title: John Winthrop

text: Rising tensions in England culminated in a civil war and led to a significant reduction in the number of people and provisions arriving in the colonies. The colonists consequently began to expand trade and interaction with other colonies, non-English as well as English. This led to trading ventures with other Puritans on Barbados, a source of cotton, and with the neighboring French colony of Acadia.


title: John Winthrop

text: French Acadia covered the eastern half of present-day Maine, as well as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It was embroiled in a minor civil war between competing administrators; English colonists began trading with Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour in 1642, and his opponent Charles de Menou d'Aulnay warned Boston traders away from la Tour's territories. In June 1643, la Tour came to Boston and requested military assistance against assaults by d'Aulnay. Governor Winthrop refused to provide official assistance, but allowed la Tour to recruit volunteers from the colony for service.


title: John Winthrop

text: This decision brought on a storm of criticism, principally from the magistrates of Essex County, which was geographically closest to the ongoing dispute. John Endecott was particularly critical, noting that Winthrop had given the French a chance to see the colonial defenses. The 1644 election became a referendum on Winthrop's policy, and he was turned out of office. The Acadian dispute was eventually resolved with d'Aulnay as the victor. In 1646, Winthrop was again in the governor's seat when d'Aulnay appeared in Boston and demanded reparations for damage done by the English volunteers. Winthrop placated the French governor with the gift of a sedan chair, originally given to him by an English privateer.


title: John Winthrop

text: In addition to his responsibilities in the colonial government, Winthrop was a significant property owner. He owned the Ten Hills Farm, as well as land that became the town of Billerica, Governors Island in Boston Harbor (now the site of Logan International Airport), and Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay. He also engaged in the fur trade in partnership with William Pynchon, using the ship "Blessing of the Bay". Governors Island was named for him and remained in the Winthrop family until 1808, when it was purchased for the construction of Fort Winthrop.


title: John Winthrop

text: The farm at Ten Hills suffered from poor oversight on Winthrop's part. The steward of the farm made questionable financial deals that caused a cash crisis for Winthrop. The colony insisted on paying him his salary (which he had refused to accept in the past) as well as his expenses while engaged in official duties. Private subscriptions to support him raised about £500 and the colony also granted his wife of land.


title: John Winthrop

text: His wife Margaret arrived on the second voyage of the "Lyon" in 1631, but their baby daughter Anne died during the crossing. Two more children were born to the Winthrops in New England before Margaret died on 14 June 1647. Winthrop married his fourth wife Martha Rainsborough some time after 20 December 1647 and before the birth of their only child in 1648. She was the widow of Thomas Coytmore and sister of Thomas and William Rainborowe. Winthrop died of natural causes on 26 March 1649, and is buried in what is now called the King's Chapel Burying Ground in Boston. He was survived by his wife Martha and five sons.


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop rarely published and his literary contribution was relatively unappreciated during his time, yet he spent his life continually producing written accounts of historical events and religious manifestations. His major contributions to the literary world were "A Modell of Christian Charity" (1630) and "The History of New England" (1630–1649, also known as "The Journal of John Winthrop"), which remained unpublished until the late 18th century.


title: John Winthrop

text: John Winthrop wrote and delivered the lay sermon that became "A Model of Christian Charity" either before the 1630 crossing to North America or while en route. It described the ideas and plans to keep the Puritan society strong in faith, as well as the struggles that they would have to overcome in the New World. He used the phrase "city upon a hill" (derived from the Bible's Sermon on the Mount) to characterize the colonists' endeavour as part of a special pact with God to create a holy community. He encouraged the colonists to "bear one another's burdens" and to view themselves as a "Body of Christ, knitt together by Love." He told the colonists to be stricter in their religious conformance than even the Church of England, and to make it their objective to establish a model state. If they did so, God would "make us a prayse and glory, that man shall say of succeeding plantacions: the lord make it like that of New England."


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop's sermon is often characterized as a forerunner to the concept of American exceptionalism. Recent research has shown, however, that the speech was not given much attention at the time of its delivery, unlike the farewell sermon of John Cotton. Furthermore, Winthrop did not introduce any significant new concepts, but merely repeated what were widely held Puritan beliefs. The work was not published until the nineteenth century, although it was known and circulated in manuscript before that time.


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop kept a journal of his life and experiences, starting with the voyage across the Atlantic and continuing through his time in Massachusetts, originally written in three notebooks. His account has been acknowledged as the "central source for the history of Massachusetts in the 1630s and 1640s". The first two notebooks were published in 1790 by Noah Webster. The third notebook was long thought lost but was rediscovered in 1816, and the complete journals were published in 1825 and 1826 by James Savage as "The History of New England from 1630 to 1649. By John Winthrop, Esq. First Governor of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay. From his Original Manuscripts". The second notebook was destroyed in a fire at Savage's office in 1825; the other two volumes now belong to the Massachusetts Historical Society. Richard Dunn and Laetitia Yeandle produced a modern transcription of the diaries in 1996, combining new analysis of the surviving volumes and Savage's transcription of the second notebook.


title: John Winthrop

text: The journal began as a nearly day-to-day recounting of the ocean crossing. As time progressed, he made entries less frequently and wrote at a greater length so that, by the 1640s, the work began to take the shape of a history. Winthrop wrote primarily of his private accounts: his journey from England, the arrival of his wife and children to the colony in 1631, and the birth of his son in 1632. He also wrote profound insights into the nature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and nearly all important events of the day. The majority of his early journal entries were not intended to be literary, but merely observations of early New England life. Gradually, the focus of his writings shifted from his personal observations to broader spiritual ideologies and behind-the-scenes views of political matters.


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop's earliest publication was likely "The Humble Request of His Majesties Loyal Subjects" (London, 1630), which defended the emigrants' physical separation from England and reaffirmed their loyalty to the Crown and Church of England. This work was republished by Joshua Scottow in the 1696 compilation "MASSACHUSETTS: or The first Planters of New-England, The End and Manner of their coming thither, and Abode there: In several EPISTLES".


title: John Winthrop

text: In addition to his more famous works, Winthrop produced a number of writings, both published and unpublished. While living in England, he articulated his belief "in the validity of experience" in a private religious journal known as his "Experiencia". He wrote in this journal intermittently between 1607 and 1637 as a sort of confessional, very different in tone and style from the "Journal". Later in his life, he wrote "A Short Story of the rise, reign, and ruine of the Antinomians, Familists and Libertines, that Infected the Churches of New England" which described the Antinomian controversy surrounding Anne Hutchinson and other in 1636 and 1637. The work was first published in London in 1644. At the time of its publication, there was much discussion about the nature of church governance, and the Westminster Assembly of Divines had recently begun to meet. The evidence which it presented was seen by supporters of Congregationalism as proving the book's worth, and by opponents as proving its failings. In some of its editions, it was adapted by opponents of Henry Vane, who had become a leading Independent political leader in the discussion. Vane's opponents sought to "tie Toleration round the neck of Independency, stuff the two struggling monsters into one sack, and sink them to the bottom of the sea."


title: John Winthrop

text: According to biographer Francis Bremer, Winthrop's writings echoed those of other Puritans which "were efforts both to discern the divine pattern in events and to justify the role [which] New Englanders believed themselves called to play."


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop's reference to the "city upon a hill" in "A Modell of Christian Charity" has become an enduring symbol in American political discourse. Many American politicians have cited him in their writings or speeches, going back to revolutionary times. Winthrop's reputation suffered in the late 19th and early 20th century, when critics pointed out the negative aspects of Puritan rule, including Nathaniel Hawthorne and H. L. Mencken, and leading to modern assessments of him as a "lost Founding Father". Political scientist Matthew Holland argues that Winthrop "is at once a significant founding father of America's best and worst impulses", with his calls for charity and public participation offset by what Holland views as rigid intolerance, exclusionism, and judgmentalism.


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop gave a speech to the General Court in July 1645, stating that there are two kinds of liberty: natural liberty to do as one wished, "evil as well as good," a liberty that he believed should be restrained; and civil liberty to do good. Winthrop strongly believed that civil liberty was "the proper end and object of authority", meaning that it was the duty of the government to be selfless for the people and promote justice instead of promoting the general welfare. He supported this point of view by his actions, such as when he passed laws requiring the heads of households to make sure that their children and servants received proper education, and for support of teachers from public funds. Winthrop's actions were for the unity of the colony because he believed that nothing was more crucial of a colony than working as a single unit that wouldn't be split by any force, such as with the case of Anne Hutchinson. He was a leader respected by many, even Richard Dummer, a principal Hutchinsonian disarmed for his activities, who gave 100 pounds to him.


title: John Winthrop

text: Many modern politicians refer to Winthrop's writings in their speeches, people as diverse as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Michael Dukakis, and Sarah Palin. Reagan described Winthrop as "an early 'Freedom Man'" who came to America "looking for a home that would be free."


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop is a major character in Catharine Sedgwick's 1827 novel "Hope Leslie", set in colonial Massachusetts. He also makes a brief appearance in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" in the chapter entitled "The Minister's Vigil."


title: John Winthrop

text: Winthrop's descendants number thousands today. His son John was the first governor of the Saybrook Colony, and later generations of his family continued to play an active role in New England politics well into the 19th century. Twentieth century descendants include former US Senator from Massachusetts and former Secretary of State John Kerry, educator Charles William Eliot, and Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes. The towns of Winthrop, Massachusetts, and Winthrop, Maine, are named in his honor. Winthrop House at Harvard University and Winthrop Hall at Bowdoin College are named in honor of him and of his descendant John Winthrop, who briefly served as President of Harvard.


title: John Winthrop

text: He is also the namesake of squares in Boston (downtown and in Charlestown), Cambridge, and Brookline. The Winthrop Building on Water Street in Boston was built on the site of one of his homes and is one of the city's first skyscrapers. NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola, New York was named Winthrop Hospital since 1986 named for Winthrop's descendant, Robert Winthrop, a retired investment banker, and long time patron and volunteer of the hospital.


title: John Winthrop

text: A statue of Winthrop by Richard Greenough is one of Massachusetts' two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, Capitol in Washington D.C.


title: John Winthrop

text: Not long after the death and funeral of Winthrope, early American poet Benjamin Tompson wrote a Funeral Tribute in Winthrop's honor, which appeared in his work, "New-Englands Tears", in 1676. The Tribute was also printed as a broadside and circulated in Boston that same year.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Voodoo Lounge is the 20th British and 22nd American studio album by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since their last studio album, "Steel Wheels" in 1989. "Voodoo Lounge" is also the band's first album without long-time bassist Bill Wyman; he left the band in early 1991, though the Stones did not formally announce the departure until 1993. In 2009, the album was remastered and reissued by Universal Music. This album was released as a double vinyl and as a single CD and cassette.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: After the departure of Wyman, the Stones chose not to officially replace him as a band member and continue as a four-piece with Mick Jagger (vocals), Charlie Watts (drums), Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood (both guitars). Wyman was unofficially replaced by Darryl Jones, who would perform with the Stones in the studio and on tour as a contracted player. Keyboards were provided by Chuck Leavell. Jones and Leavell, though not band members, would remain collaborators with the group for the next quarter of a century. Don Was was brought in to produce the album alongside Jagger and Richards.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: "Voodoo Lounge" sold well enough, reaching either gold or platinum status in several countries, but failed to produce a US top-40 hit. The song "Love Is Strong" did peak at No. 14 in the UK, and "You Got Me Rocking" (which reached No. 23 in the same country) became a staple on most subsequent Stones tours. The album received some good reviews and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Sections of the Keith Richards song "Thru and Thru" from "Voodoo Lounge" are woven throughout the HBO television series "The Sopranos"' second season finale "Funhouse" (episode no. 26 overall), and plays in its entirety during the episode's closing sequence and end credits.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Following the release of Keith Richards' "Main Offender" and Mick Jagger's "Wandering Spirit" in 1992 and 1993, respectively, both leaders of the Rolling Stones began composing new songs in April 1993, deciding upon Don Was as co-producer for the upcoming sessions. In November, after rehearsing and recording at Ronnie Wood's house in Ireland that September, the Stones shifted to Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin and began cutting "Voodoo Lounge". Although not joining the band officially, Darryl Jones would be taking Bill Wyman's place as the group's regular bassist, at the suggestion of drummer Charlie Watts.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Don Was, noted for his retro rock production sensibilities, was reportedly responsible for pushing the band towards more conventional territory in an attempt to reproduce the archetypal "Rolling Stones" sound. Although this approach pleased critics and the Stones rock-oriented fan base, Jagger in particular expressed some dissatisfaction with Was's aesthetic, commenting in a 1995 interview with "Rolling Stone":


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Was responded that he was not "anti-groove, just anti-groove without substance, in the context of this album. They had a number of great grooves. But it was like, 'OK, what goes on top of it? Where does it go?' I just felt that it's not what people were looking for from the Stones. I was looking for a sign that they can get real serious about this, still play better than anybody and write better than anybody."


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: The result was an essentially classicist recording that drew on the blues, R&B, and country that had informed the Stones classic late 1960s/early 1970s recordings. Jagger would insist on a more diverse, contemporary production cast for the subsequent "Bridges to Babylon" (1997). Nevertheless, Was remains the Stones producer to this day. After a period of recording in Los Angeles in the first few months of 1994, "Voodoo Lounge" was complete and The Rolling Stones moved onto the rehearsals for the Voodoo Lounge Tour, which would begin in August.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: During the recording of the album, Richards adopted a stray cat in Barbados which he named Voodoo, because they were in Barbados, and the kitten had survived the odds. He dubbed the terrace of the house Voodoo's Lounge. "Sparks Will Fly" was written by Richards after a blow-up with Jerry Lee Lewis in Ireland. Richards invited Lewis to Wood's home to jam on a few songs. Lewis took it seriously and thought they were making an album, and upon playback of the session, he started to pick apart Richards' band, which outraged Richards.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Released in July 1994, "Voodoo Lounge" received generally positive reviews and debuted at No. 1 in the UK (their first chart-topper there since 1980's "Emotional Rescue") and No. 2 in the US (behind the soundtrack to "The Lion King") where it went double platinum.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: David Cavanagh of "Q Magazine" wrote that "musically, these 15 songs represent the Stones at their all-time least newsworthy," adding that ""Voodoo Lounge" is no classic, but nor is it the resounding hound it could have been." Though he was disappointed in the inconsistency of the album's second half, he called the trio of opening rockers "exuberant and on the warm side" despite their lyric shortcomings and hailed the next four songs as an extremely good stretch with "Out of Tears" in particular showing "tantalizing glimmers of genius."


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Writing for "Vox" magazine in August 1994, Steven Dalton thought that the album's strongest tracks were filled with "echoes of the band's halcyon days", most notably 1972's "Exile on Main Street" and 1978's "Some Girls". He went on to surmise that "Voodoo Lounge" "reminds us why we liked the Stones in the first place," and singled out "New Faces", "Out of Tears" and "Blinded by Rainbows" as the album's highlights, despite also stating that the record contained "too many sketchy, arsing-around-in-the-studio jobs" to be considered one of the group's overall best albums.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" found "Voodoo Lounge" to be disappointing, arguing that the album "rings hollow, as if it were made not to shake things up but simply to fuel the machine." He harshly criticized the songwriting, arguing that "for much of the album, Jagger and Richards seem determined to write the most generic love songs possible...Flip over the sentimentality, and the Stones offer some of their least convincing leers."


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Robert Christgau didn't believe the album warranted a full review, consigning it to his column's list of "honorable mentions" and commenting only that the Stones had become the "world's greatest roots-rock band." Tom Hull similarly listed it as an "honorable mention," conceding that the album "feels like they're just going through the motions."


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" would later rank "Voodoo Lounge" as one of their weakest albums, writing that "this isn't a bad album, exactly, but it sounds as if hard work was involved, the product of craft rather inspiration: tough coming from a band that, at their best, made it all seem effortless." Petridis also felt that the 62-minute album was much too long, joking that "it goes on for about six weeks." David Marchese of "New York" expressed a similar criticism, writing that "Voodoo Lounge" "would’ve killed at 45 minutes" while pointing out the weakest songs as he reviewed the album track-by-track.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: In early 1995, while the Voodoo Lounge Tour was still underway until August, "Voodoo Lounge" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: "Love Is Strong", which was inspired by Richards' solo "Wicked as It Seems", was released as the first single, reaching No. 14 in the UK. However, although the track was a hit on US rock radio, it did nothing on the overall US singles charts, quickly fizzling out at No. 91, and (at least in the US) became the Rolling Stones' worst performing lead single from an album to that time. Two follow-up US singles also received strong rock radio airplay, but failed to cross over into top-40 hits: "Out of Tears" peaked at No. 60, and "You Got Me Rocking" fared even worse, peaking at No. 113. Consequently, "Voodoo Lounge" would be the first Rolling Stones album to "not" produce significant hits in the US, even with two million copies sold. In the UK, "Love Is Strong", "You Got Me Rocking", "Out of Tears", and "I Go Wild" were all top-40 chart hits.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: The song "Thru and Thru", which features Keith Richards on lead vocals, appears several times in "Funhouse", the second-season finale of "The Sopranos", including over the end credits.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: In July 2014, "Guitar World" placed "Voodoo Lounge" at number 42 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.


title: Voodoo Lounge

text: An interactive CD-ROM titled "Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge CD ROM" was published by GTE Interactive Media in 1995, to mixed reception. It uses early QuickTime video technology for Windows 3.1 and Macintosh.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics–Lakers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics and the Lakers are the two most storied franchises in the NBA, and the rivalry has often been called the greatest in the NBA. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, with their first such meeting being in . They would both go on to dominate the league in the 1960s and 1980s, facing each other in the Finals six times in the 1960s, three times in the 1980s, and twice since the year 2000.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers and Celtics are tied for the highest number of championships in the NBA at 17 apiece, (12 as the L.A. Lakers and 5 as the Minneapolis Lakers). Together, they account for 34 of the 74 championships (or 45%) in NBA history. As of 2018, the Celtics and Lakers have a .590 and .596 all-time winning records respectively. As of the end of the 2020–21 season, Boston is the only team with a winning overall record against the Lakers.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The rivalry has been less intense since the retirements of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s. In 2008 the two teams met in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, with the Celtics winning the series 4–2. They met again in the 2010 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won in 7 games.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: During the first decade of the NBA in the 1950s, the Minneapolis Lakers had the first NBA dynasty. Minneapolis would win the first ever Championship Series of the newly formed NBA in 1950 (three BAA Finals were played between 1947–1949 and retroactively counted as NBA Championships, one of which was won by the Lakers in 1949). Under Hall of Fame head coach John Kundla, and with the NBA's first superstar in George Mikan, they would win three more titles in 1952, 1953, and 1954. The Celtics would emerge behind early NBA star Bob Cousy by winning the 1957 NBA Finals and losing in 1958.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The first NBA Finals match-up between the two teams was in 1959 when on April 9, the Boston Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers 4-0 for the first sweep in the history of the NBA Finals. This would mark the first Finals loss for the previously dominant Lakers, and the first of eight straight titles for Boston.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in 1960. It was after this move, and during this decade, that the rivalry would truly escalate. The two teams emerged as the strongest in the NBA, featuring greats such as Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Sam Jones and head coach Red Auerbach for Boston and Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and coach/GM Fred Schaus for Los Angeles. However, it would ultimately prove to be the decade of the Celtics, who won the finals every year in the 1960s except for 1967. The Lakers would be the Celtics opponent in six of those series: 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969. The Celtics won all of those match-ups. Three of those series (1962, 1966, and 1969) went seven games. The Celtics win over the Lakers in 1966 marked an unprecedented eight consecutive championships, the longest streak of any North American professional sports team.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers acquired Wilt Chamberlain in 1968, which brought the personal rivalry between him and Bill Russell, previously a feature of the Celtics-76ers rivalry, to Celtics-Lakers. The Lakers posted the best record in the West during the 1968–1969 season. By contrast, the aging Celtics struggled to obtain the fourth seed, with Russell and Jones playing in their final seasons. Despite this, the Celtics upset the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks and made it to the Finals. The Lakers had home court advantage for the first time and won the first two games, but the Celtics rebounded to force and win a dramatic Game 7 at the Los Angeles Forum, defying Laker's owner Jack Kent Cooke's infamous prediction of a Lakers celebration. West was named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team, but it was small consolation in a decade where the Lakers went without a championship, every one of their Finals' losses in that decade coming at the hands of the Celtics.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The 1969 Finals also caused a deterioration in the relationship between Russell and Chamberlain, who had previously been friends despite their rivalry, into one of intense loathing, when Chamberlain took himself out of the decisive Game 7 with six minutes left, and Russell thereafter accused Chamberlain of being a malingerer and of "copping out" of the game when it seemed that the Lakers would lose. Chamberlain (whose knee was so bad that he could not play the entire offseason and ruptured it in the next season) was livid at Russell and saw him as a backstabber. The two men did not talk to each other for over 20 years until Russell attempted to patch things up, although he never uttered a genuine apology. When Chamberlain died in 1999, Chamberlain's nephew stated that Russell was the second person he was ordered to break the news to.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics and Lakers both found success in the 1970s, but there would be no rematch between the two teams.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The start of the decade saw the Lakers' woes in the NBA Finals continue, with a loss to the New York Knicks in 1970. However, the Lakers rebounded two years later to win the 1972 NBA Finals and their first championship in Los Angeles, also against the Knicks. This would also prove to be Laker great Jerry West's only NBA title. The following year, the Lakers again faced the Knicks in the 1973 NBA Finals and lost. They would not make it to the Finals again in this decade, but in 1975 they acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics won the NBA Finals in 1974, and won again in 1976, under the leadership of coach Tom Heinsohn and players Dave Cowens, Paul Silas and Jo Jo White.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Neither team won another championship until the 1980s. However, the foundation for the renewed Celtics–Lakers rivalry of the 1980s was actually laid down in college basketball of the late 1970s. During the 1978–79 NCAA season, Michigan State was led by Magic Johnson to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament, where they faced Indiana State University, which was led by senior Larry Bird. In what was the most-watched college basketball game ever, Michigan State defeated Indiana State 75–64, and Johnson was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Johnson would go on to be drafted by the Lakers, and Bird by the Celtics. The personal rivalry formed by these two basketball greats during college would transfer to their NBA careers, and reignite the rivalry between the two storied franchises that they came to represent.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics–Lakers rivalry was renewed in the 1980s, in large part due to the personal rivalry between Bird and Johnson. Magic said of the games against the Celtics, "when the new schedule would come out each year, I'd grab it and circle the Boston games. To me, it was "The Two" and the other 80." Similarly, Bird said that, "the first thing I would do every morning was look at the box scores to see what Magic did. I didn't care about anything else."


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Showtime Lakers struck the first blow, winning the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. The following year, behind the "Big Three" of future Hall of Famers Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, the Celtics won the 1981 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics lost the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals to the 76ers, and along with it the possibility of a rematch with the Lakers. However, the final game of that series is memorable to the rivalry because Boston fans chanted for the 76ers, who were just about to eliminate their Celtics, to "Beat L.A.!" Despite the encouragement, the 76ers lost the 1982 NBA Finals to the Lakers, who were led by new head coach Pat Riley. However, the 76ers defeated the Lakers the following year in the 1983 NBA Finals. The 1982–1983 season would also be the rookie year of Laker James Worthy, another Hall of Famer in the storied rivalry.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics would get a new head coach in K.C. Jones, who was also a former Celtics player, and two teams finally had their long-awaited rematch in the 1984 NBA Finals, a grueling seven game series that had many memorable moments, including a 137–104 blowout in Game 3 that led Bird to call his Celtic teammates "sissies", the Kevin McHale takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis which led to increased physical aggression by both teams, the sweltering heat of the infamously un-airconditioned Boston Garden in Game 5, and Cedric Maxwell's 24-point performance in Game 7. The Celtics went on to win in seven games, increasing their record of Finals' series victories against the Lakers to 8–0.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The following year, the Lakers finally had their revenge, winning the 1985 NBA Finals by taking Game 6 in Boston Garden, becoming the only visiting team to win an NBA championship in that arena. Lakers owner Jerry Buss famously remarked that "this has removed the most odious sentence in the English language. It can never again be said that 'the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics'".


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics rebounded the following year to win the 1986 NBA Finals against the Rockets. In the 1987 NBA Finals, the two teams met for a tie-breaker of their 1980s Finals matches, and the Lakers once again emerged victorious in six games, with the iconic image of Johnson's junior sky hook. This series marked the end of an era for the Celtics. They did not reach the Finals again until 2008. The Lakers, meanwhile, went on to win the 1988 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons, before losing to the Pistons the following year in 1989, and win titles again in 2000, 2001 and 2002, all while the Celtics wallowed in mediocrity.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Several journalists hypothesized that the Johnson–Bird rivalry was so appealing because it represented many other contrasts, such as the clash between the Lakers and Celtics, between Hollywood flashiness ("Lakers Showtime") and Boston/Indiana blue collar grit ("Celtic Pride"), and between blacks and whites. Race was a determining factor for fans in the 80’s, with a surge of white fans cheering for the predominately white Celtics team and black fans appreciating the more athletic style of the Lakers. The city of Boston itself was split, as in an anecdote said by Magic Johnson, he mentioned a black fan that came up to him to tell him that the majority of black Boston cheered for the Lakers over the home team Celtics. Deemed the “Great White Hope <nowiki>"</nowiki>, Larry Bird was seen by Boston as a means to represent their views, “to be their final stronghold to a game that in less than 20 years had turned almost completely black demographically”.But, Bird never bought into the narrative, rejecting the label “Great White Hope <nowiki>"</nowiki> and focusing purely on wanting to, as teammate Maxwell would say, “kick some ass and win”. Magic and Bird held the highest respect for each other, demonstrating on a national platform, “how people of different races and backgrounds can compete, be rivals even, and still coexist”.A 1984 Converse commercial for its "Weapon" line of basketball shoes (endorsed by both Bird and Johnson) reflected the perceived dichotomy between the two players. In the commercial, Bird is practicing alone on a rural basketball court when Johnson pulls up in a sleek limousine and challenges him to a one-on-one match. Despite their on the court rivalry, the two became friends after filming the commercial together.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Amidst a time where the NBA saw diminishing views, the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, led by Bird and Johnson, helped bring national attention to the NBA. In just their first Finals matchup, game 7 drew in a record breaking 40 million views on CBS.  As a result, CBS started to shift their focus on the Celtics and the Lakers, showcasing a double header with both teams playing every weekend. With the two future Hall of Famers, the league won a whole generation of new fans. The rivalry between Bird, Johnson, and their teams contributed greatly to the success of the league during the decade; according to Bryant Gumbel, "Magic and Larry saved the NBA." Sports journalist Larry Schwartz of ESPN asserted that Johnson and Bird saved the NBA from bankruptcy. In every single NBA Finals series during the 1980s, either the Lakers or the Celtics were present.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Many basketball experts also mention how Bird and Magic changed the way the game was played. They gave people different perspectives on the game, like making that extra pass on the fast break or going up hard for a layup. They were basketball geniuses and played a game that required fundamentals and hard work; something that can be replicated by the fans watching their games. Jerry West, when talking about Bird and Magic, said that, “They definitely had a positive impact on the league”.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Playing off their rivalry in the NCAA and NBA, Johnson and Bird reunited to promote Game 5 of the 2018 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers (of which Johnson is a part-owner) and Boston Red Sox. In contrast to the frequent Lakers-Celtics championship match-ups, the Dodgers and Red Sox were meeting in the World Series for the first time (since the Dodgers franchise relocated to Los Angeles).


