Celtics Thoughts

Some confused and unrelated musings from last night's 117-97 blowout of Phoenix at the Garden... Kevin Garnett is the MVP, no questions asked. Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and LeBron James are having phenomenal years but what KG has done in Boston is the true definition of value. He has transformed a team that had no sense of how to win and had no toughness and has made it the dominant team in the league. This team is going to improve on its win total of a year ago by at least 40 victories. He has elevated the play of Paul Pierce, who might end up a Hall of Fame player courtesy of his time with KG. He has overseen the development of Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Glen Davis. He has attracted James Posey, Eddie House, Sam Cassell and PJ Brown to Boston -- key role players who never would have come to Boston if Garnett wasn't wearing green. If KG had not been traded to the Celtics, this would be a borderline 40-win team... Sam Cassell is struggling to find his way with the C's. I have no doubt he'll find his way by the time the playoffs begin but there are moments when his game is in serious conflict with the rest of the team... Powe and Davis are animals under the hoop. They attack the glass, play physical and score the ball. Powe's attempted layup from the floor in the first half was a moment I won't forget. It was the perfect blend of determination and entertainment that the NBA dreams of... I can just feel Ray Allen carrying the C's offense for an entire series in May... Not that the Draft is a priority right now but wouldn't it be something if Danny Ainge could find a way to land UNC's Tyler Hansbrough. His style of play perfectly fits the culture of these Celtics... From 21 wins to 61 wins? It's reality... Enjoy Chris Paul on Friday night...

Lester Struggles, Sox Bats Quiet

Jon Lester is expected to deliver big things for the Red Sox this summer. His season debut did not live up to those expectations. The young lefty lasted only four innings and allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in Boston's 5-1 loss to the A's. It wasn't all Lester's doing as the Sox batters struck out 13 times, nine at the hand of Rich Harden. Hey, at least Manny went yard. That's No. 491 for No. 24. Today aside, good things will come from Lester and the offense. No doubt about it.

Make That 8 In A Row For Sox

Eight ... and counting for the defending World Series champions. Hey, Daisuke was shaky, JD Drew is already hurt, Papelbon put Red Sox Nation on a rollercoaster but all things considered, it's nice to get a victory. Manny Ramirez began his drive for the MVP -- and a huge contract extension -- with two hits and four RBI. A good start. Let's hope Lester delivers tomorrow morning.

Sweet 16 Preview

Wow! Thanks to the fine bartenders at Rags in Quincy and a very good weekend of college basketball, TheBostonInsider is extremly exhausted and ready to unveil his updated picks for the NCAA Tournament. With the Second Round coming to a close tonight, I have nine teams alive heading into the second weekend, including three of my Final Four teams. My national championship game of UNC-UCLA is still breathing, much better than most years when I say goodbye to one of my finalists in the first weekend. Here are the updated picks: EAST 1. North Carolina over 4. Washington State 3. Louisville over 2. Tennessee 1. North Carolina over 3. Louisville MIDWEST 1. Kansas over 12. Villanova 3. Wisconsin over 10. Davidson 1. Kansas over 3. Wisconsin WEST 1. UCLA over 12. Western Kentucky 7. West Virginia over 3. Xavier 1. UCLA over 7. West Virginia SOUTH 5. Michigan State over 1. Memphis 2. Texas over 3. Stanford 2. Texas over 5. Michigan State FINAL FOUR North Carolina over Kansas UCLA over Texas NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP North Carolina over UCLA

