Bill Russell ball winner announced

CLNS Radio and CelticsBlog are happy to congratulate the winner of the Bill Russell basketball sweepstakes: LarBrd33

He's a self described "obsessed Celtics fan" who is head over heels about winning this prize.

I've essentially saved every single Celtic-related item I've ever owned. Coincidentally, I believe Bill Russell actually lives out here in Seattle. I'd see him every once in a while at Sonics games when we still had a team here, but the word on the street with the autograph hounds at the time was that Russell absolutely refused to sign autographs and it was a massive faux pas to ever ask. I have seen in recent years that he has changed his stance and held a bunch of autograph signings, but they always (obviously) seem to be in Massachusetts. Since I'll probably never get a chance to go to one of those, this is incredibly amazing. I shall cherish it forever and do my best to recommend Celticsblog and CLNS to anyone who might be interested. THANKS!

Sadly we only had one ball to give away and the first selected winner didn't get back to us before the deadline. But things might work out for him anyway. The winner has graciously offered to send him a piece of memorabilia from his own collection. Celtics fans paying it forward. Love it.

Don't forget to keep following both CelticsBlog.com and CLNS Radio on twitter and facebook. Not just for the cool prizes you might win, but for the best Celtics coverage anywhere. Thanks again.