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: During the 1990s, the rivalry died down. Only the Lakers made an appearance in the NBA Finals that decade, losing the 1991 NBA Finals to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the first championship in the Bulls' dynasty. This would prove to be a defining moment of the NBA, a changing of the old guard as the Lakers and Celtics fell into mediocrity, while the Bulls won six titles led by Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson, who would cement their respective reputations as the greatest player and coach in NBA history. Both teams also faced set backs in the form of personal misfortune. On November 7, 1991, Johnson announced he had tested positive for HIV and would retire immediately. Celtics star Reggie Lewis died of a heart attack in his prime in 1993, further marring the team in tragedy since second overall pick Len Bias died of a drug overdose two days after he was drafted in 1986. In 1994, neither the Lakers "nor" the Celtics made the playoffs, marking the first time in the history of the NBA that both teams missed the playoffs in the same season.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: However, the Lakers began the rebuilding process in 1996 by trading for Kobe Bryant, who was drafted from high school that year by the Charlotte Hornets. That same year, the Lakers signed Shaquille O'Neal. Meanwhile, in 1998, the Celtics drafted Paul Pierce, a native of Inglewood, California who had grown up as a Lakers fan. The following year, in 1999, Phil Jackson joined the Lakers as head coach.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers returned to prominence in the early 2000s. Under Jackson's guidance, and with O'Neal and Bryant leading the way, the Lakers won three straight championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The Lakers' title in 2000 came against the Indiana Pacers who were coached by Celtic legend Bird. Paul Pierce's nickname, "The Truth", was accorded to him by Shaquille O'Neal after a 112-107 Lakers' victory over the Celtics on March 13, 2001 in which Pierce scored 42 points on 13 of 19 shooting. O'Neal pulled a Boston reporter over and gestured toward his notepad. "Take this down", said O'Neal. "My name is Shaquille O'Neal and Paul Pierce is the [expletive] truth. Quote me on that and don't take nothing out. I knew he could play, but I didn't know he could play like this. Paul Pierce is the truth." In 2002, the Celtics, with Pierce and Antoine Walker, made an impressive run for the Finals and the two teams narrowly missed each other. However, the Celtics eventually fell in six games to the New Jersey Nets in that year's Eastern Conference Finals.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers returned to the Finals in 2004 but lost at the hands of the Detroit Pistons. Thereafter, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. Without O'Neal, the Lakers missed the playoffs the following year and failed to advance to the Finals for the next three years.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics likewise made little playoff progress after their near Finals run in 2002. In 2004, they hired head coach Doc Rivers. In 2007, they made blockbuster trades for All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, who complemented career-long Celtics star Paul Pierce and emerging star Rajon Rondo.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: With the addition of Allen and Garnett alongside Pierce to become the new "Big Three", along with the emergence of Rajon Rondo, the Celtics returned to the top of the NBA in the 2007–2008 season by posting the best record in the league and reaching the Finals. The Lakers also returned to the Finals with the help of the mid-season acquisition of Pau Gasol, and the two teams finally met again in the 2008 NBA Finals. The Celtics won in six games with an impressive come-from-behind victory in Game 4 and a blow-out of the Lakers in Game 6. The next season, the Lakers and Celtics played a regular season game on Christmas Day. The Lakers won that game, making Phil Jackson the fastest coach to win 1,000 games. They went on to win the 2009 NBA Finals that season, but the Celtics were eliminated by eventual Eastern Conference champions Orlando Magic. In 2009, the Lakers signed Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace).


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The summer before the 2009–2010 season, Phil Jackson ran into Paul Pierce and told him, "Get it back, we want to meet you in the Finals." The Lakers ended the season with the West's best record, while the Celtics would enter the playoffs as the number four seed. Build up for a rematch began with the Lakers taking a 2–0 lead over the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, with chants of "We Want Boston!" erupting in the Staples Center. Likewise, chants of "Beat L.A.!" erupted up in TD Garden as the Celtics took a commanding 3–0 lead over the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Both teams fended off late series surges from their opponents, but won their respective series 4–2, setting up a rematch in the 2010 NBA Finals.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The 2010 series had many memorable moments, including impressive performances from Bryant who led in points for six of the seven games, Ray Allen's Finals' record eight 3-pointers in Game 2, Derek Fisher carrying his team to victory and then crying in Game 3, a hard-fought Game 4 where Glen Davis screamed so loud he drooled while Nate Robinson rode on his back, a dominant Lakers performance in Game 6, and a close Game 7 that became the highest rated NBA game since Michael Jordan's second retirement in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The Lakers won Game 7 against the Celtics for their very first time, bringing their total number of NBA championships to sixteen (they have one NBL championship in 1948), just one fewer than the Celtics' seventeen.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics signed Shaquille O'Neal for the 2010–2011 season to replace the injured Kendrick Perkins, adding to the rivalry by bringing the Shaq-Kobe feud to the Celtics-Lakers. During a game against the Lakers on February 11, 2011, Ray Allen became the all-time NBA leader in total 3-point field goals made. However, both the Lakers and Celtics would be eliminated in the second round of the playoffs that year by the 2011 NBA Finals participants, the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat, respectively. The following year they would again both be eliminated by the eventual 2012 NBA Finals participants, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat, respectively. With the disbanding of Boston's Big Three, and anticipated changes to the Lakers' roster, some believe that the 2011–12 NBA season was the last chapter of the current Celtics–Lakers rivalry.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: On February 20, 2013, the Lakers played their first game since the death of long time owner Jerry Buss who had died two days earlier, paying tribute to him at the Staples Center before facing off against the Celtics. The Lakers won 113-99 in a game that saw Steve Nash pass former Lakers star Johnson for fourth on the all-time NBA assist list.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Both the Celtics and Lakers missed the playoffs in the 2013–14 season, marking only the second time it has happened in the rivalry's history. With the New York Knicks also failing to make the playoffs that season, it marked the first time in NBA history that neither the Celtics, Lakers nor the Knicks qualified for the playoffs in the same season.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: But while the Celtics were able to return to the playoffs over the next three seasons and even made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017 and 2018, the Lakers found themselves in a lengthy rebuilding process. Prior to 2014, the Lakers only missed the playoffs four times since moving to Los Angeles, and five times in franchise history. However, the Lakers proceeded to miss the playoffs a record six consecutive seasons, highlighted by four straight seasons with over 50 losses and a franchise-low 17–65 mark during the 2015–16 season.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: On December 30, 2015, the Boston Celtics honored the Los Angeles Lakers' star Kobe Bryant in his final game in TD Garden. The Lakers would beat the Celtics 112-104.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Nevertheless, the rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers remained fairly even during this recent period, with the two teams managing a split in the season series four of the last six times. However, battles between the Celtics and the Lakers took a back seat to the emerging rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, who met in four consecutive NBA Finals between 2015 and 2018, where the Cavaliers were led by a big three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, while the Warriors were led by a big four of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Notwithstanding the Celtics' success and the Lakers' struggles during this period, both teams would make their presence felt in subsequent offseasons. The Lakers' run of futility rewarded them with several high first-round picks (D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball were selected second overall), while the Celtics benefited from the Brooklyn Nets' ill-fated 2013 trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett with their top-three selections of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. In addition, the Celtics went on to sign All-Star free agents Al Horford and Gordon Hayward in addition to acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Cavaliers. The Lakers would counter by signing LeBron James in the 2018 offseason. The two teams continued to retool in the 2019 offseason; the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans while the Celtics brought in Kemba Walker after Irving left to join the Nets.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: In the 2020 playoffs, the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, losing in 6 games with Miami denying a Lakers-Celtics matchup, which would've been their first match since the 2010 NBA Finals, while the Lakers defeated the Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals to become NBA champions. Rondo, who was a part of the 2020 Lakers championship team, became the second player in NBA history, after Clyde Lovellette, to win titles with the Celtics and Lakers.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Two seasons later, the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention for the seventh time in nine seasons, while the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years after defeating the Brooklyn Nets in the Conference First Round (a rematch from last year's), the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Semifinals (a rematch from 2019), and finally the Miami Heat in the Conference Finals (a rematch from 2020). Attempting to win their 18th title to break a tie with the Lakers for the most titles, the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games and remain tied with the Lakers for the most titles in franchise history.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the first NBA Finals series between the Lakers and the Celtics, and the only such meeting to occur while the Lakers were still in Minneapolis. Minneapolis hadn't made an appearance in the Finals since winning four of the first five NBA Championships between 1950–1954, while Boston was making its third straight Finals appearance after winning in 1957 and losing in 1958.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Minneapolis, led by rookie sensation Elgin Baylor, made the Finals by defeating the defending World Champion St. Louis Hawks. Boston would face a tough seven-game series against the Syracuse Nationals but would eventually emerge victorious, leading Celtic star Bob Cousy to predict that Boston would sweep Minneapolis. Cousy would prove his prediction correct, leading his team with 51 total assists (still a record for a four-game NBA Finals series) to defeat the Minneapolis Lakers in the first 4–0 sweep ever in the NBA Finals. This marked the first of Boston's record eight straight titles.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the first NBA Finals series between the Lakers and Celtics after the Lakers moved to Los Angeles.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Boston would win game one. However, the Lakers would edge out for close victories in Game 2 and Game 3. The Celtics would win Game 4 before the Lakers would come back and win another close victory in Game 5. In the Game 5 victory, Baylor grabbed 22 rebounds and set the still-standing NBA record for points in a finals game with 61, despite fouling out of the game. The Celtics won Game 6 to set up the first Game 7 between the two franchises.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: In Game 7, Laker Frank Selvy, after making two jumpers in the final 40 seconds to tie the game, missed a potential title-winning 18 foot jump shot in regulation, a miss which he said in June 2010 still haunted him more than 40 years later. Instead, the game went into overtime and the Celtics won by three points.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers and Celtics would meet the following year in 1963. The Celtics would again defeat the Lakers.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics took the first two games, but the Lakers would blow the Celtics out with a 20-point differential in Game 3. Although the Celtics would take Game 4, the Lakers would win Game 5 and fuel speculation that the young Lakers were about to surge past the older Celtics. A defiant Bill Russell denied that any such thing was going to happen. Sure enough, despite several close games, including the decisive game only having a three-point differential once again, the Celtics would only require six games to close out the Lakers this time.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This series would also be notable for its future implications in NBA telecasts. When angry crowds showed up in Los Angeles to buy playoff tickets that were not available, the Lakers quieted the crowd by offering closed circuit TV viewing for $2.50 a head. "We were aware we were testing the future of pay television", Lakers general manager Lou Mohs told reporters.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics would make their ninth straight appearance in the NBA Finals and face the Lakers for the fourth time. Celtics founder Walter A. Brown died during the season, and Red Auerbach led the team back to the Finals with his first Coach of the Year award. The Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers to enter the Finals, marked by Johnny Most's famous call of "Havlicek stole the ball!"


