The C's Ring In An Opening Night Victory

The first game of the 2008-09 NBA season for the Celts started off somewhat like the end of the 2007-08 season - once defence was on lockdown, there was no way the C's were going to loseas the Celts beat their second round opponents from last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 90-85. The Truth, Paul Pierce, was on point with 27 pts (2 of 4 from the 3-pt arc) and got some timely help from Rajon Rondo (14 pts, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 TOs) Tony Allen (11 pts) and Leon Powe (13 pts) to help overcome a sluggish first half.

But there were definitely things to work on. While the D forced 21 TOs by the Cavs, the Cavs outrebounded the Celts (41-36) and shot better from the FT line (72.7%-61.8%). If LeBron made those late game FTs, the Cavs may have stolen the game out from under the home team. This game is one of those that you'll breathe a little easier knowing that you basically played one half and still came away with a W.

Below is Pierce's and KG's reactions from Game One of 82:

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Rough Day for NBA Offspring

In a couple of moves that really shocked no one who watches the games, Coby Karl (son of George Karl, current coach of Denver Nuggets) and Patrick Ewing, Jr. (son of you know) both were shown the door as NBA teams made their mandatory cuts to the roster limit of 15.

I never understood why Karl had a roster spot on the Lakers to begin with other than his connection. 6'5" guards that have a hard time playing the point are right now a dime a dozen and most of them aren't a potential source for inter-conference melodrama.

I do have a feeling that Ewing Jr will be signed by another team and sent to the NBDL due to his swingman size (6'8") and potential upside based on his preseason play. Unfortunately, this year's incarnation of the New York Knickerbockers is a team in transition with a need for proven players and can't take a chance on developing/refining Ewing Jr's skills. When you factor the anchor of Starbury around their figurative neck by his contract and taking a roster spot, the choice was a non-issue.

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A Garden Party Fit For a Champion on Tuesday

The season opener for the Celts tomorrow will feature new kicks (for KG) and new threads (for the team) for this special night, according to the Celtics Blog over at boston.com. Here is the breakdown:

Kevin Garnett will wear a special edition Adidas shoe for Tuesday's season opener; only 17 pairs were made, to commemorate the Celtics' 17 championships. Each pair will be signed by Garnett and auctioned off online to raise money for the Celtics Shamrock Fund. The Celtics will also wear a special edition white, gold, and green jersey on opening night that features a championship patch, as well as gold detailing on the front and back.

Here's the pic of the shoe:
Pretty sweet; especially with the auto on the pair. I'll be on the lookout for the auction (to see if it is online) and post the link, if one becomes available. I hope that the jerseys will become available like the St. Patty's ones.

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Your Random Facts for June 10

Here are some semi-random thoughts before Game 3 tips out in LaLa Land:

• ESPN's Stu Scott is basically one conversion to Judaism away from singing Candy Man in some sort of Rat Pack tribute act in a show off of the main Vegas strip.
• The real crime is not that the new Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" sounds like a U2 rip-off, it's that Apple hammered that fact home with it's new commercial.
• Home cooking may not help the Lakers if they can't seem to get more aggresive in order to get to the fouls line (something that Kobe didn't do that much in the last two series).
• One full spin of Man Raze's CD Surreal and you realize that Phil Collen has more to do with of the success of Def Leppard vocally than you may thought before you listened.

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Your Random Facts for May 7

Trying to see through last night's funk that was Game 1 of the Cavs versus the Celts, here are your facts for today:

• Want to major in the GTA4 lifestyle? Go to SDSU and pledge Theta Chi.
• Marvel movies that are coming up - Iron Man 2 in April 2010, Thor in June 2010, First Avenger: Captain America in May 2011 and The Avengers in July 2011 so says Reuters.
• Lastly, there are no decent regular CDs released this week but if you're in the mood for some good music, you might want to check out Snack Time by the Barenaked Ladies. From what I've heard, it's really an all-ages listen.

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Your Random Facts for May 6

Wondering how much money Rockstar Games would pay to have Marvin Harrison to be on the cover of the next GTA release, here are your random facts:

• If you want to read a very catty report of local celebrity news, read The Reliable Source from yesterday's Wash Post concerning Mike O'Meara's restaurant closure. Meow, meow ladies.
• The Spurs are looking really old against the much younger Hornets. Don't blink because if these last two games are any indication, the Spurs will be one and done in this year's playoffs.

