Albert Pujols Wins NL MVP.

Like many people around this part of the country (some call it ‘Red Sox Nation’…I just call it New England), I really don’t get to see too much National League baseball over the course of the season.

Sure, I watch the Red Sox play inter-league games and towards the end of the season, I watch just about every baseball game on TV, but this season, I don’t think I watched a single minute of St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

It’s not my fault. I can’t afford a baseball package that would give me every game and the Cardinals weren’t competing for a playoff spot down the stretch so I just didn’t see them.

And come to think of it, World Series appearances aside, I really haven’t watched much St. Louis Cardinals baseball over the course of the Pujols’ career.

I know his numbers were out of this world. His On base Percentage was absurd (.462) he put up typical Pujols power numbers (37 HR, 116 RBI) and had a .357 batting average.

This is his second MVP and he has finished in the top 3 in voting in 6 of his 8 years in the Majors.

But to me, all of those numbers are just numbers. I haven’t seen him play enough to know that he gets on base almost half the time he gets up to bat. I don’t even know what his batting stance looks like (off the top of my head).

I know things about Pujols. I knew he still wasn’t 30. I knew he had around 300 career home runs. I know what I’ve read about him.

I’d have to say, baseball is probably the absolute worst sport at showcasing talent.

Part of it is the ridiculous 162 game schedule where one game never means much in reality. It makes the idea of watching a mid-season Sunday Night Baseball game between the Cardinals and the Reds seem like less fun than watching grass grow.

Hell, unless I’m AT a Red Sox game or it is during the playoffs or I am watching it surrounded by friends while discussing other things or playing poker, I have a tendency to get bored then as well (and they are my home team!).

I’ve always felt that way. Baseball is so incredibly slow and so little actually happens. I could watch any Hockey or Basketball game because, the seasons are half as long as the baseball season and you get the sense that every game means something. Plus, even if it is early in the year (like right now), there is constant action. It isn’t like watching paint dry.

The NFL has the perfect sport though. 16 games. Every one of them matters. Constant action. Always something at stake. I would watch every NFL game every season if I could.

And all though I’m familiar with the sight of Pujols hitting a home run, I have SEEN and remember Adrian Peterson ripping through defenses.

I don’t watch the Pittsburgh Penguins regularly at all, put I know what Sidney Crosby can do.

I hate the Lakers, but I am very very familiar with how great Kobe Bryant is.

Yet with Albert Pujols, it’s hard for me to even remember a highlight from a home run he hit this season (off the top of my head…I can’t).

That’s not a knock on Pujols. Mostly, I blame Bud Selig.

Oh, and the purists who think that 4 hour and 37 minute games are what baseball is all about can go to hell.

Shawne Merriman Out For The Season. Makes The Right Decision. Will Undergo Surgery.

In the “obviously it wasn’t going to work out” department, Shawne Merriman has changed his mind about his torn knee ligaments.

It was previously reported that Merriman would forgo surgery because he felt that it was something he didn’t want to do.

I like to think that he read my extended plea for him to not play and that is why he chose to get the surgery before causing permanant damage to his knee.

This Chargers team looked lost against the Panthers. And that is one team you don’t want to look lost against.

Obviously Tomlinson didn’t have his best game and clearly the Chargers will pick it up as the season progresses.

But you have to wonder how this might change the landscape of the AFC.

The way the Colts looked the other night mixed with the Patriots with Brady and Chargers without Shawne Merriman makes me firmly believe that the Steelers really might be the team to beat in the AFC this season.

In related news, Kobe doesn’t need a pinky.

USA Beats Greece, Avoids Another Embarrassing Turn Of Events.

Team USA or the “Redeem Team” as they have been called by everyone in the US media, has defeated Greece.

Sick.

Now let’s all do a victory lap.

The thing is, The USA should be head and shoulders better than every other nation in the World at basketball.

I truly believe that the United States consistently produces the majority of the most elite players in the World.

Obviously, there are Dirk Nowitzski’s and Yao Ming’s out there, but to try and justify the collection of All Stars that is Team USA losing to an international team? Absurd.

There is no way in hell the Greek team is anywhere near as talented as the American team.

Maybe they have talented players. Maybe they have great chemistry or experience.

Great.

But if you want to argue with me that Kalabadous Ntrouskis and Argomyous Phloposkous are in the same talent universe as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, you are drunk, high or just being a moron.

Now, obviously I understand that because Olympic basketball relies on guys actually playing as a team and deciding to play defense, it is clear why Team USA is beatable. Obviously they don’t have chemistry the way that the 07-08 Celtics did. Clearly they haven’t played together as much….etc.

I’m glad that Dwayne Wade looks like he’s back. That guy was a contender. I hope 08-09 is more of the same.

Chris Bosh will always be Canadian in my eyes.

Carmello Anthony is the most overrated player in the NBA hands down. That guy hasn’t done ANYTHING worth praising during his NBA career. Yeah, he puts up great numbers for himself. Sick. The Denver Nuggets should have been a force this season. Instead they were great on nights when they decided to show up, absent on other nights and generally without a defense most of the time. It makes me so angry.

