Misc. Post on 1/30/2008

Freaking Cobwebs!!!!
Well we can't really blame funks or anything else on this break, just the what the heck am I going to write about / well that sucked type of thing. Have been looking at some numbers from the James hand book and also catching up on some reading that needed to be done. Oh, also B-fly and I have been enjoying the Dresden Files that was the Christmas gift from BH.



Ok, ok, that is no excuse but it is the only ones I am going to give you.



Good win by the Celtics last night and it looks like the Johan sweepstakes have been won by the NY Mets. Personally, just looking at the prospects that the Mets gave up, you have to think that the Twins blew this deal. The Lester, Coco, etal or the Yankees package was better for than Twins than this group of players. That of course is without me looking at any numbers, so, just like football picks, you should probably just ignore this statement by yours truly. Will be interesting to see the results of this trade in three years.



Oh, one more thing, another pic of the dog!

Misc. Post on 1/16/2008

Ok, so I have been in a funk.

I get that way when my Cowboys decide to lose a game at home in the play offs. Needless to say my predictions for the Sunday NFL games was, well way off. I still haven't really figured out how the Chargers beat the Colts with LT basically not providing anything and after Rivers went out of the game I thought they were absolutely toast. Norv Turner (who I of course liked until he went to Washington) has done a tremendous job with the Chargers this year. No way they beat the Patriots on this coming Sunday though, absolutely, positively no way.

As for the Cowboy game, give me a fragging break. I knew the team was in trouble when they allowed the Giants to score just before half time to tie the game at 14 all. What a fragging waste of a season (I knew I should have listened to my head). Oh well, that pretty much kills the football watching until next fall. Will have to see if I really have the time (ok, I will probably make the time) to watch games that I have no rooting interests in either team.

Hmm, I would get all indignant or up in arms about the Celtics losing back-to-back games to the Wizards, but I really can't get that upset about those games. I think that both games did show that Mr. Danny Ainge will need to get a quality back up point guard before the trading deadline. I think that if Rajon Rondo had been 80 to 100% healthy the C's would not have lost both of those fourth quarter leads. The problem is I don't see a lot of room in the salary cap scenarios for the Celtics to get a quality back up point guard.

Speaking of the Celtics they have a game tonight against a blistering hot Trail Blazer team which has gone 18-2 in their last twenty games. No Rajon, probably again tonight though as the back and a hamstring are causing the Celtics to put him at 50-50 status. If I'm Mr. Doc Rivers I think I would start House, but he probably goes with Allen. Will have to see. The Boston Herald preview for tonight’s game is here.


Well, with football winding down it is time to start looking at the College Basketball schedules. So far the Arkansas Razorbacks have done pretty well. Currently they have a 13-3 record with their last win being an overtime thriller against Alabama at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. That makes them 2-0 in the SEC and I really think that they need to be either 1st or 2nd in the SEC west if they want to guarantee a March Madness appearance. They also have a game tonight against South Carolina.

I really don't know much about the Gamecocks except that they are only 8-8 overall with an 0-2 record in the SEC. This is the SEC though, so every game is usually competitive. Will be following this game on the olde ESPN.com game tracker for sure tonight. Sure would be nice if the Pigs were able to start their SEC season off with a 3-0 record.


Enough for now, just remember - ♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

oh one more thing - a pic of the dog:

Misc. Post on 1/13/2008 (Cowboys, Celtics, Patriots and oh my)

Well, you knew it couldn't last forever and last night for the first time this season the Celtics lost the second game of a back to back. Looking at the box score for this game what really stands out is that the Wizards were able to force fouls which turned into a 10 point advantage from the line. Also for the second game in a row the Celtics were manhandled on the boards. This game was not a typical game for this team this year. Oh well, you can't win them all (unless you are the Patriots).

Yesterday the frozen tundra of Lambeau field was on full display as the Packers simply blew away the Seahawks. If you remember I said this game might become a blow out, I just didn't think that the Packers would do it after being down 14 in the first two minutes of the game. Simply outstanding job by Favre and company. Final in this game was 42-20 (my prediction 24-18).

