2011 NBA Finals Preview

For anyone who's been tuning into SportsCenter over the past 7-10 days or so, think about the following: of the time allotted to the upcoming Finals, how much talk has been centered around LeBron James, and how much talk has been centered around Dirk Nowitzki? 80-20 LeBron, right? You'd think the Heat were about to take on a semi-pro team out of Pakistan or something. Does anyone realize the kind of post-season Dirk is having?

Through 15 games thus far, he's averaging 28.4 PPG on 52% shooting from the field, including 51% from beyond the arc, and 93% from the free throw line. They say that a great shooter goes by the following totals: 50% from the floor, 40% from downtown, 90% from the stripe. 50-40-90=180. Dirk's totals accumulate to 196. Guess how many times Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant have surpassed that magic number of 180 in the post-season? In the form of a question, that would be "What is zero?"

For a comparison, LeBron is at 46-37-79=162. Still very good. But compared to Dirk? Bland. Straight up bland. And it's not as though Dirk has been covered by a bunch of stiffs through the playoffs either. Sure OKC had no match-up for him, but prior to that he faced LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. Not elite defenders, per se, but not terrible either. Dirk exploited Gasol so badly that talking heads across the nation are calling for his ouster from LA if the Lakers are to be taken seriously again. So now we're supposed to think Chris Bosh can handle Dirk? They say LeBron is going to cover him in certain situations, and I'll give credit where credit is due, LeBron has become a menace on D. But has he ever tried to cover a 7-footer who can shoot 3's?

And, moving away from the LeBron/Dirk angle momentarily, if we were to rank the 10 best players in this series, how many would the Heat have? Three obviously, but do you give them Udonis Haslem even? LeBron and Dirk are in a dead heat for no. 1, with Wade rather easily taking the third spot. Depending on the night, Chris Bosh would be 4, but he can certainly slide at any given moment. Dirk's supporting cast this year is the best he's had during his tenure in the Big D. Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, JJ Barea, and Peja Stojakovic all compliment what Dirk does, which is everything, perfectly. You've got shooters, rebounders, and defenders stacked in there. Miami's supporting cast with Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Mike Bibby, Joel Anthony, and Haslem? Straight up laughable outside of Haslem.

Am I picking with my heart here a little more than my head? Maybe. But I definitely think I just talked myself into Dallas in 7. This could be Dirk's last real chance here. LeBron's got plenty more. If there is a God, he wouldn't vindicate "The Decision" so soon, would he?

Winningpeg

A wrong 15 years in the making has been righted. Hockey is returning to Winnipeg, Manitoba for the first time since 1996, when the Jets flew down to the desert and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

This is a great day for hockey, especially in Canada, as the move could open the door for future relocations to Quebec City or Hamilton, and perhaps even a second Toronto team.

It's a bad day to be a hockey fan down south, which is fine, because there aren't any anyways. But Czar Bettman certainly can't be happy to see a chink in his armor pertaining to hockey in the Sun Belt, a lavish experiment roughly 20 years in the making. Sure, there have been some success stories, in Dallas and Tampa Bay in particular, but between the departing Atlanta market, as well as some atrocities in Phoenix and South Florida, the clock is clearly ticking on pucks dropping too far below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Six full seasons removed from the lockout now, only once have the Thrashers/Coyotes/Panthers triumvirate finished in the top 20 in attendance league-wide (the Panthers clawed their way to 19 back in 2006). Combined, the teams have averaged a 25th-place finish in attendance since the lockout, with the Coyotes finishing 29th three of the past four seasons. The season they didn't finish 29th? A tidy 30th place finish, which of course is dead last in the NHL.

Obviously, it doesn't help matters that of 18 combined seasons between the teams, there have been just 3 post-season appearances. The Thrashers have contributed to one of those, back in 2007, where they were promptly swept by the New York Rangers. But to put in into perspective, during the 2010-2011 season, 5 of the 6 Canadian markets have 100% attendance or better for the season. This includes the Edmonton Oilers, owners of the worst record in the NHL. Even Ottawa, which finished with the 5th-worst, averaged 99.3% capacity this season. That's more than in Detroit (98.1). That's Hockeytown! Hockeytown, people!

