Well the Celtics are currently leading by 19 points and Leon Powe is channeling the powers of Kevin McHale, good lord he is having a fantastic game. The Celts should head to L.A. up 2-0, something I did not see coming. Now they have a great chance to come back up 3-2. It will be great to see what happens in L.A.

I was really sad to see the fall of Big Brown on Saturday at the Belmont. I thought I was going to get to see my first Triple Crown winner. This year's Triple Crown has made me realize the cruelty that can go into the sport. Ken Desormeux did the honorable and completely correct thing in calling off Big Brown when he knew the horse did not have it in him. The amount of racing these horses have to go through to win the Triple Crown is amazing. I hope I get to see a horse win all three races soon.

The European Cup started this weekend too. Germany, Portugal, Crotia, and the Czech Republic won this weekend. I think Germany will end up winning it, they are very solid. I can't wait to sit down and watch the games. As long as Italy does not win I will be happy, I hate the way those guys play soccer, and when they win it seeps into all the youth soccer. The diving and acting, it has even made its way into the NBA with all the international players who no doubt grew up playing soccer.

Rafael Nadal destroyed Roger Federer in the French Open final on Sunday. I dont care what surface they are playing on, when you beat one of the all-time greats 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 you deserve some serious recognition. Now everyone will await the Wimbledon rematch where Federer can get Nadal on grass...

Ana Ivanovic might be my new favorite female athlete. She is definately in my pantheon sitting with Danica Patrick and Natalie Gulbis...

...So while I was writing this Leon Powe has gone nuts. Gotta feel happy for him after seeing the halftime special...

Thoughts and prayers to Jim McKay and his family. He was a person who brought many great and transcendent moments into homes around the country and world.

So I while I was writing this the Celtics have given up a 24 point lead, Radmonavic just stole the ball and blantantly travelled and dunked. An awful no call... this stinks...I just vomited a little on my keyboard...

Phew, that was close. I was worried my first paragraph was going to jinx this whole thing... on to L.A.

Links:

Rick Reilly's first ESPN article... heavy stuff...

Funny clip of Jerry Seinfeld getting angry at an idiotic Larry King...

Alexander Ovechkin is going to the NFL...

So here we are, the day of game one. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this series and what might happen. The conclusion I have come to is... I am clueless. I so badly want the Celtics to pull this out. It is something I think they can do, but I honestly cannot see them doing it.
The reasons I cannot see the Celtics winning are:

1) Kobe Bryant: The guy scares me. He can win the series by himself. One big game in Boston this weekend and I think this series will be too tough for the Celtics. Kobe is the one closer on the court for either team. He has proven it before. The scariest part is he still feels the need to prove it without Shaq around.

2) 2-3-2: The fact that the Celtics have to go on the road for game 3,4, and 5 makes me nervous. Game five is always a pivotal game in a series. It would be 2-2 or 3-1 going into that game. Although the Celtics proved that they can close a series on the road, they also proved they can drop a game at home. A split in Boston is a possibility, and it would make it tough for the Celtics.

3) Who will cover Lamar Odom?: This could be the biggest key in this series. If Odom, matched up with Ray Allen, (at least that is how I see it) decides to give a damn the Celts will be in trouble. Odom averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds a game this season. He is a wonderful third banana to Kobe and Pau Gasol if he puts in the effort.

4) Coaching: This is a no brainer. We have a guy in Phil Jackson who has won 9 titles as a coach and one title as a player. That means he has on 10 out of 60 titles in NBA history. Pretty impressive. On the other side Doc Rivers has a Docorate in...coaching? and he has also won a total of three playoff series victories... I dont want to write about this anymore, it is making me ill...

However, as I look at the matchup there are some things I can see the Celtics doing to win...

1) Paul Pierce homecoming: Paul Pierce is coming home. He has come full circle. Growing up in Inglewood (home of the famous Forum) as a Laker fan Pierce is now in a position to win a championship for a team he hated while growing up. Pierce has a huge series in him, this would be the perfect time for it to come out. Although he may be chasing Kobe around we cannot forget that Kobe has to chase Pierce (and maybe Ray-Ray) around all series. It affected LeBron, maybe it will take away from Kobe too...

2) The Benches: I actually feel good about our bench matchups in this series. The Lakers have some nice players: Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, and Ronny Turiaf. Farmar scares me the most because of his shooting and his quickness. But I like Eddie House over him. I think P.J. Brown, Posey, Powe, House, and (gulp) Cassell offer better options. Here's hoping Doc chooses the right ones...

3) Defense > Offense: As a Patriots fan this smacked me in the face this winter. As a Sox fan I saw how a great defense (read: Josh Beckett) can close a 1-3 series deficit. The Celtics had a suffocating defense all season. We have seen glimpses of that during the playoffs. I think the Celtics need to turn the defense all the way up all series. If they do they will be raising banner #17...