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Your Random Facts for May 5

Like Rajon, still shaking the cobwebs out from yesterday's blowout and a pre-Cinco De Mayo party. So, here's your random facts for today:

1. Friday's predictions went 0 fer 2 with the Celts taking all seven games to beat the Hawks and Iron Man not quite doing as well as I thought but the film might still make it to #1 all-time for the first week of May if the weekend figures are recalculated according to Variety.
2. Best Quote of all time - "It's kind of freaky knowing you're diving into somebody's grandpa," said center fielder Coco Crisp (from The Boston Globe's article on fans who want their ashes spread at Fenway with the main subject sharing a first name with yours truly.)

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Your 5 Random Facts for May 2

Left here wondering where all of the good things will happen next, here are the 5:

1. O'Meara's Restaurant, aka Hank's Lookaround Cafe, has closed its doors according to DCRTV.com. Unfortunately, the closure was just the other shoe waiting to drop once the hours of operation were moved to weekends only.


2. Clemens has been reported (By the New York Daily News) to be involved with John Daly's ex. Judging from the last two women who have been linked to Clemens outside of his wife, it just proves the saying that Texans do like everything big.


3. (In the Larry King voice) Iron Man will break the record for biggest take in the first weekend in May - you heard it here first!


4. In another prediction, the Celts will win tonight by 8 points or more thus closing out the Hawks season.


5. Last night's Office was not one for the archives. It was meandering and directionless with one funny bit (Creed's response to Pam's vision issues). With only two more episode left in the season, the show needs to go out stronger than last night's one.

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Your 5 Random Facts for May 1

Still feeling the afterglow of a 25-point win by the Celts. Alright, on with the facts:

1. LeBron must be taking his King James moniker very seriously with this King of Pop-inspired wardrobe choice (photographic evidence shown above). Later in the post-game, Bron Bron stated that he had a certain fondness for the Home Alone series.


2. I hope that the judicial system will commute the rest of the sentence for that Detroit woman who's been on the run for 32 years. She's been married for 23 years with three kids so it should be safe to assume that she's a reformed citizen. And really, murders have gotten less time than what she did back in the day.


3. The cheesiest thing about the David Blaine breath holding stunt wasn't the fact that he did it on the Oprah show but the fact that when she asked Blaine what he was thinking when he was underwater, he plainly stated to her, "You." Uggh, all that Street Magic cred went down the drain right then.


4. Man, Iron Man must be setting records with the number of different tie-ins for one movie. The most recent one was for the LG cell phone that I caught was during Tuesday's episode of Deadliest Catch. The tie-in site (insidethesuit.com) has some decent online stuff as well as a contest to win a 16-carat gold phone so it's well worth the visit.


5. I might be the only one but the whole Anti-Venom character looks like a complete rip-off of the Reverse Flash and will be basically a one-off character.

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Your 5 Random Facts for April 30th

No links, no pics, just the facts.

1. Scott Weiland has become less like a true rock star and more like a SNL parody of a rock star every minute he's alive. The STP reunion will not change this fact and my prediction is that the tour will be over before all of the dates have been played.


2. The Celtics need a soul-crushing, boot-stomping-the-throat kind of win tonight against the Hawks or there will be a new #1 atop the NBA's Biggest Playoff Losses. The NBA - Where Choking Like A Dog Happens.


3. While the whole McCready story is not really admissible in the defamation suit, is it really a leap to think that he didn't take something after learning that he already cheated on something/someone? Not for me, pal.


4. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher getting it in on during shooting for Episode 4 with Mark Hamill jealous of Ford's success? Who didn't see that one coming? But, also according to Fisher, there's no underwear in space according to Lucas. Really now?


5. There is no need for DC to make a one-off figure like Superman: Red/Superman: Blue. Especially with the crazy number of articulation points like that improbable mid-thigh one.

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Your 5 Random Facts for April 29th

Tying up loose strings kinda day - eerily similar to the Hawks getting back to 2-2 against the heavily favored Celtics last night.

1. Being a comic book store owner in Michigan is kinda like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded, semi-automatic handgun. Not even six months after George Michael received a conviction sentence for killing his former comic store co-owner and wife by making the murder look like a robbery, another comic book store owner (Daniel Pirkola) in Grand Rapids was shot during a robbery of the store. iFanboy is taking donation to help this store owner pay for the hospital bills.


2. Here's one word that proves why Kobe Bryant should win the MVP award over his two competitiors, Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett - sweep. Neither of the other two could help his team do that against lower seeded and supposedly weaker teams. Plus, Bryant came through in the clutch with the majority of his points for the game in the fourth quarter to close out the Nuggets. Wish the same could've been said of KG.


3. Def Leppard's CD, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, is released today and I'm still not convinced that they're a better group without "Mutt" Lange at the producer's helm based on the first single, Nine Lives.


