Pats Rip Through Rams

With exception to a few power outages, the Boston Sports Blog was lucky enough to make it through old Sandy as she ripped along the east coast yesterday. Unfortunately for New York, the Miami Dolphins were just the beginning of the storm for the Big Apple and New Jersey. With that joke finally out of the way, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone down there that’s being affected by the storm.

On a brighter note, damn was it good to watch the Pats this weekend. Brady being the Brady of old, the secondary only allowing one long ball into the endzone, and Gronk spiking anything and everything. The Patriots arrived safely home from London yesterday prior to the wrath of Sandy and sit in first place in the AFC East heading into Bye Week. Life is good. Happy Monday Tuesday Boston.

C’s Finally Here

The season is finally here! If you’re like me, you probably completely ignored baseball, patiently waited for hockey and football to start (still waiting on one of those), and have been following the C’s offseason very closely. We are a completely different team than we were last year. There are only 3 players from our ’08 championship team left (Pierce, Rondo, KG). However, many believe that this is the most talented and deepest team that we have had in ages. We couldn’t keep up with the Heat in the 4th quarter of games last year in the playoffs, so we went out and got some fresh legs and defensive specialists. We have Jeff Green back who will help on Lebron and Bosh, and drafted Sullinger who looks to rebound on every play, something we have been lacking over the years.

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Ray’s Departure

I have always been a big Ray Allen fan. He is one of a million, a dying breed. There are few pure shooters like him remaining in the league. However, he is starting to gain enemies due to his apparent dislike of the Celtics Organization. While Doc and Rondo and company have remained quiet, Ray has continued to talk poorly of the organization which he won a championship with. After being talked to by Pat Riley and the Heat Front Office, Allen has begun to talk about the positive times that he remembers from Boston.

He talks about all of his deteriorating relationships since he has taken his talents to South Beach, but at least acknowledges his time in Boston. He tells ESPN: “I’m always going to be a Celtic no matter what,” Allen said. “It’s always going to be in my veins. Once you live there and play for that team and win a championship, it doesn’t matter where you go. You’re always going to be a Boston Celtic.”

Personally, I am going to miss Ray, but at the same time, I think that we are a better team this season so it doesn’t bother me as much as it might bother other people. I do wish that he would stop putting former teammates and this organization down, but everyone should always remember him for his time in Boston and all those clutch moments, especially in the ’08 Finals.

Yet Another NBA Change

The NBA has decided that Centers will no longer have a special spot in the All-Star game. Instead, the team will be made up of 3 frontcourt players, and two backcourt, rather than two forwards and a center. It comes as no surprise seeing as most teams don’t rely on a traditional center anymore like the old days.

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Red Sox Legend DUI

By now, most of you have already heard that Red Sox great, Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. He was found asleep behind the wheel in the middle of a cornfield. There was an open bottle of Vodka on the floor of his vehicle. Fisk was brought to the hospital and released from custody the next morning after posting bail.

During his 24 year playing career, Carlton Fisk is most remembered for running down the line, waving his home run fair during the 1975 World Series.

Farrell Introduced

John Farrell was officially introduced as the 46th manager of the Boston Red Sox today at noon. Everyone down the line from Owners, Chairmen, General Manager, and even former and current players were on board to congratulate Farrell. Most of them even stood up to say a few words about him and everyone spoke so highly of him. With much praise about his leadership skills and intelligence all around the game of baseball, it is no wonder why the Sox made this choice so quickly, as soon as they were given permission to speak to him from the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Celtics Newcomers

Last week, we took a poll about who you guys think has been the biggest star of the pre-season for newcomers, and I included Jeff Green because he was injured last season. Jared Sullinger won with over 50% of the votes, and Jeff Green was tied for second with Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, all with roughly 12% of the votes. Everyone keeps going on about how good our team is going to be because of our depth but here are some reasons why each player will succeed in our system.

Jared Sullinger: Rookie that fell to us in the draft, should have been a high lottery pick if not for an injured back last season. Not too many rookies get minutes in our system, but Jared could be starting some nights. KG and Doc Rivers have both said that he has a very high basketball IQ and does not play like a rookie typically does. He has adapted to the Celtics’ system real quick, and is not timid out on the court. He rebounds consistently and shoots right when he gets the open look, rather than hesitate and up fake 15 times like a lot of smaller big men like himself. And good news for C’s fans: Garnett said he is “giving him the book, teaching him everything I know”.

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Should the Sox Take a Shot at Landing Hamilton?

With one of the more forgettable seasons in Boston Red Sox history well in the books, attention can now be turned to the off-season. One of the big question marks (of the many) for the Sox resides in their outfield and Texas Rangers right fielder Josh Hamilton might just have the answer for Boston.

Let’s compare Hamilton’s numbers to the internal option guys for Boston:

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Red Sox Manager Search

As the search for a Red Sox Manager continues, many people believe that the Sox have already interviewed their best option. Although most people want John Farrell, that is very unlikely due to the fact that he is still the head coach of the Blue Jays for one more season. So far, the team has interviewed four candidates:

LA Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach: 55 years old, played 3rd base for 16 seasons, 5 time all star. He has only been a minor league head coach, but has been a hitting coach and third-base coach in the majors.

NY Yankees bench coach Tony Pena: 55 years old, played catcher for 18 seasons (with Sox from 1990-93), 5 time All-Star as a player, 2003 AL Manager of the Year

SD Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus: 43 years old, the only candidate without experience as a coach or manager. 1-time All-Star in 1999, 3-time Gold Glove winner.

Baltimore Orioles third-base coach DeMarlo Hale (Pictured): 51 years old, only played 4 seasons (split between Oakland and Boston), left the Sox when Francona did. He is the most popular choice of the candidates so far. He is known for his down-to-earth coaching style and knows how to treat and adapt to each player, unlike Bobby V did last season. He was a minor league coach in our organization for years as well, this guy could be the best choice to keep the job ‘in the family’.

Who do you think the Red Sox should choose as their next manager to rebound us from our horribly disappointing season?

 

Celtics Player Preview: Brandon Bass

Since the Celtics begin camp on Friday, I thought we’d take a look at each of the projected starters that should be suiting up for the Green and White this season. First, we will start with the Power Forward position: Brandon Bass.

Brandon Bass had a breakthrough season for the Celtics in 2011. Danny Ainge went outside the box and traded Glen Davis. Although many people barely heard of Bass prior to the trade with Orlando, he quickly made a name for himself on the Celts. I think it was the most underrated move we made last season.

John Hollinger of ESPN has predicted that he will score 15.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG. He was recently ranked as the 97th best player in the NBA.

Below are Bass’ stats for his 7 seasons in the NBA. Brandon averaged the most points, rebounds, assist, steals, blocks, and minutes played of his career.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’05-’06 NO 29 1 9.2 0.632 0.6 1.7 2.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 2.3
’06-’07 NO 21 3 7.7 0.75 0.6 1.4 2 0.1 0.1 0.1 2
’07-’08 DAL 79 1 19.7 0.822 1.5 2.9 4.4 0.7 0.6 0.3 8.3
’08-’09 DAL 81 0 19.4 0.867 1.6 2.9 4.5 0.5 0.7 0.3 8.5
’09-’10 ORL 50 3 13 0.825 1.1 1.5 2.6 0.4 0.5 0.2 5.8
’10-’11 ORL 76 51 26.1 0.815 1.8 3.8 5.6 0.8 0.7 0.4 11.2
’11-’12 BOS 59 39 31.7 0.81 1.6 4.6 6.2 0.9 0.9 0.6 12.5