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INDIANAPOLIS —Andrew Luck has joined the shaved squad, too. Torrey Smith Pink Jersey . Nearly three dozen
players on the Indianapolis Colts have shaved their heads in a show of support
for head coach Chuck Pagano, who is undergoing treatment for a form of leukemia.
Luck became a new member of the no-hair club Wednesday morning. Players and
coaches were not available for comment because they were headed to Jacksonville,
but a team spokesman confirmed that Luck will indeed look quite different when
he takes off his helmet Thursday night. “Buzzed heads and orange locks in honour
of Chuck,” team owner Jim Irsay tweeted. He also included a link to a photo
showing many of the players who had gotten buzzed. Indianapolis (5-3) has gone
to great lengths to give their ailing coach encouragement. Reggie Wayne wore
orange gloves against Green Bay, the ribbon colour used to raise awareness for
leukemia. Nameplates above players lockers at the team complex now include
orange stickers with Paganos initials in the middle of Indys trademark
horseshoe. They sent Pagano a game ball after their surprising win over the
Packers on Oct. 4. Irsay has placed signs reading (hash)Chuckstrong in each end
zone of Lucas Oil Stadium, and the team has been trying to raise money to
support leukemia research. The newest addition to the agenda came late Tuesday
when the team said Wayne, Luck and interim coach Bruce Arians would participate
in a fundraiser at Dunaways, a local restaurant, on Nov. 16. They will sign
autographs and take photos with fans to help benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society. So when Pagano showed up in the Colts locker room Sunday without his
greyish hair or trademark goatee, player director of engagement David Thornton
decided to bring in a barber following Tuesdays practice. The idea was an
immediate hit—and seems to be growing larger by the day. About two dozen
players, including kicker Adam Vinatieri, defensive end Cory Redding, Pro Bowl
safety Antoine Bethea and punter Pat McAfee, left the team headquarters Tuesday
night with no hair. Its a new look for McAfee, who had a ponytail until last
fall when he cut it off and donated the hair to Locks of Love, a cancer charity.
“We havent been together long… But were in this together,” McAfee wrote in a
Twitter message. On Wednesday morning, more players joined the contingent,
including Luck, the No. 1 overall draft pick and this weeks AFC offensive player
of the week. At this rate, all of the Colts could have a whole team without hair
playing Thursday night at the Jaguars. Arians, one of Paganos close friends and
a prostate cancer survivor, doesnt have any hair, either, though hes donned that
look all season. Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia on Sept. 26 and remained
hospitalized for treatment until Oct. 21. He watched the next two Colts games
from his home before doctors allowed him to attend Sundays victory over Miami.
Pagano watched the 23-20 victory from the coaches box and spoke with his team
before and after the game. “Ive got circumstances. You guys understand it, I
understand it,” Pagano said in an emotional postgame speech. “Its already beat.
Its already beat. My vision that Im living is to see two more daughters get
married, dance at their weddings and then lift the Lombardi Trophy several
times. Im dancing at two more weddings and were hoisting that trophy together,
men. Congratulations, I love all of you.” On Monday, Paganos physician, Dr.
Larry Cripe of the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, said Pagano was in
“complete remission.” Cripe said Pagano is still scheduled to have two more
rounds of chemotherapy. The second round starts this week and will last four to
six weeks, Cripe said. Arians has said the Colts hope to have Pagano back on the
sideline Dec. 30, Indys regular season finale against Houston. Torrey Smith Jersey . For another day, at
least. The Phillies say they will send Roy Halladay to see a doctor on Tuesday,
two days after he came out of a start due to a sore right shoulder. Joe Flacco Womens Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.
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. Word of the multiplayer trade first broke on Wednesday, though the final
version had minor changes. The deal sends the contracts of Jerome Dyson and
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Barcelona Olympics. His message to Canadians? Keep up the excitement that we saw
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work into a great performance on the day,” he explains.BOSTON—Ever since the
1960s, when the Boston Celtics emerged as the most decorated franchise in the
NBA, nothing less than a championship has satisfied the team or its fans. This
years team may have changed that. Overcoming age and injuries to make it to Game
7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the more-heralded Miami Heat, the
Celtics bowed out of the playoffs on Saturday night with a 101-88 loss that
likely ended the new Big Three era in Boston. “I dont know if Ive ever had a
group like this,” coach Doc Rivers said. “They did everything I asked them to
do. They came up short. ... Our guys, I love them. They were phenomenal.” The
Celtics won their 17th NBA championship in 2008—the first season together for
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. They returned to the finals two years
later and, playing without injured centre Kendrick Perkins, came within 6
minutes of beating the Los Angeles Lakers again. Perkins was traded the next
year as general manager Danny Ainge attempted to stock up for another title run.