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Unlike their previous two encounters, the Celtics dominated the Lakers, who were playing without an injured Elgin Baylor, and only Game 2 had a close score. The Celtics would win the series in Game 5 with a 129–96 victory over the Lakers. This was the largest margin of victory in a deciding Finals game, and would not be broken until 2008, when the Celtics defeated the Lakers once again by a score of 131–92.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the Boston Celtics' eighth consecutive NBA Championship, a feat unrivaled in North American professional sports. Despite finishing second in the division standings for the first time in a decade, Boston would return to the Finals for a record tenth straight time .


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: After the Los Angeles Lakers' comeback overtime win in Game 1, Red Auerbach, who had challenged the entire league to topple the Celtics from their reign by announcing he would retire after 1965–1966 before the season had started (thus giving his detractors "one last shot" at him), announced Bill Russell as the Celtics coach for 1966–1967 and beyond, the first African-American coach in the NBA. Laker coach Fred Schaus privately fumed that Red's hiring had taken away all of the accolades his Lakers should have received following their tremendous Game 1 win.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics won the next three games and looked ready to close out L.A. in Game 5. However, behind the efforts of Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Gail Goodrich, the Lakers won the next two games, setting the stage for another classic Game 7 in the Boston Garden. The Celtics raced out to a huge lead, but down by 16 entering the fourth quarter, and 10 with a minute and a half to go, the Lakers mounted a furious rally in the closing moments which fell just short. The Celtics fended off the late Los Angeles rally to capture the NBA title and send Red Auerbach out a champion.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: After they both missed the NBA Finals in 1967, the Lakers and the Celtics would meet again in 1968. Boston's streak of 10 consecutive Finals appearances had been snapped in 1967 by the 76ers. The 1968 Eastern Division Finals rematch between the Celtics and the 76ers, which started on April 21, was marred by the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., but the decision was made not to delay the series.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers, led by new head coach Butch van Breda Kolff, would actually root for the Celtics to win the series, thinking that Bill Russell would be easier to defeat than 76er Wilt Chamberlain (Chamberlain would become a Laker the following season). The Lakers would get what they wished for and face the Celtics, but ultimately to the same result. The Celtics won Game 1, and the two teams would alternate victories through Game 5. Game 5 was notable for an impressive Lakers' comeback sending it into overtime, but the Celtics would ultimately win that game. In Game 6, the Celtics closed out the Lakers in convincing fashion with a 124–109 victory.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: With Bill Russell and Sam Jones in their final season, and plagued with injuries, the Celtics struggled to make the NBA playoffs as the fourth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. They upset the 76ers in the first round and postponed New York's finals appearance for another year. Awaiting the Celtics were the powerful Los Angeles Lakers who had a nucleus of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and newly acquired Wilt Chamberlain.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: After losing the first two games in the Forum in L.A., no one thought Boston would even pull out a victory. However, they won Game 3 and a buzzer-beater by Sam Jones tied the series up at two games apiece. The home team won Games 5 and 6 which set up a dramatic seventh game. Before the game started, Laker's owner Jack Kent Cooke placed flyers in every seat stating "When, not if, the Lakers win the title, balloons will be released from the raftors, the USC marching band will play "Happy Days Are Here Again" and broadcaster Chick Hearn will interview Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain in that order." Before the game, the Celtics circulated in their locker room a memo about the Lakers' celebration plans. Russell noted the giant net hanging from the ceiling during pregame warmups and said to West, "Those [expletive deleted] balloons are staying up there." West was furious at the balloons for providing the Celtics extra motivation.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Boston played tough through the first half and would keep the game close, with a score of 60–60. Remarkably, Boston would pull away and entered the fourth quarter up by 18. It seemed to be over when Lakers center Wilt Chamberlain was injured and replaced by reserve Mel Counts. The Celtics, however, would begin to show their age when they began missing shots and turning the ball over and Laker Jerry West pulled L.A. to within one. Despite having numerous opportunities, the Lakers couldn't get over the hump and Don Nelson would make an incredible foul-line jump-shot which bounced off the back iron and fell in. During this, another battle was heating up off the court between Jack Kent Cooke and Lakers coach Butch Van Breda Kolff. Chamberlain was pleading for Breda Kolff to put him back in, but he refused. Cooke then came down to personally order the defiant coach to insert Wilt, but to no avail. This would prove critical as the Celtics held on and triumphed 108–106.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The first ever Finals MVP award was given to Jerry West, despite being on the losing team (thus far the only time this has happened). Despite this, West was inconsolable. In a show of good sportsmanship, Bill Russell held West's hand and John Havlicek said: "I love you, Jerry!"


