Archive for May, 2008

I try not to get too political. I’m not into politics like I am sports, for a lot of reasons.

The biggest reason is that they bore me. I don’t feel like most politicians really do care about the little guy, and unfortunately us little guys aren’t in a place where we can do much about it.

This election coming up doesn’t appeal much either. I can’t stand Clinton, either of them. I’m apathetic about Obama. And, as for Mr. McCain, saying that he wants to stay in Iraq for, basically, forever ticks me off to no end. Nothing like continuing to spend countless money on someone else’s problems while there’s enough problems here at home to keep us busy for years and years. Forget about $4 gas, how about an economy that blows. How about the fact that I’m afraid of where the world is going for my kids, that personal responsibility is out the window and that hard work doesn’t seem appreciated, or rewarded anymore.

And one of the things that ticks me off most is that there is so much put on the little things about these candidates, instead of what they stand for and will do. Barrack Obama quit his church this weekend because his minister is a bit outlandish and a visiting pastor said some dumb things. I don’t know too much more about the situation, as I said, I don’t get too political.

However, what kind of country do we live in where the guy has to abandon his church family to get elected. I do believe in God. I believe in going to church and honoring that faith and praying, and all the other stuff that some of you think is foolish, and hopefully some of you are also into.

It really just makes me sad that the guy is stepping away from his church to try to get elected. I guess it might be the right thing to do politically. But is it the right thing to do as a person? Is it the right thing for his family?

Scott Van Pelt summed it up well on SportsCenter tonight. “Remember, a year ago, they were horrific.”

Yeah, they were. This year, though, it’s quite different. The Celtics are going back to the NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years. To put that in perspective, the last time that the C’s went to the Finals i was not yet a teenager, just 13. I thought that they’d be there every year. Ahh, the naivety of youth, eh.

But now they’re back. Let’s put aside whether or not they can Beat LA. That’s for another day (I think they can, but we’ll get to that over the next few days).

First let us savor what a great performance that the Celtics put forth in a big spot against Detroit. The Celtics played pretty well in the first half, and led by a few at the half. They had their chances to put the game out of reach, but they couldn’t get rid of the Pistons.

And then in the third quarter the Pistons started to not only get back in, but take over. It started to look bleak for the C’s. Tayshaun Prince, who couldn’t hit the side of the building in the first half, started to get hot. The supporting cast for Billups and Hamilton started to get involved. All of a sudden the C’s found themselves down 10 and I began to wonder when tickets for Game 7 would go on sale and how much they’d cost me.

But the Celtics delivered. So many players made big plays. James Posey came up huge. Rajon Rondo made some plays. Paul Pierce played huge. Kevin Garnett got into a groove. Heck, Doc Rivers found a good unit and stuck with it.

What a fourth quarter. Boston outscored the Pistons 29-13 when it mattered most. They were trailing entering the quarter by eight, and it got to 10 to start the quarter, 70-60. From that point it was all Green, on both ends of the court, a beautiful thing to behold.

And now it’s time to get excited about the NBA Finals, and it’s happening, and literally sweeping the country. My Blackberry started getting text messages right away. My cousin in Pennsylvania hit me up with some congrats. My buddy Jamie, who you’ll be getting to know more over the next few weeks, got a conversation going about the C’s-Lakers rivalry (he’s a big time Lakers fan). Eagle One called right before the game ended. Caddyshack Aaron and I had some texts flowing. Basketball doesn’t just matter around here now, it’s downright important. It’s retro. It’s beautiful. The Celtics used to own New England. They’re back baby.

I”m like McCauley Culkin right now, no not all grown up and scared by my relationship with Michael Jackson. Thanks for going there though. No, I’m Home Alone.

Lyra and the kids are still in Pennsylvania and I’m B-O-R-E-D. Sure the quiet is nice, but sometimes it gets too quiet. I miss the innocent and sweet questions that have no real answers that the kids throw at me, or the deep complex ones that you have to be careful to answer. Heck I miss “what’s a million, plus a million, minus 14?”

And without Lyra around, I had no one to try to figure out Lost with last night. Since when did Locke change his name to Jeremy Bunthen? Why was he off the island to begin with? What happened after Jack left?

Basically I’m missing the family. At least I’ve got the dog, who I am continuously de-ticking. I’ve pulled at least 50 off of him this week. You know those questions you want to ask God in heaven? One of mine is an explanation regarding ticks.

Don’t forget, Celtics tonight at 8:30. Let’s see if Ray-Ray can do it two games in a row.

Where you been Rich? Traveling.

Lyra’s cousin got married over the weekend and you know who was contracted to photograph the joyous event. I flew out on Thursday and got back yesterday.

