May 2008 Archives

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

So it’s finally come to this. 21-years after their last NBA Finals appearance, the Celtics are back where they belong, against the opponent destiny always seems to put in their path.

How the Celts and Lakers got here is a rather remarkable story. Had anybody brought the suggestion up last June, they’d have been laughed off not only this blog, but the planet. Boston had lost the lottery and Los Angeles was looking to trade disgruntled superstar Kobe Bryant. Enter Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, a bunch of solid role players and a happy Kobe, and you have the recipe for a fantastic series.

There were times during these playoffs I wasn’t sure the C’s would get there. Two months into the season, I’d written them in as the Eastern Conference representative, yet the post-season exposed flaws I didn’t think they had. Still, you have to give them credit for persevering, especially during a Game 6 in Detroit which the officials did their best to hand to the Pistons.

I picked the Lakers as the Western Conference representative about a week after the Pau Gasol trade, when I saw how seamlessly he fit in and how Kobe Bryant had finally become what we thought he could be…Michael Jordan. A lot of folks laughed at me for those suggestions, yet here Bryant and the Lakers stand, four games away from another crown.

Boston HAS to get it done this year. LA is getting Andrew Bynum back next year and will definitely be favored to win it all. The Celtics will be a year older, without much wiggle room to add new pieces. And don’t forget, somewhere along the way, LeBron James will take over the East.

The pick here? I’ll stick with my guns and say Celtics in 7, though I definitely think it’s a toss-up at best.

That’s the view from here…how do you see the NBA Finals?

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Celtics are now one win away from the NBA Finals. The Pistons almost erased a 13-point deficit, but the Celtics held on for a 106-102 win to go up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Visit www.lowellsun.com or pick up Thursday's edition of The Sun for full details on the game.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Ray Allen dropped in 16 points in the third quarter, pushing him up to 24 points in the game as the Celtics expanded a six-point lead into a 13-point edge going into the final period of play. Kevin Garnett has 23 points, and Kendrick Perkins hasn't run out of steem yet, finishing three quarters with 18 points.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Celtics trailed for a significant portion of the second quarter, but they turned things around before the half. Kevin Garnett scored 11 of his 15 points in the second quarter. Paul Pierce finished the half with 13 points, and Kendrick Perkins has 12 points and 13 rebounds at the break.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Rip Hamilton has yet to get on the scoreboard for Detroit, but Rasheed Wallace has made three 3-pointers and Chauncey Billups has tallied eight points in the first quarter.

Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins, yes Kendrick Perkins, are leading the way for the Celtics with eight points each.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Having finally shed that giant road gorilla off their backs, the Celtics can now focus on closing out the Pistons as quickly as possible to get a bit of rest before the Lakers come to town for the NBA Finals. (How’s that for a subtle prediction?) Here’s hoping Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Mr. Eva Longoria can stretch Kobe and company to seven games.

Speaking of the Desperate Housewife, has anybody seen her and Tampa Bay Rays rookie 3rd base sensation Evan Longoria in the same place at the same time? What are the odds that two such high profile people of the opposite sex would have such similar names?

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Red Sox have suddenly morphed into the playoff version of the Celtics. The road losing streak now stands at seven (heading into a late Monday night contest in Seattle), while the Fenway winning string is ten. Not sure if that will mean anything come October, but you might want to put a little extra effort into rooting for the American League at the All-Star game, which determines home field advantage for the World Series.

My favorite note from last week’s paper: Tewksbury High’s softballers were 17-2 on the season. Ace pitcher Marissa Fiorentino was sporting a 15-2 record, which means she’d started 17 of her team’s 19-games at that point.

If Sydney Crosby is to save the NHL, he must do what Wayne Gretzky and his Oilers did in the 80’s…hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. And what better team to do it against than the Detroit Red Wings, who play in what’s commonly referred to as Hockeytown U.S.A.? Of course, Gretzky and his mates stumbled in their first crack at the Cup against the mighty New York Islanders, before avenging the loss the following spring. I’m not so sure today’s NHL can afford the luxury of waiting a year for its savior to rescue it.

Speaking of troubled sports, as the entire horse racing world holds its collective breath, Big Brown’s handlers continue to insist their Triple Crown threat will be just fine despite a crack on the inside of his left front hoof. I hope they’re right and I hope their thoroughbred recovers in time to put on a Secretariat-like performance at the Belmont. Because if they’re wrong and something tragic happens, the Sport of Kings will see a public revolt it’ll never recover from.

By the way, do Big Brown’s continued foot problems make him the Bill Walton of his craft? Not having seen Bill Russell play, or Wilt in his prime, I still say Big Red was the most dominant NBA center of my lifetime…for that year and a half his feet didn’t betray him, anyway.

Finally, with Emmit Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, Helio Castroneves and Kristi Yamaguchi winning the last four titles, isn’t it only a matter of time before we’re forced to endure an all-jocks “Dancing with the Stars” competition?