If Team USA does not easily win gold, they are a complete failure.

The NBA had an amazing 07-08 season. It deserves to be capped off by declaring itself King once again.

Kobe Bryant Will Go To Europe for $100 Million. Decides He Too Enjoys Money, Makes Claims of Having Friends…

 

The Boston Globe got Kobe to try to not be outdone by LeBron this morning:

In lieu of a report that Cleveland star LeBron James would strongly consider playing in Europe for $50 million for one season when he becomes a free agent in two years, when asked by The Boston Globe about the report Bryant said he would take a similar deal by a pro team in Italy if offered when he becomes a free agent next summer.

 

Such would be a devestating loss for the NBA since the Los Angeles Lakers star is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player last season and considered its most popular player. The Associated Press originally reported that Bryant could have interest in playing professionally in Europe.

 
“I’d go. I’d probably go,” said Bryant, during a USA Basketball press conference on Friday morning. “Like Milan or something like that, where I grew up or something like that… Peace out.”

 
Bryant continued: “Do you know any reasonable person that would turn down 50 (million dollars)?”

 
Bryant spent a large part of his childhood growing up in Italy while his father, Joe, played professional basketball there and speaks fluent Italian. In 1999, the 10-time NBA All-Star also acquired a 50 percent ownership of the Olimpia Milano of the Italian Professional Basketball League.

 

“Because I grew up in Italy it has more significance to me because I’m more familiar with it, I’ve been there and I still have friends there,” said Bryant, a three-time NBA champion. “I’m thinking about buying a house out there. It would be nothing to me to be able to do that.”

 

The thing about it is, with LeBron it seems like its just a lot of talk. He’ll end up somewhere else in the NBA in two years. A team with teammates who can play, a team that can contend. It is a non-story.

Kobe Bryant has already established himself as elite in the NBA. He has won NBA titles (even though he CANNOT get it done without Shaq). He’s won his MVP. He loves money and a relaxed attitude towards sexual consent.

He can find both of those things in Italy.

If you were the GM of the Milan Soprasetta, wouldn’t you be on the phone with Kobe’s agent RIGHT NOW? Hell, $50 million a year? Throw $75 million a year at him. He’s not getting any younger!!!

Phil Jackson lamented in his tell all book a few years back about how he thought that Kobe was resentful of Shaq because Shaq’s huge contract and new salary standards were what would make it impossible for Kobe to ever make BIG money ($40 million a year) in the NBA.

Though I do think that the salary-cap-less system in Major League Baseball is flawed, it sort of makes sense. It allows the market to dictate value. It allows owners to decide how they want to run their businesses (and it has been proven, by the Marlins again and again that there are ways to be successful with alternative business plans). Most importantly, should this “star players going to Europe” thing grow any legs, it would be an easy way to keep top tier players in the NBA.

Unfortunately, I would have to say that should Kobe Bryant leave the NBA, it wouldn’t be a bad decision on his part. Whereas LeBron leaving for Europe would be like the whole stupid Michelle Wie (I hate hearing about Michelle Wie by the way).

LeBron needs to prove he’s worth a damn against the best players in the World in the NBA before he takes off for cash. Just like Michelle Wie should prove she is the best woman on the LPGA before she tries to play against men.

But everybody loves the money.

Shaquille O’Neal Politely Asks Kobe In Freestyle: “How Does My Ass Taste?”, Then Takes It Back…Sure…

Yes.

YES!

Kobe has been cemented in history as Robin to Shaq’s Batman. As Starsky to Shaq’s Hutch. As Brian Fantana to Shaq’s Ron Burgundy. As Calvin Johnson to Shaq’s Doug Martsch. “As Howard The Duck” to Shaq’s “Star Wars”. As “Numbers” to Shaq’s “CSI”. As “Deep Impact” to Shaq’s “Armageddon”. As “Ocean’s 13″ to Shaq’s “Ocean’s 11″. As “Beverly Hills Cop 3″ to Shaq’s “Beverly Hills Cop”.

I could go on for months. But I’d rather let you watch the video for yourself.

Allow me to paraphrase one of Shaq’s lines below:

Kobe, I’m like a Horse/You made me get a divorce

Something like that.

I mean, he could have made reference to the fact that the last ring Kobe had in his possession cost him 4.5 million dollars and was for his wife. Could have. But didn’t.

Oh Shaq. I’ve never had anything against you.

In fact, I was part of the Shaquille O’Neal fan club as a kid. I got newsletters that had stories about how Shaq conquered childhood obesity and then went on to conquer the Ming Dynasty (via the video game Shaq Fu, remember that game?).

Apparently that website is about liberating the world from the tyranny of said horrific fighting game. Good for them.

I also remember a particularly strange Shaq candy bar.

I miss those days.

But you know what a major bonus of the Celtics winning this championship has been? Watching Kobe Bryant suffer.

I will ALWAYS root against Kobe Bryant. He might be the most UNLIKABLE person in all of sports.