But Rich, we’ve wondered what your thoughts were on the Celtics-Pistons series, right. Well, I’ve got no clue. I saw Game 1, and loved that one. Since that time, I couldn’t tell you much. I know they lost a tough one in Game 2, picked up a huge win in Game 3 and then played horrendously in Game 4.

I never saw any of that, though. My flight out to Pennsylvania on Thursday night left Detroit (yes, I know it makes no sense to go to Pennsylvania via Detroit, talk to my travel agent) at 8:40 PM, or five minutes after tip-off. When we landed I was able to get my Uncle Milton to throw the game on the radio, but we could only find it on the AM dial and driving through the mountains it wasn’t easy to hear much of anything. I heard them lose, but not much detail.

Then Game 3 was on Saturday night. Oh, so was the wedding. I checked my Blackberry late in the night and saw that the C’s won. That was cool.

As for Game 4, on Monday night, wouldn’t you know it that my return flight from Detroit (yup, had to go through D-town again) back to Providence left at 8:40 again, or five minutes after tip-off. I got to my car with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter and heard a six-point deficit balloon up to nearly 20 in the end. Not good times.

Here’s what I do know, though. There’s no way that the Celtics shoot 30-percent at home tomorrow night, and the Pistons gave pretty much their best shot last night. They got done what they wanted to in Detroit, they won a game and got home court advantage back. That’s what they needed to do, and they did it. Winning game four would have been gravy.

****

After the Celtics game, I tried to find the Sox on the radio. WEEI-FM didn’t switch over to the Sox. WKTX on the Cape didn’t either. My car radio’s reception is about as good as the old tin can and fish string telephones, so I suffered through an AM transmission that kept getting worse the closer I got to the Bourne Bridge.

At least Paps saved his own mess and they won. Even though it sounded horribly, it was great to hear Joe Castiglione’s voice. The guy in Pittsburgh is horrible. After the Buccos won on Sunday afternoon, he actually said “Scallywags, the Buccos win.” It doesn’t get much more Bush League than that.

But, they do have one thing that’s pretty Big League, and that’s PNC Park. I’d been there once before, but this time was better. I took Rye to his first ballgame and he had the time of his life.

I hate to get all misty-eyed and emotional, but seriously that’s a day I’ll never forget. He looked at me in the first inning, after a homer cleared the left field wall and the crowd went wild and said “this is awesome.” Then later in the day said to me “I’m really glad I got to spend this day with you daddy.” Well, I may not ever do anything right as a father again, but I think I hit it out of the ballpark that day.

I took the following picture mid-way through the game. I think I’ll be blowing it up and having it framed soon.

This one is me and Rye prior to the ballgame.

I’m officially worried about Ray Allen.

Let’s put aside that the Celtics won last night for a moment and talk about Ray Ray, who once again was off his game. Heck, the crowd gave him a Bronx cheer when he drained a shot after a whistle for a foul (that’s got to sting when it’s the home crowd). His struggles have been well-documented over the last couple of weeks, but I think I might have put a finger on the origins of the The Slump last night.

Looking over his stats, he has been shooting poorly ever since May 2, when the Celtics dropped Game 6 of the Atlanta series on the road. That night he wasn’t horrible, shooting 8-of-19, not great, but not that bad. But, if you remember, Allen took what would have been the game-tying shot late in the fourth quarter and it was way off the mark. In that game, Ray Ray was 1-for-8 on 3-pointers, but 7-for-11 from everywhere else.

Ever since missing that shot that could have tied the game, it’s been all down hill.

Game 7 vs. ATL: 3-for-12 FG, 1-for-3 3P, 7 points
Game 1 vs. CLE: 0-for-4 FG, 0-for-3 3 P, 0 points
Game 2 vs. CLE: 4-for-10 FG, 1-for-3 3P, 16 points
Game 3 @ CLE: 4-for-12 FG, 0-for-5 3P, 10 points
Game 4@ CLE: 4-for-10 FG, 2-for-4 3P, 15 points
Game 5 vs. CLE: 4-for-11 FG, 1-for-4 3P, 11 points
Game 6@ CLE: 3-for-8 FG, 0-for-3 3P, 9 points
Game 7 vs. CLE: 1-for-6, 0-for-2 3P, 4 points
Game 1 vs. DET: 3-for-10 FG, 0-for-1 3P, 6 points
Totals: 26-for-83 (31.3%), 5-for-28 (17.8 %), 8.66 PPG

The only explanation that makes sense is some sort of a mental block. The guy is obviously feeling the heat, and when that happens — until you finally get hot — it’s trouble. Thankfully he hasn’t forgotten how to shoot free throws. The only reason that he’s averaging as many points per game as he is is that he gets to the line, and he’s been very clutch late in games from the charity stripe. And, he’s definitely working hard to fix what’s wrong. On the ESPN telecast last night they said that he took 400 jumpers yesterday in practice.

