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What is Joe Dumars thinking? posted on 11/03/2008

It's been a while since the Detroit Pistons haven't been near the top of the league. Their players buy into the team concept, they play good defense, and they are consistently well coached and well managed from the front office.

Which is why I was surprised to see that Joe Dumars decided to trade for a mercurial shoot-first guard with a less-than stellar playoff record. They jettisoned their team leader and a guy who has proven himself time and time again in the playoffs for a guy who has never been a leader, never played defense, and most likely won't win a championship before he retires. 

Then I thought about it. Joe Dumars obviously knows something that we don't. After all, he's made a career out of making moves and taking chances that look ridiculous at the time. Chauncey Billups had played for half of the teams in the NBA before Dumars picked him up. Ben Wallace never averaged more than 5 points and 8 boards when Dumars grabbed him off the scrap heap in 2000. Tayshaun Prince would blow away in a light breeze and yet Dumars had the foresight to make him a first round pick.

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Season's Greetings posted on 10/27/2008

Twenty-one and a half hours stand between us and the commencement of the Celtics season, and yours truly managed to score some tickest not only for tomorrow night's game, but for Friday night's as well.

Our boys have been pegged as the NBA's best this year by almost all of the experts, and it's hard not to have visions of another Larry O'Brien trophy dancing in our heads. We all know how hard it is to win back-to-back championships (just ask the other championship teams in our town), but for a team that's bringing back almost all of its core players, who now have a year of experience playing together, you have to like the chances. 

As if you're not excited enough, here's some video evidence that'll have you more amped than Gus Johnson on a coke binge.

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The 2008 Red Sox - defining moments posted on 10/21/2008

Another year, another baseball season in the books. This one didn't end the way we all would have liked, but like the old saying goes, you can't win 'em all. As they all are, this season was defined by some transcendent moments, some goofy moments, and some moments that made you question your sanity.

This is my attempt at making sense of the last 6 months of Red Sox baseball. Not always an easy thing to do, but this seems like as good a therapy as any.

The Good

1. The emergence of Dustin Pedroia. We knew he could play in this league. What we didn't expect was for him to become a legitimate MVP candidate. Come on - the guy is generously listed at 5'9 and 180 in the team's yearbook. If he's a hair over 5'6, Jason Varitek will win a batting title next year. But he was the best 2nd baseman in the league this year, finishing at the top of the league in hits, runs, and batting average. And he did all this while playing Gold-glove caliber defense. And at 25, he's only going to get better. His choice of "The Wash" as his at-bat music also strikes me as hilarious.

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The fate of 2008 hangs in the balance... posted on 10/16/2008

This is it. (Up to) three do or die games for the Olde Towne Team.

On the one hand - they've been here before. This is the same team who took us to the brink in 2004, getting beaten like a red-headed stepchild in Game 3 of the ALCS only to come storming back to win the next 8 games in a row. This is also the team that won Game 1 of the ALCS last year, lost the next 3, then went on an absolute tear and erased any doubts that they were the best team in the MLB. The core guys from those two teams are still here, and they've got a flair for the dramatic. There's no telling what could happen.

For some reason, and I'm sure I can't explain it any better than the rest of you, this year feels different. Sure, Josh Beckett has looked like he's pitching in a slow-pitch softball league, and David Ortiz couldn't hit the ball off a tee, but with the talent on this team should be good enough to pick them up. 

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Thoughts while watching the game... posted on 08/05/2008

I don't get to watch nearly as many Red Sox games as I used to, and because the boys in green across town extended their season into June, I found myself way behind the eight ball once I started watching.

However, every time I do get the time to watch a game, I always think the same thing -- this is a team to be excited about. 

In the 5-plus years it's been since Henry, Lucchino, and Theo took the reins from John Harrington and Dan Duquette, they worked toward a goal to turn the franchise around by rebuilding the farm system, bringing in guys who bought into their system, and shedding bad contracts. 

Last Thursday, this regime took the final step to make the franchise fit the mold they had in mind when they came in. Gone are the days of the mercurial superstar in Boston. Gone are the days of special treatment, phantom injuries, and extended All-Star breaks. This team has no superstars, no controversial characters, no one who will stir things up. All we have here is a bunch of solid baseball players who go out every day and do what they get paid to do. A new chapter of Red Sox history is being written as we speak.

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