NEW YORK — Some things you never forget, no matter how cluttered the compartments of your mind become over the years.

When was I was 6 or 7, maybe a bit older, my father, an Associated Press radio writer, took me with him to see boxer Joe Louis train. I'm unsure if the site was in New Jersey or upstate. I do remember getting car sick on the stretch journey by limo, causing a prompt evacuation by several other reporters almost before we came to a full stop on the side of the road.

Just as vividly, I remember watching Louis spar a few rounds, hammer a big bag and being introduced to a man who got nearly as much play at our dinner table. His name was Jackie Robinson.

Aside from the harsh smell on the drive back to Hollis, Queens, it remains one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.

That was my first thought after Bill Russell finished addressing 80 to 100 workers in their Cleveland hotel war room on the afternoon of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

"Fifty years from now, every person here will still be reliving and repeating the stories and the sentiments and sense of history he shared with us today," I said excitedly to equally pumped colleagues.

Everyone grasped how lucky we were to be in the company of one of the most celebrated winners in sports, who was introduced to his audience by Bill Walton.

"And everything Bill said, which I did not hear, is a lie!" Russell began. "And I don't care what he said. Because as you may have noticed, Bill Walton is quite loquacious. The reason I use that word is because he went to public school and does not have the slightest idea what it means.

"I just wanna thank you guys for all your hard work and making The Finals into an event. An event is different from a game. An event becomes important to be there. Or wait 10 years and say you were there whether or not you were. I appreciate your work because I care very much about the NBA. The Finals is the best time of the year. I played in 12 and I'm still pissed off about that 13th one. The players get more out of it than anybody. The coaches get the least out of it because this is prime season for second-guessing.

Regrettably, space constraints prohibit me from recapping word by word what Russell said. I've taken the liberty of rearranging questions and deleting others because it's my column and I can do what I please.

Q: Sir, what happened in '67?

"In '67 I think we got our assets kicked! We lost to a better (76ers) team. But it was temporary insanity. Because that same team we beat the year before and the next year. They had a nice team. The next year we got behind three to one. Beat 'em three straight."

Q: Which of your 11 championship runs do you consider the most challenging?

"I still wear my rookie year ring and this is the reason why. Before I arrived in Boston, the Celtics had never won a series. And in March of '56 I won the Final Four. I went to the Summer Games (Olympics)in Australia and I won the gold medal.

"I left the Olympics and went straight to Boston and played on the NBA championship team. So in a period of 13 months I was on the collegiate championship team, the world amateur championship team and the world professional championship team. And so this, this is the end of a pretty good year."

Q: With everything you've done with your life, is there one thing you are most proud?

"There are two things that are equal. My father told me about a month before he died that he was very proud of me. And that is the biggest compliment I could ever imagine, 'cause he was my hero. And I was proud of him."

"The other thing, in 1973, I got my first divorce. I had been married to a financial genius. The reason I know she's a financial genius is because she's got all my money. And so after we got through all the stuff I ended up with a 12-year-old girl; a single parent with a 12-year-old girl. That is far and away the greatest adventure I've ever embarked on.

"I asked her the first morning we were together, 'Are you sure you want to do this? 'Cause you're 12 years old and I don't know anything about 12-year-old girls. There's gonna be things that are going to happen to you I will not be able to help you with. I can only make you two promises: One, I will love you until I die. The other is, when you leave here to go into the world, you will be better able to take care of yourself than any man you'll meet anywhere.'

"I told her the only chance she'll have to be happy is to have some control of her life. And so that young lady was an honor student at Mercer Island High School and went to Georgetown and then graduated from Harvard Law School. And there's only one thing wrong with her going to Harvard law school; she now thinks she's certified to tell me what to do."

Q: How much of an appreciation do you have for Tim Duncan?

"I said when he was a rookie after I watched him play a dozen times, that he was the most efficient player in the NBA. There is no wasted motion and no wasted emotion. I feel privileged to witness the things he does, to be able to see the game and understand it.

"It's actually thrilling because he only concentrates on the things that are important. He's not about, 'This is my team,' or 'I'm the star.' That is irrelevant. The only thing important is the final score.

"You see the success (Tony) Parker and (Manu) Ginobili have had. They're really great players. But I wanna tell you, without Tim Duncan it would be all for naught.

"One of the hardest things to do is to play with a superstar. You don't know how to act. Do you compete with him? Do you compete against him?

"Or do you just watch him? I'll never forget when I was at my best; we were playing a game at the Garden . . . the BOSTON GARDEN. And I blocked seven shots in a row. After the seventh I got the ball and called time out.

"We get in the huddle and the guys say, 'Way to go, Russ!' And I said, 'f--- that . . .' Oh, excuse me, ladies (laughter). I say, 'I got no business blocking seven shots in a row! If you guys want a good seat, BUY A TICKET! I don't appreciate you guys watchin' me!' "