NBA news is sort of hard to come by with the lockout going on. Recently, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics shot a shoe commercial for Champs Sports. In the commercial, Rondo catches a purple and gold shoe that causes his attire to be changed from a Celtic green color to the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers. Don’t worry, he didn’t like it either. Here is the video courtesy of Champs Sports.

Rajon Rondo was also in the news recently when it was brought to light that President Obama was critical of his jump shooting ability.  The question was posed whether the criticism was directly related to Rondo’s struggles shooting the basketball towards the end of the season and in the playoffs. Our friends over at CelticsBlog did a great job of debunking the myth yesterday.

For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page and blog, CelticsBlog

Paris has the Eiffel Tower. New York City, the Empire State Building. And in Boston, the iconic Citgo sign in Kenmore Square doesn’t advertise a fuel company so much as it hails the city itself.

It isn’t the only emblematic sign in town. From Twin Donuts’ cursive neon in Allston to M. Steinert & Sons piano store’s glowing G-clef along Boylston Street, striking, historic signs are an essential part of Boston’s visual landscape.

Bradford graphic designer Keith Sliney set out to photograph 100 of them, armed with only an iPhone. Sliney’s output so far — 57 signs and counting — are viewable online.

If anyone knows iconic Boston, it’s Sliney. He’s been the creative director of the Boston Celtics [team stats] for eight years, shaping the team’s graphic presence across a variety of media.

“With my background as a designer, I kind of view signs as art pieces,” Sliney said. “It’s really interesting, especially the older signs — the stuff that’s been around for 50 or 60 years.”

Sliney began snapping signs last year when he was experimenting with Instagram, a popular photography app. The app allows users to quickly take shots and upload them to various social networking and photo-sharing Web sites. Amateur photographers can choose from various filter effects that alter textures, colors and exposures to re-create the feel of vintage film.

For Sliney, that retro aesthetic is a big part of Instagram’s appeal. “I can’t put my finger on it. You just look at a photo and go, ‘Is that cool or not?’ Maybe it’s a nostalgic thing. People instantly recognize that look,” he said.

Sign photography has taken Sliney all over Greater Boston. He began the project with 25 or so signs he knew before trawling the Internet for others.

His search led him to many “ghost signs” — faded advertisements from decades past painted on brick and never removed, now serving as pale echoes of a bygone era. His favorite is an old Quaker Oats ad on the side of an apartment building on Beacon Hill, partially covered in creeping ivy but still visible.

The history of various signs is as much a part of the appeal as their artistic beauty. Many signs remain long after the businesses they advertise has shuttered, such as the 59-foot-high Boston Wharf Co. neon sign in Fort Point and the faded Dudley Tailors sign in Roxbury.

Though “100 Boston Signs” began as a summer hobby, Sliney is considering turning the project into a book. His growing collection exemplifies the spirit of Boston — a city steeped in history, captured on a cutting-edge platform.

Check out “100 Boston Signs” online at 100bostonsigns.tumblr.com.

Jeff Green told Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports that it was difficult to be thrown into the mix of a championship team like the Boston Celtics, saying it was tough to enter that situation.

“They’ve been together for a number of years,” Green said of the Celtics. “They’ve already won a championship, they’ve already have a system, they already have their chemistry and that bond on that team. It was tough to go into that situation.” (via Yahoo! Sports)

Green, who was acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder that sent longtime C’s center Kendrick Perkins to OKC in exchange for Green and Nenad Krstic, is an unrestricted free agent who is the center of debate among Celtics fans.

C’s nation seems split about whether or not the team should bring him back, with some thinking he has potential to become a solid NBA player and others believing he has reached his potential.

For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page and blog, CelticsBlog.

A portion of the NBA preseason schedule has reportedly been released, and the Boston Celtics are expected to open preseason play on October 10, according to CelticsBlog.

The preseason is scheduled to open on October 9, but as CelticsBlog points out, all of this might not matter if the owners and players can’t reach a new CBA. Thanks for dampening the mood, Lockout.

For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page and blog, CelticsBlog.

The Celtics ’81 Eastern Conference finals win squares off against the Patriots’ introduction before Super Bowl XXXVI in the first round of Boston’s Greatest Sports Moment tournament.

The 1980-81 Boston Celtics found themselves in the same scenario they had been in the year before – facing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in Boston, down 3-1 to Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers. The C’s would not give up as they had in the previous year’s series, though, and marched back to force a Game 7 in Boston. After a back-and-forth battle through much of the game, second-year forward Larry Bird hit a bank shot with a minute to go in the fourth to give the Celtics a two-point lead. A crucial missed free throw by Mo Cheeks and a botched final play gave the C’s a 91-90 victory, leaving Bird jumping for joy near center court as fans mobbed him. It would be the first of many Eastern Conference championships for the newly formed “Big Three” of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

Kurt Warner ran out of the tunnel in the Superdome as one of the stars of the 2001 St. Louis Rams. Listed as the visiting team, Warner and the Rams had their lineups announced first. When the camera turned to the Patriots’ side, the tunnel looked too crowded for an individual to come running out upon hearing his name. However, only one name needed to be heard: the New England Patriots. With second-year quarterback Tom Brady leading the charge, the Patriots became the first team in NFL history to be introduced as a team before the start of a Super Bowl. The idea was proposed by head coach Bill Belichick and initially met with resistance from the league. But as seen before every Super Bowl since, an idea has become a tradition.

