BLACK AND YELLOW vs. RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

Athletes occasionally say some pretty stupid things. But Rashard Mendenhall has surpassed them all. Here are some of his tweets after US Special Forces killed Osama Bin Laden:

"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

I've heard him speak. He puts out videos all the time, talking about how he wants to kill me. He'll probably keep putting videos out even though he's dead, Tupac style.

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style"

I think anyone of reasonable intelligence knows what happened. A pair of 176,000 pound 767 planes flying at 520 miles per hour can do some serious damage. Even to a big building. I know Mendenhall majored in sports management at Illinois, but I for some reason question his credentials when it comes to physics. Call me crazy.

This isn't about the Steelers, this is about an idiot being an idiot. And it just pissed me off. I used to like Mendenhall, even though he was on the Steelers. Now, I hate him almost as much as Big Ben.

SOX CONTINUE OWNERSHIP OF ANGELS

The Red Sox own the Angels. The Sox are now 14-15 overall, and more than a third (5) of those wins have come against Anaheim. And I'll take that. Because wins are at a premium right now.

Another Quality Start from Lester, his 6th straight. He's just so solid that it's unreal. Pretty much every start, he'll give the a team a good chance to win.

Crawford is finally hitting. That average of his is up to .194, close to the Mendoza line, close to his weight (215). The Sox finally hit some homeruns. Gonzales got his long-awaited 2nd homer, and that's a big relief. Ortiz got his second in 2 days, and Scutaro hit his first of the season.

Unfortunately, the Sox only have 2 more games against Anaheim this season, both this week. And until they consistently win games against teams that aren't the Angels or Blue Jays, I'm not going to fully believe that they've turned any corners. They're 8-1 against the Angels and Jays. 6-14 against everyone else.

Beckett faces 1-3 Ervin Santana tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

TALENT BEATS EXPERIENCE

It was probably unfair that here in Boston LeBron once had a reputation as a poor playoff performer. Last year he ran into the Celtics' defense, who held him to 26.8 points per game in the series, which is hardly shameful. He had no supporting cast. Until now. And as detestable as he is, you have to give him and the Heat credit.

I just think Miami is more talented than the Celtics. Which doesn't mean they'll walk away with this series. But it does mean that the C's have to play their absolute best every night. They need to put the youthful, inexperienced Heat into tough situations. The C's swept the Knicks despite never dominating them, because they were much better in the last 60 seconds of close games. During the regular season, the Celtics beat the Heat by being better at the end of close games.

Ray Allen was 2 for 7, which is a bad percentage, and not nearly enough shots. He's been the driving force of the Celtics offense. If he's not getting shots, let alone hitting them, the Celtics have an uphill struggle. And likely won't win.

Last night was Rajon Rondo (20 points, 12 assists) vs. the Heat. And the Heat were better. Pierce was absent, KG was just OK, and while Jeff Green scored 11 off the bench, the Celtics are missing Perk's defense.

The C's need to step up at home. Allen needs to get open. Pierce and Garnett need to wake up. They need to keep things close at the end. Put some heat on the Heat. Miami struggled to close out tight games this year. They don't know where to send the ball, which one of their stars should get the key shot. The Celtics, on the other hand, distribute it with ease in those clutch moments.

I think the C's will win Game 3 and make this an interesting series. Game 3 is a long ways away, Saturday night at the Garden.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo