Celtics Square Series

A few days ago, this seemed hard to believe. The Celtics were down 2-0. Even when they'd played well, Miami had beaten them. But after one weekend, it's all even at 2-2. The series now a Best of Three.

The officiating changed when the series came up to Boston. NBA refs seem to be the weakest willed human beings this side of Vichy France. They are so beaten into submission by star players, legend coaches, and 18,000 fans screaming at them. I would bet that of all professions, NBA referees have the highest rate of wives cheating on them. Not only are they travelling smost of the year, but they seem like some of the most flaccid men on the planet. Women respect power and decisiveness. So do sports fans. NHL linesmen and NFL umpires routinely score with the wives of NBA refs. Or so I would imagine.

Last night the Celtics shot out to an early lead. They went on a huge run in the 1st quarter, and led by 11. At halftime, they were up by 14. Then they couldn't buy a field goal in the second half. They scored 12 in the 3rd, then 16 in the 4th.

That's been a trend for them in the postseason. They're streaky shooters. They're streaky rebounders, too. The Celtics outrebounded the Heat 26-19 in the first half. The Heat outrebounded the Celtics 21-13 after.

But, when the score was tied and Miami had the last possession of regulation, the Celtics played great defense and shut down the Heat. Then in OT, the Celtics were simply better.

Kevin Garnett was great, especially late in the game. He scored 17 points and hauled in 14 rebounds. His 13th double-double of the playoffs. Rajon Rondo was equally impressive, especially in the first half. 15 points, 15 assists. He was only slowed down when the Miami defense focused almost entirely on him.

Rondo has his share of critics. I'd say that their biggest criticism of him is that he isn't amazing every night. He's only amazing most nights. That's a problem that I can live with. Especially when those nights are big games. He actually gets criticized for doing well in big games. What a City we live in.

Pierce scored 23, Bass scored 11, Ray Allen hit 4 three-pointers and finished with 16. Kevin Dooling scored 10 off the bench and added some serious energy to the game.

As the pressure in the series increases, the weaker LeBron James becomes. He fouled out of this game. We've already seen him be unable to finish games like a true MVP should be able to. Obviously, the Celtics will need to win a road game to win this series. I think they can so long as it's close in the 4th and LeBron wilts under pressure.

I love watching LeBron throw temper-tantrums when he's audaciously called for that 3rd foul. He's so unaccustomed to being called at all. It's hilarious to watch him flail and moan. I stand by Rajon Rondo's halftime comments. The Celtics are playing against a team that cries.

Game 5 Tuesday in Miami. If the Celtics win, the series is over.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Tim Thomas Will Not Play Next Year

On his Facebook page, Tim Thomas said this today:

"From the earliest age I can remember, I've wanted to be a hockey player. I've been blessed in my life to not only be able to live that dream, but to achieve more than I ever thought possible.

"The singleminded focus that is necessary to accomplish a dream of this magnitude entails (by necessity) sacrifice in other areas and relationships in life.

"At the age of 38, I believe it is time to put my time and energies into those areas and relationships that I have neglected. That is why at this time I feel the most important thing I can do in my life is to reconnect with the three F's.

"Friends, Family, and Faith.

"This is what I plan on doing over the course of the next year.

"On top of this, I will continue to train using the ARP/POV system www.ultrafitevosport.com and work with G-Form www.g-form.com in the development of protective equipment.

"What does this portend for the future?

"We'll see….God's will be done."

In other words, Tim Thomas will be taking his talents to Colorado to spend time with his family and friends. He's got three kids and a wife. He's already accomplished some amazing things in his hockey career. I have no problem with this. He says he's taking a year off. Will he come back? I think he'll make a decision on that in about a year.

And anyone who criticizes him for this move is soulless. We live in a sports society that puts salary above all else. Then we criticize athletes for chasing money. Thomas says he wants to spend time with his family. Call me corny, but I think that's nice. His profession does demand a lot of time on the road and in the rink, and does require considerable sacrifices. It sounds like now he wants to sacrifice hockey for family, and that's commendable.

And any sportswriter who wants to mock Thomas' using the word "portend" should look at their own writing. They'll see that they too occasionally use that odd flowery word to make their writing sound more important than it is. It's part of the writing milieu.

