On and Off the Field

So remember when that Sal Alosi, New York Jets strength and conditioning coach, decided it would be funny to trip the Miami Dolphins player near the sideline? That was pretty cool. Alosi earned himself a suspension for the rest of the year and a $25,000 fine. In case you were wondering, strength and conditioning coaches make a regular salary, not the millions the players make, but so be it - pay the price for your actions, no?

Fast forward to last Friday when the NFL quietly issued a $15,000 find to Tyler Brayton of the Carolina Panthers for this move here:



$15,000!?! Brayton makes $2.2 million dollars a year, plus this one looks much worse and just dirty - he has to move pretty quickly to get to the scene of the crime in time to drop a people's elbow on a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Here's the catch: the fine wasn't made public.

So let's get this straight: Roger Goodell will sit with Bob Costas before Sunday Night Football and assure everyone that every single measure is being taken regarding player safety, that the "new" rules about hard hits and other safety measures are being put in place because that's what the league really cares about, but then when a player does something this egregious, there's a line item in the news bullets and a nominal fine? By the way, this isn't exactly Brayton's first offense either.

Hey Alosi, enjoy sitting on your couch for the rest of the year, while Brayton makes it rain elbows down in Carolina on the sidelines. Fair? I think not.

Source: Yahoo!Sports: Shutdown Corner blog

Truth at the Garden

What a game. I hope you didn't miss the incredible matchup last night between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks. Let it be known that Amar'e Stoudemire has been unleashed - the man is an absolute machine... against Semih Erden.

The Celtics are easily one of the deepest teams in the league, especially when it comes to big men, and they were missing three of them last night. What they weren't missing was 3pt shots. The C's shot 50% from downtown and 100% from the charity stripe, including 10/10 from Paul Pierce.

Speaking of The Truth, you should probably check out these highlights. I'd be lying to you if I said that my heart didn't leap into my throat when the shot from Amar'e went in. Alas, Knicks fans, too late.

Side note: I wonder how many of the people at MSG last night had ever been there for a Knicks game before... or even watched a Knicks game before. The arena was essentially silent until the 3rd quarter when the beers had started to kick in. A good friend and stalwart Knicks fan's away message said it all: "I will SLANDER all these bandwagon Knicks fans tho." Preach, my man.

While The Truth may have spent his last few moments on the court bowing to the home crowd (hilarious, by the way), even he went back on his trash talking from earlier this week. As Pierce said in his post-game interview, "The Knicks have arrived."

Amateur Videos: Where Amazing Happens

Amazing things happen every day - luckily, now we have Flip cameras, smart phones and other devices that allow us to capture the mundane becoming ridiculous right before our eyes. And with the invention of YouTube, we've been able to mass share these moments with everyone we don't know.It's great when a home video beats everything on SportsCenter, taking the #1 spot and changing someone's life forever. Don't act like if you were the kid who hit a full court toss and landed that spot it wouldn't be your tag line for the rest of your life. It would go something like this:

Girl: "Hey, what's your name?"

Guy: "Hey, I'm Mike - I got number one on SportsCenter once."

Girl: "Take me home."

Anyway, check out this video of a very clever hockey goal and remember, risk is its own reward.

Deep Pockets

If you haven't heard, the Red Sox just signed a guy named Carl Crawford from the Rays to a 7-year, $142 million dollar contract to play left field. The deal comes shortly after signing Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez as well - i.e. it looks like the Sox are out for blood, Yankee blood?

After going through what some Sox fans call a "re-building" year last year (and what several other teams in the MLB would call a very successful season), Theo Epstein and management's patience has apparently worn thin. These two signings are definitely upgrades for the Red Sox who were short-handed at the plate last year.

From my perspective, living in Boston and hearing anti-Yankee arguments for the past six years from friends and passers-by, it will be interesting to see how Sox fans react to the backlash from fans around the league regarding "buying" their way to success. For as long as I can remember, the Yankees were portrayed as the bad guys, the evil empire who went out and bought the best player every off-season. Even though the Red Sox payroll is one of the highest in the Major Leagues, Sox fans were some of the loudest proclaimers of the Yankee strategy.

Now, as the team prepares to hand over somewhere in the range of $300 million dollars to two players over the next 7 years, it will be interesting to see how Sox fans react. In the meantime, you can find me on StubHub looking for Sox tickets for Opening Day.

For more, we go to John Buccigross at ESPN - John?

Manning Face

What on Earth has happened to Peyton Manning? He's thrown 11 interceptions in the past 3 weeks. Huh!? I am by no means a Manning fan, but it's hard to say he isn't one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, among the likes of Tom Brady and Drew Brees... except this year.

Now with a 6-6 record after losing to the Cowboys (?!?) in OT at home yesterday, the Colts hold sole possession of second place (!?!) in their division to the Jacksonville Jaguars (?!?!?!?!?!?!).

Whenever we have the pleasure of a Manning interception, fumble, sack or loss, we are treated to a rare spectacle that has captivated the nation. We look for it, we sit on the edge of our seats waiting, and then, it happens. The Manning Face. The song below is a awful quality spoof of "Poker Face," but hey, a little remixing never hurt anybody.

The Return

I would be rather remiss in my blogging duties if I didn't provide some comment on one of the most anticipated NBA games of the season. My Twitter feed today was absolutely filled with articles, jokes, comments, thoughts, insults, speculation and more. There were of course highlights, so in anticipation for 8PM tonight I give you a short list of the best of the day. I'll see you on the other side.

PS - I've never once in my life wanted Cleveland to win anything. People who aren't from Ohio don't understand this. Tonight, however, we stand united. I'm even cheering for Andersen Varejao. And I can file that under "Things I Will Never Say Again."

Notable Chris Bosh quotes this week:

1. On the Decision: "I think they took it quite hard when he left. So some people -- I don't know why -- but in sports, some people take it personal." (He must not know what a "fan" is.)


2. On spending less than 24 hours in Cleveland: "Sometimes when you have an extra day to hang around, it's no telling what -- you want to feel safer... Just get in, play our game and get out of there." (And they're not going to be intimidated by this crowd?)


3. On the crowd at the game tonight: "I'm sure it's people that have malcontent on their mind." (Malcontent: n. a person who is discontented or disgusted, the condition of being discontented or disgusted... The prosecution rests.)

These hilarious T-shirts:

To which a "malcontent" Cavaliers-fan friend commented, "But it still says 'King' - he's a queen now."

If you're interested in purchasing one, go HERE.

Barstool Sports - NYC:

These guys always have hysterical articles, but the one today about the game, the hype and related NBA news was one of the funnier that I've ever read. You can read the full text HERE - some strong language, but it's hilarious.

Bill Simmons on the Atmosphere:

I make no excuses for being a big Bill Simmons fan - I like the guy's writing and I think he's hysterical. Nothing hysterical here, but some interesting insightHe had this to say about the game tonight:

Standing Your Ground

Thanks to this morning's Google Doodle, millions in America will find out that today is the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks standing (sitting?) her ground on a bus in Alabama. When we reflect on the Civil Rights Movement, this example of bravery and principle is always mentioned with the "Mt. Rushmore" of American civil disobedience. It was on the shoulders of courageous people like Parks that the Civil Rights Movement took shape and gained strength.

On a completely unrelated and insignificant note, Big Baby Davis of the Boston Celtics has been a stud coming off the bench, especially on the defensive end of the floor. One of his most important contributions on that half of the court is his ability to stand his ground (see where I'm going with this?) and take a charge. By my unofficial count and a quick Google search, Davis leads the league in charges taken and has no problem sacrificing for the greater good of the team.

Below is a compilation of the 14 charges that Baby took through the first 8 games of the season.

Yes, I just used a Rosa Parks Google Doodle to talk about Big Baby and the Celtics defense. Happy Wednesday!

Excuses

Some of you may remember the Cleveland response video to LeBron's Nike ad, the commercial where he repeatedly asks the camera, "What should I do?" Whether you loved the commercial or hated it, you have to admit that it does raise some interesting questions about the psyche of the King.