As for the perfect Patriots, well they almost got a perfect game from the wonder boy as he went 24 / 26 in his pass attempts. The defense did just enough to provide the final cushion of 31-20 (my prediction 31-16). Not bad at all for the Patriots.

Today is another football day as first the Colts take on the Chargers in Indianapolis at 1:00 p.m., followed by the Giants visiting the Cowboys at 4:30 p.m., hmmm, I wonder who I'm picking in that game.

First let's look at the Colts game. This is a rematch of these two teams, who played in week 10 in San Diego. You may remember that game as the Peyton interception game (6), or maybe the Vinatari blew one game. Whichever one pleases you the most, feel free to use, but I think the Chargers have a chance to actually win this game. The key will be whether the Colts can contain Ladamian Tomlinson without Dwight Freeney and force Rivers into being the key player for the Chargers. I say they don't contain LT and Rivers is just good enough to make this a shoot out. Colts in a nail biter win 35 to 31.

The last game of the day has the Dallas Cowboys facing the New York Giants. Will Jessica be at the stadium? How is Romo's thumb? Will Terrel Owens be effective playing with his "high" ankle sprain? Beats the frag out of me. These questions along with the whole hard to beat a team three times in a season worry me though. My head says the Cowboys will lose a heartbreaker 21-17, but my heart says Cowboys win 31-24. Lets go with the heart!

♊ - all else fails get a bigger hammer.

Misc. Post on 1/12/2008

Well, the NFL playoffs ramp up again today. After my 2-2 record last week in the wild card round, well you know that I am not going to win you any money so, reader beware.

First up is the Seahawks vs Packers game. The Packers are a good team and will be rested, healthy and raring to go at 4:30 p.m.. I would not be surprised to see this game become a blow out, but will go with Packers 24 - Seahawks 18.

The second game is at 8:00 and has the Jaguars vs the Patriots. Patriots 31 - Jags. 15.

That is is for now, peace and love.

Celtics 07-08 Season Game 34

22-25-16-23 = 86
30-14-24-9 = 77

ESPN.com Recap

Quarter by quarter score of game 34, as once again the Celtics avoided a two game losing streak. Due to other obligations, mainly sleep, I was unable to watch the first three quarters of this game, so I have no idea what this team looked like on the defensive end of the court in the first half, or how they were able to turn an eight point deficit into a three point lead at half time. In fact I can't even tell you what the third quarter looked like as the Nets took a five point lead into the fourth.

So, state all of the above, why am I even talking about this game? Well, I did watch the fourth quarter and I would love to say that the Celtics clamped down and played tough defense in the fourth, but the reality is that the Nets went cold, as cold a winter storm in the northeast.

Twelve seconds into the fourth quarter Glen "big baby" Davis committed an offensive foul and the Nets took their biggest lead of the fourth when they made the lay up to make the lead 63-70 at the 11:37 mark. The Celtics then went on a 13-0 run that secured this game. How did that lead unfold? Well, lets look at the play by play to see what the Nets did on each offensive possession from that point on:

1. Nachbar misses 3-pointer, offensive rebound by Collins who is fouled by Pierce.
2. Collins misses both free throws and Posey rebounds the ball. (65-70)
   
3. Richard Jefferson misses driving lay up. (67-70)
4. Nachbar misses 3-pointer, Paul Pierce defensive rebound. (67-70)
5. Vince Carter misses 3-pointer, House defensive rebound. (69-70)
6. Jefferson misses 22 foot jumper, Davis defensive rebound. (69-70)
7. Kidd bad pass, Posey steals. (69-70)
8. Jefferson bad pass. (71-70)
9. Boone bad pass. (71-70)
10. Davis blocks Kidd layup, Boone offensive rebound, Boone misses layup, Kidd offensive rebound, Jefferson misses layup, offensive rebound, Wright loose ball foul. (73-70)

Now just look at that, four missed layups and three missed 3-pointers. It is hard to sustain a lead when you are missing layups. It is also hard to maintain a lead if you are going to go 9-24 from the free throw line. As good as the Celtics played, it was the ineptness of the Nets that allowed them to win this game. Maybe the Nets were tired and ran out of gas in the fourth, but you should still make free throws and convert on lay ups. This was one game that the Celtics should have lost, but they found a way to win with a little bit of help from their opponent. I will take it!!!

