Showcasing a bit of contemporary sports ignorance right up there with John Kerry declaring that Ned Yost was his favorite Red Sox player, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino paid tribute to the Celtics on the eve of a Game 6 Eastern Conference collision with the underachieving Miami Heat.
“There’s a lot of heart in this team, let me just tell you,” Menino told reporters Wednesday after the Celtics topped the Heat. “KJ is great but Hondo is really the inspiration. Hondo drives that team.”
Menino’s most infamous sports gaffe came in 2010 when he was speaking at a dedication of a statue for Bruins great Bobby Orr. Praising the history of Boston athletes, he listed the city’s most iconic sports moments (or “ionic” in Menino-speak ). (Watch below)
“In Boston, we have an amazing set of remarkable athletes whose actions in the moment have become ionic (sic) in sports,” he said. “Havlicek stole the ball. Fisk waving the ball fair. Flutie launched the Hail Mary pass. Varitek splitting the uprights.”