The return of hockey to Winnipeg feels like a Led Zeppelin reunion tour. That would mean, of course, a Quebec City return would be The Who, while a new incarnation of the Hartford Whalers would be a Beatles comeback tour. And since the Oilers were a part of the same WHA expansion class as the Jets, Nordiques, and Whalers, they'd have to be the Rolling Stones, since the Stones have never officially broken up, unlike those other mammoth British acts. I'm not saying who between Gretzky and Messier would be Jagger and Richards, but Grant Fuhr would certainly be Charlie Watts.

So with Atlanta down, Phoenix is on the clock. They'll stay in the desert for one more lame-duck season, then move to "whiter" pastures in the Great White North. Quebec City, get that arena built.

That's Don Cherry right? You know he'll be pumped to host "Hockey Night in Canada" from the Manitoba capital again.

Tonight

Bruins 3, Lightning 1.

I'm still a little nervous about the Bruins in a Game 7 scenario, even after the Montreal triumph in the quarters. I do think that what the Bruins have in their favor is that Tim Thomas isn't going to allow 5 goals on 26 shots again. He can't, right? And I also can't see the Lightning going 3 for 4 on the PP again. So another key for the B's will be staying out of the box, which should be a goal for any team to win a game, but especially on a night like tonight, where every goal will matter.

I have zero confidence in the Bruins power play and really don't expect them to muster up anything tonight. I'm still trying to figure out why you have Recchi out there instead of Seguin, but hey what do I know. Isn't the power play all about speed? Unless you're gonna have Rex set up shop down low, which isn't how Claude's been handling him, I simply don't get it.

That's all I've got for now. I'm heading up to Maine for the weekend, so if the Bruins do lose tonight it doesn't necessarily mean I'm dead, it just means I won't have access to a computer. Go B's.

Dallas Wins the West

To everyone who laughed at me, ridiculed me, and the like for picking the Mavs to win the West way back in October:

It's Dirk's time. Not gonna lie, I'll be almost as happy if Dallas wins it all as I would've been had the Celtics won. Dirk is probably the second or third best player of all-time without a ring behind Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing, and you can't tell me Mark Cuban doesn't deserve this. Say what you will about the man but he cares about winning more than any other owner in the NBA, bar none. I'd rather have a visible owner with passion than some stiff solely in it for the dough.

Best 27-22 team of all-time?

I missed the game today, taking advantage of just the second nice day we've had all year essentially, but hot damn! This really is who we thought they were! I mentioned it earlier in my return to the blogging scene, this team is spitting straight fire lately. Besides the likely AL MVP Adrian Gonzalez, you have David Ortiz quietly having his best season since 2006. He knocked his 10th home run outta the park today. And what's even more mystifying is that during the Sox sluggish start, Ortiz wasn't his usual dreadful self coming out of the gate. 

Then you have Carl Crawford with a 4-4 day and yet another home run, his second of the series, further erasing the image of his game-ending double-play the other night. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting like he did when he first came up with the ATL in '07, Pedroia seems to have solved his problems, and Ellsbury is just a shade below .300 (.295). And lastly, I have absolutely no idea who Drew Sutton is or what he did to Kevin Youkilis, but he went 3-5 today. I feel like you could unfreeze Ted Williams and he could hit .300 in this lineup right now. I mean, Jesus, Mike Cameron had two hits today. Mike Cameron!

The Sox are now 25-12 since the 2-10 start. Could they become the first team since the 2001 Oakland A's to start 2-10 and still eclipse the century mark in wins? Too soon to tell but if these past 37 games are any indicator, get yo popcorn ready.

One. More. Win.

And the Bruins are back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1990. Five months before I was born. Countless players have donned the black and gold in between, yet none of them have been able to bring Lord Stanley back to Boston for the first time since 1972.

On this current roster, only four players have appeared in a Cup finals before: Mark Recchi, Shawn Thornton, Chris Kelly, and Andrew Ference, with Rex and Thornton being the only Cup winners. And since Thornton is likely to be a healthy scratch, coupled with Recchi's advanced age, there is virtually no Stanley Cup experience coming from the core of this roster. Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas both have some individual hardware to fall back on, with Norris and Vezina trophies alike, but neither have ever been to the promised land. Heck prior to this season, neither of them had even been to a conference final.

And for the young guns on this squad, such as Bergeron, Lucic, Krejci, the only thing they're used to in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is heartbreak. All three have been with the team since this nucleus began contending in 2007-2008, and each successive season has ended in a Game 7 defeat, each one more frustrating than the last. Bergeron even goes back to before the lockout, when the Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead in the quarterfinals against--who else--Montreal.