I wrote two extended posts on "The Decision" back before and after it happened. In the second, and also during a post from way back during the NBA Playoffs, I referenced several writers and my own personal opinion on LBJ's lack of a "killer" gene, that Michael Jordan X-Factor. Where am I going with this?

Someone decided to mash-up an old MJ commercial with the newer LBJ commercial creating the video below. Maybe, you should listen up, LBJ.

Joey Votto

A warm congratulations goes out to Joey Votto, 1B of the Cincinnati Reds who yesterday nearly swept the 1st place votes for National League MVP. I'll let the Associated Press tell the rest of the story.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!



The full ESPN story can be found here with an interview with the MVP himself.

'Bout Time

Richard Seymour did something yesterday that I (and countless other people across this great nation of ours) have been wanting to do for a long time. Check out the video below. Replay it a few times. Bookmark it. Smile.

Happy Monday.

Effort

It's always nice to hear positive feedback at your job or in school. Words of encouragement and reinforcement give someone incentive to try harder and do better moving forward, because they know their efforts are being appreciated.

Now imagine you're Flip Saunders. Your Washington Wizards are playing the Boston Celtics last night. You have a guy named Andray Blatche as your starting power forward. In the offseason you signed a contract that pays him $35 million over the next 5 years. That seems like a nice pat on that back if you ask me. In the 1st quarter of the game, Andray decided to display some truly fantastic defense that he's known for (read: sarcasm).



He's pretty luck Shaq wasn't expecting that at all. The NBA - where caring happens.

Like a Bosh

Since Chris Bosh put up 35pts in a Miami win against the Phoenix Suns last night, this doesn't seem quite as appropriate anymore, but the proof is in consistency, something the 7 year NBA veteran hasn't necessarily convinced me of yet.

Case in point: Bosh is the Raptors franchise leader in points, rebounds, blocks, double-doubles, free throws made and attempted, and minutes played. During the '06-'07 season, he led the team to their first playoff berth in 5 years in the '06-'07 season... with a 47 win team that won the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. 47 wins in an 82 game season wins the division?! Welcome to the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors then lost in the first round of the '07 playoffs to the New Jersey Nets. Regardless, below is a hilarious video that "raps" up all things Chris Bosh, pun absolutely intended.




UPDATE: Just noticed this gem on today's Daily Dime article:

"[Spoelstra] knows he has to meet us halfway. He wants to work; we want to chill." - Chris Bosh. Now that's a champion's work ethic if you ask me.

And We're Back!

No apologies, no excuses. We're just going to move on. Some new format changes - I'm still going to try and draft some longer posts, but I feel like there's a lot of quality sports stuff that has fallen through the cracks that doesn't take much more than a quick video link or an image that goes viral - all good things.

That being said, I'd like to introduce you to my new arch-nemesis. As reported by Yahoo! and posted on Break.com, this chick absolutely destroys at Pop-A-Shot. I need to get back to a couple of my old watering holes and start practicing again.


Chick Destroys Basketball Game - Watch more Sports

The Year of the Pitcher or Baseball is Boring

Growing up in the steroid era of Major League Baseball started out awesome before, of course, we found out that everyone was cheating. We were treated to the summer of Sosa and McGwire and Bonds' 73 homers; records were being challenged and beaten, and we just assumed it was because they were that good. We didn't question the pulsating veins and tree-trunk sized biceps belonging to Mark McGwire, etc.

And then it all started unraveling. Sosa's corked bat, HGH became a household term, Canseco, Clemens, the Mitchell Report, and now Clemens again. The hitters had their heydey, but now will they pay for them in the record books?

This season is being called the "Year of the Pitcher," and maybe rightfully so. We've had two perfect games (er, 3. I will hereby refer to any terrible decision or outcome as being "Galarraga-ed" or "Armando-ed."), several no-hitters, and a plethora of 1 and 2 hitters. The pitchers are getting revenge for the steroid era, commentators have crooned. But is that really true? And if so, how has it affected baseball?

The great thing about baseball is you can break everything down by the numbers. In this so-called year of the pitcher, the league leader in ERA is Clay Buchholz with a 2.21 (whoa, on my fantasy team). In fact, the top 10 pitchers in the category have ERA's that are all well under 3: Buchholz (BOS, 2.21), Hudson (ATL, 2.24), Latos (SDG, 2.25), Halladay (PHI, fantasy, 2.27), Johnson (FLA, 2.28), Wainwright (STL, 2.30), Garcia (STL, 2.33), Hernandez (SEA, 2.38), Dickey (NYM, 2.57), Jimenez (COL, 2.69).

In 2009, however, it was much of the same: the leader was Zach Grienke (KC, 2.16, what the hell happened) and the number 10 spot was Matt Cain (SFG, 2.89) - not a big disparity. In the height of the steroid era, 2001, only Randy Johnson (ARI, 2.49) and Curt Schilling (ARI, 2.98) were under 3, but the 10th best was a 3.29 from Russell Ortiz (SFG). Side note: Arizona had the top two, Atlanta had the next two, and St. Louis had the 6th and 9th in the top 10 - Randy and Curt were co-MVP's for the World Series Champ Diamondbacks, i.e. pitching and defense wins championships... but I digress.

Okay, ERA is one stat, but how about strikeouts? In 2010, with roughly 30 games to go in the season, Felix Hernandez and Jered Weaver lead the majors with 200 strikeouts each. Last year, the league leader, Justin Verlander, had 269. In 2001? Randy Johnson had 372. Curt Schilling had 293. What about complete games and shutouts? 2010: Halladay, 8 and 3 respectively; 2009: Halladay 9 and 4; 2001: Steve Sparks (DET) 8 and Mark Mulder (OAK) 4. Mulder had 6 complete games. Of course, they don't make 'em like The Unit anymore, but does that mean we should lower our standards?

On the flip side, if pitchers are really dominating this year, we should see the dominance reflected in the offensive numbers as well. And, yes, we're going to have to take some of the 2001 numbers with a grain of salt... an asterisk sized grain.

Let's take a peek at batting averages, OPS numbers, and other categories and see if we can figure out what's going on. First of all, I find it interesting that in the "Year of the Pitcher," we are witnessing a legitimate Triple Crown race between Albert Pujols and Joey Votto. Pitchers aren't having a very good year against these guys. This season, Josh Hamilton is leading the league in batting average, hitting .361 through today. He has been mashing the ball all over the field, and it has been spectacular. Beyond Hamilton, the leader board has the likes of Miguel Cabrera (DET, .338), Carlos Gonzalez (COL, .329), Joe Mauer (MIN, .327), and Joey Votto (CIN, .325), to name a few.

In 2009, Mauer led the league with a .365, followed by Ichiro, Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter, and Pablo Sandoval with .352, .342, .334, and .330 respectively. In 2001, the league leaders were Larry Walker (COL, .350), Ichiro (SEA, .350), Jason Giambi (OAK, .342), Roberto Alomar (CLE, .336), and Todd Helton (COL, .336).

In 2010, an OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage) of 1.072 is good for league best for Miguel Cabrera, followed by 1.050 and 1.027 from Josh Hamilton and Joey Votto. In 2009, Albert Pujols went for 1.101, Joe Mauer for 1.031, and Prince Fielder for 1.014. In 2001, OPS was dominated by (shocker) Barry Bonds with a ridiculous 1.379 followed by Sammy Sosa at 1.174, Giambi at 1.137, and Luis Gonzalez, from Arizona, with a 1.117.

We're comparing the best versus the best, which may not be fair, so let's look at the league as a whole. In 2010, the earned run average of the entire league through today is 4.12. In 2009, 4.32. In 2001, 4.42. The league's batting average in 2010 is .259, and its OPS is .733. In 2009: .262 and .751. In 2001: .264 and .759.

The point is this: the numbers are really close, and the major difference comes in OPS, which makes sense considering sluggers were hitting Mars on the wings of HGH during the 2001 season. But back then, baseball was wildly popular. We watched every Bonds game, craved the home run race, lived for the Sosa/McGwire summer, watched the home runs and numbers piled up, and we ate every bit of it right up.

