumors were spreading across the media about Kevin Garnett coming to Boston after demanding that he wanted to leave the Minnesota Timberwolves, believing the Timberwolves were not the team to help him win a championship. He also first said that he did not want to join the Celtics franchise because they were not a championship team. But after the Celtics obtained Ray Allen from the Seattle SuperSonics, Garnett was finally convinced of the Celtics' desire to win a championship and wanted to join the franchise. So, a blockbuster trade was made. For Garnett, the Celtics traded Al Jefferson, Gerald Green (the first Celtic to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest since Dee Brown in 1991), Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, a 2009 first round draft pick, and cash considerations. A dynasty was rebuilding and the future Big Three (also known as the Boston Three Party) was in place.
The Celtics would have a successful regular season, and complete the largest single-season turnaround in NBA history, finishing with a league-best 66–16 record, 42 games better than the previous year's. The 66–16 record they compiled, which included a season-high 10 game winning streak, was the 6th greatest record percentage-wise in NBA history.
Their first matchup in the 2008 NBA Playoffs was against the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks. At home, the Celtics were dominant: their lowest home margin of victory against the Hawks in the playoffs was 19 in Game 2. However, the surprising Hawks were able to beat the Celtics in all three games in Atlanta. The series went seven games, with the home team winning each game. The second round pitted Boston against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Once again the series went to seven games. Game 7 saw Paul Pierce and LeBron James in a shootout with each scoring over 40 points, but the Celtics emerged victorious 97–92. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Celtics faced the Detroit Pistons. In Game 2, the Celtics finally lost at home for the first time in the playoffs. However, the Celtics bounced back to win Game 3 on the road in Detroit. The series continued and the Celtics took down the Pistons in six games, winning the deciding game on the road.
The 2008 NBA Finals were contested with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and a Los Angeles Lakers team in the middle of a dominant playoff run. They swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round, defeated the Utah Jazz in the second round in six games, and extinguished the repeat hopes of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in five games in the Western Conference Finals. Factoring in the Lakers strong playoff run to the Finals and the Celtics problems of even reaching the Finals with two 7-game series, the Lakers had a strong chance to beat a seemingly tired Boston team and the Lakers were heavily favored to win the series. The first games of the series started with the Celtics once again dominating at home. Game 1 saw Paul Pierce suffer a knee injury early in the game only to come back and make 70 percent of his attempted field goals, resulting in a 98–88 Celtics win. In Game 2, Boston nearly lost a 24-point lead only to win 108–102. The Lakers returned to Staples Center and won Game 3, 87–81. When Los Angeles took a 24-point lead in the second quarter of Game 4 the Celtics appeared to be losing control of the series. Led by a bench that outscored the Lakers bench by 20 points, the Celtics took over Game 4 with a 97–91 victory, the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history. Although the Los Angeles Lakers won Game 5, 103–98, the series went back to Boston for Game 6, and the Celtics finished off Los Angeles with a 131–92 victory. Game 6 was the most lopsided win in a NBA Finals game since the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz by 42 points in the 1998 NBA Finals, and the all-time largest margin of victory in a deciding game. Paul Pierce was named NBA Finals MVP. The Celtics had won their record 17th NBA championship, the first new banner for the TD Banknorth Garden, and the franchise's first championship in 22 years.