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: By virtue of a 62–20 record, the Celtics had homecourt advantage over the Lakers who finished the regular season with a 54–28 mark. The Celtics defeated the Lakers four games to three.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers opened the series with a 115–109 victory at the Boston Garden. In Game 2, the Lakers led 113–111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup and the Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124–121. In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137–104 victory as Johnson dished out 21 assists. After the game, Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates. In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point game lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129–125 victory in overtime. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would go after Bird later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3–2 series lead as Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97 °F-heat, and without any air conditioning at the infamous Boston Garden. In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119–108 victory. In the game, the Lakers answered the Celtics rough tactics when Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. After the game, a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war." In Game 7, the Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell, who had 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists as they came away with a 111–102 victory. In the game the Lakers rallied from a 14-point deficit to three points down with one minute remaining, when Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the Celtics' victory. Bird was named MVP of the series.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics, looking to repeat as NBA Champions, had homecourt advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63–19 record while the Lakers compiled a 62–20 record. For the first time, the Finals went to a 2–3–2 format with games one and two in Boston while the next three games were in Los Angeles.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Celtics four games to two. Game 1 became known as the "Memorial Day Massacre" as the Celtics soundly beat the Lakers 148–114. Celtic reserve forward Scott Wedman made all 11 out of 11 field goal attempts. The Lakers responded in Game 2 with a 109–102 victory as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks. Michael Cooper had 22 points, making 8 out of 9 field goals attempted. In Game 3, the Celtics had a 48–38 lead in the second quarter before the Lakers, led by James Worthy, took a 65–59 lead at halftime and then pulled away in the second half to come away with a 136–111 victory. Worthy had 29 points while Abdul-Jabbar had 26 points and 14 rebounds. The Celtics tied the series in Game 4, 107–105 as Dennis Johnson hit a jumper at the buzzer. In Game 5, the Lakers raced out to a 64–51 lead and stretched it to 89–72 before the Celtics cut the deficit to 101–97 with six minutes remaining. However, Magic Johnson made three shots while Abdul-Jabbar added four more shots, and the Lakers came away with a 120–111 victory to take a 3–2 series lead. Abdul-Jabbar led the Lakers with 36 points. The series shifted to Boston with only one full day off for both teams. In Game 6, the Lakers were led by Abdul-Jabbar who scored 29 points as the Lakers defeated the Celtics 111–100. Magic had a triple-double with 15 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds; Worthy had 28 points on 11 for 15 shooting. It was the only time a visiting team claimed an NBA championship in Boston Garden. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named MVP of the series, making him the oldest player (38 years, 1 month, 24 days) ever to win the MVP of an NBA Finals series.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: After being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals a year earlier, the Lakers returned to the NBA Finals and were awarded homecourt advantage as they accumulated a 65–17 record while the Celtics finished the season with a 59–23 record.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Celtics four games to two. In Game 1, the Los Angeles Lakers came away with a 126–113 victory. Magic Johnson had 29 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds, while James Worthy had 33 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds. In Game 2, the Lakers took a 2–0 series lead with a 141–122 victory. Magic had 22 points and 20 assists, while Michael Cooper made six three-point shots, then a record for most three-pointers made in a single NBA Finals game. In Game 3, the Celtics posted a 109–103 win, led by Bird, who had 30 points and 12 rebounds. In Game 4, the Celtics had a 16-point lead in the third quarter before the Lakers stormed back into the game. Bird had hit a three-point bomb with 12 seconds remaining to give the Celtics the lead, however, with two seconds remaining, Magic Johnson sank a "junior sky hook" to give the Lakers a 107–106 lead, then Bird missed a 20-foot jumper as time expired, allowing Los Angeles to gain a three games to one lead. In Game 5, the Celtics prevented the Lakers from celebrating in the Boston Garden by coming away with a 123–108 win. Boston guard Danny Ainge made 5 out of 6 three-pointers attempted, including a 45-footer as the first half expired. In Game 6, the Lakers trailed the Celtics 56–51 at halftime, but thanks to an 18–2 run, they regained control of the game with a 30–12 third quarter to cruise to a 106–93 victory and their fourth championship in the decade. Magic Johnson was named unanimous MVP of the series, averaging 26.2 points, 13.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals, leading the Lakers in all four categories.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the first time the Celtics made the Finals since 1987, while the Lakers' last appearance had been in 2004. Boston was led by their 'Big Three' of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Los Angeles was led by MVP Kobe Bryant and All-Star Pau Gasol.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Celtics' 66–16 record gave them home court advantage over Los Angeles (57–25). The Celtics won Game 1 98–88, highlighted by a dramatic comeback by Paul Pierce after a third quarter knee injury. In Game 2, the Celtics had a comfortable 24-point lead in the fourth quarter, before Kobe Bryant led a furious Lakers run that cut the lead to two. However the Celtics would hold on to win 108-102, taking the commanding 2–0 series lead.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: As the series shifted to Los Angeles, the Lakers stifled Pierce and Garnett in Game 3, winning 87–81. They also looked to be in control of Game 4, holding their ground for most of the third quarter, leading by as many as 24 points. However, the Celtics went on a 21–3 run to end the third quarter, closing the deficit to only two points (73–71). With 4:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Celtics took their first lead in the game when Celtics' reserve Eddie House made an 18-foot (5.5 m) jumper. With House's shot, the Celtics were in the lead for good, winning 97–91. The Celtics' victory in Game 4 was the largest comeback in the NBA Finals since 1971.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers would win Game 5 103–98, despite blowing another large lead, and the series shifted back to Boston. However, the Celtics would close out the series in Game 6 with a dominant 131–92 win. The 39-point margin of victory was the largest ever in an NBA championship-clinching game, breaking the old record of 33, also set by the Celtics over the Lakers in Game Five of the 1965 NBA Finals, 129–96. Paul Pierce was named Finals MVP.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the Celtics' 17th championship, their first one since 1986, extending their record for most NBA championships won by a single team. Their win in Game 6 was also a sense of relief. Entering the game, they set a record of most playoff games played in one season, with 26, breaking the previous record of 25 set by both the 1994 New York Knicks, whom Celtics Coach Doc Rivers played for, and the 2005 Detroit Pistons, both of whom lost in their respective finals in seven games (Knicks in , Pistons in ). However, for the 1994 Knicks, the first round was a best-of-five. They also set an NBA record for most playoff games ever needed to win a championship, with 26, surpassing the previous record of 24 by the Lakers in 1988.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the third straight year in which the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals. Much of both rosters had been kept intact since the teams last meeting in 2008 and the Celtics' veterans Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rasheed Wallace looked to add to their championship résumés, while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers looked to even the score against the Celtics. The Lakers were the defending champions, having beaten the Orlando Magic 4–1 in the 2009 NBA Finals.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the first NBA Finals to go the full seven games since , and only the fourth since the NBA switched the Finals to a 2–3–2 format in .


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The Lakers won Game 1 102–89, led by Kobe Bryant's 30-point performance. However, Ray Allen would respond in Game 2 by scoring 32-points and sinking a record eight 3-pointers, leading the Celtics to a 103–94 victory.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Game 3 returned to Boston, where the Lakers took a 2–1 series lead by winning 91–84, again led by Bryant but with strong support from Derek Fisher. Game 4 would prove to be a close and hard-fought game, with the Lakers up by two at the end of the third quarter. However, Boston's bench would prove to be the deciding factor, outscoring the Lakers 13–2 for nearly half the quarter, en route to a 96–89 victory. The Celtics won the game and evened the series.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Despite an impressive 38-point performance from Bryant in Game 5, the Celtics would win 92–86 led by Paul Pierce's 27 points, and would take a 3–2 lead heading back to L.A. However, the Lakers opened up a massive lead in Game 6, peaking at 27. The Lakers' bench had outscored Boston's bench 24–0 entering the fourth quarter. The Lakers would win the game 89–67 and set up an epic Game 7. Both Kendrick Perkins of Boston and Andrew Bynum of Los Angeles were injured in this game. However, while Perkins was ruled out because of his injury, Bynum was cleared to play in Game 7.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: This was the fifth Game 7 between the Lakers and Celtics. Boston had won all previous Game 7 match-ups between the two teams. Kobe Bryant exhibited difficulties for much of the game, shooting only 6-for-24 from the field. However, he would score 10 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. After the Celtics had built a 13-point lead late in the third quarter, the game was tied at 64 with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Ron Artest would sink a key 3-pointer for the Lakers and make other clutch moves, leading Phil Jackson to call him the MVP of Game 7. However, the Celtics would not give up, and Rajon Rondo would hit a 3-pointer to make the game 81–79. The Celtics were forced to foul Sasha Vujačić, he went to the line and made both free throws to give the Lakers a definitive 83–79 lead. Rondo would miss his final 3-pointer and the Lakers won Game 7 against the Celtics for the first time in franchise history, clinch their 16th NBA title, and repeat as NBA champions for the first time since their three-peat from 2000 to 2002 during the "Shaq and Kobe" era.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: Game 7 was the third most-watched game in NBA history, with 28.2 million viewers (No. 1 being Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, No. 2 being Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals). Game 7 was watched by an average audience of 1.1 million viewers on TSN, making it the largest Canadian audience ever recorded for an NBA game. This was also the first time since 2002 that a team has won back-to-back championships; that team was also the Lakers, led by Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: One of the lasting effects on the Lakers–Celtics rivalry was the usage of the famous "Beat L.A.!" chant, sung by fans in opposing arenas whenever a Los Angeles-based team plays in their home venue. The chant originated during Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Championships at Boston Garden when the Boston fans urged the victorious Philadelphia 76ers to "Beat L.A.!"


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: In January 2011 before an upcoming Celtic-Lakers regular season matchup, Celtic forward Kevin Garnett with shoe company Anta released a "Beat L.A." green shoe which featured on the tongue the numbers "152–120", which was at the time the Celtics all-time record against the Lakers. The Celtics won the game, 109–96.


title: Celtics–Lakers rivalry

text: The following individuals have also played, coached and/or managed both the Celtics and Lakers in their careers:


title: Brandon Jay McLaren

text: Brandon Jay McLaren (born October 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor and former red power ranger. He made his first screen appearance in the television series "Just Cause" (2002). He has been known for his main and supporting roles in shows such as "Graceland", "Power Rangers S.P.D.", "Ransom", "Harper's Island", and "Slasher". He has also had roles in the feature films "She's the Man", "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil", and "Dead Before Dawn".


title: Brandon Jay McLaren

text: In 2005, he gained prominence with the main role of Jack Landors a.k.a. Red SPD Ranger in "Power Rangers S.P.D.". Since then, he has had a variety of roles in several films and television series.


title: Brandon Jay McLaren

text: McLaren was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Ira and Denise McLaren. He graduated from Johnston Heights Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, and received a bachelor's degree in Human Biology from the University at Albany, SUNY.


title: Brandon Jay McLaren

text: McLaren was a guest star in the episode "" of "" and was featured throughout the first season of The N original television series "The Best Years" as Devon Sylver, the love interest of lead character Samantha Best. He is also well known to Canadian audiences for his role of Lenin, Sam's love interest, in the popular show "Being Erica", and he portrayed Jamil Dexter as a recurring role on TNT's "Falling Skies". He also starred as U.S. Customs agent Dale Jakes on "Graceland", Marco on "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce", Danny Booker on "Chicago Fire" and Bennet Ahmed on "The Killing". He is also a main role in the Disney+ series, "Turner & Hooch".


title: Brandon Jay McLaren

text: McLaren was awarded the Golden Maple Award for Best Actor in a TV series broadcast in the U.S. in 2015, for his role on "Graceland".


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft is a sport in which players use airsoft guns to fire plastic projectiles at other players in order to eliminate them. Due to the often-realistic appearance of airsoft guns and their ability to fire projectiles at relatively high speeds, laws have been put in place in many countries to regulate both the sport of airsoft and the airsoft guns themselves. Safety regulations in many areas require an orange or red tip on the end of the barrel in order to distinguish the airsoft gun from a working firearm. They are officially classed as "soft air devices" or "air compressed toys", depending on the jurisdiction. A handful of countries including Australia, China, Malaysia and Singapore, have laws that are deemed to be airsoft-unfriendly.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Importation of airsoft guns (referred officially as toy models by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection), regardless of their legal status by state, requires an Australian Customs "B709 Importation of Firearms – Police Confirmation and Certification Form". These forms can be obtained from the relevant state's police department, however some states may require operators hold a valid license for the class of firearm wished to import before the forms will be issued. Due to the strict regulation of airsoft guns, gel blasters have become a popular alternative.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Possession and importation of airsoft weapons are banned outright in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania. Tasmania has also banned the game of airsoft, as well as paintball, stating that they are "war games."


