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Somewhere up in sports heaven, Red Auerbach is smoking a cigar. A cigar he lit in the 3rd quarter, because that's when Game 6 was over and done with.



The Celtics played with the intensity of a team facing elimination, while the Lakers played like a team with $1,000,000 riding on the Celtics. An absolutely dominant 2nd quarter led to a 58-35 halftime lead. Instead of coming out of the locker room fired up, the Lakers played half-assed defense, and seemed confused on offense.

Just some fun team stats from game 6. The Lakers had 2 offensive rebounds, the Celtics had 14. Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and Rajon Rondo had as many offensive rebounds as the Lakers did, and Kevin Garnett had 1 more. In total, the Celtics outrebounded LA 48 to 29. The Lakers stole the ball 4 times, the Celtics stole it 18 times. The Celtics turned the ball over 7 times, the Lakers turned it over 19 times.

Kobe Bryant, allegedly the best "played on the planet" (how old did that description get during this series?) shot 7 for 22. He shot 40.5% for the series.



Paul Pierce deservedly won the series MVP Award, and finished game 6 with 17 points and 10 assists. KG had 26 points and 14 rebounds. Ray Allen was 7 of 9 on three pointers and had 26 points. Rajon Rondo had another great game in Boston, with 21 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. The bench had 39 points.



It was absolute domination, which is what the Celtics did to the league all year long. And guess what, the PGA Tour will be back next season.

Rolling rally Thursday at 11 AM.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Bill Sikes
AP Photo/Winslow Townson
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Boston.com

JEMELE HILL COMPARES CELTICS FANS TO NAZIS

Jemele Hill, an ESPN.com Page 2 columnist, has come under heavy fire this week for an absurd comparison in one of her columns.

"Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It’s like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan.”

Here is the article. As you can tell, the inflammatory comparisons have been removed. This was after an intense backlash, mostly from Celtics fans, who didn't like being lumped in with Hitler apologists.

In every documentary I've seen on neo-Nazis, I don't think I've ever heard any radical retard claim Hitler was a victim of anything.

To me, the Gorbachev/Reagan remark is even dumber, although not as offensive. Gorbachev was the architect of glasnot and one of the biggest reasons the USSR collapsed, ending the Cold War. He was a peace maker. Furthermore, if Celtics fans were rooting for Gorbachev to push the button, does that mean Jemele's fellow Pistons fans were rooting for Reagan to push the button? I was only a child in the 1980s, but I don't think anyone was rooting for anyone to push any little red buttons.

Some people, like those at the Celtics blog RedsArmy are calling for Jemele's head. The pressure ESPN.com has been under convinced them to remove the ludicrous comparisons and issue an apology. But to demand she be fired for this is insane. She has the right to say what she wants. If you don't like it, then don't read it. Who cares if her writing is still published somewhere? Act like an adult and get on with your life.

Jemele's analogies were crude, offensive, and generally stupid. But this seems to be a trend in sports journalism these days. Her entire column was a wandering rant about how much she hated the Celtics. It was repetitive and pointless. It could have been edited down to this sentence: "I like the Pistons, therefore I still hate the Celtics."

Instead, Jemele decided to go overboard. She used something called hyperbole. Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to create emphasis. For instance, the expression "Hungry enough to eat a horse," is an hyperbole used to express extreme hunger. She was trying to show how much she hated the Celtics. But she used the wrong hyperbole.

When you compare someone or something to Adolf Hitler, or Nazis; you light a figurative fire. They're incendiary words. Sometimes things can be compared to Hitler. Benito Mussolini, for instance, can be called Hitler Jr. But one has to be careful playing with fire. Jemele Hill wasn't careful. She simply thought of the most extreme comparison she could make, and didn't look back.

But that's what these journalists get paid for: to say dumb shit. The dumber and more obscenely grotesque, the better. Because with blogs, the internet, sports radio, and newspapers; being heard is more important than being right. The louder the better.

We see guys like Shaughnessey pull this sensationalist crap. But to be fair to the Shank, not only is Dan 100 times the writer Jemele is, he's also smart enough to know where the line is, and not to cross it. Shaughnessey tip-toes the line, and maybe takes a step across when you're not looking. But he doesn't blatantly leap over it like Jemele did.

Jemele Hill should rethink her philosophies on writing columns, but she won't. If she wrote more subdued and less ridiculous pieces, ESPN.com would fire her because people would stop reading. She's not an especially good writer. But her opinions spark fires. Nobody ignores a fire.

DICE-K GOES 5 IN REHAB START, ORTIZ GETS CAST REMOVED

While the Red Sox played in Philadelphia, the PawSox played the Phillies' AAA affiliate in Allentown with Daisuke Matsuzaka starting. He went 5 innings, allowed 3 hits and 2 runs. In his first 4 innings, he mowed down the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He faced the minimum 12 batters and only threw 39 pitches. In total, 47 of his 65 pitches were for strikes. After the game, he said: "I don't know what percent I'm at, but I'm ready to pitch again."

Also on Monday, David Ortiz had his cast removed. His wrist will now be in a splint, and he can start exercising it.

Sources:
Associated Press
Boston.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steve Klaver

COLON EMBARRASSED ON THE MOUND AND AT THE PLATE

It just wasn't a very good night for the Red Sox on any front, particularly Bartolo Colon. He only went 4 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs. At the plate, he looked like a drunk softball player, hacking wildly as Cole Hamels toyed with him. Yeah, watching pitchers bat is fun.

If Colon has another bad start his next time out, it's time to get concerned about his durability and recovery from starts.

The Red Sox got plenty of hits to put up more than 2 runs. Unfortunately, a pair of 2 out rallies both started (and quickly ended) when Colon was due up.

The good news is that Pedroia seems to be hitting again. He was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Sean Casey also looks good, so when interleague play is over, he should be able to plug the DH hole left by Ortiz.

Jon Lester goes against Jamie "Which Team Am I On Now?" Moyer Tuesday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR

The Celtics came close to finishing off the Lakers last night, but wound up on the wrong side of a 103 to 98 score. Once again, the Lakers pulled ahead early, leading by 19 at one point. They then collapsed, allowing the Celtics to come back. But the C's didn't put the finishing touches on the game and LA escaped.

Kevin Garnett had a mediocre to bad 4th quarter. On defense, he was rarely physical. Then again, he was in foul trouble, so that's understandable. On offense, however, he failed to be physical for the entire game. He made Pau Gasol look like an actual big man, and not just an overgrown soccer player. KG slapped defensive rebounds to the backcourt, instead of trying to haul them in. He didn't drive. He didn't get to the free throw line until the 4th quarter. And then he shot 1 of 4, which was back breaking.



I'm not going to pull a Phil Jackson and blame the officials for this loss. The Celtics did enough to lose it on their own. But the refs deserve free drinks in LA for at least a month.

With 0:48 on the clock in the 4th, and a 97-95 Laker lead, Paul Pierce pulled down a defensive rebound. He appeared to get mugged by three different Lakers as he corralled the ball. But he got out with the ball and brings it up the court. Then Kobe Bryant reaches around and hits Paul Pierce's side. KOBE NEVER TOUCHED THE BALL. It pops free, the Lakers get it, find Kobe running up the court, and he dunks to make it a 99-95 lead with 0:37 on the clock.



So instead of Paul Pierce going to the line with a chance to tie it, the Lakers get a 4 point lead. I'm not accusing the refs of bias, it was just a standard case of officials refusing to call fouls/penalties late in games. I guess by allowing rules to be broken late in a game, the officials avoid affecting the outcome. Flawless logic.

Anyway, the Celtics and Lakers come back home for some more fun. Hopefully KG will get his act together, because Pierce, Allen, and the bench are doing everything right. Game 6 Tuesday night.

And Jack Nicholson, get a life. You may be one of the coolest dudes on the planet, but any mystique you have evaporates when you yell at the refs like a 12 year old.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Pool, Larry W. Smith
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

100,000 HITS

Saturday afternoon, this blog reached 100,000 hits. It's a relatively small milestone, even for a sports blog, but I'm still proud. I just want to thank the 6 or 7 regular readers out there, as well as the thousands who stumble through by accident. Special props to my friends who indirectly encouraged me to start blogging by constantly asking what I thought about the latest Sox trade or the Patriots draft. Then there's that dude Andy who seems to hate Boston sports but always has something intelligent to contribute via comments. Then there are the multitude of sites that link to my articles, or subscribe to my feed. UniversalHub.com gets a special shout out for linking to my articles from time to time. And most importantly, I'd like to thank my sponsors. Because anything someone does that doesn't make him money is a waste of time.

So thank you everyone. Next stop: 1,000,000 hits.

BECKETT LOOKS LIKE BECKETT, ELLSBURY SETS RECORD, SOX WIN 9-0

Despite lacking Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox slugged their way to a 9-0 win over the Reds. Every Sox batter reached base, except Josh Beckett. Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia each hit homeruns, as did JD Drew, who now has 11. By the way, Drew now leads the team in runs scored with 50, and OPS at 1.004.

Jacoby Ellsbury broke the Red Sox rookie record for stolen bases. He stole 2, giving him 33 for the season. The previous record was held by Andy McCombell, set in 1908. Just to show how old that record is, that was the first year the Red Sox were known as the Red Sox. The AL rookie record is 66, set by Kenny Lofton in 1992. Ellsbury is on pace for 74.

Josh Beckett finally had a Josh Beckett calibre start, going 7 innings, scattering 6 hits, allowing no runs, and striking out 6.

The Sox have won 12 of their last 16 games. More importantly, they've won their last 2 road series in a row for the first time this season.

But things get much harder. The Red Sox start a three game series against Chase Utley and the NL East leading Phillies Monday night. Bartolo Colon faces Cole Hamels. In his last two starts Hamels threw 17 innings and only allowed 2 runs.

Source:
ESPN.com
WBZTV.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tony Tribble