2008 MLB Preview

A change of scenery for the MLB preview, which I have always posted on my original website, TheBostonInsider.com. However, I will not be keeping that site past this spring because of the issues I have had with Yahoo! Geocities. The Daily Blog will be the permanent home for all my senseless ramblings in a few weeks but for those of you who actually follow the site, you know that has been the case for some time now. The 2008 season is wide open for the first time since the early 1990's. The Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers and Mets still can use their piles of cash to stay competitive but small market teams like the Rockies (2007 National League champions), Diamondbacks, Brewers, Indians, Twins and Blue Jays are capable of making some noise. AL EAST 1. Boston Red Sox 2. Toronto Blue Jays 3. New York Yankees 4. Tampa Bay Rays 5. Baltimore Orioles The AL East has been dominated by the Red Sox and Yankees for so long that it's hard for some to accept that the Blue Jays and Rays are emerging as powers but that is the reality. Both Boston and New York have began to change some of their high spending ways by starting to develop their own talent in place of buying All-Stars when they need to fill a hole. Still, the days of counting Toronto and Tampa Bay as automatic wins are over. AL CENTRAL 1. Detroit Tigers 2. Cleveland Indians 3. Chicago White Sox 4. Minnesota Twins 5. Kansas City Royals The additions of Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis give the Tigers a huge boost in the Central. Jim Leyland's club is one of the early favorites to win the World Series, if they can find a bullpen. The Indians will try to bounce back from droppinga 3-1 series lead to Boston in last year's ALCS in what could be the last year in Cleveland for 2007 AL Cy Young winner and upcoming free agent CC Sabathia. Keep and eye on the Royals, a team that is starting to develop some serious talent. AL WEST 1. Seattle Mariners 2. Los Angeles Angels 3. Texas Rangers 4. Oakland A's On paper, the Angels should win this division but their lack of pitching depth will hurt this team. The M's went out and traded for Erik Bedard, the ace they need to go along with Felix Hernandez, the move that should hand them the division title. NL EAST 1. New York Mets 2. Philadelphia Phillies 3. Atlanta Braves 4. Washington Nationals 5. Florida Marlins The Mets are dealing with a ton of injury problems this spring but their starting rotation of Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine and Oliver Perez should carry the Mets this summer. The Phillies will be dangerous if they get pitching. Can Hanley Ramirez win the NL MVP on a 60-win team? NL CENTRAL 1. Chicago Cubs 2. Milwaukee Brewers 3. Cincinnati Reds 4. Pittsburgh Pirates 5. St. Louis Cardinals 6. Houston Astros The Cubs will try to repeat as Central champions in the year they go for their first World Series title in 100 years. Milwaukee is the most serious threat to take the division away from Chicago. The Reds and Pirates are improving while the Cardinals and Astros are on the way down. NL WEST 1. Arizona Diamondbacks 2. San Diego Padres 3. Colorado Rockies 4. Los Angeles Dodgers 5. San Francisco Giants The NL West may be the hardest division in baseball to slot. The D-Backs have the pitching to go deep into October with a 1-2 punch of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. The Padres can pitch but struggle to score runs, which is just the opposite for the Rockies. The Dodgers brought in Joe Torre but that's not enough to take the West. BASELESS BASEBALL PREDICTIONS AL PLAYOFFS ALDS: Red Sox over Mariners (3); Tigers over Blue Jays (4) ALCS: Red Sox over Tigers (6) NL PLAYOFFS NLDS: Mets over Brewers (4); Cubs over Diamondbacks (3) NLCS: Cubs over Mets (7) WORLD SERIES Red Sox over Cubs (7) INDIVIDUAL AWARDS AL MVP: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox NL MVP: Prince Fielder, Brewers AL CY YOUNG: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays NL CY YOUNG: Johan Santana, Mets AL ROY: Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox NL ROY: Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs SPECIAL AWARDS AL HOMERUN CHAMP: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox NL HOMERUN CHAMP: Matt Holliday, Rockies FIRST AL MANAGER FIRED: Ozzie Guillen, White Sox FIRST NL MANAGER FIRED: Tony LaRussa, Cardinals AL BIG NAME TRADED BY JULY 31: Jermaine Dye (White Sox to Mariners) NL BIG NAME TRADED BY JULY 31: Troy Glaus (Cardinals to Dodgers) AL INJURY THAT IMPACTS PLAYOFF CHASE: Phil Hughes, Yankees NL INJURY THAT IMPACTS PLAYOFF CHASE: Ben Sheets, Brewers

