A blog about nothing

NBA champion blogging

2008-06-20T12:09:00.004-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that it's probably a sign that things are going pretty good in Boston when championship parades are no big deal.

I have a ton of thoughts on the Celtics, the Finals and a few other topics, so here goes:
I think the enduring image of the postgame celebration was Garnett's reaction. Granted he was barely intelligible for parts of his on-court interview, but it was impossible not to recognize how meaningful winning a title is to him. The overriding feeling was one of validation. He's always been an all-time first-team BUT guy -- as in, "Garnett is one of the greatest players ever, but he's never won a title/he doesn't take over games. His dominant Game 6 answered the question of whether he's a big game player, but more important was the way he led the team from Game 1 though Game 108. No matter what happens for the rest of his career, no one can ever claim that he can't win the big one.
It'd be hard to top the moment after the game when he hugged Bill Russell, saying repeatedly, "I got my own." If you saw the ESPN conversation when Russell said he looked at KG like his own son and would give him one of his rings if KG never got his own, you know how much that moment meant to those two.
Welcome to Dave Roberts territory, James Posey. Or, more accurately, maybe I should say welcome to Mike Lowell territory because fans are going to be clamoring for the team to re-sign the ultimate glue guy. It won't be easy though, because Posey's services will understandably be sought after. Think the Lakers could use a player like him?
Now do you see why I've defended Rajon Rondo all year? There are going to be some growing pains with the kid, but Game 6 showed just how high his ceiling is. It was a mistake for Doc to ever bury him on the bench the way he did in Game 5, but he's lucky it never rattled Rondo's confidence. I'll say it again: he's going to be an absolute star in the league, and it's going to come sooner rather than later. He is capable of doing so many unique things on the court, whether it's his defense or his rebounding. He doesn't need a jumper to be a difference maker, but as he continues to work on his stroke, he's going to be unstoppable.
After a quick glance around the Eastern Conference I don't think you can point to one team with a better point guard than Rondo, particularly with Chauncey Billups starting to show some serious slippage.
I'm not sure that I could have been less impressed by Kobe's performance. From catching a game here and there and mostly just seeing him on highlights, I believed that he had taken the step to the next level. Not the Jordan level mind you, but certainly heading up toward that exclusive club. Instead, I saw a guy who has yet to mature as a teammate and, most shockingly, a guy who failed to take over the game when he had opportunities to do so. For someone who has been lauded (yours truly included) as having one of the most complete offensive repertoires in history, he never put the Lakers on his back in this series.
A lot of that credit has to go the Celtics defense. Save for that Game 7 against Cleveland, the C's held the game's two best players well below their typical production.
I'll say this to everyone who has crowned Kobe as the league's best player: I was far more scared of LeBron.
Of course, the best player in the postseason was Paul Pierce. The big question -- though it's understandably far from everyone's mind -- concerns the status of his knee. Sure he looked great for the rest of the Lakers series, but there's no way of knowing how much of that was the result of a mix of short-term treatment and adrenaline. I don't expect that the injury is major, but don't be shocked if Pierce goes under the knife in a few weeks.
The Celtics should be better next year, if for no other reason than Sam Cassell will be gone.
But seriously, it doesn't seem far-fetched to envision a Finals rematch next year.
I'd love for one of the experts who picked the Lakers to win in five games to own up to their mistake. It's one thing to get the Super Bowl wrong when the Giants can shock everyone with one great game, but it seems crazy that people who are paid to watch basketball thought the Lakers would beat the Celtics four out of five games.
I know I've mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating: remember how the Atlanta series was supposed to expose all of the Celtics' fatal flaws? Once again, I didn't think so. That was just the latest in the impossibly long line of knee-jerk reactions the media is prone to. Sure the C's looked vulnerable after that series, but the 82-game regular season wasn't a mirage.
One last C's note: I have a policy in this blog (starting now): anyone who quits their job due to a team's title run gets a shout-out. So to Andy Mannix, the biggest C's fan I know, congrats on the championship. You may not know Andy, but you've probably seen him -- the kid gets more air time during games than half the team, though Eddie House's son did cut into his face time during the playoffs. So congrats to Andy and hopefully you get a ring -- you're probably going to need to hawk it on eBay now that you don't have a job.
Now a few random thoughts before signing off (I'm planning on yet another blog hiatus... it's the summer, what do you want from me?)
I've been off during the afternoon the last few days, and the Euro League tournament is great to throw on in the background. Now there are a million crazy soccer rules and traditions, but the one that has always made the least sense to me is stoppage time. A simple question: why not just stop the clock like they do in every other sport.
And finally, I don't know if anyone caught this interview with Tim Russert's son, Luke, on the Today show, but it's definitely worth the 15 minutes. It's amazing to see how well the kid handles himself considering the circumstances. If you don't get a lump in your throat at the end of the clip when Matt Lauer tells Luke how proud his dad would be of him, you either A) don't have a father or B) don't have a heart. That's some damn touching stuff to watch.
Have a good summer, people. Check back from time to time -- you never know when I'll feel compelled to post something.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-06-16T13:31:00.002-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that those parade plans will have to wait a few more days, at least.

It's been a while since I've posted on this series, but rather than go back to everything I missed, I'll pick up with last night's game. I really hate complaining about calls, and it certainly wasn't the difference in the game, but that was a pretty big no-call on that Kobe reach.
The truly amazing thing was that no one on the broadcast said anything about it until the third replay when Jeff Van Gundy finally mentioned that it may have been a foul.
As much as I like Van Gundy, I wouldn't be surprised if Laker fans are down on him this morning. He and Mark Jackson were pretty hard on the Lakers last night despite the fact that they won.
On that play how afraid do you think Kobe was that James Posey was the one chasing him down? It was wise of Posey not to foul in that spot because he undoubtedly would have gotten called for a flagrant, but you can tell Kobe was a little nervous that he was about to get sent through the basket support.
I haven't criticized Doc Rivers too much this year, but the two guys that I believe he continues to mismanage -- Rajon Rondo and Leon Powe -- were fully on display last night. The team was without Kendrick Perkins and was getting killed on the boards, yet Powe only gets five minutes. If ever there was a game calling for Powe, it was last night.
As for Rondo, I understand that the Lakers have used Kobe to roam off of Rondo and disrupt the offense, but you can't change what worked for 102 games at this point. I don't mind Eddie House getting a little more time than usual, but I'm sorry, there's no reason to play Sam Cassell. Sure he made a few shots last night, but I just don't see what he brings that Rondo doesn't. Rondo is a better rebounder and defender by a wide margin, and without him on the floor the team's transition game is non-existent.
Rondo discovered in the second half that the best way for him to make an impact is to push the pace at all times. Of course, as Doc said, that's not too easy when you're always taking the ball out of the net the way they were in the first quarter.
Some of the shots Cassell takes you have to think even Kobe is raising an eyebrow. Like, even I wouldn't force that junk up.
Just to get my Doc bashing out of my system, what was up with that summer league lineup in the second quarter? Granted the C's made up ground during that time, but they were really living on borrowed time with that lineup. And really the reason they came back is because Phil Jackson put an even more impotent group on the court (Chris Mihm, really?!). Kobe was on fire in the first quarter, so why bench him to start the second? I think Rivers waited about two minutes too long to get Ray Allen back in the game.
One thing I'll say for Rivers is that he's very similar to Terry Francona in the way he leads the team, and I mean that as a compliment. There are certainly some head-scratching decisions in games, but they both steer the ship effectively. That really is the most important factor for a professional coach. You can have all the X's and O's knowledge in the world but if the players tune you out it's irrelevant.
I've been one of Garnett's biggest backers all year and I think the late game stuff is overstated, but he came up pretty small in crunch time last night.
Does any superstar get called for traveling more than KG?
The Lakers, and Lamar Odom in particular, are big-time front-runners. They're great when things are going well, but they completely tighten up when they're in a fight.
It took a few games, but Sasha Vujacic finally lived up to the hype as the most hateable player on the Lakers.
Does ABC really need to show Kobe kiss his wife and kids after every game? I'm not going to get into the whole rape thing, but do we really need to try to present him as some great family man? Too bad the cameras weren't rolling when Kobe's wife freaked out on some Laker girl that Kobe was supposedly banging.
My favorite Celtics subplot of the season finally got some coverage. Allen's breakdown of why Garnett does it and what it means is exactly why I love it.
Has Pierce always had that tattoo on his left forearm? I never noticed it before last night.
And finally, one thing you can count on hearing a lot about in the next day and a half is how the Lakers now have the momentum. Let's put the whole momentum theory to rest right now. You know who really has the momentum in these series? The better team. The Celtics should have had all the momentum in the world after that Game 4 win, but when the Lakers shot the lights out at the start of Game 5, that momentum went out the window. Any notion of momentum is tied into confidence. At this point, everyone has confidence. The teams know they can play with the other -- that's why there have been such huge comebacks. So forget momentum and everything else -- let's just hope the C's can close this thing out tomorrow night.

As much as I want to...

2008-06-13T14:23:00.003-05:00

I won't have time to post anything on last night's game. Obviously I have a bunch to say about the game and the series, but I'm totally swamped on stuff at work. If you're dying to read something of mine (which I'm sure is the case) get a paper on Sunday and check out the UFC notebook. In addition to that, I'm working on a monster recap of the C's playoff run for the paper (and if anyone cries about a jinx like they did about the Globe and their Super Bowl book, deal with it. Believe it or not it's impossible to put together a 64-page section the night the team wins the championship and have it ready the next day). So while that stuff is tying up all of my time right now, I will say this about the rest of the series.

I don't care about the Celtics clinching on the road at all. Sure it'd be great for them to do it front of the home crowd, but they I would have no problem with them locking it up on Sunday. The Lakers' spirit has to be broken right now, so no need to let them regain some confidence with a win in Game 5. I know some people are expecting the Lakers to roll over and die in Game 5. I don't know what to expect. If they do, then they'll have to go down as one of the softest teams ever to make the Finals. While that wouldn't shock me, I also wouldn't be surprised to see Kobe come out and decide that if they're going down, they're going down swinging. I can see him forgetting about getting other guys involved and just trying to record a signature game of the Finals, even if it won't be enough to get the team a championship. So hope for a 20-point win, but don't be shocked if Kobe goes for 50 and we're sweating it out down to the wire.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-06-09T12:13:00.015-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that I haven't seen a game closed so poorly since Byung-Hyun Kim was coming out of the bullpen.

I'm not concerned at all with the shaky finish. I wasn't concerned with some of the struggles the Celts had closing games earlier in the postseason and I won't be until they finally blow one. The bottom line is that they are two wins away from winning it all. I couldn't care less how they get those two wins. Remember back in the Hawks and Cavs series when the C's struggles were supposed to be signs of some fatal flaws? They couldn't win on the road, Doc couldn't lead the team to a championship, the Big Three weren't capable of winning big games, etc. Remember that? Me neither.
I've said it all season and I'll say it again: PLAY LEON POWE! I've always believed that if Powe is given playing time he'll produce so hopefully last night's performance will convince Doc that Leon needs to play.
No play encapsulated the lackluster effort of the Lakers in the first 40 minutes last night than when they let Powe go coast-to-coast for a dunk out of a timeout.
I know I don't have nine rings, but if I was coaching I think that, at some point, I might switch Luke Walton off of Powe. And I probably wouldn't have put the ball in Sasha Vujacic's hands on the biggest possession of the game.
One thing I will give Phil Jackson: the mic picked up him doing a really loud whistle last night. You know the kind when you put two fingers in your mouth and it makes that really sharp, loud whistle? I'm pretty sure you need to be able to do that to be a good coach.
I wish I could have put odds on Jackson griping about the calls last night. I don't even blame him, but I have to give him credit for him starting his press conference by saying he didn't have an opening statement. Of course, his first answer had nothing to do with the question he was asked and he went on to give a statement about the officiating.
Everyone gets out of hand with the conspiracy theories in the NBA. I can understand if you were Utah or Cleveland and you felt like the league wanted LA or Boston to win. But why would the league want the C's to win last night? Wouldn't the league rather the series be tied 1-1? Sometimes that's just how the game goes. One team is more aggressive -- no one can argue that the C's were more assertive last night -- and it gets the calls. I'd say the officiating was uneven last night, but I don't think there was any deep motive behind the calls.
This will all work itself out anyways when Kobe gets to the line 25 times tomorrow night.
And free throw shooting had no impact on the Lakers allowing the Celtics to shoot 53 percent or the C's recording assists on 31 of their 36 field goals.
The Lakers are doing too much crying, period. It was the free throw disparity last night and in Game 1 it was about all of the shots that just rimmed out. What's next? At some point you have to just tough it out and overcome these little excuses.
I've admired Kobe's game from afar this season because of how skilled his, but after watching him closer these first two games it's clear why he's still generally disliked. For all of the qualities that Kobe shares with Jordan, the big difference is that Kobe doesn't have the same likability that Jordan did. Jordan was every bit as arrogant as Kobe is, but it just didn't come across with the same smugness. With Jordan he always looked cool on the court, but with Kobe it's just pure arrogance. At no point was this better illustrated than the time in the first half when he went to take a jump shot only to have the ball fly out of his hands wildly. He glared at the ref looking for a call. The only problem was that on the replay it was clear that no Celtic even came close to touching the ball or Kobe.
Looking back, how amazing was Ray Allen's slump? I genuinely thought he might be done, but now he looks as good as ever. His specialty is that back-breaking 3-pointer during a big run. It's just a dagger when he sticks one of those in transition.
The only guy I've touted more than Powe this season has been Rajon Rondo. After last night's performance I'm feeling a bit more vindicated, though some still insist on complaining that he doesn't look to shoot enough. Sixteen assists later you'd think people would recognize that it can be a good decision to not shoot as much. His assist to turnover ratio at home in this playoffs is just ridiculous. I'm sure he'll struggle in a game or two on the road, but he is going to be an absolute star.
Here's one clear sign Pierce is back to his vintage form: He's doing the pump-fake leaner move on a regular basis. That was a staple of Pierce's game early in his career and now he's back to doing it at least once a game, and he's even making the shots after getting fouled now.
Here's my theory on PJ Brown: You could put him in the NBA, a Division 3 college game or a pick-up game at the Y and his production wouldn't change much. I don't mean that as a put-down , seeing as how Brown is a serviceable piece on a championship-caliber team at the game's highest level. It's just that when you watch him play I don't get the impression that he'd be capable of dominating at any level. He's the quintessential role player and that's exactly what the Celtics need.
I've always said how much I love the way the C's goaltend shots after the whistle and there was a funny moment in second quarter. One of the Lakers went to take a 3-pointer after a timeout and actually had to head-fake because one of the C's wasn't going to let him shoot. The guy then had to wait until the C's started walking to their huddle to finally take the shot. The little things add up and establish the mental edge that this team has.
And finally, you know what the best part of the heat is? It's a unifier. Think about it, it gives everyone something to talk about. All of those little situations where you have to make small talk with someone are made so much easier -- just reference the heat. To the cashier at the store: "Nice to be in here and stay cool." To the cook working in the cafeteria: "Must be hot in the kitchen today." To the girl at the bar: "You should probably ditch that top, it's pretty hot in here." But seriously, pay attention to it. The heat is dominating every conversation around you today. I bet you even know the air conditioning situation at your co-workers' houses.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-06-06T12:29:00.008-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that the Celtics are probably better off when Sam Cassell misses his first few shots.

As nice as it is that Cassell can give you four or six quick points off the bench, if he makes those first shots you know he'll be launching for the rest of the night. Ugh.
But that's enough of the negative stuff because there are plenty of good things to touch on today:
Obviously the big story last night was Paul Pierce and his dramatic return. While I still can't understand why he couldn't have limped off with his arms around his teammates' shoulders instead of being carried off the court, that was definitely a goosebumps moment when he came out of the tunnel and the place exploded. Naturally the comeback is only truly memorable because of the way he played after returning.
There has been a lot of talk about the key players in this series and their legacies. Between last night and Game 7 against Cleveland, Pierce has added quite a few chapters to his story this postseason.
One thing to keep in mind regarding Pierce: it's much easier to play through an injury immediately after when the adrenaline is flowing. Today is the big test when he gets out of bed and his knee is stiff and swollen. Luckily, Pierce will have two days to rest but I wouldn't count on him being 100 percent on Sunday.
Nice of you to join the playoffs, Ray Allen. Seriously, how can a guy look as bad as he did for about three weeks and then just get it back the way he has in the past week? This is a different team when Allen is clicking.
Memo to Kevin Garnett: stop going for the one-handed oops. It might look better to fire down the dunk with one hand, but that's the second time he's botched one this postseason. You can't be leaving those points on the board going for style in the playoffs.
I'm guessing it's because their defense has earned enough respect, but whatever the reason, it has been a pleasure to watch LeBron and Kobe drive into the lane against the Celtics and not get bailed out simply because they're superstars. Sure Matt Harpring probably put his fist through a wall watching the C's get away with actually playing defense on Kobe, but I'm OK with that as long as the refs continue to call the game the same way regardless of who is involved with the play.
I couldn't do anything but sit in admiration of Kobe's unparalleled arrogance after the game. It was priceless to see Kobe give no credit to the Celtics defense and only to explain his 9-for-26 shooting night as a result of "missing bunnies." I know the guy can make just about any shot, but, last I checked, fadeaways and leaners don't qualify as "bunnies."
Just a pro's pro performance out of PJ Brown last night.
It was funny, though not surprising, to hear last night that Pierce hated Danny Ainge growing up. I know a lot has been made about Pierce playing for the team he hated growing up but I think I'd be able to get over playing for the Lakers pretty quickly. But if Sasha Vujacic was the GM? That might be a little tougher to swallow.
Sure was a nice, quiet Sox game to get everyone ready for the finals, huh? I don't think the Manny-Youkilis flare-up is much of an issue -- that type of thing is going to happen -- except for the Rick James style bitch slap Manny threw. As for the brawl, Coco Crisp comes out looking like quite a punk. After everything that happened two nights ago, he knew they'd be throwing at him -- that's part of the game. I just don't see why you'd charge the mound over a pitch thrown thigh-high. No one's trying to hurt you. It's simple retaliation for the hard slide on Wednesday, so Crisp should take his base and the thing is over.
Crisp was also a bit too mouthy in the postgame interviews for a guy who threw one weak punch that glanced off the pitcher's shoulder and then got body-slammed.
A great tidbit for SportsCenter last night: Cris Carter talking about how the Cowboys are surrounding Pacman Jones with good influences like Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin. Deion is one thing, but Michael Irvin?!?!?!? Was Carter trying to be ironic? It's a good thing to be hanging out with Michael Irvin? Shouldn't Jerry Jones be doing everything in his power to prevent this relationship?
Speaking of poor decisions, how about Joey from the Real World returning to the house after getting out of rehab? Yeah, the Real World house in Hollywood would be the first place I'd go if I was a recovering alcoholic.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-06-04T12:50:00.008-05:00

I've been slacking on the posts lately, so I'll try to make it up with a big today. I'll start things off with a bunch of thoughts on the Kobe-Jordan comparisons that have been tossed around lately.

Isn't all of this talk about Kobe being as good (or better?!) than Jordan more than a little premature? It's the same as when everyone was ranking the Patriots with the all-time teams before the Super Bowl. Why waste time debating things that aren't yet an issue?
I think a legitimate case can be made that Kobe is the most complete offensive player ever, considering that he can do everything Jordan could, but with superior range. But when you have two players with that level of ability, the deciding factor is winning. Right now, Jordan has twice as many titles as Kobe and he never played with anyone as dominant as Shaq. We can start this debate if Kobe gets his fourth, but in order to pass Jordan, doesn't he need to at least get to six?
Kobe should be able to break any records he wants to, considering he's 29 and seems like the type of guy who is going to play for a long time, but it's all about winning if he wants to be considered better than Jordan. Plus, the records aren't going to last long because LeBron will come along five years later and smash them all.
The Lakers will be loaded next year, but I really don't understand why everyone acts like Andrew Bynum is going to be Moses Malone in his prime when he comes back next year. Bynum was a non-factor in his first two seasons -- remember that Kobe wanted him traded before the year -- and then he put together 35 solid games before suffering a serious knee injury. First off, there are no guarantees that Bynum will fully recover and be the player he seemed poised to become. He wasn't exactly renowned for his work ethic either, so if he does come back healthy, you have to wonder what type of shape he'll be in. On top of that he's going to have play alongside Pau Gasol so he'll probably get fewer looks next season. There's no denying that it'll be a positive to get Bynum back, but I just don't think that his presence ensures that the championship trophy will stay in LA for the next five years.
One thing that I found funny when thinking about Jordan's career: remember how some people were worried that his ill-fated comeback with Washington would taint his legacy? I actually forgot that his career didn't in 1998 when I was thinking about him, so I guess that goes to show it didn't really have any long-term impact on his legacy, at least not in my mind.
I've been a Rajon Rondo supporter all postseason and for those who bash him, keep this little note from the Globe last week in mind:
It took Steve Nash two straight first-round exits and three playoff appearances altogether to reach the number of postseason games Rondo has played this season. Jason Kidd didn't see the postseason until he was two years deep in the NBA, and even then, it took him four trips to get the experience Rondo has picked up in his first. The only point guard with as much playoff experience as Rondo at such a young age is Tony Parker.
I've long been said Rondo most resembles Parker, right down to their postseason experience. And don't forget that in the 2003 playoffs Parker struggled as much, if not more, than Rondo has this year. The bottom line: despite a few inexperienced mistakes, this team is aided by having Rondo at the point, not hindered. And as he gets more experienced, he's going to be one of the best point guards in the game.
Regarding this Kobe-Ray Allen feud: For Allen's teammates, it's like when your girlfriend gets drunk at a party and starts talking shit to some big dude. In this case, you get a pissed off Kobe ready to drop 50 rather than some guy ready to kick your ass, but either way you're getting put into a position you don't want to be in thanks to someone else's mouth.
Am I the only who finds it creepy when an entire arena dresses in white shirts?

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-27T09:18:00.004-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that guarding Antonio McDyess might not be a bad idea.

I know he's the fifth option, but at some point don't the Celtics have to respect McDyess? Maybe by Game 7. The killer is that he's completely one-dimensional. You basically need to treat him the same way as a guy like Wally Szczerbiak -- you always have to stay up on his shot and force him to put the ball on the floor.
Aside from that, not much about Game 4 concerned me. Who really expected the Celtics to go into Detroit and take two? They got one to restore home court and that had to be the goal going in. The best team in the league gets to play two games of a best-of-three at home. You can't really ask for more.
I know this isn't the best time because he had his worst game of the playoffs last night, but it does bear mentioning that Garnett is averaging 21, 10 and 3.5 this postseason. He's been the Celtics most consistent player and has carried the team for stretches. Of course nothing short of dunking over three guys with one second left in Game 7 of the Finals will quiet his critics. The NBA: where driving tired story lines into the ground -- despite evidence to the contrary -- happens.
If you need to know how good Tayshaun Prince is, ask yourself where Paul Pierce has been the last two games.
Kendrick Perkins just doesn't strike me as a real happy guy.
I just realized I've been calling Jeff Van Gundy Stan throughout the playoffs. Either way, he's the best analyst I've heard in a long time.
Worst moment of last night: everyone associated with the Celtics, except for maybe the Asian trainer, throwing Big Baby under the bus for botching one rotation. You had Ray Allen ripping Baby in front of everyone on the court, Pierce looking horrified through his hands and Rivers immediately looking for a sub -- how to help the young guy's confidence, leaders.
A few quick questions:
So can we make it official? Lyndsey Hunter is the best defensive player in the league, right? I'm not even joking; guys can't even dribble against him.
Can you imagine how insufferable that PA guy Mason must be at a bar? You know he has to have a very inflated sense of his own importance. Can't you see him trying to impress some girls by doing the Rasheed introduction across the bar while 'Sheed pretends like he doesn't see him.
What are the odds that Lamar Odom can name one lecture hall at URI?
How much do you have to dislike your son to make him a lacrosse goalie? There can't be a worse position in sports. Can't the guys get thigh pads at least?
And finally I'll never understand why people go on vacation to a tropical locale and take a ton of photos and make full albums of landscapes and that type of thing. It's one thing to have a photo or two of the view, or maybe if it's a picture that is just amazing, but I think at this point we've all seen sunsets and palm trees.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-23T11:30:00.008-05:00

Well, there really wasn't much doubt that the Pistons would snag a game in Boston. The looming question now is can the Celtics return the favor in Detroit? Before looking ahead, I'll look back to last night.

I've said for the past few games that I expected Ray Allen to get back into a groove. It just didn't make sense for it not to happen. Unless he's injured (which no one has so much as hinted at) it defied logic for him to continue to shoot the way he was. And while it was great to see Allen finally heat up, it does pose one minor issue..
Paul Pierce had been outstanding while Allen stunk up the joint. While it's great that Allen is back contributing, it also means that he won't be shy to fire away. Pierce was basically non-existent down the stretch last night and a lot of it had to do with Allen becoming more assertive. It comes down to who you would rather shooting? Ideally they'd be able to play off each other, but that wasn't the case last night.
Regarding Pierce, is there a more unstoppable move than his step-back jumper when it's on?
I don't listen to very much sports radio and this morning was a good example of why. I flipped it on during my drive to work and was surprised to hear all of the Rajon Rondo bashing. Granted last night Rondo was more Hyde than Jekyll (2-for-9 shooting) but he also had nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Everyone likes to harp on the same tired "he can't/is afraid to shoot" angle that has been driven into the ground -- and proven wrong -- all season. He's shooting 45 percent in the postseason; the only guys in this series with better percentages are Garnett and Tayshaun Prince. Does he still have some room to develop? Absolutely. But pinning last night's loss on his performance? Only if you didn't watch the game.
One thing that was pivotal that I haven't seen or heard much mention of was the poor decision Garnett made late in the game. Detroit had a broken down possession and the ball ended up in Rip Hamilton's hands just in front of half-court with his back to the basket and four seconds on the shot clock. Garnett ended up on Hamilton in a switch and tried to crowd him and force him into a mistake or a shot clock violation. The only issue was that Hamilton was too quick and easily blew past Garnett and made a very difficult runner. The problem is all Garnett had to do was wait for Hamilton at the 3-point line. By the time Hamilton had turned, started to drive and reached Garnett there would have only been about two ticks on the clock and he wouldn't have a full head of steam. From there you have to like Garnett's chance of altering a long jumper by a shorter player. I've been the biggest KG backer all year and I've also long said if a guy is going to make a mistake I'd rather he makes it going 100 mph. That's exactly what KG did and I can live with it, but he needed to be smarter in that situation.
Who knew that P.J. Brown would be the veteran, late-season acquisition who would be making critical jumpers down the stretch in the playoffs.
There was a great shot in the second quarter during a Celtics timeout that said all you need to know about the NBA. The five guys on the court were sitting in front of Rivers (presumably) paying attention, while Scalabrine and maybe one other player listened it. The rest of the players were either engaged in their own conversations or blatantly looking at the crowd or at the jumbotron.
As good as Jeff Van Gundy is as an analyst, Mike Breen leaves much to be desired. He has a god voice and does a decent job, but I really can't stand his unabashed referee backing. There's nothing wrong with pointing out that the officials miss a call from time to time, but Breen refuses to do it. An example: Late in the game Detroit lobbed an inbounds pass to Rasheed Wallace which was cleanly deflected away by Rondo but a foul was called on James Posey. Watching live it didn't look like a foul and the crowd booed the call. But then seeing the replay, Posey clearly had his arms wrapped around Wallace. No problem there, but my problem was with Breen saying, almost defensively, that they could have made the call on Posey or Rondo. Again, it was clear that Posey fouled Wallace, but Rondo never even made contact with Wallace, let alone committing a foul. That's just one example of many because Breen always takes the referees' side even when replays clearly show they blew a call.
That's why my favorite play in the NBA is a completely clean block -- the type like when Billups released a finger roll and Perkins came out of nowhere and blocked it. The beauty is that it's about the only play that happens in an NBA game where there is no bitching about a call/non-call.
I can't remember who said it, but I'm going to pin this one on Mark Jackson, because there's no way my man JVG would have said it: while praising Antonio McDyess (who has been an unsung hero in the first two games) Jackson made a comment that before his injuries, McDyess was on par with Garnett and Wallace. Now this comment bothered me on two levels. First, McDyess only made one All-Star team. I know he battled injuries, but those didn't happen until the seventh season of his career. If you're going to compared with one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, you need to have made more than one All-Star team.
Wallace is the one that really irks me though because he might be the most overrated player in the league, if only because some analysts insist on saying he could be the most dominant player in the league. What's holding him back? Nothing, at least nothing outside of his lack of desire. Wallace has never faced serious injuries, yet his career averages are 15.2 and 6.9. Let's judge the guy for what he is, not what he could be. It's been 13 years so I'm beginning to think he's never going to live up to his potential.
Just for perspective, Garnett's career averages: 20.4 and 11.2
I do the think the Celtics are capable of winning in Detroit. I really believe their road struggles are nothing more than an anomaly not a symptom of a deep problem. I don't care what anyone says, there isn't any real, distinct homecourt advantage anywhere in the NBA -- it's the same piped in music and annoying PA announcers everywhere. I think the key will be for the C's to get Game 3 though because the pressure will only grow the longer the streak extends.
And finally, a few quick thoughts on instant replay in baseball. There is no excuse not to have it. Those who think otherwise employ the same illogical, straw-man type arguments typically confined to BCS defenders. The biggest excuse is that replay would take too much time. This of course ignores the fact that the way things are now umpires are still huddling for a few minutes to discuss controversial calls and yet the possibility of getting the call wrong still exists. If you're going to take the time anyways, why not at least ensure that there's no way you can get the call wrong. Bottom line: institute replay for home runs only. And do away with the BCS.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-21T12:41:00.007-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that Mike D'Antoni has to be having some serious second thoughts right about now.