I must say again that these late starts are too bad. Personally I dont mind staying up to watch. The people who are missing out are the young kids. As someone who works with kids, it is a shame seeing them come to school in Celtics gear knowing they will be in bed two hours before the game starts. Even if you are a 15-18 year old functioning the next day is tough on very little sleep. It really is a shame that young fans have to miss these games, and it is a shame kids cannot watch the games with their parents, that is something I know parents will miss...

Anyway, I think the Lakers take this series in 6 games. If it goes seven games though, the Celtics win. Now excuse me while I readjust myself as I sit on this uncomfortable fence...

An all NBA-Finals Links:
Sports Guy on the series...

Great article running through the last 21 years of the C's. Print it out and read it in the bathroom...

Even Tommy Heinsohn defends this move...gotta love the old school Celtics-Lakers. Oh and listen to the chant the L.A. fans start around the :55 mark...

Celtics - Lakers.... wow. This is going to be a fantastic series. The Celtics proved they belong in the Finals after dispatching an experienced Pistons team at home. The Pistons were exhausted, Rip Hamilton missed three shots down the stretch that barely even reached the rim. The thing I am most excited about right now is the fact that I have three nights to catch up on rest because a three hour game on Thursday night starting at 9:15 is a terrifying thought. Maybe I should buy stock in Dunkin' Donuts coffee this week. But enough about basketball for now...

Manny hit his 500th homer this weekend. Manny is my favorite Red Sox player of all time. He cracks me up, I know he dogs it once in a while and can look really bad in the field but he is one of the best right handed hitters in the history of baseball. He is sixth all-time in slugging percentage he will be in the top ten in homers when he is finished also. He is 35 with probably another solid 4 years of production ahead of him. 25 homers a year and he will be at 600. 

An interesting topic came up on the radio this morning regarding Manny's number being retired. Dwight Evans, an 18 year member of the Sox who hit 363 homers, also wore number 24. Evans' numbers as a member of the Sox are better than Manny's. Manny has hit 265 homers with the Sox. Evan also won 9 gold gloves. Needless to say, Manny won none. I think it would be pretty awesome if the Sox found a way to honor both during a number retirement ceremony.

On another home run note, Ken Griffey Jr. is on the cusp of 600 homers. It is amazing to think that he is 38 and should have nearer to 700 homers. He hit only 63 homers between 2001 and 2004.  If he hit 40 each one of those years he would have hit 160 homers. I guess we will just have to wait for A-Rod to smash the record completely...

Alright, so I have to be honest. I have grown a little tired of talking about the Celtics and I have definitely grown tired of the NBA having the games start so late. There is no way for anyone under the age of 16 to stay up and watch the end of any of the Conference Finals, and the finals will all start after 9:00, even on Father's Day. I have no idea what the NBA is thinking, but it does not make any sense to me. For a league who has struggled with its identity, wouldn't you think they would want people to see the new and improved league? I guess not. Anyway, C's lose tomorrow night then take game seven.

If the Red Sox lose but no one is awake to watch it, does it really happen? If this happened last year they would be KILLED on the radio. The Celtics have proven a fantastic distraction to the road weary Red Sox. I think the Sox and C's are a combined 12-25 on the road...wow...

Its Friday and what better way to waste time than with a bunch of links... Happy Weekend...

Here is a interesting tidbit... the British Office was actually taken from the Japanese Office...

Legends of the Hidden Temple...enjoy

The best 12 year old football player ever...

Dimtri Martin, absolutely hilarious...

Very cool clip of a lion recognizing old owners...

Chris Farley at his finest...

Kevin Spacey doing impersonations, better than Frank Caliendo...

Digital Short, laser cats...

Here are my thoughts before game four on Sunday night these thoughts will be followed by some in-game thoughts throughout the game

Well the Celtics bucked two trends in the span of 2 nights. What an unreal performance by the Pistons on Thursday night followed by a great Celtics effort on Saturday night. Looking ahead to game four I think the Celtics are very dangerous. They are playing with house money . They have home court advantage back and can play loose and free tonight. In their 100th game of the season the Celtics will look to win their 77th game. With Billups hurting and now more time being asked of Stuckey, I think the Celtics win game four in a very closely battled game.

6:39 left in first quarter: Well the Celtics came out flat and are down 13-4 after McDyess hit a free throw. This game has started in exactly the opposite way as game three. Celts might not score 14 points this quarter…

End of First: Well that quarter was a tale of two halves. The one thing I missed though was Maxiell blocking KG. I stepped out of the room for 15 minutes and I guess I missed it and all of the replays, oh well... The Celtics chipped away and found their way to the free throw line. I was surprised Billups didnt get a rest. It should be interesting to see how his minutes go the rest of the game.

On a side note: Are those hydroxycut "before" and "after" shots the most fake of any "before" and "after" pictures ever?

