Random Thoughts (July 12, 2010)

The options for the Celtics bench got more complicated with the news yesterday that swingman Tony Allen will be leaving Boston for the Memphis Grizzlies. Allen has spent his entire six-year career with the Celtics after the team used a first round pick on him in 2004. He showed glimpses of his potential throughout his first five seasons but things really did not "click" for him until this past year when he made his mark as a defensive specialist. I have never been a huge fan of Allen's but after watching him successfully defend Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant this spring in the playoffs, I finally became a convert to what he brought to this team. Danny Ainge has to step up and find a player to replace that type of defensive intensity to save the legs of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The possibility of using Rasheed Wallace's contract (if he does retire) will be important as Ainge attempts to finalize the Celtics roster in the team's quest to return to the NBA Finals and win their second championship in the last four years... Along with making the Red Sox a yearly contender for the World Series, Theo Epstein and his staff have done a terrific job of drafting and developing young talent. A majority of the foundation of the current Red Sox - Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, and Jacoby Ellsbury - were all selected by Epstein in the amateur draft. Epstein once again conducted a successful draft a few weeks ago, landing third baseman Kolbrin Vitek in the first round and the ace of the LSU Tigers, Anthony Ranaudo with the 39th pick. Ranaudo only fell that low because of a minor injury that caused him to struggle early in his junior season after being projected as a potential Top 5 pick before the season started. Instead of signing right after the draft, Ranaudo went to the Cape Cod Summer League (joining the Brewster Whitecaps) to prove he was worth bigger money than his draft position indicated. So far he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four starts. The Red Sox would be wise to pay Ranaudo the signing bonus he will be seeking - somewhere in the range of $2 million - because if he returns to LSU for his senior season and pitches up to his potential, he will be drafted long before the Sox make a pick in the 2011 draft... The Bruins wrapped up their annual development camp on Saturady and the future definitely looks bright on Causeway Street. Names like Tyler Seguin, Jared Knight, Jordan Caron, Joe Colborne, Tommy Cross, Yuri Alexandrov, and David Warsofsky may not ring familiar with Bruins fans quite yet - I have to admit that I am trying to learn about them myself - but this is the class of names that is going to be added to the current nucleus of Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, and Zach Hamill in the next year or two that will finally deliver Boston a Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972... Patriots training camp opens in 17 days. I expect the big news of the first day to be the announcement of a contract extension that will keep Tom Brady in New England for the remainder of his career and an extension to keep Randy Moss as his deep threat for another two seasons... Enjoy Big Papi tonight...