This year? The MLB All-Star game had awful ratings and people routinely snide that "baseball is boring," and it doesn't help that reports are coming out that teams are actually making money from losing. I'm looking at you, Pittsburgh. I love a good pitching duel. I went to a Jon Lester gem earlier this year at Fenway Park, and I was at Clay Buchholz's no-hitter. Both incredible games. The people behind me at the no-no left in the 8th inning. WHAT!? They must have been bored by the fact that Clay had been knocking down Orioles like bowling pins, that his curveball was a work of art that night, that Nick Markakis is still wondering what happened on that last pitch. But for some reason, the general population can't get behind a great pitching performance. It's apparently not exciting.

Baseball's boring "Year of the Pitcher" (or kind-of sort-of YotP media created reality that we're clinging to in order to give people a reason to keep watching) has to be indicative of a cultural shift that has happened over the last 10 years. We are now a world of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube: instant gratification, need-to-know-now, big moments, decisive actions - home runs if you will. One swing and the game is changed. We don't want to work for 6-9 innings for a big victory - we want it now. Baseball games are getting longer, and fans are dropping like flies. Case in point: if Bud Selig started to let baseball highlights go to YouTube, we could have that instant gratification, but what would get more views: Barry Bonds' 73rd home run or Dallas Braden's perfect game?

La Furia Roja

The World Cup has come and gone, and man, will it be missed. Soccer is one of my favorite sports, but it is routinely put on the back burner here in the United States. But hopefully, after this edition of "La Copa," America will come around and realize how great this sport truly is. This tournament gave us the incredible, the horrible, the unfair, the hilarious, and the heart-wrenching. Let's recap.

Yes, Spain won. Yes, they were the favorites, but they didn't make it easy on themselves. They squeaked by in most of their games on the crunch-time heroics of David Villa, and losing the first game shocked the world, but that wasn't the only shock. The reining champion Azurri of Italy didn't make it to the elimination round, and even more bizarre, the French squad was such a disgrace, the country's president felt the need to intervene when they got home.


Nigeria's President banned the country from participating in international soccer for two years due to a "shameful" performance; they were one meter and a missed shot away from a chance at the elimination round.


There were beautiful goals all tournament: from Van Brockhurst of the Netherlands, Maicon of Brazil, and of course, Landon Donovan and "the goal." There were goals that weren't goals (*cough, Tevez*) and goals that were never called. I'm sorry Frank Lampard, but that's the way the cookie crumbles with FIFA.


As I said in my preview post, "This World Cup is chock full of great players and stories to be had." However, many of the biggest stars failed to shine. Just take a look at Nike's "Write the Future" advertisment and tell me how these guys did. (Hint: they didn't).

We all watched and were amazed as Germany scored goals seemingly at will with their furious counter-attack. We watched the heartbreak of Ghana as their World Cup hopes and dreams were taken away by a Suarez handball (oh, wait, actually it was a Gyan penalty kick...)

The Netherlands went deeper than many had thought, though I can't imagine why. Their squad was solid and Robben's return in the second round only served to solidify an already potent attacking squad. Argentina had all of the circus and fanfare that comes when you pick Diego Maradona to be your coach, but the show failed to do anything against the Germans when their glaring lack of defense was painfully obvious. PS - where was Messi?

My Brazilians had an earlier exit than expected, thanks to the gifted (read: sarcasm) abilities of Felipe Melo. I can't even talk about this yet. I just hope Melo has a nice place to live other than Brazil, because I guarantee he's not very welcome there right now.

And now, we have to wait four more years for this magical month of sports to grace our televisions again. The next edition: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There is nothing that could prevent me from going. Ah, World Cup, you will be missed.

What was your favorite World Cup memory?

The Aftermath

There are no shortage of people talking about "The (infamous) Decision." It passed Bill Simmons' "Mom Test." It passed my "Dad that doesn't care about sports" test. And finally, it passed the "Female coworkers who REALLY don't care about sports" test. Everyone had something to say, an opinion, a thought, a comment, a suggestion. I do too.

LeBron James captivated a nation (and possibly the world) last Thursday night and held them captive for 28 agonizing minutes (let alone the previous week and a half, and after promising only 10) before announcing simply that he was "taking his talents to South Beach" and the Miami Heat.

Enough has been said about the "basketball" nature of the decision. Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and Cleveland all had their pros and cons, but Miami had friends, sunshine, and no income tax. Whatever, that aspect of the decision can only be analyzed retrospectively. We won't know the basketball ramifications until we see these teams on the court. There's been a lot of movement; many teams won't play anything like they do this year - the comparisons and match-ups will be very interesting to learn and watch develop across the league. But right now, it's all speculation.

The one thing we can analyze now is how this spectacle took place and how arguably one of the world's most popular athletes imploded his image faster than anyone since Tiger Woods... okay that was pretty recent, but you know what I mean. The backlash was immediate and sustained, turning "The Decision" into "The Catastrophe." A couple things stuck out to me -

1) The incredible lack of respect for the city of Cleveland, OH:

A friend (correctly) noted that LeBron James "does not owe Cleveland a damn thing." The Cavaliers got lucky with that draft pick, it's true. But he does owe the fans of Cleveland respect. And that respect demanded honesty and good faith, neither of which was exhibited in "The Decision." LeBron apparently failed to answer a single phone call or text message from Cavs ownership dating back to the end of the season. He left them hanging all the way to the end, and you can't convince me that he was entertaining going back. When Tom Izzo came to visit the Cavs, LBJ didn't even go to the meeting. During the announcement his comments regarding the fans back home was minimal, but he did manage to refer to himself in the 3rd person several times and indicate that he asked his mom what she thought would make him "happiest." C'mon son.

2) Immaturity isn't the right word, and I don't know what is, but Rick Reilly said it best in a short column today:

"James loves to have fun. He's not a killer, like Michael Jordan. He's not a harping-on-the-court-coach, pain-in-the-rear like Kobe... The fake camera shots, the dancing, the chalk. He was like that in high school and he's still like that. So why should anybody be surprised when he wants to play with his friends in a city that's 97 percent fun?... Wade can be the killer... James will just dunk, swat layups and do his Kid n' Play impressions."

Back in May I said, "Lebron couldn't will himself or his team to fight anymore, and that is a big question mark." Now he doesn't have to. He's got Wade now. Reilly continues, "You may want him to be something else, but he's not. What are you going to do, sue?"

The Alex Rodruigez/LeBron James analogies are fascinating. Phenomenal talent, can't do it by himself, goes somewhere else to be in the shadow of a city's giant for the purpose of winning a championship. Took A-Rod a while - let's see how LBJ does.

In short, I blame the media for allowing this television debacle happen. I blame every public relations profession in LeBron's camp who knew this was a bad idea and didn't speak up and say "Hey guys, have you ever considered that this may be a bad idea?"And if that person doesn't exist then I blame LeBron James' camp. I also blame the state of American sports and the perils of "fan-dom." We care too much, as evidenced by silly blogs like this, and the American sports industry feeds off of it.

When it really comes down to it, I really don't know what to think. I completely understand LBJ's decision. He's going to have a helluva time playing his game with his friends in South Beach, but the pressure is on. He has got to win and win soon. I simply cannot comprehend the methodology. Nothing indicates that he "made the decision" that morning - everything points to premeditation.

Let's assume for a moment that the LBJ/Bosh/Wade trifecta was concocted way back at the 2008 Summer Olympics as put forth by some writers. Let's imagine then that LeBron, knowing this was the plan, actually did quit in the Boston series, an idea put forth by many, including Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and myself. Now put "The Decision" in that perspective, and it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It would be as if the NBA were turning into the WWE. Conspiracy theory, I know, but what if?

Side note: while Dan Gilbert was more than likely out of line in the above-linked letter, let he without the sin of overreacting after feeling extremely betrayed and cheated throw the first stone. I don't agree, but I can't judge.