Nathan Horton, who's arguably been the teams best player in these playoffs thus far, had never played a single playoff game before this year.

If there's anything the Bruins have taught us over the past several years, it's that nothing is ever set in stone. How else could they have become just the third team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead? But tonight, down in Tampa Bay, the Bruins are on the brink of triumph. History will be made.

A no-hitter for Hingham baseball

Also during my blogging vacation, Hingham's own Rob Madden tossed a no-hitter against Sandwich High School at Cronin Field on May 19. Madden, a left-handed junior, persevered through two lightning delays and wound up striking out nine batters and allowing just one walk. Madden improved to 4-1 on the season with the gem, and has emerged as one of the top pitchers on the Patriot League champion Harbormen.

And much like former Hingham baseball great/current Tusculum College star Matt Henriksen, Madden is out there for the taking, ladies. Catch him while you can.

Boom! "The Experience Is Back" Edition of Ramblin' Man

I really don't know how I didn't manage to crank out any blogs in the past 10 days or so, because obviously plenty has been going on, but here we go. The hiatus is over. My apologies to the die-hards out there.

-The AL East has been tilted back on its axis since May 14, with the Red Sox posting a 7-2 record over the span to pull within a half game of the Yankees. Looking much more like that team we all expected to cruise to 100 victories. Adrian Gonzalez has been the catalyst. He's hitting .381 since my last post, and while his power binge has cooled off, he still has 8 home runs in the month of May. Definitely living up to the hype.

-For what it's worth, how are the prospects the Red Sox gave up for Gonzo performing?

• Anthony Rizzo, 21, is hitting a cool .366 with a 1.162 OPS to go along with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 42 games for Triple-A Portland. If there's any knock on Rizzo, it's that he's also struck out 42 times (for an easily-calculated average of 1 per game). But my God, the rest of his stat line.....
• Casey Kelly, also 21, is 4-1 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.37 WHIP for Double-A San Antonio. Average numbers at best, although he's knocked a over a full run off his ERA from last year (5.31) so far. 
• Reymond Fuentes, 20, his batting .311 with a .733 OPS, to go along with 17 steals, for High-A Lake Elsinore. Like Rizzo, Fuentes has been striking out at an alarming rate (35 times through 40 games). But the kid can't even drink yet.

So it's safe to say the Padres got a great haul for Adrian Gonzalez, even if it won't matter for the classy citizens of San Diego until 2013.

-By the way, Eric Patterson, the "Player to be Named Later" in the deal, is hitting .197 for the Pads. 

-Josh Beckett is leading the American League in ERA at 1.69.  Much like my March Madness exploits, Beckett has one of those even year/odd year things going on. Can he keep this up?

-Jose Bautista's numbers these past two seasons: They're real, and they're spectacular.

-Ubaldo Jimenez is 0-4 with a 5.44 ERA. Since June 1, 2010, Jimenez is 9-11 with a 4.40 ERA. Compare that with his 10-1, 0.78 ERA start to last season.

-Albert Pujols doesn't lead the Cardinals in any significant offensive category, is hitting a paltry (by his standards) .267 with a .752 OPS, yet the Cards are 30-20 with a 3 1/2 game lead over Cincinnata in the NL Central. Why? Matt Holliday and the resurgent Lance Berkman, who have combined to hit .347 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI between them.

-My emotions vary pertaining to the NBA right now. On the one hand, my boy Dirk is one win away from returning the Finals still in search of his elusive first ring. And it makes it even sweeter that I told everyone Dallas would be playing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy back in October. But....

-It looks like a certain someone else will be joining Dirk in said NBA Finals, also in search of his first ring. Bear in mind, said player I'm referring to has only been in the league 8 seasons now to Dirk's 13. And Dirk has stayed loyal to his city, playing his entire career in the Big D thus far. Just sayin'.

-I'm so invested in Dallas right now, I've almost completely forgotten that the Celtics lost in 5 games to a team in the Eastern semis, and am seriously considering purchasing a plane ticket down to Dallas should they knock off those villains in the 'Ship.

-OKC is a great story, making the leap to legitimate contender sooner than anyone could have expected, but you've gotta lose before you can win. The same thing is going on in Chicago right now. Plus, it just wouldn't be right to see a championship banner in Oklahoma City so soon, just three seasons after the team was abducted from Seattle. It would be the fastest amount of time a relocated team has won a championship in NBA history.