2009-present
The 2008-2009 Celtics started off the season at 27-2, the best starting record in NBA history. They also had a pair of 10+ game winning streaks (19, a franchise record, and 12, respectively), not seen since the 1985–86 season. Both streaks, however, were snapped by their previous year's Finals opponents, the Los Angeles Lakers (who would later go on to win the 2009 NBA Finals), on December 25, 2008 (92–83) and February 5, 2009 (110–109, OT). Things did not get better for the defending champions and after the All Star break things turned for the worse when Kevin Garnett got injured in a loss against the Utah Jazz. They then had Sam Cassell traded to the Sacramento Kings and Patrick O’Bryant to the Toronto Raptors for 2nd round picks and to add more valuable free agents for their playoff push. After a week they signed Mikki Moore off waivers from the Kings to boost their frontline, and signed Stephon Marbury from the New York Knicks. Despite the key additions the Celtics were only 12–8 following the All-Star break, and fell from 1st to 2nd place in the East, primarily due to various player injuries, particularly Kevin Garnett's, who missed the most number of games in a season during his 14-year career. The Celtics would, however, have another successful season, despite being decimated by injuries, acquiring back-to-back 60 win season by garnering a record of 62–20, and being awarded the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The 2009 NBA playoffs started off like last season going to 7 games against the Chicago Bulls with Boston winning the series. Once again the second series went to 7 games but the Celtics lost to the Orlando Magic, the first time they had ever lost a series after leading 3-2.
In the 2009 offseason, the Celtics signed two veterans, Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, in an effort to add weapons to the Big Three. At first, the signings worked well for the Celtics, who started the season 23-5 and at one point had the best record in the NBA. But Wallace's behavior and declining production, coupled with Daniels' injuries, didn't help the cause. The Celtics were also plagued by injury problems affecting Pierce and Garnett. Even the addition of Nate Robinson and Michael Finley didn't help Boston's cause. The only bright spot has been the improvement of Rajon Rondo, who finally became an All-Star and set season records for steals and assists. The Celtics limped to a 50-32 record, good only for 4th in the East. What made the season an especially difficult one was also their inability to win at home, only managing a 24-17 record, worse than their 26-15 road record. Many expected the Celtics not to last past the first round because of their struggles throughout the regular season, but the Celtics romped through the first two rounds, first dispatching the Miami Heat in five games, then shocking the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. The Celtics await the Orlando Magic in the Conference Finals.



Historical rivalries

Further information: Lakers–Celtics rivalry, Pistons–Celtics rivalry, and Celtics–Sixers rivalry
The Boston Celtics have a long-standing rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers, which is widely regarded as the league's greatest rivalry, as these two teams have faced each other 11 times in the NBA Finals, with the most recent being the 2008 NBA Finals. The teams have won a combined 32 NBA championships in the 63 NBA seasons, making both teams accountable for more than half of all NBA championships. In the 1960s, the Celtics faced and defeated the Lakers six times in the NBA Finals, despite the efforts of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The rivalry was renewed in the 1980s, when the Lakers and Celtics won 8 of the 9 NBA Championships awarded from 1980–1988 (the Lakers won 5 while the Celtics won 3), and played each other in the NBA Finals on 3 occasions. The rivalry cooled off as the Celtics slipped into mediocrity in the mid- and late-'90s until they met in the 2008 Finals.
In the Eastern Conference, the Celtics long-standing rivals have been the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s, and by Julius Erving and Moses Malone in the 1970s and 1980s. The Celtics-Sixers rivalry in the 1980s was marked by intense personal confrontations between Larry Bird and Julius Erving. Their most recent playoff rivalry came in the '02 First Round, as Sixer Allen Iverson and Paul Pierce, both prolific scorers of their time, went head-to-head.
Another fierce rivalry formed in the 1980s between the Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. The two franchises met in the playoffs five times between 1985 and 1991, and more than once there was a physical confrontation between a Celtic and Detroit's Bill Laimbeer. The rivalry, like their rivalry with the Lakers, cooled in the 1990s as the Celtics slid into a long decline, although there was a renewal of interest when the teams met in the 2002 East Semifinals, and later in the 2008 East Finals.
A relatively new rivalry surfaced between the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their rivalry came to a head in the 2008 NBA Playoffs where LeBron James and the Cavaliers faced the retooled Celtics in the second round. Particularly memorable was the individual rivalry between James and Paul Pierce. Overall, however, it was a defensive battle as both teams outwitted each other with their particular brand of defense.
Boston's other fierce rivals included the Atlanta Hawks (dating back to the late 1950s, which resurfaced during the rivalry of Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins, and later in 2008), and going to the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons with both team sweeping each other 4-0 both years (Boston in 2008–09 and Atlanta in 2009–10) and currently battling for the # 3 seed in the East, Milwaukee Bucks (during the mid-1980s), Indiana Pacers (1991–92 and 2003–05; both involved Larry Bird as a player and as an executive), New York Knicks (both were original NBA franchises, and have never moved to another city nor changed its nickname), and New Jersey Nets (2002 and 2003). In addition, the San Antonio Spurs have provided a tough challenge for Boston, especially since adding Tim Duncan with the number one pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. Since then, the Spurs racked up 18 straight wins against Boston before the streak was broken on St. Patrick's Day 2007, concomitantly ending a 17-year, 15-game drought in San Antonio.
Individually, Paul Pierce has been developing rivalries on the court with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Ron Artest, Quentin Richardson, John Salmons and Keon Clark. During games between the Celtics and the Cavaliers, Pierce and James often combine explosive scoring with defensive intensity.
[edit]Season-by-season records