It was dumb enough that he chose the Knicks job over Chicago, but seeing the Bulls land the top pick? That has to be a dagger. Imagine how quickly D'Antoni could have Chicago on top with that roster and Derrick Rose running the point.
Regardless of who the Bulls hire to coach, Rose has to be the pick. Beasley will definitely be a very good pro, but Rose has the potential to be something truly special, and he has far fewer character issues in his past. If you plug Rose into Chicago's backcourt they're instantly back in the top tier of the Eastern Conference.
One guy who can't be too happy with the Bulls landing the top pick? Kirk Hinrich. He's likely either losing his job or getting traded, because he is nowhere near as talented as Rose.
Onto some random thoughts from last night's game: I'm convinced that Ray Allen will eventually get it going, but the longer this slump continues the harder it's going to be. I know they were trying to be supportive, but it was downright patronizing and embarrassing to hear the Boston crowd cheer Allen when he made a shot well after the whistle.
One thing about Allen: he looks like a kid trying to dribble with his left hand. I know he's a shooter, but it's really amazing how uncomfortable he looks handling the ball.
Contrast Allen's one-dimensional style with guys like Rajon Rondo and Tayshaun Prince. I'm a big fan of guys who have awkward games who are able to do things that some players, like Allen, just aren't capable of. There are a bunch of guys in the league like this -- the best being Manu Ginobili, Andrei Kirilenko, Antawn Jamison and Andre Igoudala -- who are so difficult to defend because you never know what you're going to get. They have all kinds of little tricks and quirks that makes them tough to stop, whereas with a guy like Allen all you really need to do is stay with him off picks and stay up on his shooting hand at all times. Easier said than done for sure, but a guy like Prince or Ginobili can beat you so many more ways.
Naturally Rip Hamilton gets compared to Allen (both shooters, UConn guys) but he's really the spitting image of Reggie Miller, right down to the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) push-offs.
Rodney Stuckey. That's just a solid name.
Do they even have free throw violations in the NBA? In the first quarter last night, Jason Maxiell was literally boxing a guy out by the time P.J. Brown released his foul shot. Brown missed, yet there was no violation called.
I hope Jeff Van Gundy doesn't get back into coaching because he's such a good analyst. He's not afraid to call out the things that too often get glossed over. Kendrick Perkins had a clean block last night that was called a foul. Mike Breen tried to defend the refs, but Van Gundy completely (and correctly) blasted the refs for blowing the call. Later, Hamilton threw a cheap elbow at Garnett and Breen said Hamilton wasn't "that type of player." To which Van Gundy logically asked, 'What do you mean he's not that type of player? He just did it.'
On the Perkins foul/block the ESPN slo-mo replay was awesome. That's a really cool feature of their broadcasts. Those weird, low angles they used to start the game? Not quite as awesome.
One funny trend: Players repeatedly finishing every statement to female sideline reporters with the word "man."
And finally, I'm not looking to take any credit for this because it was a pretty obvious one, but I actually e-mailed stuffwhitepeoplelike.com to suggest bumper stickers. Again, not taking credit for it, but if they do "bar trivia nights" in the next week, I want some royalties.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-20T12:59:00.004-05:00

I'll get to the NBA, how can I start with anything other than Jon Lester?

It's rare for things in sports to make me emotional any more, but considering Lester's story how can you help it? Seeing Fenway rocking like that and his embrace with Francona after the game -- that's goosebumps stuff right there.
Not sure what else I can add to that classic Game 7 duel between Pierce and LeBron. I've been surprised to learn this year that nationally Pierce has been knocked for not being a big game player. I've always considered him to be pretty clutch, largely based on the 2002 playoff run, but apparently that view isn't widely shared. Sunday's game certainly supports my feeling.
I've complained about NBA officiating for a while now, and here's my latest evidence that the refs are having too much of an impact on games. On Sunday, Pierce and LeBron combined to shoot 31 free throws. I saw the stats from the Bird-Dominique shootout the other day, but can't remember exactly what the final total was, but it was a heck of a lot less than 31. David Stern, I'll ask again: Please do something about all the flopping and acting and whining and get the players back to playing basketball.
It's not a surprise that most experts are picking the Pistons in this series. I might too if I wasn't biased, but my problem is this: the Celtics have certainly showed some flaws in the first two rounds, but what makes the Pistons infallible? Making it to six straight conference finals is touted as some great achievement, but just as easily you could point to the lone championship as a glaring negative.
Jannero Pargo shot 13 shots in the fourth quarter last night? Yikes. If you're Chris Paul -- the team's point guard -- how do you allow that to happen?
I can't say that I'm shocked that Andrew Bynum is having surgery on his knee. I've said all along that I've never believed that he would just come back and jump right back into the lineup. Everyone else seemed convinced, but now the focus will be if he's even able to go at the start of next year.
The Carmelo Anthony to the Nets trades seems like one of those deals that wouldn't help either team. I just don't see it. The rumored proposal is Anthony and Marcus Camby to New Jersey for Richard Jefferson, Marcus Williams, a draft pick and Keith Van Horn's contract. I just don't see how either team is improved. The Nets are getting more talent, but they'll also have a duo of Anthony and Vince Carter. In other words, two guys who need 25 shots a night and don't play any defense. The Nuggets would be giving up their only good defender and their top scorer. I just don't get this one.
And finally, what's worse than washing jeans? I don't care if it makes me a scrub, I'm not washing jeans unless there's a visible stain. One washing and they feel like a full size smaller. Drives me crazy.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-12T19:32:00.011-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that LeBron's mom will probably be up in a luxury box if she's at tonight's game.

Sorry I took a few days off, but Game 4 didn't leave me wanting to write much. I'd recommend Bill Simmons' column today for a more thorough breakdown of all that ails the C's. I'll just settle for a few quick thoughts.
I agree with much of what Simmons has to say. One of the biggest points that has been largely overlooked is how limited Ray Allen's game is right now. Much has been made of how Allen has sacrificed more than any of the other stars this season. The problem is that in the playoffs the team has taken it to another level and aren't even working to get him looks. It's not as if his shot is broken. He made a few beautiful jumpers in Game 4. The problem is he goes for long stretches without ever even seeing the ball, let alone coming off picks and getting clean looks.
I mentioned previously that it was disheartening to see the spirit from the team inexplicably diminish during the first round and Simmons makes another good point, that the team isn't sharing the ball nearly as well it did. There are just no easy baskets anymore. Everything is coming off of jumpers, and many of those are being taken by Rondo. What happened to the team that would pinball the ball around until someone ended up with an open lay-up?
There's no other way to put it, the way Rivers has handled the rotation in the playoffs has flat-out sucked. Simmons seems to prefer Eddie House over Sam Cassell, but whatever. Pick one of them and give them no more than 10-15 minutes. Let Rondo play the other 35 minutes. Then use Posey to spell Allen and Pierce. Posey should see plenty of time for his defense on LeBron, and since he's spelling two guys it shouldn't be that difficult to find 20-25 minutes for him. And then use Leon Powe to relieve the front-line guys. He has proven that he produces when given time, yet Rivers constantly yanks him and buries him if he doesn't look great in his first three minutes on the court. Just let him play. I don't have a huge problem with P.J. Brown seeing some minutes if there is foul trouble up front or if Powe/Perkins are horribly ineffective. One thing I don't ever want to see again is a late-game lineup of Cassell, Pierce, Posey, Brown and Glen Davis. I love Big Baby, but the rotation needs to be tighter in the playoffs and that means the rookie becomes a cheerleader.
One thing that has been difficult to figure out is why Pierce is so hesitant to drive against LeBron. LeBron is not known for locking guys down, but Pierce isn't even trying to take him off the dribble. Either LeBron is stepping up his D or Pierce is just being unnecessarily passive. The head-scratcher is as soon as LeBron left Monday's game, Pierce went at Sasha Pavlovic at every opportunity. Why not do the same against LeBron and try to get him into foul trouble?
I don't know where it came from, but Pierce has a complete hitch in his jumper and free throws right now. That 3-pointer from straight-on that was about two feet short and three feet left was a pretty good indicator that something isn't quite right with him jumper.
I know all of this sounds like I'm vacating the bandwagon, but that's not the case. I admit that I am feeling a bit uneasy about tonight's game, particularly considering that LeBron still hasn't gone off, but I didn't feel great about this team after the losses in Atlanta and they answered the bell then as well.
If the Hornets knock off the Spurs can the national media agree to finally stop calling David West underrated? He's one of the top 20 players in the league and a match-up nightmare.
A few interesting baseball etiquette stories this week. First, Nelson Figueroa was offended by the Nationals cheering and chanting in their dugout during a game earlier in the week. I don't get it. I thought it was great to see. There isn't enough enthusiasm in professional sports so to see guys engaged in chatter like a bunch of little leaguers is a pretty cool thing.
I also didn't understand the hub-bub with Joba Chamberlain's reactions. How is it a bush league for a guy to show emotion after getting a big out? Simple solution if you don't like it: beat him. And after you do so, if want to pump your first, go ahead.
And finally a few good commercials out there right now: that new Heineken one with the catchy song and the Amp "Walk of No Shame" ads are pretty good.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-09T09:39:00.006-05:00

OK Cleveland, do you want the bad news or the really bad news?

The bad news: As I said would happen, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce would shoot better in Game 2. Seeing Allen get into the rhythm he did in the second half would typically be the worst development the Cavs could have imagined, but...
The really bad news: I also said LeBron would never shoot as bad as he did in Game 1. I guess the percentage was a little better, but unfortunately for the Cavs I was wrong. That was as bad as the first game.
I think the most poignant moment of the series was when LeBron missed two free throws late in the first half that barely hit the rim. It's one thing to have a tough shooting night or two, but the way he's missing leads me to believe it's something mental at this point. Now we all think at some point in this series he's going to break out, but if he keeps launching 3-pointers I'm not convinced.
I've said all along that I love the late goal-tending Garnett has started and last night he had one that did more than send a message. In the second half, LeBron tried a shot well after the whistle, the same thing that 90% of NBA players do. Only Garnett made sure LeBron wouldn't even get the small boost of confidence he might have gotten from seeing a shot pass through the net because he jumped 12 feet in the air and ripped the ball away. It's the little things with KG.
The officials in this series deserve credit for not bailing LeBron out. It's kind of sad that it's surprising to see a guy drive, throw up a contested shot and then not get a late whistle based on the name on the back of his jersey, but that's the way the NBA is. If there's any doubt who is considered the bigger star, Kobe or LeBron, watch a Lakers game. Defenders can't even breath on Kobe without a foul call.
One player who can never complain when an opponent flops: Anderson Varejao.
He has the nickname Boobie, the tiny frame, but the star stenciled into the side of his head makes it official: Daniel Gibson is 12 years old.
Mike Brown is officially begging for a "face" to be named by Bill Simmons.
One thing I'm not expecting to ever see: KG mic-ed up during a game. The FCC would own ESPN if that ever happened.
Pierce has said the right things all year and he's definitely played more unselfishly and better defensively, but he showed some flashes in Game 1 of the old Pierce -- the guy who puts his head down and drives to the hoop determined to get his. Last night he was back to form, playing unselfishly and taking pride in defense.
In general, the spirit, that for whatever reason was lacking against Atlanta, is back with this team. Guys are fired up on the bench again and everyone is flying all over the floor. Tony Allen especially seems to have gotten over his lack of minutes, as he should. He's a young guy playing behind Pierce, Allen and James Posey. He needs to understand there aren't enough minutes to go around and that he should enjoy being a part of this team. He'll probably move on to some place where he can get more time, and will probably develop into a pretty good player, but it just can't happen here.
The one guy who does have reason to gripe, but from all reports hasn't, is Eddie House. It has to be tough to see a guy come in for the last stretch of the season and take your minutes, but Eddie has been a good soldier.
I know he can be a bit over the top at times, but damn is it great to hear Tommy Heinsohn calling a game in a rocking Garden.
Switching gears real quick, Richie Sexson's charging of the mound has to be the weakest since Robin Ventura got pounded by Nolan Ryan. The pitch wasn't even close to him, he's 6-8 and still brought a weapon to the mound and then after throwing the helmet he let off one of the most limp-wristed "punches" I've ever seen. Not a strong performance by Sexson.
And finally, I've said it before but there might not be a lower type of person than those who race up behind an ambulance while everyone else is pulled over to let it pass.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-08T14:19:00.004-05:00

Today's post will be light on the playoff content because I didn't watch any games last night.

One thing I did see this morning was Chauncey Billups getting hurt. Umm, ouch. You just ain't supposed to stretch like that man.
The Mike D'Antoni situation in Phoenix is pretty interesting. No matter what their differences, Steve Kerr really can't fire D'Antoni. Kerr took the weight of the Shaq deal on his shoulders, so how can he turn around and fire the coach for not getting the job done? No matter how much of a disruption Shawn Marion might have been in the locker room you have to believe D'Antoni would much rather have had him against the Spurs than Shaq. It's not fair to fire a guy over a mistake you made.
It looked like it (and it still might) things would work out for both sides with D'Antoni moving on to Chicago, but now that it's hit a snag this could get interesting. I think Chicago is a better spot because they have young talent and the pieces to run his system, but going from Steve Nash to Kirk Hinrich at the point would be enough to make me hesitate too.
That's all I have for NBA thoughts today, so I'll quickly touch on what is the story in Boston today: Spy-Gate. Most of you know I work at the Herald and I'm always careful never to post any behind the scenes stories or rumors I hear in the office here because it's not my place to do so.
With that in mind, I'll weigh in briefly on this saga because I have ZERO inside information. Understandably this type of story is only discussed behind closed doors and I've never heard -- nor do I really want to hear -- the specifics of how everything went down. So this is my take on the situation from a journalism background and Herald bias: the biggest thing everyone is jumping on is that because Matt Walsh didn't produce a tape of the walk-through that the Patriots are off the hook. But John Tomase's story never said Walsh had the tape. All the story said was that an employee taped the walk-through. What happened to the tape from there was unknown. It's entirely possible that the tape was handed over to the Patriots without a copy ever being made and now that tape is long gone. It's equally possible that Tomase's source had something wrong and the walk-through wasn't taped. We won't really find out until after Walsh meets with Roger Goodell and says whether or not he taped the walk-through.
Another major piece of misinformation floating around is that Walsh was the unnamed source in Tomase's story. Again, this could be the case, though Walsh's lawyer said yesterday he wasn't. Either way, Tomase's story only said it was learned through an unnamed source and everyone just assumed it was Walsh. Again it might have been, but it's just an assumption at this point.
And one last thing: I'm assuming most intelligent people are already aware of this, but I'd hope no one is drawing any conclusions based on what you've heard on sports talk radio. Sure you could say that about just any story, but one like this is unique because the only way to really get information is to do reporting work. Anyone sitting in a studio talking about this is only spouting opinions they have gathered from reading reports by others. In other words, their thoughts carry no more weight than anyone else's. And keep in mind that many of the people who are jumping all over Tomase today are the same one's who took his story as gospel the day it ran. The bottom line: you should never take what you hear on the radio too seriously, but especially not today when a topic that requires real reporting to gain knowledge is discussed.
Full disclosure, I do know Tomase, think he's a good reporter and a good guy. I don't know if he was trying to "make a name for himself" but in all of my dealings with him I've never gotten that impression. He treats the "little people" well and is a hard-working reporter who seems to always be willing to go the extra mile before he'd look for a short-cut.
And on a completely non-sports related topic, I like rap, but can someone explain the appeal of Lil' Wayne to me? I just don't see it.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-07T10:00:00.004-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that for all the good things I've heard about Chicago it probably wouldn't be my first place to visit if I was a professional athlete.

This is the first of the quick hit posts I'm going to try to employ. Here are my completely random thoughts on last night's Celtics-Cavs game:
I've been saying it all year, but it bears repeating: not only is Rajon Rondo not a liability, but he's a difference maker. He (and Garnett) absolutely took over the first half of last night's game. It's scary to think of how good this team could get if he keeps improving at this pace.
That was a great "mic-ed up" moment with Doc Rivers early in the game, telling Rondo to stop settling for jumpers and turn the corner coming off of picks. Rondo did just that and got a few easy baskets out of it.
The best compliment I can give James Posey is he looks like he'd be a huge pain in the ass to play against.
Paul Pierce's foul trouble might have been the best thing to happen to the Celtics because it got Posey into the game and his defense on LeBron was fantastic.
Watching LeBron play, it's no wonder Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter are content to launch jumpers. LeBron gets abused like no player since Shaq.
Chris Webber made a point at halftime that has been made too often: that the Celtics haven't played together a lot. Granted they have not been in a bunch of close playoff games together, but including the pre- and postseason they have played roughly 100 games together. They've practiced together hundreds more times than that. And most of these guys are veterans who have plenty of postseason experience. To say that Cleveland, based on one playoff run, is a more experienced team is nothing short of foolish.
I love how Kendrick Perkins has adopted Garnett's practice of goal-tending shots after the whistle. It's just a subtle piece of this team's general f-you attitude.
That is why Sam Cassell was signed. I believe that Rondo is good enough to play big boy minutes at this point, and I want him on the court late in games, but Cassell showed his value last night, making some big fourth quarter shots.
Has there ever been a guy with career averages of 15 and 8 with an uglier game than Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Surprisingly he does have touch on him "jumpers," but other than that the guy's game is painful to watch. He's the type of guy that puts 20 on you and you have no idea how.
And finally, as quick as everyone has been to point out that LeBron won't shoot 2-for-18 again this series, I'll wager that Pierce and Ray Allen won't combine to shoot 2-for-18 again either. Nothing from last night's game will carry over, other than the fact that the Celtics are now up 1-0.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-05-06T13:29:00.008-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that homecourt advantage apparently is important.

During my sophomore year at UMass, myself and about five of my friends got into a debate about the advantages of homecourt/homefield advantage in sports. Looking back, I'm not sure why this debate was so passionate, though I'm assuming the Busch Lights (did I really drink those every weekend in college?) had something to do with it. Anyways this went on for about an hour (driving every female far from the room), with both sides of the argument equally represented. There were cases made that it means more in college sports than pro, or more in football than basketball and a million other off-shoots of the topic. I came down on the side that it wasn't as important as it's made out to be. Count that Celtics-Hawks series as a pretty good argument against my case.
One thing I've found amusing is how everyone has done a complete 180 on the Celtics after one round. Were there so red flags raised in the Atlanta series? Absolutely. But does that mean the previous 82 games were an aberration? Absolutely not. The Hawks were a tough matchup for the C's because of their athleticism. The Celtics were the better, deeper, more cohesive team, but the individual match-ups 1-5 weren't all that lopsided. Rondo is much better than Bibby and Pierce is much better than Marvin Williams, but Joe Johnson is better right now than Ray Allen, and not only is Al Horford better than Kendrick Perkins, he's a budding all-star. The key matchup was Garnett and Josh Smith. Obviously Garnett is the more accomplished player and every team in the league would take him over Smith in a heartbeat, but Smith has such a rare level of athleticism that he was able to take over during stretches of this series. Unfortunately for the Hawks that only happened in the three games in Atlanta. Poor Josh looked like he would have rather been doing just about anything besides playing in Game 7 on Sunday.
I think the C's will have a tough time with the Cavs -- probably six games -- but in some ways I think it's a better matchup because Cleveland isn't athletic at all. Obviously LeBron is in another world, but after him it'd be a stretch to find one Cav who would rate as a "plus-athlete." As long as Szczerbiak, Gibson or West don't go crazy this series, I think the Celtics will have an easier time defensively than they did against the Hawks, who were able to attack off the dribble much better than any of LeBron's supporting cast can.
I find it even funnier that some in the media are claiming the C's lost some of their "mystique." This isn't the BCS; there is no bonus for winning convincingly. If the Celtics get to 16 wins, the Hawks series will be nothing more than a footnote, only to be remembered when fans are watching their championship DVDs.
The biggest thing I'm going to miss from the Hawks series is seeing Cleveland from Family Guy working the sidelines.
The thing that caught my attention the most in the Hawks series was how lifeless the Celtics bench was at times. Remember how they used to jump around like college walk-ons during meaningless games in November? Yeah, it'd be nice if they kept that going, now that the games do matter.
One lesson I'm hoping Doc Rivers learned from that series is not to yank my man Leon's minutes around. I love undersized, tough post players and Powe is as good as they come. If there's a player in the league with stronger hands than Powe, I haven't seen him. If he gets his hands on the ball, it's over -- he's coming away with it.
The best part of the Celtics first round series going seven games? The fact that they need to catch up to the other series so they have to play every other day. Why the NBA doesn't adopt this schedule for every series is beyond me, but I'm not giving up on this campaign. I've yet to hear one person in favor of the current set-up, while everyone seems to think it needs to change. If the Hornets and Spurs go seven games -- a big if right now with the way Chris Paul is playing -- they will play Game 6 on May 15. Game 7 is scheduled for May 19. That's three full days off before what would be a deciding playoff game! This needs to change.
And to pick up my other playoff crusade: how is it that no NBA player with enough clout has never asked for the arena PA announcer to tone it down? Garnett is so particular that he has to wear a long-sleeve shirt under a cut-off with two heat packs before every game (I have some inside sources) but I'm supposed to believe he doesn't mind "Sweet Caroline" playing during the fourth quarter of a playoff game? The top players have tons of power and typically aren't shy about voicing their demands. So I'm begging you, NBA superstars: tell your arena staff to tone down the PA crap.

I'm going to attempt to get into a better pattern of updating this blog more regularly. Obviously posts will be much shorter than these once-a-week monsters, but I think it might be better if people know they can come here just about everyday and find something new. I'll give it a go and we'll see what happens. Some days I might have just a few things, some days maybe I'll have more. I'll try to get into a solid routine where I'm posting around the same time everyday, but that will have to work itself out as we go. For now I would guess around 3 p.m. would be a good time to check for new posts.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-04-28T16:01:00.002-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that Al Horford may come to regret some of his actions from Saturday night.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm always in favor of guys competing hard and not backing down, but Horford probably took things too far the other night. First, there's never a reason to give Kevin Garnett more motivation. Watch how much Garnett is talking out there already -- CSN is going to need to stop showing slow motion reaction replays of Garnett after a big play or kids all over New England are going to become experts on lip-reading 12-letter words -- and picture what it'll be like if he actually has some to direct his rants at. If the Celtics loss had anything to do with letting off the gas at all, you can guarantee Garnett won't let it happen again.
More importantly, Horford picked the wrong guy to pick on at the end of the game. You can talk to some guys and get them off their game. Other guys try to shut you up and end up trying to do too much. And others use it as fuel and make you pay. I'd put Paul Pierce in that final category. He's a guy that seems to feed off of trash talk and Horford may have flipped that switch at the end of Game 3. I wouldn't be surprised to see Pierce go for 30-plus tonight, talking the whole way.
What would surprise me would be a Hawks win tonight. I don't know if the C's will win easy, but I just can't see them losing this game. As nice as the other night was for the Hawks this is basically a must-win as well because they have zero chance winning in Boston down 3-1.
When the trade happened, I remember thinking that Atlanta gave up surprisingly little to acquire Mike Bibby. Now after seeing him play it makes sense that the price tag was so low.
Guess how old Bibby is...I'll wait.
I bet you were wrong. He's 29! I think E:60 wasted their time on Miguel Tejada. Why don't they launch an investigation into Bibby's birth certificate? He looks like the oldest 29-year-old point guard I've ever seen. There are 49-year-old guys running the point at the Y who look as athletic as Bibby does right now.
I thought that Cleveland could give the Celtics some trouble in the second round, but other than the inevitable game LeBron takes over, there is no way that series will be close. I'm not sure what this says about Washington, but the Cavs are really bad.
There is no way to stop LeBron, though the closest strategy I've seen that appears like it could be successful would be to dare him to shoot 3's. Sure he might get hot from time-to-time, but he's doing the opposition a favor when he settles for 3-pointers instead of attacking the basket. He'll either need to improve this part of his game (likely) or cut back on his 3-point attempts (unlikely).
LeBron is going to snap at some point in this series and I don't blame him. I wrote last week that the Wizards were going too far with the hard fouls and DeShawn Stevenson's shot the other day was the worst yet. It's one thing to play hard, it's a completely different thing to take cheap shots at a guy. The real shame will be if the NBA penalizes LeBron for retaliating the way the Suns paid last year for Robert Horry's act. If the league doesn't suspend Stevenson for Game 5, it might as well grant LeBron one free shot at him. Otherwise you're encouraging scrubs to take free shots at your best players without fear of consequence.
The only reason Wally Szczerbiak is logging meaningful minutes in the NBA is that everyone decided 10 years ago that he was an NBA-caliber player and people in the league are stubborn. If he changed his name and entered this year's draft there's not a chance in hell any team would pick him. As a shooter who can no longer shoot I fail to see what value he brings to a team. The fact that Caron Butler isn't averaging 35 points per game this series with Wally covering him is ridiculous.
Now that Manu Ginobili is getting his proper due, Antawn (seriously how many ways can you spell that name?) Jamison seems poised to become the next guy I'll trump as the most underrated player in the league. When I talk underrated, I'm not talking about the Jannero Pargo's of the world who come out of nowhere and no one knows. I'm talking about guys who everyone knows are good, but just don't appreciate how good. The thing a lot of these types of guys have in common is their game isn't made for the highlight shows, as if windmill dunks and 3-pointers are the only indicators of a good player. Jamison has some serious old school moves and he gets the job done while being an effective leader in the process.
Switching gears, I think the Derek Kellogg hire was a good one for UMass. He might not be as polished as Travis Ford, but that may not be such a bad thing. I'll take a genuine guy over someone who is skilled at delivering an empty sound bite any day.
And finally, I couldn't be happier that the NFL draft is over if for no other reason than there will far less Todd McShay and Mel Kiper on my TV every night.

NBA playoff blogging

2008-04-23T13:54:00.002-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that Mike Bibby is going to find out tonight how loud Boston fans can get.

First off, and you could say this about 10 different weekends in the last year, but that was a phenomenal sports weekend in Boston. From the Sox' comeback wins, to the Bruins forcing a Game 7, to the Celts starting their playoff run and even the marathon, there was just an insane amount of stuff going on this weekend.
My man-crush on Kevin Garnett continues to grow. First, read this column about him pounding on Leon Powe after his Game 1 dunk. Then keep in mind that Powe is second-year reserve and the play came with the C's up 22 midway through the fourth quarter. Then think about the quotes from Sam Cassell and Ray Allen in that story. I admit that I never realized what Garnett was like -- I knew he was a great player, but I had no idea the intensity he brought every night. It's almost hard to believe that Garnett can really be that intense all the time, but apparently is and the team and the fans feed off of it. Getting back to the combination of punches he landed on Powe's chest: it's just a microcosm of how intense this guy is. There's a simple reason the Celtics haven't had the ups-and-downs that Detroit has experienced this year and it was clear over the weekend. Rasheed Wallace was clowning around the 76ers huddle near the end of a close game; Kevin Garnett was ready to go through the roof after a dunk with a 22-point lead. Leadership goes a long way.
Keep in mind that while his intensity is a great thing, there's a good chance that Garnett's head will explode at some point in the next two months. He had to stop and remember to breathe before Game 1 of the first round. What is he going to be like before the Finals?
And yes I said Finals. I'm sorry but if this team does lose, it won't be to any Eastern Conference team.
Check out this Garnett interview from a few years ago. Yeah, I think the guy cares a little.
The worst part about following a Celtics run to the Finals? They don't start for another two months. I wrote about this last year, and my view hasn't changed. The Celtics and Hawks played Sunday and they don't play again until Wednesday. They did not travel on the days in between. That's ridiculous.
I was excited about the Wizards-Cavs series -- emphasis on was. I loved how Washington wasn't afraid to talk trash to LeBron. It gets old hearing all of the PC sound bytes and everyone just bowing down to the game's stars. It was a nice change to see someone not afraid to challenge LeBron. The series has the feel of guys playing pick-up at the park that just don't like each other. I've also loved the way LeBron has stepped up. He's let down his guard (he typically seems like he's thinking about his image) and is just letting loose: he's talking smack after every hoop, staring down the Wizards and basically carrying himself with an F-you attitude. That's all great. What's weak is how the Wizards haven't even come close to backing up all their talk. It's great that they have made LeBron earn all the props he gets. What's not great is the way they've offered little resistance.
Actually they have offered resistance, just not within the rules. I'm all for playing hard and fouling hard too. But the Wizards just look like punks, taking cheap shots at LeBron because they can't stop him. It would be a travesty if he breaks his wrist because of some goon foul by Brendan Haywood.
One of the best parts of Game 1 of the Wiz-Cavs series was the conversation between Antawn Jamison and a ref over the technical that Jamison got during a skirmish between Haywood and LeBron. Jamison seemed to have a point -- he appeared to be playing the role of the peace maker -- but he was rational, listened to the ref and walked away from the discussion agreeing with the call.
I haven't seen anything other than the highlights, but I have to at least make mention of what Chris Paul is doing. He's averaging 33.5 points and 13.5 assists in his first playoff series going against Jason Kidd. I'd say it's safe to believe the hype of this kid.
And I have to give a shout-out to my boy Manu Ginobili. I've said for years that he could score 25 a night if he was on the Hawks, but he's satisfied with being the best role player in the NBA for San Antonio. He always makes the right play and knows when it's time to take over the game.
I know there were a bunch of other great games this weekend, but these posts will go on forever if I touch on every one. Trust that there will be plenty of NBA playoff posts in the coming weeks.
One final NBA thought: the folks in the league's marketing department deserve a raise. There have been a steady stream of fantastic commercials all season. The "This is where amazing happens" ad was the perfect anchor for this season's campaign and the playoffs commercials with two players split-screened down the middle of their faces was another creative idea. Just a solid effort by the league, particularly at a time when the on-court product is as high as it's been since the glory days.
One final note to wrap things up: as good as the NBA playoffs are, I've always been more of a college basketball guy. There's a number of reasons for this, and I came up with a new one after watching this year's tournament and the first few games of the playoffs: it's great to watch a game at a neutral site in the NCAAs with no music piped in or 'Defense' chants incited by a message on the jumbotron. I know the NBA arena experience has been trending downward for a while, but it's reaching new depths. For me the low point was "The Sweetest Thing" by Gwen Stefani playing repeatedly during the fourth quarter of a close game between Houston and Utah on Monday night. I'm not talking about during timeouts either; I'm talking about as play was going on. Can anyone imagine Larry Bird or Michael Jordan playing in an arena playing pop songs during action? Me neither.

Another blog hiatus

2008-03-29T11:37:00.003-05:00

I took most of last summer off from the blog, and I think I'm going to take another break. I just have a bunch of other stuff going on and I haven't found the time I need to dedicate to updating this regularly. It's not necessarily dead, but I wouldn't expect to see much on here in the near future. If you're friends with me on Facebook you'll find out when I do start blogging again and anyone else who is interested in reading the best advice I can give is just to check back from time to time to see when I pick it back up again.
Thanks for reading.

It Ends Tonight...

2008-03-18T12:11:00.011-05:00

I don't often (ever) put headlines on these posts, but this one just fits too perfectly (thanks to the All-American Rejects). Bottom line, the Rockets winning streak is coming to end tonight.

It seems like the Celtics have had a dozen "statement" or "big" games already, but this one might be the biggest. (Quick aside, how great is it that this year NBA games have been hyped because two good teams are going at it, not just something like Kobe is facing Shaq or some other manufactured storyline). You have the C's in the midst of a road trip that many identified as a true checkpoint while the Rockets need to beat an elite team to make their 22-game winning streak truly credible, crazy as that seems.