-The only team across the four major sports to win a championship in its first season in new digs would be the Colorado Avalanche, one season after abandoning Quebec City.

-Speaking of NHL relocations, the Atlanta Thrashers are all but signed, sealed, and delivered to Winnipeg. I thought it would've been a better story if the wrong of the Jets leaving for Phoenix had been righted, but this'll do just fine. Should the deal go through, as expected, it will be the second time Atlanta has lost an NHL team (the Flames bolted for Calgary in 1980). 

-Vancouver has skated into its first Stanley Cup Final since 1994, where they lost to the New York Rangers in an epic 7 game series. The Rangers ended a 54-year Cup drought with that victory. Do you see what I'm getting at here?

The last time the Canucks were in the Stanley Cup, they helped an Original 6 team end a long Stanley Cup drought. Just pointing it out.

Eastern Conference Finals

First time since '92. Brett Favre hadn't even started an NFL game yet. Any Bruins fan who's currently a senior in high school or younger wasn't even born. Tyler Seguin was four months old. The Tampa Bay Lightning hadn't been formed. I could go on and on. Time to make some history, bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Causeway Street. I'm not only expecting a Bruins win in this series, I'm expecting complete and utter domination. This series will go no more than the minimum. Sweep baby. I said before the Montreal series, if they can get by those scumbags, I like their chances. Hey B's.

I Remember My First NBA Championship

Wait, you mean the Heat didn't just win the NBA Championship? I thought for sure when LeBron was down on one knee crying he had just won something for the first time in his life. I mean I know the phrase "act like you've been there before" doesn't apply to LeFraud since he never has actually been there, but sheesh, you'd think there's a parade in South Beach tomorrow. Still got two more rounds to go there killa.

As for the Celts, I ain't bitter. It's been a helluva ride these past four years. I'll miss this team. It's gonna be a brave new world headin' into next year, and I even picked out some great obituary music. Go B's.

LeBron, Wade: Celtics inspired us to join forces

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/news/story?id=6522127

Let me paraphrase the article for you:

"I knew that I couldn't beat the Celtics on my own, so despite being only 25 and with plenty of opportunities left to do so, I decided to quit on my team and city and take the easy way out by do something that three players over the age of 30 did four years ago. Even though they were all acquired via trades and I was a free agent, it's the same thing."

Pretty much everything I've been saying all along. I'm just glad he finally admitted it. All that's left to do is for him to admit "The Decision" was as self-absorbed, self-fulfilling an endeavor as any human being could pull off, and maybe, just maybe, he can be redeemed.

Actually....nah he'll never admit he was wrong.

The Dirk Show

It's all we've got left people.

Short of being a headcase of epic proportions and nailing Gloria James, Delonte West is a totally replaceable somewhat useless part. He's a decent shooter and average defender who turns the ball over way too much to be taken seriously as a point guard. Zero and I mean zero basketball IQ. There's a reason this guy can't find a permanent team. I don't understand Doc's overtime lineup with him out there. I want Delonte on the next train to the Bermuda Triangle never to be heard from again. Now that I've vented....

This all comes back to Rondo's missed layup with about a minute left. That was the equivalent of a 1-inch putt in golf. Fucking Judge Smails would've tapped it in. I know his elbow's banged up. But how can that be an excuse if he played (other than that) a pretty good game? He makes that layup, Celtics have a 2-point lead, LeBron's layup merely ties the game, the Celtics can re-take the lead on Pierce's ensuing drive and all they have to do is play D to win. Which they did, when LeBron coughed up the ball leading to Pierce's bucket.

Doc's crunch-time lineup in this game was perplexing too. And no it had nothing to do with the Perkins trade. Sort of. Because while Perkins didn't play in crunch time anyways......if you aren't going to use Big Baby in that spot (who's regressed to levels he's never sunk to in the NBA), why not play Jeff Green, who you acquired for Perkins in the first place, in that spot? Is he really a downgrade from Delonte? The dude went to Georgetown. He's not dumb. He's put up scoring numbers that Delonte has never matched; he's a better defender; and with the height advantage, he's certainly capable of creating match-up problems for the Heat. Not his finest hour here either.

It didn't help matters tonight that Ray Allen was a non-factor and KG couldn't buy a basket for his life. Yet where do they go from here? Is this team really capable of winning three in a row against the Heat? Sure they beat them three straight in the regular season but those were spaced out over a manner of months. It ain't midnight yet, but it's 11:59 and those heels are clicking. I really felt if the Celts won tonight, they'd win the series. Now? Just re-read the title of this post. Because sadly, it's the only place we can put all our marbles in at this point.