Not that any of this should come as a surprise. I mean, you never see soap opera stars busting a move when they’ve successfully completed a scene. Athletes, on the other hand, have long celebrated accomplishment by busting a move.

Deion Sanders took the groundwork laid by Billy “White Shoes” Johnson and Icky Woods and turned the touchdown dance into an art form. Heck, even Antoine Walker would “wiggle” with every meaningless hoop. Of course, they can all thank Muhammad Ali, who was so great he would bust out the “Ali Shuffle” in the middle of a contest where someone was trying to know his head off.

Think Fred Astaire ever had to duck a right hook by Gene Kelley?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

…it’s a necessity.

Please tell me you weren’t one of those who thought the Celtics could lose every road game and still win the title by running the table at home, were you? (Fess up…I know there are a lot of you out there) Had it really been that long since you paid attention to the NBA that you forgot what a championship team looks like? That it has the heart of a killer? That it relishes going on the road and driving a stake in the home team’s heart just for the shear joy of listening to the sounds of silence emanating from 15,000+ wackos?

Well, I’m not ready to say for sure that this year’s Celtics don’t have that championship makeup (perhaps that’s just my heart talking again), though the signs are not promising. I can’t believe the team I thought was going to face the Lakers in the Finals is 0-6 on the road against such unimposing competition. Now, I do think the Cavaliers were a bigger threat than the Pistons and that Detroit’s age (and Billups’ balky hamstring) can still be exploited. I’m just not sure the Celts are the team to do so, and I’m DEFINITELY not confident in Doc Rivers’ ability to make the necessary strategic adjustments.

Oh well, we’ll know a lot more Monday. Till then, feel free to chime in with your thoughts on this series and anything else sports related. We’ll keep you posted on stuff throughout the holiday weekend.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day. And if you feel like it, drop a note of thanks to all our veterans and troops.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Boston Celtics announced that a limited number of tickets for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons (on Wednesday, May 28) will go on sale Friday morning (today) at 11 a.m. There is a two ticket limit per customer and seats start at $24. Tickets can be purchased online at www.Celtics.com, by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX, or by visiting either the TD Banknorth Garden Box Office or Ticketmaster. A random number of tickets will be made available at 10 a.m. at the TD Banknorth Garden Box Office.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Pistons became the first team in these playoffs to beat the Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden, evening the series 1-1.

Rip Hamitlon finished with 25 points, and the Pistons had six players score 12 or more points.

Boston's three-headed All-Star attack of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 24 points, and 25 points, respectively.

The series now heads to Detroit for Game 3 Saturday.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Boston took the lead briefly during the third quarter, but Detroit battled back to finish the quarter up 78-69. The Pistons offense has really starting clicking. They drained 4-of-5 from long range. Chauncey Billups is up to 17 points, and Rip Hamilton leads Detroit with 21 points.

Paul Pierce has a game-high 22 points. Rajon Rondo was tagged for a technical foul in the quarter.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Pistons pulled ahead in the second quarter behind some hot shooting. Detroit got nine points in the quarter from Rip Hamilton and seven points from the duo fo Rodney Stuckey and Lindsey Hunter off the bench.

The Celtics have turned the ball over 10 times at the break. Paul Pierce (15 points) and Kevin Garnett (12 points) are the only Celtics in doubel digits.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Paul Pierce's nine points have helped the Boston Celtics out to a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Ray Allen has five points, and Kevin Garnett has six to round out the Boston scoring.

Detroit's Rip Hamilton is getting off to a solid start in Game 2. He was 2-for-3 from the field for six points. Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups aslo have six points each.

The Red Sox are off to their second-best start at Fenway Park in the last 50 years. The Sox are 19-5 at home (.792), the best home record in the majors. The only time in the last half-century they had a better record after 24 home games was in 1978 when they were 21-3. The Sox have won eight straight at home and five straight overall going into tonight’s game against the Royals.
A light rain began falling an hour before gametime. Although it has continued to drizzle, the tarp was taken off the diamond at about 6:15, and the game is expected to start on time.
Bartolo Colon makes his debut for the Red Sox tonight against veteran Brett Tomko. Colon was 2-0 with an 0.64 ERA in three starts for Pawtucket.
Outfielder and former Lowell Spinner Brandon Moss, who underwent an appendectomy earlier this month, has begun playing in extended spring training games in Fort Myers. In three games he is 8-for-13 with a double, triple, home run, five RBI, and two walks.
Former Spinner Kevin Youkilis’ perch at the top of the AL batting race ended after one day when the Twins’ Joe Mauer, a former batting champ, rocketed past him last night. Mauer is hitting .331 while Youkilis is second at .328. It was the second time this season Youkilis has led the league in hitting for a day.
Youkilis continues to lead the AL in multiple-hit games (19) and is tied for first with the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton in extra-base hits (27).
Former Spinner David Murphy, now with the Rangers, leads all AL rookies in homers (6), RBI (29), hits (50), total bases (85), doubles (15) and multiple-hit games (13).