I just needed to get prediction down, now onto the typical yada, yada, yada:

I feel like I need to say this every now and then, and this seems like a pretty good time: Anyone who calls Rajon Rondo a weak link is simply exposing their own ignorance. He's not in the elite class of point guards yet, but he's getting there. I'm not sure that he'll ever reach that Steve Nash/Jason Kidd/Chris Paul level only because I'm not sure if it's possible to develop the court vision those guys possess at this point. But I can fully see him becoming a Tony Parker-esque player who is a complete nightmare for opponents because he's always capable of getting in the lane.
The parallels with Parker were particularly evident last night, right down to Rondo using Parker's trademark teardrops repeatedly.
One of the best things about watching Rondo: the chances you're going to see something you don't see very often. Whether it's those Olajuwon-esque ball fakes or last night's PlayStation spin move, the kids has some tricks up his sleeve.
As great as Rondo has been, and as good an addition as Sam Cassell appears to be, I'm still a little bit concerned that Sam's presence could affect Rondo's confidence. Nothing has happened yet to suggest that will be the case, but it just seems like human nature. Take last night's fourth quarter. Rondo got banged up and left the game and sat on the bench watching this veteran with a reputation for being clutch play crunch time minutes. I know Rondo got back in the game late and came up with a big offensive rebound, but you have to figure it could be tough for a young guy's confidence to see his minutes taken.
Despite the flopping, I've been a big Manu Ginobili fan since he came into the league. At this point, I think you could make a strong case that Ginobili is the best player on the Spurs, including Tim Duncan who looks a little old.
I'll save my NCAA thoughts for a Thursday post (hopefully I'll be able to blog as much during the tourney as I did last year) so for now I'll finish up with a few NFL thoughts.
I know it's highly unlikely that Pacman Jones will ever put on a Patriots uniform, but even the mention of his name raised a complete misconception that I think needs to be addressed. No one will debate that he's at best an idiot, and at worst a thug. But the other thing that even his harshest critics seem to be in agreement on is that he's some sort of mix between Devin Hester and Deion Sanders on the field. Take a look at his numbers -- you won't be blown away. In two seasons, Jones has totaled four interceptions and five return touchdowns. It's rare for a player with this much baggage to be worth signing, and I don't think that Jones' production warrants an exception.
Peter King got ripped pretty good in an e-mail for glorifying his trip to Afghanistan as something of a fantasy camp in today's edition of Monday Morning Quarterback, but I had an issue with something that appeared in yesterday's MMQB (at the bottom of the fourth page). It has nothing to do with King -- he's just conveying the thoughts of some soldiers about Pat Tillman's death and the attention it received afterwards. The amazing thing is how much the soldiers misunderstand what Tillman was about. I think if King read this amazing piece by SI's Gary Smith on Tillman he could have at least added a little balance to the soldiers' thoughts. The soldiers' gripe is that Tillman received extra attention for joining the military and after his death. The thing they're missing is that this is apparently the last thing Tillman wanted. If anything, the Tillman saga should illustrate just how manipulative and misguided the government is. They tried to use Tillman's death as a rallying cry, but instead they've somehow managed to turn the people who would have gladly served with Tillman against him.
Sorry for the long rant, but the government did a gross disservice to Pat Tillman's legacy -- and with motives based purely in propaganda. Granted it's only one in a long line of despicable things this regime has done, but it was despicable nonetheless.
Anyone else see the parallels between Brian McNamee and Matt Walsh? I find it humorous how people, particularly in this area, will change their views on sports figures depending on whether the person is for or against the home team. Randy Moss was a punk before coming to the Pats. After catching 23 TD passes, he's a good, team guy. Roger Clemens was a hero in Boston when he was striking out 20 guys. Of course he became greedy and a cheater once he left the Sox. With McNamee, it's sure he's a bad guy, but that doesn't hurt his credibility. With Walsh, it doesn't matter what he says, he's a loser and can't be believed. I'm not saying Walsh is credible. I don't know any better than anyone else. What I can say is the fact that he got pissed at a roommate for banging his girl on his bed in college or that he exaggerated the importance of his position with the Pats doesn't mean that he's lying about the video taping.
And finally, one movie that is not as funny is the light of real life events: Wedding Crashers. The whole movie basically went downhill after the midway point, but after Owen Wilson's real suicide attempt, the scene where Vince Vaughn goes to Wilson's character's place and finds him reading books about how to kill himself was downright uncomfortable considering the stuff that happened with him in real life.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-03-09T18:04:00.005-05:00

Heating up some leftover hoop thoughts from the past week on a lazy Sunday.

Now that veterans Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown have signed with the Celtics, I'm left to wonder if Michael Wilbon is rethinking his stance on black players not wanting to come to Boston. Wilbon's theory was ridiculous (and has been proven so), I said at the time that issues like the racial climate (overstated by Wilbon anyways) were far less important than money and the team when players decide where they want to play. Cassell and Brown have both played long enough and made enough money that it wasn't much of a factor, but obviously winning has made Boston a desirable place to play.
It was amazing to see how far the Bulls have fallen when they came to Boston. Granted they're still in the playoff picture in the East, but I couldn't believe the Knicks-esque effort they turned in on Friday night. There isn't even a clear reason for the collapse. They looked like an up-and-coming team last year and they didn't lose any impact players, yet they look completely uninspired.
At least they held onto that franchise cornerstone, Luol Deng. I was baffled when the Bulls were insistent on keeping Deng out of any potential Kobe Bryant trade and nothing he's done this year has changed my mind. Don't get me wrong, Deng's a nice player but when you have a chance to get one of the top two players in the game in his prime you make the deal. Failing to trade for Kobe will haunt this regime for years.
Say what you will about Steve Kerr and the trade for Shaq (and it appears to be a colossal failure), but at least he had the balls to pull the trigger on the deal. Sure it might not have been the most intelligent move to trade away your most athletic player for a 36-year-old who looks like he has little left in the tank, but I still respect the guts it took for Kerr to make the move, which is more than I can say for John Paxson not going for Kobe.
One thing that I find interesting about the NBA is how the majority of general managers are former players. It might not seem that odd because it's such a common practice in basketball, but think about other sports. It's very rare to find a former player in charge of personnel moves in baseball or the NFL. I'm not saying either way is right, but it's just weird how it's so common in one sport and not in others.
What's prettier than Garnett giving a defender the "Dream Shake" and drilling a fadeaway jumper?
Pretty wouldn't be the right word, but LeBron's dunk last week when his head was literally over the rim was certainly impressive. David Stern needs to find a way to get this guy into a dunk contest.
In the college game, it's good to see Tim Donaghy is getting work as UCLA's personal referee. First there was the embarrassing foul call at the end of regulation against Stanford when Darren Collison got completely stuffed. The play happened directly in front of a ref on the baseline, who rightly didn't make a call, but the hero out at the 3-point line decided to blow the whistle. And don't say anything about contact with the body -- the defender jumped straight up; any contact was initiated by Collison.
The call in Saturday's game against Cal wasn't as egregious. Josh Shipp's shot definitely went over the backboard, but it would have been a tough call to make in that situation. Plus, you almost have to give Shipp props for hitting a shot that difficult to win a game.
How about Texas Tech last week? They sandwich a 44-point loss to Texas A&M and a 58-point loss to Kansas around a win over then-No. 5 Texas. It was actually fun watching the Kansas crowd go crazy as the KU bench guys drilled the Tech regulars. Obviously 58 points is a huge margin, but it's tough to call it running up the score when the guys doing it are walk-ons.
A few random thoughts to finish things up:
NFL free agent contracts are getting out of hand, with guys I've never heard of pulling in monster contracts. If the league ever gets rid of its salary cap it'll be just as bad as baseball; maybe worse because of the outrageous revenue the sport generates.
After watching a lot of college basketball lately, I'm wondering how much more crushing a loss is for fans that paint their bodies. I mean it has to be bad enough if you're a Duke fan to see your team to lose to UNC, but the fact that you have to go home and scrub off blue paint for the next hour must make the experience that much more painful.
And finally I can't believe I just now discovered this site, though with almost 10,000,000 hits in two months it doesn't seem to be struggling to attract readers. If you're looking to kill some time at work I'd highly recommend it. Some funny stuff.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-03-03T12:09:00.010-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that the Patriots are going to have to bring in Daunte Culpepper to complete the Moss package deal.

Admit it: before the Pats brought Moss back for what seems like a pretty reasonable price, you had to wonder what exactly was going on in Foxboro. The defense was already weak and the team continued to allow contributors to walk away with seemingly no reinforcements in line. And then with the brass showing no urgency on the Moss front, you had to at least be a little bit concerned with the direction things were going. While the Moss signing at least stems that tide for now, doesn't a 10-6 season next year seem likely?
And with that, you have likely read the last entry in this blog not pertaining to basketball for a while. After all it's March, which means this is the best time of the year.
First off, that performance by Tyrese Rice on Saturday was one of the most brilliant displays I've seen in a long time. That's the first time in a long time that I was watching something and actually felt compelled to call and text people to make sure they were watching it. The thing that made it so impressive is that he was doing it against the (now) No. 1 team in the country. Plenty of guys put up big numbers, but to do it against that team, with that supporting cast, on national television, is phenomenal.
The real problem is that while Rice was unconscious, BC never built a huge lead. You just knew that at some point he'd cool off/UNC would make things difficult for him and the Heels would pull away. But damn, 23 points in the first seven minutes and 38 in the first 22 was fun to watch.
Despite being a UMass fan, I hope Rice doesn't start thinking about leaving early. BC isn't losing a ton and reportedly have a few impact players coming in as freshman and a UVM transfer, plus Rakim Sanders is an absolute star in the making. Mark that one down: Sanders will be a s-t-u-d before his time at the Heights is up.
One other college hoops thought: I don't think this has gotten much attention and it really wouldn't be a story if it wasn't happening at Harvard, but it's still worth a read.
One quick note: Don't be misled when it says that Harvard has a top 25 recruiting class. I guess it's possible, but I'd assume Tommy Amaker would have to be doling out Bentley's to get a top 25 class in Cambridge. What I'd guess is that Harvard probably has a large volume of two-, three- and maybe a four-star recruit. Let's say they have six players coming in. If you add up all of the star rankings, the total might be around 20. Now let's say Duke has two recruits coming in, both five-stars. That's 10 total stars. The result: some rank Harvard's class as better because it has a higher total number of stars. That's just my guess, but I really find it hard to believe Harvard is landing a legit top 25 class.
There will be plenty more college stuff to come in the posts to follow, but today I've got a bit more NBA thoughts to share:
He's baaaack. Yesterday was Garnett's best performance since returning to the lineup. While the two slick passes were nice, the most encouraging sign was the 16 rebounds. After ripping down 20 and 19 boards in the first week of the season, KG hasn't posted too many gaudy rebound totals, so it was nice to see him post a big number.
One thing that Garnett's injury did was open up the MVP race. This is going to be one of the most hotly contested races in years, with three absolute superstar candidates having monster years on good teams (Garnett, Kobe, LeBron) and two legitimate dark horse entries whose candidacy will rely heavily on their teams' finishes (Chris Paul and Manu Ginobili).
Funny how everyone pointed to Boston's bench as a weakness and now it's going to be tough to iron out a rotation because there are so many worthy subs. Obviously the starting five of Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo will remain unchanged. You have to figure Sam Cassell becomes the backup point guard and James Posey will continue to see plenty of minutes. That's seven guys. Ideally in a playoff series you aren't playing more than eight or nine. Obviously it will depend on match-ups and foul trouble, but I'd imagine Tony Allen and Eddie House will battle for the final backcourt position and the trio of P.J. Brown, Big Baby and Leon Powe will duke it out for a frontcourt spot.
The bottom line is that's a pretty solid and deep rotation.
I've been one of the biggest Leon Powe supporters since Day 1. I just have an affinity for undersized bangers who rebound and bring toughness, and it's been great to see Powe get the opportunity to play this year. It's really quite amazing that Powe's been able to make more of an impact on this year's team than last year's train wreck.
Perkins is made infinitely better by Garnett's presence on the floor.
It was interesting to see the Celtics talk openly about the Cassell acquisition before it was done. Think that would fly at One Patriot Place? And yet the C's spoke openly about a personnel issue and the earth hasn't spun off its axis. I can only hope that at some point Belichick & Co. come to understand that you don't have to be a miserable lout when dealing with the media and public. I' won't hold my breath waiting on that enlightenment.
We were talking about Kobe Bryant in the office the other night. Guess how old he is? (Answer at the end of the post)
Clearly the Lakers look like the team to beat right now, but I'm just wondering why everyone is acting like Andrew Bynum coming back is such a monumental event. Don't get me wrong; when he comes back he'll make an impact, and I could very well be eating these words in a few months. But lets just take a few things into account: He's a third-year player without much of a track record. While he was having a good season before his injury, he was only averaging 13 points. Does anyone expect that to go up now that he'll be playing alongside a superior offensive player? And you can't discount the challenge of coming back from a long, injury-induced layoff, for probably the first time in his life. Again, he'll no doubt make an impact and at the very least open things up for Gasol and Kobe. I just don't see his return as some seismic event.
One pretty cool story that's going under the radar is that the Rockets have won 15 games in a row, even after losing Yao Ming during the run. It would be impressive to see Tracy McGrady lead them deep into the playoffs after they were left for dead when Yao got hurt. Sure it's unlikely, but McGrady seems like a decent guy and it would add another storyline to a spring that should be full of good ones.
29. Can you believe he's only 29? It seems like he's been around forever. I know he's got a lot of miles on him, but he just seems like the type of guy who wants to play late into his 30s and he seems like the type of guy that will be able to refine his game the way Jordan did at the end of his career with the post game and fadeaways. Pair him with the 29-year-old Gasol, and all of the sudden the complexion of his career changes.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-02-28T11:55:00.005-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that I wish all job interviews were like the NFL combine.

Get ready, it's time for my annual combine rant. Just about everything about this event is useless, but there a few things that really stick out.
Why on earth do they do the drills with pads on? As crazy (and useless) as it is to measure an offensive lineman's vertical leap, it makes even less to do these drills without simulating game conditions. Who cares how fast a guy can run without pads on and without a ball? Call me old-fashioned but I'd rather base my evaluation on the three or four years of film available on the player. You know, the type when they have equipment on and there are actually other guys on the field.
In case that didn't convince you that the combine is pointless, one of the drills is a standing broad jump. I rest my case.
I wrote last week that the divide between the West and East in the NBA was overstated. Then I watched the C's lose to Denver and Golden State, and realized that the hype actually may be correct. It's not about those specific games; the Celtics were bound to lose some games. (What's really amazing is how they've been in every single game this season. Only one loss by double-digits and no mail-ins at this point of the season deserves to be commended). The jarring thing was just how much offensive firepower those teams have and yet they are fighting for a playoff spot. I still don't think the gap is that big among the top teams, but the West is certainly much, much deeper.
A few trade deadline thoughts (only a week late!):
I just don't understand expiring contracts. For whatever reason everyone touts them as this great trading chip, yet they never actually seem to yield anything. Can someone explain this expiring contract phenomenon in five sentences or less?
Looking for a pretty telling summation of Gerald Green's career? After getting traded, the only clips they showed of him on ESPN were from the dunk contest.
Count me as not buying into Cleveland being vastly improved by its trade. First, Wally Sczczyrbiakzcz sucks. He's just not good. Second, Ben Wallace is over the hill and getting paid a ton, and he's a malcontent to boot. Third, Joe Smith was a nice addition as a solid role player. And fourth, Delonte West is probably the best player the Cavs landed in the deal. I like Delonte's game, but if he's the best player you're getting in a "blockbuster" trade you can't tell me it's going to swing the power in the East.
The reason the trade may turn out to be a big move has nothing to do with the talent it netted, but with the effect on LeBron's psyche. I wrote last week that LeBron had to be ready to snap after seeing Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby get traded to other teams, so maybe Danny Ferry figured if he could swap enough mediocre players it might fool LeBron into thinking the team made a big improvement. This seems to have worked and I wouldn't underestimate it's impact. LeBron is absolutely unstoppable right now, so if you get him believing he has a championship caliber team, he's that much more dangerous.
Need evidence of LeBron's greatness: He was able to lead the Cavs to a win over the Wizards on Friday night with a team full of NBDL guys (the Cavs were short-handed because of the trade).
I loved how the Knicks tried to move Zack Randolph and/or Eddy Curry. Is Isiah Thomas really surprised that this isn't working out? Thomas never noticed that Randolph played the same way and the same position as Curry until he got to New York?
I will say this for Zeke, no one sits back on the bench with a smug half-smile on his face while taking a 30-point beating better than Thomas. No one.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-02-19T12:47:00.005-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that I need to get a deal like Keith Van Horn's.

Van Horn got "traded" to the Nets even though he's retired. So basically Van Horn has to report to the Nets for a month of so, go through a few practices, maybe show up at a few games, and he collects $4.5 million. Not a bad deal.
It seems like Van Horn's career has been unfairly classified as a disappointment. Granted he was the No. 2 pick, but career averages of 16.0 points and 6.8 rebounds is pretty solid.
This latest Jason Kidd trade continues an encouraging trend of NBA teams making moves with the intention of winning a championship this year. This is the exact thing I called for more teams to do at the beginning of the season: Hopefully the Celtics' success inspires other pro franchises to follow Danny Ainge's lead. Everyone seems so consumed with building around youth and are afraid to make a risky move that could move them closer to winning a championship (I'm talking to you Chicago). I think the way Ainge assembled this team should be a wake-up call to the rest of the league: the point is to win championships. It's not about competing or making the playoffs or stock-piling young talent. Obviously you need to keep an eye on the future and it's not wise to always go for broke, but if you have an opportunity to give your franchise a shot to win a title you have to go for it.
Obviously only one team will win the NBA championship this year, but thanks to owners and GMs taking risks Boston, Dallas, Phoenix and the Lakers have all improved their chances since the beginning of the year (or before the Garnett deal in Boston's case).
As a fan that's the most you can ask for: a franchise dedicated to winning more than anything else. In other words the exact opposite of the situation in Memphis, or Cleveland for that matter, which brings us to...
LeBron has to be ready to kill someone after seeing the Hawks put together that collection of spare parts to acquire Mike Bibby. I'm not that high on Bibby, but for that price wouldn't it have been in the Cavs best interests to appease LeBron and make a move? Mark it down, he's gone when he can opt out of his contract in three years, and I can't blame him.
I never understood how Shelden Williams was deemed the fifth best player in last year's draft. It wasn't the strongest class in history, but the three picks after Williams -- Brandon Roy, Randy Foye and Rudy Gay -- all would have been much better selections.
Those were the worst All-Star uniforms ever.
At the other end of the spectrum, that was a great dunk contest. There has been a lot written lately about how the NBA's image is changing and today's stars are very likable, and Dwight Howard might be the leader. He seems like a funny goof ball, he's a devout Christian who is very involved in the community and he actually reacted positively after his coach publicly criticized him last week. Having a guy of his stature as enthusiastic about the dunk competition gave it much-needed credibility. It's one thing to have the Jamario Moons and Gerald Greens of the league doing crazy dunks, but fans have a much stronger connection to the event when a top player like Howard is involved.
One thing I find absurd is that there has been some criticism (though not very vehement) that his "Superman" dunk wasn't a real dunk. Give me a break. First it was one of the most creative set-ups in contest history and then look at how ridiculous the actual dunk was. He took off just inside the foul line and caught a lob from behind the backboard. The laws of physics prevented him from being able to coast all the way to the hoop because he had catch a ball that was coming toward him. He was still able to throw the ball down and it only took him one try. Bottom line: one of the best, most creative dunks I've ever seen.
As good as Howard's dunks were, check out this clip around the 28-second mark. Howard does the dunk where he tapped the ball off the backboard with one hand and slammed it with the other, but this one is much more impressive than the one he actually did in the contest because of how much further away from the hoop he was when he tapped the ball and because of the lob-bounce he uses to set it up.
One more note: when Howard broke out the little nerf hoop he should have stuck it as high up on the backboard as he could jump and then dunked a mini ball through it. For some reason the NBA wouldn't allow him to raise the hoop to 12-feet, so I thought for sure that was his intention with the little hoop. Next year, I guess.
Ian Thomsen has an odd line about the Celtics' championship chances in this week's SI: Can these three (Garnett, Pierce, Allen) play at a higher level as a group than they did during the team's first nine weeks, when it went 29-3? If not, then a championship is beyond them this year.
Umm what? You could certainly make an argument that the C's aren't championship material, but I don't follow Thomsen's logic. So if the team can't play better than it did when it was 29-3 it won't have a chance at winning the title? Granted all 32 of those games weren't played against playoff-caliber opponents, but a .906 winning percentage is still pretty solid. I just don't see why Thomsen is saying the C's would need to play better than that to win the title. Maybe I'm missing something.
And finally, instead of Who's Now or this insipid Greatest Highlight thing ESPN is running, I think the network should run a poll over what is the best stock footage it runs on an endless loop. There are more entrants than I can think of right now, but a few that spring to mind: Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens catching footballs from Brian McNamee on a basketball court; Pacman Jones looking at a camera while chewing on a straw in some courtroom; Tom Brady head-butting his offensive linemen in Indy; footage of pit bulls in kennels during Michael Vick stories; aerial footage of Sean Taylor's house.
I think it'd come down to Pacman and the HGH boys in my bracket. While it's fun to watch Pettitte and Clemens doing squats with apparently awful form with their sleaze bag trainer watching intently eight times a day, I have to go with Pacman only because he's drinking out of a huge McDonald's cup while in court for a serious crime. That image just exudes class.

Because this Clemens thing has gone under the radar...

2008-02-15T11:52:00.003-05:00

Anyone who reads this blog consistently knows I try to avoid writing about the same tired topic that is covered ad nauseam in every newspaper and on every website. I had no intention of even watching the Clemens hearing on Wednesday, let alone writing about it. But I stumbled across it when I flipped on ESPN while getting ready for work and was immediately captivated. It was clear that this was going to be more compelling than the last steroids hearing, and after watching most of the four-plus hours of coverage, I felt like I had to check in here with my thoughts -- some no doubt covered plenty of other places, some hopefully fresh.

This was one of the most amazing things I've seen because it was completely obvious that both sides were lying, at least to some extent. Usually with issues like this one side is much more aggressive and the other party dismisses it. But with this, both guys were presenting specific evidence to refute the other's claims. It was just amazing to sit there watching knowing that one guy was lying through his teeth, especially with perjury charges a real possibility if caught.
After reading and hearing plenty of analysis in the wake of the hearing, it's clear that you could come out believing whoever you wanted to. Both sides certainly had enough good moments and bad moments that a case could be made either way.
I think the highlight of the day was Clemens having no idea what a vegan was.
That or the fact that he invented the word "misremembered."
I'm pretty sure at one point when his lawyers were counseling him they were simply instructing him to ditch the "misremember" line, because he stopped using the "word" after repeatedly doing so early on.
You had to love Clemens missing the irony when he spoke about "working his butt off."
Another favorite was Clemens' insistence that performance enhancing drugs don't make you play better. Umm, Raj... they're called performance enhancing drugs for a reason. With a name like that there's pretty much no debate about their effect on performance.
A proud day for Bill Belichick and bland coaches across the country that the phrase "It is was it is" has been officially stamped into the lexicon.
A part of me feels like Clemens could have learned from Giambi and Pettitte and owned up. But the fact is he never could have gotten the same pass as those guys. Before the Mitchell Report some argued he was the greatest pitcher ever. Fans wouldn't have been as forgiving if he came clean. Obviously protecting his legacy is paramount to him, though the question is if that's even possible, and if it's worth the potential consequences (if he's found guilty of perjury).
I can't wait until we get Barry Bonds in a courtroom, though they'll need someone a little bit bigger than that guy from the Mitchell Report to sit between Barry and any witnesses.
There were certainly plenty of questions rightfully raised about McNamee's credibility, but when it comes down to it, why would he tell the truth about Knoblauch, Pettitte and Debbie Clemens, and decide to single out Roger to lie about? That's one that Clemens' taped phone calls and million dollar lawyers have failed to shed any light on.
I know Pettitte has been sainted in the whole process, and while that's not necessarily warranted, the simple question is what would he have to gain by lying about his best friend?
Read this excerpt from his affidavit and tell me this guy doesn't seem believable: Because I just -- I live my life and the truth, you know, and I just -- I have to tell you all the truth. I
mean, I got -- I told y'all the stuff about my dad because I have to live with myself. And one day I have to give an account to God and not to nobody else of what I've done in my life. And that's why I've said and shared the stuff with y'all that I've shared with y'all today that I wouldn't like to share with y'all. Obviously he stammered his way through that, but I think that makes it more believable. He's trying to rectify this situation with himself and God, and obviously it's difficult to do that knowing you're throwing your friend under the bus.
The Debbie stuff was easily the wackiest of the hearing. It was also the least plausible story Clemens spun all day. So we're supposed to believe that not only was he not present, but that also he had no idea, when his wife decided to have his personal trainer inject her with HGH in their bedroom. And then, after finding out about this, he didn't even fire McNamee?
I've said before that McNamee being a sleaze shouldn't come as a shock. It also shouldn't serve to discredit his statements. Think about the way many criminals get taken down: by an informant. In order to get that information many of them have some dirt on them as well. It's just how the game works.
There was so much misdirection and misinformation coming from Clemens' corner it's understandable that he wasn't pinned down on all of it, but one thing that fell by the wayside due to the Congressmen not having done their homework was Clemens' insistence that Bud Selig/George Mitchell could have found him if they wanted to. He went through the whole dramatic story about all the remote places he has been tracked down, and everything was great except that it ignored the fact that it would have been against the collective bargaining agreement for Mitchell to circumvent the union and attempt to contact Clemens on his own. So Mitchell had no choice but to go through the union and trust that Clemens' agents would actually deliver the message to him. After all, Mitchell had to know it wouldn't be that hard for the agents to find him.
The division along party lines was disheartening. When I wasn't paying close attention to which party each Congressmen represented, it just seemed like you could tell who had the autographed Clemens jersey hanging on their office walls. But after seeing the clear split between Republicans and Democrats, it reinforced my apathy in politics. (If, in fact, apathy can be reinforced). I just find it insane that people let their political designation decide everything for them, particularly with an issue like this one, which seemingly had no political ties. I know it's radical, but I rely on my instinct and common sense instead of what box I checked off when I registered to vote when I'm making decisions.
The thing I find amusing is that the grandstanding politicians completely misread the public's interpretation of this issue. They must have thought they'd look good in people's eyes by pounding on McNamee and coming to Clemens' defense, ignoring the fact that, according to an ESPN poll, 70 percent of the country believes McNamee, and in no state -- not even Texas -- did the majority favor Clemens' account.
Dan Burton, the Congressmen who doled out the most abuse during the hearing, has fittingly taken the most abuse in the aftermath. What an embarrassment that blowhard was, especially considering that some of the things he was hammering McNamee on were completely irrelevant. Who cares if he lied to the media? If anyone could relate to that surely it would be a politician. I'm guessing that if Burton was ever asked about his illegitimate child by an inquiring scribe he may have been less than forthcoming.
The guy is such a winner that he has been in Congress for almost 30 years and the longest entry on his Wikipedia page is titled "controversies." Seriously, check out some of the things this guy has been involved with.
I'd go on, but I've actually been called to a hearing on Capitol Hill about what is believed to be an abscess on my left ass cheek.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-02-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

With the Patriots season in the rear view, a basketball heavy post today.

One final Patriots thought before moving on. While I think it's a bit pathetic that most fans take losses harder than players, I still can't help be a little surprised/disappointed to hear that the Patriots still had a post-game party after one of the worst losses in professional sports history. I'm not naive enough to expect these guys to be that affected by it that much -- life's still pretty good when you're getting paid millions to play a game -- but you'd think in the immediate aftermath the loss would have enough of an impact that their first thought wouldn't be picking up some groupies.
Onto happier thoughts, it's been mighty impressive what the Celtics have done without Kevin Garnett. It's not just that they've gone 5-2 without the MVP, but it's that two of those wins are over Dallas and San Antonio.
An unavoidable result of Garnett's absence: Leon Powe and Glen Davis seeing more minutes. And the results have been outstanding. Let me first say that I couldn't have been more wrong about Davis' NBA potential. While I was right that there is a disproportionate amount of love showed to him because he's nicknamed Big Baby -- or Cry Baby as my sister thought it was -- he's also proven to be an effective player with good footwork and hands who knows how to use his body. I've long been a Powe fan so it was nice to see him get the winning hoop in Minnesota, particularly coming on one of his typical hustle plays. Obviously these guys won't see near as much time when the playoffs roll around, but it's nice to know that if any of the big guys get in trouble there are two suitable back-ups ready to step in.
One thing that has been pounded into everyone's heads forever is how much better the Western Conference is than the East. While there is certainly some truth to that, and the West clearly has more depth, the divide may not be as great as advertised. Consider that the C's are 16-0 against the West and that the championship has alternated conferences for the last five years, and it makes you wonder about this theory that has been accepted as fact.
A few big NBA trades that haven't been addressed in this blog:
You might have thought I was going to start with the Shaq-Marion deal, but instead I'll begin with Kyle Korver to the Jazz. Korver has finally begun to get recognition for something other than looking like Ashton Kutcher, thanks to Utah's 17-3 record since he was acquired from Philadelphia. Korver's shooting ability is a nice complement to Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams, and I believe that the Jazz are the most overlooked team in the NBA right now, at least to the casual observer. They went to the conference finals last year, and they look better now.
Now, to the Big Aristotle. I must say that I, like most everyone, was shocked by the trade at first. I have no way of knowing how bad the locker room had become in Phoenix (though the book by SI's Jack MacCallum chronicling a season behind the scenes painted a pretty vivid picture of the insecurities and egos there) but it just didn't make sense for the Suns to trade a young, athletic player who was their best defender for a guy who appeared to have a fork poking out of his back. I'm still not convinced that it wasn't a huge mistake by Phoenix, but after seeing Shaq's introductory press conference I couldn't help but want to believe everything he was saying. The guy is easily the most charismatic athlete today, and with the way he commanded the stage at the press conference, it wasn't that difficult to picture him back to his dominating self, especially playing alongside Steve Nash.
With the Gasol trade, we get to see how good Kobe really is. He didn't want to play Robin to Shaq's Batman for his whole career, and while selfish, that was understandable. After Shaq left, he played selfishly, had some impressive individual accomplishments and didn't come close to competing for a title. He's always asked for more help and now that he's got it, we'll see if he is really worthy of Jordan comparisons. It's still his team, but if he's willing to incorporate his teammates and leads them to a championship, he'll show that he's more about winning than his own stats. If not? Then he should be remembered as a more driven Vince Carter who happened to be fortunate enough to play alongside one of the greatest centers ever and win three titles.
One thing I don't understand is why LeBron James is convinced that the Cavs will be title contenders if they acquire Jason Kidd. There's no denying that Kidd is one of the best point guards in the league and he'd make things easier on LeBron, but watching Cleveland play it's not a point guard that LeBron really needs. He dominates the ball on offense. Think back to his transcendent Game 5 in last year's Eastern conference finals -- LeBron was bringing the ball up the court and either shooting or taking the ball to the hoop; he didn't need anyone to get him the ball. What LeBron could really use is an athletic big man to run the floor with him or an established shooter to spread the floor. No doubt Kidd would be a nice addition, but considering what the Cavs would have to give up, would it really be that much of an improvement?
It's amazing how many big names have been traded in the last year, and generally I think it's a good thing for the league, but a troubling trend is emerging. There are too many vets who end up in losing situations -- situations that they contributed to -- that immediately look to get moved to a contender. My problem is none of these guys are owed anything. It's one thing if it's a Ray Bourque or Garnett scenario where a guy has given everything to an organization and it's made clear they are going to rebuild. But if Shaq gets back in shape and plays hard every night in Phoenix, I wouldn't expect many warm, fuzzy feelings in Miami.
Wrapping up with a few college hoop thoughts:
What a brutal ending in the Villanova-Georgetown game last night. If you didn't see it, 'Nova, which desperately could have used the upset, was whistled for a foul 75-feet from the basket with 0.1 remaining in a tie game. I'm a believer that a foul is a foul, but in that situation there was no reason to make that call. The Villanova player barely nudged the Georgetown player, and no advantage was gained. The refs absolutely should have allowed the game to be decided in overtime.
I don't think they'll win the national championship, but Duke is going to be a tough out in the tournament. The thing about the Blue Devils is that they are relentless in every aspect of the game. They play tough man-to-man defense all over the court, they are always cutting and moving on offense, and they are all threats from the outside. As much as Coach K haters won't like to admit it, they are well-coached and disciplined. Again, I'm not sure that they have the athletes to beat a team like Memphis, but that'd be a great matchup just for the different styles the teams play.