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft firearms are legal to buy in the Northern Territory, provided one has the necessary licenses.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The Registrar of the Australian Capital Territory has a list of approved replica weapons and airsoft guns. Outside of the approved list, all airsoft guns that resemble semiautomatic or automatic military rifles or shotguns adapted for military purpose are considered prohibited weapons, as are an imitation or replica of any firearm.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: In Argentina, Airsoft guns can be bought and used by anyone over the age of 18, however the import, sale and manufacture of replica guns requires a permit by federal law 26.216.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns with muzzle energy below three joules (a muzzle velocity of 173.2 m/s or 568 ft/s for a 0.20 g projectile) are legal. They are not considered weapons and do not require any licenses or permissions to buy.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: In Belgium, weapons that launch a projectile without the use of gunpowder are unrestricted for people over the age of 18 as long as the weapon is longer than 60 cm, has a barrel longer than 30 cm, and has a muzzle energy of less than 7.5 joules.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Commercial sales, imports, and exports may be done only by licensed firearms dealers. Non-commercial sales or owner transfers can be done by anyone aged 18 years or older.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: All events must take place in private locations with the prior notification and permission of the local governing body and law enforcement. Airsoft organizations are prohibited from maintaining affiliation with ideological or religious agendas. In the Flemish region, when organizing more than two times per year, an environment permit must be acquired. When organizing in a designated forest area, permission from the regional forest agency is needed. In the Walloon area in general it is sufficient to inform the local authorities.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft is a very recent shooting sport in Brazil. In the past, due to lack of regulation, airsoft was usually misinterpreted as a firearm clone or replica. Nowadays, airsoft is legal but there are strong restrictions. Based on the current minutes that have gone public, airsoft guns are not considered firearms, but they are still considered controlled items. To import is necessary to pay import taxes of 60% of the value of the product including the freight plus about 150 reais (around 50 dollars) for administrative fees. It is also necessary before importing any weapon or accessory of weapon to make an application of CII (International Import Certificate) to the Brazilian Army containing the data of the equipment that wants to import, location of the airport or port of departure in the country of foreigner and in the national arrival, store and buyer data and product values. This request can be approved or denied and can take up to three months (this response must be sent to the seller to attach to the outside of the merchandise if it does not have CII when the merchandise arrives in Brazil it will be confiscated). This bureaucracy causes a gigantic delay in the domestic market with the international market, it also causes the lack of use of low prices abroad and as Brazil has high-interest rates( along with import taxes) the product often comes to triple the price. All Guns do not need any transportation permit after import.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: People under 18 are not allowed to buy airsoft guns and commercial entities/importers are obliged to retain documentation of airsoft buyers for five years. An Orange tip or red tip is required in order to differentiate it from firearms. There are still strong restrictions to import accessories such as holographic sights, red dots, and magazines (need CII and administrative taxes).


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft is also expensive in Brazil, as it costs almost the same as a real firearm in the US, which will make it very hard for airsoft to become popular in Brazil. However, now the sport has grown quite large due to the YouTubers and it is estimated almost 100 thousand participants(11/14/2017). The Brazilian market due to the high import rates are loaded with cheap weapons of entry of brands like CYMA, JG, King Arms, Cybergun, and Umarex.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The airsoft community adopts national speed limits but there is no compelling law. The most usual limits are:


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Sniper Semi-Auto (M110 SASS, PSG-1 etc.): 500FPS and do not shoot less than 15 meters, mandatory secondary up to 400 fps.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft is a legal sport in Bulgaria and there are no restrictions placed on the guns apart from a parents' permission for people under 18. As airsoft guns are considered air guns by the Bulgarian law, no documents or licenses are needed to possess them. There are no restrictions about lasers, flashlights etc. Moreover, there is no need for the end of the barrel to be painted in orange (like in the United States). There are neither restrictions about the power of the air guns/airsoft guns (although there are official rules, enforced by the individual airsoft fields or by Airsoft Sofia in games, that they organize) nor about carrying them in public areas, although it is highly advisable not to carry replica firearms in public places outside of a carry case or an appropriate backpack. This rule is unofficially enforced by the Airsoft Sofia organisation and is punishable by ban from official games (temporary or permanent), as it creates an unwanted friction between the players and the authorities and public.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Shooting in "protected" (quote from the law) areas is forbidden. Protected areas include schools, administrative buildings, public property, and public areas. Now it is required that private regulated land must obtain urban planning application / consent to make it public land before starting a paintball field with an internal boundary of 3 m. A lot of the people in Bulgaria have their own field rules which usually require to have 18 years of age. There are some exceptions though:The CRG airsoft field in slanchev bryag has no age limit (http://www.crgroup.bg/) and the Airsoft Sofia Field has an age restriction of 16, and players between the age of 16 and 18 can participate with parental permission. (http://airsoftsofiafield.com)


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns that are not replicas of real weapons are not illegal or heavily restricted in Canada. Under the Canadian Firearms Program, Airsoft guns resembling with near precision an existing make and model of an arm, other than an antique arm, and with a muzzle velocity below 366 feet per second, are considered replica arms and therefore are prohibited devices. Models resembling antique arms may be allowed. Generally, antique arms are those manufactured before 1898. Individuals may keep replica guns they owned on 1December 1998 and no license is required, however the import or acquisition of replica firearms is prohibited. If the replica firearm is taken out of Canada it will not be allowed back in.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Non replica air guns with a minimum muzzle velocity of 111.6 m/s (366 ft/s) and maximum muzzle velocity of 152.4 m/s (500 ft/s) or a maximum muzzle energy of 5.7 joules (4.2 foot-pounds) are exempt from licensing, registration, and other requirements; and from penalties for possessing an arm without a valid license or registration certificate but legislation tabled by the Federal Government in 2022 will, if passed, move air guns firing at those speeds into the same class of guns as airsoft guns and those replicas (BBs and Pellets mostly) will be illegal as well. All replicas no matter what the muzzle velocity are considered a firearm under the Criminal Code if used to commit a crime. Airsoft guns that exceed both the maximum velocity and maximum muzzle energy are subject to the same licence, registration, and safe handling requirements that apply to conventional firearm. An airsoft gun may be imported if it meets the required markings.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: An airsoft gun that is obviously a child's toy, i.e. made out of clear plastic, that fires only a very light pellet (less than 2g) no faster than 152.4 m/s (500 ft/s) would not be classified as a firearm under the Canadian Firearms Act.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, the minimum age to purchase an airsoft gun is 18. Children under that age are still able to use airsoft guns but only if supervised by someone over 18.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Overseas/international retailers may sell Canadian-ready guns, or offer services to make them meet Canada's requirements.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: On February 16, 2021, BILL C-21, "An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms)" was introduced. While the proposed changes are to "combat intimate partner and gender-based violence and self-harm involving firearms, fight gun smuggling and trafficking, help municipalities create safer communities, give young people the opportunities and resources they need to resist lives of crime, protect Canadians from gun violence, and subject owners of firearms prohibited on May 1, 2020 to non-permissive storage requirements, should they choose not to participate in the buyback program," it also aims to change the criminal code on airsoft guns (known as uncontrolled firearms or "mid velocity replicas").


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The bill would make all airsoft guns full replicas and aims to "Ensure mid-velocity 'replica' firearms are prohibited" by:


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The bill never passed any level of legislation and automatically died in parliament when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a snap election on August 15, 2021. The Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party however, along with at least 2 Liberals shortly after the bill was announced, have shown opposition to this section of the bill, recognizing it as a safe recreational activity. Jack Harris of the NDP has stated "Banning of airsoft rifles is putting them in the same category as prohibited weapons and that is wrong." Shannon Stubbs stated "The Liberals are actually imposing a ban on airsoft and a partial ban on paintball. Any rational common sense person can see that toy guns are not responsible for shootings causing deaths in Canadian cities. Criminals and gangs with illegal guns are tragically ending the lives of Canadians while this provision and C-21's ends hundreds of livelihoods, legacies and jobs and outlaws an entirely harmless hobby enjoyed by more than 60,000 Canadians."


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Charlottetown Liberal MP Sean Casey said to the CBC there are good reasons to include replica firearms in Bill C-21, but he believes that the bill as it stands goes too far by saying "It isn't just the military-style assault replicas that are being banned by this bill; it's anything that resembles a firearm … An airsoft replica of a hunting rifle is banned, and that's wrong and that's overreaching." As the bill was going into the committee stage, he continued with "It's at that stage where those in the airsoft business will have an opportunity to come before the public safety committee to lay out their concerns, to suggest changes to make the bill better and quite frankly, I hope that their input will result in some common-sense changes to the bill."


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: In the months following, Conservative MP Ted Falk responded saying "This is silly and it does nothing to address real gun violence in Canada. Conservative MP Jeremy Patzer said "In all seriousness this is more than the Liberals being killjoys." Bloc Quebecois MP Kristina Michaud said "The governments approach is kind of "ad hoc" and we should look at alternatives rather than just banning everything overnight," continuing by saying "I agree the government must better supervise the sale of replica paintball (the bill would ban magazine fed paintball guns as well) and airsoft weapons but this can be done while respecting those who practice these activities safely. This bill is absolutely flawed."