We'll have more on this tomorrow.

Scion FR-S

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It looks sharp, doesn't it? A 200 horsepower, rear-wheel drive sporty car with a racing pedigree. And for less than $30,000, that's not bad at all.

It looks light, trim, fit. Its curb weight is only 164 pounds heavier than an entry level Civic coupe. So with that 2.0 liter 200 horsepower engine, this thing will move. Thankfully it has rear-wheel drive to help you move. One problem with front-wheel drive cars is as the power level approaches 200 horsepower, you get something called torque-steer. That's when the front wheels have too much power going through them to remain stable. The car essentially steers itself in random directions when you put your foot down.

Rear-wheel drive is simply better. And more fun to drive.

So this car looks good, is reasonably priced, is relatively light, has a strong engine, and the power goes to the right place. It's an affordable sports car that's also practical.

I like it.

Tim Thomas Jumped to Colorado, Media Jumps to Conclusions

CSN New England has reported that Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas "abruptly" moved his family to Colorado in the middle of the season.

I love how Joe Haggerty added the word "abruptly," which makes Thomas' move seem like he bolted in the night, having the movers tip-toe as they hauled away their furniture in covert silence.

Haggerty, and now others in the sports media, have jumped to the conclusion that Thomas decided his future in Boston wasn't going to extend past the 2011-12 season. Thomas has a no-trade clause which expires on July 1st, next year is the last on his contract, and the Bruins could use the cap space. And that's why he moved his family to Colorado.

I'm not saying that I think Thomas will be here next season. Because I don't. But I seriously doubt that his uncertain future with the Bruins was the motivation behind this move. It doesn't make sense. If he didn't think he'd be a Boston Bruin in the fall, why not wait and see what team he'd wind up with, then move there?

I think he got tired of living in Boston. The White House story set sports radio on fire. People insinuated that he was racist, some blamed him for the team struggling after that, some guy from TSN made a joke on Twitter about his three children all having names that start with K ('KKK').

His three children are 12, 7, and 6. Which means they were going to school with the sons and daughters of Bruins fans who were angry with Thomas for being a distraction. If I were a father, I'd get tired of my kids taking crap in school because someone else's parent was mad at me for not attending a White House photo op.

In Haggerty's column, he called Colorado "more politically conservative" than Massachusetts. Name me a state (apart from Vermont) that isn't more politically conservative than Massachusetts. It is impossible to move from Massachusetts and not move to a more politically conservative state.

Haggerty makes it seem as though Colorado is in the Deep South. Obama won Colorado in 2008. Both Senators from Colorado are Democrats. Three of the seven Representatives are Democrats. The Governor is a Democrat. It's a moderate state.

I think Thomas got tired of the incessant questions and aggravations he and his family dealt with in their daily lives in suburban Boston. Haggerty points out that his source mentioned Thomas might have wanted to be near Team USA's headquarters in Colorado Springs. Haggerty then dismisses this quite reasonable explanation because of that word "abrupt" I mentioned earlier. Why so quickly?

Again, how abrupt was it? Is there any way to know how long Thomas might have been planning to move and just didn't want to say anything because he was already trying not to talk about his personal life with the media?

Haggerty got a weird bit of info and jumped to the most sensational and exciting conclusion possible. He didn't bother to consider other alternatives to the conclusion he reached. He didn't even bother to look at a Wikipedia page about Colorado's Congressional Delegation. He just went with it.

Good job, Joe. Responsible journalism at its finest.

No wonder Thomas moved away from here.

Red Sox Use Long Ball to Beat Tigers

The Red Sox have an abundance of corner infielders. Gonzalez, Middlebrooks, Ortiz, and Youkilis. All of them had big hits last night. Three of them hit homeruns. Gonzalez hit a ground rule double to give the Sox a 5-4 lead in the 7th. Middlebrooks and Ortiz each hit two run shots in the 4th. Youkilis hit an insurance solo homer in the 8th.

Since coming off the DL, Youkilis is 9 for 31 (.290) in 8 games. He's getting on base. He's hit 2 homeruns and knocked in 12 RBI. He only had 9 RBI in 18 games in April. I think it's safe to attribute some of his struggles in April to his injury.