The starting lineups for tonight’s game between the Royals and the Red Sox:
Royals
David DeJesus, rf
Mark Grudzielanek, 2b
Alex Gordon, 3b
Jose Guillen, lf
Mark Teahen, 1b
Billy Butler, dh
John Buck, c
Tony Pena, ss
Joey Gathright, cf
Brett Tomko, rhp
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, rf
Dustin Pedroia, 2b
David Ortiz, dh
Manny Ramirez, lf
Mike Lowell, 3b
Kevin Youkilis, 1b
Jason Varitek, c
Coco Crisp, cf
Julio Lugo, ss
Bartolo Colon, rhp

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Looks like the NFL’s owners, having just signed a new collective bargaining agreement and averting a potentially cap-less year, are hell bent on destroying the money making machine they’ve created.

The issues are very much the same as the last time this came up, so I won’t bore you with a recap of my take back then. (Feel free to read the posting here) I’ll simply repeat that this is really a battle the big market owners need to hash out with their small market brethren. Perhaps it gets solved with increased revenue sharing, or maybe even raising the salary cap minimum so that cheap teams like the Bengals don’t continuously spend under the cap while raking in Bob Kraft’s and Jerry Jones’ millions.

I understand what Kraft, Jones, Dan Snyder et al are saying: why should they prop up teams like the Bengals and Cardinals and reward them for not running their business the proper way. Of course, what they should also take into account is the fact they run their teams the right way has made their franchises much more valuable than the league’s lesser valued squads and opened up other avenues of revenue not available to lousy teams or small market teams that really do try, like the Buffalo Bills.

How much money do you think Kraft is going to make off of that Patriots Place shopping and entertainment complex? You don’t think Jerry Jones is going to make a killing off of his new stadium and all the ancillary venues he puts around it? You think that same revenue avenue is available to Ralph Wilson in upstate New York or the Brown family in Cincinnati? Who the hell wants to go to “Bengals Place” and celebrate that crappy franchise?

So once again, my advice to the NFL’s billionaire’s club (imagine that, me thinking I’m smart enough to give these financial titans business advice…how’s that for arrogance…LOL) is get your financial house in order amongst yourselves. Make nice with the small market guys by sharing a little more dough. Let the players keep their 60% revenue share. Tweak some minor things like creating a rookie pay scale, as long as that money saved goes to the vets. And think of instituting a salary floor to force the cheapskates into spending more of their money.

Because once you let that genie out of the bottle by potentially going without a salary cap, it’s going to be mighty difficult to get her back in the bottle.

That's the view from here...how do you see it?

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Boston Celtics remain unbeaten at home during the playoffs and take Game 1. Kevin Garnett finished with 26 points and Paul Pierce had 22.

See Wednesday's edition of The Sun for more on the game.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Kevin Garnett was up to 22 points by the time he went ot the bench for a rest with just under five minutes left in the quarter. Paul Pierce equaled his first half scoring output (nine points) in the third qarter alone.

Antonio MyDyess remains Detroit's top scoring threat (14 points), but Rip Hamilton has pushed his total to 13 points headed into the final quarter.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Kevin Garnett leads all scoers with 14 points, and Antonio McDyess still leads the Pistons (10 points).

Detroit had a better offensive performance in the second quarter. Detroit shot 5-of-12, knocked down a pair of three-pointers, and limited themselves to one turnover. Rodney Stuckey chipped in 6 points off the bench.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Ray Allen's shooting struggles continue, but he managed to steal 6 points (one layup, one dunk, one goaltending call on a layup), and Kevin Garnett has tallied a team-high 8 points to lead the Celtics.

Detroit has been paced so far by Antonio McDyess' 8 points.

Jon Lester’s no-hitter tonight against the Royals was only the fourth ever thrown by a lefthander in Fenway Park’s 97-year history. It was the first since Red Sox southpaw Mel Parnell pitched one against the White Sox on July 14, 1956.
The first no-hitter by a lefty was thrown by Red Sox knuckleballer Dutch Leonard against the St. Louis Browns on Aug. 30, 1916. The only no-hitter every thrown by a visiting lefty at Fenway came on Apr. 24, 1917, when the Yankees’ George Mogridge performed the feat.

The Red Sox have won six straight games at Fenway going into tonight’s game against the Royals. With a 17-5 record at Fenway, the Sox boast the best home record in the majors.
The Sox are batting .306 with a .387 on-base percentage at Fenway. Overall the Sox are leading the majors with a .295 team average, nine points better than the Cubs. The last time the Red Sox had a team batting average this high after 46 games was 1956.
Is Manny Ramirez too anxious to get to 500 homers? At first he predicted he reach that plateau by the end of April. He has hit only two homers in his last 24 games and remains stuck on 498. He’s also hit only .222 over the last 19 games.
The American League’s two best hitters are going head to head tonight. KC’s Mark Grudzielanek is leading the league with a .331 average, and Kevin Youkilis is just two points behind at .329.
Youkilis leads the AL in slugging percentage (.605) and multiple-hit games (19) and is tied for first in extra-base hits (26) with Texas’ Josh Hamilton.