Being that I’m a Red Sox fan, I’m supposed to despise A-Rod. And even though A-Rod is annoying and makes a lot of money, so what. At the end of the day, he’s just an awkward dude. I don’t get the sense that he’s a horrible human being like I do with Kobe.

i hope Phil jackson writes another tell-all ASAP.

And Shaq, you keep rapping.

 

Celtics Win, NBA Season Ends, York Misses Basketball Already, KG Goes Crazy, Big Baby Shirtless, Scalabrine Talks Some Trash, I love 2008.

 

It’s over.

 

The Boston Celtics have done what a lot of experts said they couldn’t or wouldn’t, what I thought they probably would and what they haven’t done in 22 years. Win an NBA Championship.

I feel like they all must have read my game 6 preview…otherwise how do you explain Big Baby getting some minutes, Rondo playing like he has superhuman speed and agility, Paul Pierce staying focused and STILL getting 20 points even though his shots weren’t falling for an entire half, Kevin Garnett hitting seemingly every shot he took, Ray Allen setting a record for 3’s in a Finals game and the Celtics absolutely dismantling the LA Lakers?

Oh…right…This is EXACTLY the team they were ALL SEASON LONG.

Let it also be known that we saw exactly 0 series upsets in these NBA Finals. The team with the better record won every single series. The Finals were no different.

Let is ALSO be known that if you had to rank the top 5 teams in the NBA for 2007-08, they would HAVE to be:

1) Boston Celtics

2) Detroit Pistons

3) LA Lakers

4) San Antonio Spurs

5) New Orleans Hornets

I suspect we might start hearing a whole lot less about the (L)Eastern Conference being shitty come 08-09. Particularly if The Heat stay healthy, Beasley is as good as advertised, the Magic make improvements, the Bulls get stronger, the Cavs get SOMEONE else, The Hawks play defense and the Raptors get better. Granted these are a lot of “ifs”.

But this isn’t about the Eastern Conference. This is about the Celtics.

One team that won it all because of team unity and chemistry and amazing defense.

 

 

 

 

Paul Pierce has cemented his place in Celtics history. Pierce essentially carried the Celtics through the playoffs when Ray Allen and KG were struggling. He was The Captain and The Truth. I think in Boston we have felt for years that Pierce has never really received the respect that he has deserved. He is a complete player. He is a leader. He can take over a game when they need him to.

 

Paul Pierce will finally get some of the love that goes along with not only being a champion, but being one of the best.

Before the 2008 Finals most people would never have considered Pierce to be one of the top 25 players in the NBA. Right now? I don’t know how you could NOT put him in the top 25.

In the Playoffs this season (the best 16 teams) there were only a few guys who showed signs of being able to carry their team through tough times. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Manu, Joe Johnson (who LOOKED like one of the best guys in the NBA in the Atlanta/Boston series). I’m having trouble thinking of anyone else who single handedly carried their team through any portion of the Finals or who just completely took over multiple games. Please let me know if I missed anyone.

Anyway, if you argue that the absolute best players in the NBA make it to the Playoffs (a slippery slope that is essentially what GOT Pierce ignored or forgotten about for so long), Pierce would HAVE TO be the alpha dog of that list this season (Chris Paul would be 2nd only because he didn’t end up winning it all).

I’m not trying to argue that Paul Pierce is the best player in the league. However, if you want to talk about the top 25 in the league based on their performances, Pierce now HAS TO be in that discussion.

Let’s just remember that Mr. T Mobile himself, Dwayne Wade, got that respect from corporations and the NBA how? Oh yeah, by CARRYING the Heat to a championship. It’s been disappointing how injured he has been lately too, because he is one guy I really respect and enjoy watching.

Maybe next season Charles Barkley can be harassing Paul Pierce is all I’m saying…

“GET ME THEM SOCKS!”

 

 

 

 

You know who I never want to hear “he’s not good enough in the clutch” about again?

 

Yeah, he’s holding the trophy above with young Greg Oden.

(Oh…that’s Bill Russell? Could have fooled me.)

Kevin Garnett was INSANE in the post-game interview. The guy was clearly still in 30,000th gear and honestly had the look of someone who was exhausted in every way possible, who had not slept in weeks and who was emotionally overjoyed. He even told Michelle she looked good! (everyone knows that’s Doc’s job. Also, on a Michele Tafoya related rant, ever notice how Paul Pierce calls her “baby” after every interview? It is hilarious. It sort of makes me wonder if they all talk about her in the locker room after games. I can just imagine them being like “Did you see Michele tonight? She looked fine. Yeah, I’d totally hit that.” etc. )

Kevin Garnett was breathing fire and spitting venom in game 6 (just as I predicted and hoped he would). He was making hard fall aways look easy, he was making jumpers over Pau Gasol’s ugly head look like he was wide open. That shot he took in the second quarter after he got fouled, the line drive off the glass? Amazing).

 

 

 

Doc Rivers proved EVERYONE wrong.