From Espn.com - Celtics tie best record after 34 games!

Celtics Turning 30
Boston's 86-77 win over New Jersey gave the Celtics their 30th win after 34 games, tying the fastest a Celtics team reached win No. 30. Here's a look at the Celtics' teams that reached 30 wins the quickest:
Celtics team	Game # of 30th win	Final record
1959-60	34	59-16*
1961-62	34	60-20*
1984-85	36	63-19
1972-73	36	68-14
2007-08	34	???
* = Won NBA title

Celtics 07-08 Season Game 32

SATURDAY night!
SATURDAY night!
SATURDAY night!
SATURDAY night!
Gonna keep on dancin' to the rock and roll On Saturday night, Saturday night Dancin' to the rhythm in our heart and soul
On Saturday Night, Saturday night
IIIII just can't wait,
IIII got a date

ESPN.com's recap

Because I just don't buy the round two / boxing gloves hitting each other that comcast sports was selling last night. Still I have to admit that the game did resemble a boxing match in some aspects. First you had the knockdown in the first quarter when the Pistons went on a 15-0 run after KG went to the bench with his second foul (7:33 of the first). The score at the time of the foul 10-5. Of course this was part of the 17-0 run that basically finished off the first quarter as it took 7:69 between baskets for the Celtics in that quarter.

A knockdown in the first but the Celtics didn't waste much time in coming back in the second quarter. At 9:45 KG returned to the game (17-28). Four minutes later after a Ray Allen three pointer it was 31-32 and the effects of the knockdown had been completely erased. With :38 seconds left in the half the Celtics had came all the way back following a Pierce three pointer. 41-41 and not much time left in the half. Clearly the momentum had came full circle as the C's trailed by two going into the half.

The third quarter started with the Pistons allowing a basket to tie the game at the 11:00 minute mark but then quickly established a lead and extended it to as much as six points. With the clock showing 6:07, the Celtics finally took a lead in this quarter on a KG jumper, 53-52.

Personally I always think that basketball games are games of runs (it only takes two stops to have a 9-0 run with the three pointer), and this game was living up to that rational. The only worry I have about trading runs is if the team can take the lead. I never like it when a team gets close but can't seem to get over the hump. By taking the lead even if it was short lived (and it was short lived), I felt better about this game.

The teams basically traded baskets the rest of the third with no team getting more than four points ahead and the quarter ended with a three point deficit at 63-66. An entertaining game that kept you on the edge of your seats. The game had a playoff feel and the teams played like it was June not January as every shot was contested (mostly) the defense was keeping both teams at the 40% area and after that 17-0 run in the first neither team was able to put a prolonged run together.

The fourth quarter looked the same as the first three until the 6:54 mark. The Celtics finally took the lead and never looked back on two Garnett free throws. The lead would grow to four then fall back to one (81-80) but would never disappear. The key in this quarter, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who scored 16 of his 20 points in the quarter. Starting at 5:54 of the quarter the Celtic scoring went:

• GD - Layup and one (79-74)
• Pierce dunk (on a beautiful steal) (81-76)
• GD - Driving layup and one (84-80)
• Tony Allen - two free throws (86-80)
• GD - Layup but missed the free throw (88-84)
• GD - Layup (90-85)
• Tony Allen - two free throws (92-85)

So out of the last 16 points "Big Baby" scored 10! Big contribution by the rookie, big contribution. A good win for the Celtics! Below stats from the Daily dime.