The lineups for tonight’s game between the Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals
Royals
David DeJesus, cf
Mark Grudzielanek, 2b
Alex Gordon, 3b
Jose Guillen, dh
Billy Butler, 1b
Miguel Olivo, c
Mark Teahen, rf
Esteban German, lf
Tony Pena, ss
Luke Hochevar, rhp
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, cf
Dustin Pedroia, 2b
David Ortiz, dh
Manny Ramirez, lf
Mike Lowell, 3b
Kevin Youkilis, 1b
J.D. Drew, rf
Jason Varitek, c
Julio Lugo, ss
Jon Lester, lhp

Catcher Matt Tupman, only the second UMass Lowell alumnus to ever play in the major leagues, was sent back to Triple-A Omaha today by the Royals. Tupman returns to the minors with a 1.000 batting average after getting a pinch single in his first major-league at-bat yesterday in the Royals’ 9-3 win over the Marlins in Miami.
Tupman, who was with the Royals for five days at the start of the season while backup catcher Miguel Olivo served a suspension but didn’t get into a game, was recalled last weekend. Regular catcher John Buck was place on the inappropriately-named bereavement list when he returned home to be with his wife, who gave birth to twins on Thursday. Buck returned to the Royals today, and Tupman was sent down before getting an opportunity to appear in front of family and friends at Fenway Park.
Tupman is a New Hampshire native.
Tupman is hitting .278 at Omaha with three doubles, four homers, and 13 RBI in 24 games.
Mike LaValliere, who caught for the Phillies, Cardinals, Pirates, and White Sox for 12 seasons from 1984-95, is the only other UML alumnus to play in the majors.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Celtics advance to play the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals behind a 41-point performance by Paul Pierce!

See Monday's edition of The Sun for more on the game.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Cleveland wated little time cutting into the Boston lead, but the Cavs haven't been able to re-take control of the game, desptie LeBron James' 32 points.

Paul Pierce finished the third quarter with 35 points.

The only other player in the game with 10 or more points is Cavs guard Delonte West (11 points). Cleveland is shooting much better to start the third (the Cavs shot 39 percent to end the first half) and the rebounding edge Boston enjoyed in the first half has dwindled from eight to two.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Paul Pierce finished the half with 26 points, and the Boston Celtics defense has held Cleveland to 40 points.

LeBron James has 23 of their points on 7-of-15 shooting. No one else for the Cavaliers has more than four points.

Pierce did take a hard spill on the floor with less than a minute left in the half, but he returned to take free throws following a timeout. Kevin Garnett had nine rebounds at the half, and James Posey and Eddie House have been giving Boston solid minutes off the bench.

Terry Francona said before today’s game against the Brewers that Justin Masterson will likely start on Tuesday and Bartolo Colon on Wednesday against the Royals at Fenway Park.
Masterson after his start on Tuesday will be sent back to Double-A Portland, where he has struggled since making his major league debut against the Angels on April 24 at Fenway. Masterson went six innings in that game, allowing only one run on two hits and 4 walks before Boston’s bullpen turned it into a 6-4 loss. In 19 1/3 innings with Portland since that start, Masterson has allowed 16 earned runs on 23 hits and 11 walks.
Masterson and Colon are needed in Boston with Clay Buchholz on the disabled list with a broken finger nail and Daisuske Matsuzaka’s next start pushed to Thursday by last Friday’s rainout.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

So here we are again. A Game 7 on a Sunday afternoon against a team the Celtics should have put away a long time ago if they could just get their heads out of their…..

I’ll stop there, and issue a brief disclaimer for those wondering why I’m so down on the Celts when I thought all along Cleveland had what it took to beat Boston in the Eastern Conference. I fully envisioned a knock down-drag out fight in any potential series, but that was going by the assumption that LeBron James would actually play like….well, you know…play like LeBron James. The C’s have done a fantastic job controlling the King (despite what the point totals suggest), and yet they’re still being done in by the rest of the Cavaliers’ stiffs.

Where does the blame lie? Well, I guess we’ll wait till the corpse has been buried before performing the autopsy. There’s plenty of blame to go around; Doc’s cluelessness when it comes to coaching X’s & O’s…Pierce’s cement head…Ray Allen’s petrification…Rondo’s maddening inconsistency…Perkins’ 7-foot disappearing acts…Officiating straight out of the Twilight Zone...and YES, Garnett’s character flaw that won't allow him to grab Doc, Pierce, Allen and anybody else in a Green uniform by the throat and DEMAND that “this is MY team, so get the hell out of the way and let me get the job done since the rest of you don’t know how to do it. (exhibit A: Kobe Bryant)

What I think we CAN agree on is that this team is NOT going to win an NBA title until it wins on the road. They were lucky the Hawks basically pooped their pants at the mere sight of the Garden, or they’d have been first round fodder. LeBron could very easily have stolen a couple of games on the parquet had even ONE of his teammates not had bowel movements like the Hawks did. Rest assured, the Pistons and/or Lakers WON’T be intimidated coming here. In fact, they’ll relish the opportunity, knowing full well once they do steal one on the road, the series is basically over.

