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.”
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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