Yearly Archives: 2012

Non-Lockout NHL News

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Although we are in a work stoppage for hockey, there has been some speculation of the NHL expanding. They’re not going into useless Maine or Montana or something, but into bigger markets. However, they are markets that most will probably not care about, in our neighbors to the north. They have been in talks to bring two new NHL teams to Canada (Quebec, and the Greater Toronto Area known as Markham). Keep in mind that Toronto already has the Maple Leafs up there, but with the popularity of the sport up there, it just might work. New York has multiple teams for virtually every sport and that seems to work out for them.

Could NHL Be Back?

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The NHL has made an offer to the players’ union for a 50-50 split in all hockey related revenue. It is now on the players to decide if they think that this is a fair deal for everyone involved. There are many more stipulations than that, but as far as the lock-out goes, it is starting to look good. This offer was unexpected by just about everyone.

They said that they would play a full 82 game season and playoffs beginning November 2nd if the players accept relatively quick. This is a huge turn in the hockey world, one that just about everyone thought was never going to happen. By no means does this mean it’s over, but at least they are breaking ground!

Celtics Are Home

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The Celtics are finally back in the country, after winning one and losing one overseas. To their defense, the starters played about 10 minutes or less in their loss. Rookie Forward Jared Sullinger played huge for the Celtics and is now possibly looking at a starter’s role in some cases. Doc Rivers stated to ESPN that he thinks he will have many starting line ups. The typical one will be Rondo, Lee (Bradley when he returns), Pierce, Bass, and Garnett. Another possibility could be Rondo, Terry, Pierce, Sullinger, and Garnett. He may even start Darko Milicic sometimes since he is surprisingly good at shutting down opposing big men, and moving KG back to his normal Power Forward position.

Let’s get back to Sullinger. The rookie has received a lot of praise for his play overseas. Typically, Rivers won’t let rookies see too much floor time. However, he says that Sullinger’s IQ makes him act like a veteran, not a rookie. He doesn’t get scared or rush things, he lets plays develop and puts himself in the best position to make a play for the team. His biggest role is going to be banging down low with the big guys, grabbing offensive rebounds (Celtics had the worst offensive rebounding percentage of ALL TIME last season), and putting the 2nd chance points in the hoop. He is a decent defender but can score better than most. He is 6’9 and has long arms and a great mid-short range jumper. Rondo even dubbed him as “probably the smartest rookie we’ve had since I’ve been here”.  Look for Jared Sullinger to have a big role on this older team this season.

Pats Sit Atop AFC East

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Finally, all is right in the football world again. The Dolphins don’t worry me at all and the Bills continue their trend of starting out decent and then realizing that they’re just the Bills so they let up 97 points in two games while scoring only 31. Rex Ryan, Sanchez, and the Jets continue to show what a disgrace to football they are and the Patriots stand alone atop the AFC East.

And things are only looking up for the Pats. Our offense is steamrolling defenses and not because of what we’re used to. Gronk was basically invisible on the field Sunday and Hernandez was out. The duo we relied on last year was absent and we still dominated offensively. The Welker we all know and love is back, in addition to a newfound running game that we’ve longed for since the days of Curtis Martin. It’s just unfair how many options the Pats have offensively. Simply no way to cover it all. On the other side of the ball, despite having the third worst passing defense in the league, we have the Seahawks next week who are second to last in overall passing yards on offense. McCourty may get picked on more than he ought to but it might not be a terrible day for the secondary. Not to mention Hernandez could be back in action. Sprinkle in replacing Monday with a Tuesday and a fantasy win to top it off…I’d say it’s a good start to the week. Happy Monday Tuesday Boston!

Short and Certainly Not Sweet

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Well the Red Sox certainly wasted no time on that. The Bobby V era has come to an abrupt end in Boston. The club’s first move of the offseason came just hours after their last game of the dreaded 2012 season. No press conference or build up. Just a “Breaking News” announcement tweet via through Twitter. And just like that, Bobby V is a memory, one that will hopefully soon be forgotten.

Although I certainly think he played a role in the lack of success this season, I can’t put all the blame on him. This team was plagued when he took the helm. Granted he didn’t do much to fix it, it shouldn’t all be on his shoulders. But I’m not going to get into all that. Bobby V’s time in Boston has been up for a while and frankly I’m sick of hearing about it. Finally it will be put to rest. Regardless, the Red Sox clearly need change, and hopefully this is the first of many changes they make so we can finally enjoy watching baseball again in Boston.

New NBA Rules

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The NBA has implemented a new anti-flopping rule, stating that “Flops have no place in our game”.  Any player who flops due to little to no contact, will be subject to a warning for the first time. After that, each time that they flop they will be fined in increments of $5,000. After a fifth offense, the increments will upgrade to $30,000 per offense. And they may even suspend players after the fifth time.

Many players flop. The biggest violator is probably Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. It’s easy to hate him. But Boston fans, remember, Glen Davis embellished every charge call while leading the league in charges taken while he was on the Celtics. I agree that there is no place for it in basketball- play like a man. My basketball coach used to make us practice taking charges and falling. That coupled with the fact that we were an all-white team, probably was the reason why we were an awful team.

Don’t expect to many calls this season, as it will be tough to prove that they are flopping without seeing evidence over the first few months. No ref will want to cause a player to pay $5,000 unless they are absolutely positive that they flopped.

Celtics Player Preview: Rajon Rondo

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What can you say about Rajon Rondo? He is the best player on our team. He is our young star. He is the leader of a team that has an average age older than he is. He is arguably the best pure point guard in the league (He and Chris Paul). Sure, Rose, Westbrook, and Williams are all great players, but no one sets up their team as well as Rondo in my opinion. And he is fun to watch!