Boston's Not There Yet
By Adam S. Reisinger ESPN Research
The Celtics matched the best start through 30 games in NBA history with their 27th win Wednesday night. Five previous teams had started 27-3. Two of them (the '90-91 Blazers and the '71-72 Knicks) lost their 31st game to fall to 27-4. The other 3 teams … well, they took a while to suffer that fourth loss, so don't break out the champagne for the Celtics (27-3 entering Friday's game with Memphis) just yet.

Notably, all three of these teams set the single-season record for wins. The 76ers won 68 games, the Lakers broke that by winning 69, then the Bulls surpassed that mark, going 72-10.

Most Wins Before Fourth Loss
Year	Team	W-L
'95-96	Bulls	41-3
'71-72	Lakers	39-3
'66-67	76ers	37-3

Misc. Post on the 5th

Well another day has come and gone and another win by the Celtics last night. The good times just keep on rolling for the Celtics! Key in this game was Tony Allen coming off the bench and providing a spark and a scoring punch. As for Ray Allen only scoring 2 points, hey if he keeps on seeing the shot in sporadic bursts then he will continue to struggle, still he did have 5 assists so he is contributing.

Wild card weekend is here for the NFL. My picks:

1. Seattle beats Washington - 20-13.


2. Pittsburgh edges Jacksonville - 16-14.


3. Tampa beats NY - 24-10.


4. San Diego edges Tennessee - 31-28.

On a sad note, the blogosphere (and red sox nation) lost a voice earlier this year. Maj. Andrew Olmstead was killed in Iraq. Below is a picture of the Major with his wife. Rest in peace Major, and our hearts go out to your wife and family.

Misc. Post on the 3rd

Well not much going on sport in sports tonight. It's a slow night here at the s1c household also as I am just kicking back and listening to the radio (Dennis Miller will be on in 15 minutes). Right now a good part of the country has their eyes turned toward Iowa. I am sorry, but I could really, really, care less right now about Iowa.

There is one Bowl game tonight in that little town called Miami. Kansas is playing Virginia Tech. I think that Tech wins this one 35-31. That is all for now!!

Oh one other thing, ESPN.com is stating that Clemens told Wallace he took shots of B-12 and Lidocane. Yeah, right, I really believe you Rahger!

07/08 Celtics Game 30

Well at the time of this post West Virginia is just crushing Oklahoma. There goes that pick. Oh well, it is a good thing that no one is counting on my picks to make some pocket change. The regular season was screwy and now the bowl games are being screwy. You have to love college football.

Hmm, 20-point lead disappears and with 6:58 left in the game you are trailing your opponent (a visiting team) 84-81. What do you do? Well if you are the 27-3 Celtics you climb on the back of Kevin Garnett and let him carry you to the finish line.

A quick look at the final minutes shows that KG took six of the last twelve shots making five of those attempts. Add in his free throw and that is eleven of the last sixteen points scored by the Celtics in this game. There were two key things that stood out in this last dash for the win though:

1. Ray Allen continues to do the little things as he grabbed two offensive boards in the last two minutes of the game. Both led to KG baskets with Paul Pierce getting the assists.
2. Five of the last seven baskets had an assist associated with them, with four of those assists provided by PP.

That second item is something that I have noticed in this spectacular run so far this season. This team is comfortable with passing the ball to the open man in tight games. You have to have faith in your teammates if you expect to do well in the NBA and it is obvious that this team has faith in each other. Another good win for the Celtics.

Misc. Post on the 2nd!

Ok, so yesterday my football picks again stunk. What made me think that Hawaii could beat Georgia? How in the world did I pick a team with an interim coach, my beloved Hogs, and think they could beat Missouri? Those are the two biggest mistakes and of course since I was so stupid I went 2-4 as opposed to 4-2. Grrr.

The good news today, is that the soap opera of northwest Arkansas is finally over and hopefully the team can rebound from this fiasco and start to be a consistent winner again. Unfortunately, I think that the new coach will only be around just long enough to win a couple of SEC West titles and then will take his Larry Brown / Saban like ways to some other green grass program. Oh well, will have to see.