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: With the Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois as a whole and even some Liberals completely opposing the ban, combined with the Liberal's still only holding a minority (with almost the exact same number of seats) after the 2021 snap election, the likelihood of airsoft being banned is unlikely but the chances of airsoft guns being more regulated in the future is still a strong possibility.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Chile recognized airsoft as a legal sport activity under Exempt Resolution No. 245 of 20 January 2011 by the National Institute of Sports.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Although airsoft replicas are not clearly regulated under Chilean gun law, modifying toy guns to use real ammunition and carrying an unconcealed weapon in a public area is illegal and punishable by law. There is currently no law that restricts who may acquire or use an airsoft gun. However, stores and sport clubs usually only permit their use or acquisition to individuals that are 18 years old or older.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: In the People's Republic of China, despite the common belief that airsoft is outright banned, the official stance on airsoft is that it is technically just "tightly controlled". However, the control standards are so strict and the punishments are so heavy-handed, that involvement in the sport (regarded as "wargame" or "live action CS") is considered too impractical for common individuals in Mainland China.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: According to the "Identification Standards of Imitation Guns" (仿真枪认定标准) dictated by the Ministry of Public Security (the central coordinating agency of the Chinese police system) in 2008, a replica ("imitation") gun is recognized according to "any" one of the following criteria:


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: If a replica exceeds "any" single criterion, it will no longer be categorized as a replica/toy gun, but rather considered a real weapon, and therefore illegal to purchase and possess. Offenders can be judged as arms traffickers and subjected to penalties as high as capital punishment and life imprisonment.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Prior to the Beijing Olympics, airsoft was an increasingly popular sport among Chinese military enthusiasts. However, since the 2008 standards came out, there have been thousands of arrests and seizures made on toy gun merchants and consumers for "arms trafficking" and "illegal possession of firearms", because people are often unaware that their hobbies are now suddenly spelt as illegal under the new standards, and the Ministry of Public Security or police never actively informed the public about the change. Law enforcement is also highly arbitrary, and many of the merchandises confiscated are actually either non-functional props or well below the replica limit. This is also compounded by hyped moral panics from the mass media and parents groups who exaggerate the safety threat posed by these toys. Such examples include confusing the definition of airsoft guns with the far more powerful air guns, slippery slope arguments that airsoft weapons can be easily modified to shoot more lethal projectiles or even converted into real firearms, or alarmist overgeneralization of danger citing demonstrations from inappropriately designed experiments of how airsoft guns are capable of penetrate paper targets at point-blank range, all appealing for a blanket ban on replica toys out of concerns for child safety.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: As a result of the crackdown by the authorities and negative social sentiments from various moral entrepreneurs, airsoft is in effect banished from the public eyes, and domestic manufacturers and importers have become essentially extinct. However, despite all the negativities against the sport, many people (even some police officers) still take risks to acquire airsoft replicas (often bought from Hong Kong, then secretly smuggled back into the Mainland via Shenzhen). To avoid the government tracing online, various underground airsoft community forums often refer the commonly seen battery-powered automatic airsoft guns as "electric dogs" (, playing a joking near-homophone on the English word "gun") or "pets" (). Alternative MilSim activities using gel ball shooters (similar to Maya's Xploderz) or even foam dart shooters (similar to Hasbro's Nerf Blaster) as replacements have also become increasingly popular.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: There has also been ongoing debates in the blogosphere against the official "1.8 J/cm" definition, since the pre-2008 Chinese criteria defined that a minimal muzzle-ratio kinetic energy (MRKE) of 16 J/cm was needed to breach human skin at close range and hence qualifiable as a real firearm — nine times higher than the current standards. In comparison, the maximum MRKE allowed for replica guns in Hong Kong is at 7.077 J/cm, Taiwan at 20 J/cm and Japan at 3.2 J/cm, while most other countries like Germany and United States are often at up to 78.5 J/cm (though with restrictions on minimal engagement distances). Some netizens even accused the legislative and law enforcement authorities of procrastinative/corrupt practices because it is much more convenient for police officers to claim commendations and promotions from picking on soft targets such as the generally law-abiding toy gun owners, rather than risking violence to confront the often threatening real criminals. This sentiment was often reinforced by reports of selective enforcements, where offenders of special backgrounds (foreign nationals, ethnic minorities, political/social elites and associates) were given significantly lighter penalty than other average citizens. Some legal academics and lawyers have also pointed out that the Ministry of Public Security, who solely dictated the above-mentioned definition on real guns vs. replicas, is a law enforcement body but not a legislative one, and thus has no jurisdiction in defining legal standards, meaning that the current replica gun standard is in fact unconstitutional.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft replicas fall into the D category of weapons and to buy one, users have to be at least 14 years old.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The maximum allowed muzzle velocity for various categories of rifles by Croatian Airsoft Federation are:


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: DMR - 2,32J (joules) – max 2,42J (minimum allowed range of action is 20 m, mandatory sidearm and integrated optics to enlarge )


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Bolt-action - 3,34J (joules) - max 3,46J (minimum allowed range of action is 30 m, mandatory sidearm and integrated optics to enlarge )


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: use automatic ( burst ) mode shooting replicas in enclosed spaces is allowed if the replicas do not have a kinetic energy greater than 0,84J ( joules ), mandatory reporting of such replicas to the organizer, it is referred to in the manner and at the discretion of the organizers


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: - ALLOWED use only replicas which are in reality DMR any other conversions are not allowed AK / M4 ff .


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: - Replicas of the DMR, which are not mechanically unable to switch to auto -fire regime can not be used at the meeting


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns in the Czech Republic are "category D firearms", which are regulated by Czech Firearms and Ammunition act (). Weapons and ammunition can be purchased, owned and used by anyone older than 18 years old. There is no need to have any certificate or permission. Airsoft weapons are prohibited to use in public places where they might threaten other people or damage property. Airsoft guns are limited to 16 joules, but this is a limitation for all weapons in categoryD, those with higher muzzle energy are categoryC-I weapons and require a registration of the weapon but unlike category C weapons do not require gun permit (zbrojní průkaz). However, most airsoft guns have much lower muzzle energy than 16 Joules. Carrying any visible firearm by a civilian in public places is prohibited.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns are mentioned as exempt in the Danish "Våbenlov" (arms control legislation). Persons have to be at least 18 years old to buy, hand over, or possess airsoft guns. They may be used on police-approved sites, with a permission slip, at the age of 16. A firearms certificate is not required. All airsoft guns have to be transported concealed in a bag, in a trunk, etc.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns are legal to own or possess in Egypt, it's sold by some weapon stores. Civilians cannot import or order Airsoft Weapons, only weapon stores can import them as Air Guns. You may also find some low-quality, plastic, and unbranded Airsoft Spring Guns in Toy Stores or Gift Store, They are popular During Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Currently, civilians interested in the sport are appealing to the Egyptian government to allow the importation and ownership of airsoft guns.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The law does not mention or recognize airsoft guns in detail but sets restrictions on the public carry of firearm replicas. While the current firearm law would classify airsoft guns as airguns, it also sets restrictions for airguns to not exceed 4.5mm diameter pellets (.177 caliber,) making 6mm BB's "de jure" illegal. Despite laws being unclear, the sport is practiced widely without any actual issues so far. Customs enable import without any limitations, local law enforcement is aware of public sales and organized events, and even the military has acquired airsoft guns for urban and close-quarters combat training.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns are not treated as firearms in law, but visible transportation of any replica firearms in public areas is forbidden. All replica firearms must be covered with something, for example, a firearm case, when moving on public area. Land owner's permission is needed to play airsoft in any area.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Jokamiehenoikeus ("Everyman's right") rights do not apply to airsoft, you cannot use this right as a basis to play in government forests.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Minors (under the age of 18) are able to purchase airsoft guns only with written permission from their legal guardians.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Visible transportation of replica firearms in public areas is forbidden. They must be covered with something like a firearm case. Land owner's permission is needed to play airsoft in any area. An orange marking on the tip is not needed.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Minors (under 18) can only buy airsoft guns that are under 0.08 joules in power. Airsoft guns may only have a muzzle energy under two joules (464 fps with 0.2g bb's), otherwise they are no longer qualified as airsoft replicas but firearms and owners should follow the French weapons law (dated 2013).


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: Airsoft guns under 0.5 joules are deemed to be toy guns and can be used by all people above the age of 14. Some shops do still require a legal guardian to be in attendance and give permission when buying a <0.5 joule airsoft gun, however most shops sell these toy guns to anybody above the age of 14. In addition, they must not be carried in public as they can be authentic looking weapons.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: If the muzzle energy is between 0.5 and 7.5 joules, Airsoft guns are no longer seen as toy guns. In that case, they are treated as air rifles, the minimum age for purchasing and / or using an airsoft gun is 18 years. These guns need a special marking, the so-called "F in a pentagon" and have to be not able to shoot fully automatically, otherwise they are illegal to possess.


title: Legal issues in airsoft

text: The trade and possession of Airsoft guns is otherwise mainly unrestricted, but transportation is permitted only in a closed container. Transportation of toys with a weapon like look requires a locked container. The shoot or ready access port is permitted only on a closed private property and if this doesn't disturb any other people.