Doc Rivers just complimented Michelle Tafoya twice in one of those sideline interviews. Good thing he didnt ask her to kiss him

4:55 left in second quarter: The Celtics are hanging around, they cant seem to get closer than 5 points though... I need to talk about two things before I forget. Is anyone else highly annoyed by the P.A. announcer at the Pistons games? The only thing more annoying in my mind are those awful Heinenken commercials with that horrible jingle. It drives me crazy. The second thing is Kendrick Perkins. He might be the new poster boy for players I can understand opposing fans absolutely hating. His posing bothers me and he seems constantly constipated…

How about the week Detriot fans are having. The Stanley Cup finals and Eastern Conf. Finals have synced up so they are playing on the same nights. People always talk about Boston sports and how great they are doing. But does it get any better than Detriot right now?
Halftime: It was always preached to me that you need to start and finish halves strong. The Celts have a hard time doing that sometimes, but they finished the half strong going on a 6-0 run in the last two minutes. It seems as if the win on Saturday has given the C's a little confidence even when trailing on the road. The key to the second half will be the ability to play solid defense and keep Billups in check.
Stuart Scott passes my "would I have the urge to punch him if he was sitting behind me at the ballpark" test. That puts him on the list with Chris Berman....

8:oo min left in third quarter: Celtics come out flat again to start half. Personally I think how a team starts and finishes quarters is largely placed on the shoulders of the coach. And the Celtics never seem to really start and finished quarters well. They dont do it consistently enough... Maybe Doc is a little too focused on Michelle Tafoya…

My current living situation forced me to listen to the rest of the game on the radio as I drove into Boston. The entire fourth quarter felt like game six of the Cleveland series. The Celts could not climb that final mountain and get the lead. It was disappointing, but if you told me the C's would get one win on the road this weekend I would have taken it. Now back to Boston for this three game series...

My cup hath runeth over as far as great sporting events goes. I have been extremely lucky in my day, and I hope it continues. I witnessed the greatest day in American Ryder Cup history in 1999; attended six World Cup games in 1994, including a semi-final between Italy and Bulgaria; witnessed Holy Cross clinch two berths into the NCAA hoops tourney (rushed the court once), watched the Red Sox dismantle the Indians 24-6 (John Valentine had 10 RBI) in the playoffs on their way to a comeback from 0-2 down in the series. My third Celtics playoff game of my life might in fact be the top of this particular mountain. I don’t think I will go to the Garden and see a better game, just like Jack Nicholson said, “is this as good as it gets?” In his case he was worried, in my case I think I am at ease with game seven being the best I will see; I think a lot of people in that stadium yesterday will say the same thing.
Halfway through the third quarter when LeBron and Pierce were matching baskets I turned to my buddy Phil and said, "this is just like Bird and Dominique" (my dad was at that game, and says it was at the top of his list). He knew exactly what I meant. After beating up on each other for six games they saved their best for last. Pierce had only been scoring 16 points a game, including a four point outburst in game one. LeBron was held in check for most of the series, but just like a fat baby wearing a diaper, we were all waiting for a bomb. I thought LeBron could win one game in this series on his shear talent. Pierce made sure it didn’t happen.
The lasting memory of the game will be Pierce laying on the floor after the pivotal jump ball. Pierce laid-out, won the ball, then called timeout. He lay on his back, ball in hand simply jubilant that he had won the ball back. At that point in the game there was exactly one minute left and the Celtics were up 3. If the Cavs win the jump ball the game could have gone the other way. Pierce has always worked hard, he is one of my favorite Celtics of all time. He works hard and although he scowls and whines a little bit (but not as much as LeBron…) he has been through the roughest patch this franchise has seen and he has stuck in there. His patience is paying off, only 14 more games to play until he gets that ring…
The Pistons series will be interesting because I think it will be brutally boring if you are someone who loves 90+ point scoring and up-tempo hoops. These are the two best defenses in basketball, every point will be earned. The Billups – Rondo, House, Cassell, Tony Allen match-up will be very interesting. Billups is a bigger guy who beats up Rondo a little bit. Billups averaged 22 points in the three games they played this year. The back-ups are not known for their defense. House had a great game six and seven, adding energy but he is not a great defender. Cassell simply blows right now, he cannot score and he would struggle to guard a YMCA pick-up hoopster at this point. Allen has been sitting a lot and that means two things: rest or rust. It will be interesting to see how enterprising Doc is in stopping Billups, whose bum hamstring is apparently 100%.
I think the Celts are going to have a hard time winning this series. The veteran Pistons do not look as shaky as they did last year. A rallying cry on the radio today was that Cavs beat the Pistons last year and we just beat the Cavs. What a ridiculous concept, the Pistons were not good last year and gutted it out to get as far as they did. LeBron was a buzz saw in that series. This year is very different. I think the Pistons will be able to come into the Garden and steal one. The Cavs had their chance in game one and didn’t have the experience. In a close game in the Garden the Pistons can come out with a win, which scares me. I don’t think the Celts have the same ability to go into Detroit and get a game. With that being said, I have to go with the Celts in (gulp) 7…
The NBA blew it last night. Why did they give the Hornets and Spurs 4 days off?! They could have had a game seven double header on Sunday instead of having the game start at 10:00 last night. They hid the defending champs and the most exciting point guard in recent memory on a Monday. Great job NBA.
So happy for John Lester, I saw none of the game and turned the radio on at 10:00 to hear the great news. 4 no hitters in 7 years? Unreal. Jason Varitek deserves a lot of credit for all of those, especially considering the last two have been by pitchers who have less than 30 career starts (Buckholtz was making his second start ever). Just goes to show his value to this team.