As sports media agonize over this "LeBacle," David Ortiz won the Home Run Derby last night and had this to say afterwards (paraphrased): "I wanted to do this for the fans, that's why we're here. They come to see us, and I'm happy we were able to put on a good show." Wow, now that's what I'm looking for! A stark contrast to "LeBron's gotta do what LeBron's gotta do." We care so much for no discernible reason whatsoever, and that just feels good. Alas, maybe I'm asking too much.

I Am A Witness

I've been looking forward to NBA free agency for a while now - it's been building up ever since one of my roommates in college who spent exorbitant amounts of time on ESPN found an article in the 38th page of NBA news that quickly noted that the most talented and widespread group of free agents were becoming available on July 1, 2010.

That date has come and gone, and teams are now doing their best to convince the best to come to their town. Whether it's the fans, the prospect of winning, the city life, or the money, all free agents this year have a lot to consider, because frankly, the 2010-2011 season hangs in the balance.

First up, we have the Atlanta Hawks who decided that a guy who isn't in the same league or breath as the headliners (we'll get to them in a minute) and who's miserable play forced an early playoff exit via sweep by the Orlando Magic was worth the maximum amount of money that they could offer him. Joe Johnson handed the Hawks 12.3 pts/gm during that series as the "leader" on the team, and the Hawks handed him $119 million dollars. Huh?

Of course, the big news today is Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade uniting in Miami. Speculation continues that they will bring on Lebron James on as well, but I don't see it happening (more on this later). This will be a force to be reckoned with, especially if some of the other halfway decent players on this team can pull their weight: see Exhibit A, 2010 NBA Playoffs. With a legitimate post presence in Bosh and a ruthless, determined Dwayne Wade leading the charge, look out Eastern Conference, basketball is back in Miami.

Amare Stoudemire ran out of Phoenix faster than Lindsay Lohan went back into prison (too soon?). This was disappointing for me - a lot was said about the team chemistry and poise that the Phoenix Suns showed in last year's playoffs, gritting it out against a hated rival (Spurs), and taking the Lakers to their limit. And true to everything we've ever thought about Amare, he bolted. Now he's back with Mike D'Antoni and praying for LeBron James to come to New York. But he's not going to... not yet.

LeBron James has always been an on the fence kind of guy for me. I respect his talent, unquestionably. Anyone who is 6'8" and 275lbs. and still the fastest guy from the arc to the basket is clearly gifted. He drives the lane better than anyone in the NBA. But he's clearly lacking in maturity in areas and that clutch gene hasn't made enough appearances. One shot against the Magic (in a series the Cavs lost) does not make him a clutch shooter. And then there's the off-the-court stuff.

He is a larger than life person; his marketing/branding/PR people are very good at what they do. The question is what trumps in the mind of LBJ: the basketball player or the icon? We are all witnesses, the commercial tells us so. But of what? An incredible player leading a mediocre team to varying levels of the NBA Playoffs and winning no championships? He's very fun to watch, but it's tough to reconcile the notion that he doesn't have what made Jordan and Bill Russell special: a certain "I don't care what it takes, I'm not letting you beat me" attitude, day in and day out. As the free agency season drags on, we are getting closer to understanding the truth.

He wants to be an icon.

LeBron has scheduled an event on ESPN for this Thursday (7/8/2010) at 9PM to tell everyone what his decision is. It will be a 1 hour special to raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. LBJ will probably wait until 9:59PM before saying quickly into the screen, "I've chosen... the New Jersey Nets. Thanks for coming tonight, everyone." Jay-Z will stand up from his front row seat and give him a Nets #6 jersey, Mikhail Pokhorov will give him his first year salary in seperate suticases held by beautiful women, a la "Deal or No Deal." All will be right in the world of LBJ... and then in two years, the Nets move to Brooklyn.

If he wants to win championships, he will prove me wrong and go to the Chicago Bulls and live with the fact that he will never be Michael Jordan but will constantly be compared to him for the rest of his life, more so then than ever. Regardless, free agency continues on, and tomorrow night, I can't wait to be a witness.

NBA Finals Wrap-Up

Basketball season is over, and as I told my significant other, "Thanks to Ron Artest, Sasha Vujicic, and Danny Crawford, you can have your boyfriend back now."

I've been neglecting this web space and I apologize. It was part denial, two parts depression; a cocktail of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol; a frozen blend of Kendrick Perkins' knee, Kevin Garnett's lost step, and 5 out of 7 Ray Allen's that kept me away. But now I'm back, and here are my best and worst memories from this year's version of the NBA Finals.

Game 1: The Celtics had no idea what to do about the Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. The pair combined for 53 of the Lakers 102 points and 21 of the teams 42 rebounds. The Celtics didn't have their edge and tenacity on defense. I was worried after this game because the Lakers looked like they simply wanted it more.

Game 2: The Ray Allen/Rajon Rondo game. Ray Ray came out of the gate absolutely scorching hot, beating a few NBA records for 3's in a Finals half and game. Rondo helped the Celtics push past the Lakers with an aggressive 2nd half, picking up the slack from the rest of the team. The officials tried really hard to give this one to the Lakers, as they took 41 free throws to Boston's 26. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum alone took 25, one less than the entire Celtics team. But alas, the series goes on.

Game 3: After the short break from Sunday to Tuesday and traveling from LA to Boston, the Lakers took this one to win home court advantage back. This was a tough loss because the Celtics lost this game more than the Lakers won it. Kobe had 29 pts, but shot an abysmal 34% from the field, going 1-7 from 3. But the Lakers won all of the 50/50 plays and the hustle points. Kevin Garnett finally showed up in the NBA Finals but didn't have enough support from his teammates. Oh yeah, and after being a one-man highlight, Ray Allen went 0-13. The Celtics lost by 7.

Game 4: The first of two "must wins" for Boston, and it came from the Celtics bench.While the starters contributed to a team-effort that led to victory, the spark came from Glen Davis and Nate Robinson, the duo now affectionately known as "Shrek and the Donkey." I was still worried after this one, because Gasol and Bryant scored a combined 54 points (of the Lakers 89). In other words, the rest of the Lakers didn't show up, and that might have more to do with the Boston victory that the Celtics would have liked to admit.

Game 5: This was Kobe's statement game... except he ran out of gas. At one point he made 23 straight Laker points. There were full stretches where no Laker touched the ball except for Kobe. He took over the 3rd quarter in such a way that at one point I tweeted, "Kobe Bryant is absolutely terrifying right now." But it wasn't enough. The Celtics shot well top to bottom, and it was the starters' turn to take over. Dominant performances from the Garnett, Pierce, and Rondo helped the C's take this one. PS - Ray Allen hasn't hit a three since Game 2 of this series.

Game 6: Celtics fans had to brace for a loss, but hope for a win going back to LA. What they got was absolutely shoddy, embarrassing play from what was supposed to be one of the top two teams in the NBA. The C's only scored 69 points in this game. That's only 15 more than what Kobe/Gasol scored by themselves in Game 4. There's not much else to say about this one than, if there was one way I didn't want to lose this game, it was like this. I was going into Game 7 without any idea what to expect from this series.

Game 7: This could have been one of the most titanic and epic Game 7's ever. The stage was set for an incredible ending to a Finals that had some interesting stories but no truly magical moments except for Kobe's eruption in Game 5 and Ray Allen's shooting in Game 2. What happened was quite the let down, and not only because the Celtics lost. Both teams played sloppy, inconsistent basketball for a majority of the game. The defense was pretty good on both sides, but the Lakers shot 32.5% from the floor (Kobe: 6-24, 25%). The Celtics were out-rebounded 53-40 (offensive rebounds 23-8!!!). That was the Celtics' game to lose and they did a handy job at it in the end. Of course, we won't mention that the Lakers took 37 free throws to Boston's 17, but we will mention that LA shot 67.6% from the charity stripe and that's another reason this game was close. Boston's bench failed to show up at the Staples Center last Thursday, contributing only 6 points, all from Big Baby.

The suprise of the series, of course was who actually made the difference for the Lakers in the end: Ron Artest (20pts, 5 reb, 5 stl, 1 "there's no way Ron Ron hits this of all 3's" shot). Without Artest in this game, the Celtics were bringing Banner 18 back to Beantown. Pau Gasol had a great game as well, with 19pts and 18reb (5 of which happened on one play in the 1st quarter).