With players like Pedroia and Ellsbury on the DL, it's tough to trade Youkilis away. And at the same time his trade value increases, his value to the Sox also increases.

Jon Lester gave the Sox a good start. It's amazing how well the team plays when the starting pitching does its job. He went 6.2, throwing 120 pitches. He was charged with 4 earned runs, but 1 of those was an inherited runner that Albers allowed to score. He allowed 10 hits, but he didn't walk anyone, and he got 7 strikeouts.

Lester is a key figure to the Sox' success. It's hard to imagine the Sox making the playoffs (let alone winning in the playoffs) if Lester isn't performing. He's been a rock in the rotation for a few years now. This year he's been shaky. He needs to put together a few good starts in a row and get into a rhythm. He doesn't have to be an Ace. He just has to be consistent.

I'll give a tip of the cap to Alfredo Aceves, who's pitched in 4 straight games. I'll show more restraint with my appraisal of his performance this season. He's blown 3 saves. One of those came in this 4 game stretch. He hasn't been bad. But let's stop declaring him things that he's not. Only 4 other relievers have blown more saves this season.

Then again, he has stepped up and adequately filled a role the Sox needed to fill. It's not his fault that Papelbon wasn't re-signed, that Bailey got hurt, and that the Sox didn't acquire a starter so they were forced to put Bard in the rotation.

I'm liking Daniel Nava more and more each game. He had an outfield assist in the 7th that proved critical. If he doesn't throw out Avila at second, the 7th inning might have seen Detroit take a lead, not just tie the game.

Marlon Byrd also made a spectacular diving catch.

Guys like Nava, Byrd, and Aceves are easy to root for. There's no doubt that they're giving 100%, and that they're hungry to win.

The Sox are now 13-13 at home. They'll look to sweep the Tigers tonight. Beckett faces Max Scherzer. The Sox tagged him for 7 runs in 2.2 innings back in April (then lost 13-12). He's settled down since then, and has had a decent May. But the Sox should still win this apparent mismatch.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Celtics Run Out of Gas in OT, Celtics Fans Blame Officials

I'm not much of an NBA fan. And that's due partly to the officiating. I just can't seem to tell what's considered a foul and what isn't. I think NBA refs also struggle with that distinction. So when Celtics fans are in an uproar over bad officiating, it takes me a second to look back on the game and realize that the officiating was bad. I'm so accustomed to seeing puzzling calls that I don't really notice it as they happen.

The refs were bad. As bad as they've been in every NBA game I can remember. Get over it. Do people love NBA basketball because if their team loses they can just blame the refs?

Celtics fans had been clamoring for the C's to play a tougher, more physical game. Fans were encouraging fouling, especially of LeBron James. Then the Celtics get called for fouling James. And now fans are whining about it.

The refs did miss that face-rake of Rondo. That was too bad. But bad officials in the NBA Playoffs are like bad weather in the NFL Playoffs. It's something you can't control and have to be able to win despite it.

The Celtics played with a lot of energy for the first part of the game. Especially on defense. Garnett was everywhere. And offensively, the C's were driving. They were staying down low, hauling in rebounds, and Rondo took full advantage of how the Heat tried to cover him.

In the 3rd quarter, the Celtics let the game get away. With 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, the Celtics were up by 15. Late in the 3rd, they were down by 8. A 23 point swing in 16 minutes of basketball.

The Celtics rallied back in the 4th quarter. Then missed a few shots that could have won them the game. Ray Allen missed two rushed jumpers that probably shouldn't have been taken at all. I don't like the idea of Ray Allen taking late-game shots unless he is getting a near perfect look with his feet completely set.

Then the Heat gave the Celtics a chance. Wade missed a free throw. LeBron decided to cover Dooling instead of Ray Allen. And when Allen finally was able to take his time, set his feet, and take a clear look, he sank the three-pointer. Then LeBron missed twice going the other way.

But winning in overtime would be a tough task. Pierce had fouled out. Allen was drained. Garnett was utterly exhausted. Even if the refs called the face-rake on Rondo, I don't think the Celtics would have had enough in the tank to hold off the Heat.

On the bright side, the Celtics improved their shooting. They played better defense, they rebounded the ball, they made their free throws, they didn't get blocked 11 times. And we all saw that LeBron James has no heart whatsoever. I'm not counting the Celtics out yet. It'll be tough for them to win 4 of 5, but if they win Game 3 in Boston, things look significantly brighter.