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett | Rajon Rondo

ESPN recently ranked Rondo as the 12th best player in the league. He is the top ranked Celtic.

Last season, Rondo proved he could be consistent by averaging 11.9 PPG and 11.7 RPG in only his 6th year in the league.  Without him consistently getting better, the Celtics wouldn’t be the team that they are today. He can score off the dribble, make unbelievable passes that make you rewind the DVR, and is a triple-double threat day in and day out.

When he keeps his head clear, he can control the tempo of the game more than anyone I have ever seen on the roster. If the team needs to run, he pushes them, if they need to slow it down, he will walk up the floor, looking for any way to expose the defense. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be an all-star, and my guess is a starter this season, and potentially in the top 5 for MVP voting at the end of the season if the Celtics are where I think they will be (knock on wood).

Rondo made everyone on the team fly out to Cali last week in order to get to work right away. He is becoming a true leader. This guy is our future, and you can expect him to do big things again this season. Below are his stats since we drafted him in 2006:

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% 3P% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’06-’07 BOS 78 25 23.5 0.418 0.207 0.647 1 2.8 3.7 3.8 0.1 1.6 6.4
’07-’08 BOS 77 77 29.9 0.492 0.263 0.611 1 3.2 4.2 5.1 0.2 1.7 10.6
’08-’09 BOS 80 80 33 0.505 0.313 0.642 1.3 4 5.3 8.2 0.1 1.9 11.9
’09-’10 BOS 81 81 36.6 0.508 0.213 0.621 1.2 3.2 4.4 9.8 0.1 2.3 13.7
’10-’11 BOS 68 68 37.2 0.475 0.233 0.568 1.3 3.1 4.4 11.2 0.2 2.3 10.6
’11-’12 BOS 53 53 36.9 0.448 0.238 0.597 1.2 3.7 4.9 11.7 0.1 1.8 11.9

Celtics Player Preview: Kevin Garnett

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The next player to take a look at is Kevin Garnett. KG has been a key piece to the Celtics since he came over in 2007. He is now 36 years old but showed in last year’s playoffs that he can still play (19.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG in 20 games).

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett |Although he may have lost a step or two in the past few years, the big ticket can still change the game with his unstoppable mid-range jump shot and defense. I’m aware his defense hasn’t been as great, but he is still one of the smartest guys on the court. The only problem I have had with KG is his lack of rebounding, other than in the playoffs. He averages just over 8 per game, but when he was in his prime in Minnesota, he averaged over 13. Rebounding has been a big reason why we have been losing over the past few years, especially on the offensive glass.  I gotta admit though, it was nice having him start all 60 games during the regular season.
Garnett was recently ranked #21 on ESPN.com for top NBA players. He was 22 last year.

Doc has said that KG will be the starting Center so that Brandon Bass can play the Power Forward position. He said KG will do whatever it takes to win, even though some have said he dislikes that position. I’m sure he won’t mind as long as he can get another ring.

KG’s stats since he joined the Green and White are below:

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’07-’08 BOS 71 71 32.8 0.539 0.801 1.9 7.3 9.2 3.4 1.3 1.4 18.8
’08-’09 BOS 57 57 31.1 0.531 0.841 1.4 7.1 8.5 2.5 1.2 1.1 15.8
’09-’10 BOS 69 69 29.9 0.521 0.837 1.1 6.2 7.3 2.7 0.8 1 14.3
’10-’11 BOS 71 71 31.3 0.528 0.862 1.2 7.7 8.9 2.4 0.8 1.3 14.9
’11-’12 BOS 60 60 31.1 0.503 0.857 1.1 7.1 8.2 2.9 1 0.9 15.8
SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’06-’07 MIN 76 76 39.4 0.476 0.835 2.4 10.4 12.8 4.1 1.7 1.2 22.4
’07-’08 BOS 71 71 32.8 0.539 0.801 1.9 7.3 9.2 3.4 1.3 1.4 18.8
’08-’09 BOS 57 57 31.1 0.531 0.841 1.4 7.1 8.5 2.5 1.2 1.1 15.8
’09-’10 BOS 69 69 29.9 0.521 0.837 1.1 6.2 7.3 2.7 0.8 1 14.3
’10-’11 BOS 71 71 31.3 0.528 0.862 1.2 7.7 8.9 2.4 0.8 1.3 14.9
’11-’12 BOS 60 60 31.1 0.503 0.857 1.1 7.1 8.2 2.9 1 0.9 15.8

Replacements Have Been Replaced

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By now you’re probably well aware that the real NFL officials are back in business starting tonight and the replacement refs are heading back to their couches. Order has been restored to the NFL. I gotta say though, I think I might miss it. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the regular refs over these jabronies any day, especially as it affected the Pats. But what I will miss is the excitement. I mean how could you not? Every play, a chance to hop on the bandwagon and rip the refs a new one. Of course they were a big joke, but that was the fun of it. With the Pats and my fantasy players out of the picture, I’ve never been more entertained watching games that didn’t matter to me in my life. Every night another chance to join the masses in laughing, yelling, and making fun of a bunch of average Joe’s. Now the regular refs are back and for this week everyone will be tuned in to see if they can live up to the hype. After that, it’s back to normal. They’ll still get ripped apart by fans, players, and coaches. So it begs the question, would you rather have seen the replacement refs last a little longer, or are you glad Goodell came to his senses when he did?

PS. Keep in mind the Pats are up against the Bills Sunday. I don’t think I would have minded one more week of the circus.