Random Thoughts (July 10, 2007)

I would like to open with a thank you to Fox Sports New England for airing the Celtics summer league games in Las Vegas this week. Although not many players wearing green will ever see a uniform come October, it is interesting to watch the play of Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green, Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt, Leon Powe and Brandon Wallace. The next game for the C's is Wednesday night against Team China at 10 p.m. Would love to have Johnny Most call that one... Some more C's thoughts: The team agreed to a partially guaranteed two-year contract with rookie free agent Brandon Wallace out of South Carolina. The 6-9, 205-pound small forward -- who played center for the Gamecocks -- is a long, athletic forward who plays defense and rebounds (two critical areas of need for the Celtics). If he can actually defend real NBA players, the team has a steal. The rumor of the day, courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer, is that the Celtics are among the teams interested in free agent forward Joe Smith. Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 Draft out of Maryland, is a decent player and would help the young bigs on the Boston roster. The 6-10, 230-pound Smith can play power forward or center. Will Allen Ray ever play with Ray Allen? Doesn't look good for the second year guard. With the C's signing Wallace, roster spots are few and far between. The team still has need for veterans at point guard (I'm holding out hope for Derek Fisher) and on the front line so Ray's options look bleak. The 5-11 shooting guard is a nice player but he will probably have to look elsewhere for a job... Trivia question of the day (I'm liking this a lot): Name the four MLB players with both 500 homeruns and 3000 hits. Answer below... I really hope the American League wins in a blowout tonight so that David Ortiz can sit early and so that (hopefully) Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima won't have to pitch in a crucial situation. I'm also pulling for Josh Beckett to get skipped and for Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell to only appear as pinch hitters. Hey, the A.L. Pennant means more than the All-Star Game... The Patriots and cornerback Asante Samuel have until Monday, July 16 to come to terms on a long term deal. If no deal is reached, Samuel will only be able to play for the one-year franchise player contract, worth almost $8 million. Hopefully something will be done. The Pats are loaded and are big favorites to win the Super Bowl. Having a happy and productive Samuel will go a long way to making this a great team... Trivia answer: 1. Hank Aaron 2. Willie Mays 3. Eddie Murray 4. Rafael Palmeiro Enjoy the All-Star Game...