Meanwhile tonight we have the #9 West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2) vs the #4 Oklahoma Sooners (11-2) in the Fiesta bowl. Not for sure about this game but I am going to give the edge to Oklahoma, lets go with 24-23 for the Sooners.

Other than that bold predicition, not much else is happening (though the Celtics are playing well as we speak), so will say hasta la vista for now!

Oh yeah, I added a couple of new links, be sure and check them out!

2008 - Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year and may 2008 bring you everything you desire.

Well, looking at yesterday's bowls you can see why I do not bet on College Football. Sheesh, 2 and 4. Still, it is a new year and there is hope for new beginnings. So, let us look at today's bowl Games!

First up on the schedule is the Outback bowl which has #18 Wisconsin (9-3) playing #16 Tennessee (9-4). The Volunteers have speed and the Badgers are plodders. I go with speed here and say the Vols 31 to 17 over the Badgers.

Shades of old its Arkansas (8-4) in the Cotton Bowl! Who are they playing? Well it is #6 Missouri Tigers (11-2). Hmmm, I wonder who I picked (look to the right - ed). Missouri has speed, throws the ball and scores a ton of points each game, however, Oklahoma owned them this year. Arkansas has a defense, plays in the tough SEC and oh yeah, some junior running back that has place 2nd in the heisman trophy balloting the last two years. This game will be a barn burner. Arkansas 42 and Missouri 34.

Gator bowl has Texas Tech (8-4) vs #20 Virginia (9-3). Va blows this game open late and wins 28 to 17.

Capital One bowl is another Big 10 vs SEC match up. Florida (9-3) has this QB who did something special this year, 20/20 man will lead the Gators over the Michigan Wolverines (8-4) with a 35 - 21 outcome.

Rose Bowl has #13 Illinois (9-3) vs #7 USC (10-2) playing at 4:30. USC romps 35-17.

Our final Bowl game of the day is the Sugar Bowl. #10 Hawaii (12-0) is playing #5 Georgia (10-2). The only loss for the SEC today is this game in a tough nail biter Hawaii wins 31-28!!!

Happy New YEAR!!!!!!

2007 Winding Down

Well, 2007 is finally winding down and it is obvious that there are some serious bowl games to be played yet in this year. Well, not really, but there are a few left in this year. So far I have picked 8 winners and 7 losers, but today is another day. Before we get to the bowl picks for today though, it should be mentioned that the Celtics just keep on rolling along.

Last night they completed their four game west coast trip by beating the Lakers, well, actually they rolled over the the Lakers like a cement truck heading to the construction site. The closest the Lakers got in the second half was at 3:16 in the 3rd quarter when Kobe fed Derek Fisher for a three pointer that made the score 72-66. The Lakers didn't score again until the 4th quarter and by that time the Celtics had a 16 point lead that would never be threatened again.

As for the just completed road trip, the C's went to Sacramento on the 26th and won 89-69, a twenty point shellacking over a losing team. This was followed by a game on the 27th in Seattle that the Celtics won 104-96 over an even worse team than the Kings. Still it was Ray Allens first trip back to Seattle and it was their sixth set of back to back games this year (6-0 on the second game of these sets) so a close game was to be expected.

Following a day off the C's continued to impress by beating the Jazz on the 29th by a 104-98 score that included an embarrassed Paul Pierce who hit the winning basket with 28 seconds left in the game. In this game the Celtics trailed at half time as they just could not stop the Jazz from shooting over 60% in the first half. Once again though they out scored their opponent in the third quarter and only trailed by two going into the fourth. The Celtics were now 3-0 on the trip and rumbled into Los Angeles trying to do two things, prevent Phil Jackson from passing Red Auerbach on the win list and sweep the road trip.

Mission accomplished! Another double digit win and another milestone achieved!

Setting The Pace
The Celtics are now off to a better start than the Bulls team that won an NBA-record 72 games. Here are the best winning percentages before New Year's Day:
Team	Record	Pct.
1971-72 Lakers	36-3	.923*
1966-67 76ers	35-3	.921*
2007-08 Celtics	26-3	.897
1995-96 Bulls	25-3	.893*
* -- Won NBA title.