What a shame that this is what it’s come to for the team with not only the best regular season record in the NBA, but the best ROAD record.

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?

With a steady rain falling at Fenway Park, the game between the Brewers and Red Sox has been put on hold.
Terry Francona was holding the reins again after missing the Baltimore series because of the death of his mother-in-law.
The Red Sox are 105-88 all-time in interleague play, including a 59-39 record at Fenway Park. The Sox were 12-6 in interleague play last season and are 28-8 over the last two seasons.
With a 14-5 record at Fenway, the Red Sox have the second-best home winning percentage in the majors behind Atlanta (14-4).
Believe it or not, the Red Sox’ 24-19 record entering tonight’s game is the worst for the club after 43 games since 1997 when they were 17-26.
When the Red Sox blew three-run leads in each of their last three games, it was only the second time in franchise history that has happened. The other time was May 19-21, 1995, when they blew 5-1, 4-1, and 8-4 leads to the Indians.
Former Lowell Spinner Kevin Youkilis leads the AL in total bases (91), slugging (.591), and extra-base hits (24).
Another former Spinner, Jacoby Ellsbury, is 24-for-24 in stolen base attempts since the start of his major-league career. That’s the best career start for a base thief since Tim Raines started 27-for-27 for the Montreal Expos from 1979-81.

Shortstop Julio Lugo, who missed the last five games with a mild concussion suffered when he was kicked in the head during a play at second base in Minnesota, returns to the Red Sox lineup tonight. Lugo is hitting .285 with nine RBI but has made 11 errors.
The Brewers, who moved from the American to the National League after the last expansion, are making their first visit to Fenway Park since 1997, their last season in the AL.
The tarp was on the field all afternoon, and it is raining lightly less than an hour before gametime.
The lineups for tonight’s game:
Brewers
Rickie Weeks, 2b
Mike Cameron, cf
Ryan Braun, lf
Prince Fielder, 1b
Corey Hart, rf
J.J. Hardy, ss
Joe Dillon, dh
Bill Hall, 3b
Jason Kendall, c
Jeff Suppan, rhp
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, cf
Dustin Pedroia, 2b
David Ortiz, dh
Manny Ramirez, lf
Mike Lowell, 3b
Kevin Youkilis, 1b
J.D. Drew, rf
Jason Varitek, c
Julio Lugo, ss
Daisuke Matsuzaka, rhp

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

UMass Lowell named Greg Herenda, a former University of Lowell assistant coach and Merrimack College alumni, the new head coach of the River Hawks men’s basketball program today.

Herenda served as head coach at Division 3 Cabrini College in Pennsylvania, this past winter. His resume includes more than 20 years of experience coaching at NCAA Divisions 1, 2, and 3. He was an assistant on the ULowell staff from 1983 to 1985.

Herenda replaces Ken Barer, the program’s winningest coach, who resigned on April 22, after seven seasons.

His year at Cabrini followed one year as head coach at Elgin Community College (2006-07) in Elgin, Illinois, and five years as the associate head coach at East Carolina University (2000-05) under Head Coach Bill Herrion, currently the head coach at New Hampshire.

Herenda also served as an assistant at Yale (1997-99), at Seton Hall (1994-97) and Holy Cross (1989-94) following a four-year spell at his alma mater Merrimack (1985-89).

Cabrini posted a 12-14 mark (9-7 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference), up from a 5-20 in 2006-07. Elgin finished 18-11 and reached the Region IV championship game for the first time in the school’s history in 2006-07.

A two-year player at Merrimack, Herenda led the Warriors to a 17-10 finish (13-5 NE8) in 1981-82 and a 14-13 clip (8-11 NE-8) in 1982-83.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Celtics hold serve at home to go up three games to two heading back to Cleveland. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were big down the stretch, scoring 29 points and 26 points, respectively.

Celtics will have a chance to close out the series in Game 6 on Friday night in Cleveland.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

That must have been some halftime speech. The Celtics finished the third quarter up nine after trailing by three at the half. Boston's defense also held LeBron James to just two points in the third.

Ray Allen, who had five points at the half, scored six points in the third frame, while Garnett pushed his total to 20, Paul Pierce now has 19, and Rajon Rondo has 16.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

LeBron James continued to rack up points, finishing the first half with 23 of Cleveland's 46.

Boston went on a run late in the half to cut what was a 14-point deficit down to a three-point edge at the break. Rajon Rondo hit a pair of big three-pointers to finish with 10 points in the half. Kevin Garnett had eight of his 12 points in the second quarter, and Pierce added six in the second to push his point total to a team-high 14 at the half.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

LeBron James got off to a hot start, scoring 11 of Cleveland's first 16 points. He finished the first quarter with 11 points. Wally Szczerbiak has also been knocking down the outside shot, draining 3-of-5 from the field (2-of-4 from behind the arch) on his way to scoring eight first-quarter points.

