It's been a while since we've written about the 17 time NBA Champion Boston Celtics, so I thought I'd share a couple of interesting items for your enjoyment.

The first is about our Dirt Dog of the Hardwood, Leon Powe.

Hoops Addict is running their "Floor Burn Tournament" which was created to give credit to the hardest working, albeit lesser-known NBA players.

...teams who win championships need players who are willing to get a little dirty and do the little things needed to help their team win. As valuable and crucial as these players are to their respective teams success, these players rarely get the credit or respect that they deserve. With that in mind, the First Annual Hoops Addict Floor Burn Tournament...

They are currently in the Semi-Finals, with Leon facing the Piston's Jason Maxiell.  The other players still in the running: David Lee (NYK), Reggie Evans (PHI), Ronnie Turiaf (GSW), Mark Madsen (MIN), Julian Wright (NOH), and Shane Battier (HOU).

Currently, Leon is down by around 130 votes and desperately needs our help!  This one is strictly voted on by the fans, and the voting doesn't close until 12am on Saturday (no clue which timezone), so we have plenty of time to spread the word and get Celtic Nation to the polls.  CelticsBlog is also keeping track of this race, so there's no excuse for us to let Leon down.  Plus, there's no way we can let the Pistons beat us!

The other interesting story comes via an email the CEO sent to me earlier.  

Doc Rivers was in Gainesville on Thursday to speak with the Florida Gator's football team. 

"Just think, the NBA champion Doc Rivers took time out of his own personal time to come here and speak to the Florida Gators," Meyer, who periodically likes to have guest speakers for the team, said after Friday morning's practice.

If you're curious as to why Doc found himself speaking to a football team in Florida, his daughter plays volleyball their and his 10th grade son has already committed himself to play for the Gator's basketball team.  

"One of the things Doc Rivers talked about was do the ordinary things better," Florida receivers coach Billy Gonzales said. "He said do the simple things better than anybody else. And I think that goes back to discipline."

Sounds like the philosophy that won us that fancy new banner. 

When I told my co-worker, Scott, who's a huge Gators fan, that Doc was hanging with his team, his response was, "I don't want him anywhere near them."  I reminded him that this was the World Champion Doc Rivers we were talking about, but he didn't waver.  He called him the 'luckiest man on the planet'. 

I guess no matter how successful you are, it's hard to break people's perceptions.