Further information: List of Boston Celtics seasons


Records, retired numbers and awards

Main article: List of Boston Celtics accomplishments and records


Home arenas

Boston Arena (1946), site of the first Celtics game and where the parquet floor was originally installed. Served as a secondary venue during the franchise's early years. Now known as Northeastern University's Matthews Arena
Boston Garden (1946–1995)
Hartford Civic Center (1975–1995), occasionally used for home games
TD Garden (1995–present), formerly known as the Fleet Center (1995–2005) and the TD Banknorth Garden (2005-2009)


Players

Current roster
Boston Celtics roster v • d • e
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From
G 20 Allen, Ray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Connecticut
G/F 42 Allen, Tony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Oklahoma State
G/F 7 Daniels, Marquis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn
F/C 11 Davis, Glen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 289 lb (131 kg) LSU
G/F 40 Finley, Michael 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Wisconsin
F/C 27 Gaffney, Tony (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Massachusetts
F 5 Garnett, Kevin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Farragut Academy HS (IL)
G 0 Lafayette, Oliver (IN) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Houston
C 43 Perkins, Kendrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Clifton J. Ozen HS (TX)
G/F 34 Pierce, Paul (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Kansas
G 4 Robinson, Nate 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Washington
G 9 Rondo, Rajon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Kentucky
F/C 44 Scalabrine, Brian (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Southern California
F/C 30 Wallace, Rasheed 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina
F/C 13 Williams, Shelden 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Duke
Head coach
Doc Rivers (Marquette)
Assistant coach(es)
Armond Hill (Princeton)
Kevin Eastman (Richmond)
Clifford Ray (Oklahoma)
Tom Thibodeau (Salem State)
Mike Longabardi (Frostburg State)
Athletic trainer(s)
Ed Lacerte (Boston)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2010-04-14

International rights
C Semih Erden 2008 NBA Draft 60th pick

Notable players
Further information: Category:Boston Celtics players


Coaches

Head coaches
Boston Celtics head coaches
Name Start End Seasons Regular season Playoffs
W L PCT G W L PCT G
Honey Russell Initial End of 1947–48 2 42 66 .389 108 1 2 .333 3
Doggie Julian April 11, 1948 End of 1949–50 2 47 81 .367 128 – – – –
Red Auerbach April 27, 1950 End of 1965–66 16 795 397 .667 1192 90 58 .608 148
Bill Russell Start of 1966–67 End of 1968–69 3 162 83 .661 245 28 18 .609 46
Tom Heinsohn Start of 1969–70 January 3, 1978 9 427 263 .619 690 47 33 .588 80
Tom Sanders January 3, 1978 November, 1978 2 23 39 .371 62 – – – –
Dave Cowens November, 1978 End of 1978–79 1 27 41 .397 68 – – – –
Bill Fitch May 23, 1979 May 27, 1983 4 242 86 .738 328 26 19 .578 45
K.C. Jones June 7, 1983 End of 1987–88 5 308 102 .751 410 65 37 .637 102
Jim Rodgers Start of 1988–89 May 8, 1990 2 94 70 .573 164 2 6 .250 8
Chris Ford June 12, 1990 May 17, 1995 5 222 188 .541 410 13 16 .448 29
M. L. Carr June 20, 1995 April 30, 1997 2 48 116 .293 164 – – – –
Rick Pitino May 8, 1997 January 8, 2001 4 102 146 .411 248 – – – –
Jim O'Brien January 8, 2001 January 27, 2004 4 139 119 .539 258 13 13 .500 26
John Carroll January 27, 2004 End of 2003–04 1 14 22 .389 36 0 4 .000 4
Doc Rivers April 29, 2004 Present 6 230 180 .561 410 26 21 .553 47