The Celtics were just 8-of-23 as a team in the first. Paul Pierce (3-of-8) leads the way with eight points.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Danny Ainge, executive director of basketball operations and general manager for the Boston Celtics, was selected as the NBA Executive of the Year by Sporting News.

The Celtics set the NBA record for biggest single-season turnaround with a 42-win increase, winning 66 games this season after posting a record of 24-58.

Click here to read the full release.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

My baseball team is in shambles!

Not the Red Sox. They’re doing surprisingly well considering the crazy April travel schedule. No, I’m talking about my fantasy baseball team, a collection of supposed “talent” that’s keeping me awake at night and ruining my weekends.

You fantasy geeks out there know exactly what I mean. We live and breathe these make-believe entities. We draft them. We nurture them. We scream at them through the computer when they bat a collective 5-for-42 on Sunday afternoon. We even trade and dump them when they’re no longer of any use to us. Kind of like George Steinbrenner, minus the mega-millions, of course.

And how do these ingrates repay us? Well, by acting like real life major leaguers, that’s how! What’s that you say? They ARE real life major leaguers? Hey, don’t stop my momentum now. I’m about to unleash a Belushi-like rant from the “Animal House” scene where they’re breaking down Delta house.

“Wormer? He’s a dead man! Marmalade? Dead! Niedermeyer? Dead! Lugo?…”

So maybe James “Bluto” Blutarsky, even with his 0.00 GPA, wouldn’t have been stupid enough to draft the Sox shortstop, but you feel my pain, don’t you? Who hasn’t gambled on a player making a comeback from a disappointing season? Is it too much to ask a major leaguer to hit a ball out of the infield from time to time? Thank heavens Lugo can still run, otherwise he wouldn’t have an RBI all year. The only way he plates a runner from third is by beating out the throw on a potential double play grounder he just tapped to shortstop. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

OK, enough ranting. I feel better now. Time to get to the point of this pointless article.

I need your help. I’m placing the fate of my fantasy team, and what’s left of my sanity, in your hands. I need your advice on who to keep, who to trade and who to outright get rid of just for the satisfaction of dumping his sorry name onto the waiver wire!

Realistic suggestions only, please. Don’t tell me to try trading for Hanley Ramirez by offering Kosuke Fukudome and Yunel Escobar. I’ve already tried that. (An aside here: don’t know what’s a scarier thought…that I know who Kosuke Fukudome and Yunel Escobar are, that I know how to spell their names, or that they’re the only two guys on my roster performing above expectations!)

Is there a sleeper out there I should try waking up? Is there a baby-faced minor leaguer I should shave off the free agent list when he gets called up to the big club? There aren’t many established stars that are underachieving available. If there were, they’d probably already be on my team.

The biggest area of need is slugging. My offense, despite the presence of big boppers Ryan Howard and Ryan Braun is showing less power than a Clinton backer on the Democratic National Committee.

Here’s what I have for offense, which is proving quite offensive: Howard, Braun, Joe Mauer, B.J. Upton, Lugo, Scott Rolen, Alex Gordon, Escobar, Delmon Young, Fukudome, Willie Taveras, Jeremy Hermida and Nick Swisher.

The pitching staff is comprised of Carlos Zambrano, Ben Sheets, Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver, Scott Olsen, Francisco Liriano, Todd Jones, Kerry Wood, Joakim Soria, Tony Pena and Guillermo Mota. The disabled list is stocked with Vernon Wells, Pedro Martinez and Joel Zumaya.

So there you have it, my baseball brethren. That’s my pathetic team. It's now squarely in your hands. Help improve it and not only will I be forever in your debt, but I’ll give you credit for the turnaround in the paper. Do nothing, and run the risk of me starting a food fight and ruining the homecoming parade!

Any friendly advice?

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Celtics go up 2-0 with the series heading to Cleveland for Games 4 and 5. LeBron James did finish with 21 points, but the Cavalier offense continued to struggle. Paul Pierce finished with 19 points, and all of Ray Allen's 16 points were scored in the second half.

For more details see Friday's edition of The Sun.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Ray Allen led the way with 11 points in the third as the Celtics inflated their lead to 19 points at the end of three quarters. LeBron James has just 13 points. Ilgauskas is still Cleveland's leading scorer with a game-high 14 points. The Cavs managed to score just 15 points in the third quarter.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Celtics orchestrated a 15-point swing between the end of the first quarter and the end of the second quarter. Cleveland's hot shooting (52 percent through the first quarter) slowed down significantly.

Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell scored five points apeice in the quarter. Leon Powe tallied another seven points, and James Posey added four points, including a steal and a dunk to give Boston its first lead of the night.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Cavaliers grab the early lead behind hot shooting of Zydrunas Ilgauskas (5-of-5) and a much more typical LeBron James peformance. James netted seven points two assists and two rebounds in the first quarter. Paul Pierce also appeared to snap out of his funk from Game 1, scoring seven points.

