Draft Lottery/Joe Torre

Ten years ago, the Celtics had the best chance to win the NBA Draft lottery and the opportunity to draft Wake Forest center Tim Duncan. Instead, the San Antonio Spurs got the top pick -- and Duncan -- while the C's ended up with the third and sixth picks (Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer). The Spurs capitalized by winning three NBA Championships (1999, 2003 and 2005) and are the favorites to win the 2007 championship. On the other end of the spectrum, the Celtics have been regular visitors to the lottery and have made the playoffs just four times including their fluke 2002 trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Tonight, Celtic fans hope for a reversal of fortune. They enter tonight's lottery drawing with the second best chance at getting the top pick. If luck falls their way, the C's will have the opportunity to draft Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden. Even if they fail to get the first pick, staying at No. 2 would give them a chance to draft Texas freshman forward Kevin Durant, the consensus national player of the year. Of course, after one and two there is a drop off. The C's would still have a shot at a very good player -- what if Rick Pitino had not traded Billups after only 50 games of his rookie season? -- but no matter what Danny Ainge or any other general manager tells you, this draft is all about Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. The drawing will take place before Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Playing tonight will be Tim Duncan. The irony is there. Tonight while San Antonio is in the midst of a run toward their fourth championship in a decade, Boston will be praying for a chance at getting the player -- Oden or Durant -- that can get them back among the NBA's elite... As a Red Sox fan, I hope that the Yankees fire Joe Torre because that is the absolute worst move that George Steinbrenner could make. As of this morning, after last night's 6-2 win over the Red Sox, the Yankees trail Boston by 9.5 games in the AL East. It kills me to say it but on May 22, that is far from being an insurmountable disadvantage for New York. Firing Torre now, as the rumors in the Apple continue to swirl, would be a crushing blow in the Yankee clubhouse. Does Steinbrenner expect Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and the other Bombers to be inspired by the firing of Torre? Would any other manager make a diference when they are losing starting pitchers on an almost daily basis? The smart move would be to let Torre finish the year despite where the Yanks finish. After all that Torre has done for Steinbrenner and the Yankees -- 10 AL East championships including the last nine in a row, 11 postseason appearances in a row, six American League championships and four World Series championships -- he deserves to go out on his own and with his contract up at the end of the 2007 season, just let him walk away this fall. Making a rush decision to fire Torre sends the wrong message to his players, especially those who have been with him during the glory years. By allowing Torre to guide the team for the remainder of the season, there will be no storm of confusion among the Yankees. With all the injuries they have sustained, it is crazy to think they should be playing better. It is not Torre's fault that the Yanks are playing so poorly so Steinbrenner should not place the blame on him. After this season, the Yankees can find a new manger (Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi, Larry Bowa) and begin the process of building a new team. Alex Rodriguez will most likely leave as a free agent when he opts outof his contract and Bobby Abreu probably will join him. The pitching staff is getting older as well. This is an opportunity for Steinbrenner and the Yankees to make the wise choice to rebuild the organization at a time when the remainder of the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Series championship teams is growing older and the high priced mercenaries they acquired during this decade are on the way out. Allowing Torre to finish the season -- he would be the first Yankee skipper to manage 12 consecutive years since Casey Stengel did it from 1949-1960 -- is the first step in the direction of rebuilding the Yankees. So, as a Sox fan, you can see why I want Torre fired...