The referees' contract expired on Sept. 1, and they haven't been able to agree on a new one with the league. So replacement referees may have to be used when the NBA opens its preseason schedule tomorrow. The Celtics are training in Newport, R.I., this week and don't open their preseason until a week from tonight at Houston.

"Of course," Wallace said, "I already know they are going to come in all happy-go-lucky, `Oh, I gave 'Sheed Wallace a tech tonight, ha ha ha.' But I could care less about that. As long as we go out there and win, if I'm on the floor, OK, fine. If I'm not on the floor, I think guys are still talented enough on this team with their high IQ to go there and get that W."

The talented but explosive Wallace usually leads the league in technical fouls. He's been whistled for 296 of them in his 14-year career, resulting in 24 ejections. Wallace said he can usually reason with the more experienced officials, but the younger ones seem intimidated.

"There are a few officials that I can talk to," he said, "but there are a few officials that if I look at them the wrong way or breathe too hard are going to call a tech."

Wallace, 35, insists this story is true. Cleveland's Anderson Varajeo and Zydrunas Ilgauskas fouled him when he was with the Pistons. "I fell to the floor and starting laughing and got a tech," Wallace said.

Wallace asked the ref, whom he refused to identify, why he got the foul, but the ref replied, "Get away from me."

Wallace's wife gave him some ideas to smooth things over with the officials, but they didn't work. The ideas didn't include offering the refs brownies.

"That will never happen," he said.

It's safe to say that Wallace deserved most of his technical fouls. He plays with a lot of intensity.

"That's how I channel my energy," he said. "Some people see it as a good thing, some people see it as a bad thing. To me, it gets my teammates up, and that's all that matters. It really doesn't matter to me what no one else thinks about me as a player except my teammates and my family."

Wallace insists he's much more mild mannered off the court.

"When I'm on the court, I'm at work," he said. "I'm hustling, fussing, and cussing, getting techs, this and that. But, off the court, look, I'm just an everyday dad, going to market."

The 6-foot-11 Wallace sees a lot of himself in new Celtics teammate Kendrick Perkins, who receives his share of technical fouls on the court, but is gentle giant off it.

"Perk's nothing like what I thought he would be," Wallace said. "Perk's a good cat, a good young guy, laid back."

Wallace has surprised Perkins as well.

"It was kind of scary for a minute," Perkins admitted. "Really, I just wanted to see how he was outside of Basketball. He's a great guy in the locker room."

The Celtics signed Wallace to help the Big Three, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, win another title. Wallace, a four-time All-Star who won a title with Detroit in 2004, said there's no reason to change the nickname to the Big Four.

"I feel like the fourth on the big 12 or the big 13," Wallace said. "All the guys, they want to win."