Assistant coaches
Danny Silva (1946-1948)
Henry McCarthy (1948-1950)
Art Spector (1949-1950)
John Killilea (1972-1977)
Tom Sanders (1977-1978)
K. C. Jones (1977-1983, 1996-1997)
Bob McKinnon (1978-1979)
Jim Rodgers (1980-1988)
Chris Ford (1983-1990)
Ed Badger (1984-1988)
Lanny Van Eman (1988-1990)
Don Casey (1990-1996)
Jon P. Jennings (1990-1994)
Dennis Johnson (1993-1997)
John Kuester (1995-1997)
Winston Bennett (1997-1998)
Jim O'Brien (1997-2001)
John Carroll (1997-2004)
Kevin Willard (1997-2001)
Mark Starns (1997-2001)
Lester Conner (1998-2004)
Andy Enfield (1998-2000)
Dick Harter (2001-2004)
Frank Vogel (2001-2004)
Dana Barros (February 2004-End of 2003–04)
Paul Cormier (February 2004-2005)
Jim Brewer (2004-2006)
Paul Pressey (2004-2006)
Tony Brown (2004-2007)
Dave Wohl (2004-2007)
Armond Hill (2004-Present)
Kevin Eastman (2004-Present)
Clifford Ray (2005-Present)
Tom Thibodeau (2007-Present)
Mike Longabardi (2007-Present)



Logos and uniforms

Logos
The Boston Celtics released a new logo for the 1996–97 season, although the depiction of a leprechaun spinning a basketball has been in use since the early 1950s. The leprechaun logo was originally designed by Zang Auerbach, the brother of Celtics head coach Red Auerbach. The logo has received numerous tweaks over the years; the latest version decorated the leprechaun in a gold vest to celebrate the club's 50th anniversary.
The most familiar version, however, is the one-colored logo used during the Larry Bird era, with the leprechaun traced in black and only green and white clothes, which is still used on some TV networks whenever the current Celtics logo is unavailable or in classic Celtics references. The Celtics also have various alternative logos, with the most popular being a white shamrock with the letters "Celtics" above it, wrapped in a green circle, which has been used since the 1998–99 season. The alternate logo is based on logos used by the Celtics before they used the Zang Auerbach leprechaun.

