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Sharing some opinions now that I can finally think about sports again without curling into the fetal position and muttering David Tyree’s name over and over again;
Hope the trio of Patriots offensive linemen had a good time at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Their next stop should be Mexico, where they can perfect the matador style they worked on in Arizona. Ole!
Enough negativity; have you noticed how well the Celtics are playing against the “superior” Western Conference? 16-0 is the current mark, and that includes Kevin Garnett-less victories over the Spurs and Mavericks, not to mention a pair of “W’s” over the Lakers when KG was still in the lineup. Of course, the Lakers are a different team now that Pau Gasol is aboard to ride shotgun for Kobe Bryant. For my money, they’re the favorite out West.
Tell me you’re not intrigued by the possibility of a Celtics-Lakers Finals 21-years after their last title tango. Those folks you see praying at the altar are NBA Commissioner David Stern and the league’s marketing reps.
Manny Ramirez, who’s reportedly been working out like a dog all off-season, vows to show up to spring training on-time. Amazing what the dangled carrot of a $20-million contract option will do to a professional athlete who’s already made more money than he knows what to do with.
Can’t wait to see Roger Clemens in front of Congress Wednesday. I don’t care how much those phonies fawn over him, The Rocket simply isn’t quick-witted enough to avoid making a fool of himself. I’m guessing by the second inning of questioning, Clemens will have taken so many hits he’ll ask out of the hearings with a pulled jaw muscle.
Early fantasy baseball advice; third baseman Alex Gordon of the Royals and Twins starting pitcher Francisco Liriano are way undervalued in a few of the rankings I’ve seen. Conversely, don’t get duped into wasting early picks on Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips or former Haverhill High standout Carlos Pena. Players who experience breakout seasons at the ages of 26 and 29, respectively, are to be avoided like sobriety checkpoints on St. Patrick’s Day.
Am I the only one who’s getting that “it comes along once in a generation” feeling about this Lowell High Boys Basketball squad? Not only are they beating good teams, they’re crushing them and breaking their will with suffocating defense when the need arises. It also seems there’s a different hero every night, a hallmark of most championship teams.
The best defensive player of the bunch, David Brown, takes his job quite seriously. While appearing on our SunTalk Live broadcast a couple of weeks ago, the senior co-captain talked about relishing the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s top gun and trying to keep him below his season’s scoring average. Like all great defenders, he takes it personally when a basket is scored on him.
One more quick note on Brown; he’s as good at answering questions with eloquent, made for TV responses as any athlete I’ve ever covered, pros included.
Still trying to decipher exactly who Amy Winehouse was thanking during her Grammy speech. But for what it’s worth, I thought her performance was the best of the night, the lyrics and music a cross between Bob Dylan and James Brown. Hopefully, she lives long enough to entertain us as long as the other two have.
That’s the view from here...how do you see things?
16-0 vs the West is very impressive. Right now the team that worries me most, though, is the Cavs. The Celts have not played well at all against Cleveland and if the Cavs decide to try to add some firepower before the deadline they could be a very tough foe. Ditto Detroit although I don't think the Pistons will try to add someone although I heard Ron Artest is available in trade and I bet that guy would fill in the old Ben Wallace role better than Ben ever did. At least the C's will remain in the hunt and should at least make the conference finals. Hopefully they will have everyone healthy and can make it to the Finals. Would be great to see. A finals vs Lakers would be icing on the cake but I, for one, would have no problem with a matchup against ANY western foe as long as it's in the finals. A finals vs Phoenix would be a lot of fun to watch- a whole lot of fast break basketball - except when the Suns have to wait for Shaq and his oxygen mask to make it up the floor...
The Clemens thing should be interesting as if both Rocket and McNamee stick to their stories then one of them ends up committing perjury. Not too smart. Whoever is lying (and my bet is that it's 'ol Rog) needs to come clean pronto or probably risk time in the slammer...
Isn't "best Grammy performance of the night" kind of an oxymoron? They dug up some fossils I didn't even know where alive (and one that wasn't). Isn't that award show supposed to honor the "best" of today's music? Now I understand why I avoid the radio and MTV and just stick with what's on my iPod...
YES anyone who has been following the NBA this season knows the C's are going to have to figure out the Cavs and the Pistions. They have had their problmes with both of those teams but in a series I believe they can take care of business. It's been more than twenty years since we've waited for that 80's chant of BEAT L.A. again! What a great thing it would be to BEAT L.A. and for icing on the cake to knock off Kobe.
GO CELTICS!
Bingo on the Cavs. I'm so afraid LeBron will go into Superman mode like he did in Game 5 against the Pistons last year. Now, I realize it's a team game and the '86 Celtics were able to survive MJ's 63-point outburst, but as good as these Celtics are, they're not the '86 team.
As for getting LeBron some help, I'm beginning to worry less and less about that. Talk about incompetent management. I wonder how long he's going to stay local to the hometown if this continues.
BTW...I'm jealous of your Grammy comment (one that wasn't alive)...I wish I'd have thought of that one!
What can I say? Now that the writer's strike is over my highly paid staff writers can give me some good material - they've been off work long enough!! LOL.