SALEM - Scot Pollard was called for traveling yesterday, but this time, it was good news.
The newest addition to the Boston Celtics traveled to the Witch City to spend time with boys from the Plummer Home, a group residence near Winter Island, and then did the usual tourist activities - a ghost tour and a visit to a haunted house.
"It's great," Pollard said of Salem as he walked in a group with candle in hand while on a tour of purported ghost sightings. "I wish I could stay longer."
But Pollard, a 32-year-old center/power forward, won't be able to stay too long, since the season opener is Friday in Boston against the Washington Wizards.
Pollard's Halloween eve visit to Salem will be telecast on Comcast SportsNet, the cable channel that carries the Celtics games. It will be part of an episode of "Celtics Now," a new magazine program with behind-the-scenes features on Celtic players.
The show premieres on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., and the Salem segment with Pollard will be part of the first program.
Pollard's impressed his guests for the night.
"He's a pretty decent dude," said Bobby Ragusa, 16, who added he expects Pollard to be a good asset to the C's.
Adam Rowand, 14 - who stands 5-foot-2 compared to the 6-foot-11 Pollard - said he doesn't feel intimidated by the basketball player, who arrived in Boston this fall from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Prior to visiting the haunted sites, Pollard hung out with the boys and the staff at the Plummer Home. He brought along his Great Dane, Rufus.
"He's extremely funny, and he's willing to talk about anything," Ragusa said of Pollard, not Rufus.
The boys from the Plummer Home weren't the only ones treated to the special guest.
Tourist "oohed" and snapped photos of Pollard as he walked by with Comcast television cameras in tow.
Rich and Marti Zimmerman of Kerhonkson, N.Y., were visiting Salem yesterday and today and were part of the ghost tour.
The Zimmermans said they were surprised by Pollard's presence.
"Nobody bothered him," Marti Zimmerman said.
"I almost bothered him. I wanted to get an autograph," joked Marti's husband, Rich.
Staff writer Tom Dalton contributed to this report.
