FanHouse Red Auerbach

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Monday, there are 8 days remaining.

This was the kind of domination that puts to shame the Los Angeles Lakers of this decade and the Chicago Bulls of the '90s. It's something those outstanding teams could only dream about.

It's the kind of domination that professional sports will never ever see again.

The Boston Celtics won eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966, the most impressive streak in high-profile team sports, a mind-boggling string that sounds almost mythical today.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Saturday, there are 10 days remaining.

Is Phil Jackson really the best basketball coach in history? Or is he just the luckiest coach for all the great players he has had?

The correct answer might be somewhere in between. Or he might be both.

You can't dispute that his 10 championships rings -- breaking his tie with the legendary Red Auerbach -- gives him the most impressive resume of anyone who ever coached in this league.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Saturday, there are 24 days remaining.

Through the years, NBA rules have been constantly fine-tuned, reviewed every summer and often adjusted slightly in an effort to make the game more appealing, like a gradual, evolutionary process.

Almost none of the changes alone have dramatically altered the game – except for one.

The 24-second clock. It changed everything.

Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Saturday, there are 66 days remaining.

As the years pass, Red Auerbach gets passed on all the lists that pay homage to his coaching greatness. Most victories, most playoff victories, most NBA championships, none of those titles are his anymore.

Time eventually takes everything away.

Well, almost everything. It can't take away the cigar, the symbol of his superiority, and the symbol of his decision to retire from coaching in 1966, riding the wave of eight consecutive NBA titles.

No one ever has left so on top of the game. He did in '66.

I know we've been a little video-heavy today, but hey, it is the day after the Finals ended, so there's a lot of cool interesting stuff to show you. Including this touching tribute to Red Auerbach, courtesy of the folks at Reebok.

Here's Red Auerbach, endorsing the ingenious "Sports Fantasy Contract." See, if you want to be a pro athlete but lack the talent, the trick is to get an official-seeming document saying you've been signed. You can even pick the salary. Pull it out any time you want to live the dream. Maybe you missed out on the experience of playing at the highest level but darn it, you've got that piece of paper.

We've already seen Gene Kelly break it down for Volkswagen, Steve McQueen race a Mustang, and Audrey Hepburn express herself in Gap, so it's only natural that the NBA has decided to dust off ol' Red and get him in on the action too. From the Boston Herald:

While [Red] Auerbach died in October, the legendary Celtics coach's image and voice will be featured in a series of NBA ads that pair Red's commentary on aspects of the game with footage of today's stars.

It's part of a long-running NBA ad campaign called "I Love This Game" that has typically featured Hollywood stars like Bruce Willis.

But this time, in an ad that will debut on TNT during the Feb. 18 All-Star game, NBA officials decided to reach into their video archives and bring Red back.

The new ads pair footage of Auerbach, decked out in Celtics regalia, doling out baskeball wisdom on his "Red on Roundball" show that ran in the 1970s. Comments and insights on rebounding and other aspects of the game are paired with footage of on-court action by Kobe Bryant and other current NBA hotshots.

I'm interested to see who the "other current NBA hotshots" will be. If you remember, in 2002, Auerbach told ESPN.com's Bill Simmons that his five favorite non-Celtic players to watch (at the time) were "Kobe ... Iverson ... Kidd ... Shaq ... and that kid from Minnesota (Garnett). I like Kobe the most." I can't wait to see these ads.

Bonus: I don't know if this is an actual "Red on Roundball" episode, but this clip has Auerbach going over defensive fundamentals with the Knicks' Darrell Walker and Bernard King.