A few months ago I wrote about the Celtics game I went to in New Orleans. The Celtics lost in a way that scared me. I couldn't find the post on the now defunct (defunked?) lunchhournews.com to back up this claim. I pretty much said the Celtics got frazzled, they lost composure in a hostile environment. Rivers trotted out Cassell, Pierce, Brown, Big Baby, and Perkins in the fourth quarter of that game. I never thought I would see that unit again...until I saw it IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF GAME FOUR! They were terrible, the entire team was terrible in the fourth quarter proving they cannot win on the road in the playoffs.

A trend is a trend. The Celtics now have two trends in the playoffs; they win at home and lose on the road. This trend will continue until they meet the Pistons in the next round. The Pistons are good enough to beat the C's in the Garden. For the C's to make the Finals and win, they need to exorcise the road demon or else they will be exercising in the off-season earlier than they want (see what I did there).

If you open your paper up, flip to the AL East standings and flip them up-side-down it might look like 1998. If you turn it back to 2008 you might be shocked to see the Tampa Bay Rays at the top and the New York Yankees at the bottom. You also might find Hank Steinbrenner sitting in his office rocking back and forth battling the chills. If the Rays were in any other division I would be rooting for them. But I need the Sox to turn it around, this Celtics thing is going leave a deep wound that the Sox might be able to stitch up... Can the Rays keep this up, I say yes. The All-Star will be when they begin a slide. Will the Yankees fix themselves? No, the trading deadline will prove that when they make a big splash and it does not pay off. Hughes and Kennedy have been a nightmare. The Yanks also need to find a permanent home for Chamberlain, is he a starter or a closer.

Arlen Spector needs to find a day job. This endless digging for answers is so vindictive. Asking for a "Mitchell Report" type investigation is ridiculous. Firstly, the steriods problem was a wide broad search. This is a witch hunt. There is nothing regarding other NFL teams and the width of any problems. Spector thinks that his Eagles were wronged against the Pats in the Super Bowl. He wanted Matt Walsh, he got his MacNamee and he found nothing new. In a country at war and struggling with an energy crisis he is finding time to make this a big deal. What a joke.

Links:
Is the Sports Guy on the move? Deadspin seems to think so

Here is his new blog. Maybe he wants to fill a position at The Boston Globe, they have lost a lot of sports journalists...

Did you see Manny's catch, high-five, and double play? Awesome....

Man Cave? I would have expected more, but gotta love the idea...

What do you call the opposite of a road warrior? Give up? The answer: The Boston Celtics. In another sad showing, the C's were waxed in Cleveland. They were down 12 points after four minutes of basketball and never cut the deficit under that in the next 44 minutes. They played terrible defense (again), looked scared (again), and were out-husseled (again!). Rondo and Cassel combined for 3-16 shooting from the field, 8 total points, 2 assists in 42 minutes. Rondo has lost his confidence on the road. The fear when Cassell came to town was that Rondo would lose minutes and thus confidence. It didn't happen until the playoffs when Cassell has been allowed to chuck up shots and shoot terribly on the road (0-6 in game 3). With every loss on the road the C's get into a deeper psychological hole. If they don't dig themselves out they won't be lifting up the Larry O'Brien trophy in September when the Finals ends...
The road troubles seem to be affecting everyone, in the second round as of Saturday night the home teams are 12-1, the Pistons being the only team to win on the road.



With Tiger not playing this week at the Players Championship due to his knee surgery it just does not feel the same. I know that his presence in tournaments makes them more enjoyable for me. It begs the question, has Tiger ruined professional golf more than helped it? Obviouslythat question can be answered in a ton of ways. Yes, he has improved the game immeasurably. However, as a spectator sport his absence makes golf not truly worth watching. I watched a chunk of the Player's Championship, but it just is not the same. Without him at a tournament I have a hard time watching. It will be interesting to see the ratings, maybe I am the only one who feels this way. But something tells me I am not.