8. Cheevers ’72 Cup vs. 9. Vinatieri in snow | 4. Pedro’s ’99 relief vs. 13. Bird-Magic retirement

Share your thoughts about Boston’s Greatest Sports Moment on Twitter at @NESN. Include #BGSM in your tweet.

Ray Allen isn’t worried about himself and the rest of the Big 3; he thinks these old men can come back strong in 2013 should the lockout force the cancelation of next season. From the Boston Herald: “The guard, who just turned 36 on July 20, doesn’t believe that because both he and Kevin Garnett have one year left on their respective contracts will spell the end of the Big Three era. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said [Monday] morning. ‘They’re not going to send us away because possibly we miss a season. We’re not going to say we’re done and we’re not going to play any more. I still have a lot left in me and I’m sure that Kevin (Garnett) feels the same. At this stage of the game I’m sure he’s rejuvenated and he’ll be ready to go. Hard to say what (the lockout) does,’ said Allen. ‘When you stop so abruptly – it wouldn’t be anything I would accept. As far as being ready to play another season, I would just be ready. Especially if you get a whole year off. It’s not as if you go into the next year and say I’m done. I’m not going to play anymore. We’re competitors. When you lose a season like that, you come back and you’re ready to get after it. It will fuel our fire, and enable us to go after it a little more next year.’”

On Monday, Aug. 1, at a special State House ceremony, Todd Flannery of Swampscott was honored as a 2010-11 Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us recipient.

Along with the other 2010-11 Hero recipients, Todd was recognized by Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom “Satch” Sanders, Massachusetts State Treasurer Steven Grossman, and Celtics Managing Partner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck.

Todd was initially honored during the May 9 Boston Celtics home game vs. the Miami Heat for rescuing a small boy in his neighborhood.

While out on a walk with his son, Flannery heard the fearful cries of a small boy nearby. Scanning his surroundings, he looked up and was stunned to find a toddler stranded 15 feet high near the edge of a roof and immediately sprang into action. Racing over to the building, Flannery quickly climbed onto the rooftop where he rescued the little boy and carried him to safety. The child was not harmed and, thanks to Flannery, a terrible tragedy was averted.  

The Heroes Among Us award, established by the Celtics thirteen years ago, recognizes outstanding individuals who have made exceptional and lasting contributions to their communities. Their achievements include individual acts of courage, saving lives, sacrificing for others, overcoming obstacles to achieve their goals, and a lifelong commitment to enhancing the lives of others. More than 600 individuals have been honored since the inception of the program.

“Every story is an amazing testament of the courage and strength of the individuals that we honor at this ceremony each summer,” Celtics Legend Tom “Satch” Sanders said. “From all of us in the Celtics organization, thank you for coming out today and congratulations to our 2010-2011 Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us recipients.”

Burrillville police Sgt. Dennis Leahey was honored by the Boston Celtics and the Massachusetts State Lottery at a State House ceremony earlier this month for 2010-2011 Heroes Among Us recipients.

The Heroes Among Us award, established by the Celtics 13 years ago, recognizes individuals who have made exceptional and lasting contributions to their communities. Each recipient received congratulations from Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom “Satch” Sanders along with Massachusetts State Treasurer Steven Grossman and Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck.

Leahy was initially honored during a Jan. 3 home game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves for his quick actions to help a nearby patron when he collapsed to the floor while having a seizure. He rushed to the man’s side and used his police training to open the man’s airway and keep him breathing until the paramedics arrived.

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Chauncey Billups knows that his NBA days are numbered. After missing out on much of the New York Knicks’ first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics last spring, Chauncey is filled with regret, and plenty questions about what the future holds.

Though Billups believes he could have made a big difference during the Knicks/Celtics series, there’s no use in looking back now, and Chauncey wants another crack at leading New York on the basketball floor.

The lockout is making none of that possible, of course, and shortening what little time Chauncey Billups has left in the NBA.

From the Boston Globe:

The lack of a full training camp may damage the Knicks more than any other club because they never had the opportunity to build chemistry with coach Mike D’Antoni last season. “It is tough, the uncertainty of not knowing what’s going to happen,’’ said Billups. “But I’ve been through it before, and as a veteran and as a professional, I’m just going to stay ready. “Whenever we can make a deal or whatever might happen, I’ll be ready to go.”

He has avoided serious injury in his career and has played at least 70 games in each of the past 11 seasons, but six weeks short of his 35th birthday, Billups realizes his time as a front-line player is diminishing. “I have played most of my career out,’’ he said. “I don’t have that many more years to play. I’m just looking forward to getting back out there.”

The Knicks are unlikely to compete for the Eastern Conference crown regardless of when the season starts, but they should be vastly different with Billups and Anthony more comfortable in the system, and Amar’e Stoudemire completely recovered from the back issues that ailed him during the playoffs. “That’s what I want so bad, is to have a training camp together, where we can build,’’ said Billups, who averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 21 games with New York. “Because I feel like with the players that we have and the ability that we have to put some pieces together, we can be a very good basketball team.’’

As he enters the twilight of his career, the Knicks can only hope to squeeze out what little magic may be left in Chauncey Billups.

Time is not on either party’s side.