Some things are just meant to be and that is being accomplished by this Celtics team. As the box to the right says (lifted from ESPN.Com), the Celtics have joined a select few teams in the upper echelon of NBA history and the historic runs of the teams from Boston just keep on rolling (16-0 Patriots, 2007 World Series Champs) along in this last week of 2007.

Next on the docket for the Celtics will be a home game vs the Rockets on 1/2/2008 (got to get used to typing 2008) and another back to back as they face the Grizzlies on 1/4 at home and then travel to Detroit on 1/5. The Detroit game will be interesting since the Pistons beat the Celtics on 12/19 in Boston. I expect fireworks in that game!!

Enough about the Celtics though. Lets make our picks for today's Bowl Games!

The first game today at 12:30 is the Armed Forces Bowl! This game pits California (6-6) against Air Force (9-3). I think the Falcons will beat the Bears 31 - 27.

Next set of games has the Humanitarian bowl at 2:00 with Georgia Tech (7-5) playing Fresno State (8-4). Look for the rambling wreck to win this game 35-21. The other 2:00 game has #21 South Florida (9-3) playing Oregon (8-4). I just don't think that Oregon can hang with the Big East team and fully expect the Bulls to beat the Ducks 28-10.

Our 4:00 game features Kentucky (7-5) playing perennial bowl team Florida State (7-5) in the Music City bowl. Since Florida State has an academic scandal (gee another school in Florida with a thug reputation, who woulda thought that - ed) which will cause a good number of players to be left in Florida for this game, I expect the SEC to continue to roll as Kentucky blasts the Seminoles 35-10.

The 6:00 game features Indiana (7-5) vs Oklahoma State (6-6) in the insight.com bowl. I expect this game to be a shoot out and I even might watch a little bit of it on the NFL network. Indiana 31 - Oklahoma State 30.

The last game of the day will be at 7:30 on ESPN as the Clemson Tigers (9-3) take on the Auburn Tigers (8-4). This should be another good game but I fully expect the SEC team to beat the ACC team in a low scoring affair. Lets go with Auburn 18 over Clemson 17.

Well, time to do some menial errands on this last day in 2007. Catch you all later!

Misc 2007 stuff

Well, another year is fast becoming history and if you are a fan of any of the teams associated with Boston you have to be pretty happy. In fact this might be a very historic year for teams based in the Boston area as last night the Patriots became the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 and the Celtics improved their NBA best record to 25-3 (on pace for 73 wins) by beating the Utah Jazz on the road and guaranteeing themselves a winning road trip against west coast teams.

Even the Bruins are playing above .500 hockey and are just out of the playoffs with their 18-16-4 record. With the Revolution making it to the finals in MLS and the Red Sox winning the World Series Boston can rightly claim to be a championship contending town. The only question right now is can the Patriots find their way to the Super Bowl (only the Colts can prevent that imho)?

As for the Celtics, right now they are contenders, but in the rugged play of the NBA there is still a long, long, long way to go before they can even think about the playoffs. Still, you have to like the way the Celtics are playing as once again they turned up the defensive pressure in the second half last night. Yep, I am truly enjoying the Celtics season.

Turning quickly to bowl games this year, so far I picked winners in the San Diego Credit Union, Papajohns.com, New Mexico, Pioneer Las Vegas, Champs Sports, Texas, Emerald, and the Alamo bowl games. That is an 8 and 6 record so far. There is only one game today and that is the Petro Sun Independence bowl. Look for Colorado to run up the score against an up and down Alabama team. I don't even expect this one to be close, lets say 31 to 10 for the Buffaloes.

On the pro side today lets go with these winners:

Seattle +2 1/2
Cleveland - 9 1/2
New Orleans - 2 1/2
Cincinatti - 2 1/2
Buffalo +7 1/2
Carolina +2 1/2
Green Bay - 3 1/2
Jacksonville + 6 1/2
Pittsburgh -5 1/2
Dallas +8 1/2
Arizona -6 1/2
Minnesota -2 1/2
San Diego -6 1/2
Kansas City +5 1/2
Indianapolis +6 1/2

Tata for now!!!!!

The Mitchell Report

This all I have to say about this investigation, "Who the Frag Cares"! MLB players used performance enhancing drugs, well duh! The entire report can be found here at espn.com

Update: - Corrected mitchell's name!

Celtics Game 20 (Golden State goes down)

Another game another win. What more can you ask for in this season? Beats the frag out of me. Caught the last half of this game, as it was movie night in the s1c household (Live Free or Die Hard). I am beginning to think that starting to watch this team at the start of the 3rd quarter is the way to follow this team, as once again the men in green came out of the half-time break and took control of the game.

Less than five minutes into the quarter and it was 55-47 Celtics, as they just seemed to explode. Contributions were made by every starter even Rajon (did you even realize that Rajon had no points, not with his team leading 5 assists-ed). The best thing was that Big Baby stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park.

In 27 minutes of playing time he grabbed 9 boards (5 off), went 3-6 from the floor and 10 - 10 from the free throw line. More importantly, he had only 2 personal fouls. The Big Baby is growing into a BIG MAN right before our eyes.

As for the PGA, well the usual from them as they combined for 52 points in this game, lead by Paul Pierce's 26 points. These three just seem to get more comfortable every game that they play. It will be interesting to see how they respond to their up coming west coast trip. Actually I don't think it will be interesting I think it will be the first real test that this team has faced this year. Next game Friday night!!!!

updated - corrected my freaking spelling errors.

Okajima Speaks

UPDATED - Added the second half of the radio transcript.

The Globe has a transcript of an interview that Hidecki Okajima gave in Japan. He even thanks J. Buck of the Royals. A good read.

Second part of the interview as the Globe has reported it.

Celtics Game 19

Another game vs the eastern half of the NBA and another win. Especially, in a game where one of the big three went 1-8 from the field only to have Rajon Rondo step up and have his biggest game of the year. 18 points from the point guard and he pitched in with seven rebounds and five assists.

The only complaint I have is that late in the game instead of going for the knock out blow they should have gotten the ball to Kevin Garnett. At the end of the game the big guy has to touch the ball in order to make the offense more diverse. Still an eleven point win and going to 17 and 2 is very good in my books. Especially when you realize that the previous Celtics who reached these heights have pretty much always made the NBA Finals. I definitely like these Celtics!!!

07-08 Celtics Game 17

Well you have to hand it to them, this Celtics team just never gives up. For some reason I thought this game started at 7:30 so I didn't turn on the tube until 7:33. Yep, I was wrong (who knew), the game started at 7:00 so the score was 40something to 30something and the C's were on the short end. Still you could see that they had confidence that the double digit lead would shrink by half time in Philadelphia and sure enough it was down to 5 as the 76ers went in to the locker room up by 57-52.

Some thoughts that entered my mind while watching this game:

  1)  What the frag is up with Ray Allen's jump shot?
  2)  Will Tony Allen ever explode to the basket again?

First Ray's problems, just aren't making sense. It looks like he is just slightly off on his rhythm as to often the ball seems to circle the basket then fall off the rim. Another pretty poor night from the field as he went 3 for 12 (2 for 6 from 3 point territory). Still, he seems to be helping this team in little things so, once he gets his jumper back to being the Ray Allen jumper from the past, look out!!!

As for Tony's lack of explosiveness, every game it seems we see at least one drive to the basket where the ball never reaches the top of the rim. Just look at his drive just before the half where the ball hits the bottom of the rim as an example. Is it the bruise, is it the knee? Who the frag knows but something needs to change if he wants me to have any confidence in him when he enters the game.

Glen Davis needs to learn how to play defense better, 15 minutes and he had two fouls. I love his energy, but move the feet better and you will be able to stay on the floor for longer periods of time (Tommy thinks he needs to lose twenty pounds, but I don't know about that).