(That paragraph was written before the tournament ended. What a finish, and as someone who has always begrudingly liked Sergio I was happy to see him win. I really only dislike him when he is playing in the Ryder Cup... So I guess Tiger does not always create good finishes. Just like Sergio said after he won today "I would like to first off thank Tiger for not being here...it makes it a lot easier on all of us.")

Manchester United won the English Premier League on Sunday. It is the first time in four years. They beat Wiggan and Chelsea tied with Bolton to give United the outright league championship. On May 21st Chelsea and United will face off in Moscow for the Champions League trophy in a very rare all English affair in the European wide club tournament. England has secured itself as the best league in the world, and I would love to argue that with anyone.

The Sox had some interesting finished in the past week. Johnathan Papelbon blew two saves, one we can attribute to Julio Lugo. Jed Lowrie just got sent down to make room for Sean Casey. Lugo is an overpaid bum who should be replaced by Jed Lowrie. More on the Sox this week, it does not feel like baseball season with the Celts in the playoffs. What a strange feeling...

Links:
What a mess O.J Mayo is in...

Watch these two interviews with Kevin Garnett...the guy oozes intensity... With Bill Russel and one with John Thompson

Finally, the disaster in Myanmar is worth your time and maybe a little bit of your money... Dan Rivers went into the country and was literally hunted down by the police for filming inside the country.

Quick Hits

In lue of a big preview of the Celts series I will leave it at this. Celts will win in six games. I just dont see the Cavs giving the C's as much trouble as the Hawks. The Hawks were athletic and got to the hoop and when they won the free throw battle they won. The Cavs are more perimeter focused, they have a lot of jump shooters. LeBron can obviously win a series, but I think the C's have a lot of guys (and fouls) they can use on him. James Posey and Paul Pierce will get the brunt of the work, but Tony Allen might get some minutes too. I look for the C's to double him and make his supporting cast hit big shots. I dont think they can sustain good shooting for enough games to take the series.
My one concern is KG. Ben Wallace and Ilguaskas are monsters. If KG can float out and bring those guys out of the paint using that deadly jumper it will open up things for Pierce and Rondo in the lanes. But look for KG's rebound numbers to go down.
The Hornets are making my "Hornets in seven" prediction lok silly. The Spurs seem old and Chris Paul is a trancendent player. We will se what happens in San Antonio, I think this series still goes the full seven, with the Hornets taking advantage of home court.
Pistons are in full control of a young and green Magic team, and the Lakers should be fine against the Jazz.
So Celts in six, I think they win by seven points tonight. Pierce has a big game and Ray Allen snaps out of his min-funk.

Before Game Seven

Good God, I am nervous. The lead up to this game feels a lot like the Pats-Giants Super Bowl. I felt good until right before the game. This feels the same way. I spent the morning diving into the Boston Globe and Atlanta Journal Constitution. Dan Shaughnessy said this game was an "embarrassment." A game that should never have happened, a game that will be forgotten if the Celts win and move deeper into the playoffs; but possibly a game that could morph into a rallying cry for every underdog from here forward. Just as the Yankees - Red Sox 2004 series will forever be a rallying point for teams down 3-0... back to check in at halftime. Kevin Garnett just screamed on the Jumbotron, it nevers get old...hopefully this isnt the last time we see it this season....

First Quarter:
It seems like the refs are not going to get too involved in this game. Game sevens are under a microscope, and the NBA does not need the refs blowing a series for either team. The Hawks are getting to the bucket but not getting the calls. The Celtics owned the glass, but Joe Johnson was allowed to run a little too free and he hit his only three attempts, all from behind the arc. Celts need to keep the pace where it is and make sure Joe Johnson doesnt get hot and carry the Hawks...

Second Quarter:
This game is D-U-N done. There is no way the Hawks come back. The refs are not giving them any fouls going to the hoop, they can't score, and they are not forcing the Celts to miss so they can get out and run. They showed Mike Woodson talking to his team before the game, he told them to "defend, rebound, and get out and run." They have done none of those things, and that is why they might struggle to score 70 points. Their dominance at home today will lead to the constant questions of their Jekyll and Hyde act. If it keeps up can they win the Championship? Only time will tell...

End of Game:
Phew, well the Celts escaped this one. A seven game series against an eight seed is a little embarrassing, however the way they won their home games was unreal. They absolutely dominated game seven. People can talk about how this series should not have gone this far, but it means they are forgetting how good the Celts and Hawks were at home. Personally I don't think the Celts will struggle with the Cavs in the next round, especially on the road. This series was like a great tennis match between two monster servers. Each player managed to hold serve, and the better tennis player held on during the tie-breaker. The Cavs are an outside shooting team without the type of explosiveness that the Hawks had. I understand LeBron can win a series by himself, but the Celts defense is the best in the league, and they will be prepared.
The Celts beat the Hawks all three times they faced them in the regular season. They won by 23 the first game in November, the final two games were competetive though. The Celts won by 10 and 9. So this Hawks team was improving all season.
More to some this week on the Celts and the playoffs...