Cavs big man Ben Wallace left the game with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter. He was experiencing dizziness. His return is listed as doubtful.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

It appears Matt Walsh will soon slither back into that hole he crawled out of and back into that life of anonymity he enjoyed before the whole SpyGate scandal broke.

The latest developments have to mark a sad day for the former Patriots video assistant who tried to parlay his old job into something more lucrative. Alas, the Pats and the NFL called his bluff, leaving Walsh no choice but to show his hand, which basically turned out to be nothing.

In case you think I’m being a bit harsh here, I actually think I’m being too kind. For months, this nobody let the rumors float out there that he had, or knew of, tape of the Rams 2002 Super Bowl practice walk-through. But for some reason (probably because he enjoyed seeing and hearing his name in the national spotlight), Walsh let the accusations sit out there and gather steam, to the point where a U.S. Senator wasted valuable time “investigating.”

Why did it take so long for Walsh (through his attorney) to deny ever having said he possessed tapes of the walk-through? Wouldn’t a simple press release from Hawaii have gone a long way towards putting this saga to bed back in February? Sure it would have, but the guessing here is Walsh WANTED the attention and enjoyed every last second of it. Soon, we’ll never have to hear from this bozo again, at least until the book deal and interview tours are announced.

Meantime, maybe Senator Sphincter…I mean, Specter…can stop wasting his time trying to figure out why the Eagles lost to the Pats (because they stunk and your QB was too busy puking in the 4th quarter, Senator!) and try doing something about the real criminals…the slimeballs profiting from the outrageous gas prices while young men and women are dying to protect their access to oil.

That’s the view from here…how do you see it?

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

LeBron James' layup rolled out with 8.5 second remaining, and James Posey made a paif or free throws to ice the game as the Celtics took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Cleveland led by as much as six points in the quarter thank in part to a miserable offensive half from the Celtics.

Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had eight points in the quarter. The entire Celtics team managed just 10 points in the quarter with Kendrick Perkins leading the way with five points. The Celtics turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter alone.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Cleveland cut the Celtics lead to four points at the half. Former Celtics guard Wally Szczerbiak was 3-of-4 from the field in the second quarter after missing all five of his attemtps in the first. LeBron James is doing almost all his scoring at the free throw line. All of James' five second-quarter points came from the foul line.

Kevin Garnett continues to lead all scorers (16 points). Rajon Rondo (15 points, five assists) is right behind him following a seven-point second quarter. Kendrick Perkins has eight rebounds. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have combined for two points and four turnovers at the half.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Celtics captain Paul Pierce picked up a pair of quick fouls in the first quarter and gave way to James Posey. LeBron James has five points, but he is just 1 of 4 from the field. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett leads all scorers with 12 points. Rajon Rondo scored eight of Boston's first 12 points.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The NBA officially announced Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been named the 2007-08 Most Valuable Player.

Bryant beat out New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul for the honor, the first of Bryant’s 11-year career. Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett was third in the voting. Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James finished fourth.

“He’s a great player,” Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown said. “You’re a little shocked this is the first time he won it, but he’s just as deserving as LeBron. I’m a little bias.”

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers was informed of the voting by the press before tonight‘s game.

“I just thought LeBron should be higher,” he said before quipping, “We’re playing Cleveland, right? As a matter of fact. I thought he should’ve won.

“I really had no idea what the voting was. I just knew that Kobe had won. I don’t look at it all that much.”

Click here to view the release from NBA.com

A few sobering thoughts on this Sixto de Mayo (yes, I now know six is really seis, though until taking seis years of Spanish, I was under the impression former Brewers outfielder Sixto was the 6th of the Lezcano children):

No matter which language you count in, LeBron James adds up to trouble for the Celtics. In my book, King James was already the C’s top Eastern Conference threat, far more dangerous than an aging Pistons squad that hasn’t gotten it done in a long time. But after watching what a borderline All-Star like Joe Johnson did to the C’s, I fear Cleveland’s All-World Star is going to average 40-points per game in the upcoming series.

Despite LeBron’s presence and the near meltdown against Atlanta, I’ll still take the C’s in five or six games. Check back in about a week or so to see if that’s my heart or my head talking.

It took a few years, but Kobe Bryant finally vindicated the Lakers for choosing him over a rapidly declining and aging Shaquille O’Neal. For some strange reason, however, fans around these parts seem to underestimate just how good the Lakers are now that Pau Gasol is aboard to play Tonto to Kobe’s Lone Ranger.

A number of people this weekend told me there’s no way Los Angeles gets by San Antonio. Don’t know how to break this to you folks, but not only will the Lakers get by the Spurs, I’m not so sure Tim Duncan and company are going to survive Chris Paul and the Hornets to get to Los Angeles in the first place.

Boy, thoroughbred racing just can’t catch a break. (Or maybe it’s catching too many “breaks”) On the day the sport of kings should have been talking about the possibility of Triple Crowning a new champion, its left defending itself against the likes of PETA.