 

He might have made some mistakes; he might have made some strange instinctive decisions. But there is no doubt in my mind at all that Doc Rivers wanted nothing more than to win it all and the fact that he is so loved by his team just shows that there is definitely a lot more to him than meets the eye in some situations.

You can play the “well, the Celtics have 3 probable Hall of Famers, Doc didn’t need to do all that much to get them to perform” card. Fine. If you want to play it that way, that’s fine.

But what Doc DID do was:

1) Stick with a Sophomore Point Guard who EVERYBODY had questions about last season that sometimes looks like he IS the future of the Celtics.

2) Keep the respect of ALL his players even while not keeping a consistent rotation or guaranteeing any set amount of playing time for anyone. Try to imagine Stephon Marbury or Vince Carter or Shawn Marion playing on a team like that. What’s that? You can’t? Simply due to the horrific egos? Really? Oh. Ok. Cool.

3) Doc sold EVERYONE on the ubuntu concept. And it was beautiful to watch. This was a team that did EVERYTHING right even when they were doing things horribly wrong.

4) Develop the younger players by playing them when they were hot. Big Baby carried the Celtics through a regular season win in Detroit. Leon Powe carried the Celtics through a series of wins while KG was injured. There were ALWAYS young guys stepping up (even Gabe Pruitt got a little playing time at the end of the season).

Doc Rivers seems like a brilliant player manager (similar to Terry Francona) because he protects his young players and lets them develop and he lets his proven veterans be who they are. I really think that this type of balance, regardless of everything else, can result in great things.

And Paul Pierce with the Gatorade? Priceless. Even though The Truth has a sponsorship deal with POWERade. And speaking of POWERade, there has NEVER been a situation where one of your spokesmen getting a DUI (and generally being an asshole) has resulted in GOOD FORTUNE for a company. Before the playoffs began there were ads for POWERade all over Boston with Shawn Merriman, Ryan Howard and Carmello Anthony. After CMel got arrested? He was dropped from the ads, they changed the POWERade liquid color from blue to yellow and photo shopped Paul Pierce in CMel’s place. Bang, PERFECT! Also, why would you choose Carmello Anthony to begin with? The guy just seems like a giant asshole. I’ve never spent any time conversing with him, but I get a really bad impression based on what I’ve seen. He seems like he’s striving to be this generation’s Stephon Marbury, a guy who has a shitload of talent but cares more about himself than his team or doing what it takes to win or maybe he cares about both of those things but his ego and personality get in the way. That is why I say he should go to the Knicks. He can put up a double double every night, never have to worry about going to the playoffs and he won’t have to be a cancer to any team that is actually trying to improve.

End tangent.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were on Letterman together. I think this was kind of a great idea (having two members of the Celtics as opposed to any single member) and they both did a really nice job. Ray Allen just comes off as the nicest guy in the world. I don’t know how you could possibly NOT like him as a person.

 

Me? I’ve always loved Ray Allen. Even when Bill Simmons was shitting on Danny Ainge last Summer when the Celts acquired him in exchange for their first rounder and some parts (Delonte, Wally – that ended up playing AGAINST the Celtics on Cleveland in the playoffs…it was a strange season…) because he (and not JUST him, but almost EVERYONE in the sports media) thought that Ray Ray was all done before the season even started.

They were wrong.

Ray Allen is just amazing. He’s a natural shooter. He can drive to the basket (just ask Sasha RayAllen’sBitch) and he has excellent ball handling skills.

Additionally, by all accounts, Ray Allen IS a great guy. he always conducts himself professionally. He is a sharp dresser. He is a surprisingly good actor and he can ball.

I loved Ray Allen when he was in Milwaukee, I loved him in Seattle (especially when he said that Kobe was a selfish bastard) and I was very excited when I heard he was coming to Boston. I think even without KG, the Celtics would have definitely been a playoff team with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson. They probably would not have gotten past the second round with that lineup, but who knows (and while we’re talking about Al Jefferson, there is a guy who might be destined to play amazingly for years and be on a bad team. Maybe McHale can trade him back to the Celtics for Sam Cassell straight up…?) 

 

 

 

 

The parade was…Well, look at the pictures.

 

Leon Powe got a great reaction. Big Baby had his shirt off. Everybody had a cigar. It was incredible.

When Ray Allen came by, everybody was chanting “Shut-tles-worth!”.

Doc looked as happy as a father on the day of his son’s wedding.

It’s amazing how things can change so quickly. And yes, this was a trade-era championship. Yes, the Celtics did bring in all stars and yes, them winning a championship had A LOT to do with re-building in the off season.

But so what?

The Celtics had to move a lot of young guys with a lot of potential to get to this point. Danny Ainge still  had to make some swift free agent acquisitions even after the new three had come together. And furthermore, you can have all the stars in the world on your roster (look at the Karl Malone Lakers) but if they don’t click, if it doesn’t come together and if they aren’t all on the same page, you still aren’t going to win a championship (ahem, 2000’s Yankees).

Furthermore, the reason why these trades were so risky is that this team is clearly a time-sensitive team.

Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will almost definitely all be retired by 2015 (if not 2014, 13, 12 or 11) and in addition, its not like guys in the NBA are age-proof. You get older. Your body cannot do a lot of the things it used to. They all have a couple years of prime basketball left (maybe 4 for Pierce, 2 for Ray and 3 for KG). If they didn’t win soon, they probably never would.

And another great side effect of having three legitimate All Stars on one team is that it makes EVERYONE around them not only play better as a player but also act better as a teammate.

Rajon Rondo was a big question mark coming into this season. After game 6 of the Finals? He looked like he could be quickly becoming one of the top 10 point guards in the NBA (qualifier: he still needs to improve his jumper and get some more range shooting, drive to the basket more fearlessly to get easy buckets and/or to draw fouls [imagine if Rondo got to the line 10 times a game? Paul Pierce needs to teach him how to tactfully take a soft hit and make it look like he got shanked] and improve his awareness [sometimes he throws it away or misses an open man]. But with all of that said, Rondo steals like Rickey Henderson, Rebounds like he’s 6′10″ and runs like he’s Chad Johnson. He’s got a lot of potential and I don’t think hanging out with three future Hall of Famers is going to make him any worse.

Big Baby was rookie. And even though he would make some mistakes, its clear that he has a lot of intensity, the determination to become a better player (the guy has lost like 60 lbs. since college) and the fearlessness of a proven veteran (even if he doesn’t always have the skill  of one).

Leon Powe is the same age as me. He looks like he’s in his 30’s. He’s fearless. He works hard. And he has a presence that let’s you know there ARE nights when he can carry the team (OFF THE BENCH MIND YOU!).

Tony Allen is kind of a fifty-fifty guy. He’s sometimes a great defender. Sometimes a liability on offense. Sometimes amazing. Sometimes not so good. If he can develop some consistency, he could be a solid bench option.

Kendrick Perkins…He is a legit big man. He pushes and shoves, rebounds like a beast and even hits the occasional spot up shot that seems  surprising even though it shouldn’t be. The guy can play Center.

And outside of the young guys, the veterans they brought in, Posey, House, PJ Brown, even Scott Pollard at the beginning of the season, all played quality basketball.

Posey MUST BE RE-SIGNED. The Celtics need that toughness. There is no better sub for Paul Pierce in the NBA. James Posey just imposes his will on guys defensively AND can shoot and aside from those two great elements, he’s just a bastard on the court. The guy will shove anyone after a whistle or play for that extra second. He’d the type of guy I would HATE if he were playing against my team, but on my team, he’s one of my favorites.

Eddie House should also be re-signed. He is a lights out shooter who stepped up big in certain crunch-time situations for the Celtics all year long. Remember that game in Charlotte the day after Thanksgiving where he somehow tipped and stole an inbound pass, got it to Ray Allen and Ray Ray hit the game winner with nothing left on the clock? Yeah. That’s what Eddie can do. He might not be the best ball handler, but he is a solid defender and always an offensive threat on the court.

Sam Cassell should probably not be resigned. He’s well past the wrong side of 30 and even though he hit a few nice shots for the Celtics, nothing was life-altering enough to make me think that they couldn’t live without him. However, I will give Sam credit for a few things, first, the guy is a three time champion, he always plays hard (even if it isn’t always great play) and he is never afraid to take big shots (even when he misses). The greatest thing about having Sam on the Celtics this season was definitely that he was on the bench with the guys to keep them intense and tell them how to play championship basketball. The guy is a natural coach. He seems to be someone who, even if he didn’t contribute so much on the court this post-season, he can definitely (and DID definitely) help any team on the bench. For these reasons, I think that the Celtics should shrewdly offer him an assistant coaching job for next season. Don’t let him go on bad terms. Give him a chance to continue to help the team in a great capacity. He clearly gets people pumped up and he LOVES to talk. I wouldn’t want to lose that element. Maybe Sam will decide that going out with a ring would be the perfect book-end to coming in with a ring (which he did in Houston in 1964…I mean…).

I don’t expect PJ Brown to play another season. Even though he did save the Celtics from the Cavs. He was more than they could have asked for in the playoffs. I think that PJ should probably ride off into the sunset with his championship ring (but if he wants to come back, shit, I’d take him!).

Scott Pollard is probably gone.

Brian Scalabrine doesn’t seem to be part of the long-term plan. But I will say that Scal had the funniest post-game interview following game 6. He really does seem like a good guy. If he goes I will certainly miss chanting “SCAL-A-BRIN-E” at the end of games to convince Doc to let him play a couple of minutes (which he did. Doc always gives the fans what they want when the Celtics are up by double digits and it is late in the fourth in the regular season).

 

 

 

After the parade I was a little let down. 

 

Another season of NBA basketball has ended.

And even though I have never in my life been able to watch and comprehend a Celtics team playing as well as this one did and I wanted them to win it all, part of me hope this season would never end.