So now I will be treated to watching "Hey Lakers' fans, your team just won..." commercials for another year. The Lakers will be on the SportsCenter intro montage for one more year. But at least we're one step closer to deciding that Kobe is better than Lebron... right?

It's Finally Here

The World Cup is one of the most exciting, moving, inspirational, and downright awesome sporting events. The Olympics are awesome, don't get me wrong, but I like the World Cup more. I know there are less countries, I know it's only one sport. But it's the World's most popular sport, and the stories from this uniting event are incredible in their own right, on and off the field.

South Africa is the first African nation to host a World Cup - in and of itself a historic event. We've all seen the commercials about the African prisoners that clung to the game of soccer to give them hope in prison camps of despair. This game meant everything to them. Of course, it is just a game, but when the World Cup comes around it means so much more.

The World Cup is the most peaceful kind of war that man can wage. There are rivalries and bitter histories, upstart newcomers and established giants. And we, the fans, get to watch the story unfold before our very eyes.



I won't bore you with a group by group breakdown of the 1st stage. Go to ESPN if you want to learn about who is going to advance. I'll tell you now that projections mean nothing in the World Cup. Playing for one's country can motivate the deepest passion and flame in any athlete, bringing out the absolute best in them. I will regale you with my fondest and most painful memories. I was about to turn 7 years old in 1994 when the World Cup was played here in the United States. I played soccer for my school at the time, and my favorite player was Romario. He was the best striker on a loaded Brazil squad that powered its way to the Finals against powerhouse Italy, led by 1993 FIFA Player of the Year, Roberto Baggio. What followed was one of the most intense, physical, and remarkable soccer matches I have ever seen. The final score was 0-0.

People who don't understand or appreciate soccer hate that. Sports are about scoring points! No, not soccer. Of course, you have to score goals to win games, and the most exciting part of the game is scoring goals, but soccer is an art form; the whole game makes up the painting, and the goals are the most important brush strokes. In 1994, Roberto Baggio's foot held the brush at the end of regulation to win the World Cup for the Azzuri. I'll never forget that penalty kick.

In 1998, I was in Brazil with my family when the Seleçao played against France in France and lost 3-0. I don't think I ate for 2 days, left my house for 4, or was able to talk about it for at least 2 months. France had to have cheated. In fact, a small (i.e. decent) part of me still believes they did. Ronaldo woke up with a siezure, foaming at the mouth on the day of the Final. The French found out where the Brazilians were staying and rioted at their hotel all night. Forget it, I can't even talk about this anymore.

In 2002, I watched every World Cup game with a bunch (read: 50) of Brazilians at a family friend's house. The World Cup being in Korea, all of the games were between 3AM-5AM, and we didn't care. Led by a dazzling array of stars, including established footballer Ronaldo and young Ronaldinho yet to be become 3-time FIFA Player of the Year, the Brazilian squad stormed through the Copa, beating the "invincible" Oliver Kahn, German keeper, in the Final, 2-0.

Highlight from this World Cup: "unproven" Ronaldinho, who took the roster spot of established Brazilian soccer giant Romario on the roster, assured the country and the world he was here to stay with a gem of a free kick against England.

Every four years, we are guaranteed to experience something incredible. There is something special about the best 32 teams in the world getting together to play a game. This World Cup is chock full of great players and stories to be had, and I will be sure to follow them all. This only happens once every four years, so you better believe there's more where this came from. It begins today.

Joga bonito.

There Goes My Hero

On my birthday in 1999, I received two gifts that changed my life forever. The first was the "Californication" - Red Hot Chili Peppers album. The second was Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest for Nintendo 64. The only game that I logged more hours with were The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Tennis, and GoldenEye 007. Californication is still in my 6-disc CD changer in my car.

Ken Griffey Jr. was and is my favorite baseball player. His first major league game was April 3, 1989. I wasn't even 2 years old. His first Major League home run came just seven days later on April 10, also the first time the Seattle Mariners won a game with Griffey on the field.

My first baseball memory is a hazy, unclear shot of a tiny television showing the Cincinnati Reds winning the World Series in 1990. My next memory is of Joe Carter crushing a 2-2 pitch from Mitch Williams way over the left field wall in Toronto to win the World Series in 1993. The only other thing I remember about the 1993 MLB season was constant coverage of this 5th year center fielder in Seattle everyone kept calling "Junior" or "the Kid."

By all accounts, 1993 was Griffey's breakout year. He blasted 45 home runs, 1 shy of the leaders in both American and National Leagues (Juan Gonzalez, TEX; Barry Bonds, SF; 46 home runs each). He played for his 4th straight (out of a total 13, 11 straight) All-Star team, won his 4th Gold Glove award and won his second Silver Slugger award. Griffey was the complete player.

He then rattled off consecutive seasons of 40, 49, 56, 56, 48, and 40 home runs; four of those season were AL-HR leading seasons (and 1995 doesn't count). That last season, my dream came true. After the 1999 season, the Cincinnati Reds acquired Ken Griffey Jr. and I immediately started begging for season tickets. He had the most beautiful swing in baseball, you'll never convince me otherwise. A Griffey home run was a piece of art.

One day during high school, I was driving in downtown Cincinnati near the ballpark with two friends. We were stopped at a red light, and a gleaming silver Dodge Viper pulled up next to us. In the driver's seat, wearing a white t-shirt, sunglasses, and a backwards fitted Reds cap was Ken Griffey Jr. We froze. The light went green, and he took off, leaving us looking at his license plate: "GRIFFEY."

He will always be remembered as the guy who produced on both sides of the ball, playing rock-solid defense and crushing home runs for so many years. I repeat, in case you haven't noticed, Junior was and is my favorite baseball player of all time. In an era that featured wide-spread scandal and rampant use of steroids, there was never a question about Griffey's integrity. He will always be "the guy who did it right."

Injuries and age set him back late in his career, but he was still great to watch. In the summer of 2008, I took my girlfriend (a Yankees fan - I know, don't get me started) to a game during the last year of the old Yankees Stadium. Luckily for me, the AL East was playing the NL Central that year in inter-league play. Reds-Yankees in NYC on June 21, 2008 - the last time I saw Ken Griffey Jr. play live. He went 2 for 4 in a Reds shutout of the Yanks, 6-0.

I will always remember playing backyard baseball and pretending to be Griffey, trying to get my swing just right; I will always remember watching him hit his 500th and 600th home runs; and I will always remember almost choking up the day he retired.

Ken Griffey Jr., thanks for the memories.

Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals Preview

First of all, as I tweeted earlier, I haven't read Bill Simmons' NBA finals column yet so as to not cloud my judgment. Where to begin? The most storied rivalry in the NBA history is adding another chapter beginning tonight. The Celtics and Lakers are the two most recent NBA Champions, but the Celtics defeated the Lakers in 2008 in rare form. The Lakers clearly have a chip on their shoulder. Even Ron Artest is upset about 2008 and he wasn't even on the team at the time. Whoa.

The regular season matchups between these two teams could not have been closer either. In the first game on January 31st, the Lakers took the win in Boston 90-89 on a Kobe Bryant jump-shot with 8 seconds left, completely blanketed by Ray Allen. The second matchup was won by Boston in Los Angeles: the final score? 87-86. Ray Allen had a game high 24pts and led the C's to victory on the road. So if they played 8 straight quarters, the score would be 176-176? This is going to be a great series.

Let's look at some of the matchups.

PG: Derek Fisher looked like a dead fish for most of the regular season, but has come on strong in the playoffs, helping the Lakers win a crucial Game 5 in the Western Conference Finals with 22pts. His counterpart on the Celtics would be the runaway favorite for a "Most Improved Player Since the Last Time We Were in the Finals" Award, Rajon Rondo. Rondo put the Celtics on his (young) back in the Cavs series after a soul-crushing defeat at home in Game 3 with an incredible performance (29pts, 18 reb, 13 ast). Can Fisher guard Rondo? Short answer: no. The Lakers will probably put Kobe on Rondo, which leads us to...