News shows are ignoring Big Brown’s Kentucky Derby victory to focus on the collapse of second place finisher Eight Belles shortly after crossing the finish line. On the heels of Barbaro at the 2006 Preakness, plus having to put horses down during each of the last two Breeder’s Cups, those who love the sport have to figure out how to stop these beautiful animals and amazing athletes from breaking down.

Rumor has it Roger Clemens just bought some new wheels to help attract the ladies…a school bus. (Insert rim shot here)

Seriously, not since O.J. Simpson has a Hall of Fame athlete done so much harm to his reputation. And all because of what? Because the giant lug just couldn’t bring himself to do what every other cheater named in the Mitchell Report did...be a man and fess up.

Instead, the Texas Con Man did what he’s always done…try to lie his way out of it and intimidate anyone who dared get in his way. Only this time, Clemens was facing a more desperate opponent. This wasn’t Mike Piazza freezing like a deer in the headlights when the Rocketman threw a bat at him just months after drilling him in the head with a fastball. Brian McNamee had already hit rock bottom, and nobody fights back like a man already in the gutter.

I hope Clemens does go through with the defamation of character suit against his former trainer. I can’t wait to see what other secrets the man who knows Roger and Debbie Clemens well-enough to inject their bare bottoms with illegal substances is willing to divulge in an effort to prove there’s no real character to defame.

That's the view from Mt. Olympus...how do you see things?

DH David Ortiz was scratched from the Red Sox lineup today with tightness in his right knee. Boston's revised lineup for its 1:30 p.m. game against the Tampa Bay Rays:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury lf
2. Dustin Pedroia 2b
3. Kevin Youkils 1b
4. Manny Ramirez DH
5. Mike Lowell 3b
6. Jason Varitek c
7. J.D. Drew rf
8. Coco Crisp cf
9. Julio Lugo ss
SP: LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 4.31)
Ortiz has hit safety in 14 of his last 17 games (.301, 22-for-73) with four homers, 21 RBI, raising his batting average from .070 to .216.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Well, if you’re the thoroughbred racing industry, brown can help resuscitate you. Big Brown that is.

The unbeaten (in 3-career starts) Kentucky Derby favorite is drawing rave reviews and awe inspiring descriptions of his running style. If you believe the hype, we’re about to witness the newest superstar athlete unleashed on the American public. And in the process, horse racing may finally enjoy that long anticipated resurgence we’ve been clamoring for since the last Triple Crown winner, Affirmed, 30 years ago.

Maybe it’s that desire for the next great horse. Maybe it’s been the long time between “Crown” winners and the many close calls during that stretch. But I can’t remember a similar buzz surrounding a pre-race favorite as what we’ve seen and heard this week about Big Brown. I know I’ll be rooting hard for this colt to take the sport by storm, both because I love rooting for “the story” (that’s what we sports dudes tend to do) and because I’d love to see Rockingham Park and Suffolk Downs return to their glory days.
A Triple Crown winner would go a long way toward achieving both goals.

Step 1 in the process is today. If you’re a horse racing fan, you’re joining me in praying it’s not a miss-step.

Consider this your Kentucky Derby thread…what do you think of the race? Who will win? Can Big Brown live up to the hype? Who will take him down? And feel free to comment here after the race as well.

For most of the first month of the season, Red Sox pitchers, who led the AL in ERA last year, ranked 12th in the league in that department. The ERA of the starting pitchers after last Friday’s loss at Tampa Bay was 4.51. Today it’s 3.88 after four straight strong starts by their pitchers, ranking the Sox rotation fourth in the AL.
Interestingly, none of the last four victories has gone to a starting pitcher because the Red Sox have been scratching to score runs and winning games late.
Over the last four games Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka have allowed just three runs in 30 innings, an 0.90 ERA. Each of them has pitched at least seven innings and allowed no more than two runs.
The last time Red Sox starters pitched four games in succession with at least seven innings pitched and two or fewer runs scored was in April of 1997 when John Wasdin, Tom Gordon, Tim Wakefield, and Aaron Sele performed the feat.
Sox pitchers have fanned 213 batters, the most in the AL. But only Detroit and Texas pitchers have walked more batters.
Overall, the Red Sox' staff 4.32 ERA ranked 10th in the league going into tonight's game.

The lineups for tonight’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays:
Blue Jays
Alex Rios, rf
David Eckstein, ss
Scott Rolen, 3b
Matt Stairs, dh
Vernon Wells, cf
Aaron Hill, 2b
Shannon Stewart, lf
Rob Barajas, c
Marco Scutaro, 1b
A.J. Burnett, p
Red Sox
Dustin Pedroia, 2b
Kevin Youkilis, 1b
David Ortiz, dh
Manny Ramirez, lf
Mike Lowell, 3b
Brandon Moss, rf
Coco Crisp, cf
Jed Lowrie, ss
Kevin Cash, c
Tim Wakefield, p