Midwest Regional

Live, from Room 226 at Milton High School, the Midwest Regional. FIRST ROUND 1. Kansas over 16. Portland State 9. Kent State over 8. UNLV 5. Clemson over 12. Villanova 4. Vanderbilt over 13. Siena 11. Kansas State over 6. USC 3. Wisconsin over 14. CS-Fullerton 10. Davidson over 7. Gonzaga 2. Georgetown over 15. UM-Baltimore County SECOND ROUND 1. Kansas over 9. Kent State 5. Clemson over 4. Vanderbilt 11. Kansas State over 3. Wisconsin 10. Davidson over 2. Georgetown SWEET SIXTEEN 1. Kansas over 5. Clemson 11. Kansas State over 10. Davidson REGIONAL FINAL 1. Kansas over 11. Kansas State Is this the year that Kansas finally rids itself of the "Ghost of Danny Manning" to win its first national championship since 1988? Bill Self hopes so, as does TheBostonInsider. The Jayhawks, in my opinion, get the easiest draw of all the top seeds. Georgetown is solid but are vulnerable in the face of a guard who can light up the scoreboard, which is why I see Stephen Curry and Davidson ending Roy Hibbert's career. Wisconsin is a very solid team and are well coached by Bo Ryan but the Big 10 to me was the weakest of the so-called "BCS" conferences (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, Pac-10). No. 4 seed Vanderbilt is also solid -- they defeated Tennessee -- but they don't jump out at me as a potential Sweet Sixteen team. The two most serious threats to the Jayhawks play in the first round, USC and Kansas State. I have Michael Beasley and K-State advancing past OJ Mayo and the Trojans but whoever wins this game is facing Kansas for the right to go to San Antonio for the Final Four. Best Opening Round Game: Kansas State and USC Best Player You Haven't Heard of Yet: Stephen Curry, Davidson First and Last NCAA Tournament: Beasley and Mayo Midwest Regional MVP: Mario Chalmers, Kansas

Celtics-Rockets; South Regional

Routine. That is the only word I can come up with for what the Celtics did to the Rockets last night in Houston. It was a text book road victory for the Eastern Conference leaders. They kept it close in the first half before exploding in the second half, en route to a 94-74 victory. It's not like the C's beat up on a weak team last night. The Rockets entered the game winners of 22 consecutive games and lead the Western Conference. Still, the Celts treated the Rockets like the Globetrotters treat the Washington Generals -- they allowed them to think that last night was their night before running away with the game. The Rockets were fired up for the Celtics but it wasn't enough. Houston point guard Rafer Alston tried to rattle young Rajon Rondo early, drawing the C's floor leader into a double technical before the game started. It didn't work as Rondo played a strong game. Luis Scola, Houston's impressive rookie forward, tried to play the tough guy with Kevin Garnett and KG responded in the manner that any basketball follower would expect. KG dropped 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and finished his night off with two powerful dunks on top of Scola. The C's will go for the sweep of Texas tomorrow night in Dallas. No NBA team has ripped through the Texas Triangle since the Kings of 2001 but I don't see the struggling Mavericks -- who have not defeated a team with a .500 or better record since trading for Jason Kidd -- stopping Boston. Even with the NCAA Tournament opening on Thursday, my television will be focused on the Celtics. On to the South... FIRST ROUND 1. Memphis over 16. Texas-Arlington 9. Oregon over 8. Mississippi State 12. Temple over 5. Michigan State 4. Pittsburgh over 13. Oral Roberts 11. Kentucky over 6. Marquette 3. Stanford over 14. Cornell 10. St. Mary's over 7. Miami, Fl 2. Texas over 15. Austin Peay SECOND ROUND 1. Memphis over 9. Oregon 4. Pittsburgh over 12. Temple 3. Stanford over 11. Kentucky 2. Texas over 10. St. Mary's SWEET SIXTEEN 4. Pittsburgh over 1. Memphis 3. Stanford over 2. Texas REGIONAL FINAL 4. Pittsburgh over 3. Stanford You just know that one regional will ruin everyone's bracket and I see the South as the regional most likely to do so. Memphis is a phenomenal team, they are loaded, but I have a wierd feeling they still aren't ready for primetime. Of course, if you follow my gambling history, right now is the time to put the 401k into Memphis. I go with the Pitt-Stanford final -- one that threatens to tear apart the Knight household (not Bobby's, Brevin and Brandon) -- because both teams are tough, play good defense and are battle tested coming out of the Big East and Pac-10. I go with Pitt because Jamie Dixon is an amazing coach and because when Pitt's point guard Levance Fields is healthy they are 18-1, including wins over Duke and Georgetown. My biggest worry in choosing Pitt is that it seems that all their big wins -- Duke, Big East Championship -- come at Madison Square Garden and the Panthers are not scheduled to play at MSG in March or April. Best Opening Round Game: Michigan State and Temple Best Player You Haven't Heard of Yet: Antonio Anderson, Memphis Best Matchup of Future Leaders of America: Stanford and Cornell South Regional MVP: Levance Fields, Pittsburgh