Thoughts before a game seven...

I figured I needed to get some thoughts out before Sunday's game seven, just so I can get some credit for any profound comment I make. Or so I can eat crow when I am way off base (much more likely).
Game six was a tough game to watch. I had the feeling nearly the whole game that the Hawks were going to pull out a win. The bandwagon fans were loud and the Hawks were feeding off of it. The refs were giving the Hawks every call going to the hoop, ending in a +22 free throw difference (47-25). The biggest foul call was the one against Pierce that caused him to foul out. It was a ticky-tack call that really had no bearing on the outcome of the play. His absence in the final 10 seconds when the C's had a chance to tie was huge. The Hawks could focus solely on Ray Allen and KG is a non-factor in a three point deficit.
Before last night's game my buddy Burke asked me if losing two games on the road was a big deal. I said losing two isn't bad, but losing three could be detrimental. They had the opportunity to exorcise the demons on the road, and all they did was awaken more demons.
Whatever happens in game seven it will be a microcosm of the entire series. Either a) the Celts earned home court and utilized it by dominating the Hawks in four games; or b) the favorite let the underdog stick around too long and let them believe they could win.
My favorite non-Celtic plot of the playoffs is getting to watch Tony Parker and Chris Paul battle for the next 34 weeks in their second round match-up. These two guys are so talented and although I don't think the match-up will predict the outcome (the benches and David West will decide that I believe) I think they will be truly entertaining. The teams split their regular season 2-2. Paul outscored Parker 22ppg to Parker's 19.5 ppg. Paul also had 9.5 assists to Parker's 5.5. It will be a fantastic series that I think the Hornets will take it in 7 games (I will get the crow ready for that one...)
Oh, and Celtics win by 20 in game seven and move on to play Cleveland...

A walk through the garden.

What a fantastic night at the Garden On Wednesday. Although it was a late start for an old fart the game kept me intrigued and not staring at the clock.
If the Celts make it through this round, which I think they will, we will have learned one very important thing about them thus far. The road Celtics and the home Celtics are not equal in the playoffs. They have three big name players, but none of them seem to have the ability to calm down the team when the crowd and opposition are rolling with momentum.
When a team mismantles another like the Celtics have done to the Hawks in Boston it is perplexing that intensity can't travel with them. It has been a story of four teams in this series. Two good ones and two bad ones.
The bench was off the charts last night. Cassell and Powe were dominant when they were in. Doc Rivers even gave Tony Allen a brief run, which was nice to see until he started chucking up 3's.
A question I think that needs to be answered at this point in his career is where does Paul Pierce fall in all-time Celtics? That might be a two part Blogathon...
The Celtics trip through the playoffs is not going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be. The Magic are the only team to have dispatched their opponent quickly and effectively. The Celtics have used more energy than they had planned in this series. That might come back to haunt them later on, especially on the road.

The Kentucky Derby is this weekend. It is firmly placed on my list of things I want to do before I die. The Masters and Derby both hold that sense of tradition that I dont think any other sporting event in the country holds, except maybe the Mayor's Cup...

Speaking of traditions, here is John Daly making an ass of himself... this time shirtless. Viewer Discretion is advised.

Celts Quickie...

In March I was lucky enough to go see the Celtics play the Hornets in "The Hive." The place was absolutely packed and I was the only loud Celtics fan in the place. The Celtics lost the game, and they lost the game because of their second unit. Doc Rivers ran out a lot of the "scrubs" (P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Leon Powe, Eddie House, ect...) in the second and fourth quarter, causing the C's to lose the leads in both quarters. The Celtics were booed the entire fourth quarter when they had the ball. It was unreal. The sell-out crowd was loud and excited about their team, Chris Paul hit some massive shots. The Celtics lost control of the game, it became frantic and they couldn't regain control.
Flash forward to last night in Atlanta. The Celtics this weekend were outplayed by a young team who was energized by a bunch of bandwagon jumpers. The Hawks took the Celtics best shots and bounced back. They found themselves down 16-3 to start game 4 and then went on a 32-10 run. This Hawks team is talented, but they should not have forced a second trip to Atlanta once game 5 is played out.
Am I worried about this entire series now? Yes. Tomorrow night, a game I bought tickets for thinking I would see a series clinching win is much more interesting. I am worried about this game because if the Celtics find a way to lose and go back to Atlanta down 2-3 I don't feel like they can pull this out.
The Celtics are back home, where their defense destroyed a Hawks offense that woke up in Atlanta. If the Hawks are allowed to think they can win in Boston they just might. The first five minutes of game 5 will tell us a lot. Can the Celtics keep a venomous crowd in the game? Will the Hawks continue to attack the basket and get to the line? Will the Celtics not let the Hawks keep up their frantic pace, thus throwing off Sam Cassell and making him take bad shot after bad shot. After what happened to the Patriots I am now trying to remain cautiously opptimistic about this Celtics run. I hope the C's dont turn into the Mavericks last year. A one seed who is booted by an eight seed.