SG: Kobe Bryant is clearly the best player on the court, if not in all of the NBA right now. If you watched Game 6 of the W. Conference Finals, you know what I'm talking about. A 37pt performance that demonstrated some of the best "I Don't Care How Well You Defend Me, I'm Kobe Bryant and I'm Going to Make This Shot" faces I've seen in a while. However, as noted above, the Lakers may try stopping Rondo with Kobe, so that leaves... Derek Fisher on Ray Allen? Allen never stops moving: behind the basket, coming off screens, zig-zagging across the paint, etc. Derek Fisher can't keep up, and look-out if Ray-Ray gets a one step lead off the screen; Derek Fisher isn't tall enough to guard that lightning-fast release.

SF: Possibly the most intruiging matchup of the Finals, Paul Pierce vs. Ron Artest. Before the Lakers/C's game even started back at the end of January, Artest and Pierce were jostling and shoving each other. My sincere hope is that the refs don't call this one tightly, because these two should be allowed to play. In the two regular season games, Artest and Pierce had a total of 26pts each; Pierce, 9reb, Artest 8reb; Pierce, 40% from the field, Artest, 38%. However, against each other, Pierce shot 36% from 3pt land, while Artest only managed 22%. For the C's to win, Pierce has to be able to get open looks and score points as well as play Artest tight and force contested shots.

PF/C: The Kevin Garnett/Pau Gasol matchup is almost as interesting as the one above, apart from my lingering nervousness about two things: Gasol got better, KG's knees got worse. The one silver lining is that Garnett still gets into people's heads, see exhibit A: Rashard Lewis, PF, Orlando Magic. Gasol seems to get flustered easily, and it negatively impacts his play, more so than any other player on either of these rosters (Perkins doesn't count because for all we know he may not be playing one of the games this series). The Andrew Bynum issue is of course a big one. He is limited by injury, and there is no real way of knowing what he will and won't be able to do.

Also of note, Doc Rivers may go with Garnett on Odom and put Perkins, one of the best post-defenders in the league, on Gasol. Odom is an interesting player because he a staple Lakers big man, but he can spread the floor with his shooting. Perkins is walking on thin ice with the technical fouls and he's going to have to play it safe. The Celtics win and lose on the strength of their defense, and he is an integral part of that.

Bench: Rasheed Wallace, Nate Robinson, Glen Davis, and Tony Allen have all at some point this postseason stepped up and given the Celtics the spark they needed to win a game/series. The Lakers bench claim to fame is Sasha Vujicic coming into games in the Suns series with the express purpose of heckling and distracting fellow countryman Goran Dragic; it's sad, but it worked. But it's the NBA Finals, there's no real telling what's going to happen. As a Celtics fan, I have to put an incredible amount of faith in our bench - they've helped us get to where we are and must continue to play at a high level for the Celtics to win the title.

If you had told me a month and a half ago that the Boston Celtics were going to be in the NBA Finals, I would have laughed in your face. But here they are, playing team basketball and the best defense they've played since the beginning of the year. That's the bread and butter of this team. The Lakers are riding the Kobe Bryant train, of course, but this time, Gasol, Artest, and Fisher are playing at a high level as well. This is going to be a great series, and I don't intend to miss a minute of it.

Game 1 starts tonight at 9PM. Get your popcorn ready.

Rivalry Renewed

Watching Game 5 of the Celtics/Magic series at home with my roommate was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. I haven't seen such miserable and one-sided officiating in quite a while. A loyal reader and friend called me "Boston's Spike Lee sans court-side seats." Ugh, what I would do with court-side seats. Just so I can get it out there: the fact that both of the technical fouls on Kendrick Perkins were not rescinded is patently absurd. The video footage is beyond clear. Does anything happen to the refs when they screw up that badly?

I struggled on StubHub for over an hour before buying tickets to Game 6. I walked towards the Garden last Friday evening half-full of hope. After being up 3-0 on the verge of a sweep they had suffered an overtime loss and a "Game That Shall Not Be Named." The Celtics had responded well to one devastating loss already (Game 3, Cavs series) but could they do it again?

From the opening tip, the Celtics played their brand of basketball - team basketball. Paul Pierce stepped into the driver seat early and ended the night with 4-5 3pt shooting and a team best 31 pts/13 reb. Ray Allen did his fair share with 20 pts. Both teams shot 27 free throws, but Boston hit 81.5% of them, Orlando: only 59.3%. The Celtics held the lead all the way to the final buzzer, 96-84, and punched their ticket to the NBA Finals for the 2nd time in 3 years.

And after a decisive Game 6 win in Phoenix ("Black Mamba" Kobe made an incredible appearance - Kobe was hitting deep jumpers while being guarded tighter than Fort Knox; do yourself a favor and watch the replays), the Lakers are returning for another installment in an epic and storied rivalry.

Both teams have changed, though there's a chip on the Lakers shoulder to be sure. Over the last two years, Rajon Rondo has stepped into a leadership role on the team, truly maturing and becoming the future of the Boston Celtics. Over those same two years, Kobe Bryant proved that he didn't need Shaq after all and won his 4th NBA title, looking more and more like the less-selfish leader we all wanted him to be.

The matchups coming up this Thursday will certainly be intriguing. Does Ray or Pierce guard Kobe? How do the Celtics handle the new and improved Pau Gasol? Can Derek Fisher keep up with Rajon Rondo? Which teams' bench will step up to the occasion? Who will be the MVP? There will only be one way to find out the answers and that will be to watch every minute of this year's version of the NBA Finals. I cannot wait.

PS - Go Celtics.

A Tale of Two Teams

After the Boston Celtics were brought back from the dead by the Playoffs (or by Quentin Richardson, depending on who you ask), they routed the Miami Heat save for one eviscerating Dwayne Wade performance. And after suffering one of the most embarrassing home losses in the history of the NBA, the team rediscovered their identity (i.e. D-FENCE) and dethroned King James in what was supposed to be his magical year.

But now the true test was supposed to come. A strong Orlando Magic team that was cutting through playoff teams like Poland in 1939 was the next challenge for what so many commentators, announcers, players, coaches, and I labeled an “old, washed up” Celtics team. The Magic had convincingly beaten the Charlotte Bobcats and absolutely crushed the Atlanta Hawks. How would the Celtics fare?

In Game 1, the Boston Celtics stifled a rusty Orlando offense that perhaps had too many days off. Many seemed to forget that the Dwight Howard’s biggest nemesis was Kendrick Perkins, and the Celtics contained him well. Neither team played well. After stealing home court advantage back from the Magic, the C’s came back for Game 2 hungry for more.

In a tougher contest that came down to a missed Jameer Nelson last-second shot, the Celtics outlasted a late 4^th quarter surge from the Magic that had me more nervous than a 7^th grader with his first slow dance.

Game changer: on one end of the floor, Paul Pierce hits two free throws with confidence. On the other end of the floor, same situation Vince Carter bricks not one, but two free throws. Vince Carter! I’m sorry, but your legacy has been forever cemented. We will talk about this game as the Vince Carter free throws game from now on.

But none of this matters if the Magic were able to rebound, like the Celtics had, from these losses; if they were able to focus on their strengths and play around their weaknesses; if they were able to beat Boston in Game 3 at the Garden.

What happened on Saturday night at the TD Garden in Boston, MA was nothing short of a massacre, annihilation. The Boston Celtics put on a 48-minute clinic. My buddy Max described it as “the best display of team basketball [he had] ever seen.” I was inclined to agree. The C’s leading scorer was Glen Davis with 17 pts. Rondo was outstanding; Ray Allen found some rhythm,; Pierce and Garnett were great on both sides of the floor; stifling defense and relentless offense ran the Orlando Magic right out of the Garden. With 15 points in the 1^st quarter and 13 in the 3^rd, the Magic didn’t stand a chance. Dwight Howard was nowhere to be found.