Teams I Hate More Than the Miami Heat

End of blog.

Merry Mavericks

Wow.

As it's been well-documented, I picked the Dallas Mavericks to advance to the NBA Finals before the season. I was mocked and ridiculed from all angles, with the most common attack being "yeah they'll definitely get past the Lakers. Idiot".

Now I stuck to my guns through thick and thin, through the trials and tribulations of an 11th-consecutive 50-win season in the Big D. The loss of Caron Butler; the emergence of Tyson Chandler as a beast in the post; the addition of Peja Stojakovic; Jason Kidd continuing to defy age; blowing a 23-point lead to Portland in round 1; you name it, I stayed optimistic.

Enter this round 2 match-up with said Lakers. I had no choice but to stay loyal to my word, but deep down, did I really think Dallas could beat LA 4 times out of 7? I mean come on now I love Dirk but out of the top 5 players in this series, he's clearly the only one on the Mavericks' side.

So you can understand why I'm straight up flabbergasted and shocked at that drive-by shooting we just witnessed of the Phil Jackson/Kobe Bryant Lakers. For the first time in twenty-one post-season appearances, a team coached by the Zen Master was swept. Unreal.

The deciding game this afternoon brought me back to the warm feelings of Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. Sure, it wasn't quite the 39-point blowout of yesteryear. But 36 isn't all that bad is it? Like I said earlier, of the top 5 players on paper in this series, I'll give the Lakers the 1, 3, 4, and 5 spots: Kobe, Pau, Khloe URI Alum Lamar Odom, and Bynum.  After that? I think Dallas takes the next 6 spots: Jason Terry, J-Kidd, Matrix, Tyson Chandler, Peja, and either Brendan Haywood or JJ Barea. This is far and away the deepest team of the Nowitzki era in Dallas. And that's saying something for a team that has won 50 games or more 11 seasons in a row.

Now....during this run in Dallas, they haven't even been able to pull off an Atlanta Braves or Indianapolis Colts. You know, dominate the regular season for over a decade but somehow win just one championship. The Mavericks haven't won any championships, and have only appeared in a Finals once (2006). They're on par with the San Diego Chargers. You could compare Dirk to LT, being the faces of the franchise with an MVP apiece, although that's a disservice to Dirk, who's never called out opponents for having no class or missed post-season games with a toe injury. And maybe we can compare Steve Nash leaving Dallas to Drew Brees leaving San Diego, but thanks to Robert Sarver being the cheapest owner alive this side of Donald Sterling, Nash has no ring to fall back on.

The window won't stay open in the Big D forever. Dirk is 32 years old, with 993 games on his odometer (well over 1,000 if you include playoffs). He's getting up there. A sense of urgency is ever-present for these Mavericks, and they've undoubtedly knocked off their toughest competition out West. It's getting to be now-or-never down there. I'm still 100% rooting for the Celtics here, don't get me wrong, but if Green 18 can't happen? C'mon now Dirk. Get her done.

Say what you will about Mark Cuban, but you can't question his passion or desire to win.

Going In for the Kill

Don't let the Flyers breath tonight. Don't give them any reason to gain the slightest grain of confidence. Don't give them a "Battle of the Bulge Moment". You know how in said battle, Nazi forces launched their one last major offensive on Allied forces and while we still won, it prolonged the European front just a little bit longer? There's no room for casualties here. Any injury could ruin the momentum the Bruins have gained. I want to see Boston duplicate their start from Game 3, which is obviously easier said than done, but whatever sucks out the last bit of morale the Flyers have left, the better. They looked defeated in the third period last game. Simply put, after blowing a 3-0 lead to these chumps last year, a sweep is the perfect revenge. So go get 'em where it hurts.

Win the battle in the trenches and the B's will be moving on.

Revenge: Coming Soon

Just as long as the Bruins don't get blue-balled here (you know, not finishing) by the Flyers again, it's looking like a showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning is all but signed, sealed, and delivered. But I'm not going to declare this series over by any means until it's over. Last is just too damn painful to remember. Although I will say this: by the time the B's had jumped out to a 3-0 lead last year, Tuukka Rask was gassed beyond the point of any fair expectations. I'm still not saying it's acceptable to blow a 3-0 series lead, but if you dig deep enough, you can conclude that the Bruins weren't actually that good to begin with last year. The 2011 version, featuring Timmy (soon to be) Vezina? Clearly a superior team to the Phlyers. Any doubts we may have had were surely answered after his 52 save performance on Monday night.