Mini Super yaya, yada, yada

2008-02-05T11:39:00.001-05:00

I basically took last week off because I was completely burnt out from the Super Bowl hype and didn't think there'd be much I could add here. Same goes for post-Super Bowl thoughts. Every angle has been driven into the ground, so I'm going to try and add a few things without rehashing everything that has been covered ad nauseam.

One thing that I haven't seen addressed in all of the criticism for not kicking the field goal, is Brady taking a sack on third down to turn a 43-yard attempt into a 49-yarder. I haven't re-watched the game, so I could be off, but I don't think this was one of those drop-backs where Brady didn't have a chance. I know he was looking to make a play, but you can't hold the ball and take a sack in that situation, especially when it's clear your coach has no faith in your kicker.
Another thing that has been mentioned, but outside of Michael Felger's report card in today's Herald, hasn't been stressed enough is the Giants final touchdown. It's been no secret for a long time that Ellis Hobbs is a complete liability -- the type of guy who makes one play a game and gives up seven, yet somehow still carries himself like a superstar. But I can't put all of the blame on him for that touchdown pass to Burress. Sure it would have been nice if he was at least in the picture on the catch, but really who couldn't see that play coming? Apparently Bill Belichick and Dean Pees. How do they leave their worst corner on an island with the other team's best receiver in that situation? Don't you have to roll a safety over there before the snap to attempt to discourage Manning from even trying that pass? I don't care if that means a tight end or back would be in one-on-one coverage elsewhere. You can't get beat by their best player against your worst in that situation.
Not Asante Samuel's finest hour. Forget the missed pick late in the game -- sure it's a play he makes 8 out of 10 times, but it certainly wasn't easy. I had more of a problem with the first Giants touchdown when Samuel went for the interception instead of simply batting the pass down.
I know things were pretty desperate, but the Patriots completely mismanaged the final 35 seconds after the Giants scored. First, Laurence Maroney danced with the return, wasting a few valuable seconds. Then, with three timeouts, they looked deep even though they only needed about 45 yards to get into field goal range. Of course once Brady was sacked on second down they had no choice, but they were clearly looking long from the first play.
I think everything else has been pretty well covered, so I'll end with a gambling note: As great as it went for people who had 7 and 3 in squares, it could have been even better if the Pats had punched the ball in from the 1-yard line on the last play of the first quarter.
I actually don't mind Chris Berman as much as some people do, but this clip is too funny to not pass along.
And finally, how long until Congress has a hearing to find out how many Gauntlet cast members are 'roided up?

Yada, yada, yada

2008-01-26T12:43:00.001-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that I'm more concerned about Tom Brady's metro cowboy boots than his protective boot.

Tommy (as his friends call him) really needs to reign it in a bit with the metro look. We already had the photo of him looking like David Puddy with his European carry-all this summer, and now we have him strutting around NYC with his perfectly tied scarf and trendy boots. This guy used to be the All-American every man. Now? I'm not so sure.
I'm not worried about Brady's ankle at all. I had a severe ankle sprain this summer and was playing in a rec league basketball game eight days later. Keep in mind I did not have access to the best medical treatment in the world, and unless all Brady's doing for treatment is icing his foot and putting it up on a bunch of pillows, I feel confident saying his recovery should at least be as good as mine.
The real concern is re-injury. Anyone who has ever sprained their ankle knows that even when it feels better they're not out of the woods. It's very easy to roll it again and with a pass rush like the one New York has, it's definitely a possibility.
One thing I find interesting about this game is that if the Giants win it'd be a huge upset because it would prevent the Patriots from completing their historic season, but football-wise it really wouldn't be that unbelievable. There have been bigger lines on past Super Bowls and it's not like no one's giving the Giants a shot. It's a combination of the Patriots returning to their grind it out style and the fact that the Giants are a good, tough team, but it's still amazing that this team was favored by almost 30 points just two months ago, and now it wouldn't be shocking if they didn't win the Super Bowl against the fifth-seeded NFC team.
Randy Moss' disappearance in the playoffs has been puzzling. Obviously it wasn't a problem in the Jaguars game, and you could even credit Moss with opening things up underneath for everyone else. But against San Diego, Brady was struggling and Moss was never there to bail him out. I can't even recall a play where Brady attempted a deep pass to Moss.
I've been amazed that some people have taken veiled shots at Brady for dinking and dunking in the playoffs. Never mind that he threw for 4,806 yards this season, including a number of perfectly thrown bombs, but the reason he's been dinking and dunking so much is because that's what the defense has given him. The obvious question is if it's so easy to just check-down all day, how come no QB has ever had as accurate a game as Brady did against Jacksonville.
I'm predicting a Patriots 27-16 win. It'll be close, but never so close that the outcome will really be in question.
I love Kevin Garnett.
I just feel like I should get that down in every post.
But really, how could you not love the emotion he showed after Friday night's win? How was that guy ever on a team that lost consistently? He is completely invested in every game. He's almost like the guy who takes pick-up games a little too seriously -- setting hard screens, taking charges, yelling at teammates for not boxing out or following their shots -- you know the guy. The only difference between that guy and Garnett is that Garnett is getting paid $20 million and playing in the top league in the world, so it's OK to care that much. In fact, it probably wouldn't be the worst thing for the league if that attitude caught on.
Maybe someone from San Diego can get this Garnett quote to LT: “I wasn’t going to do anything that would jeopardize my future and all that, but my philosophy has always been that if I can play, if I can run, if I can move, if I can blink, if I can wake up in the morning, I’m going to play."
I know Vince Wilfork is a big basketball fan, so it was nice of Minnesota to let him suit up the other night. Oh wait, that was Antoine Walker? Yikes. Looks like the wiggle has been replaced by the truffle shuffle.
And on that note, I'll wrap it up.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-01-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

Before getting started, I need to apologize for being so negligent of the blog lately, but first I was extremely busy with Herald stuff and then I was in New Hampshire for the weekend. If this post is incoherent I'm going to have to blame that trip, as I drank so much in a five-day span that I'd probably still fail a breathalyzer and I haven't had a drink since Sunday.

First things first, are we sure that Randy Moss had no involvement in Tom Brady's foot injury? No consensual horseplay in the locker room?
The Moss thing was pretty crazy, and despite the fact that athletes haven't earned the benefit of the doubt in this type of story, it seems that everyone is giving Moss a pass. The combination of the "victim's" past, the way her and her lawyers handled the situation and Moss' impassioned statements to reporters all added up to most believing Moss wasn't at fault. I'm inclined to agree, though are still a few holes in the story that need to be filled in.
The thing I found most amazing about the saga was the way Moss was allowed to speak to the media for such a long time and so openly. I completely expected a prepared statement and a lot of no comments, so you have to give Moss credit for not ducking a controversial topic. Maybe Roger Clemens could learn something from that.
One thing I find funny is how every Patriots fan jumped to Moss' defense, while you know the same people would have assumed he was guilty eight months ago. Funny what 23 touchdowns can do to change you image, at least with the hometown fans.
With two weeks of newspaper articles and radio talk shows to fill, the Brady injury will certainly be blown out of proportion, though I can't blame the media because it could be a huge story. That's not to say I expect it to become one, as Brady has shown remarkable durability and if it really was serious I don't think he'd allow himself to be photographed walking to Gisele's apartment.
Aside from Brady's struggles, Sunday's win was vintage Patriots playoff football. Some people have said that the Patriots not being as dominant in the second half of the year is a sign that they team is ripe for the picking, but the truth is that this is the way the team has played for years -- they control the game but never fully dominate an opponent. If anything, the anomaly was the way the Pats rolled through everyone in the first seven weeks.
The fact that the Patriots have reverted back to their old way of grinding out wins makes the 12.5 point Super Bowl spread ridiculous. New England isn't blowing teams out anymore, yet the spreads haven't come down at all. I'm not running to bet the house on the Giants, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they cover.
One storyline that hasn't received much attention yet is how beneficial it will be for the Pats to play in Arizona. They haven't played in warm weather or a domed stadium since Indy, so I fully expect the passing game to get back on track in Arizona.
Another AFC divisional round loss, another batch of sour grapes from San Diego. Maybe Richard Seymour was grabbing Nick Hartwick's balls under the pile or poking people in the eyes, but said after a loss it comes across as nothing more than whining.
I've been one of the biggest LaDainian Tomlinson bashers for over a year, and it's comforting to see more people beginning to join me. It's inexcusable for the self-proclaimed "Best player in the NFL" to sit out large portions of the two biggest games of the season with an injury that he called minor. Say what you want about Philip Rivers, but no one can question his heart. Can't really say the same about the "classy" Tomlinson, can you?
Put it this way: how many great running backs do you think would have missed the game with a hyper-extended knee? I'm thinking that Emmitt Smith, who once played through a separated shoulder in a regular season game, might have toughed it out. Terrell Davis, who played through a blinding migraine in the Super Bowl, also may have given it a go.
But at least Tomlinson was a leader and cheered on his teammates from the sideline. Oh wait, that's actually the opposite of what he did: sitting on the bench sulking behind his dark visor.
Completely random statistical tidbit: Tyson Chandler is averaging 12.4 rebounds and 12.3 rebounds and is 25-years-old. Ben Wallace is averaging 4.6 points and 8.8 rebounds and is 33. Think Chicago would like a do-over on that trade?
EDIT: I told you this post might be a little off. I pretty much botched the Chandler-Wallace thing. There was no actual trade, though the signing of Wallace did clear the way for the Bulls to move Chandler. So while there was no literal trade, essentially the Bulls decided to swap Wallace for Chandler.

Hopefully I can get back into a semi-regular pattern of posting again over the next few weeks, but I make no promises.

Yada, yada, yada

2008-01-11T14:43:00.000-05:00

It's been too long since I've posted anything here, so let's get right to it.

I mentioned briefly in my last post that I don't think the Jaguars have any chance on Saturday night. Anyone thinking they're going to win is having their judgment clouded by what they want to see happen. The Patriots are coming off of a bye, are playing at home, have the greatest offense in NFL history and are facing a one-dimensional offense with a suspect defense. How is that the recipe for an upset?
I love the "experts" how have come out and predicted a Jags win. It's a win-win situation. If Jacksonville does win, they look brilliant. And if they lose, no one will really remember and it'll be onto the next prediction.
The only prayer the Jags have is to win the coin toss, receive the kick-off and march down the field and put seven on the board immediately. If they fall behind, they're doomed. Can anyone really envision David Garrard leading a comeback in a playoff game at Gillette? Me neither.
It's important to note that the Patriots still haven't lost a home playoff game with Brady under center. I can't imagine what would make anyone think this will be the team to end that run.
One interesting (and scary) thought: let's say the Patriots do lose one of these next two games and the Colts go on to win another Super Bowl. Then wouldn't the two franchises, and their quarterbacks, have completed a total 180? If the Patriots lose this postseason it would be one of the biggest chokes in sports history, one that would haunt Brady and Belichick for the rest of their careers.
While a loss could happen in the AFC Championship game, it ain't happening this weekend. Pats 34, Jags 10.
I expect a colossal Pats-Colts matchup in the AFC Championship game, but I wouldn't be shocked if San Diego pulls off the upset this weekend. The Chargers have always given Indy trouble. Also, it'd be too perfect for the league and networks to get Indy-NE and Green Bay-Dallas for the championship games. You just know one team will spoil that, and it very well could be the Chargers.
Did Antonio Gates really get carted off the field last weekend with a sprained/dislocated toe? Alonzo Mourning shredded his knee and he hobbled of the court, but Gates needs a cart for a toe injury?
I know I'm pretty late checking in on this, but that game last week against Houston when Garnett lost his mind was unbelievable. I thought the honeymoon period would end, but he's only gone up in my eyes as the season has progressed. It's ridiculously rare to see a guy display that much emotion in the 30th game of the season.
Can't you just picture Tracy McGrady sitting on the Rockets bench, missing the game with some little injury, snickering to the guy next to him that Garnett must not know he'll still get paid the $20 million regardless of whether or not he cares.
The obvious concern is whether he can sustain that level of intensity all season and into the playoffs, but don't expect me to doubt him.
Everyone is starting to see what Danny Ainge saw in Rajon Rondo. The guy has a few tricks up his sleeve -- you have to love the fake behind the back passes and up-fakes. Plenty of commentators still point to him as a weakness, but it's just another example of people not adjusting their mindset because of what they expected in the preseason. Anyone who has actually watched Rondo play should realize what he brings to the table.
Guys like Rondo are a perfect example why I'd never be a good GM: I'm too impatient. If a guy doesn't bowl me over right away I dismiss them. You'd think that between Rondo and a slew of guys on this year's UMass team I'd finally learn my lesson.
Chauncey Billups pulled one of the most annoying and condescending moves in sports last weekend. The way Billups talked about how serious the C's took the game with the Pistons, and turned it into a criticism blew me away. It's like when you beat your older brother in something, and in attempt to keep you from feeling good about it, he says he wasn't really trying. I don't get it Chauncey, why exactly did the Celtics care more about this game than you? And how is that a negative?
I picked on the Glen Davis pick when it happened (I never saw him be able to score in the NBA with his body-type), but he made a believer out of me for at least one night. That was pretty impressive what he did in Detroit. He has great hands, and with an offseason of working with an NBA strength coach he should be even better next year, though it probably won't be in Boston because he's only signed a one-year contract.
A few randoms to finish up:
If the owner of the NHL franchise in Nashville knew the Dateline show was going to become so popular, don't you think they would have gone with a nickname other than "Predators?" I just can't look at that name in a summary and not think of some dude unsuspectingly walking into a kitchen with a six-pack of wine coolers about to get busted by Chris Hanson.
I've probably vented about this here before, but to the people who call the Herald office to ask for the answer to some ridiculous bit of trivia: Have any of you ever heard of Google?
This has to be a generational thing. I can't imagine anyone under the age of 50 ever even thinking of calling a newspaper to ask such important questions as 'Where is Drew Bledsoe from?'
And finally, why do politicians need to say they approve a message when they appear in the commercial? I tend to be able to figure this out when the person is shown and their mouth is moving and the sounds coming out are saying good things about the person. Was there some case somewhere of a politician being forced at gunpoint to say things against his will that I don't know about?

Slacking on the posts

2008-01-07T21:54:00.001-05:00

I know I've sucked with updating the blog lately, but I've been crazy-busy with Herald stuff. I actually have a bunch of stuff jotted down and just need to find the time to put it together in a post. I don't know what that will be, so unfortunately you may be reading my thoughts on the Jaguars in about two weeks, but when I get a chance I'll get something up, just no idea when that will be. (Cliff Notes version: I think their chances against the Pats are wayyyy overstated. New England wins this game by double digits. You just aren't coming into Foxboro and beating a rested Patriots team with a one-dimensional offense and suspect defense).

Yada, yada, yada

2007-12-27T22:40:00.001-05:00

Thoughts while still trying to get the image of Andrew Bynum in short shorts out of my mind.

All I can say about that experiment is that I'm glad the Celtics won so we don't have to worry about any Lakers pulling a Richard Hamilton and wearing the shorts for good luck.
Think about this one for a second: the Celtics could go .500 for the rest of the year and still end up with over 50 wins. They are currently playing at an .897 clip. What's the earliest a team has ever clinched a playoff spot?
Granted that wasn't the iron of the West, but a 4-0 road trip has to quiet whatever doubters still exist. Any talk of the Celtics relatively weak schedule to this point is fairly ridiculous. This isn't college sports where a powerhouse can schedule nothing but home games against cupcakes for the first two months of the season. The schedule is made by the league and everyone plays everyone eventually, so a team can't help what order the games happen to fall in.
I know it was an odd choice to start with the C's, but the emotional scarring of seeing that much of the Lakers team was much fresher than Saturday's Patriots game.
Let there be no debate, we just witnessed the single greatest regular season by a quarterback in NFL history -- the numbers are there, the records are there and the wins are there. Brady's story is so well-known that it's sometimes lost just how remarkable it has been. The guy was lightly recruited out of high school, had to battle for the starting job with such legends as Brian Griese and Drew Henson at Michigan, was deemed the 199th best prospect in the 2000 Draft, barely survived the cut at his first training camp, and then, when he finally got his chance to be a starter, all he's done is author one of the most brilliant eight-year stretches in NFL history. If you stop and look back on it and put it in perspective it really is amazing.
Can we put an end to all of the qualifiers put on Brady and Peyton Manning when people talk about them as all-time greats? If each guy retired tomorrow they'd go down as two of the top five quarterbacks ever. I know people hesitate to say things like that because everything in the media tends to get blown out of proportion -- people throw around labels like best ever far too often. But in this case it's true. They've had unbelievable numbers, Super Bowl wins (and one will almost assuredly add another this year) and, seeing as how they're barely in their 30's and never get injured, there doesn't seem to be any end in sight to their dominance.
For some reason John Elway has become untouchable in all of these all-time debates. I'm just curious as to why. He was certainly a great QB, but I just don't see what he has on his resume that Brady doesn't.
Clearly Brady has far more natural ability than anyone ever gave him credit for, and it's become clear that he's one of the smartest players to ever play the game, but one thing that isn't discussed enough is his commitment. Remember when there were big questions about his ability to throw the deep ball? Early in his career it was reported that he spent the offseasons working on improving in that area, but then the story just kind of disappeared. Well clearly he's doing more in the offseasons than dating actresses and supermodels because he throws as good a deep ball as anyone in the game. I'm not talking about the video game style Hail Mary's that he completes to Randy Moss once in a while, but the number of throws he's made this year that were so perfectly placed all the receiver had to do was run straight and put out his hands. No doubt it's helped to have Moss on the receiving end this year, but it also says a lot about Brady that what was once considered the lone deficiency in his game is now a strength.
The next thing Brady may want to look into? Getting NFL Films to erase that combine video of his less than rock-hard body from its archives.
I have no idea what it will cost and I know that things could take a turn at some point, but the Patriots need to lock Moss up. I know no one here could ever imagine things turning sour here, but don't you think everyone in Minnesota thought the same thing 10 years ago? The thing the Patriots have going for them is Moss seems to understand this is Brady's team and he has shown a genuine respect for him.
The guy just does things that no other receiver in the game can do. To me, the short TD catches where he subtly pushes off and out-leaps a defender are every bit as impressive as the 60-yard bombs. You know a receiver is pretty good when people actually gasp when he drops a pass.
Please, don't turn into Chad Johnson with the celebrations, Randy. You're better than that.
Watching some of the uninspired games yesterday, credit has to be given to the Giants for the way they played on Saturday night. Sure they lost a few players to injury, but the way they played -- Eli in particular -- should give the team plenty of confidence heading into Tampa Bay.
The Redskins certainly aren't lacking for storylines, from the Sean Taylor tragedy, to Joe Gibbs' redemption after the timeout fiasco to, most amazingly, Todd Collins' performance. Collins has been a starter for just one season in his 13-year career, and that was a decidedly mediocre stint 10 years ago. But this year, Collins has stepped in for a hopeless Redskins squad and led them to four straight wins and an improbable playoff berth. Sure he'll probably crash back to earth in the playoffs, but it's a cool story on a team full of them.
Switching gears: I've extolled the brilliance of 'The Wire' numerous times on this site, but with the Season 5 premier coming up on Sunday I feel the need to offer this warning: 'The Wire' will completely ruin TV for you. You'll wind up comparing every show to it and realize that they all pale in comparison. Take a show like 'Law & Order.' I used to like it, but now I can't even take it seriously. What takes 'The Wire' an entire 13-episode season to develop is resolved in a 40-minute episode of 'L&O.' Maybe you don't have the patience to watch a show that is so deliberate, but just know that of the many people I've turned onto the show, I've never had anyone say that they didn't like it.
Is it just me, or are there certain songs that you automatically associate with Guitar Hero now? 'Carry on My Wayward Son' will never be the same, because every time I hear it I just picture what buttons you have to hit at the different parts.
Anyone else think it's a little weird that some cashier at CVS can know more about you than pretty much anyone else? There are any number of products you might buy there that you wouldn't want people to see, yet this joker making $6.75 behind the counter knows all about that little odor problem.
And finally, people who say "See you next year" as they leave work on New Year's Eve? Yeah, you can stop doing that.

Off the top of my head

2007-12-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

A few quick thoughts while hoping everyone had a good Christmas.

Another ho-hum effort from the Pats on Sunday. I don't think this pedestrian end to the season is a sign of any flaws with the team. If anything, it should just make everyone appreciate the ridiculous stretch the Patriots went on when they were effortlessly blowing everyone away.
There's no way they don't finish the regular season 16-0. And no matter what qualifiers people want to put on the team because of Spy-Gate or anything else if they go 19-0 it's the greatest team ever, no debate.
I'm glad to see Philip Rivers getting blistered for his ridiculous display on Monday night. When I was watching it live I thought maybe I had a few too many Christmas Eve cocktails because I couldn't believe the 19th-rated passer in the league would be talking that much trash. This is a guy whose team wins in spite of him, not because of him. For a team that's never won anything the Chargers sure do talk a lot.
I don't think it'd be possible for a punter to have worse day than the one Green Bay's had on Sunday. He had two blocked (one returned for a touchdown, the other recovered on the 7-yard line), he botched one snap and didn't get the kick away and he shanked one out of bounds 9-yards. Some teams don't have that many problems in a season, let alone one game.
I know they lost yesterday, but the Suns are still as fun as ever to watch. For all the talk of guys who make players better, no one comes close to Steve Nash. Not only is he a great passer, therefore setting up teammates for easy hoops, but he also changes the way the team plays. That type of unselfish play is infectious and the rest of the Suns have picked up on it.
And finally, this is in no way a political dig (I really don't care enough to make one), but were you aware that John McCain was a P.O.W.? McCain seems like a decent guy, but does he really need to make it the focus of every commercial?

Off the top of my head

2007-12-22T15:28:00.000-05:00

A few thoughts as I nurse a hangover on the couch.

I know it was only one loss and doesn't quite qualify as adversity, but it's certainly reassuring to see the Celtics respond the way they did last night. That's one of the things that validates the C's as a legit power: they don't mess around with inferior teams. If you don't come to play they will blow you out. They aren't scraping out every win; every third game they just destroy someone and everyone gets to have an easy night.
What the hell happened to Chicago? I thought the Bulls would be the Celtics main competition in the East. Now it looks like they won't make the playoffs. Good thing they stood pat rather than trading for Kobe.
I caught the Memphis-Georgetown game earlier and Memphis has to be a team no one wants to play. They can look good when things are clicking on offense (like they were today), but no matter what you know you're in for a battle.
My biggest question surrounding Memphis is why doesn't John Calipari make his number one priority recruiting a deadly shooter? Picture a guy like J.J. Redick playing for Memphis. With four other guys as athletic as Memphis' guys you'd be able to mask any deficiencies the shooter had on defense or handling the ball and he'd have to get open looks because defenders have to help on Derrick Rose all the time.
I slammed Roy Hibbert quite a bit last March and nothing I saw today changed my take on him. He's a complete stiff. He got eaten alive by an athletic big man, the exact type of players he'll see every night in the NBA. I would not be happy if my team drafted him... Wunless I was rooting for a D-League team.
I'm watching Xavier-Tennessee right now on ESPN and Tom Brennan, the former UVM coach, is a good announcer. Funny with some good insight.
I'm a little bit late checking in on this, but I can't believe people treated that T.O.-Jessica Simpson "feud" seriously. When I first read the comments I assumed they were made tongue in cheek, and for people to treat like it was a legitimate news story was pretty silly.
Any truth that Bill Parcells is returning to the NFL just to get away from Jason Krause? I know the kid's like 10, but whenever I see him on TV I just want to punch him in the face.
I'm pretty sure that anytime someone talks about New Year's Eve they are required to use the phrase that it's "amateur hour."
Finally, anyone else ever have their car keys in their hand as they walk towards their house and, not really thinking, go to hit the unlock button? No? That's really just me?

Off the top of my head

2007-12-20T10:49:00.001-05:00

Some thoughts on last night's Celtics-Pistons game and a few other topics.

If the Celtics weren't 20-3 there would be plenty of comments today about how bad it was that they traded Chauncey Billups nine years ago. Don't get me wrong, the C's could certainly use Billups, but that simplistic "Why don't we get players like that" refrain ignores the fact that three teams after the Celtics failed to recognize Billups' potential, and that he didn't become a top player until he was on a strong, balanced team. Luckily the C's record right now keeps those types of complaints in check.
One thing that can't be denied about Billups is that he's an absolute match-up nightmare. Obviously it's more dramatic going against a small guy like Rondo, but as one of the ESPN analysts correctly pointed out -- more on their broadcast below -- there aren't many point guards in the league who have the size and strength to guard Billups.
About a month ago I wrote about how Kevin Garnett has "it." The same can certainly be said about Billups. He's just one of those guys who you want on your side at the end of the game. If you're playing against him, he could be 0-for-15 but you still don't want him taking that last shot because odds are that he'll make it. Talk about poise -- and recognition of having a young, eager player defending him -- on that last second pump-fake last night.
As good as Billups was late in the game, Rajon Rondo was equally as impressive early. He still has a long way to go to match Mr. Big Shot's confidence in crunch time, but he showed that he has plenty of potential. He took the ball right at Billups and showed some crafty moves to finish down low.
I look at Rondo the same way I do the Green Bay receivers. They're only underrated because no one in the media has taken the time to go back and revisit their rankings. If you've watched Rondo all season you'd know that he's not the weak link on the team. And while he doesn't have 3-point range, any 6-foot-1 player shooting 53 percent from the floor can't be called a bad shooter. You could argue that he does most of his scoring at the hoop, but how is that a bad thing? I call that being a smart player who takes high percentage shots.
If you need any evidence of how valuable Rondo is to the Celtics witness how much difficulty they had even getting the ball over half court when he was on the bench.
I know this is going to sound like sour grapes based on last night's result, but why do teams get the ball at half court (actually closer to the 3-point line) when they call a timeout at the end of the game? I've never understood why people decided this was a good idea?
I usually completely dismiss the idea of moral victories in professional sports, but at the very least last night's game has to offer some validation that the C's are for real. Of course it would have been nice to win, but it doesn't really matter if you win or lose the 23rd game of the season. The most important development last night was that the teams saw that they're relatively equal. They'll meet again during the regular season and those games will have a playoff atmosphere, but everything really seems to be setting up for a seven-game series in the conference finals.
Before the game, I was ready to call the Pistons a little overrated. It's not that I didn't think they were good, it's just that they tend to get talked about as some sort of dynasty. Sure reaching the conference finals five years in a row is impressive, but they've only been to the finals twice and have only one championship. When the relative weakness of the East in recent years is taken into consideration it takes a little luster off of the five in a row accomplishment.
After watching last night's game, I've changed my tune a bit. They are clearly the most complete team in the East. With Antonio McDyess knocking down mid-range jumpers the way he was last night they're an impossible team to defend, and with Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace on defense they match-up well with most teams.
Don't you think at some point Rip Hamilton would ditch the Phantom of the Opera mask? I understand the superstition and comfort issues, but don't you think if he went a few weeks in the offseason without it he'd be able to adjust?
I opted to watch the ESPN broadcast over CSN's last night because I wanted to check out what all the fuss was about putting mics on coaches. Granted ESPN wins because I watched their broadcast due to the hype, but in the end the whole thing was much ado about nothing. Not only was nothing revealing aired, but they didn't even use it that much. I understand they have to carefully filter what they air, but you'd at least think if they have that access they'd use it a bit more often.
Switching gears, why are the Pro Bowl selections made with two games remaining in the season? I know the game itself is meaningless, but the recognition means something, so why ignore 12 percent of the season?
I'm sure you already know this, but the bowl season kicks off tonight with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (or SDCCUPB as it's more commonly known). By the way, it's been 33 days since Ohio St. last played, and they have 18 more days until they actually take the field for the national championship game. Yep, nothing wrong with this system at all.
I'm not going to suggest a playoff or anything, because obviously that would take something away from the SDCCUPB, and judging by the buzz around the newsroom today, I can tell you that Navy-Utah matchup is completely relevant and important.
Just a side note to all of the above, if there were a playoff in place this would likely either be the national quarterfinal or semifinal weekend. Just throwing that out there.
And finally, I almost threw in the towel on this season of the Real World, but a few things kept me around. First, the two females with no redeeming qualities were sent packing, then Isaac turned around the whole dynamic by being the first cast member in about eight years to actually have fun and now Dunbar has demonstrated that he's a complete psycho. I can't wait until his first Real World/Road Rules challenge. He may walk into the house and immediately head butt CT, though I'm actually going to place greater odds on him punching one of the bitchy girls like Tina or Coral, because he clearly has some "issues" with the other sex.
Wow, I guess this post shows I had quite a bit on the top of my head.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-12-18T14:23:00.001-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that apparently the NBA scoreboard wasn't necessary in Foxboro on Sunday.

Before getting to the Patriots game, I have a few quick thoughts on the Mitchell Report -- and believe me they'll be quick, because honestly has anyone read anything original about it since it came out?
The one thing I need to point out is that, while he has as much credibility as anyone in the business, Peter Gammons looks pretty bad in the light of the confessions of Andy Pettitte and others. Gammons came across like a player apologist when he said he didn't buy into the report, basing his skepticism mainly on the fact that the two main informants were seedy characters. The simple fact is that informants are almost always a little dirty, but that alone doesn't make what they say untrue. And now that Pettitte and others are corroborating the informants' stories it's impossible to dismiss them.
How many people around New England let out a sigh of relief when David Ortiz didn't show up in the report? There aren't many players whose inclusion in the report would have been a big deal, but Big Papi would have been a tough one to swallow, and there certainly seemed like there was a chance he could wind up on the list.
Enough with that, onto the Patriots-Jets game.
I didn't have enough guts to predict a final score, but I did say last week that I didn't think the game would be as big of a blowout as most people did. The simple reason is the Jets aren't that bad. Obviously the weather played a role, but the secondary did a fantastic job in coverage all day. It wasn't Brady's best day and a big reason is that there weren't open receivers all over the field.
There really isn't a whole lot much to say about the game. It was a vintage Patriots game circa the early 2000s where they do enough so that the outcome is never in doubt, but they also never completely slam the door shut.
It's clear that Bill Belichick won't rest his starters in the final weeks and I have to agree with that plan. Not only should the team go for 16-0, but with a bye week coming after the regular season the Pats would be dealing with three weeks of rust if they took it easy down the stretch. I definitely think Matt Cassell and Kyle Eckel will see some time in the next few weeks, but only because the Pats should have some big leads.
The Pro Bowl selections come out this afternoon and I'd expect the Patriots to have more players than they have in the past. The biggest question comes at wide receiver. Obviously Randy Moss will make it but there are five viable candidates for the remaining three spots. A strong case could be made for Reggie Wayne, Braylon Edwards, Wes Welker, T.J. Houshmandzadeh or Chad Johnson. Having watched Welker play every week I'm convinced he's had a Pro Bowl year. I think Johnson isn't the easiest guy to cut, though I'm not sure who I'd get rid of to make room for Welker, so he could be the odd man out.
No matter what happens with the vote, that Welker deal worked out OK, huh?
I've got nothing on the rest of the league this week. None of the games were really that spectacular, and I really don't care to write about the Dolphins getting their first win and celebrating like it was the Super Bowl or how Jessica Simpson might have affected Tony Romo's performance.
One last thought, why does Sports Illustrated dedicate an entire section every issue to high school football? Who cares? Why would anyone in Massachusetts care at all about the best team in Texas or Arkansas?