But what was even more astounding than the Celtics relentless play was the seeming indifference of the Orlando Magic. So many plays lacked urgency – wake up, Dwight: it’s the Eastern Conference Finals and all 6’1” of Rajon Rondo is beating you to a loose ball rebound. After a while it seemed that it was beyond a lack of urgency – it had escalated to apathy if not full-blown laziness. None of these are qualities you want to have down 2-0 on the road in the NBA.

Tonight is Game 4 in Boston with the Celtics up 3-0 in the series. Only time will tell what happens tonight, but one thing is for sure. The Magic didn’t make it easy on themselves. Oh wait, one more thing is for sure. There is nothing on this Earth that could prevent me from being in front of a television at 8:30PM EST tonight. Boston Celtics vs. the Orlando Magic.

Game time.

The Collapse

As noted previously, I'm a recent convert to the world of hockey, but there are certain things you can appreciate whether you know who led the league in points in 1967 (Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks), or if you're forced to watch hockey when you'd rather watch "Say Yes to the Dress," (two of my roommates): catastrophic collapse and failure.

When a person or team is so sure of victory, convinced that they will succeed, their supporters and fans become sure of it, convince themselves of that certainty. They look forward to the next round, the next match, the next challenge.

But sometimes they don't make it. It starts slowly with an innocent setback, a loss that has every fan say something along the lines of, "It's just one game, man. We've got this.," or "It's only the 3rd quarter - we'll come back strong."

And then there's another one. "We're still up, don't worry. We just have to win next time."

And another. "I can't believe this is Game 7. At least we're at home."

Then it happens one last time. "I cannot believe this is happening. This is actually happening."

The Boston Bruins last week joined a select rank of teams that managed to lose a 3-0 lead in a best of 7 series and fail to make it to the next round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That hurts enough, but it was the way they lost that hurt Bruins fans even more. At one point in the game, with a 3-0 lead in the 1st period, my roommate, Bruins fan, proudly announced, "This is what we needed - to come out strong and score some goals."

By the time the final horn sounded, the score was 4-3 Philadelphia, and the Flyers took the series, 4-3. A coworker of mine said on Tuesday, a full four days after the game, "It still hurts. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel like I've been stabbed." A Red Sox fan as well, he even went on to say, "So this is what Yankees fans felt like. This is awful." Whoa.

While the Bruins were by no means Stanley Cup favorites, by wrapping up the regular season on a good note and beating a strong Buffalo team in the first round, they gave their fans hope and confidence, a confidence that was then betrayed on that Friday night at the Garden.

Teams that suffer these setbacks are faced with the "How are they going to respond?" question. Some teams are able to rebound, maybe not in the next game, but next year (2008, 2009 LA Lakers), some teams are cast into a horrible downward spiral from which it seems they will never escape (Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns), and some teams don't count because of extenuating circumstances (2008 NE Patriots, Tom Brady's knee).

The impact on the fan is undeniable. I'm not allowed to say the words "Wide right" in front of my girlfriend, who is from Buffalo (or "No goal" for that matter). I'm not allowed to talk about Aaron Boone in front of my roommate (which is fine because I can't stand him anyway). And I guarantee you no Lakers fan wants to talk about Game 4, 2008. One of Boston's sports radio stations, WEEI, labeled this "the worst loss in Bruins history." We will have to see how the team, the fans, and the city respond next year.

Game 6: The Game that Changed Everything

Thursday was one of the longest workdays I can remember. Time was crawling. I would work for an hour, check the clock, and then realize that it had only been 4 minutes. I couldn't wait to get out of there - I had tickets to Game 6 of the Boston Celtics/Cleveland Cavaliers series at the Garden.

Bill Simmons called it the "concrete pouring game" when we, the fans, would be able to cement a solid grasp of what type of player Lebron James is; in an article earlier this season, Simmons contended that LBJ had the "Jordan/Erving/Thompson DNA strain," but in a Game 6 recap column he wrote that we have to "Take the Jordan DNA out...

"Jordan was a killer. Jordan didn't care if his teammates despised him. Jordan never, ever, not in a million years, would have allowed his team to quit in the final two minutes of Thursday night's game the way LeBron did. His teammates feared him, loathed him, revered him and played accordingly. Bird had that same quality. In the second half of his career, so did Magic. Winning meant so much to those guys that their teammates almost didn't have a choice; they had to follow suit. Or else."

Exactly. So which Lebron was going to show up on Thursday? And for that matter, which Celtics team was going to show up? Games 4/5 Celtics or Game 3 Celtics (what I like to call the "I'm going to continue to pretend that was a violent nightmare" game)? But wait, isn't that interesting?

We wondered which Boston Celtics TEAM was going to show up for Game 6, but only which Lebron James, an individual, was going to play. At its very core, this is why Lebron has not won a title - the championship cannot be won on the shoulders of one great player. It's just like going to meet girls at a bar - if you're stunningly handsome and a great smooth-talker, they're still going to wonder why you're alone. You need a rock star wing-man, the Robin to your Batman. He doesn't have that in Cleveland, and at this rate, will never have it.

But back to the game: the Garden was a jungle that night.

The first Celtics possession, Kevin Garnett took it to Antwawn Jamison and hit a beautiful turn-around jumper... and then he did it again... and again. After three possessions and three KG buckets, you could tell he was going to put on a show. Watching KG hobble around at the end of the season was candidly disheartening, if not all-out depressing. But that night, he was back. And the Garden knew it.

But it wasn't all Celtics - Mo Williams had 20 pts. in the first half, and my buddies and I were worried that All-Star Mo Williams had come back from the dead. Back and forth, up and down, the game went on with plenty of excitement, not always from the usual suspects. In the 2nd quarter, Tony Allen posterized Antawn Jamison and the Garden went bonkers. Here was the guy who makes every true Celtics fan nervous when he has the ball dominating the guy who was going to help LBJ get to the championship. Perfect.

The game was tight all the way through the end of the 3rd quarter, 76-67. Then LBJ came out and gave the Garden their first "Oh no" moment of the night. He dribbled right up to the three point line and absolutely drilled it. The C's had an awful possession and then LBJ went down the court, came off a screen at the top of the key and fired again. Buckets. Oh, S#!*.

But that was it. The C's called a time out, regrouped and handled that 4 point lead and grew it to 9 by the end of the game, with the Boston faithful screaming for all 48 minutes. I've never been part of a crowd like that before. It was incredible. One other thing that was incredible: with 2:07 left in the 4th quarter, down 9 the Cleveland Lebronettes showed about as much urgency as George Bush during Katrina, i.e. none.

My father as I was growing up always said, "Find out what puts a fire in your belly and chase it with unbridled passion. Never let anyone stop you." For Michael Jordan it was winning, for Peyton Manning it's advertising dollars, and for Mark McGwire it was biceps... er, homeruns. But Lebron couldn't will himself or his team to fight anymore, and that is a big question mark.

The Celtics closed out the game with a few 3pt shots from Pierce and (shockingly) Rasheed Wallace. But the "Most Thunderous Moment" Award goes to Kevin Garnett. Rondo and KG were on a fast break and KG got the call about 8ft. from the basket. Regular season KG lays that in off the glass. Game 6 KG, elevated, all 18,624 fans elevated with him, and he threw down a vicious one-handed dunk. You could probably hear the Garden from Cleveland.

So, now the C's face Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the media story is LBJ's performance and future. Let it be said that while LBJ could have played better, the Celtics won this series because of post-season experience, outstanding defense, and a greater will to win. 'Nuff said.

Game 6, Lebron James: 27 pts, 19 reb, 10 ast, 9 turnovers. Or what I'll call, the most visually un-impressive triple double I've ever seen. I didn't know he had one until I checked the box score.

PS - speculating about where LBJ is going is a useful as speculating about what Brett Favre is going to do next year. Let's just see what happens. I just know that the Knicks just made a lot of money on season tickets on Thursday night.

A Weekend in Cincinnati

There is something truly awesome about your sports team rewarding your fan-dom with a great performance. This is one of the main reasons I love going to see sports live: there's always the potential to see something awe-inspiring. Buzzer-beaters, Hail Mary touchdown passes, anything in overtime hockey, and walk-off home runs - there's nothing like seeing your team pull one of these off, and it's all that much sweeter when you're there to see it live.