Draft thoughts and the pink hat disease

The NFL draft was this weekend, and frankly I have no idea what happened. In an effort to force it into primetime the NFL pushed back the start to 3:00pm instead of the the regular noon start. The first two picks were already known before the the draft even happened, it took away some of the excitement. In my mind there was no need to move the draft back, but hey I will never question the NFL... well not until they punish the Pats again for Spygate, then I will question it.

Speaking of questioning people, it boggles my mind that fans find a way to complain about the draft when the Pats have proven they know what they are doing. The Pats have their criteria for players to fill. They don't care what Mel Kiper Jr. and his hair think of Jarod Mayo and his "value." I am not going to critique the Pats' picks. All I know is they got younger on defense, especially at linebacker and defensive back. The one thing that surprised me was the drafting of a quarterback in the third round, seemed like a strange and early time to take a QB. Anyway, I cannot wait to see how their picks pan out...

One big reason I chose to attend Holy Cross was a columnist on espn.com who called himself the Sports Guy. He was an HC grad who I loved reading each week. He loved Boston sports, except for the Bruins. He felt neglected by ownership and disowned the franchise about 15 years ago. Last week we admitted to getting sucked onto the Bruins bandwagon this postseason.
I would never consider myself a "hockey guy." It never really sucked me in, and I have tried to get sucked in a little, usually around playoff time. Sure it is exciting, but part of me cannot allow myself to ignore an entire league during the regular season then become interested during the playoffs. Most hockey fans would reply "but playoff hockey is different." There lies the problem. I personally couldn't jump on the Bruins bandwagon, sure I listened to game seven last week (no TV at my disposal) but I would never call myself a fan. Although hockey would fight the thought of having "pink hat" fans, there are some. I guess you could call them "playoff hockey fans." If you see me cheering for the Bruins in the playoffs it is because I was on the bandwagon all year. As a fan of the Red Sox and Pats I find the new fans insufferable, they know no players and are off the bandwagon as soon as the team loses. I don't ever want to be like that.

The Sox finally have an off day, good god do they need it. Maybe their trip to Japan is catching up with their bats and their bullpen...

Links:

Tiger Wood's secret surgery...

Unreal finish to the English Premier League Season. Chelsea and Man. Utd. are tied with two games each left. United also has to play Barcelona on Tuesday to earn a spot in the Champions league Final. If you are a soccer fan this is the place to check out...

This old woman hates getting woken up from a nap too...

Quick Hits

What a week of sports. Does it make me spoiled to say I am sick of hearing the phrase, "What a time to be a Boston sports fan!" Yes I know it is, and the key is to not let it slip by. This week I bought tickets to see the Sox play the Angels in the first two games in the series. On Tuesday at 1:00pm I had no tickets. By 2:30 I had two pair of tickets. The whole Beckett and Matsuzaka getting scratched was a big kick in the face, but to be at Fenway on probably the two best days weather wise of the year was worth it. The Sox have started in the complete opposite way I expected. The offense picked up Ortiz and managed to hit through his slump. Manny has been off the charts and Ellsbury is proving himself as a lead-off hitter for the next 12 years. He gets on base then flies around them. Watching him score the winning run from on a double down the third base line on Tuesday night was amazing. The guy is a talent, and I must say I am glad they didnt give him up for Santana...really

The Celts are rolling, but I am holding my breath mainly because, well the Hawks had 37 wins. The Celts won their 37th game on February 6. That was two and a half months ago... wake me up in three weeks when the second round starts. Are these guys getting enough rest?

The Pats have the draft this weekend and Matt Walsh is going to squeal regarding "Spygate." The draft pick the Pats lost could have very likely been used to bring Jason Taylor in, who the Dolphins are now shopping for draft picks. That punishment, handed down more than six months ago is finally starting to show its importance. The Patriots lost a player in this punishment. That is worse than anything in my mind. It is a punishment that will last 10 years, especially if the player taken in that spot ends up being a star. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think the Pats trade down. Here is hoping Matt Ryan drops to the seventh pick so the Pats have a good barganing chip. Nothing like a team desperate for a QB on draft day, and I think Matt Ryan is overrated, but that is the Holy Cross grad in me speaking...

If you haven't yet, please check out the video and pictures of my friend John Nicoletta who passed away two weeks ago in a skiing accident.

A Weekend in Perspective

In a weekend that was loaded with unreal sports: Red Sox v. Yankees, Trevor Immelman winning the Masters (and feeling horrible for Brant Snedeker), playoff hockey (I watched a Bruin game!), Boston College winning the NCAA hockey frozen four (swallowing my pride a little bit about that one...), I was rocked by a sporting event that happened thousands of miles away in Alaska. A friend of mine, who I worked at summer camp with for two years, moved west and never really looked back. He became a professional extreme skier, conquering mountains and trails that were blazed by only the bravest and most skilled skiers. His career and life were on an up-swing. He was spreading his love of sking to anyone who would listen to him.

