Not much substantive thoughts right now, but don't worry, they're coming in due time.  But I'd like to say kudos to Manny Ramirez for hitting his 500th dinger the other day against the Orioles, this landmark is just another reminder that Manny is among the top right handed hitters of this or any other generation of baseball players.  Do what you do, Manny boy!

Also, for those of you with ESPN Classic, I advise you to set aside a few hours (or at least a solid chunk on the Tivo) to catch some classic NBA Finals match ups between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.  The games will be a smattering from the 1980s era of Bird v. Magic, and will be airing starting this Monday and continuing through Wednesday.  These games have something for everyone, short shorts and good shooting for my mom, passing and good defense for dad, and good, competitive basketball that everyone can and should enjoy.

Continue reading "Get Psyched!!!!!!!"

I've been racking my brain for the past two days (and then some, here are some of my thoughts on the Lakers from April) trying to think of ways that the Celtics can beat the Lakers in the Finals that are only four days away at this point.  Thus far I haven't been able to come up with anything really juicy, but I've got some beginnings of some ideas that might lead to successful strategies and/or game plans for the Celtics to employ against the mighty and dangerous (they're just mighty dangerous!) Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the biggest keys for the Celtics is staying aggressive on offense.  I know, that's really insightful and descriptive (I was going to say cliché...), but don't worry, baby birds, I'll feed you.  If the Celtics can stay aggressive on offense and continually drive to the basket and get shots in the paint, they'll be attacking the Lakers softest and most exploitable spot, their interior defense and big men.  You are now undoubtedly protesting by saying something along the lines of "Pau Gasol is down there, and he's long, athletic and a Laker now which means no fouls get called on him!"  Right you are, but whom, I ask you, is behind Pau Gasol in the Lakers rotation?  Ronny Turiaf and DJ Mbenga, that's who. 

Continue reading "Middle Men"

Sorry about the delay in the game one post, but it wasn't until very recently that I was able to pick my jaw back up off the floor after Thursday's game one 98-88 Celtics win in game one of this year's NBA Finals.  As giddy as I am about the Celtics' win, I am equally terrified for the health of Paul Pierce's knee and Boston's future in this series.

First off, I have to say (and I don't even care what Phil Jackson thinks) that Paul Pierce is a warrior.  The Truth showed true grit and desire on Thursday after suffering a nasty looking knee injury that had him writhing in pain and rendered him unable to walk off of the floor, only to return minutes later and lead the Celtics to victory.  That was epic, though I must say nowhere close to Willis Reed's miracle ressurection for the New York Knicks in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals.  The effect of Pierce's return was similar, but you just can't compare his miraculous return to Reed's game seven heroics.

Continue reading "Joyful Panic"

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.  I’m way too burned out on the Celtics/Lakers nostalgia trip to really engage this, but I think that this is worth pointing out (mostly because it’s an opportunity to poke at the national sports media for their laughably predictable analysis and Finals picks).  I just find it somewhat strange that after so many years of going for the same fools gold, the talking heads of the Association can’t figure anything out. 

The standard was set back in the 1960s, when everybody picked Wilt, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor to destroy the creaky, boring Celtics every year in the NBA Finals, continued when Worthy, Magic and Kareem were supposed to blow the doors off of Bird, McHale and Parrish, and has now been appropriately punctuated by the nearly unanimous picks of the Kobe/Gasol Lakers over the Boston Celtics to win the 2008 NBA Finals.  Across three generations, everyone and their mother have picked against the Celtics and chosen the Lakers to steamroll Boston and cruise to a championship, based either on the flashy talent of LA and their dominant players (Wilt, Kobe and Magic), or on the way in which they destroyed the competition in the Western Conference Playoffs, or on the traits that Boston lacks (youth, athleticism, a superstar etc.)

Continue reading "Cyclical History and Boxing Tips"

...  (pause) ... Did that really happen?  Was I dreaming (or possibly too fucked up to really see the TV)?  You mean to tell me that the Celtics rallied from an 18-point halftime deficite to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 and put a hammer lock on this series?  And Kobe only scored 17, in LA?  You can't be serious.

... 

No way, get outta town.

... 

No bullshit?

Holy crap.  So I wasn't hallucinating (this time), and the Celtics just pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Playoffs?  F'ing sweet!  I mean that comeback has got to be about as improbable as Ray's miracle ace of hearts on the river at the end of our last marathon hold 'em game (the morale breaking effect was also similar).  You might even say that the Celtics' comeback (on the small but thick shoulders of Eddie House no less) was similar in absurdity to Dave knocking the seven ball in from the next table on his very first try (I want a rematch, but this time it's gotta be

Continue reading "Hallucinating in Tandem, or Real?"