If I were him, I’d take no jumpers today. Screw it. Shooting all day didn’t help, how about not shooting at all. It’s not like the practice is going to make that big of a difference. I mean, he’s shooting under 20-percent from beyond the arc, for a guy who’s made millions from hitting that exact shot, it’s not going to make a difference whatsoever.

I’m not buying that he’s tired. His stats don’t back that up. During the second half of the season he shot better than 48-percent from the field. In the first half, just over 42-percent. Unless he came down with some kind of illness that effects both dexterity and vision, I think he’s fine. His shot is just off.

Call it a slump. Great hitters go through slumps all the time. I remember listening to WEEI two weeks ago and callers were worrying about David Ortiz, thinking he was washed up. Not to go all Glenn Ordway, but “how’s that working out for ya?”

Let’s just hope that Allen gets out of the slump. Last night they got by with another sub-par performance from Jesus Shuttlesworth (man, if nothing else, Spike Lee gave us one of the greatest fictional hoops names of all-time didn’t he?), but if the Celtics are going to win seven more games — can you believe they only need 7 wins for championship 17? — they’re going to need No. 20 to start hitting his shots.

In the end, I want to believe that he can turn this around. After all, He Got Game.

I’ve had it with Spygate. No. 1, yes I am a Patriots fan. I write about them here, and I do work for a newspaper, but I don’t “cover” the Pats on a regular basis. I was born in New England and have rooted for them for all of my life. Heck, at the first Pats game I ever attended, as a 10-year old, I caught a frisbee in the stands that Steve Grogan picked up off the field and threw to our section. It’s still a Top 20 Lifetime moment.

Did the Patriots cheat? In a word, yes. Pats fans admit this. Still, I don’t see how Gregg Easterbrook’s demands that that Pats coach receive a lifetime ban from the NFL makes sense. Other teams have done the same thing. The Patriots were caught, and they were penalized. That should be the end of the story.

Before this began I had never heard of Matt Walsh. You had never heard of Matt Walsh. Other than the Walsh family, and the Patriots management, hardly anyone in the world knew who Matt Walsh was. It turns out Matt Walsh had nothing of interest for us to begin with. I’d like to go back to not knowing, or caring, who Matt Walsh is or was.

If you feel you need to revisit the craziness. Go to bostonsportsmedia.com today and check out the big retrospective they’ve done. It’s well done, but I gave up on it halfway through.

Why did I give up?

Simple, like I said. I’m D-U-N done with this story. I just don’t care. Can we all just move on?

Around 9:30 last night Eagle One called me and asked if I was watching the Sox game. I wasn’t. I was at the The Office working on the Tuesday edition.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but you should throw it on the radio or something.”

What inning?

“It’s the seventh.”

That was enough for me. Anytime a no-no gets past six, it’s time to seriously start thinking about it being a real thing. I only wish that I had been able to watch it. Worse, still, as Lester was mowing down Kansas City in the ninth I was on the phone with a coach, trying to pay attention to him telling me what his team had done that night while my favorite baseball team’s up-and-coming lefty was about to seal the deal with destiny.

What a great night for a fun kid to watch. It’s nearly inconceivable that Jon Lester was diagnosed with cancer just two years ago and we wondered if he’d ever make it back after showing so much promise on the way up. Then last year he came back, proved his mettle and actually got the win in the clinching game of the World Series. I’m sure that that game is still the ultimate for the lefty, but last night has to be a close No. 2.

*****

Tonight we start game 7 of the Celtics-Pistons series. This is going to be a brawl, no doubt. In the first two rounds I knew the Celtics would win. In this round I’m hoping they win. This is not easy. Detroit has much more experience at this level and they’ve got a tough team. The Celts, though, are on a mission and have been unbeatable at home. However, in this series, they’re going to have to win at least one road game. They just have to.

Well, at least the guy to the right will be rooting for them. I spotted this guy in the crowd in the fourth quarter, holding up this sign. I didn’t notice the horrible toupee at first glance, just that the sign was stupid. Why not hold one up that says “This is fun” or “I’m having a great time.” I’ve never really understood holding up a sign to begin with, unless you just have to find a way to get yourself some face time on TV. If you’re one of those people, though, don’t you owe it to yourself to at least write a witty or funny sign. At least one that’s somewhat poignant? This guy was holding up that sign, blocking someone’s sight lines of the game, to tell those around him that it doesn’t get better than that.

As much fun as that game was, it indeed does get better. Let’s not even get into personal relationship betters. We’ll just stick with sports, and I’ve got three Super Bowl trophies and two World Series titles that would beg to differ. I also spent my time as a kid watching Larry Legend, who had similar hair, his was just real, win two titles that I remember watching. Also better.