4. In a reverse of last week's Nerds Need Love Too post, an Oakland programmer was convicted of killing his wife; even though her body or a murder weapon was never recovered.


5. I can understand the recycling of 80's music and 80's fashion. But what I don't see is going back to the 80's for a comic book mini-series; even if Millar is involved.

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TNT brings the funny with "Kobe Leap" satire

TNT has been so dominant in their three-man NBA studio team that it's been copied by not only other network basketball shows but it has spread to NFL studio shows as well. And here's another reason why you should tune for the next 40 nights:

While I've read that it would've been funnier to see Charles Barkley do the bit, label me in the minority as Kenny Smith is still has that "the little terrier" mentality and it would make sense for him to be the one to try to top Kobe. Good stuff all around; although, call me crazy but it doesn't appear like Kobe doesn't cotton to having the piss taken out of him on this one.

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Multi-Millionaire NBA Superstar + Idle Time = Jackassery

I don't know about you but if I was Mitch Kupchak, I would make damn sure that this was the only time that my franchise player would try this possibly career-ending stunt because usually the Aston martin will win that game of chicken.

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Celts knuckle down the Sun by 20

I haven't said too much about the season since really it's all just window dressing for the main event - the playoffs. But with Boston taking their recent Texas sweep, it has become apparant that this team has the chemistry and more importantly, an identity to win it all. Case in point, the Celts dismantle a team like the Suns, who were starting to win after incorporating Shaq into their rotation, behind KG's 30 and their now-traditional team D. Here are the highlights courtesy of ESPN and NBATV:



After this season is over, this team will be adored like the last great Celts team of '86 (even if they do not win a title) with KG as the role of The Resurrector, Allen as The Dagger and Pierce as The Glue.

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Two Minds - The Boston Celtics St. Patrick's Day Alternate Jersey

Last year, since the local 5 (at least for me) was just dreadful to watch, I decided to take a year-long sabbatical from watching the NBA in any form. But, after missing out on Oden and Durant but getting Allen and Garnet instead, I'm back with the Celts and the NBA in general in true "bandwagon" form, which didn't prepare me for the wardrobe change on Tuesday; otherwise known as the St. Patrick's Day Unis (pronounced You-knees).

As the saying goes, I'm of two minds on the subject of the these Alternate Jerseys and the Celts' Saint Patrick's Day one in particular. When I first tuned in to watch the Celts/Rockets game, I did a double take. To me, it thought that it was a college game with Notre Dame, which doesn't fly with a Michigan State fan at all. And since Boston College is the neighborhood big time team and has a gold-ish hue in their team colors, the initial look made the jersey seem it was made more for the Road to the final Four than the Road to the NBA Championship. Plus, the white block name lettering on the back when everything else was gold seemed cheap.

But as I was fixing to go full on with the urge to hate on the St. Patty's jersey, I looked at it again and noticed how cool the gold script looked against the Celtics Green. The gold clover was silly (in a good way). The white stripe in between the two bands of gold really accentuates how classic the jersey could have been if it was an actual organic (meaning back when the franchise was relatively new) creation versus the new and tired tradition of professional teams whoring out their fans by coming up with multiple alternate game jerseys just to generate additional revenue. And at $75, it's not a decision to make lightly.

Does anyone else out there have an opinion on this jersey specifically or alternate jerseys in particular? I'm ready to break it down wit the best of ya.

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NBA's Top 10 Shooting GOATs

The Daily Dime column over at the Worldwide Leader (practically the only column I read on a consistent basis over there) has put up a Special Edition of the Top 10 Shooting GOATs (Guards Of All Time) and I'll give you one guess who's in the top slot:



No argument here (and if you had one, I would have you committed to Saint E's for observation). But I do differ with the others. Here would be my list:

1. Jordan (Killer in every sense of the word on and off the court)
2. Jerry West (Made the Number 2 guard glamorous and became the Logo of the league)
3. Kobe (Has the mean streak and determination to become #2 behind MJ but can he be more than a scoring machine and elevate the players around him?)
4. Sam Jones (So under the radar due to the team he was on but could have been a mega-star if he was on any other team; flat out winner)
5. The Iceman (Brought a level of street game to the league with the finger roll and his ability to break down defenders with either the shot or off the dribble from anywhere on the court)
6. The Pearl (Another "street player" of the 70s who was just so smooth and seemed to always be in control)
7. The Glide (Almost Gervin part2; Not the greatest defender near the end of his career but yo knew that he always came up with a nice steal in the lane that would lead to a fast break dunk)
8. Reggie Miller (Mr. 3-Pointer and would throw it up with the best but could never get that elusive ring)
9. Dumars (Great defender who would light it up if you slept on him; great no-frills partner to flashy Isiah)
10. Iverson (Great individual scorer and durable who got to the Finals almost on his will alone but never could lift the play of his teammates; zero titles hurt his ranking)

Who's in agreement? Did I miss someone? Let me know..