I'm somewhat at a loss for words today (surprising, no?).  All I can say is that the Lakers got lucky last night in more ways than just the favorable officiating (Kobe just about hacked Paul Pierce's arm off on the decisive steal, but the game was not lost there).  The Lakers are lucky that KG missed two crucial free-throws (which, should the Celtics lose will become the mother of all albatrosses hanging around the Big TIcket's neck), and especially lucky that 3 of 5 Celtic starters are hurt during the biggest games of the entire season.  Knowing that, the Lakers should be ahead, they should be cruising to a championship, but they aren't.  The Celtics botched game five and spoiled a brilliant performance by Paul Pierce that could have, and should have clinched the series. The bad news for LA is that the Celtics know that, and they won't let it happen again.

Continue reading "Redraw"

First of all, I’d like to offer my most sincere apologies for the delay in between the axe murdering defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers at the hands of the Boston Celtics, but seeing as it was their NBA record 17th title, and the first since 1986 (can’t say I remember that one), I thought that instead of immediately pumping out a sloppy reaction column to the Celtics’ 39 point mop-the-floor-with-Pau-and-Kobe victory, I’d spend two days getting hammered in celebration and then pump out a sloppy reaction column later (that’s it boy, show off those $100,000 liberal arts study skills!).  So without further ado, let the praise, adulation, and probably more than a few sick burns commence!

Quick poll: Is there anyone out there (Kornheiser? Plaschke? Bueller?) who still thinks that LA is the better team or that Kobe (Quit it!) is the best or dare I say most valuable player in the NBA.  I think not, and in my opinion, no rational person could possibly make that claim, not even Benny (I’m joking of course, albeit at your expense Ben.  Forgive me, but I couldn’t resist.  And as an aside, here is J.D. Drew’s stat line for June: .441 Avg., .547 OBP, 1.631 OPS, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 22 Runs, and you thought that the Red Sox were going to have trouble scoring runs without Big Papi!).  In my mind, Kobe was the third best player on the floor during the Finals, and that’s being generous. 

Continue reading "Defense Dominates"

Hey y'all, I think that I'm still in shock and recovery mode after such a sweet, sweet title run by the Boston Celtics.  It's been so much so that I still can't truly find the right words to explain the way I feel now and how the series went.  I couldn't have asked for any more, and the joy that I feel right now is (almost) equal to the feeling I had during October of 2004 when the RedSox broke the 86 year-old curse and won the World Series for the first time since 1918.

Now I will readily admit that the Red Sox October triumph was an earth shattering event that was (and still is) unbelievable, but hear me out for a moment about this year's NBA Champion Boston Celtics team.  First, you must remember that the Celtics hadn't won the title until last Tuesday in my lifetime*.  *They won in 1986, and returned to the Finals in 1987 only to lose toLos Angeles , but I was a baby and have absolutely no recollection.  Essentially, I waited longer and endured more pain and anguish over the Celtics than I had to over the RedSox, so it's easy to see why the feelings are similar.  

Continue reading "Sweet 17!"

Well, well, the day is finally here.  Tonight, I (along with many other rabid basketball fans) will have my eyes and ears glued to my TV set to find out who will go number 1 overall what crazy-ass (Benny, you were an English major, do I need to hyphenate "crazy-ass"?) deal Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard will swing during this year's NBA Draft.

Pritchard, who must have come out of the womb wheeling and dealing, has made ten draft day trades in the last two years that have netted him some of basketball's finest young prospects (Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge) while simultaneously cutting out some of the worst clubhouse cancers in this league (Zach Randolph).  In just a few short seasons, Pritchard has taken the Blazers from an irrelevant team toiling in obscurity to a semi-intriguing, slightly less obscure team full of young talent and good character.

Continue reading "First Draft"

I just spent a hell of a lot of time speculating about what the Blazers should and will do with their draft pick this year, and so I think that it is only fair to spend a little time talking about what I'd like to see my hometown Boston Celtics do tonight.  Sadly, I don't think that the Celtics can trade Brian Scalabrine, Scott Pollard, the no. 30 pick and a bag of peanuts for Chris Paul, so expectations for drastic team improvement should be somewhat lower than a year ago.  That being said, I think that the Celtics can improve themselves with the right pick and add a nicely fitting cog into their championship machine.

Specifically, I think that the Celtics should and would be thanking their lucky stars if Memphis' (go Tiger High!) Chris Doulas-Roberts is still available by the end of the first round.  Douglas-Roberts would be a great fit with the Celtics, both in terms of his skill set and because of his mentality as a basketball player. 

Continue reading "Amended Draft"