As far as tonight went, jumping on their throats bright and early was the perfect way to send the message that last year isn't on the mind of the black and gold. Zdeno Chara started things off just 30 seconds in with a bomb from atop the circle, followed 33 seconds later by David Krejci. If you remember, Krejci missed last year's collapse due to injury. Warrants mentioning.

The Bruins physicality was also present early on. If "pancakes" were stats in hockey like they are in football, I counted one apiece for Paille, Horton, and Lucic in the first period alone. You can't underestimate the importance of playing physical, especially at home. Just making it clear, "this is our house".

Nathan Horton may have been handled by former Bruins great Sean O'Donnell in their tilt during the 2nd period, but I'd say he more than made up for it with his team-leading 5th goal of the playoffs later on. It's a damn shame Horton spent the first seven years in the hockey purgatory that is Florida. Clearly, he's making up for lost time.

Danny Paille's goal before Horton's was textbook hockey from the get go. A Flyers rush was thwarted by a stout defensive play by Johnny Boychuk, who quickly found Greg Campbell up the right wing on the fast break. Campbell bided his time as Shawn Thornton clogged the interior, and found Paille up the left side to beat Brian Boucher. A perfectly executed breakout, by the 4th line, no less.

Speaking of Brian "Waterboy" Boucher, did you know the Flyers have pulled their starting goalie 6 times in 10 playoff games this season? You ain't getting too far with ineptitude like that between the pipes. Seems like the Flyers have been looking for an answer in net ever since Ron Hextall left town.

And finally tonight, wait for it, the Bruins scored on the power play! Sure it was on a 5-on-3 with under two minutes left in a 4-1 game, but the PP unit had gotten to the point that they were like that little leaguer who was happy getting out just as long as he made contact. You know, the same kid who probably excelled in chess and computers. Who better to end the drought than Big Z, who's 2nd goal of the night also ensured he'd be on the ice for all 5 Bruins goals. No small feat there.

The Bruins will look to wrap it up Friday night at the TD Garden, and I say the sooner they finish it off the better. There's no need to give the Flyers the slightest ray of hope that they can duplicate last year. Also notice how the Bruins have just a two-day layoff between games. The Celtics played the night before them on Tuesday, and their next game will be the day after them on Saturday.  Just sayin'.

Me? Worried?

I'm fully aware of the old adage "the series isn't over until the home team loses a game", but after back-to-back no shows on South Beach, how can I not be? Other than Jeff Green and Delonte West, every Celtics player shot under 50% for the game.

Though Rondo flirted with the triple-double, I got too much a sense of his on/off switch tonight. His very first touch of the game he sliced right through the lane filled with Heat defenders, but from there seemed to come and go as he pleased. Whenever he seemed engaged, it was great basketball to watch. Either driving the lane effortlessly or finding the open passing lane, Rondo had plenty of great plays tonight. But he took a few too many off to say definitively that he had a "great game", as his stat line might suggest.

With the Celtics' big 3 battling various injuries at the moment, it's never been truer that as Rondo goes, so go the Celtics. Where's the player who was legitimately in the MVP discussion in the 1st half of the NBA season? Does he really miss Kendrick Perkins that much? I'm not here to criticize Jeff Green, who did play a decent game tonight, but it's safe to say that Nenad Kristic is about as effective as Mark Blount in his prime. And that's not a compliment. And the Heat are the one contender where Perkins' absence isn't a legitimate gripe, because Joel Anthony and company are about as scary as a haunted house at the Marshfield Fair. Even someone as brittle as Kristic should be able to handle that collection of stiffs down low.

So am I saying the series is over? I'm slowly resigning myself to the fact that I might be forced into rooting for Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Khloe's husband (unless of course my boy Dirk makes me look like a genius. And I can't talk myself into rooting for OKC or Memphis unless they agree to have championship parades in Seattle and Vancouver, respectively). It's pretty depressing to be a Celtics fan right now, even for the most optimistic fan out there like myself. Needless to say, Game 3 is a MUST WIN for the Celts.