In a tradegy that once again puts life into perspective, John took a wrong turn while competing in Alaska and fell down a cliff that was too steep for him to manage with his trusty skis. Even with quick reaction by the ski patrol and EMT there was nothing that could be done. At 27, doing what he loved more than anything, John passed away. In an effort to remember him I have dedicated my page to him until Friday. John Nicoletta was loved by everyone whom he came across. He never had a bad word to say about anyone and always wanted to help. John always managed to touch people with kind words and his contagious smile. He will be greatly missed.

Technological Aide

I have been living in an apartment for the past month without a TV. I will give you a second while you pick yourself up off the floor. In this age of massive HDTV's I have been relegated to a 13 inch Dell laptop. This struggle, which some friends have witnessed, is pretty bad. I had a friend over on Saturday of the Elite-Eight, we spent most of the time squinting and trying to figure out what the score was.

This problem of no TV would have killed any sports fan 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago. They would have had to travel to a friend's house or camp out in a bar. Now, you can just log onto CBS.com and presto you have every game you want. I watched the fantastic Championship Game between Memphis and Kansas on my tiny screen as I willed myself to stay up. How many times have you watched a game, stayed up late and it just did not deliver. This game had the feel of a classic when the teams came out smoking in the second half. I stayed up...

I was about to pack it in when Memphis was up 7 with the ball. I was about to click on the "x" but then Kansas stole the ball and made it a 4 point game. I stayed up...

Then Chalmers hit his tying three after Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose missed 5 of 6 free throws. I stayed up...

I woke up the next morning tired but glad I stayed up. It was too good a game to watch, it was too sweet to watch Calipari ignore the elephant in the room (free throw shooting) then have it smack him in the face with its trunk. 

If there is any lesson to the Kansas win, it is do not ignore an issue on your team when it could possibly be debilitating. As a Holy Cross grad who watched them miss too many free throws in upset bids, you have to hit your free throws. Simple as that.

Masters started yesterday, I love it. This tournament is the start of spring, and after the weather we had in the northeast yesterday it was right on time... Tiger wins, watch out for Steve Stricker though...he is too good a putter to not be near the top on Sunday. Freddie Couples will make the cut to break Gary Players' record of 23 straight cuts made... Back Monday with thoughts on the Masters and maybe (gulp) playoff hockey?

Starting things off with a trip...

So it has been a while since my last post on this site. After being lured away from this site to write for the Lunchhournews last year, a decision based on the promise of a couch to sleep on and offerings of delicious late night snacks, I am back! I am hoping to post once to twice a week and keep things fresh.

This week I have something to rant about.... The idea to send teams to Japan and have them play both meaningless and meaningful games seems beneficial to no one, not even Major League Baseball.

The Red Sox traveled to Japan over two weeks ago and have not returned home yet. They have played eleven games and traveled a total of 16,000 miles in 15 days. Seven of those games counted. They started 3-1, but this weekend it seemed the light at the end of the tunnel was too bright for the Sox. They were swept by the Blue Jays in a pretty uninspired weekend of baseball. The bullpen gave up 10 runs in 10+ innings and the offense managed to muster 11 runs.

This trip is going to murder the Sox in April. The best decision the Sox made was not bringing Beckett. He was not his best today, however he didn’t deserve to be responsible for five runs. Manny Delcarmen gave up a grand slam with 2 outs on his first pitch of the game to Frank Thomas.

Not only will the Sox be tired and off kilter all April, their schedule is an absolute murder’s row. They open Fenway tomorrow against the Tigers for three games. Then the Yankess come to town followed by a trip to Cleveland to face the Indians then they stop in the Bronx on their way back. The Rangers and Angels finish up the month of April. That is unreal. 3 playoff teams and also a lot of people’s favorites this season in the Tigers. The bright side of this is that they will have a soft spot in their schedule later on down the road. Could the Sox be reeling so badly by the end of the month that it just won’t matter? It could happen. The Sox play 27 games this month. I think they will be lucky to get out with 12 wins. I hope some home cooking and the Green Monster wake up the offense and settle down the bullpen…

One quick note about college hoops. I was wrong about Memphis when I said they weren’t good enough to win the Final Four. I didn’t even think they had the team to make it to San Antonio. However, their free throw shooting and defense have gotten better. The free throw shooting had room to improve, but the defense which was already a strength is awesome now. Derrick Rose is proving himself as a top 5 draft pick this summer if he comes out. He is a big strong kid who can handle the ball and play good defense. I think Memphis wins tomorrow night by ten. Kansas had their best half on Saturday and won’t be able to keep up with Memphis’ athletes.