A very big deal

The New York Times devoted more than five pages of yesterday's national print edition to marking the passing of the Boston Celtics' legendary center, Bill Russell. The main story started on Page 1, with two full pages on the "jump" inside the national news section. There were three additional full pages in the sports section.

That's a lot of real estate, but when you take in everything Russell did and symbolized, it doesn't seem excessive. He was without a doubt one of the most important figures ever on the American sporting scene.

Amid all the remembrances, the great Boston sports writer Bob Ryan had what I thought was the most interesting take: “In his final 14 years as a basketball player, Bill Russell’s team participated in 21 winner-take-all contests (nine NCAA tournament games, one Olympic gold medal game, 10 Game 7's, one deciding Game 5), and Bill Russell’s team won all 21.”