But hey, Adrian Gonzalez hit his first Fenway home run tonight. David Ortiz has gone deep in back-to-back games. Carl Crawford is 6 for his last 10, including Sunday's walk-off. And I haven't even touched on the Bruins yet, but I refuse to write anything about them looking ahead of this series because, well, you know.

And that's all I've got for tonight. By the way, I said this earlier on facebook, but if Rashard Mendenhall don't like it here in America, he can just git on outta here. United States of America, greatest country in the world. Anyone from Iris Gillard's sophomore year history class knows what I'm talkin' about.

Rooting for the Miami Heat is like rooting for the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics.  What does that make the Lakers? Finland?

Where you bin, Laden?

Everyone who knows me knows that I have absolutely zero interest in politics or anything of the like that requires deep intellectual thought. But that news last night, that we finally killed that rat bastard, piece of shit, turban-wearing fuck, that made me quickly forget about Paul Pierce's ejection and the Celtics' loss itself yesterday. It really put things in a deeper perspective. Sure, I'm upset that the Celts are in an 0-1 hole to LeBron. And I make it very clear on this blog every now and again that I hate LeBron James. But hate is all relative. Do I hate LeBron in the same way that I hate Osama bin Laden? God no. It's not even a normal comparison. And I mean that like if you hate them both in the same manner, you ain't normal, Jack. Do I hate the way LeBron flaunts himself like he's the King of the World? Yes. Absolutely. But that's a trivial matter in comparison to hating Osama bin Laden. It's "sports hate" I feel towards LeBron. It's a term used by Bill Simmons frequently in his work, and he's got it spot on. You only really hate someone who's been responsible for over 5,000 murders of innocent people world wide, including 3,000 on 9/11. If you're thinking of hating LeBron and Osama on the same plane, it's definitely time to re-evaluate your purpose in life.

Sure I was only 10 years old when 9/11 happened, but that day is as vivid as any other day in my life. Though I didn't personally know anyone who died on 9/11, I still took it in a personal manner. Since that day, I've been waiting for the ultimate demise of Osama bin Laden. May 1, 2011, is one of the great dates in American history, right up there with July 4, 1776 or August 9, 1945. There's work left to do, but till then and forever after, rot in hell bin Laden.

The Ghost of Tim Donaghy

Not that I'm condoning ejecting players, particularly key players, in any playoff games anything short of pulling a gun on an opponent, but at the very least in this blast from the past, Pierce gave Jaamal Tinsley a forearm shiver that in this 21st century age of overreaction, was a just cause for ejection. Now let's fast forward six years to today.

I umpire little league games, I don't referee youth basketball. So while I'm not as familiar with the rules of basketball, I'm almost positive setting screens are still legal, right? What we have here is a referee, Dan Crawford, on an ego trip. I'm aware the Celtics were down 87-74 at the time of the ejection, but with still 7:00 left in the game against the Heat, of all teams, who aren't exactly know for being able to close teams out, who's to say the Celts couldn't have made a furious late push? For all intents and purposes that game was over when Crawford tossed Pierce, who's still the heart and soul of the Celtics. You take away a teams best player and emotional leader, good luck coming back in a hostile environment.  Although I use the term "hostile environment" lightly because everyone knows all Heat fans are a bunch of bandwagon jumping, polo shirt-wearing pussies who know absolutely nothing about basketball. They were 16th in attendance last year, and then suddenly jump to 5th this year. 

Anyways, the allusions to Tim Donaghy here definitely warrant mentioning. Like I hate criticizing officials because 95% of the time it's just sour grapes. But in this case? I think it's a legitimate gripe. LeBron and Wade getting away with murder on both ends of the court while Paul Pierce sets a screen and then has D-Wade come in his face, and PP gets ejected likely only for muttering some choice words? I honestly ask: does the NBA want the Heat to advance over the Celtics? Is this a Lakers-Kings 2002 situation here? How do the Heat attempt 32 free throws to the Celtics' 18? I'd remove this Crawford character for the rest of this series, he's clearly about as biased as a priest from Kansas arguing against evolution. He's gotta go.

But should the referees stay out of this series, which unfortunately is a big if, I'm not worried at all. The Celtics lost the opener to the LeBron's in last season's semis as well. Should Boston snag Game 2 Tuesday night, which I fully expect them to do, they're a different animal when on the parquet floors of the Garden. The Heat averaged 81 points per game in Boston this year. When LeBron ain't being coddled by his home "fans" down in Miami, it can get ugly for the self-proclaimed King. I still like the Celts in 7.