Yada, yada, yada

2007-12-11T12:28:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that Tom Brady is completely ruthless.

And I like it. Everyone likes to paint Belichick as the evil genius who cuts out his opponents' hearts the way he cuts off his hoodie sleeves, but it's clear that he's found some equally as possessed with winning in Brady. Listen to his comments on WEEI yesterday about how much he enjoyed burning Anthony Smith and witness him barking at Smith after his first touchdown pass -- the guy's competitiveness comes with a certain mean streak.
You know who else had that said about him frequently? Michael Jordan. There haven't been any stories about Brady getting into fistfights or belittling teammates for mistakes, but then again those things didn't really come to light until after Jordan retired. The bottom line is that while those aren't necessarily positive characteristics when taken to the extreme, any coach would prefer a guy who caress too much rather than not enough. And when that guy is your most talented player, all the better.
Back to Smith for a second. He clearly deserves all of the flak he's taken -- he's not established enough to back up his talk and the entire league should know that the worst thing you can do is say anything that the Patriots can turn into motivation -- but it bears repeating that nothing he said was disrespectful or incorrect. It's just another example of how the Patriots are brilliant when it comes to taking any slight -- whether real or perceived -- and using it fuel.
I don't think Sunday's final score will be quite as lopsided as most people seem to, particularly with bad weather in the forecast. The only thing I hope not to see is a Belichick-Mangini postgame handshake. Why give everyone something to dissect for the next week? It's no secret that Belichick doesn't like Mangini, so why bother with the dog-and-pony show of a phony postgame meeting? I'd have much more respect for Belichick if he simply walks off the field after the game rather than going through with some act that coaches do for no other reason than everyone else does it.
Sunday was a pretty good answer to those who had questioned whether the Patriots were showing some cracks after two close games. I genuinely believe the Pats just had a tough time getting up mentally for the Philly and Baltimore games. Obviously the stakes are much different, but in a basketball league I just finished most of the teams sucked. At the beginning of the year we'd come out and play hard and blow them out, but towards the end of the year we started just doing enough to win and pulling out much closer games than were necessary. But when the championship we rolled around, against a team we knew was good, we turned it on and played well. As much as the Pats like to talk about treating every game the same, it's just human nature that there are going to be some lulls in a four-month regular season.
So really while people were using the close wins as signs that there was something wrong with the Patriots, it really should have indicated how tough the team is. Their opponents played like it was their Super Bowl, while New England just did enough and was able to pull out wins. It's next to impossible to go undefeated in the NFL. To do so with 16 blowouts is completely inconceivable. The Patriots had their lull, and now that they had ample motivation against Pittsburgh, and have more than enough the the next two weeks, the big scores will return.
16-0 is a certainty. Everyone can stop with the suggestions that the Giants can beat the Patriots. If the Giants played the Pats when the Eagles did, then yes they would have had a chance. But if New England is 15-0 there is no way an Eli Manning-led team keeps the team from immortality. Just not happening.
Switching gears to the rest of the league:
I caught a little bit of the Michael Vick coverage yesterday. Just exactly what message are these fans who wore Vick jerseys outside the courthouse trying to send? "Yeah, I know he tortured and killed innocent dogs, but the guy is fast and has a strong arm, so I support him."
The Chargers are the most hateable team in the league, yet for some reason it doesn't get the attention it deserves. LaDainian Tomlinson is a petulant bitch, yet no one in the media sees fit to call him on it. Instead we endlessly hear about how classy he is. That was a real stand-up move on Sunday to get up like an angry girlfriend and walk away when Phil Rivers went to to sit next to him on the bench. Granted Rivers is terrible, but it just didn't seem like the action of a leader.
And Shawne Merriman talking about a bounty being put on him? If by a bounty he means the Titans sending a receiver in to knock him on his ass with a perfectly legal crack-back block then yes, there was a bounty on his head.
A few other random thoughts:
Did the Milwaukee Brewers really just sign Eric Gagne to a 1-year deal for $10 million, plus incentives? Did the Milwaukee GM stop watching baseball in 2004?
I must say I'm surprised by Rudy Gay's development into a very solid NBA player. After watching the emotion -- or lack thereof -- he displayed while at UConn there was no way I could see him being a productive player over an 82-game schedule while getting paid millions. Gay's success is making me rethink things. Maybe that's the type of player the NBA should look for, because outside of a few guys no one really plays like they care on a nightly basis. So guys like Adam Morrison or Tyler Hansbrough, who were/are successful in the college game based partly on their intensity, won't translate as well to the NBA schedule than guys like Gay who carried themselves like they couldn't care less in college.
And finally, I'll be at the UMass-Boston College hoop game tomorrow night. It should be an interesting contrast of styles, as UMass loves to push the tempo for 40 minutes, while BC prefers to employ its Chinese water torture flex offense. It's clear who I'm rooting for, though if Minutemen are to lose, I at least home their style wins out. Seeing Chris Lowe and Tyrese Rice pushing the ball up and down the court all night will be far more entertaining than seeing passes forced to John Oates at the top of the key.

Off the top of my head

2007-12-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

Very brief entry today on a few topics on my mind.

Eric Gagne turns down arbitration from the Sox. I'm sure there were tears shed all over New England -- of joy of course.
Ho-hum, another 28-point Celtics win.
They don't even have a real West Coast road trip against the top tier teams until February and March, though a four-game swing to face Sacramento, Seattle, Utah and the Lakers at the end of the month should be an interesting measuring stick.
The biggest thing people overlooked was how good a job Danny Ainge did filling out the bench. Without much money to work with he plugged in very solid veterans (Posey, House and Pollard) and draft picks Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins have been steady in the starting lineup. Anyone who thinks this is a three-man team clearly stopped paying attention after the Garnett trade.
I know it's a motivational tool for the opponent so it's not wise to guarantee wins, but really what is the big deal with the guy from the Steelers (well that's a problem because no one's ever heard of him) saying his team is going to win? It's one thing if you're disrespectful in doing it, a la Freddy Mitchell, but nothing Anthony Smith said was really that inflammatory. I think most players believe they're going to win, that's certainly no secret. Sure it's better to keep that talk out of the media, but I just don't see how this is a big deal.
Tim Tebow should win the Heisman tonight and it shouldn't be close. The guy threw for 29 TDs, had only six picks and, to dispel the notion that he's not a legit quarterback, he completed 69 percent of his passes, which is on par with Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel. And oh yeah, he also ran for more touchdowns this season than any player in SEC history. We're talking more rushing scores than Herschel Walker or Bo Jackson.
As if his candidacy needed more support, apparently Mr. Tebow is doing okay off the field as well.
Candidacy is a weird word.
The Rams starting quarterback this week will be Brock Berlin. That is all.
And finally, will someone do us all a favor and take out Rachael Ray? I'm not going to be able to take another day of commercials with this perky bitch.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-12-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

Because yesterday's post was dedicated solely to the dramatic Monday night game, I have plenty to catch up on from this weekend's NFL games and beyond.

I'm not going to waste any time further discussing the Ravens ridiculous and petty complaints, so I will wrap up my thoughts on Monday night's game and the talk that somehow now the Patriots are vulnerable because they didn't blow away their last two opponents by referring you to an excellent John Tomase column in today's Herald.
This is the part that fans, and the rest of the league, need to remember: Fans breathing a sigh of relief following Monday’s pulsating victory should remind themselves of one fact - this is what the Patriots do. Long before they decided to annihilate every team in their path, the Pats made their name and legacy as one of the greatest clutch teams in history. The closer the game, the more likely they’d come out on top.
For everyone dreaming of New England turning San Francisco's first round pick into Darren McFadden or some other college stud, realize that the chances the Pats keep the pick are slim-to-none. With a handful of veterans' contracts to be handled this offseason, don't expect New England to deal with paying the exorbitant signing bonus top picks demand.
One rule that needs to be changed in the offseason: the force out. It's putting a ridiculous burden on officials to determine if a guy would have come down in-bounds if he wasn't knocked out. If a guy running with the ball is trying to get in the end zone but a defender pushes him out of bounds, the refs don't award a touchdown because they guy would have scored if he didn't get forced out. Shouldn't the same principle apply on a pass? Why not reward a defender for knocking a guy out of bounds in that situation?
One thing that bothers me is how slowly analysts adjust their opinions. An example is how everyone says that Brett Favre is throwing to a bunch of no-names. They're only a bunch of no-names because no one hyped up Greg Jennings, James Jones or Ruvell Martin. If anyone's seen them play they'd realize that these guys -- Jennings in particular -- are legit talents.
Think that Detroit defender has picked up his jock yet after that move Adrian Peterson put on him?
Anyone else find it uncanny how the players on the field seem to know where the first down yellow line is?
Watching the Patriots work the no-huddle the other night I couldn't help but wonder when we'll see a Mayne Event talking to the guys that man the first down sticks, and how much they must hate teams that run the no-huddle.
I don't care much about the joke that is the BCS, but I couldn't help but comment on a few of Bob Stoops' problems with a possible playoff (as outlined in a Gene Wojciechowski column).
"The regular season would become less important … fans would have difficulty traveling from playoff site to playoff site … regular-season attendance might suffer … the bowls might be adversely affected. Anyway, he said, the status quo is "sort of a like a playoff."
BCS defenders love the first argument. The only problem is it's completely flawed. Do NFL regular season games take on any less meaning because there's a playoff system in place? And as it is now some regular season games are less important. Lose in September? Not that big of a deal. Lose in November? Bye-bye national championship hopes (typically). How is that a just system?
The second point is dubious as well. Fans seem to have no problem filling up arenas during March Madness. And across most of the country football is far more popular than basketball. Let's say you have a four-round, 16-team playoff. The first round is played at the higher seeds' home field. No problem filling that venue. Then the final three round (seven games total) are held at predetermined sites. Do you really think fans -- with a week's notice -- wouldn't travel, and that people living near the sites wouldn't buy up the tickets? Again they're able to do this for less-popular college basketball, and that features 64 games played at neutral sites.
Regular season attendance might suffer? Why? That's such a ridiculous premise that I'm not even going to refute it.
I also don't understand the "bowls might suffer" argument that is so common. Is the Champs Bowl really striving right now? Anyone heard any buzz about that big BC-Michigan St. matchup in Orlando? Right now it could be argued that no bowl outside of the BCS championship matters. With a playoff you'd have seven games -- that could take the place of the BCS bowls (i.e. the Fiesta Bowl becomes a national quarterfinal, the Orange Bowl becomes a national semifinal, etc.) -- that would actually increase in importance. You could keep the rest of the bowls for the teams that don't qualify the playoffs, and I'd argue that they wouldn't mean any more or less than they do right now.
Another common defense of the BCS: "The students would miss too much class." After I get done laughing at this one, I'm left to wonder why Div. I-AA, II and III athletes -- the ones who presumably have more of a focus on academics -- are allowed to participate in a playoff.
I think they'd be able to fit the games in the six weeks off between the final game of the regular season and the national championship game in the current system. That's a complete joke. What major sport gives teams an entire offseason before the championship game?
And finally, I understand this whole system is based on money. I'm just not sure why it's deemed that there wouldn't be more money made from a playoff system? Wouldn't it stand to reason that fans would be more excited about this?
Every other major sport's champion is determined by a playoff system, and I've yet to hear one compelling reason why college football should be any different.
I'd hate to see Jacoby Ellsbury leave, but I think watching Johan Santana strike out 14 on the second day of the season would quickly make it easier to bear.
One thing I've heard people toss around as a potential problem with the hefty extension Santana would assuredly sign is that Josh Beckett would grow unhappy due to his relatively meager salary. First, Beckett signed the deal at a time when he was struggling. He certainly could have waited and demanded more money after this season, but he made the decision to sign the deal. Also, he'll certainly be compensated appropriately when his deal is up, if not before. But the biggest problem I see with this theory is Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Sox paid more to speak with Matsuzaka than Beckett will make in the life of his contract, yet you never heard him grumble once. So why, all of a sudden, are people expecting him to have a problem with Santana signing a big deal?
I've been hyping Derrick Rose for a while, but after seeing him play more my enthusiasm has been tempered. The ability is no doubt there, but he doesn't seem to understand how to harness his blazing speed and make good decisions with the ball. If that comes -- and with experience it should -- he'll still be a fantastic player, but it is going to take some time.
And to finish this mammoth post: a shout-out to the Quincy basketball team which captured the championship at Basketball City last week. After a buzzer-beating win in the championship, another monster trophy returned to Q-Town.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-12-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

There have to be a lot of bleary-eyed, yet relieved, workers around New England this morning.

No point in beating around the bush, let's get straight to the final New England drive. For all of the complaining coming out of Baltimore, all I'm looking for is a specific complaint. Let's take this point by point, from the least strenuous objections to the most.
The timeout that was called by the defensive coordinator and not the head coach when Brady was stuffed on fourth-and-1. If Brady picks up the first down and the timeout isn't granted, I'm sure everyone from Baltimore shrugs and says, "Oh well, the coordinator can't call the timeout."
The more surprising thing is that the Patriots would even call that play in that situation. They had run a sneak in a similar situation just a few minutes earlier. That's a play that works best when catching the defense off-guard and obviously that wasn't the case.
The tackle by Samari Rolle of Randy Moss. No one has specifically complained about this call because it was so blatant, but I have to assume it falls under the umbrella of the calls plural going against the Ravens. There is no debating this call though, so let's just move on.
The Jabar Gaffney touchdown catch. I honestly can't objectively comment on a call that was so close. It was called a catch on the field so I don't think it could have been overturned. If it had been ruled that he didn't have control I probably wouldn't argue. I can see the Ravens having a problem with this one, though it was so close it's impossible to say that the refs went out of their way to give the Patriots the call.
Also, very little comment by the Ravens about how badly their defensive back got burnt to allow Gaffney to get that open in the first place. An official probably tripped him.
Finally, the hold on Ben Watson. This was a penalty. There just isn't any denying it. Jamaine Wilborne was riding Watson beyond five yards and as Watson made his cut to the middle, Wilborne's hands were still on Watson. That's the very definition of defensive holding.
The biggest gripe is that the call was ticky-tack. Steve Young, who seemed as disappointed as anyone outside of the Ravens locker room after the game, agreed with the call, but said he's seen worse contact not get called. Isn't that like getting pulled over going 80 and complaining that the car in front of you was going 90? That might be true, but it doesn't make your move any more legal.
Also, to the conspiracy theorists: that flag was thrown immediately, before it was clear that Watson wasn't going to make the catch We aren't talking about something that ref thought about for a few seconds and then threw the flag. It was completely a reaction to what the ref saw, no time for other thoughts. If someone doesn't agree, they can call it a bad call, but certainly not one that involved any deeper motives.
Mike Felger perfectly summed up all of the complaining in the postgame, calling it a loser's mentality. The Patriots aren't above it either, as both Brady and Moss made comments about how they didn't get any calls in the first three quarters.
Believe me, I used to complain much more about officials calls in my games. I got to a point recently where I realized that, as people have said forever, arguing a call isn't going to change anything. Sure I might still get fired up in the heat of the game on a close call, but I don't have Bart Scott meltdown or anything. And I never use the refs as an excuse when I lose a game. There are far too many plays to be made over the course of a game to make excuses based on one or two calls.
I know I'm coming across as a homer in this post, something I try to avoid, but the bottom line is the anti-Patriots sentiment is so out of control that I can't help but getting worked up on the other side. People have let their disdain for Belichick and the team cloud their judgment and they can't speak rationally about anything regarding New England. I try to be a little bit more balanced (so I'll point out that Donte Stallworth got away with a block in the back on a long Laurence Maroney catch-and-run in the second half), but if people on the other side aren't going to be rational, why do Patriots fans need to be?
A few quicker hits:
I've heard Moss speak a few times, but the more you hear him you realize that, while he's certainly been immature at times in his career, he's a far more intelligent guy than he's given credit for. The way he broke down how the wind affected the touchdown pass he dropped was more insightful than anything any analysts says.
Re: Ron Jaworski's claim that Moss was dogging it last week. I didn't see it, at least not on the plays Moss showed on SportsCenter. Jaws constantly talks about watching the coach's view, yet when he was trying to illustrate Moss not hustling the TV view was shown. Why not show this mystical coach's view?
Brandon Meriwether? Yikes. Not ready for prime time.
Seeing Scott launch that flag, Brian Billick may have found his QB for next week.
Junior Seau made a few plays last night, but the one that will be remembered was when Willis McGahee spun him like a top. That looked like that famous Barry Sanders move against the Pats way back when, though this move was nowhere near as good.
If the Patriots lost that game, the worst play would have been Kevin Faulk nonchalantly strolling out of bounds a half-yard before the first down marker on third down on the final drive. There was about 1:40 left and the Patriots had two timeouts and the ball around the Baltimore 30. Turning it up inside to pick up the first down was paramount to stopping the clock by going out of bounds.
Any complaints from Baltimore about how the refs missed the offensive pass interference call on Derrick Mason on the Hail Mary?
One final thought on all of the talk of blueprints and invincibility that all of the "experts" have tossed around simply because they need to fill air space. In each of their Super Bowl seasons, the Patriots lost multiple games and seemingly every game was as tightly contested as these last two. Basically the Patriots are victims of their earlier dominance, as now every win is held up to a higher standard and things like margin of victory take on a greater significance. My simple question is why? You know why no team has ever gone 19-0? Because it's insanely difficult to navigate an entire schedule against NFL teams and never lose a game. You have to deal with short weeks, injuries, other teams throwing their best at you, the difficulty of staying hungry and a million other things. All that matters is winning the last game of the season. And while a few red flags have popped up the last two weeks, nothing should suggest this team is somehow now vulnerable. Every team is going to face adversity, and the fact that the Patriots found a way to win these last two games should be encouraging, not discouraging because the margin of victory wasn't 50 points.
I'll have another post on the rest of the NFL and a few other topics up by Thursday at the latest, though likely by tomorrow afternoon.

Off the top of my head

2007-11-28T22:30:00.001-05:00

A few quick thoughts after watching UMass pull off a great win at Syracuse.

Tonight was my first time seeing this year's UMass team play. Aside from the obvious reason, I was very impressed. Since the day Travis Ford got to Amherst he talked about employing an up-tempo style of play. Of course, UMass played a plodding, low post-oriented game in his first two seasons. I can't blame Ford because he was playing to the strenghths of his players -- guys who he didn't recruit -- but part of me wondered if he'd ever deliver on his promise of an up and down team. Well, tonight he answered that question. 107-100 at Syracuse has a way of doing that. I have no idea how far this team can go, but at least they'll be entertaining to watch.
It's nice to see Gary Forbes playing well. Much like the SI jinx, I had my own, mini feature jinx. I wrote a big story on Tiki Mayben before last season... then he went out and never lived up to the hype and was gone from UMass in a year. This summer I wrote a feature on Gabriel Gonzaga. At the time of the interview, Gonzaga was favored to beat Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title... then Gonzaga broke his nose in the first round and lost the fight. Now with Forbes, and Holy Cross' Tim Clifford, off to good starts, it appears the streak has been broken.
Back to the style of play: if nothing else it should attract athletic recruits. Obviously a lot of other things go into recruiting, but if all things are equal with a kid, who wouldn't want to play in an up-tempo system where players are given free reign to launch 3-pointers? It's really a wonder that Al Skinner is able to recruit good players to BC to play in his flex offense. Don't get me wrong , it's effective and maddening to defend, but if I'm Tyrese Rice I'd prefer running and gunning than trying to force a pass to John Oates at the top of the key and then going to set three screens.
Obviously the Celtics weren't going to go 82-0, but the fact that it's taken two huge efforts to beat them in their only losses really says something. I missed the game, but loved reading that there were some heated exchanges on the court and there were no postgame hugs between the players. Too many stars seem to be content with going out and getting their 30, letting the other guy get his 30 and seeing who pulls the game out. I love the mean streak in Garnett. He's not content to give anyone anything.
Not much I can add to the Sean Taylor story other than it'll likely end up pretty ugly. A lot of things that have been reported and that the police have said just don't seem to add up.
Late on this as well, but the sentiment that there is now some blueprint on how to beat the Patriots is laughable. Here's the real blueprint, generally speaking: Play really freaking well. That's what Philly did and that's why it was a close game. Specifically, teams should try to hit Brady, be physical with Moss, attack the secondary (away from Samuel) and take chances. All looks pretty simple. The difficult part is actually executing the blueprint. And even if you do execute it as well as Philly did (save for the Samuel part... why would Feeley ever make that throw?), they still lost.
I know I've been slacking on the posts lately this will hold people over for a bit. I'm aiming to get back to a big NFL post on Tuesday for next week.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-11-20T16:11:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that the Patriots might win the Super Bowl and get the first pick in next year's draft.

I'm firmly in the camp that there's no such thing as running up the score in professional sports. If the other team is upset about the Patriots running up the score they can do something about it. That said, Patriots fans need to stop making themselves look foolish by saying that New England isn't running up the score. It's true that teams shouldn't kick field goals when they're up big, but if they're going to go for it, they should run the ball. Again, I have no problem with the Patriots running up the score because this is professional sports, but to act like their hands are tired is foolish. They don't need to throw the ball on fourth down. That's a choice, and one that clearly has riled up a lot of people.
Need a reason why it's a good thing for the Patriots to run up the score? Because that punt from the 30-yard line against the Bills was flat-out humiliating. The Pats took a five-yard penalty to get backed up to the 35 and Chris Hanson still booted the ball through the back of the end zone.
Anyone catch the Tony Romo sound bite on Terrell Owens? Romo said that T.O. is "fighting really hard to be a team player." Umm, is that a good thing? Should it be a struggle to be a team player?
I must say I kind of enjoy the Cowboys' success. They're like these mini-Patriots and it's so cute when they act like they're a team to be reckoned with even though they got waxed on their home field by the Patriots. The media loves to get worked up about the Cowboys, and it's like they forgot about what happened in Dallas a month ago.
Looks like it's time for Shawne Merriman to call for a re-up. Seeing him get blasted by Maurice Jones-Drew might have been my favorite highlight of the year.
I've heard enough excuses from the Colts. Every team in the league has to deal with injuries, and really when you look at it their situation it really isn't that bad. The trio of Wayne, Addai and Clark is better than most other teams in the league can claim. Granted Freeney, Ugoh and Harrison are important players, but that's the hand they've been dealt. And when it's Wayne and Clark dropping balls like they were on Sunday, how can anyone blame injuries?
Wayne has been in Harrison's shadow for a long time, and now that he's getting the No. 1 receiver treatment, it's beginning to look like maybe he's not ready for prime time.
You know what Wayne, Addai and Clark would be to Tom Brady? Arguably the best trio of skill players he'd ever played with (prior to this year, obviously). It's been stated numerous times, but I still don't think people fully grasp how weak Brady's supporting cast was before this season. Somehow Deion Branch has been vaulted into a great wide receiver in this discussion, despite the fact that he's done little since he's left New England. Plus, it's not like he was putting up Moss-like numbers when he was with Brady. Branch was a solid possession receiver, and he certainly benefited more from playing with Brady than the other way around.
This was pointed out elsewhere (I can't remember where I saw it) and it bears repeating: the five wide receivers who saw real playing time last year for New England have 15 catches combined this season, and all of those are by Jabar Gaffney.
One last thought: Why do ESPN reporters, Rachel Nichols in particular, feel the need to say ESPN when they sign off on a report? Obviously it stands out when Nichols does it because of the way she annunciates, but all of the reporters do it and I just don't understand why. You're doing a report on SportsCenter with a big ESPN microphone. Would there be any confusion about who the report was for if they didn't end by saying ESPN?

Yada, yada, yada

2007-11-15T14:07:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking about how insane the dirt Stephon Marbury says he has on Isiah Thomas could be.

I mean after everything that came out the embarrassing trial this summer, Marbury says he has worse things on Thomas. The mind boggles to think of the possibilities. Who knows what Marbury has, but I really can't say anything would surprise me at this point with Thomas.
Honestly, why does Thomas still have a job? He's been unsuccessful at every stop, tthough here are plenty of inept coaches and GM's in the league. But when you throw in everything else -- the sexual harassment lawsuit and the Marbury debacle to name a few -- it's really a wonder that the guy is still employed.
Onto a slightly more stable NBA franchise: it's only seven games in, but the Celtics have already far exceeded my expectations, and they were pretty high to begin with. It's not just the 7-0 start that has me excited -- it's more the way they've gone about getting to 7-0. There has been an intensity and enthusiasm displayed by this team that is a rarity in today's game. Everyone is playing unselfishly and genuinely seems to be enjoying themselves. They react on the bench to a guy drawing a charge the way you only see in college games. That type of thing is the best part about watching this team.
And the true sign of a winner: Everyone starts talking like Bill Belichick.
Is it possible to describe Ray Allen and not use the word smooth?
Hopefully the Celtics' success inspires other pro franchises to follow Danny Ainge's lead. Everyone seems so consumed with building around youth and are afraid to make a risky move that could move them closer to winning a championship (I'm talking to you Chicago). I think the way Ainge assembled this team should be a wake-up call to the rest of the league: the point is to win championships. It's not about competing or making the playoffs or stock-piling young talent. Obviously you need to keep an eye on the future and it's not wise to always go for broke, but if you have an opportunity to give your franchise a shot to win a title you have to go for it.
How great is the NBA age limit rule? It'd be great if kids had to stay two or three years so we could watch them develop further, but even for one year it's great. In the past we'd have no idea who Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley were aside from some hype and video of them dunking on some hapless high school kids. Now we get to see these kids for a full year before they enter the league and we get to see them learn how to win against real competition.
I just found this clip of Rose on YouTube. I know that a lot of guys look good in these highlight clips, but this is one of the most impressive I've ever seen. He has the quickness and handle of a small point guard like Tony Parker but the vertical and explosiveness of a strong small forward like LeBron, yet he's 6-foot-4. I don't know what he has for a jumper, but his athleticism is as impressive of anyone I've ever seen.
Switching gears, there really isn't much of a debate on the AL Cy Young. CC Sabathia had the better regular season. Just look at the numbers -- they're close but Sabathia holds the edge over Beckett in almost every category.
Some people were saying that Sabathia only got the award because he threw 41 more innings than Beckett. My response is so what? That's a big deal. That's over four games worth of innings that Cleveland had its ace on the mound. And even in the statistics that are based on averages, and therefore not influenced by the number of innings, Sabathia had the better ERA and walk/strikeout ratio and they had the same WHIP.
People's judgments are naturally clouded by the postseason, which makes me wonder why baseball doesn't announce the award winners right after the regular season. Seemingly they are looking to gain a few extra days of attention in the offseason, but if the votes are in after the regular season there isn't any point to waiting.
They have postseason awards, and Beckett was rightfully recognized with the ALCS MVP. As plenty of people have said, he'll gladly trade the Cy Young for a World Series ring.
I said it during the ALCS and I'll say it again: What's worse, Sabathia accepting this award after being owned in two postseason starts against the runner-up or Dirk Nowitzki getting the MVP award last after being bounced from the playoffs in the first round? I have to go with Sabathia. It has to be completely hollow to win an award when you came up so small in the postseason, particularly going against the guy you beat out for the award.
One last completely unrelated note, why would any guy ever use that machine in the gym that works your inner thighs? Call me crazy but I'm willing to sacrifice a little strength in my inner thighs to avoid using a machine that looks like it was made strictly with females in mind.

Off the top of my head

2007-11-10T14:22:00.001-05:00

I've been writing more for the paper recently, so the posts here have slowed. This is a good thing for many reasons, not the least of which being that the paper pays a little better than this blog. Anyways, I still wanted to check in here.

Obviously it's early, but I have a feeling this Celtics thing is going to work out. Some downers have said you won't really find out how the team will be until the season wears on a bit and there's a losing streak or two. While that's true, the team will also only get better through time, thus making it less likely that there will be any prolonged losing skids.
It's been amazing to see how quickly the team has jelled. They've put on ball movement clinics thus far. They had more highlight-reel passes in the first half against Denver than they've had in the last three years combined.
Kevin Garnett... I'm not even sure what to say. I knew he was good, but I had no idea he was this good. Right now this is where he ranks in the league: ninth in scoring (23.8 pg), fourth in field goal percentage (61.5%), first in rebounding (16.3 pg), 18th in assists (6.0 pg), 8th in steals (2.8 pg), 19th in blocks (1.8 pg), and that's to say nothing of the leadership and intensity he brings to the court every night.
By the way, Minnesota is 0-4. I'd say that one worked out for the C's.
Ray Allen probably won't shoot 64 percent all season, but with his stroke and the looks he's getting it's hard to imagine him missing many shots this year.
The biggest question coming into the season was the supporting cast and rightfully so, but Kendrick Perkins has already shown how easy it is to play down low with a passer as skilled as Garnett when all he has to do is convert open dunks, and Rajon Rondo has not soiled his pants on the floor yet as many feared. Honestly, why was everyone so concerned about Rondo? Granted he can't shoot, but he doesn't really need to do with this offense. His strenghts are penetrating, passing and defense -- things that fit in perfectly on this team. When he faces some of the better point guards down the road will he struggle? Possibly, but with his defensive ability I don't see it being that big of a problem.
Last night's game with the Hawks is one that Boston would have lost in recent years. I don't even want to refer back to last season, because that team might have lost to the five old guys on the skins team at the Y. But even the recent mediocre Celtics teams would have lost a game like last night's. They didn't seem anywhere near as amped up as they did for the first three games, they turned the ball over and they were playing against a more athletic team. The difference this year is that with so many weapons they never struggle to score for extended stretches. This team's ability to get easy buckets from so many players is going to save them from many of the let-down games that are commonplace in the NBA.
I've only seen the highlights from one preseason game, but Derrick Rose? Wow. He made about three plays the other night that you never see, let alone in his first collegiate game. People compare him to Jason Kidd, and while that's a huge compliment, Kidd was never playing above the rim the way Rose was the other night. People never want to give Memphis credit, but the Tigers have made the last two Elite 8's and return the core of last year's team and added Rose. That's not a team I'd want to face in March.
I'm not saying I don't want Mike Lowell back, but everyone saying that the Sox should sign him no matter what better not complain if he's broken down in four years making $15 million.

Quick Asterisk Thoughts

2007-11-06T23:54:00.001-05:00

Quick question: has anyone ever seen the baseball record book? How about the football record book? I'm curious because I never have. Can I check it out of the library? Or do I have to go to the Hall of Fame to get a look at it? I ask these questions because there is always talk about asterisks being put in the record books, though I've never seen one of these books.

My real point is that putting an asterisk on something -- while the trendy thing to say -- really only means that a person believes an achievement is tainted. Does it really matter if Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball is branded with an asterisk when it is displayed in Cooperstown? And will it really change anything if Bud Selig opens the baseball record book (and he may need a hand because I assume it's massive) and puts an asterisk next to Bonds' record? I don't think so.

People have already made a decision about Bonds. If you believe he used steroids, and more importantly if you believe that had a major influence on his hitting enough home runs to break the record, you're always going to remember that and will never fully embrace Bonds as the all-time home run king.

Same goes for the Patriots. They got caught cheating. There is no arguing that. The questions are what exactly did New England do, how did it actually happen and how long did they do it? Obviously Bill Belichick isn't going to offer any insight and the league has moved on, so it doesn't seem that those questions will ever be answered. So once again, it's up to each individual to determine how they view the Patriots' recent run.

