Fan Rants

The Celtics are half-way interesting to watch so far. Paul Pierce is playing his best all around basketball since missing those two free throws in Game 5 against the Nets in the 2002 Eastern Finals (which I heard over the phone while slugging Guiness in Dublin, Ireland). As Doc Rivers settles into a fixed rotation -- more Al Jefferson, Justin Reed and Ryan Gomes, less Brian Scala-bad contract please -- this could be a playoff team. Yeah, it's only six games into the season but this team might have the right fit of youth and experience to pry away a No. 6, 7, or 8 seed in the East... Watching SportsCenter tonight I noticed a blurb about Sergei Fedorov being dealt from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (or are they the Los Angeles Mighty Ducks of Anaheim?) to the Columbus Blue Jackets run across the Bottom Line. As soon as Fedorov's name flashed and I saw the "B" in Blue Jackets my half drunk mind thought that maybe the Bruins grabbed him, only to be disappointed that the Blue Jackets grabbed one of hockey's geatest scorers. But then my senses came to (sort of) and I realized that the B's hardly need more scoring, they need some defensemen. They might just be a defensemen or two from actually getting the opportunity to be knocked out of the playoffs by the Ottowa Senators in the spring... The Patriots win over Miami this Sunday is already climbing the charts among my all-time favorite Patriot victories. Not only did they beat the Dolphins in Miami, they did so without either of their starting tackles (Matt Light, Tom Ashworth), running backs (Corey Dillon got hurt on the first play, Kevin Faulk), strong safety (Rodney Harrison), cornerbacks (Randall Gay barely played, Tyrone Poole) and tight end (Dan Graham). To boot, the Pats lost center Dan Koppen during the game. To win under those circumstances is amazing -- the legends of Belichick, Brady and these New England Patriots continues to grow... Today the Pats placed Koppen (shoulder) and Gay (ankle) on injured reserve, meaning they are lost for the year. They join Harrison, Chad Scott and Duane Starks as players expected to contribute who are done for the year. If I was a betting man I would say it may be time to cancel those February trips to Detroit... BC fans have a right to gripe this week. If the Eagles had taken care of business in North Carolina last week against an inferior Tar Heel team (they lost 16-14) then Tom O'Brien's charges would be in prime position to win the ACC Atlantic Division and with it a place in the inagural ACC Football Championship Game because of Florida State's consecutive losses to NC State and Clemson. BC beat NC State this week but they can do no better than tie Florida State in the division because of a loss to the Seminoles back in September. This is like last year when all the Eagles needed to win the Big East outright (and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl) was a win over Syracuse, a game that saw the Orangemen clobber BC at Alumni Stadium. BC still must win at Maryland this week to stay in the running for the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida... What do we need to do for the Boston Globe to finally dump Napoleon Shaughnessy and replace him with ESPN.com's Bill Simmons?