But his roster began to fall apart even before the season started when
Jeff Green was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm; centre Jermaine ONeal was lost
during the season and guard Avery Bradley went out in the playoffs, costing
Boston one of its best defenders. “I wish we could have had healthy runs,”
Rivers said. “This team won a title. Got to another one, a Game 7, where they
had a shot to win. Got to the Eastern Conference finals and one game away on the
road. Banged up. “But you dont get do-overs.” With Garnett and Allen eligible
for free agency, Ainge considered breaking the team apart at the trading
deadline to build for the future. Rivers campaigned to keep the group together,
and when a deal for Allen fell through at the last minute, the coach got his
wish. “It was a great opportunity,” Pierce said. “You couldnt ask for anything
more. Were very thankful for these last five years.” For his decision this year,
Ainge was rewarded with another long playoff run. But now he might have no
choice. “I think were going to wait and see what happens with free agency and
all that stuff,” Rivers said. “I just want to stick with this group if its a
couple more days, a couple more weeks, or whatever. I just want to stick with
them.” The post-season began with promise, as guard Rajon Rondo and the Celtics,
without home-court advantage on Atlanta, outlasted the Hawks in six games,
setting up a Round 2 matchup with rival Philadelphia. An upstart who knocked off
the No. 1-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round, the 76ers pushed the Celtics
to the brink, before Boston finally ddisposed of them in Game 7 at TD Garden. Ray Lewis Pink Jersey. And then, of course,
in the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics held a 3-2 series lead on Miami
before finally wilting. Rondo finished the post-season with averages of 17.3
points and 12 assists per game. “Nope,” Rondo said Saturday night when asked if
Boston was just too tired to advance. “We missed shots. We just came up short.”
Allen averaged 10.7 points and 4.1 rebounds across the three rounds. “Under the
circumstances, we are proud of what we accomplished and by no means, do we think
this was a fluke. Our young guys, played hard for us,” Allen said. “I dont know
what Kevin (Garnetts) situation is, but theres still a lot of basketball left in
my legs, I feel. So, its hard to say what will happen. But the four of us
(Garnett, Pierce, Rondo and Allen) know how to play basketball … and win
games.” Rivers concurred. “If we could have gotten this group to the finals, it
would have been fantastic for us. They deserved it with their will,” he said. “I
hear so often that the NBA is an individual league. That theory is gone. This
team—we had a terrific team effort from everybody.” Lot of that has to do
with the coach, of course. The players feed off Rivers enthusiasm and respect
for the game. It shows on and off the floor. “We have a coach like Doc who we
feel gives it all to us,” forward Brandon Bass said. “As players, we have a
tremendous amount of respect for him. And because of that, we leave it out on
the court for him.” Perhaps, though, even with contributions from Bass and the
like, fatigue did set in with the veterans. Those stiff challenges from the
Hawks and Sixers, after all, forced the Celtics to work a little longer than
expected. In the end, Boston played 20 playoff games. “Its been a trying year
with injuries. A lot of things didnt go our way throughout the course of the
season,” Pierce said. “For this group not to complain and concentrate on what we
had, it just forced us to pull together. At one point we were one game above
.500, and look here today, we were one game from the championship (series).”
Pierce had a stellar post-season, averaging 18.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. At
19.2 and 10.3, respectively, Garnett led the team in both categories. “I know
people will always look at the Big Three individually—Kevin, Ray and Paul. Im
never going to do that. Im going to look at them as a group, collective,” Rivers
said. “They were willing to do whatever for the betterment of the team. Thats
what we should focus on. How much they gave up, to try and win. “Thats what I
will remember most about them.” ’ ’ ’