My biggest problem with the talk of putting on an asterisk on the Patriots season if they go undefeated is that they got caught in Week 1. Even the biggest Belichick bashers have to believe the team has ceased any videotaping and no one can deny that the team has been on one of the most dominant runs in NFL history over the first nine weeks of the season. If people really want to question anything with the Patriots, wouldn't it have to go back in time when things were murky? No one knows if New England cheated during the Super Bowl years; everyone knows they haven't been cheating while rolling over the league this season. Even in the week they got caught the cameraman was nabbed at halftime before he was ever able to get the tapes to the coaching staff so the Patriots couldn't have been helped in the Jets game.

Of course no one knows exactly what New England has done and when it started. So we're subjected to 77-year-old coaches spouting their opinions or players like Hines Ward saying it seemed like New England knew what they were running in the 2005 AFC Championship Game. Ward's insinuation, of course, ignores the fact that all of the evidence is that the Patriots were "stealing" opponents' defensive signals so if New England "knew" what the Steelers were running it was most likely just through standard scouting.

The bottom line is people have already made up their minds. Either you believe the Patriots entire run under Belichick is under question because of the Spy-Gate scandal or you believe that the videotaping didn't play a major role in the team's success and doesn't taint the Super Bowls wins. Putting some asterisk in some unseen record book isn't going to change a thing.

It's all about Garnett

2007-11-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or because as a sports writer I'm automatically more cynical, but whatever it is I don't look at athletes the way I used to. Don't get me wrong, I still appreciate great players and still root for the home teams, but I don't live and die with the games the way I used to and I don't worship athletes the way I once did.

The last time an athlete really had an impact on me was Curt Schilling in 2004. He came into spring training saying all the right things, promising to deliver a World Series title and generally just seeming to get it. I was on his bandwagon from Day 1, which made it that much sweeter when he actually delivered on his preseason promise that fateful October.

Then 2005 came around and Schilling was banged up and seemed to stop always saying the right things. He started to come across as a know-it-all and self-promoter at times. Now that Schilling's time in Boston appears over, I still respect what he's been able to do on the field, but I don't hold him up on a pedestal anymore.

Even with all of the athletic excellence in Boston right now, there is really only one athlete that has “it.” I can't describe it, except to say you know it when you see it. You need a combination of talent, charisma, personality and leadership. It guys have a presence that is tangible. There are plenty of candidates, but all have flaws. Manny and Ortiz are more of likable fun guys, than it guys. Beckett's too surly to really relate to. Papelbon is too goofy. The past few year's have hurt Pierce's stature. The one guy who is closest to having it is Brady, but the thing that hurts his case is that he's fallen a little too much into the Belichick system to the point that he never really says anything anymore. Sure he shows fire on the field, but whens the last time you've heard him say anything of note?

Who does this leave? Well I'll give you a hint: it's not Brian Scalabrine but he probably does abuse Scal daily in practice. I am of course talking about Kevin Garnett. I know it's insanely early to anoint Garnett as the most important athlete in the city, but that's what I'm doing. Now maybe the honeymoon period will end as it did with Schilling, but guys like this only come along often so I'm going to enjoy it will it lasts.

I can't even lie, I almost get the chills during his new Adidas commercial, "This is real talk. It's we not me." The guy just has it. It's a commercial and yet Garnett's intensity comes across. The guy seems completely consumed with winning. Take for instance, that the biggest knock on him in his Minnesota days was that he was too intense and played too hard every night, thus wearing himself out by the time the playoffs rolled around. I don't think many season ticket holders have left the Garden in recent years complaining that the players appeared to be trying too hard.

That passion shouldn't be a problem in Boston, now that he's on a team that is built to make a championship run and he is surrounded by veterans, who, like him, have had the individual accomplishments and are focused on cementing their legacies with a ring. This might be Pierce's team, but make no mistake, Garnett is the leader. He's the one who has gone out of his way to include Pierce and Ray Allen in his television interviews and has heaped praise on young players like Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins.

Garnett is also the most likely member of The (New) Big Three who will sacrifice his own numbers for the betterment of the team. He seems intent on spreading the ball around to get his teammates involved. He knows he's a Hall of Famer right now, but if he wants to be considered an all-time great he needs to win a title. In his 12th year in the league, it has to be clear that these next few years will be his best chance to get it done.

That's why he was hanging on every word Celtic legend John Havlichek said when he addressed the team last week. Garnett sees the banners hanging from the Garden rafters and he genuinely seems to be impacted by the Celtics tradition.

The big difference with Garnett and a lot of guys who say the right things is that he actually seems to believe what he says. It doesn't seem contrived, doesn't seem like he's trying to be anything – it's just who he is.

Friday night was as electric as the Garden has been for a regular season game in a long time and Garnett is the single biggest reason for that. He went out with his new teammates and rewarded the crowd with a big win and a 22-20 performance. The signature moment of the night came at the end when Garnett and Pierce were removed and left to a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd.

As the two made their way to the bench there were two kids – probably eight-years-old – sitting courtside next to the Celtics bench. Pierce walked past the kids without a second thought, while Garnett slapped hands with the kids, giving them a memory they'll never forget. It's not a knock on Pierce that he didn't stop to high-five the kids. But the fact that Garnett did think to stop is just another example of the difference between guys who get it and those who don't.

This is downright freaky

2007-11-02T14:59:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's post I wrote that I was afraid that at some point the Patriots would announce that Sammy Morris is out for the season. Of course, that very thing was announced just a few minutes ago by the Patriots. It's really freaky because I really had nothing to lead me to believe this would happen other than the fact that the Patriots have a tendency to do things like this -- they'll give very little info on an injury, everyone thinks the player will be back and then all of the sudden he's placed on IR. So for the announcement to come down the next day is pretty weird.

While the Patriots are rolling now, I think this could be a major blow. They'll be fine so long as Maroney stays healthy, but that's tenuous with his injury history.

Also, I said a Garnett column would be up today, and I'm hoping to post it tonight, but if not it'll be pushed back to Sunday.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-11-01T20:28:00.000-05:00

Thoughts on the eve of another huge sports weekend in Boston. (Settle in, because this turned out to be a monster).

First off a few thoughts on the biggest game of the century:
I was a reasonably harsh critic of Asante Samuel in the offseason. I felt he wasn't as good as he seemed to believe and he would benefit most from signing a one-year deal so he could cash in after the season. Turns out I was right about the latter, but not the former. Samuel will most definitely get paid after this year, but it's because he has shown that he is in the elite class of corners. I wasn't blown away by his 10 picks last year because some of those came off tips and top corners don't usually get thrown at enough to rack up huge interception totals. But this year Samuel has established himself as a lockdown corner, as he has made plays when QBs have challenged him (four interceptions) and he's completely eliminated whatever receiver is on his side. The most impressive plays he's made this season haven't been any of his interceptions, but rather the two routes he jumped last week when Jason Campbell was trying to throw short third-down passes to Samuel's man only to pull the ball down to avoid a sure interception. Those are the types of plays great corners make.
Samuel will certainly be put to the test this week against the Colts, though I think they'll try to pick on Ellis Hobbs. Peyton Manning has shown that he has no problem going after the other team's weak link, as New Orleans corner Jason David can attest to after getting beaten like a drum in the season opener.
One lingering fear that I can't shake is that someday I'll pick up the paper and find that Sammy Morris is out for the season. This fear is completely unsubstantiated; I haven't heard any rumors floating around the newsroom or anything. It's just a hunch I have based on following this team for years. It seems that throughout the Belichick era a guy will get injured seriously and the initial prognosis is that he'll be back in a month, only to have the player placed on IR without warning. I hope I'm wrong because the thought of Laurence Maroney being solely responsible for shouldering the load down the stretch is disconcerting.
One thing that I feel is being overlooked heading into this game is that the Colts have never been able to stop the Patriots offense, let alone one as stacked as this year's edition. New England put up 34 points in last year's AFC Championship Game with Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney as the top threats. Imagine how many points they'll be able to run up with their revamped offense.
That's why I think the Patriots will win this game easier than most are predicting. I just don't see the Colts being able to stop them at all. For the entire year, everyone has said New England and Indy are the top two teams in the league. But what if New England is a lot better than the Colts? What does that mean for the rest of the league?
Pats 41, Colts 24.
Switching to the NBA, can someone explain what the hell is going on with this Kobe Bryant situation? Kobe's biggest problem is that by pushing for a trade so publicly he hurt LA's leverage and thus the odds of a deal getting done. Everyone knows the Lakers need to get rid of Kobe so why should they give up a lot to get him? The three-team deal that fell apart -- with the Lakers getting Ron Artest and Ben Wallace and Kobe going to Chicago -- hopefully wasn't true for the sake of Lakers fans. The Lakers would be giving up the best all-around player in the game and getting back two guys with a history of attitude problems (to put in gently) who both seem to be on the decline. If that trade were to happen, consider that the Lakers would have dealt Kobe and Shaq in a four-year span and gotten in return: Artest, Wallace, Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Bryan Grant. I mean, that's just completely mind-boggling.
The deal that makes a lot of sense to me -- but apparently no one else -- would be Kobe to the Bulls for Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. I know others, like Ty Thomas and Joakhim Noah, have been named in rumors but that seems to be in trades not including Deng. I have to believe Deng's inclusion would be enough to get a deal done without those two. I know Deng is young, has improved in each season, doesn't make anywhere near as much money as Kobe and looked good in the playoffs last year, but I still don't understand why his reputation is high as it is. If you only have to part with Deng and Gordon and can get Kobe back it seems like a no-brainer. The point of professional sports is to win championships. The Bulls would be much closer to achieving that with Bryant than Deng, and, assuming they wouldn't have to gut their roster in the trade, they'd still have plenty of young talent to build for the future.
I think the question the Bulls need to ask is this: Is Luol Deng better than Kobe Bryant? The answer is obviously no, right now. That leads to the next question: Will Luol Deng ever be better than Kobe Bryant? From what I've seen thus far, that answer seems to be no as well. As promising as he looks, does anyone truly believe Deng will become the type of guy who can drop 30 a night and carry a team? He played every game last season and made ONE 3-pointer. Look it up. I'm all for guys taking the ball to the hoop instead of settling for 3's, but how can a wing ever take over a game if he isn't even a threat to shoot from outside? Deng will be an All-Star -- Paul Pierce or Shawn Marion seem like reasonable comparisons -- and there's nothing wrong with that, but when you have a chance to add the best player in the game, I think you have to make that move.
A few quicker NBA thoughts: Dwight Howard seems like a very likable superstar. And mark it down: he's about to become a superstar.
Carmelo Anthony is a beast. Anthony's bulked up and looks like he has a power forward's body, but he doesn't seem to have sacrificed any of his athleticism. I was so impressed by what I saw from him on opening night, I'm tabbing him as this year's league leading scorer.
Kevin Durant looked like an absolute gunner in his debut. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- having that much confidence in your first game -- but if 7-for-22 lines from the floor become the norm, Seattle might have cause to worry.
Durant absolutely needs to get bigger to become a serious factor in the league. He's listed at 215, which seems about 25 pounds too high. To put that 215 listing in perspective, Kevin Garnett is listed at 220 and he's two inches taller. There's no way you're telling me KG is only five pounds heavier than Durant.
I'm going to have a post on the aforementioned Garnett tomorrow. Let's just say I'm more than a little excited for the KG era to begin.

Titletown Blogging

2007-10-30T10:43:00.000-05:00

Plenty to write about today, so let's get right to it:

Let's start with the biggest topic surrounding the Sox right now:
Has anyone ever had a better contract year than Mike Lowell? A World Series MVP is a pretty good thing to bring to the negotiating table.
I'm completey in favor of the Sox re-signing Lowell, but as with every contract, I think the Sox will do what is best for the team and won't let emotion get in the way. Think of where this team would be right now if they re-signed everyone from 2004. You could argue that they should have kept Orlando Cabrera -- although there are plenty of rumors floating around that he wasn't quite the great teammate that he appeared to be -- but almost every other player would have been a mistake. If they kept Pedro and Lowe, they most likely don't trade for Beckett, they can't afford Matsuzaka and there probably isn't room in the rotation for Clay Buchholz. If Johnny Damon was back, where would Jacoby Ellsbury play?
I think a three-year $39 million offer to Lowell, maybe with a club option for a fourth year, is more than fair. If he can get four years, $60 million from some team, then I think Theo and Co. say thanks for the memories.
You know who might have helped their career more than Lowell this season? The Dropkick Murphys. What a time for a band to become linked up with a team.
Let there be no question, the Red Sox own the beginning of centuries. And while things look good going forward, if they trade Clay Buchholz to the Yankees and he becomes a home run hitting right fielder, I'd be a little worried.
Around the time Ellsbury hit his third double of the World Series, couldn't you picture Coco Crisp sitting in the dugout going through all of the teams in the league that need a center fielder.
Here's the key question: does Papelbon go directly from the parade to Dr. James Andrews' office, or do they give him a week of vacation first? Obviously that's a joke, but I can't be the only one a little bit concerned that a guy who was on such a tight leash all season was routinely working more than an inning all postseason.
If you were a reasonably intelligent Rockies fan watching Game 4, how scared would you have been of Bobby Kielty going deep? If you were going to lay odds on that beforehand, they'd have to be what, 250-1? Higher?
J.D. Drew batted .314 in the postseason and had the biggest hit of the playoffs. Scary thought for the rest of the league if Drew actually plays the way he's capable of next season.
Why is it that Terry Francona is a shaky in-game manager during the regular season, but then in the playoffs he seems to push all the right buttons?
You know what's gotten more annoying than "pink hat" fans? People complaining about pink hat fans, and insisting on using the phrase pink hat fans in the process. I get it, you were fans when the Sox sucked. But you know what happens when a team gets good (and is marketed relentlessly)? People start to root for them. Deal with it. And be comforted by the fact that if/when the Sox start to suck again, they'll all go root for another team.
In other news, I think the Patriots just scored again.
I don't have a problem with a team running up the score in professional sports, but don't expect anyone to have any sympathy if someone takes out Brady's knee late in some blowout.
Want a clear picture of how dominant the Patriots have been? The Colts are the defending Super Bowl champs, have won 12 games in a row and beat New England in their last three meetings, yet are 4 1/2 point underdogs at home. The crazy thing is not only do I see the Patriots winning, but I see them winning by at least two touchdowns.
It's been said a lot lately, but it can't be overstated: It is just an unbelievable time to be a Boston sports fan. It might seem like it'd be tough to top a World Series win, but this weekend may come close. On Friday night, the Celtics open their most anticipated season in 20 years, on Saturday night, No. 2 Boston College plays a national TV game against Florida St. and on Sunday the undefeated Patriots take on their biggest rival in what is possibly the most anticipated regular season game in NFL history.

Slacking on the posts

2007-10-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

I hate slacking on these posts, especially when I had finally gotten back into something of a rhythm and with the Sox in the Series, but unfortunately my laptop spit the bit this week and I haven't really had access to a computer. I'm hoping to get it fixed early next week, but no matter what I'd expect a post after the World Series, one way or another.

Everytime I think I'm out...

2007-10-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

... they pull me back in. Seriously, I was done with the Sox. Even with Beckett going last night, I still felt like the offense wouldn't give him enough support and the bullpen would lose a tight game. Of course, Beckett kept building his remarkable October resume and the Sox finally got the bats going and it's headed back to Boston. Before looking ahead to Game 6, here's my thoughts on last night:

I have to begin with a simple question for Joe Buck and Tim McCarver: Would Manny have scored from second on Mike Lowell's inning-ending strikeout? Just when I thought I was coming around on Fox -- mostly due to the lifeless TBS broadcasts -- something like that happens. I understand that it was inexecusable for Manny not to get to second, but before completely inviscerating him couldn't they have at least let the situation play out? If Lowell hits a single that would have scored Manny I'd have no problem with them ripping him, but since the lack of hustle had no impact on the game it really wasn't necessary for Buck and McCarver to lose their minds.
If you didn't see what happened and only heard McCarver's reaction you would have thought Manny violated Mrs. McCarver.
Buck is actually a solid play-by-play announcer, but he somehow manages to lose all perspective in moments like last night's. This is the same guy who pretty much told parents to keep their children's eyes away from the TV after Randy Moss' "disgusting" fake moon in Green Bay.
The worst part of it all is that it seemed like Fox pushed the issue so hard just so it could show the graphic of Manny's quote with "Don't Worry Be Happy" playing.
One thing I will give Fox credit for is not shying away from showing and talking about confrontations, like the Beckett-Lofton one last night. Of course that's what everyone wants to see, but for some reason other networks tend to gloss over that type of thing.
You had to love Lofton's half-hearted approach to the mound. He got about halfway there and realized that no one was between them so he slowed down to make sure he didn't get his hip broken. I'm really not sure what Lofton intended to do, considering the fact that he's roughly 73-years-old and Beckett is 6-5 and 220-pounds. It probably would have been in Cleveland's best interest to get into a fight and hope Beckett would get ejected, but apparently the sacrifice of Lofton's life was deemed too steep a price.
I really don't see the benefit to dropping the bat on a close pitch on ball three. If it's going to be called a ball anyways, you'll find out soon enough. But if you drop the bat you look like you're either trying to steal the call or you're showing up the ump -- either way that close pitch invariably ends up as a strike.
The two biggest rules that need to be rectified in sports: 1) coaches shouldn't be able to call timeouts at the last second before a field goal and 2) something needs to be done about making it easier to determine a home run. I'm not opposed to instant replay, but I don't even think it's necessary to solve this problem (especially because even after dozens of replays, I still can't tell if Manny's ball went out). Smarter people than I should be able to figure something out, but it seems that if they could change the depth beyond the top of the wall this problem would disappear.
If Cleveland loses this series and CC Sabathia wins the Cy Young will his ceremony be worse than Dirk Nowitzki's for the MVP this year? I'd say yes only because Sabathia got absolutely owned in both starts against his main competitor for the award.
I heard a rumor before this series that Travis Hafner is a good hitter -- could have fooled me.
Speaking of people that aren't good at hitting a baseball: When Coco Crisp was walking back to the dugout after one of his strikeouts he really could have just kept on going, because there's no way he can start in Game 6 and I'm sure he'll be shipped out of town after the season.
Those white towels in Cleveland were incredibly lame. I have no problem with the Terrible Towels because that's a tradition, but it's weak to break out just for the playoffs. The sad thing is that it actually takes the attention away from how good and loud the crowd was during the three games.
How much of a letdown must it be to land playoff tickets in Cleveland, only to walk up to your seats in the upperdeck and find that you're going to be sitting in front of the drums guy for nine innings?
Here's what I don't understand: Why doesn't MLB just pull the plug on the Dane Cook playoff ads? They have to know that the campaign in universally hated, but they're too stubborn to rectify this mistake. As a result we're subjected to this d-bag's cracking voice at every commercial break.
And finally, the thing that is often overstated in the postseason is the difficulty of winning three games in a row. That's just not the case. Teams win three games in a row all the time. The reason why it rarely happens when a team is down 3-1 is because the other team is usually superior, hence the the lead they built. So if you have the better team, the odds are in your favor to win one of three games. That's it. It has nothing to do with momentum. Momentum is entirely overrated in a baseball series to begin with. As the expression goes, momentum resides in the next day's starting pitcher. The ony thing that can carry over is a batter's slump, but it's not like Manny or Ortiz are going to be in the box facing Carmona thinking about being down 3-2 in the series. All of that said, it doesn't mean Boston will win the series; it's just to put in perspective that too much is made of having to win three games in a row.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-10-15T20:10:00.001-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that the $200 million locked up in Matsuzaka, Drew and Lugo over the next six years seems a bit excessive.

I jumped off the Matsuzaka bandwagon earlier this summer, so I wasn't exactly surprised by his Game 3 performance. In fact, his line (4 2/3 innings, four earned runs, 101 pitches) is pretty much what he's done every other start it seems.
I'm far from throwing in the towel on Matsuzaka, though. The guy clearly has good stuff and if he finds a way to stop nibbling so much I wouldn't be surprised to see a Beckett-like second year turnaround, although it's unlikely he'll be that dominant.
Let me get the lone negative from Sunday's Patriots-Cowboys game out of the way before moving on to the abundance of highlights: Rodney Harrison may need a shipment from his pharmacist. While it's nice to have him flying around the field again, it'd be even nicer if he could actually cover someone. If the Colts are to take anything from that game, it's that Harrison won't be able to stay with Dallas Clark.
Now to the good stuff: How bad is it for the rest of the league that Donte Stallworth has gotten involved in the offense? For the first two or three weeks he seemed like the second coming of Doug Gabriel, someone who never really got with the program and got cut without any explanation. Instead Stallworth has capitalized on all of the attention being directed at Randy Moss and has become an equally dangerous big play threat.
Add in Wes Welker -- the perfect complement to the two deep threats -- and Ben Watson and this is the most complete passing attack I've ever seen.
Brady's obviously on pace to shatter Manning's TD record, but the thing that will hurt him as much as the cold New England weather late in the season is that he isn't selfishly seeking it. During the 2004 season, Manning would make sure to call a fair share of pass plays around the goal line to pick up a few cheap touchdowns. Brady on the other hand had the perfect opportunity to pad his stats and get his sixth TD at the end of yesterday's game, but instead allowed Kyle Eckel to get his first career touchdown.
SpyGate is the worst thing that could have happened to the rest of the league. The Patriots have always sought every possible slight, but this thing has given them more ammo than they could ever imagine. The result is a downright angry team that is going after the jugular in an unprecedented manner.
Which brings us to the inevitable discussion of an undefeated season. For some reason, many people in the media get offended by the mere mention of a perfect season, but it certainly seems like a possibility. If they're able to win in Indy, the Patriots should actually be helped by the Colts because the fight for home field in the playoffs would keep New England from letting up. Also, Belichick has never been as big on resting players at the end of season as Dungy and others have, and with a shot at a 16-0 record you have to believe he wouldn't just empty the bench in the season finale.
One thing that annoyed me after Sunday's game was Tony Romo saying that he'd like to see what would have happened if that holding penalty wasn't called on the fourth-and-one play at the start of the fourth quarter. I would have liked to see what would have happened too because maybe the Patriot who was held would have stuffed Marion Barber behind the line and New England would have taken over on the Dallas 40.
My point is that he's suggesting that the play changed the game. That's fine, except that the play was a penalty. Now it's one thing if there was a bad call -- I haven't watched it again, but no one's said that it was -- but to complain about a legitimate penalty is weak. That's not a real excuse for why Dallas lost. Dallas lost because it was completely incapable of stopping the Patriots all day and because Romo couldn't make enough plays to keep up.
Is it me or did Barber have the most impressive 47-yard performance in NFL history? Maybe it's just because he beats up the defense on every run or because of that ridiculous run out of his own end zone, but if I had to guess before I saw the stats I would have guessed he had no less than 80 yards.
I'm writing this in the eighth inning of Game 3, with the Sox trailing 4-2, and with it looking like the Sox are going down 2-1 count me in favor of starting Beckett in Game 4. I know the track record of pitchers on three days' rest, but when you factor in A) that Beckett only threw 80 pitches in Game 1, B) the extra off day this year would allow the rest of the rotation to stay on regular rest, including Beckett for a possible Game 7, C) Beckett's success in the 2003 World Series on short rest, and D) that Wakefield is no sure bet, particularly coming off of an extended break due to an injury, I think that Beckett is the right choice for Game 4.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-10-09T14:31:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that if the Cowboys are the best team in the NFC they shouldn't even bother with a Super Bowl.

Last night was the first time I've watched a good amount of the Cowboys. Let's just say I wasn't impressed. I know Tony Romo had a once-in-a-lifetime bad game, but I can't see how that team can compete with New England right now. I'd be shocked if the Patriots don't rip Dallas by 20+ this weekend.
I love the way the guy is playing as much as anyone, but if Junior Seau isn't on steroids then it has to be coke. Judging by the shape he's in and the fact that he's almost 39, you'd have to think 'roids, but the fact that he's a maniac with boundless energy, I wouldn't rule out coke.
Random football question: Why is the determining factor for the league's best defense yards allowed, and not points allowed? Considering the point of defense is to keep the other team from scoring, that just seems like a more logical barometer of success.
BC is the No. 4 team in the country and can't even get it's games televised locally? I understand there are television contracts involved, but it just doesn't seem right that CN8 was showing UNH and Delaware and Ch. 38 was showing Georgia Tech and Maryland at the same time that BC was playing untelevised.
If I was a BC fan I don't even know if I'd be excited about the No. 4 ranking because all it's doing is setting them up for an even bigger fall. They have to know that the late season collapse is coming, yet they probably can't help national title game thoughts from entering their mind. I'd be shocked if BC finishes with fewer than two losses. On the bright side, that'll probably land them in a weaker bowl so they can keep that luminous bowl winning streak alive.
Terry Francona had no other decision than to start Schilling in Game 2. I'm relieved to see that is aware of that.
I've saved the best for last in this post: the Celtics. I've only seen one preseason game and I'm already having a tough time containing my excitement. It all starts with Kevin Garnett. As good as Paul Pierce has been, KG has shown the difference between an All-Star and a superstar. The guy just seems to get it, right down to his act of buying suits for all of the rookies. That may seem like a small gesture until you consider the amount of rookies on the Celtics roster and the fact that he bought each guy three Italian suits. Not that the money is a huge factor for a guy who makes as much as Garnett, but it's the type of thing that teammates -- young ones especially -- remember and solidifies him as a leader.
The two biggest things that stood out on the court were evident right away: the team looked extremely unselfish and the bench was reacting to dunks and 3-pointers the way a college team would in a big game. Certainly both of those things may not be at that level for the whole season, but it was nice to see players actually seem to enjoy playing together.
While most people around the league expect the Celtics to contend for the title, some have been skeptical if they can make things work with three 20 ppg scorers. The key is that each of the top guys will have to adjust the way they play a little bit, something that I don't think will be a problem because there seems to be a good amount of respect between Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen. If I had to guess, Pierce will lead the team in scoring just because this still is his team so he'll probably be the most comfortable from Day 1. I could see him scoring something like 24 ppg, with Garnett around 21 and Allen coming in somewhere around 18 ppg. The points per game averages aren't going to matter that much though, because each guy will have nights when they go off for 30+ points, so the final averages will just comes down to who has more of those nights.
These guys have all shown that they can score, but with the unselfish style they showed on Saturday, I expect Pierce to have a career in assists, Allen should have the best shooting percentage of his career thanks to the open looks he'll get as other teams focus on the other big guns and Garnett will lead the league in rebounding again.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-10-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that Carlos Zambrano should be well-rested for the opening of Spring Training.

I wrote last week how I was against Terry Francona trying to line up his pitching for a three week postseason when, if you don't win the first series, all of that planning becomes moot. Lou Piniela took it even further this week though, pulling Zambrano from a 1-1 game after six innings and 85 pitches. Of course the Cubs bullpen immediately surrendered a few runs and the Cubs lost. Piniela's explanation was that he wanted Zambrano to be fresh for Game 4 on three days rest -- the Game 4 which likely won't happen because Piniela pissed away Game 1.
Piniela was incredibly arrogant in his postgame press conference saying the Cubs lost because they didn't score runs, not because of the pitching move. Of course he overlooks the fact that it's much more difficult to hit when trailing in the late innings than it is in a tie game; instead of playing for one run, you're playing for two or three. The bottom line is that Piniela's pitching move changed the complexion of the game and ultimately led to the loss.
This is one of those things that irritates me irrationally, just like the amount of stock put into the NFL Combine and the current cast of the Real World. I said last week that I was ready to throw in the towel on the Real World, but the show bought another week when the Australian guys rated the two vapid blonds as sixes, which of course led to one going crazy (though not nearly as bad as the girl in Denver who started breaking stuff in her room because Davis told her she had a double chin). The scene was sealed by one of the girls proclaiming that every guy she walks past in a bar thinks she's a 10, when in reality she's probably a 6 or 7, depending on how many beers you've had.
My friends and I have been calling him Chone (rhymes with bone) Figgins for so long that it sounds wrong when an announcer pronounce it as Sean. I'm sorry but there's no way you're getting Sean out of C-h-o-n-e in my book, pal.
Speaking of announcers, can we get the guys from TBS some coffee? The guy calling Ortiz' home run the other night had about as much excitement in his voice as someone calling out the numbers in a deli. (Actually wait, do they even really do that in delis? I've never experienced it, but it just seems to fit.)
Incidents like this makes you question why people care so much about sports. I mean, beating the crap out of someone because they root for a different team? Get a life.
I wouldn't expect anything like that to happen in the NLCS in that fierce Diamondbacks-Rockies rivalry. Seriously, how crazy would it be if it's those two teams in the NLCS and Boston and New York in the ALCS? Talk about two completely different levels of intensity and history.
I have no idea what to expect out of Matsuzaka tonight, but Andy Pettitte has to look like a complete lock. The guy was born to pitch in Game 2's after a Yankee loss in Game 1. As bad as the Yankees looked the other night, I'd be shocked if they lost tonight.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-10-02T09:15:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that the "Red Sox Rally" was a complete embarrassment.

A few baseball thoughts before getting to the NFL:
As bad as yesterday's rally was, I thought it was even dumber to stick around Fenway on Friday night to watch the end of the Orioles-Yankees game when it appeared that NY would win. As dumb as I thought that was, those fans certainly got quite the payoff seeing the O's great comeback and getting to be a part of that wild celebration. The question I have is after the initial rush of the players coming out and partying, doesn't it get a bit old to have guys just dumping champagne and beers on you?
Looking at Boston and New York's rosters has to be discouraging for the Orioles, Blue Jays and Devil Rays. The Sox and Yankees are clearly primed for World Series runs this year and with the influx of young talent each team has incorporated this season, it doesn't look like their reign in the AL East will end anytime soon.
If last night's NL Wild Card playoff play-in game was any indication, we're in for another great postseason.
I'm left scratching my head with Terry Francona's decision to start Matsuzaka in Game 2 over Schilling. He said his decision is based on setting up his rotation for 2 1/2 to 3 weeks worth of games, but he overlooks the minor detail that you have to win the games in the first week to get that far. He should have learned that back in 2004 when he threw out his prepared rotation when the Game 3 debacle occurred in the ALCS. From there he did everything he could do to win every single game, and clearly that worked out pretty well. It's great to worry about all of these hypothetical situations down the road, but you also have to be prepared for the possibility that they'll never materialize.
Just ask yourself, who would you have more confidence in a decisive Game 5: Schilling or Matsuzaka?
I've said for over a month that I think the Yankees are the team to beat in the postseason and nothing has changed my mind. They got a break avoiding an Angels team that gives them trouble, and while I expect another classic ALCS with Boston, the Yanks have owned the Sox for the past few months.
Now to the NFL:
What's the Patriots magic number right now, two?
With Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour set to return on Sunday and in three weeks, respectively, it's scary to think that this team should get better.
It'd be hard to enjoy anything more than watching Randy Moss decimate the NFL, although the fact that I traded him off my fantasy team after Week 2 does temper it a bit (thanks fantasy experts on that sell-high advice).
Anyone else catch Daunte Culpepper's reaction after one of his TDs against Miami? He got up and pointed at his knee and gave the OK sign, as if to say they never should have let him go because this is what he can do while healthy. I'm OK with a guy going out with a chip on his shoulder, but can you really hold it against Miami for letting him go? Culpepper completely sucked and wasn't healthy for the Dolphins, so why would they bring him back this year?
I'm jumping on the Brett Favre bandwagon this year, though I'm not even sure why. He always used to annoy me and I couldn't stomach how the media fawned all over him, but for some reason I've come around on him this year. That's not to say that the media has toned things down, as evidenced by Chris Berman saying "Rooting for Favre is like rooting for America" on Sunday.
Even more enjoyable has been the complete sucktitude displayed by San Diego. Really couldn't happen to a better bunch of guys. Shawne Merriman broke out his "Lights Out" dance after a sack on Sunday, and on the next play KC broke off a crucial touchdown right throw the San Diego defense. As much as I don't like LaDainian Tomlinson, I have to respect him saying that it's time for his teammates to cut down on the talking. They haven't done anything to warrant all of their talking. They had one good season and they've gagged away two home playoff games in the past three years. The clock has to be ticking on how long until Tomlinson completely snaps on Philip Rivers.
In Michael Silver's Monday column, Matt Leinart comes off like a whiny little bitch. Check out this quote about his dissatisfaction with being platooned with Kurt Warner: "I know coaches want to win now, and I guess they have their reasons. But I don't understand it." What? You don't understand the reasons coaches have for wanting to win now? Keep in mind that Arizona won a huge game earlier in the day that Leinart made this statement. Sorry if you're feelings were hurt Matty, but I think I'll go with the coach who made the moves to help his team win.
A plea to ESPN and NBC: please, enough already with the NFC East teams in prime time. Dallas is understandable, but does anyone want to watch any of the other teams? We've been subjected to some pretty gruesome football from some pretty boring teams, and I think it's time the networks went in a different direction.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-09-28T13:04:00.001-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that Appalachian State spoiled any chance UMass had of upsetting BC this weekend.