Don’t get me wrong, a major part of me wanted to be able to go to sleep before 1:00 a.m. every night during the Playoffs (David Stern is a giant piece of garbage. By the way, during the Larry O’Brien trophy presentation when everyone was booing him [rightfully so] he said ‘oh, you’re saying Truth’, I would have tried to start a “No-One-Likes-You” chant, the only thing I fault the Game 6 crowd for NOT doing).

THIS is an exciting league again…and I’m not just saying that because the team I root for won it all.

Next year:

The Portland Trailblazers SHOULD be a force. That is a team of young, big, talented, hungry guys. Brandon Roy is just plain exciting. Greg Oden could be amazing. They should be something really special.

The New Orleans Hornets WILL BE even better. If that team makes any type of off season pick ups, they can improve. Chris Paul is just a phenom.

The Suns and Mavs will adjust somewhat and we’ll get to see if they start to get old or if start to grow. The Suns are the single team this season that absolutely embarrassed the Celtics (February 22nd). Both teams still have some really talented guys.

The Golden State drama will play out and we’ll see what happens. I love Baron Davis and I hope he sticks with them.

The Heat and Bulls could both be exponentially better next season. Both teams were NOT expected to be complete non-factors in 2007-08. I think both will rebound and would not be surprised to see both of them in the playoffs next year.

The Wizards were the only team that consistently flustered the Celtics and we will wait and see what happens with Gilbert Arenas, but they have some really good players.

The 76ers will continue to grow. Andre Igudola looks like someone who could be something special.

The Hawks made a nice run at the Celtics. If they get their act together, they could be a solid team all year. They have a lot of talent.

The Pistons are probably going to make some kind of deal. But if they retain the core of players they have (most of it) they’ll be in really good shape again. Did I ever mention that Rodney Stuckey is going to be HUGE?

The Magic have Dwight Howard. That guy is a monster. And they have Ron Jeremy coaching. What could go wrong?

The Lakers will probably win 60 games next season if Kobe returns and stays healthy along with a healthy Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the Finals again next season.

The Spurs are still the Spurs. Until Tim Duncan retires, they will be the Spurs. Even when Tim Duncan retires, they’ll still have a great point guard and Manu (who is somehow amazing almost all of the time).

The Raptors will attempt to sign every foreign-born free agent on the market.

The Sonics will hopefully stay in Seattle where they belong. And Kevin Durant will hopefully continue to improve and be one of the most exciting young players in the league.

Next season, I predict that the Celtics have the best record in the East, The Lakers have the best record in the west, the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Kings, Bucks, Sonics and Knicks finish near the bottom and viewership improves substantially (but not because of ANYTHING David Stern does).

It is an exciting time for the NBA.

The best TEAM won this year.

And now I have to watch baseball for four months.

 

 

 

 

 

The NBA Finals Are Making Me Want To Puke (Game 6 Preview)

According to awesome sources Ray and Perk will both be playing tonight.

Here is my best case scenario for Kendrick Perkins:

Perkins plays 40 minutes of hard basketball, picks up 4 to 5 hard fouls, scores between 10 and 16 points and notches 15 rebounds. His toughness and general beastliness puts Pau Gasol in a terrible position as Perk is more physical, tougher, stronger and bigger. Having Perkins on the court also frees up KG to pick up only  a few fouls and play the low post to perfection.

Here is my worst case scenario for Kendrick Perkins:

Perkins plays 6 minutes of hard basketball and grabs a couple of rebounds before realizing he really isn’t strong enough to play the rest of the game. On his way out of the game he punches Kobe Bryant in the face, elbows Pau Gasol in the jaw and throws Sasha Vujacic into the upper deck (preferably section 308 where the fans will seek redemption on behalf of that guy who got beat up at the Staples Center last week). Because Perk is ejected after the melee, Doc Decides to go physical and stay BIG so he uses Glen Big Baby Davis to spell Leon Powe and PJ Brown down low.

Either way, it will be interesting.

But I’m getting all pumped up and ready to go. I’m ready to start jumping up and down like Eddie House before a tip off.

I’ve had an upset stomach all day. Anxious. Nervous. And now my adrenaline is going apeshit just from thinking about the game.

I don’t think I was ready for game 5 in this way. Tonight I am ready.

And I hope KG is ready too.

The Celtics just need to constantly play hard tonight. Nobody standing around. Nobody not going for a rebound. Nobody taking a single possession off. Nobody missing an open lay up. Nobody passing up an easy shot. Nobody being afraid to drive to the basket (ESPECIALLY YOU RONDO!!! JUST TAKE THAT SHIT IN! SLAM DUNK IT ON PAU GASOL’S UGLY FUCKING HEAD!!!!). Nobody slow getting into position. Nobody missing free throws. Nobody making unnecessary fouls. Nobody falling asleep in the event the Celtics take the lead.

Tonight needs to be the same way the Celtics played all season. Tonight they need to play like they did against Phoenix on March 26th. Never let up. In the fourth quarter, spread the ball and drain the shots. Make the Lakers lose their desire to win. Make them lose their desire to play. Make them lose their desire to live.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO COME UP BIG TONIGHT.