Game 7 of the East semis were fun. It was great. But, hopefully it will get better down the line. Only Detroit and LA/San Antonio stand between it.

Not since before Larry Bird was limping around the old Boston Garden has the local scene enjoyed a basketball experience like the one it did today. Game 7s are different. They’re supposed to bring out the best in good teams and the best of players are supposed to rise to the occasion.

That’s exactly what happened today with the Celtics and Cavs. LeBron James took his game to new heights, but Paul Pierce was there to do the same for the Celtics. And, maybe, just maybe Red Auerbach assisted one of Pierce’s late free throws through the hoop, as well as one of his threes. Let’s just say that the rims were extremely kind to the Celt’s captain today and somewhere in basketball heaven, a cigar was lit around 6:30 PM EST. (for the record, I found the image of Red at deadspin.com. It’s a classic, so I borrowed it)

Just how good was Pierce in game 7? I’d say his performance measures up there against most Larry Bird big games. I can’t hyperbolize about anything that Bill Russell did (I never saw him play), but Larry’s the measuring stick, and Pierce measures up right against those big showings.

Paul understood the moment, what was at stake, and who he was up against. He came to play and answered the bell, right from the opening tip. Pierce knocked down jumpers, he hit floaters, he drove the lane and he stepped back. Whatever it took, right up to the end when he dove after a loose ball that all but sealed the deal. Paul wanted this one, and he came to play.

LeBron wanted it too. His shooting was only mediocre (14-of-29), but he drained a couple of huge fourth quarter threes and got the Cavs to within a point in the fourth quarter, despite being down all game long. Had they taken the lead, who knows what would have happened. But, they never did. They spent a ton of energy continually coming back and playing from behind, but the Celtics never faltered.

The reason that the Celtics won and the Cavs didn’t, though, wasn’t the stars. The neutralized one another’s production. Both had huge games, but in the end the game was decided by the Celtics bench and role players. Eddie House gave outstanding energy to the club. He came into the game in the second quarter and set the tone for the rest of the team by diving on the floor after a loose ball to keep it alive, and get the ball over to Leon Powe for a missed lay-up that led to a free throw. The ball should have gotten out of bounds, and had it been a regular season game, maybe it does. If it had been game 4 it might have gotten out of bounds. But, it was game 7 and House found a way.

What I loved was the interview he gave at halftime, along with his adorable son in tow. When asked what the Celtics needed to do to win, he said “play harder.” They were up 10 at the half.

And let’s not forget PJ Brown. The guy that wears No. 93, of all numbers, hit the biggest shot of the game, draining a 16-footer from the left wing with a minute to play that all but iced it.

I was talking to Irish Aaron after the game, and he summed it up best. “I mean the guy took like 30 shots all season long, and he hits the biggest shot of the year. You’ve got to love that.”

To be fair, PJ Brown took a total of 41 shots during the regular season.

Who knows why Brown was on the floor at crunch time. I can’t figure out Doc Rivers at all, but his crazy rotation worked out great.

So now it’s on to the Pistons. I leave you with this.

One play never makes or breaks a basketball game. There’s too much in between that could have gone one way or the other.

However, the Celtics certainly got screwed late in Game 6. Paul Pierce was driving to his left, trying to get around LeBron James. You probably saw it. The whistle sounded, it had to be a blocking foul on King James, right? Wrong. Offensive foul against Pierce. So much for having to have your feet set to get an offensive, it’s LeBron, at The Q, so of course it’s an offensive.

Now whether or not a basket at that point would have helped the C’s to overcome the Cavs and win the game i don’t know. Probably not. But, the call itself was a microcosm of this series. If you’re at home, you get the benefit of the doubt, without question.

Now I know that Tommy Heinson is about as homeristic as one could be, but his comments on the call are pretty telling. “They should fine the referee that made that call,” he said.

I love what he said about LeBron too. “I would love to be LeBron. Every time he’s in Cleveland he either makes the shot or he gets the call.”

Celtics 11-13 at the line. Cavs, 21-of-25. Hmmm. Celtics called for 25 personals. Cavs, 16. Hmmmm. To the Cavs credit, they did outrebound the Celtics 45-37, and Wally Sczerbiak’s three from the left wing late in the game was huge. That shot won the game, and i think he might have taken it from the third row.

Let’s just hope that the Celtics get that kind of love from the refs in Game 7 Sunday ….. at home.

I’m not going to get into any more details on Game 6. I only saw the fourth quarter (I was photographing a wedding tonight). When I got in the car the Celtics were giving away all they had worked to get back at the end of the third quarter. By the time I got home they were down nine. They got it down to three, and if the call had gone the other way, who knows.

But they’re at home Sunday, where they’re 7-0 in the playoffs. On the road, they’re 0-6. Let’s hope that home cooking tastes really, really good.