The days of Div. I-AA schools sneaking up on I-A schools officially ended with the Mountaineers win in the Big House and there's no way BC will take UMass lightly. I've been saying for weeks that I wish this game was played last year when BC was a little weaker and UMass was a little stronger because I really think UMass could have won that game. You might think that's just an alum talking but in their games against common opponents, UM beat Maine 10-9 at home and lost to Navy 21-20 on the road, while BC beat Maine 22-0 at home and beat Navy 25-24 at a neutral site in their bowl game. I'm usually against drawing conclusions from those transitive type scenarios, but it at least goes to show there wasn't much of a divide between the two teams last year.
Unfortunately for the Minutemen, they have to face this year's Eagles team which looks to be a lot stronger and better coached than past squads. I think UMass will hang tough but if Matt Ryan is anywhere near as good as everyone says he is, he should be able to expose the 76th ranked pass defense in I-AA for a few big plays. Final score: BC 31-17.
How insane is the NL playoff picture right now? There are three days left in the season and no team has clinched a playoff berth. It's possible that there could be one gigantic tie involving the NL East, the NL West and the Wild Card, resulting in four days of tiebreaker games.
How much of an idiot is Shawn Marion? He's getting $17 million a year to play with the best point guard in the game in a wide open offense that perfectly suits his skill-set and he wants a trade? The guy wants more attention, yet is interested in playing for the Lakers? Yeah because playing alongside Kobe wouldn't put him in anyone's shadow or anything.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is my main man Greg Oden. I was more of a Kevin Durant backer during the college season, and it's clear that, at least initially, he's going to have a bigger impact in the NBA, but you have to pull for a kid like Oden. His blog on yardbarker.com unveils pretty good incite into his down-to-earth personality, including his latest entry in which he writes about getting a new dog named Charles Barkley McLovin. How can you not root for a guy who names his dog that?
While I'm on the NBA, let me be the first to drop a name on you that everyone will know in six months: Luis Scola. Scola seemed like another shrewd foreign draft pick for the Spurs, as they drafted him in 2002 and he continued to dominate the Spanish professional league and for the Argentinian national team (he was the MVP of the recent FIBA Americas tournament, despite the US steamrolling the competition). Apparently buy-out issues with his Spanish team prompted the Spurs to deal Scola to in-state rival Houston this offseason. Since being acquired by Houston, Scola's buy-out issues were resolved and he'll be joining the Rockets this season. I expect him to have a major impact and for this trade to come back to haunt the Spurs.
And finally, this might go down as the worst Real World season ever. Aside from the Vegas reunion debacle, I've never completely thrown in the towel on a RW season, but it's looking like this might be the first. The girls all seemed attractive at first glance, but upon further review only Kelly Anne is hot, and she's legitimately crazy. There isn't one likable person in this whole whiny bunch. It's getting one more week, and if Dunbar doesn't punch Parisa because she's singing, I'm pulling the plug.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-09-24T12:53:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that ever since LT decided to rock the neck-beard his play has suffered considerably.

After week one, I said the Colts looked more impressive than the Patriots. A lot has changed in two weeks. The Pats have looked absolutely unstoppable. I'd put the Colts firmly in the No. 2 spot, but I don't think there's any case to be made that they are better than New England right now.
I know it's near impossible to go undefeated in the NFL, but you tell me which game the Patriots can't/won't win. With as many weapons they have in every facet in the game it just seems improbable for them to have a let-down. And make no mistake, the only way the Patriots will lose (assuming they stay healthy) is to beat themselves because as we've seen, when they're on their game no one can even play with them.
The biggest question around the league this morning is obviously how/why does Rex Grossman still have a job? There's no logical explanation behind Lovie Smith's unwavering loyalty to Grossman. It's not like he was once great and is now struggling. He's never been better than mediocre and right now he's single-handedly losing games.
The thing that's even more disconcerting is the way Grossman carries himself. He seems so over his head that you actually have to feel somewhat sorry for him in post-game press conferences. Some guys are made to be back-up quarterbacks and you get the impression that Grossman would be perfectly content holding a clipboard.
Smith's refusal to replace Grossman is mere stubbornness at this point. It's as if he doesn't want to make the switch because he'd be caving to the masses, when, in reality, he'd be doing what is best for his team.
Donovan McNabb was cheered in Philly yesterday not because he spoke up, but because he finally played well. Funny how that works: you play well the fans cheer; you don't play well, they boo. All of the other factors are way behind that one in terms of relevance.
Switching to college for a few quick thoughts:
Michigan's resurgence makes Appalachian State's opening week win all the more impressive. It would have been one thing if Michigan went on to have a 2-9 season, but it looks like they've turned it around and, if that's the case, that upset will be elevated even further.
One team that doesn't exactly look like it has things turned around: Notre Dame. It was downright embarrassing to see their fans cheer wildly for things as routine as a first down or a 2-yard touchdown run on Saturday. That's a terrible, terrible team right now.
I know that the umpire apparently incited the confrontation, but how funny is it that Milton Bradley suffered a season-ending knee injury while being restrained by his coach? Bradley's probably not going to find a lot of sympathy.
And finally, why is that I own the Shawshank DVD and I’ve never put it on and watched it, but I almost always stop and watch the movie when I pass it on TV?

Yada, yada, yada

2007-09-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

I never thought it would be possible for a late season series between the Sox and the Yankees to be bumped off the back pages, but of course that's been the case this week. I'm going to get to the Sox in a few, but like everyone else, I'm going to start with Spy-Gate.

Bill Belichick's press conference this morning was an absolute embarrassment. At least Michael Vick was able to muster some contrition and sincerity. That's more than can be said for Belichick. For those who missed it, Belichick avoided questions the way LT avoids tacklers, although with far less grace. Every question was answered with some variation of, "That's in the past and I'm focused on the San Diego Chargers." Believe me, it was worse and more smug than that looks. Even Mark McGwire was probably thinking that Belichick came off looking bad.
I still don't think this issue is that big of a deal. I don't think it'll taint Belichick's career as much as some do, although his haters (and there are plenty of them) will try to bring it up at every chance. I think Belichick's smug demeanor and the air of arrogance he carries will be a larger part of his legacy when he hangs up the grungy hoodie.
And again, I completely expect the Pats to roll San Diego on Sunday night. They better too because if not they're never going to hear the end of it next week.
One last note and then moving to the Sox: that should be some handshake between Belichick and Mangini after the next Pats-Jets game.
I have to start with Wednesday night's walk-off win. Despite the fact that it should have been a heartbreaking long out and not a home run, it doesn't take away from the fact that I called Ortiz' shot. I'm only touting that because I never call anything like that; I don't even try. But I've been backing Ortiz a lot lately, even in this blog, and there was a little bit of pessimism surrounding Ortiz at the bar on Wednesday night so I had to speak up for him and of course he came through.
A big reason I hate having days off during the week is that I end up having ESPN on in the background while I go on the 'net or do thing around the house and I end up hearing Skip Bayless and I want to put my head through a wall. Bayless, who I've heard is actually a decent guy off camera, said that it had been a year since Ortiz had hit a walk-off home run in a disparaging way. How ridiculous is that? How many opportunities do you even get? You have to come up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth either tied or trailing by fewer runs than men are on base. Then all you have to do is hit a home run facing the other team's best pitcher. Yeah, by not doing that in a whole year Ortiz has really struggled. If anything, the fact that it's even an issue shows how ridiculously good Ortiz has been because everyone expects him to regularly hit walk-offs the way he did during that unreal stretch the past few years.
I can't be the only one who noticed that it looked like the NESN cameraman fell down filming Ortiz round third base the other night, right? The guy was filming Ortiz come around third and the next thing you know he was filming Ortiz' legs from what appeared to be ground level.
It's been said recently, but I can't stress enough that Jacoby Ellsbury needs to remain in the lineup when Manny returns, whenever that is. Loyalty is one of Francona's finest qualities and it served him well earlier this year with Pedrioa and with Mark Bellhorn in the 2004 playoffs, but at this point in the season putting your best lineup on the field has to trump loyalty. Drew has had all season to claim the right field job and he hasn't done it. Meanwhile Ellsbury has provided a huge spark to the team and brings more than Drew heading into the postseason.
Drew need not worry about losing his job long-term because he's going to be the starting RF for the next four years unless the Sox are willing to eat sizable portion of his salary in any trade. For right now though, there is no justification for starting Drew over Ellsbury. Winning a World Series has to take precedence over someone's feelings or contract issues, and Ellsbury gives this team the best chance to win a World Series.
It's no secret the TV drives professional sports, but its impact on the set-up of the ALDS is too much. There is a distinct competitive advantage given in one series over the other and the sole reason is so MLB can maximize TV ratings. At first glance it would seem that every team would choose to play in the longer series so they could avoid using a fourth starter and start their two top guys on regular rest, but Cleveland's rotation throws a wrench into things because their top two starters are so much stronger than their third and fourth starters. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, although I think it's a farce that it's happening in the first place.
And finally it's going to be a great weekend in Boston. My predictions: Patriots 31-13, Yankees take 2-of-3, with Daisuke taking it on the chin tonight.

Spy-Gate

2007-09-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

Before I even get into all of the talk about Spy-Gate, I think we need to establish one name for this. I'm obviously going with Spy-Gate, but I've seen Camera-Gate, Video-Gate and even Patriot-Gate, but I think Spy-Gate is the best and we really need to come to a consensus on this.

Now that we have that out of the way, there has been A LOT written and said about this issue in the past few days and I think it'd be best if everyone just took a step back and thought about what actually happened here. I know some people will call me a Patriots homer, but if you've read what I've written recently (i.e. that the Colts look like the team to beat in the AFC right now) I think you'll find that just isn't the case.

Let me first say that I 100 percent understand that because what New England did was against the rules, and went against a specific edict from the league not to do this, that they deserve to be punished. That said, some of the suggestions some have made for the punishment have bordered on insanity. Terrell Davis saying the team should be barred from the postseason for two years comes to mind. A fair penalty: a substantial fine to come from Belichick's pocket, the loss of a second and fifth round pick and a four-game suspension if this happens again.

I think most rational people would consider that a fair penalty. Of course, rationality hasn't been in excess recently, as evidenced by people, such as Skip Bayless, making comparisons to Michael Vick and Pacman Jones' punishments. Yeah, because stealing signs is on par with being involved with various felonies.

When it comes down to it, I just don't see the huge advantage a team would get. Even when it's been explained how the system works, I still don't see anything a team gains that they wouldn't from legal film study. Seemingly it would only help the offense because the quarterback has the headset in his helmet so he can hear directly from the offensive coordinator, but the headset is shut off if the team isn't in the huddle and is shut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock. That leaves 25 seconds to: film the signal, relay it to the coordinator and then get that info to the QB, and even that assumes the defense makes the signal at the start of the play clock (completely unlikely) and that it doesn't change anything once the play is called (again, completely unlikely).

When people start talking about making adjustments at halftime or before the next game, you have to ask why weren't the Jets mixing up their signs every once in a while. These coaches talk with a sheet in front of their mouth when they call plays to avoid lip readers, but aren't smart/paranoid enough to think that maybe someone could pick up on their hand signals?

I don't even understand why this specific act is illegal considering everything else teams can do to try to figure out what an opponent is doing. Teams are allowed to watch as much film on an opponent as possible looking to pick up every piece of info possible, they can bring in players who played for an opponent for the sole reason of trying to get inside info about the opponents' system and players on the field are obviously allowed to look at everything about an opponent to see if they can tip them off to what play is coming, i.e. a lineman's stance may indicate pass or run. I'd think those offer bigger advantages, and I'm not saying they should be illegal at all. I just don't understand why this one act is being treated the way it is.

The thing that is clouding this whole mess is that it involves the Patriots. If the Browns did the same thing would there be the same uproar? There has been a substantial backlash building against the Patriots for a long time, and it's understandable. The coach is P.O.S. Let's not be blinded to that just because he's won titles for the hometown team. Belichick just isn't a good guy. That doesn't take anything away from him as a coach; in fact, it probably helps him be so good, because he doesn't care about anything but winning, at the expense of having any semblance of a personality. Also the organization and media have established this reputation that the team "does things the right way" and is smarter than everyone else. And finally it's simply natural to dislike dominant teams for no other reason than people get tired of watching one team win and get all the attention.

Everyone all over the league dislikes Belichick and this has given them a free shot at him and many have taken it. Hines Ward has come out and said that the Pats were calling out their plays in the AFC title game a few years ago. Apparently Hines isn't aware of the fact that this issue -- as far as I've read and heard -- solely involves the Patriots offense. Maybe, just maybe, the reason that the Patriots were able to pick up on the Steelers plays was because they (legally) watched film and recognized certain formations and what plays the Steelers liked to run from those formations. I'd like to think the players themselves could pick up on these things, especially if the other team isn't smart enough to change signals up once in a while.

Anyone who has ever played sports knows how easy it can be to pick up on a play. I think I knew most of the plays of every team I played against in basketball by the tenth trip down the floor. It didn't take any high-tech espionage; I just had to realize that every time the point guard called out "Kentucky" and my guy ran off a pick curled to the basket, that Kentucky involved my guy running off a pick and curling to the basket. The difficult part was stopping it. That's where people are really losing it when they say this taints the Super Bowl wins.

Coaching is overrated as it is. You need to have great players above all else to win. Obviously when you take two teams with great players, coaching plays a role in who will win, but coaching didn't have anything to do with Ellis Hobbs being faster than anyone else on the field on that kickoff return, and it didn't have anything to do with Randy Moss outrunning three hapless defenders and it didn't have anything to do with Tom Brady throwing a perfect bomb that hit Moss in stride.

This is a case of Belichick going overboard to get a slight edge; an edge I'd assume most of the players could care less about. As hard as my high school assistant baseball coach tried to figure it out the other team's signs, I never wanted to know if I was going to get a fastball or a curve. Point is, the players still have to execute. And if you think they were really relying on this info that was collected by some cameraman over their instincts you're crazy.

I've gone on way too far on this already, so I'm going to wrap up and write something I never thought I would: I'm going to let Sean Salisbury speak for me on this topic the rest of the way. I usually don't agree with much that comes out of Salisbury's mouth, but on this topic I agree whole-heartedly with his stance (that this really isn't that big of a deal).

So there, I just wrote 1,200 words and none had to do with Big Papi's walk-off home run last night that I called and I finished up with saying that I'll rely on Sean Salisbury to argue my point for me... I think I need a drink.

One last note: Don't be surprised when New England absolutely smashes the Chargers this week. Up until this story broke I was convinced that San Diego would win this game because of all of the emotion they'd be carrying over from last year. Now that this story came out and the Chargers stupidly insulted the Pats rather than taking the high road -- led by the classy LT (no really he's classy, just ask him) -- and staying away from the topic, they have played into the Patriots hands. This team lives for this stuff -- seeking out every slight, real or perceived. This week has given them the most ammo to play the disrespect card since before the Rams Super Bowl and we all remember how that turned out.
Again, you heard it here first, Patriots roll on Sunday.

NFL Wrap-Up

2007-09-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

Some football thoughts while thinking that last night's 1-0 loss with the PawSox lineup against Kazmir was as predictable as it comes.

Before getting into the Patriots masterful debut, a few thoughts on last night's game:
Last night's Cincinnati-Baltimore game was Exhibit A why I don't gamble. I took Baltimore in an elimination pool (wouldn't have been my first choice, but I got in late and had to take one of the Monday night games) and felt fairly confident. Of course they fumble the first three times they touch the ball and then have that catastrophic ending to the game. First, the horrendous offensive pass interference call on Todd Heap that negated the game-tying touchdown and then, after getting bailed out by a Cincinnati penalty on fourth down, Brian Billick decided to throw the ball on second and goal from the two rather than running it and Kyle Boller attempted to throw the ball through Heap's chest, resulting in the game-sealing interception.
There have got to be some sore folks in the locker rooms in Baltimore and Cincinnati today. They were really smacking each other last night. It seems like the hits this weekend overall were even more ferocious than usual.
Right in the middle of the big hits was Ed Reed. That guy is an absolute force. Throw in the home run potential every time he touches the ball and you have one of the most exciting players in the league.
Chad Johnson's act is tired. He's just trying too hard. And you definitely get the feeling that his night is made if he scores, and how the team fares is secondary.
There were two dominating performances this weekend (three if you want to throw in San Diego's defense) and the rest of the league is now on notice that New England and Indianapolis are still the top dogs in the league. As good as New England looked on Sunday, I was actually more impressed with Indy's opener. There is zero question with Indy's offense; in fact, it looked better than ever on Thursday, which is scary. The really impressive thing was the defense's performance. The Colts D had that remarkable turnaround in last year's playoffs and appears to have picked up where it left off, shutting down one of the league's best offenses (the defense actually only allowed three points, as New Orleans' touchdown came on a fumble return). Of course, Bob Sanders will probably get hurt next week and they'll fall apart, but for one week they looked outstanding.
The reason I'd give the power rankings edge to the Colts is because they demolished a better team, but that takes nothing away from the Pats, who looked more dominant than they did in any of their Super Bowl years. It was almost surprising when the offense didn't score that's how many weapons they have now. The beauty is that San Diego will have to double Randy Moss this week and while he may not put up big numbers, Wes Welker or Donte Stallworth will as a result.
Speaking of San Diego, expect to see a fired up team on Sunday night. I was all for the Patriots mocking Shawne Merriman's ridiculous dance last year, but don't think that hasn't been on the Chargers' minds all offseason. Their defense was flying all over the field against Chicago and they'll be even more pumped up to face the Pats. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Merriman break-out his dance if he gets a sack.
A few more thoughts to wrap up the weekend:
Who is more fragile, Mike Brown or Sanders? Brown is out of the season again thanks to an injury he suffered in San Diego. The guy is a huge difference maker, but can never stay on the field for a full season.
Those faux-press conference Coors Light commercials aren't any better this year. It's a good idea but every one completely misses the mark.
FYI: the green dot on the back of Tom Brady's helmet has to do with the headsets quarterbacks wear. That's been one of the more common random phone calls to the office this weekend. And while we're on the subject of things that seem obvious but a lot of people don't seem to understand: the gold number in parenthesis on NESN when the show the team defense graphic represents the number of gold gloves the player has one. This stuff might seem pretty straightforward but you'd be surprised by how many people have called the office about both.
And finally, I can't be the only who noticed that John Madden drew a penis on the telestrator when he was drawing up the touchdown pass that Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress in the fourth quarter. He literally drew two circles to highlight the safety and corner and then drew a line between the two to show the route Burress ran. The result was one of the funniest uses of a telestrator since the SNL skit when "OJ" spelled out "I did it."

Yada, yada, yada

2007-09-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

I planned on writing a look back on my preview for the Red Sox pitchers, but work got busy and instead I'm going to do a quick yada, yada, yada and save the review for next week.

I assume it's a result of being a journalist, but I'm not nearly as biased as a sports fan anymore. I appreciate great performances now more than I care about what team a guy plays for. That's why I've been able to respect what A-Rod has done this season, and it's also why I was able to actually enjoy watching Peyton Manning last night. Don't get me wrong; I'll still root against Manning when he plays against the Pats, but as a sports fan it's hard not to be impressed watching him dissect a defense. I always said (and believed) that Brady was the better quarterback, but now that Manning has won a Super Bowl I don't think anyone can really make a case that there's a better QB in the game right now.
Something tells me Manning wasn't overly impressed with what he saw in practice last year from corner back Jason David. You almost had to feel bad for the poor guy getting picked apart like that.
The amazing thing about watching the Colts offense is that there are certain throws -- that before they even leave Manning's hand -- you know will be completed. Prime example: The first play after Brees threw a pick late in the third quarter, Manning play-actioned, then pump-faked before firing a ball down the left sideline. There was no question that the ball would find a wide open receiver, and sure enough Reggie Wayne hauled in the pass all alone on the left sideline. You just new there was no way the defensive backs would be able to stay with the Colts' receivers after two fakes. The only way to have a chance against Manning is with a strong pass rush. If you don't, the result is a 41-10 loss.
If the Colts defense plays like that all season they'll be downright scary.
How slow did Deuce McAllister look last night? He had no burst at all; it looked like he turned into Antowain Smith overnight.
One thing that has always baffled me is touchdown dances. I'm not talking about Chad Johnson choreographed celebrations (which can be hit or miss), I'm talking more about the guys that do the little shimmy-dance moves. You're football players. You just broke three tackles and powered your way into the end zone and you get up and celebrate by wiggling your arms and hips? I just don't get it.
We'll finish on one of my favorite traditions during the week leading up to the start of the season: ESPN airing those NFL Films Yearbooks on every team in the league. Nothing quite like the goosebumps a bio on the 3-13 Detroit Lions season produces.

Red Sox Review

2007-09-05T14:57:00.000-05:00

One of the traits that many columnists have that drives me crazy is that they never admit when they are wrong. I'll be the first to admit that it’s not easy to churn out anywhere from 3-5 columns per week while having a strong stance on every topic you write about. But when columnists do make a strong stand, and then are proven wrong wouldn’t they engender a bit more credibility if they admitted it?

It’s on that note that I revisit my preseason Red Sox predictions. Just as I pointed out that I was on target with a few things in my last post, you’ll find that I wasn’t quite as accurate with my Sox predictions. And where better to start than my biggest whiff coming out of Spring Training.

Dustin Pedroia: I actually almost nailed Pedroia’s numbers, except it was done in a snarky as-if-that-will-ever-happen tone and not a genuine prediction. Here’s what I wrote in April: I'm going on record with predictions for each and every member of the Red Sox roster, this way you can call me out for bashing Dustin Pedroia when he’s batting .330 in August. Well it’s Sept. 4, and Pedroia is batting .327. Let the calling out commence.

There is no one more surprised than me about this. I absolutely killed Pedroia before the year. And now he’s the clear-cut favorite for Rookie of the Year. Sox fans should be glad that Tito and Theo saw something in this kid that I clearly didn't.

Kevin Youkilis: First the negatives: This is the second consecutive season that Youkilis has seen his numbers drop precipitously in the second half, a trend that is worrisome. Youk’s also developing into quite the whiner. And that goatee really needs to go.

It hasn’t been all bad, as Youkilis has played a stellar first base and despite the second half slide he still has respectable numbers (.288, 15, 75). The question is do you have confidence in him coming through in October?

Julio Lugo: I’d say I was half-right about Lugo. I wasn’t crazy about the signing and was in favor of keeping Alex Gonzalez (.274, 16, 54 currently), but I also didn’t foresee such an abysmal year from Lugo. To put into perspective how bad Lugo was early this season, he’s batted .305 since July 1 and his season average is still only .239. He had seven hits in the entire month of June. Of course, Lugo will also probably be the first short stop that Theo retains since taking over.

Mike Lowell: After a strong first half last year and a post-All Star break fade, I assumed the first half was a fluke. Turns out it was the second half that was a poor indicator of what Lowell was going to do this year. Just think about where this offense would be without Lowell.

There’s no way he’ll win, but Lowell should garner MVP votes. That’s simply amazing considering how he was a throw-in in last year’s trade. His play this year has made the decision on whether or not to resign him a difficult one. I think the organization has to make a serious offer, thought I wouldn't sign Lowell for more than two years. It'll be interesting to see what type of offers he gets on the open market.

Alex Cora: I was driving the Cora bandwagon hard in the preseason (it really wasn’t that crowded) and early on he delivered. As the season progressed he went back to his reserve role, where he thrives. He’s one of those guys championship teams need to have.

Eric Hinske: The thing about low expectations is that it’s hard to be disappointed. Such is the case with Hinske. Aside from that memorable face plant on the diving catch early in the season, Hinske hasn’t really done a whole lot this year, as was expected.

Manny Ramirez: This has been a very un-Manny year. There haven’t been as many off-field diversions and surprisingly not as much on-field production. I predicted Ramirez would finish with .320, 38, 130…. umm, I’ll take the under. Still, I’ll take a down-year from Ramirez over a good year from most.

Coco Crisp: It seems like Crisp should have better numbers than he does. He hasn’t been outstanding at the plate, but it seems like he’s hit better than .266. Maybe the good impression of Crisp is due to the Gold Glove caliber defense he’s played all year. He’s been both steady and spectacular in center and it would be a joke if he isn’t recognized with a Gold Glove.

J.D. Drew: Apparently Bob Ryan was right about Drew (if the rumors were true). I wasn’t as down on the signing as some because I don’t get as worked up about how much money these guys make (I went to one game this year and got the tickets for free, so don’t tell me I’m paying their salaries). I thought that a good start would be all Drew would need. Turns out that’s all Drew would give this year. He’s been absolute disaster, and it seems a bit unlikely that he’ll be the right fielder for the next four years, though it’s also difficult to imagine there will be many Drew suitors after this season.

As much as everyone loves to rip underachieving players, I must say this has to have had an affect on Drew this year. I think it’d be tough for anyone to perform their best at work with a child going through that.

Wily Mo Pena: Good one Theo. Turned Bronson Arroyo into a player-to-be-named in a one year span. Well done. The best thing about Pena is that his absence has allowed Jacoby Ellsbury get on the field.

David Ortiz: Can we stop saying Ortiz is having a “down year?” Yes, his home run total won’t be anywhere near as high as the previous three years and he hasn’t delivered nearly as much in the clutch. The lack of clutch hits should really just make you appreciate how ridiculous Ortiz was in the past three years to make us believe that he’d come through every single time he had an opportunity with the game in the line. And if you can get past the decreased home run total (currently sixth in the AL), you’ll find that in the AL, Ortiz ranks first in OBP, first in OPS, second in walks, third in doubles, fourth in slugging, sixth in runs scored, ninth in RBI, and tenth in batting average. Not bad for a “down year.”

Jason Varitek: Varitek is doing about what I expected. His offense has been decent, though far from spectacular and he’s done a great job handling the pitching staff.

Doug Mirabelli: Is anyone happier with the year Wakefield has had than Mirabelli? There is nothing about Mirabelli’s game that is necessarily major league level, but his status as Wakefield’s personal catcher seems to have earned him a lifetime job with the Sox.

Back with the pitchers review by Friday afternoon.

The blog is back

2007-08-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

As promised the blog is returning as summer is ending. When I began my hiatus the Michael Vick and Tim Donaghy scandals were just getting revved up, and despite those being major sports stories I wasn't really tempted to post because what could I write about those two topics that hadn't been covered ad nauseam?

The only topic that came up in the past month that made me wish I had kept up with the blog was the Kevin Garnett trade. I can't exactly say I called this Garnett deal, but here's what I wrote in the days after the NBA Draft:

I have to believe Kevin Garnett is back in the picture now. Phoenix and L.A. didn’t come close to getting him, so if his choice is suffering through another miserable year in Minnesota or coming to Boston to join two All-Stars to form a legitimate title contender, I’d have to think he’d soften his stance on not wanting to come here.

The fact that the deal went through doesn't make me a soothsayer, but it does say that Danny Ainge actually has had a plan that we have been able to follow over the past few months, something that couldn't be said with any confidence previously. The way he's filled out the roster with quality veteran role players (did you ever think people would get this excited about a James Posey signing?) only further supports the idea that Ainge actually may have a clue. This may seem like a fairly basic expectation to have for a GM but Ainge really hadn't shown that he had any plan before this offseason.

It's still early to predict how far the Celtics can go this season, but if LeBron could get that rag-tag bunch to the Finals last year, you can't convince me that Boston doesn't have a legitimate shot at winning the East.

Switching gears, a few quick thoughts on the Red Sox (I'll have a much more in-depth breakdown early next week when I look back on my preseason predictions for the team):

Obviously that series in New York couldn't have gone any worse, but the real problem is that there didn't appear to be anything fluky about it. Despite their record I was never convinced that the Sox really were the best team in baseball. Once the Yankees went on their post All Star break tear, I've been convinced that they are the best team in baseball. I think the Sox will hang on to win the East, but I just don't see them beating the Yankees -- or the Angels for that matter -- to get to the World Series.
This may all sound like some hindsight-BS, but I can promise you that's not the case. I've been the picture of pessimism (or realism as far as I'm concerned) all season and recently had an argument in which I said I'd rather have Andy Pettitte and NY than Daisuke Matsuzaka and Boston in a potential ALCS Game 2 matchup. We all saw how that played out on Tuesday night.
The Sox offense is nowhere near as potent as it has been in recent years and despite having the league's best ERA I don't buy their rotation as the clear-cut best in the game. Over a 162-game schedule against a lot of bad teams Boston has the makeup to post good numbers, but in a short series against a tough opponent the pitching is a little bit suspect -- as evidenced by this week's showing in the Bronx when the team's top three pitchers were all out-pitched.
And to finish out a few quick thoughts on the state of the Patriots:
To pat myself on the back again, in my last post before my hiatus I broke down why I didn't think Asante Samuel would hold out. For strictly financial reasons it didn't make sense for a guy who had made less than $2 million in his entire career to leave almost $8 million for one year on the table. Apparently Asante has an agent or an accountant who brought that reality to his attention, and not surprisingly he reported to camp this week.
My take on Samuel is this: He's good, but not as good as his numbers last season indicate. Up until last season he was a prime target to give up big plays and while he had a great year in the interceptions department, he's not in the lock-down corners category as he seems to believe. It's actually rare for the top corners to lead the league in picks because the other teams fear them so much that don't even test them. Maybe Samuel took a step towards reaching that upper-echelon of corners last year, but the image of his #22 chasing some wide receiver into the end zone after surrendering a deep pass in recent years is too fresh in my mind to be convinced that he's one of the best in the business.
I'd feel a lot better about the Pats chances at a 19-0 season if Randy Moss had suited up for at least one preseason game.
And finally, on a completely unrelated note, the list of reasons why I don’t like going to the mall is a long one. Near the top is the fact that I can walk around a store like Abercrombie for 10 minutes and have no idea if I’m in the guys or girls section.