I expect nothing less than a superb game from Pierce, KG, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, James Posey, Eddie House, Sam Cassell, PJ Brown, Tony Allen, Leon Powe and Glen Big Baby Davis. I don’t care if they have a superb game getting guys fired up on the sidelines or getting the fans fired up in the stands or knocking down Lakers and shots on the court.

Tonight they need to breathe fire and spit venom.

Tonight they need to mean it.

Tonight they need to play like its the last game of their lives.

 

Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Paul Pierce Is Outstanding but Dick Bavetta Should Be In Prison NOT REFING THE NBA FINALS!

Ok. The Celtics and Lakers had the same number of free throws total. Great.

That was only because LA was over the limit in the third quarter and Boston took about 10 on non-shooting fouls.

The Celtics couldn’t get a whistle to save their lives. The culmination of which was Kobe Bryant hacking Paul Pierce in the arm and ribs and “stealing” the ball for a permanent momentumchanging slam dunk. Right. If you watch the replay Kobe “I rape women and get away with it” Bryant had all Pierce and no ball. The commentators were apparently instructed not to mention how suspiciously horrible the officiating was (Van Gundy said “you might argue that was a foul” VAN GUNDY WOULD HAVE SHIT HIS PANTS AND GOTTEN A TECHNICAL  IF HE WAS THE CELTICS COACH).

I have had an up and down opinion about David Stern. He’s done some horrible things lately and I will always hate him from this season forward. The man should resign. He has no business running the NBA. its clear that the NBA should NOT have an antitrust exemption based on the Donaghy allegations (no matter how much he’s grasping at straws and looking for a way out of prison).

But why, in the midst of an FBI investiagtion, would you have Dick Fucking Bavetta officiate a game in the NBA Finals?

(note that I called him Dick FUCKING Bavetta, I encourage you and your friends to do the same).

Even if the officials weren’ttrying to swing the game in LA’s favor last night and they just missed some easy calls (which can happen, obviously), it still looks ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE to have Dick Bavetta refing that game. You’re just giving Celtics fans like me a reason to think that ALL of the allegations are true and even more so, making even more people question the integrity of the league (a discussion Bombs, Blade, Kyley and I had DURING the game…that shit should not have to happen during the NBA Finals) and whenever a questionable call is made (or an easy call is missed) it looks like Dick Bavetta was instructed to stretch it out to 6 or 7 games (which was apparently the protocol in previous seasons).

Now obviously, Kevin Garnett did not play well last night (he hasn’t really played exceptionally well in Los Angeles in this series) and missed two crucial free throws that he normally would make.

Ray Allen did not have a big night. The word is that he is tending to a personal family matter and if so I certainly wish him all the best and can understand how difficult it would be to focus as much on a game in that situation.

Leon Powe looked flat and lacked intensity completely in his start (all though is fairness to Leon, he did only play 6 minutes or so).

Rajon Rondo is still shying away from easy baskets for passes. It is infuriating and makes me want to throw my TV out a window.

Paul Pierce, even with his 38 points, had a few costly turnovers (all though to be fair, one of them was him getting mauled by Kobe Bryant. But I guess since he isn’t guilt of mauling people off the court, why would they call him for it on the court?).

And the Celtics defense decided that they didn’t feel like playing in the first quarter and/or Doc Rovers and Tom Thibodeau watched The Simpsons last night and decided that they were going to try Homer’s strategy in the episode “The Homer They Fall”in where he’s a boxer (trained by Kid Moe) in which he let’s his boxcar residing opponents punch him until they get tired and then softly pushes them over. It didn’t work.

The Celtics need to come out breathing fire on Tuesday. The series needs to be wrapped up. And they should be triple aggressive on offense because if the score is even remotely close in the 4th quarter, I’m sure Tim Donaghy will make a special appearanceas a guest referee along with Vince McMahon and Pete Rose.

Let’s finish this up.

NBA Finals Game 4 Earth Shattering Jesus Shuttlesworth Kobe Bryant Is Turd International Lakers Fail Cry Jack Cry!

I’m sorry that my title is a long nonsensical run-on sentence but I woke up this morning in a glass cage of emotion.

Last night was the type of game that comes along only a few times in a lifetime for your team…maybe a few times in a lifetime period.

The Celtics looked pathetic in the first quarter. A bunch of my Friends came over to watch the game and my friend Bombs was so enraged that some of them took up a count of how many times he said “give me a f-ing break!!!”. He was over 30 before halftime.

To top it all off, Rondo looked even less confident than usual (probably due to his ankle issue) and Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett weren’t at my apartment but they also weren’t really at the Staples Center, so I was a little upset.

Also, Mike Breen pulled out the “This one will be a good old fashioned blow out!” card around 7 minutes into the first quarter. I feel like there should be some laws to sports broadcasting on national television:

1) Don’t ever say anything that will both enrage the fans of one team and make you look completely moronic at the same time (I know, the Celtics were down 20 in the first. Fine. But it is the NBA FINALS! Its not like the Lakers got a 20 point lead on The Miami Heat in the first quarter. Then it might be all right to say ‘this might be a blowout’. Butseriously? I mean, I didn’t think the Celtics were wining that game, but I KNEW they would NEVER allow ANY TEAM to beat them by more than 15. Not the way they’ve been playing the last couple of rounds anyway).

2) NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER compare someone to Dr. J, MJ, Kareem, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson…etc. during a game (OR AFTER A GAME FOR THAT MATTER) while they are still young and playing. Its easy to judge Kareem’s place in history because he is retired and has completed a full body of work. Ditto for everyone else I named. But come on! I love Leon Powe just as much (if not a lot more) than the next guy. But he doesn’t look like Dr. J. Ever.

3) Do not be afraid to show some emotion every once in a while. That Ray Allen lay up….that could have been a call for the ages. He broke free and nailed a game winning layup. And they had nothing to say about it.

4) Don’t keep saying “THE CELTICS ARE ON THE VERGE OF THE GREATEST COMEBACK IN NBA FINALS HISTORY!”. That would be like saying “JON LESTER IS ON THE VERGE OF A NO HITTER”. EVERYONE CAN TELL WITHOUT YOU SAYING IT! If you want to show a little flash along the bottom of the screen, fine. But its just annoying otherwise. And Terribly bad luck. I blame the 2003 Red Sox collapse entirely on Joe Buck.

Anyway, the game looked horrible. Things were uncomfortable, I didn’t even have a seat on the couch (in my own apartment!) and the Celtics got outscored 35-14 in the first 12 minutes.

And then things started to come together.

In the second half the Lakers only scored 33 points (how you hold a team to less points AT HOME in the final 24 minutes of a game than you gave up in the first 12 minutes is beyond me). The Celtics went wild. Doc Rivers seemed to know exactly what to do the whole way (7 minute Sam Cassell stint in the first half notwithstanding).

Leon Powe played 7 minutes and notched 5 rebounds and 3 points.

The Celtics were an incredible 7-7 from the paint in the third quarter. Shot selection got them back into the game.

And then somehow defensive execution went way up.

Do you ever feel like Kendrick Perkins is either incredibly good (10% of the time) or incredibly unproductive (as in, commits too many fouls and doesn’t move well enough in the post to put up points like he should)?

When the Celtics went small, I knew they had a small chance.

Eddie House is an emotional player. James Posey is an emotional player. Those two guys have been playing side by side all season long. You can’t tell me that the Lakers have a “deeper bench” as I read from so many ESPN columnists last week. The Celtics easily have the deepest bench int he NBA. They get quality performances out of almost everybody on a consistent basis (Sam Cassell’s dead body aside).

And the way Ray Allen played at the end of the game?

First of all, that lay up where he switched hands and shot it on the way down? Absurd. And when he took Sasha Vujacic one on one to effectively end the game? Ray Allen and the Arm Sock have become Jesus Shuttlesworth. That arm sock is like a fountain of youth or something. He hasn’t played like this most of the season  the way he’s taking it to the hole and makingguys look bad. Unbelievable. The way Ray Allen carried the Celtics at the end of the game…it erases any negative things you’ve ever thought about Ray Allen int he clutch. He threw a spear through Kobe Bryant’s heart.

This Celtics team is unstoppable. They truly want it. They love and respect one another and they play like they have been together far longer than a mere 106 games (shit, 47 and 44 games for PJ Brown and Sam Cassell, whom I think does a great job cheering on the guys and getting them pumped up on the bench).

Kobe Bryant WILL LOSE either game 5 or 6 for his team because he is the antithesis of the Boston Celtics. In the words of the Get Up Kids “one star player doesn’t save the team”. Kobe WILL take somewhere between 30 and 50 shots in one of the next two games as soon as he gets pissed at his teammates and decides that they suck. And when he does that, the Celtics will see right through him and shut him down hard. Even if he scores 70 points, the Celtics will win the game 95-85.  Mark my words. He’s too selfish not to be the Achilles heel of this Lakers team.

During the last six minutes of the game, I kept reminding everyone to knock on the floor whenever Mike Breen tried to jinx the Celtics. We didn’t get up and celebrate or say ANYTHING until after the final buzzer. And when it went off we all stood up and hugged just like the Celtics.

This is a team that I feel absolutely privileged to root for. I have never felt so close to any of the Boston sports teams I’ve followed my entire life. They get it. They aren’t assholes. They aren’t me-first-crybabies (even when it might be understandable for them to be, ahem, the Cassell instead of Eddie House situation). They aren’t soft guys who are afraid of doing things the hard way. They aren’t guys who mentally check out when they go down big. They aren’t arrogant pricks who think they’ve already won.

This whole season has been about one thing. This Celtics team plays and conducts itself exactly the way that you are taught to act when you’re growing up. They share, they don’t hold grudges, they care for one another, they help each other out, they want what’s best for everyone not just themselves, they can take constructive criticism, they stand up for one another and they don’t give up when things aren’t going their way.

And they’re closer now than a lot of people thought they would ever be.