Game 3 Friday night in the Garden.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Pedroia Wants to Play Despite Injury

I'll give Dustin Pedroia two thumbs up (get it?) for wanting to play through injury and return to the Red Sox lineup as soon as humanly (or inhumanly) possible. He tore part of the adductor muscle in his thumb. The initial injury occurred weeks ago, according to Pedroia, but it was aggravated Monday afternoon against the Tigers.

Right now, the Sox are in a holding pattern on this injury, waiting to see how much the swelling goes down, and if Pedroia feels any pain. If it hasn't healed and he's not back in the lineup in the next 2 to 4 days, he'll likely be placed on the DL.

Pedroia is eager to play. He's declared a willingness to play even if it still hurts, even if he still feels pain. And the Sox' PR Machine hasn't been reluctant to mention this old-school grittiness.

At first, part of me thought that the Sox should sit Pedroia for 2 weeks, just to be safe. Then I remembered that I'm not a doctor. If this muscle has healed, it's healed. And it might even be medically unwise to avoid using it. From what we've been told, the tear isn't that bad. It's a slight tear in a thumb muscle, not a ripped hamstring or detached quad.

My opinion is this: I don't want Pedroia playing through this injury. If it's still injured, if it requires a splint or any sort of special treatment, I want Pedroia on the DL so this thumb can heal properly and he's available down the stretch. At the same time, I also don't want the Sox to be overly cautious. If the injury has healed, then let him play. Don't make him sit out with his thumb up his ass.

The next 24 hours will determine a lot. Is the thumb healed, or does it need further healing. I only wish the doctors announced the news in this manner:

Photo Credit (of Pedroia):
AP Photo

Red Sox Break The .500 Barrier

Normally, I would say that the Red Sox surpassing the .500 mark for the first time in a season after Memorial Day is hardly worth celebrating. However, I really like how the Sox did it.

They weren't supposed to do it last night. All the explanations and excuses were lined up in advance. Verlander was on the mound for Detroit. The Sox' #5 starter Bard was facing him. It seemed a foregone conclusion that the Sox would lose. But they didn't.

If you're going to wait until May 29th to go over .500, you'd better make it special. Or at least interesting. And the Sox did that. They got to Verlander, one of the top pitchers in the game. Bard had a very Bardlike game, but Valentine was able to retrieve him before any major damage was done. The bullpen did a solid job finishing the game. And Aceves didn't allow a homerun.

The Sox got 10 hits off Verlander, including 3 doubles. They also got 4 hits with runners in scoring position. Verlander's ERA increased 0.40 thanks to the 5 runs he allowed in 6 innings last night. It increased 18.6% from 2.15 to 2.55. If that happened to Beckett's ERA, it'd go up 0.77 points.

Daniel Nava's 3 run double in the 4th was the biggest hit of the season. There were 2 outs, the bases loaded, a full count, and the game would turn on the next pitch. Verlander would either escape the jam and the Tigers would eventually score on Bard and have a good chance to win. Or, Nava would get a hit, give Bard a cushion, and put the Sox in the driver's seat.

After that, the Sox didn't mess up and lose control of the game. The bullpen did its job. Ortiz had an RBI double in the 5th and a solo homerun in the 7th to pad the lead. Detroit's not a very good offensive team (9th in the AL in runs scored), and the Sox took advantage of that.

Ortiz has returned to his role as the heart of the Red Sox lineup. He leads the team in the following categories: runs, doubles, homeruns, total bases, walks, batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS.

Now that this hurdle has been overcome, the next step is to keep up some of these good habits we've seen lately. We've seen very few bad starts from the pitchers, the bullpen has stabilized, the offense is getting clutch hits in game-turning situations. That's a winning formula. It starts with the starting pitching, and the rest falls into place.

The Orioles, Rays, and Yankees all lost last night. The Sox are only 3.5 games out in the division, and 1.5 out of the 2nd Wild Card. The opportunity is there.

Jon Lester pitches for the Sox tonight. Drew Smyly is on the mound for Detroit. Smyly was good in April. He's been bad in May. He has a 6.75 ERA in his last 3 starts.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo