RONDO'S FIRST TRIPLE DOUBLE

A Celtic hasn't recorded a triple double in 180 regular season games, 206 if you count the post-season. Ryan Gomes did it last, on November 8, 2006. He had 10 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds as the Celtics beat the Bobcats 110-108 in OT.

Rajon Rondo's was slightly more impressive than Gomes'. At halftime, he only needed one rebound and two assists to get there. He got his 10th board and 10th assist on the very same play. He wound up with a staggering 17 assists on the night, along with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

He's developed into a top point guard. He's shooting over 50%, which tells me he's only taking smart shots (Sam Cassel, pay attention, you might learn something). His assists are up from last season, as are his steals and rebounds. But he's also been a big part of the stalwart team defense the Celtics are known for.

Maybe instead of calling it the PGA Tour, I'll have to start calling Celtics games RPGs.

Source:
ESPN.com
Boston.com's Celtics Blog

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

DESPERATE FOR DEFENSE

The Patriots signed former Patriot Roosevelt Colvin to a 1 year deal. This comes after Pierre Woods left Sunday's game. I'm not too overjoyed with this move because Colvin was cut by the Houston Texans, and nobody signed him until week 13. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pissed, this is a good pickup. But it also signals how desperate the Patriots are for linebackers.

Source:
Reiss's Pieces

SOX SECURE PEDROIA LONG-TERM

The Red Sox locked down Dustin Pedroia for at least 6 years. The deal is worth a total of $40.5 million, and includes a club option for a 7th year. The contract is heavily backloaded, meaning Pedroia's checks will be significantly larger toward the end of the deal than they will be at the start. He'll receive a $1.5 million salary in 2009, but the last year of the deal is worth $10 million. The 7th year option is for $11 million.

This is a tremendous deal for the Sox, as they'll be paying the reigning MVP about $6.75 million per year. That's half of what Julio Lugo gets, and might be around half of what Jason Varitek will get. It's amazing how much bad players are paid.

The only downside to the deal is that if Pedroia falters in a few seasons, he'll be very difficult to trade and costly to release. But that's a worst-case scenario.

Source:
Extra Bases

IS MANNY FERNANDEZ A HIGHLANDER?

Why is Manny Fernandez such a good goalie? It's because he's immortal and he feeds off the power of other Highlanders he kills. That's why.

I have proof that Manny Fernandez is immortal. Just look at his name. The current Manny Fernandez was "born" in 1974 in Ontario as Emmanuel Fernandez. But this is all just a cover story. There have been Manny Fernandezes for hundreds of years, and it's all him pretending to be a new person to prevent suspicion.

Before hockey, Manny Fernandez was a professional wrestler. He was known as The Raging Bull, was 90 pounds heavier, and wore a mustache as a disguise. He wrestled back before the explosion of WWF when there were dozens of organizations across the country. But wrestlers like him helped put the "sport" on the map.

Here he is trying to cut off the head of another wrestler with his knees, but they aren't sharp enough to do the job. But look at all the blood, he was close. And remember, Highlanders get more power when they cut off people's heads.



Before wrestling, Manny Fernandez, under the pseudonym Manuel Jose Fernandez, was a football player. He played nose tackle for the Dolphins back in the 70s. He won a pair of Super Bowls with Miami, and was a member of that 1972 team. Now doesn't he look eerily similar to the Manny Fernandez in the wrestling clip?



Why does he look the same? Because he's the same guy! He lost a few pounds to wrestle, then lost some more to play hockey. He trimmed the mustache then got rid of it completely for the NHL (a mustache in a goalie's mask would get very irritating).

Before getting into sports, Manny Fernandez was a military man. Going under the name Manuel J. Fernandez, he was a fighter pilot in the Korean War. He was credited with 14.5 kills, making him the 3rd leading Ace amongst American pilots. He also served as an instructor during WWII, and as a fighter escort during the Berlin Airlift. Notice how he's just starting to grow the mustache?



Before fighting for the US in Korea, he fought against the US in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Then he was known as General Manuel Fernandez Silvestre. After withdrawing from Cuba with the rest of the Spaniards, he fought in Morocco. After the Disaster of Annual, it's believed he shot himself in the head. HOWEVER, nobody ever found his body, or saw him die. How come? Because he didn't die, he just changed his identity and shaved that ridiculous mustache.



Before fighting for the Spanish, he fought against the Spanish. Manny Fernandez has no loyalties but to himself. Back in the 1810s, he fought in the Mexican War of Independence. He eventually rose to the rank of Major General in Santa Anna's Mexican Army. Then his name was Manuel Fernández Castrillón. He fought the Texans at the Alamo, but to his credit pleaded for several prisoners to be spared. Later, his death was staged as Texas's inevitable victory in the war became apparent.

Manny Fernandez has lead many lives in his never-ending lifetime. He was a soccer player in 1940s Spain with the name Manuel Fernández Fernández, and the nickname Pahiño. As Manuel Fernández Juncos he founded the Puerto Rican Red Cross, and wrote the lyrics to Puerto Rico's national anthem.

It's impossible to really know when Manny Fernandez was born. We know he's at least 230 years old, but he could be 500, 1,000, or 2,000 years old. What matters is that he's immortal (unless he gets his head chopped off) and he's extremely powerful. With him, the Bruins have an excellent chance at winning The Prize, a.k.a. the Stanley Cup.

PETE CARROLL STILL SUCKS

It really pisses me off when former Patriot Head Dweeb Pete Carroll gets credit for USC's success. How hard is it to get high school kids to want to play in southern California?

But now maybe his ineptitude will become apparent to everyone around the country. He's willing to sacrifice 2 timeouts just so the USC Trojans can wear their home colors when they visit UCLA on Saturday.

It's not a bad idea. USC is red and yellow, UCLA is blue and gold. There'd be no confusion. But he should wait for an NCAA ruling to allow this because wearing red isn't worth 1 timeout per half, the prescribed penalty against a visiting team that refuses to wear white.

Hopefully this somehow costs USC the game AND the Rose Bowl.

Source:
ESPN.com

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BEST TEAM IN THE NHL IS... THE BOSTON BRUINS

You may have missed it with the Celtics playing, and Oklahoma beating Oklahoma State, but the Bruins hosted the Stanley Cup Champions Saturday night, and they crushed them.

Before Saturday night, the Red Wings had lost in regulation just once.

Before Saturday night, the Red Wings had been held to 1 goal just once.

The Bruins beat the Red Wings in regulation 4-1. They withstood an opening barrage of shots from Detroit, but it was the Bruins who found the back of the net twice in the 1st period. Detroit got on the board 3/4 of the way thru the 2nd, making it a 3-1 game. But it was too little, too late.

Manny Fernandez was unshakable. He stopped 29 of 30 shots and is 7-1-1 this season. The B's have the best goaltending tandem in the League by far.



The Bruins have won 9 straight home games.

The Bruins were 11-1-1 in November.

The Bruins are 16-4-4. Last year they didn't get win number 16 until December 10th. They didn't get to 36 points until December 12th. They're on pace for 123 points, which would be their most ever.

With Thomas and Fernandez, they're all set in goal. Thomas should be starting the All-Star Game, but Montreal fans are stuffing the ballot like Alexei Kovalev stuffs Michael Komisarek in the locker room if you know what I mean.

Zdeno Chara's having a good offensive season again and has been a force on the power play and the penalty kill.



Michael Ryder's finding the back of the net lately. He had a pair of assists against Detroit.

Marco Sturm was heating up before he got a concussion. He scored twice against Montreal a couple weeks ago.

Matt Hunwick came up from Providence and the speedy defenseman has been all over the ice. He's got 3 goals, 5 assists, and he's +10 in only 12 games.

David Krejci is one of the safest puck possession players in the NHL. And he seems to be learning from Marc Savard when it comes to setting up his teammates. He's got 7 goals and 12 assists, and when players like Sturm or Ryder have struggled, they've been "demoted" to Krejci's line where they suddenly heat up.

Dennis Wideman has averaged about 25 minutes of ice time per game, and he's been productive all 25 minutes. 6 goals, including a shorthanded tally. And he's +13.

Shawn Thornton is averaging 2 penalty minutes a game, which is made more impressive by his 9 minutes of ice time. He's got 6 fighting majors this season. But even he's in the black at +2.

Phil Kessel's become a complete player. Last year, he was just a fast kid. But Coach Julien has molded him into a team player, and a defensive player, which allows Kessel to create counterattacks, which are perfect for his speed. He's scored points in 9 straight games. He's on pace to score 44 goals.



Marc Savard continues to be an assists monster. He's 2nd in the League with 22. He's also 4th in +/- at +13. And he's scoring goals, not just assisting. Last year he only scored 15 goals, this year he already has 8.

Blake Wheeler has surprised everyone, except maybe the Bruins' front office. He's got 8 goals, 4 assists, and he's +12. He scored in his NHL debut on October 9th, and netted a hat trick on November 6th.



Milan Lucic has made impressive strides over the past 365 days. Last November he was getting 5 to 8 minutes of ice time and was an occasional scratch. Now he's getting 15 minutes a game, is an offensive threat (6 goals, 9 assists compared to 1 goal, 1 assist at the end of last November), and he's even more dangerous to the opposition. He's the NHL leader in Hits with 100.



The Bruins are deep, well rounded, and stout. They have speed and explosiveness, mixed with strength and grit.

The Big Bad Bruins be back.



Sources:
ESPN.com
NHL.com

Photo Credits:
Associated Press

NOBODY WANTS TO WIN THE AFC EAST

The Patriots are 7-5, they were just embarrassed by the Steelers, and the situation somehow isn't that grim when you really think about it.

I know, I'm trying to be as positive as I can here. But to be fair to the Patriots, they haven't played a defense in the same league as Pittsburgh's and won't again for the rest of the regular season.

And let's be honest, the Patriots defense is mediocre at best. They can't tackle, the pressure on the QB is either absent or horribly inconsistent. Tedy Bruschi is a ghost on the field these days. And there's no pressure from the outside.



Matt Cassel obviously has the skill set and the God given ability to be a premier quarterback in this League. But he's lacking consistency. After two impressive weeks that had the town idiots throughout Greater Boston proposing scenarios to keep Cassel, maybe all of us will remember that he's just started on the road to being a high calibre player, and he might not reach that destination until he's wearing different laundry.

But this team has the capacity to do some damage if they get their shit together. They just have a lot of shit to get together. The Jets and Bills lost, so the division is still within reach. And besides Tennessee and Pittsburgh, who poses a significant threat in the AFC?

The Pats have Seattle on the road next Sunday in a rare December scrimmage.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson
AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

MEN IN BLACK

The Bruins might want to use their new alternate jerseys more often after beating the Islanders 7-2 Friday afternoon. Michael Ryder wouldn't object to that.

The Islanders were actually the better team to start. Manny Fernandez showed a bit of rust and positioned himself poorly to stop a wrist shot, giving New York a 1-0 lead. They outshot the Bruins 9-7 in the 1st period, and had the better offensive opportunities.

But the B's turned the tables in the 2nd, creating numerous opportunities, and finally breaking through with 2 goals to take a lead.

The 3rd saw a complete meltdown in New York's offense, which gave the Bruins chance after chance after chance. And the Men in Black didn't miss.



Michael Ryder needed a breakout game. Or rather, the Bruins needed him to have a breakout game. And they got it. He was acquired for his ability to finish plays with a goal. But he hadn't been accurate, or very opportunistic. Until Friday afternoon. Both his goals were sniped into the net from distance.

Matt Hunwick extended his point streak to 6 games with 2 assists. Blake Wheeler, David Krejci, and Phil Kessel each tallied a goal and an assist. Manny Fernandez is now 6-1-1, and the Bruins are averaging 4.6 goals per game in his starts this season. They've also scored 20 in his last 3 starts (6.7 per game).

The Bruins have won 8 straight at home, but that streak will be put to the test Saturday night as the Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings come to town.

Sources:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Lisa Poole