Celtics-Spurs; West Regional

Before I share my thoughts on the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament, I have a few thoughts on last night's gutsy Celtics victory in San Antonio. First off, defeating the Spurs in San Antonio after trailing by as many as 22-points is a statement that this Celtic team is for real. When you add in the fact that Ray Allen did not play due to an injured heel, this definitely goes down in the books as a huge win. How about Sam Cassell? Everyone will be smiling over his important three-pointer in the closing minute that gave Boston the lead for good but what really caught my attention -- what made me become a true believer in the championship aspirations for this team -- was what Cassell did right after the buzzer sounded. If you recall, Tony Parker cut the C's lead to 91-89 with just under five seconds to play. When Kevin Garnett took the ball out of bounds, Rajon Rondo kind of froze in front of KG, waiting for the pass. As Parker picked Rondo up, Rondo continued to stand in front of Garnett, not making any effort to get open. KG didn't call timeout and tried to force a pass to Eddie House that was picked off by Bruce Bowen who advanced the ball to an open Robert "Big Shot Bob" Horry, who missed the potential game winner. As the C's ran off the floor victoriously, Cassell lurched in front of Rondo, admonishing the young point guard for not getting open in such a critical spot. If Rondo follows Cassell's example, not only will the Celtics have a future All-Star point guard, they will be the 2007-2008 NBA World Champions. Now, on to the West... FIRST ROUND 1. UCLA over 16. Mississippi Valley State 8. BYU over 9. Texas A&M 5. Drake over 12. Western Kentucky 4. Connecticut over 13. San Diego 11. Baylor over 6. Oklahoma 3. Xavier over 14. Georgia 10. Arizona over 7. West Virginia 2. Duke over 15. Belmont SECOND ROUND 1. UCLA over 8. BYU 4. Connecticut over 5. Drake 3. Xavier over 11. Baylor 2. Duke over 10. Arizona SWEET SIXTEEN 1. UCLA over 4. Connecticut 2. Duke over 3. Xavier REGIONAL FINAL 1. UCLA over 2. Duke The West gave me a lot of trouble. The odds that we will see the top four seeds in the Sweet Sixteen become slimmer each year as the big powers lose more players early to the NBA and the mid-majors keep players for four years. I went with the top four seeds in the West based on coaching. Coach K and Jim Calhoun have five national championships between them, Ben Howland could be going for his third consecutive championship if it were not for Billy Donovan's Florida Gators and Sean Miller is the next coach in line for a prominent head gig. Best Opening Round Game: Drake and Western Kentucky Best Player You Haven't Heard of Yet: Jeff Adrien, Connecticut Player From a Potential National Champion I Am Most Likely to Meet: Dave McClure, Duke West Regional MVP: Kevin Love, UCLA

East Regional

I will start my breakdown of the NCAA Tournament with a look at the East Regional. Tomorrow will have a peek at the West, Wednesday will be a double post with the South and Midwest and then my Final Four-National Champion prediction will come out on Thursday. FIRST ROUND 1. North Carolina over 16. Mount St. Mary's/Coppin State 8. Indiana over 9. Arkansas 5. Notre Dame over 12. George Mason 4. Washington State over 13. Winthrop 11. St. Josephs over 6. Oklahoma 3. Louisville over 14. Boise State 7. Butler over 10. South Alabama 2. Tennessee over 15. American SECOND ROUND 1. North Carolina over 8. Indiana 5. Notre Dame over 4. Washington State 3. Louisville over 11. St. Josephs 2. Tennessee over 7. Butler SWEET SIXTEEN 1. North Carolina over 5. Notre Dame 2. Tennessee over 3. Louisville REGIONAL FINAL 1. North Carolina over 2. Tennessee North Carolina, the overall top seed in the tournament, does not have an easy draw. A few weeks ago, before Kelvin Sampson's career ended, I truly believed Indiana could ride Eric Gordon and DJ White to the Final Four. Notre Dame (or possibly Washington State) is no pushover and both Tennessee and Louisville are capable of advancing to the Final Four. Best Opening Round Game: St. Josephs and Oklahoma Best Player You Haven't Heard of Yet: Ahmad Niviens, St. Josephs and AJ Graves, Butler Best Potential Suit Matchup: Rick Pitino v. Bruce Pearl East Regional MVP: Wayne Ellington, UNC