Blog is going on vacation

2007-07-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

In honor of the dog days of the sports calendar the blog is going to take a hiatus. It should return in a month, by the first of September at the latest. Despite all the scandals that are going on right now I just don't feel like there's a ton to write about. I'm not watching nearly as much sports as I do in the fall, winter and spring and therefore don't have as much to write about. By the time Sept. 1 rolls around the baseball season will be coming down the home stretch and the football season will be kicking off and there will be plenty to write about and I'll come back strong. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer and thanks for reading.

Couch blogging

2007-07-17T16:25:00.000-05:00

Seeing as how I'm stuck on the couch with my left ankle on a stack of pillows (RICE baby) thanks to landing on a foot after a jumper last night, I figured I'd break out some yada, yada, yada.

Is it just me or have race issues become more and more prevalent in the sports world lately? First, let me get back to the issue that I’ve addressed before with Michael Wilbon claiming that black players didn’t want to play for the Celtics because Boston is perceived as racist.
Wilbon finally addressed this issue on PTI last week, but he still misses the point. If Boston was looked at so negatively by black athletes how did the Patriots manage to attract a bunch of black players this offseason? Again, there are far more important factors that dictate where players go, and the city’s demographics is way further down the list than Wilbon contends.
You may not think Danny Ainge gets it when it comes to basketball decisions, but he nailed this topic on the head in the Herald a week and a half ago:

“The reasons why people want to come to a team are financial, quality of the team, the opportunity they’ll have there and the city. And of all those, I think the city is not usually the top priority. That can factor into it, but from my experiences over the years in different places, the most important things to a player are financial and the opportunity they’re going to get. I think people will look at us differently as we get better.”

Didn’t realize that Danny was a blog reader, because that sounds exactly like what I said a few weeks ago:

“The main reason players go anywhere is money. The second biggest factor is the team – how successful it is, what the coaching staff is like, how the facilities are, etc. And then comes living issues – weather, demographics, etc.”

Another thing, let’s not act like these athletes are going to be hanging around Ruggles Station. All of these athletes – black, white, whatever – are going to hang out with other rich people. And they won’t be subjected to the racism of the city as long as they play well.
That’s not to say that if they don’t perform well that they’ll be subject to racism, either. Look at Doc Rivers. He’s done a terrible job, and he’s gotten a complete pass basically because he’s a good guy. You could make a case that Doc should be reviled – not because he’s black, but because he’s a lousy coach.
One final note on the perceived racism in Boston: too often the fact that the Red Sox were the last team in the majors to integrate is used an indication of the city’s racism. Tom Yawkey may well have been a racist, but how can that be expounded onto an entire city? When Marge Schott was spouting her racist views no one associated racism with Cincinnati, and rightfully so.
I’m not even going to get into Gary Sheffield’s seemingly baseless comments on Joe Torre if only to avoid becoming anything like Scoop Jackson and only writing on race.
Now onto some actual sports issues:
I just don’t see how Asante Samuel can afford to hold out. He’s not dealing from the same situation as most hold-outs – players who have made a lot of money already and are looking for more. Samuel hasn’t had his big payday yet. He’s made less than $2 million in his career. He’d be leaving almost $5 million on the table if he skips the first 10 games of the season, as he’s threatened. I’m sorry but I don’t think he can give up that type of money. Samuel should suck it up and play for that paltry $7.79 million guaranteed contract this year and then cash in as a free agent next year. The only reason I can see why he’d be hesitant to do that is if he feels like he won’t be able to perform at the same level as he did last year. At the same time he’s always quick to point out that he’s one of the best corners in the NFL, so that can’t be it, right Asante?
As I write this, the news of Michael Vick’s indictment just broke. Good thing you traded Matt Schaub, Atlanta.
Whatever you thought about the Ray Allen trade, I’d think most Celtics fans are relieved that they didn’t draft Yi.
A few quick questions:
Does anyone care if Bud Selig is there when Barry Bonds breaks the home run record?
Manny’s been known to set up pitchers during an at-bat – any possibility that he was setting up the entire AL for a monster second half?
Remember when the Sox actually played day games on Saturdays?
Dave Chappelle reportedly checked into a hospital for “exhaustion.” Do you know anyone besides celebrities that check into the hospital with exhaustion?

Summer league blogging

2007-07-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

A few thoughts after the underwhelming -- though ultimately irrelevant -- summer league debuts of Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and some additional NBA notes.

I think Durant will have a far better rookie year than Oden, at least statistically. Portland should win more, but Durant will put up better numbers. That very well may be the case during their careers: Durant will be the better individual player, but Oden will be a more valuable piece on a winning team.
It’ll be interesting to see what people will consider “successful” for each player. I think if people expect Oden to be some sort of savior, at least immediately, they’ll be disappointed. I wouldn’t be surprised if his averages are along the lines of 12 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 bpg... and 5.9 fouls per game. That’s obviously solid, but I don’t think you’re having a Tim Duncan-like turnaround with that production.
I can see Durant putting up 22 a game, if for no other reason than who else will score on that team? I think it’ll be more interesting to see how well he’s able to rebound in the NBA. Keep in mind that despite his slight frame, he averaged 1.5 more rebounds per game in college than Oden. If he’s able to pull down double-digit boards in the pros it’ll show that his lack of strength on the bench press really was much ado about nothing.
One last note on Oden: for all of the talk of him not showing enough personality on the court he really seems like a genuinely humble, good guy. Check out his blog. It’s written like a seventh grader who gets to go to some fantasy camp. When he writes about going out to dinner with Steve Nash, he capitalizes Nash’s whole name. You almost think he might have asked him for an autograph.
Changing gears, a few Celtics notes:
The C's need to find a spot for a guy like Leon Powe. I don’t care about bringing in Big Baby or having some other more offensively skilled big guys, good teams need players like Powe that do the dirty work.
Marcus Camby would be a perfect fit for the Celts, and not just because I’d be able to replace my hideous purple Toronto Raptors Camby jersey with a C’s one.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-07-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that if he just went by Glen Davis, people wouldn’t be nearly as excited as they are about “Big Baby.”

Seriously though, why are people so excited about Davis? He’s no taller than 6-7, he's close to 300 pounds and, while skilled, he will definitely struggle to get his shot off against NBA big men. I’d much rather have a player like Leon Powe. If Leon went by L-Train or something, I’m sure most fans would feel the same way.
In my last post I talked about the relative inaccuracy of the belief that black players don’t want to come to for the Celtics because of the racism in Boston. This column from the Eagle-Tribune the other day takes Michael Wilbon to task for perpetuating this belief. I’m not black so I can’t say how bad the racism really is in the city, but I just can’t believe it’s bad enough to keep a player from coming to Boston.
The main reason players go anywhere is money. The second biggest factor is the team – how successful it is, what the coaching staff is like, how the facilities are, etc. And then comes living issues – weather, demographics, etc.
Even when you take the demographics into account, Boston’s population is 25 percent black. Salt Lake City, on the other hand, is 2 percent black. And it’s not like SLC is making up for its lack of blacks with great diversity – 79 percent of the population is white. None of that stopped Carlos Boozer from signing a long-term deal with the Jazz a few years ago. Apparently going to a strong organization and $68 million was enough to help Boozer get over the lack of diversity.
Along the same lines, is it anything less than racism that Yi Jianlian refuses to go to Milwaukee because there isn’t enough of an Asian population? Isn’t he saying he isn’t comfortable living with other races? If he wanted to be surrounded to by people of his race, he always could have, you know, stayed in China. Who is Yi to even be making demands? Yao Ming was 10 times the prospect Yi is, and he happily went to Houston, with its 5 percent Asian population.
A few other random thoughts before wrapping this up:
What exactly did Manny do to deserve his All-Star selection?
How does Craig Biggio get thrown out trying to stretch his 3,000th hit into a double?
I haven’t really been following the story closely, but does anyone else get the feeling that everyone is a little overeager in trying to jump to steroids as the cause of the Chris Benoit murder-suicide? It very well may turn out to be the case, but putting the blame on steroids just because they were found in his house seems overly simplistic. I’m sure they found alcohol in his house as well, but you don’t see anyone jumping to the conclusion that alcohol must have been the reason for what Benoit did.
Either way I’m guessing the WWE wishes it didn’t show a three-hour tribute show to Benoit the day after the story initially broke.

NBA Draft Recap

2007-07-01T17:31:00.000-05:00

I know I’ve been slacking on the posts lately, but my work schedule should slow down a bit soon and hopefully I can get back to at least two posts a week, or I may start doing more frequent, shorter posts. We’ll see how it goes.

For now I’m long overdue for some comments on the NBA Draft, so let’s get to it.

It’s been three days and I’m still not exactly sure how I feel about the Celtics trade. My feeling is contingent on what comes next. If the C’s go into next season without making any further changes, I’ll be fairly upset with this trade. But if they make another move to further fortify the roster, I’ll look far more favorably on this trade.
I think the Celts need to go for broke. Everyone wants to talk about a youth movement. But if you’re trying to go young, passing up picks in the top seven in consecutive years isn’t the way to go, especially when good players were available and you didn’t get anything overwhelming for either pick. I have to believe Kevin Garnett is back in the picture now. Phoenix and L.A. didn’t come close to getting him, so if his choice is suffering through another miserable year in Minnesota or coming to Boston to join two All-Stars to form a legitimate title contender, I’d have to think he’d soften his stance on not wanting to come here.
That’s one thing I don’t understand: this sudden disdain for coming to Boston. I can see if it’s just because the team is lousy and Danny Ainge doesn’t seem to have any idea of what he’s doing – that makes sense. But when people start talking about the city itself being so undesirable I don’t see it. Sure the winters suck, but they suck in about half the markets in the league. Plus, you’re traveling half the season and you can live wherever you choose during the off-season. Some people have played the race card – and maybe Boston doesn’t have the best history in that department – but these players need to be reminded that it isn’t the ‘70s anymore. Busing is over. It’s really not that bad.
Now what will it take to land Garnett? I’d think that Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff and next year’s first round pick or Gerald Green would get the job done. I know some people are opposed to giving up on Jefferson, but as I pointed out before, Ainge has already moved away from this “youth movement” by trading away the last two draft picks. He needs to pick a direction and stop trying to play both sides (trying to win now while holding onto young players). The addition of Ray Allen is certainly a move for the short-term. So while Jefferson is probably going to be a stud, the Celtics would have a far greater chance at success over the next three years with a nucleus of Pierce, Allen and Garnett than with Pierce, Allen and Jefferson. There’s no way the former trio isn’t a favorite to make it out of the East over the next three years. The problem is if they aren’t good enough to win it all, you’ve given up the future and will have to blow things up again in three or four years. As crappy as that seems, I’d rather see Ainge go after it all the way and get Garnett rather than continuing with this “plan” that he seems to make up as he goes.
Don’t look now, but Sebastian Telfair is penciled in as the No. 2 point guard on this team. It’s still unclear if this is actually how Danny Ainge “scouted” Telfair. If you check out that clip you can’t help but think that there is something there if he can ever get his act together.
A few other draft thoughts:
I know Zach Randolph has some baggage, but all Portland could land for him was Steve Francis and Channing Frye? Just seems like they could have gotten a little more, but as Bill Simmons wrote, maybe the Blazers brass didn’t even want to risk Randolph meeting Greg Oden for the fears of the influence he could have on the top pick.
Speaking of ESPN and the top pick, how pretentious was it for the network to credit Ric Bucher for “breaking” the news that Oden would go No. 1. Must have had to do a lot of networking to land a scoop like that, Ric. And it wasn’t even like he had anything else, like specific contract info. Nope, just that Oden would go first. How to play up that exclusive scoop, ESPN.
And how about when Stephen A. Smith’s head exploded when he was ripping the Bobcats for trading Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson. I agree that the deal was one-sided… for the Bobcats. There was no prospect that I was more down on than Wright. He didn’t always play hard and never really took over games while trying to reach the NBA. I’m sure once he starts raking in those checks for millions he’ll start working hard, though. I’ll bet $50 right now that he never makes an All-Star team in his career. On the other hand, the Bobcats got back a 26-year-old who averaged 16.0/5.1/3.4 last year and also appeared to be one of the few sane Golden State players. Not sure how this deal helps a Golden State team that should be trying to figure out how to establish itself as a top team in the West.
One move that will help the Warriors was the selection of Stephane Lasme. The Warriors’ up-tempo style is a good fit for Lasme, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he cracks their rotation this season. The fact that Lasme was drafted at all is amazing considering where his game was at four years ago when he arrived at UMass. (If you want to read more about Lasme’s background check out this monster feature I wrote on him during his junior year.) I know some people were scared off by Lasme’s age (he’ll be 25 in December), but I still think he has a high ceiling. He’s improved his game and bulked up considerably every year in Amherst and there’s no reason to think he won’t get even better now working with an NBA coaching staff. Even better, Lasme is a humble guy very deserving of the potential big payday ahead and will undoubtedly do the alma mater proud.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-06-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking Knocked Up is the funniest movie I’ve ever seen in the theaters.

Most comedies tend to get better the more you see them. If that’s the case with Knocked Up, then it’ll easily go down as my favorite comedy. I can’t recommend a movie any more enthusiastically.
Sticking with the entertainment world for a few before switching gears to sports:
Not good times in television right now. The Sopranos is over, Rescue Me and Entourage seem to be in the process of jumping the shark, there’s at least an eight month wait until The Wire comes back, and even then it’ll be the final season. Looks like it might be time to get into Lost.
On Entourage: There can’t be a worse character than Billy Walsh. If he’s going to be a major figure in this season, I might just throw in the towel on this show.
As for Rescue Me, the show is really pushing the limits of believability. What more can even happen to Tommy? He’s had his son killed by a drunk driver, his cousin and countless other friends died in 9/11, his cop brother got killed on the job, he slept with his cousin’s widow, his brother slept with his ex-wife, he slept with his brother’s ex-wife, his ex-wife had a baby, one that is either his (conceived when he more or less raped her) or from the dead brother. And that's not even getting into the ridiculous storyline with Sheila slipping Tommy roofies and the fire. I mean come on. It’s still a funny show, but too much ridiculous crap has happened for me to really care about the show as a drama.
Shouldn’t Jared from Subway’s 15 minutes have run out by now?
Does ESPN really need to keep the Deportes updates going? Is there really a clamoring for soccer highlights no one’s care about by an anchor with a Spanish accent?
With the rumors of a Mark Buehrle-Clay Buchholz deal swirling, here’s hoping that Theo Epstein adheres to the “sometimes the best move is the one you don’t make” philosophy. Buchholz is considered as can’t miss a prospect as there is in the game right now. Buehrle is certainly a solid pitcher, but do you deal away a potential ace for a guy who will either be a three-month rental or will demand a large contract extension? My vote is no. Granted Schilling’s injury presents a question mark, but assuming he comes back healthy does anyone really believe that Francona will start Buehrle over any of the Sox top three pitchers in a playoff series? If not, is it worth trading for a fourth starter; a guy who may only pitch two or three times in the entire postseason? Keep in mind you’d be giving up a 22-year-old with a 1.82 ERA and 100 strikeouts against 18 walks in 74 innings in AA, with stuff that scouts gush over. Also, Buchholz has only been a pitcher for a few years, so it’s reasonable to assume he’ll get even better. I’m hoping that Epstein learns from the disastrous revolving door at shortstop over the past four years and realizes that sometimes going with what you already have is the right move.
Check out Ken Griffey Jr.’s stats this season. I can’t be the only one that was shocked to learn that he has 21 home runs. Everyone remembers when he seemed destined to go down as one of the all-time greats, and amazingly he still will, despite losing three years of his prime to injuries.
I can’t help but think of Grant Hill when Griffey comes up. Injuries were even less kind to Hill than they were to Griffey. I feel like over time people have forgotten just how good Hill was. He was remarkably consistent over his first six seasons, and turned in some flat-out tremendous years.

1995-96: 20.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 6.9 apg
1996-97: 21.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 7.3 apg
1997-98: 21.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg. 6.8 apg
Career: 20.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 5.3 apg

I always use Hill to refute the claim that Duke players don’t succeed in the NBA. Duke haters like to focus on certain players just to make their case and conveniently leave out that several have been good-to-very good in the NBA: Hill, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Corey Maggette, and that’s not even including guys who have been solid role players (Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner) or two players who had their careers cut short by off-court injuries (Bobby Hurley and Jay Williams).
I’m not a huge Duke supporter, but as a basketball fan I had to choose between Duke and UNC and I found it much easier to root for Hill than Rasheed Wallace or Vince Carter. I know people hate guys like Wojo and Laettner and I can understand some of things people don’t like about the program, but this misconception about Duke not producing good pros is just that, a misconception.
Another funny thing is that Duke haters like to have it both ways. They’ll say Duke doesn’t produce good pros and then say Coach K sucks. If it were true that Duke doesn’t produce good pros, wouldn’t the fact that Duke is a perennial national championship contender speak to Coach K’s ability as a coach to get the most out his players?
And finally, Danny Ainge: Please just keep the fifth pick. I don’t see any trade that is going to help this team. This is considered a good draft and the team will be able to pick a guy that can help right away. If he really believes that this team is playoff-caliber with a healthy Pierce, keep the pick (take Brewer or Noah) and add a veteran with the mid-level exception or a minor trade.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-06-19T14:20:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that if I ever see Pacman Jones at a strip club, I’m going to run, not walk, for the exit.

If Jones ever has any intentions of playing in the NFL again, he may want to avoid the strip clubs for a little while.
Apparently LeBron James isn’t enough to save the NBA. The league clearly needs to change its playoff format – shorten the first round to best-of-five, eliminate the excess off days, reseed after each round, and maybe even do away with the separate conferences – but David Stern won’t make those changes (at least the ones dealing with shortening the rounds) because of the money that would be lost from television revenues. The irony is that no one’s watching anyways, so there’s no need to worry about TV. Instead of worrying about losing a few bucks in the short-term Stern should take a big picture approach and make the necessary adjustments to make the playoffs relevant again.
I’ve been saying all postseason that Tony Parker is the most underrated player in the NBA. The combination of the Finals MVP and his relationship with Eva Longoria has certainly raised his profile, but people that didn’t watch much of the playoffs really need to watch Parker play. Forget Kobe, LeBron, Nash and whoever else; there is no player in the league more difficult to defend off the dribble than Parker. Many people have said that the impressive thing about Duncan’s run in San Antonio is that he’s won with only one other Hall of Famer (an aging David Robinson), but at 25-years-old I wouldn’t close the book on Parker getting in someday.
Any true basketball fan has to appreciate the Spurs. They have two guys, Parker and Manu Ginobili, who could absolutely be the “man” on 25 other teams in the league but instead are content to fit into a system and win. And the way they go about it is even more impressive. This isn't Shawn Marion reluctantly taking a backseat while grumbling about wanting to be a star. They embrace their roles and then take home the trophy in June.
I know I’m pretty late checking in on this, but Kevin Durant can’t bench-press 185-pounds once? I don’t think it should set off any alarms – he’ll still be a great scorer – but it is pretty surprising that a professional athlete can’t get that up at least once. Then again the shot ESPN shows frequently of him, hunched over at the foul line, it looks like his shoulders are so narrow they look like they could actually touch either other, so he probably could stand to bulk up a bit.
Barry Bonds does not have the same problem. The thing with Bonds is that everyone concedes that he was headed to the Hall of Fame before his head swelled to the size of Wally’s, and he’s still the most feared hitter in the game right now (and you have to figure he wouldn’t be dumb to risk a positive test at this point) so my question is that in his quiet time if he believes that everything he’s done was worth it. If he was clean, he could have hit 500+ home runs and would have gone down as an all-time great – never a top 10 or anything, but still in the upper tier – and now he’ll be remembered more for his surly attitude and for steroids than any records.
One thing that I find interesting with Bonds, is that as much of a-hole as the guy is, you really never see him lose his cool or get ejected for arguing a call. A big part is probably the fact that he rarely has a call go against him because he has the respect of the umpires for his eye – if he doesn’t swing it probably wasn’t a strike – but it’s still surprising that you never seem him with a blow-up on SportsCenter.
Knee-jerk reactions are a staple in the media – something has to fill the pages and the airwaves everyday – but things have been really over-the-top lately with the Sox. Schilling throws a one-hitter and the team should resign him immediately. Then he has a few rough outings and all of the sudden he’s washed up. The season is 162 games. It’s just plain silly to overreact to each game. When the Yankees started closing the gap it was legit to be concerned because it looked like they had finally gotten healthy and put things together, but to worry that the lead had dropped a few games was ridiculous. When you look at the rosters do you really think the Sox are 14½ games better than the Yankees?
One last Red Sox note and then I’m wrapping up this yada, yada, yada (hopefully I'll have another post up by Thursday). So Coco Crisp isn’t talking to the media. Isn’t this something that, you know, important players do? Apparently this has been going on for a while and I just found out about it. That should tell you something about your significance – if you’re not speaking to the media and no one even notices, you’re probably not a big enough deal to even boycott in the first place. Have there really been that many interview requests that he needed to stop talking? How many times can reporters even ask a guy why he went 0-for-4 again?

Second take on The Sopranos finale

2007-06-13T10:53:00.000-05:00

There’s a great response posted to my Sopranos column from yesterday (it’s honestly more thought out than my original post) and I encourage you to read it and, if you feel so inclined, to post your own thoughts because obviously everyone who watched the show has a strong opinion on how it ended.

To respond to Brew’s post, I’ve heard a lot of people saying that on the second, third and tenth viewing the final scene gets better and makes more sense. I’m sure that’s true and I just haven’t been able to watch the episode again, though I plan to when I get a chance. It’s possible, and even likely, that my take on things was influenced by the abrupt end and, with all of the tension in the diner, I wasn’t able to really process the final scene as well as I would after viewing it again knowing the outcome.

As I said yesterday, I don’t think there was a way to end this show to leave even 50 percent of the fans happy. I think there’s a segment of the population who think that anything David Chase does is absolute brilliance and they would have been happy with anything he decided to do. There’s another segment that just wants to see people getting whacked and anything less than Tony’s brain splattered on that diner table would have been an unacceptable conclusion. And then there’s the majority, at least in my opinion, who think the writing on this show is as creative and intelligent as anything ever done on television and also enjoy the show for the action. (And by action I don’t necessarily mean all-out gun fights, but more just the tension the show creates. I loved the episode this season when things came to a head between Christopher and Paulie. Aside from the guy getting tossed through the window and Christopher’s front lawn, there was no real “action” between the two but there was a palpable tension throughout the episode.)

Just from reading people’s take on the ending on various blogs and message boards, I’ve come to appreciate it more. It’s amazing that some people are completely convinced that Tony actually does get whacked at the end and that the screen going black harkens back to Bobby saying in the boat in the first episode of the season that right before you get it you don’t hear anything and everything just goes black. At the same time many people believe that Tony doesn’t get whacked and take Brew’s stance that the scene was just showing how Tony has to go through life always on edge, even at a seemingly innocent family dinner.

No matter what he says, Chase clearly intended for there to be some ambiguity. If he just wanted to show Tony having dinner he would have pulled back and faded to black as he had done in multiple season finales in the past. The sudden jolt to black, the music cutting off, the look on Tony’s face, Meadow running to the door and the Members Only jacket guy walking to the bathroom was certainly trying to make things more ominous.

I don’t think I wanted to see Tony get whacked. I’m not 100 percent positive because it didn’t happen so I can’t say for sure how I would have reacted, but based on the circumstances of the final episode it wouldn’t have made sense. Despite the inevitable indictment, things were actually as good as they could be in Tony’s life. Who would have whacked him? The only people left in his crew were all loyal to him and with Phil gone it wouldn’t seem likely that New York would have any reason to take out Tony or be able to engineer a hit so quickly.

If any character were to whack Tony I always felt Christopher would have been the most fitting, and obviously Tony eliminated that possibility earlier this season. That relationship was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever watched. I think my favorite dynamic of the show was the way the Adriana issue was always just under the surface of their relationship, at least from Christopher’s side. Christopher may have gone along with the decision to kill her at the time, but he clearly didn’t have the business-like approach to it that Tony did.

People talk about how they like the way Chase didn’t wrap up everything because in real life you don’t always find out how everything turns out. That’s true, and I don’t think there’s a better example than how Christopher always believed something happened that night between Tony and Adriana. (Think about it, he never really said he believed Tony’s account of things except for when he had a gun to his head.) I have to believe that Christopher used his belief that something happened with Tony and Adriana as his justification for sleeping with Julianna Marguilies’ character in the first half of the season. The beauty is that we knew nothing happened, but the character didn’t.

That’s why I don’t totally buy praising the ending based on us not finding out everything because that’s how real life is. Sure Tony isn’t going to find out everything that happened to every person in his life, just like he doesn’t know A.J. was about to bang that 17-year-old in the woods when his SUV caught fire. But my problem is that we did get to see that. We’re not in the show. The storylines are “real” for Tony but they aren’t for us. It’s not our real life. Chase could have decided to show us what happened to everyone, he chose not to. To some people that was the right decision, to others he couldn’t have made a worse one.

My biggest problem was simply the way Chase ended the series with such a jolt. I don’t know how he should have ended it or even how I would have liked it to end. But I just didn’t feel right about the way it did end. Maybe my opinion will change after seeing it again, but for now it just didn’t do it for me. As I said yesterday the show was probably the most original thing to ever air on television and I enjoyed it thoroughly, and even if the ending wasn’t as great as I hoped, that doesn’t change what a great show it was.

Bada, bada, bada

2007-06-12T12:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I’ve been slacking on the posts lately, but between an anti-climactic NBA Finals and the dog days of the baseball season, there honestly just hasn’t been a lot of interesting things going on in the sports world. With that in mind, today’s yada, yada, yada will be all about The Sopranos (because I know everyone needs to read one more person’s take on the finale).

First off, there was no way that the finale couldn’t have been a disappointment. It’s pretty much an inherent trait of any great show – people aren’t going to be happy when it ends. Think about it: no matter what happened at the end of the show, we’d still all be disappointed because the show’s run was over. With all of that said, I still think Sunday night’s show was a disappointment for one major reason: it was a cop-out ending. I hate this “It ends however the viewer wanted it to” line of thinking. I’ve watched 86 episodes of the show and David Chase has always made decisions on what was going to happen. Maybe I didn’t always agree with everything he’s done, but that’s part of the fun – disagreeing and analyzing every decision made with the characters and the plot -- so to not make any effort to wrap things up (I know it was supposed to be a life goes on type finish) is inexcusable. This has been Chase’s story all along. How could he not have an end? I’ve been with him throughout the story so I would have been fine with him, you know, actually ending it. There's no way everyone would have liked it, but at least we’d have something to agree or disagree with rather than this existential “the ending is what the viewer wants it to be” crap.
People are speculating that Chase left the opening for a movie. I’m sorry I just don’t see how a movie would work. They obviously aren’t doing one right away so there’s no guarantee that one will ever happen. People say that in five years they may realize they need the money or they haven’t been able to recapture the fame the show brought, but at the point won’t the movie come off like some lame cash-grab and not an inspired ending to the story? And after 80-odd hours of a story can you really finish things in the format of a traditional two hour movie?
A few other complaints/observations:
I can understand not tying up every storyline, but how can we not find out what happened to Sil? Are we left to assume that he died?
One of the biggest problems I had with The Sopranos throughout the series, and especially in the later seasons, was how seemingly inconsequential characters who were barely introduced could play major roles. Does anyone even know who Carlo was? Maybe it’s just tough because a lot of the guys look alike and all have Italian first names, but couldn’t they have made the character who was going to potentially be the one who finally brought Tony down a little more recognizable?
How much time was supposed to pass in the last episode? At least two, possibly three, seasons were shown. It seemed to be fall when A.J. parked his SUV on the leaves in the woods, it was clearly winter when Tony met up with Agent Harris by the airport and after Paulie accepts the promotion he’s shown at the end of the scene sunbathing. I don’t know if this was just sloppy editing, because the story didn’t seem to imply that a lot of time had passed, but clearly the weather changed quite a bit.
I’m sorry but “Don’t Stop Believing” wasn't the right song to end the show. I’ve heard people say it worked because that’s the type of music Tony would listen to and I understand that the lyrics were fitting (although I'm convinced people could make anything fit because they've already decided everything Chase does is brilliant), but I think there should have been a stronger song to close the series. And don’t get me wrong ,I have no problem with the song; after 12 beers it’ll always cause an impromptu sing-along when it comes on the radio. I just don’t think it was powerful enough send-off for this show.
Despite all of this nitpicking, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and this mini-season even made of for the abomination that was the first half of this season.
James Gandolfini turned in an unparalleled performance. We really won’t ever see anything like that again.
As much I liked this show, it doesn’t rate as the top TV show ever in my book. That honor goes to The Wire. I constantly tout that show and I can’t recommend anything more enthusiastically. That show has one season left and I can say without hesitation that its finale will leave fans far more satisfied than The Sopranos did.
And finally, I have to give a shout-out to Quincy, winners of the RNG Flag Football championship game in Southie on Sunday. That finale was more dramatic than The Sopranos, with a score on the third possession of sudden death overtime to finally secure the win.

Yada, yada, yada

2007-06-04T18:16:00.000-05:00

Thoughts while thinking that I don’t want to know how one gets a “fatigued” groin.

Here’s what I wrote a month ago about Dustin Pedroia: I had low expectations for Pedroia, and yet, the second baseman has somehow been worse than I expected. He’s solid in the field (I guess) and that’s about it for the positives from this first month. My biggest problem with Pedroia was that he was rushed to the big leagues and didn’t deserve to be handed the starting job heading into the season. I initially said that Alex Cora would be the starting second baseman by June. I was wrong. It actually may be much sooner than that.
Umm, sorry Dustin? Seriously who could see this coming though? Pedroia looked completely overmatched in his call-up last September, in spring training and in the first month of the season. Nothing he had shown led me to believe he was ready to be a competent major leaguer, let alone one with a .336 batting average.
The amazing thing about Boston’s 10.5 game lead is that, despite Pedroia’s recent surge, the team still has three everyday players batting below .240. Coco Crisp just isn’t a very good hitter so that won’t change, but the honeymoon period with J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo is coming to a close, and a five-game losing streak would expedite that process.
Nice pop-up slide into home by Lugo last night. I don’t understand why every player doesn’t do the slide when they go feet first next to the plate and just slap the plate with their hand.
I won’t say I was wrong yet, but LeBron’s certainly making me rethink my stance that he doesn’t have “it.”
You can put Game 5 in LeBron’s clips package that they’ll show a million times for the rest of his career the way Jordan shaking his head after making the 3’s against Portland in the ’92 Finals and the layup when he switched hands in mid-air in the ’91 Finals was replayed.
There isn’t a chance in hell the Cavs are winning this series, but if LeBron can steal a game or two I’ll be impressed. This is easily one of the worst teams to reach the finals in 20 years.
At least we’ve been spared watching the Pistons anymore. Is there anyone harder to root for than Rasheed Wallace? He’s a mix between Stephen Jackson’s insane outbursts and Tim Duncan’s relentless whining after every call.
Those David Blain commercials? Yeah, just stop with those please.
At least there’s only a four-day layoff between the end of the conference finals and the beginning of the finals. Thankfully we get some WNBA action to hold us over.
It’s really a wonderful feeling to click on an NBA mock draft and see the Celtics Yi Jianlian. Wonderful like that feeling when you slam a door on your fingers.