Still a 10 point win on the road is something to smile about these days, and it is becoming apparent that this team is a legitimate contender for the finals. It is good to know that after all these years of wearing my Celtics jacket in shame, I can wear it with pride again!!!

08 Season Win Shares Look #1

Well its 13:15 and still no Johan trade to the Sox. What's happening, you've got me! The latest information from the Globe and the Herald is that the Twins are approaching other teams, Mets, Angels and Dodgers (losers in the Marlin trades) to see if they can get anything better or maybe just to see if this is the best that they can get for Santana. I still think that unless the MFY's up the ante and add both Hughes and Kennedy this deal will get done. However, it is possible that the Twins may say, forget it, we will wait until the trade deadline and if we are out of contention we make a deal then. I really think that would be unlikely though since they know that he is leaving and they will want to get something for him. Will have to see. WEEI is saying that the Star Ledger has the Twins and Sox still working on a deal though at 1:29 p.m.

Still, the team is starting to take shape so I thought I would do the first Win Share look at the team for the 2008 season. So, here goes!!!

Pos.	Player	07 WS	CWS	3 yr Avg.	4 yr Avg.	Projected
DH	Ortiz	29	166	29.667	28.5	30
1b	Youkilis	20	53	15	13.25	21
2b	Pedroia	19	19	----	----	19
3b	Lowell	24	169	17	19.25	20
SS	Lugo	12	110	16.333	17.25	13
LF	Ramirez	15	354	26	26.25	22
CF	Ellsbury	6	6	----	----	15
RF	Drew	12	161	15.333	20	20
C	Varitek	15	122	14	15.25	14
SP1	Beckett	19	73	15	13.5	17
Sp2	Matsuzaka	12	12	----	----	12
Sp3	Schilling	10	254	10	13	12
Sp4	Lester	4	9	----	----	8
Sp5	Wakefield	10	154	11	10.25	10
Closer	Papelbon	12	34	11.333	----	15
Rel1	Okajima	10	10	----	----	8
Rel2	Delcarmen	5	9	3	----	4
Rel3	Timlin	4	120	7.667	7.25	3
Rel4	Tavarez	4	76	4.667	5.5	5
Rel5	Snyder	3	7	1	1.75	3
Rel6	Donnelly	2	37	4.667	4.75	3
4th Of	Crisp	16	71	15.667	15.25	10
B C	?????
M I F	Cora	4	70	4.33	7.5	5
C I F	?????
Totals		267	2096	221.664	218.5	289

Just looking at this right now there are only two slots left to be filled, the back up catcher and a back up infielder for the corners (though Cora can play and has played at 3rd). I also included Donnelly, but it is possible that he will not be available this coming year, of course he basically is only worth 1 more win in this scenario, so if he doesn't play, well no big loss and an easy replacement should be available. In fact if you look at THT's Win Shares for last year, you will see a lot of players that will give you just 3 win shares just in the AL, if you add NL well there are even more out there.

The second thing to look at, if you assume the 3 win shares equals one win, then this team is already at 96 wins in the projected and we have two more spots to fill. That looks good for the team.

ESPN Picks the Final Fours and Oh Yeah Some Trades

Well while the blogging has been light here a lot of things are shaking in the sports world. It looks like the Tigers have traded for Cabrera (thank you Mike Lowell and Thank you theo). The Sox are in the midst of making a trade for Johan Santana which might include Ellsbury (no, no please no) or Lester (yes, yes, yes) but who really knows. If Sean McAdam on Comcast sportsnet is right then even Coco wouldn't be part of the deal, who the fragging knows. Still something to keep an eye on over the next day or so, will have to keep you posted.

I thought I would take a look at what the ESPN guys have decided would be their final four picks this coming spring. Surprisingly only eight teams make their final four with UCLA (9), Memphis (9) and UNC (8) leading the way. The only other team to be listed by at least half of the experts was Louisville at 5. Will be interesting to see if the college basketball season goes true to form or if like the just finished football season it goes all topsy turvy. Later my friends!!