Summer reading

Those Celtic fans looking for some easy reading for their next trip to the beach this summer should stop by the local newsstand where the Green can be found on the cover of two recent Sports Illustrated issues.

The latest issue (June 30) features Bill Russell and Kevin Garnett together with the Larry O'Brien championship trophy and a headline, "The Once and Future Celtics From Russell to KG." Inside, in an article titled, "Seems like Old Times," Jack McCallum writes:

Now it's another magical time in Boston , the anti-Cleveland , the city of Williams and Yaz, of Shore and Orr, of Russell and Cousy , of Manny and Big Papi, of Brady and Belichick. Ainge was born in 1959, three weeks before the Celtics won the second of 11 championships they would earn in a 13-year stretch. Ainge 's shooting and hustle contributed to two of the franchise's three titles in the '80s; he and DJ represent one of the last backcourt combos that didn't need to be differentiated as point and shooting guards. Ainge returned to Boston in 2003 as executive director of basketball operations and general manager, eventually building a championship team for the new millennium, erasing memories of the fallow decade of the '90s with the best single-season turnaround (a 42-win swing) in NBA history.

The Celtics' entire starting 5 adorns the cover of the NBA championship commemorative edition which features the headline, "Return to Glory."