I love baseball, but my team doesn't often give me many of these moments. Our last World Series victory was in 1990 - I was three years old. Cincinnati has a phenomenally rich baseball history, but the river has been somewhat dry recently. One thing I can't be accused of being, however, is a fair-weather fan. And though I live in Boston now, when I come home for the weekend, I have to go to a Reds game.

This weekend was a home series against the Cubs and a great chance to get together with the old crew for some live baseball, some beers, and a night out on the town. It started out innocently enough with some cornhole (look it up, best day-drinking game ever) and then it was down to the stadium for the game. While it wasn't a walk-off or a no hitter we watched an unexpectedly good outing from Aaron Harang (6.68 ERA for the year; 6.2 innings, 9 K's, 2 ER last night) from the seats in the picture above as Joey Votto led the offense in a rout of the Chicago Cubs, 14-2. Then, we went bowling.

And at some point during one of the rounds of beers or bowling, Brandon Phillips walked in and started bowling in the lane next to us.

Bill Simmons describes the "when a celebrity walks into a room" situation as a big gush of wind. He said that about Michael Jordan, so obviously the whoosh wasn't as big, but it was there. We don't know why, but we idolize these people - we want them to write their names on our clothing in permanent marker, we take pictures with our phone when we think they aren't looking, we whisper in hushes about little things they do (like not taking off their sunglasses at a blacklight bowling alley, true story). We love meeting our idols even if they act like total jerks to us - it's an experience that you'll tell everyone in your immediate circle of friends at least twice before they say, "Yeah, man, you already told me."

Tomorrow I head back to Boston after a great weekend home, and I'll be heading back with a signed Brandon Phillips jersey and a wealth of great memories. Man, I love sports.

PS - as I write this, Rajon Rondo just had one of the best playoff performances I've ever seen. The "MVP!" chants from the Boston faithful during late free throws as Lebron James looked on were priceless. Go Celtics.

The Numerous Felons League

It seems that we can't turn the television on without getting another story about an NFL player accused of (fill in the felony). Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, Ricky Williams, Chris Henry (RIP), the 2006-08 Cincinnati Bengals, Donte Stallworth, Ben Roethlisbeger, and now Lawrence Taylor to name a few have all had run-ins with the law in the past decade or so. Their crimes include (but are not limited to) drug possession, sexual assault, gun possession, shootings, drunk driving, and manslaughter.

I mean, let's be honest, besides the Gilbert Arenas gun fiasco earlier this season, the NBA has really improved its image, especially since the fallout from the infamous Pacers/Pistons brawl. David Stern suspended Arenas for the rest of the season no matter what the courts decided. When was the last time the MLB had problems with players breaking the law when it didn't involve steroids?

Roethlisberger has been involved in two cases of sexual assault; no charges have been filed, and he's missing somewhere between 4-6 games next season. (This case also fascinates me for one other reason: what if Big Ben was black? Ooh, let the speculation begin...)

The NFL must have the highest employee to felon ratio second to Congress. Isn't this something that Roger Goddell should spend some time on? Is this not indicative of a distinct cultural problem within the NFL as opposed to the often used "a few bad apples" theory? Sports Illustrated's newest issue shines the light on this concept using Roethlisberger as a case study, and it is truly illuminating. This has got to stop somewhere, and it begins with the enabling people and culture described in the article.

After-hours addition:

I guess what irritates me at the very core of this contentious issue is this: these people have been given amazing athletic ability (so much so that people will pay money to sit in an uncomfortable seat for the 3 or more hours to watch them do just that), they play a GAME for a living (and get paid obscene amounts of money to do so), and they just don't appreciate it. I (clearly) dedicate obscene amounts of my time to following sports and the people that play them, and situations like this just leave me with a profound disappointment. You should know better, and you should live better.

Alright, up next, something less depressing, I promise.

Oh no, not again...

Okay, I only want to talk about this once. Then we'll never bring it up again... except as backhanded comments and jokes. I promise.

Brett Favre has played 18 season in the NFL. Some of them have been fantastic. Some of them, less so. He was the face of a franchise (Green Bay), went to a Jets team that mismanaged pretty much everything, and now is at that first franchise's greatest rival (Minnesota).

A few years ago, Favre appeared on national television to announce his retirement. He cried. Green Bay cried. America was sad - it was the end of an era. A man who simply loved to play football, and was able to play it at a very high level had decided to end his career. Just kidding!

And then he did it again. And again. And again. The media doesn't help the situation. Favre gets his own block on the ESPN Bottom Line. He gets his own 5 minute bullet on PTI. He dominates media coverage like Tiger Woods. It is April 30, 2010, the NFL season still about 5 months away, and the first Favre sightings on ESPN.com are beginning to surface.

Dude. Get off my TV. I really don't need Hannah Storm and Ed Werner to debate for 4 minutes the merits of you having an ankle surgery to continue playing football at 41 years of age. You went to the NFC Championship game. You redeemed the miserable end to the Jets season. How many more times are we going to go through this? Are we going to wait until 2 weeks before the season to decide again? There won't be any new information for any of those 5 months, just hours of endless, pointless speculation.

Granted, Favre had a career season statistically: 68.4% completions (1st, career), 4,202 yards (3rd), 33 touchdowns (T-4th), and a 107.2 QB rating (1st by almost 10pts). He only threw 7 interceptions. If I ever need surgery, I want the guy who did Brett's shoulder. The way people feel about this depends on one thing: which Favre will we see (if we see him...)? 2009 Favre or 2008 Favre? Or even worse, 2005 Favre (20 touchdowns, 29 interceptions, 70.9 QB rating)?

The point is this: if you're going to keep playing, get the surgery now, do your rehab, get to training camp, practice, and go play. If you're not going to play, go back to Mississippi and coach your high school team, build them a new stadium, open a restaurant - I don't care. Just get off my TV until the NFL season starts.

A Final Performance?

Near the end of the 3rd quarter of today's NBA Playoff game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, I saw a Celtics team I haven't seen in far too long. Kevin Garnett was yelling at his troops, the defense was aggressive and persistent, and the offense was clicking on all cylinders and could not be contained. We surmounted an eighteen point deficit to take the lead in the 3rd quarter. Paul Pierce simply wasn't missing shots no matter where they came from. I know, it feels like 2008, right?
Up 3-0 in the series, the Celtics looked they were ready to put the Heat away and give the veterans a break before facing the winner of the Cavaliers/Bulls series. And then I witnessed something I haven't seen in much longer. Dwyane Wade single handedly took over the game - there was not a force on this Earth that could prevent Wade from scoring.

It began with a jumper in traffic that looked harmless and effortless, but there was something about the way ran back down the court after making it. Call it a look, an attitude, a certain "I don't care what it takes, there's no way I'm losing this game" mentality. And he did not disappoint.

Three point shots, drives, screens, cuts - there was nothing that Wade wasn't executing perfectly. Miami out-dueled Boston in a brutal five minute stretch that had Paul Pierce going for shot-for-shot with Dwyane until the older forward couldn't do it anymore. Dwyane was being double and triple teamed, Pierce and the Celtics could not stop anything. Advantage Wade.

The Celtics had given their fans so much hope after winning Games 1 and 2, the second with such conviction and without Garnett in the lineup; we held our breaths at the end of Game 3 as Paul Pierce drained a 22-foot jumper from the right side as time expired, and it felt like 2008 - if only for a moment.

And in Game 4, potentially the last time Dwyane Wade will ever play "at-home" in Miami, the performance was spectacular. He gave every single fan that attended American Airlines Arena what they paid for and more.

So what's going to happen this off season? Is Wade leaving? Is he going to get help? We'll see, but for now, let it suffice that for 48 minutes, Dwyane Wade picked his team up and carried them to victory. I have a friend of mine at work who once said something to the effect of, "Wade is overrated." I submit to you now that there is no such thing.

(4/25 BOS v. MIA: D. Wade: 46 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl - 43 minutes)