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Milwaukee's Best gets popped

(Photo courtesy of OnMilwaukee.com)

Saw this news item crawl across the 'Net and had to say something about it. Infamous basketball coach-choker and player Latrell Spreewell has had his yacht, aptly named Milwaukee's Best (pictured above), repossessed by the New York bank that still holds the $1.3 million loan. While it's never funny to see someone go through some financial hardship (unless that person is Dustin Diamond), there is a bit o' irony concerning this loss that I can't help but share. Here's a pull from the newsfeed:

Sprewell played 13 National Basketball Association seasons. He last appeared in 2004-'05 for the Minnesota Timberwolves and at the beginning of that
season rejected a three-year, $21-million contract extension. In the midst of negotiations, Sprewell scoffed at the idea of playing out the season and then becoming a free agent.

"Why would I want to help them win a title?" he said. "They're not doing anything for me. I'm at risk. I have a lot of risk here. I got my family to feed. Anything could happen."

The four-time all-star played out the season but hasn't returned to the league.

Hey, Spree, if you need a job, maybe you can get one over at the Garden. The Celts need a body that will sign for the veteran minimum.

Newsfeed: FOXSports.com

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Image of the Day for 08-22-07

(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt, File)

Eddie Griffin, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves, was indentified via dental records as the horribly charred body that was involved with a SUV/Train wreck last week. JA Adande of ESPN writes a good piece on the troubled life and time of Griffin. What this pointless death has to do with me is that Griffin was so stacked in NBA Live 06 that I traded for him in two different Franchise Mode games. He was great for boards and blocks and step up wiht a double digit game in every once in a while. It's just unfortunate that they guy couldn't just be like the video game and be trouble for his opponents on the court versus get in trouble with his actions off of it.

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Please wake up, Bob Ryan

I didn't have really much else to talk about today. That is until I came across this little "blog" by one of the best sports writers today, Bob Ryan. I'm sure that you might have heard of him as he shows up whenever ESPN needs a great pinch hitter on The Sports Reporters, Around the Horn, or PTI. Hell, he did so well with those show that NESN (that's New England Sports Network in non-acronym form) gave his own PTI-style show called The Globe 10.0. So, he knows his stuff.

But on this one post, I would have to give him an alarm clock so he can a real wake-up call. Here's what I mean (excerpt from the aforementioned "blog"):

For you young'uns, as well as impressionable elders, let me remind you what a proper Supporting Cast in the NBA really is.

What it isn't is the one the Celtics have at the present time. From roster spots 4 through 12, the Celtics are the most impotent team in the NBA. You must accept this, or else there is no chance of us having a decent conversation. The new trio of stars is a nice start.

A nice start. Period....

Mr. Ryan continues to laundry list the former bench players of the great Celtic teams of the 80s and early 90s. I would do so here but I hate being redundant for duplicity's sake.

The fact is that on principle, I do agree with his sentiment. There's no way that the Celtics, comprised the way they are now, would ever come close to resembling a complete and solid playoff team back then. However, he fails to factor into his playoff contender roster calculation a few variables that have transpired since those thrilling days of yesteryear:

• The age of the Salary Cap, which prohibits stockpiling undiscovered or underutilized role players for years until they were needed. Can't pay people for not contributing right away anymore.
  
• Not only one but two years of expansion, which diluted not only the game play but the player pool. Kinda hard to keep good players when there are more teams who can snatch them up by offering more money.
• The introduction of upside, which made GMs go after younger players who did not have the strong fundamentals down and more times than not needed on-the-job training to get those skils perfected. This shift towards "potential/upside" raw players versus "proven" winners has single-handedly killed the game to the point that the NBA had to establish an age-requirement just to prevent the GMs from putting it completely in the grave.

In the type of shape that the Eastern Conference is in, the Celtics do not have to be like they were in the 80s. Shoot, if LeBron and his band of unreknowns could make it to the NBA finals, it's not hard to imagine the Hydra-head of the Celtics getting there too. So, Bob (if I can call you that), please wake up and live in the now..

Wait a sec, since I can't be a young'un (3 weeks until 38th birthday people!), I must be one of those impressionable elders. Aww, crap...

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Image of the Day for 08-03-07

Promise that this is the last Celts post for a little while.
But, wasn't long before the bug acquisition was used to get more season tix, huh?

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