Two sports articles worth a read this morning

As you're sitting around your house, apartment or condo this morning watching the fresh white flakes hit the ground on the sidewalk outside, give the following two articles a read, especially if you're a Boston sports fan.

These are two pieces of two sports figures in Boston - one current and one former - that show the human side of sports.

There stands Paul Pierce. The Celtics forward, once the seeming embodiment of what Jordan sneeringly called "New Jack players"—underachieving and self-involved, persona non grata with the national team after leading it to its implosion in 2002, bearer of a contract that will pay him $18,077,903 this season—is hunched over. He's a wreck. Havlicek hands him the trophy, and Pierce dips his head onto the legend's right shoulder. Pierce lifts his head, tears streaming down his cheeks, and it suddenly becomes clear that we're witnessing a rare moment in modern sports: not market-tested, not spun, close to pure.

Read the rest here from SI.

Shifty receiver Deion Branch has made moves far better than this one. So have his Seahawks.

The former Super Bowl MVP held out of the New England Patriots [team stats]’ minicamp in June 2006, then all of training camp. He racked up almost $600,000 in fines from the team until his forced trade to Seattle in early September of that year.

Read the rest about Deon here.