One-colored Celtics logo 1976–1996

Current Logo 1996–present

Alternate Logo 1998–present


Uniforms
The Celtics jerseys have always been green on away games and white on home games since their inception in 1946. Except for some minor modifications, most notably the serifed version of the uniforms during the Bill Russell era, the jerseys remained unchanged through the years.
Beginning in 2005–06, the Celtics began using alternate road jerseys which are green with black trim and the word "Boston" on the front side of the jersey. The alternate road jersey was rarely seen with few appearances in its first 2 seasons, but in 2007–08 it has been used much more often, in more than half of the road games. The uniforms traditionally make their debuts on the last Friday of November home games, after which are used on the road.
Also in 2005–06, the Celtics began a tradition of wearing their green jerseys with gold trim as part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations the NBA puts into place every third week of March. Except for the word "Boston" in front and the gold trim, the St. Patrick's Day jerseys resemble the regular road jerseys. For the first four years, the St. Patty's jerseys were used four times, majority of which on the road; however in the 2009-10 NBA season, they were used just twice (both home games).
During the 2006–07 season, the Celtics wore a commemorative patch of a black shamrock with the nickname "Red" in green letters on the right top of the jersey in remembrance of Red Auerbach, who died shortly prior to the beginning of the season.
During the NBA Europe Live Tour prior to the 2007–08 season, the Celtics used the alternate road jerseys in their game against the Toronto Raptors in Rome, except that the words "Boston" on the front side of the jersey and the shamrock on the shorts and on the reverse side of the jersey contained the green, white and red tricolors of the Italian flag. In the second game in London, the regular road jerseys featured a patch containing the Union Jack.
At the 2008–09 season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics wore a modified version of their home uniforms, accented with gold, to commemorate last season's championship team.
The team has honored deceased members of the Celtics family with a commemorative black band on the left shoulder strap of the jersey. It has been featured seven times in the history of the franchise: Walter Brown (1964–65), Bob Schmertz (1975–76), Joan Cohen (1989–90), Johnny Most (1993–94), Reggie Lewis (1993–94), Dorothy Auerbach (2000–01) and Dennis Johnson (2006–07).
The team also had the tradition of wearing black sneakers through most of their history, except during the early 1980s when they wore green sneakers. According to legend, Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach had a problem with the white sneakers, claiming that the white sneakers can easily get dirty; hence starting a long tradition with the black sneakers. But prior to the 2003–04 season, current Celtics GM Danny Ainge and captain Paul Pierce suggested wearing white sneakers, in due part to a growing number of teams wearing black sneakers. Auerbach gladly accepted and the white sneakers have remained since on home games. They still wear the black sneakers on away games, but in the 2008–09 season, they wore white sneakers with green and gold accents while wearing their St. Patrick's Day jerseys on the road.
The Celtics are also the only team to wear warmup jackets with the player names at the back. During the 1980s, this style was dominant in most NBA warmup jackets, but by the late 1990s, this style gradually declined. The Celtics, however, decided to keep the design in keeping with tradition.

Home

Away

Alternate

St. Patrick's Alternate


Television and radio

 Boston Celtics broadcasters

Management


Ownership history
Walter A. Brown, team founder and original owner (1946–September 7, 1964)
Lou Pieri and Marjorie Brown, wife of team founder (September 7, 1964– June 24, 1965)
Marvin Kratter/Knickerbocker Brewing Company, subsidiary of National Equities (June 24, 1965–1968)
Ballantine Brewery, subsidiary of Investors Funding Corporation (1968–1969)
Woody Erdman Trans-National Communications and Investors Funding Corporation (1969–1971)
Ballantine Brewery, subsidiary of Investors Funding Corporation (1971–1972)
Irv Levin and Harold Lipton (April 1972-May 1972) Sale not approved by NBA [39]
Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology (May 1972–January 1975)
Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology, Irv Levin, and Harold Lipton (January 1975–November 1975) [40]
Irv Levin and Harold Lipton (November 1975-1978)
John Y. Brown, Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. (1978-1979)
Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. (1979–1983)
Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee (1983–1993)
Paul Gaston (1993–2002)
Boston Basketball Partners LLC — consisting of Wycliffe Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca, and H. Irving Grousbeck (2002–present)


Team president
Walter A. Brown (1946–1963)
Lou Pieri (1963–1965)
Jack Waldron (1965–1967)
Clarence Adams (1967–1968)
Jack Waldron (1968–1970)
Red Auerbach (1970–1997)
Rick Pitino (1997–2001)
Red Auerbach (2001–2006)
Rich Gotham (2007–present)

General manager
Walter A. Brown (1946–1950)
Red Auerbach (1950–1984)
Jan Volk (1984–1997)
Chris Wallace (1997–2007)
Danny Ainge (2007–present)

Other
M. L. Carr (1994–1997) (Director of Basketball Operations)
Danny Ainge (2003–present) (President of Basketball Operations)


Medical staff

Team physician
Dr. Robert Steinsieck (1958–1959)
Dr. John Doherty (1959–1969)
Dr. Thomas Silva (1969–1987)
Dr. Arnold Scheller (1987–2005)
Dr. Brian McKeon (2005–present)

Team trainer
Harry Cohen (1946–1958)
Buddy LeRoux (1958–1967)
John DeLauri (1967–1971)
Frank Challant (1971–1979)
Ray Melchiorre (1979–1987)
Ed Lacerte (1987–present)
Source:wikipedia