The month of May around Indy is always fun with all of the festivities surrounding the 500 at IMS. It turns into a blast when the Pacers are in the midst of a deep playoff run, but yeah, it's been awhile.
One of the high profile events is the downtown parade held the day before the race which includes varying levels of celebrities, most with local ties, along with all of the drivers in the starting field of the race. Yesterday the 500 festival announced some of the celebrities that will join the drivers in the parade and three Pacers made the list.
Jeff Foster is a no brainer. Beloved, long-time Pacers with plenty of strong ties in the community.
Josh McRoberts also makes sense. Local boy makes good developing into an NBA team for the local team.
A.J. Price? Thinking...
How sweet is this? A.J. Price simply earned his way into a celebrity appearance in the parade. Unlike other more high profile Pacers, Price is in town working. He's the underdog, second round pick who caught fans' attention last year and now with the parade appearance he has an opportunity to connect with the more casual fans and non-fans by flashing that humble smile in the parade broadcast around the state.
As Mike Wells mentioned earlier this week, Price is working out at the Fieldhouse along with McRoberts and Roy Hibbert. Price and Hibbert decided to stay in town to work out unlike many of their teammates who head to more exotic locales to put in their work. Makes sense for Price as a guy who is still trying to impress his employers and solidify his standing as an NBA player.
Also makes you wonder if Brandon Rush even considers making such impressions. For all we know, Rush is out in L.A. working out twice as hard as Hibbert and Price. Of course, according to his Twitter page, Rush took some time for fun in Vegas last weekend. I have a feeling the barf bag on the flight was more due to his "workout" at Wet Republic than any workout in a gym.
I'm aware this is a bit unfair to Rush. A few days of fun in the offseason are no crime. Been there, done that plenty when I was his age. I just found it interesting that he gives off the perception of partying through the offseason (honestly, I'm still not sure Rush realizes all of his tweets are in the public domain) while Price is reportedly hunkered down, working out at the Fieldhouse and building up his profile in the community. Rush, a former number one pick, nowhere to be found let alone considered to represent the Pacers in one of the larger community events of the year. An interesting little contrast between two players the Pacers are hoping contribute to the foundation of their future success.
Here are a few more links:
Danny Granger: Anyone ever saw a sleeping "Bird"?
Speaking of Twitter, Danny Granger caught his boss snoozing on the way home from New York and shared it with us. @dgranger 33: Anyone ever saw a sleeping "Bird"? lol http://twitpic.com/1p127x
Gordon Haywards leaves Wednesday for NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago
Jeremiah Johnson catches up with Gordon Hayward as he prepares for his upcoming draft workouts.
John Wall, Evan Turner top 2010 NBA Mock Draft - SI.com
Ian Thomsen offers up his first post-lottery mock draft, giving Ed Davis to the Pacers.
Kareem Rush's smooth move to music
While some NBA players have dabbled in hip-hop as a way to show street cred, former Pacer Kareem Rush is working to prove his R&B singing career has serious credibility.
Just One Minute: Hayward watch
Hayward's agent, Mark Bartelstein is hyping up the interest in his client from so many top ten teams.