Selection Sunday Thoughts

As I sit in my living room, watching Georgia try to pull off what might be the most improbable conference tournament run in college basketball history, I am getting excited for the release of the bracket, which comes out within the next hour. If Georgia wins the SEC Championship Game against a good Arkansas team, they will burst the bubble of some team sitting at home right now that is watching and hoping for a Georgia loss that would knock the Bulldogs out of postseason contention. Players at Massachusetts, Virginia Tech, Oregon and Arizona are breathing heavy as Dennis Felton's team clings to a 58-53 lead with under two minutes to play. My tournament breakdown and predictions will be out this week but right now I want to predict the Number One and Two seeds: One: North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas Two: Texas, Duke, Tennessee and Wisconsin Quick score update before some other ramblings, Georgia leads 61-53 with 1:17 to play... If I'm John Henry, Theo Epstein or Terry Francona, I would find any excuse possible to keep Daisuke Matsuzaka in Florida training alongside Josh Beckett. I appreciate what MLB is trying to do in playing actual games in Japan but I don't want my top two starting pitchers spending 40-plus hours on an airplane in order to play a few games in Tokyo... I love what Tracy McGrady and the Rockets are doing in their current 21 game winning streak but in the Western Conference, they have almost NO chance of advancing as far as the Conference Finals... 62-57 Georgia with 34.9 seconds on the clock, Georgia heading to the foul line... Now that Tim Welsh has been fired at Providence, there are five names that would excite me if I were a Friar fan: Anthony Grant from Virginia Commonwealth, Hall of Famer Bobby Knight, PC grad and George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, former BC coach Jim O'Brien and Maryland coach Gary Williams (if the Terps make a change)... Georgia, winners of three games in 28 hours, is in the NCAA Tournament. 66-57 final score...

Conference Tournament Week

Up until I joined the working world four years ago, I always had three guaranteed days off in my life. One was the Thursday of the Big East men's basketball tournament and the other two were the opening Thursday and Friday of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Now that I work for a living, it's not possible to bang in for those three days. Luckily this year I have two scheduled days off from work for the opening days of March Madness but I will miss Big East Thursday again this year. March Madness is a favorite of even the most casual of sports fans but for any real college hoops junkie -- like myself -- the major conference tournaments are home to some serious hoop. With the opportunity for an automatic bid to the NCAA's on the line, teams go all out against their rivals. The Big East and ACC Tournaments are the two biggest and the two best in my opinion but with the money that television throws at these conferences, the SEC, Pac-10, Big 10, Big 12 and some of the smaller conference tournaments have become can't miss basketball. Here are my predictions for this weekend: ACC: North Carolina Big East: Louisville Big 10: Wisconsin Big 12: Kansas SEC: Tennessee Pac-10: UCLA Atlantic 10: Xavier It should be an exciting and interesting weekend. Enjoy!

Random Thoughts (March 3, 2008)

Sometime in the next few hours the Celtics will announce the signing of guard Sam Cassell. This is a great move for the C's. It gives them a veteran presence at point guard behind Rajon Rondo and also provides a guy who wants to take the big shot in crunch time. If you look through at the roster, there isn't anyone on the team other than Paul Pierce and maybe Ray Allen that I want taking a big shot at the end of a playoff game. KG is the reason why this team is successful but he's not the guy who takes that shot. Sam Cassell, even at age 38, is that guy. Now, to make things easier for Doc Rivers, I will give him his rotation for the playoffs: PG - Rajon Rondo SG - Ray Allen SF - Paul Pierce PF - Kevin Garnett C - Kendrick Perkins Bench: Sam Cassell, James Posey, Glen Davis, Eddie House, PJ Brown/Leon Powe The C's have plenty of options now, enough options to win the championship... The talk of Randy Moss leaving New England for Dallas, Green Bay or New York was enough to make me lose sleep this weekend. However, according to the nice folks at ESPN.com, it seems Moss and the Patriots are close to finalizing a 3-year deal. Thank god... Yes, the Bruins are on a roll. I even attended their exciting shoot-out victory over Atlanta on Saturday. The game wasn't exciting enough for me though, I left for Sully's Tap for Bud Light's and some Big Buck Hunter at the end of the second period. The B's haven't done enough yet to keep me fully interested... No worries about the horrific spring training outings of Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester and Craig Hansen this weekend. Not yet, anyways... Looking forward to my trip to Wrigley Field, coming up in a few weeks. I will catch the Cubs against the Pirates for two games and the Mets for one. Hoping that Johan Santana is throwing for the Mets that Monday... Nice try Tyrese Rice. It goes to show how bad BC is -- and how good UNC is -- when Rice's 46 points aren't close to being enough to knock off the newly minted No. 1 team in America... Enjoy Akeem Williams tonight...