The
Ann Cankosyan Celtics News Update
Named in
honor of Anne Cankosyan, a Cool Beagle.
Tuesday,
December 23, 2008
The Best Start in NBA History.
By beating the Philadelphia
76ers
tonight, the Celtics have earned the best start for a two-loss team in
NBA history with 27-2. In addition, they have set a team record
for consecutive wins with 19, eclipsing the 1981-82 Celtics record of
18 straight wins.
Now, they take that streak on the road, where on Christmas Day, they
take on the team they destroyed last June, the #^%^$^*$ Lakers.
BEAT L.A. ... AGAIN!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
26-2
With a win over the New
York Knicks
tonight, the Good Guys have tied both a team best 18 wins in a row, and the NBA mark for a team with 2
losses. They will have a chance to break both records at the Boston Garden
on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Coincidentally, the current record is held by...New York and Philadelphia.
"Big Beagle" Blocking out on the
Turnpike
Glen Davis missed tonight's game after what was described as a "minor"
car accident on a snowy Mass. Turnpike around 2:30pm this afternoon, as
he was en route to the Garden for tonight's game. He is expected
to be kept at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Brighton overnight,
with whiplash and a concussion. Danny Ainge met him there, and
the early word seems to be that he'll be ok, and perhaps back with the
team by Tuesday.
Everyone hopes that the "Big Beagle" gets well quickly.
Friday,
December 19, 2008
Number 17....again!
Tonight, the Celtics
reached an
important milestone, winning their 17th straight game against the
Chicago Bulls, as Rajon Rondo destroyed the Bull's defense like the
All-Star he's continuing to prove himself worthy of being named.
Kendrick Perkins was a major beneficiary of Rondo's passes, scoring a
career high 25 points.
But as the C's lifted their overall record to 25-2 for the season, this
represents a very special milestone. Just two years ago, on
January 7, 2007 the Celtics began a depressing downward spiral where
they lost 18 consecutive games,
not getting their next win (their 13th of the season) until February
14. This was when Pierce was injured and unable to
play. The season would end with a miserable 24-58 record.
Now, it's just under two years later. In the time since last
season started, they C's have gone, in regular season games only, a
staggering 91-18, including last year's 66-16 regular season
record. If you throw in the Playoff games, they are 107- 28 since
the end of the 06-07 season.
The Celtics have proven themselves over every other team in the
NBA. The only true challenge left is against other Celtics teams.
This is how good they've gotten, yet to a man, they insist they can do
better.
With a win on Sunday against the Knicks, they would become the 4th team
in NBA history wuth an 18 game streak--the others being the Celtics of
1982, the Chicago Bulls of 1995-96, and the New York Knicks of 1969 (so
you know the Knicks would
love to stop the C's cold on Sunday). I won't speculate further
than that. Each game should be taken in turn.
But it does back up my point as the Lakers (beat by Miami) and the
Cavaliers drop further behind along with the rest of the NBA, the
Celtics need to constantly be on guard against becoming
complacent. You need high goals to do that, perhaps
nigh-unattainable ones. This Celtics team looks to it's past to
set the bar. They want more than one championship because that's
what the great Celtics teams did. They play tough defense because
that's what the great Celtics teams did. They insist that
everyone play hard on every play in every game, because that's what the
great Celtics teams did.
If they keep this up, they'll someday BE one of the great Celtics teams.
Thursday,
December 18, 2008
What's in front of them.
In the
movie "The Gumball
Rally" about a
cross country road race, as the race begins, one of the drivers
disdainfully rips the rear view mirror off the windshield and proclaims
he doesn't care about
what's behind him, only
what's in front of him.
In
catching up on some articles today, I noticed one that caught my
attention, where the &%$&#^$#**# Lakers, about to play another
team, were in the locker room....watching
the Celtics game on tv.
I was shocked that anyone
let that news out
the door. Watching a team you won't play for weeks?
Over
in the children's section, ESPN tells anyone who will listen that the
Lakers or the Cavs are the teams of Destiny this year. Maybe
Detroit, they say. They stop just short of pointing and laughing
at suggestions that Rajon Rondo might make the All-Star team.
They
paint KG as a meanie head who belittles his opponents (they apparently
never caught any Grizzlies games for a
decade or so). Perkins is Rasheed the Next Generation.
Boston isn't nearly as good this year as last year (you
remember, when they predicted the Lakers would win the Finals by
Acclimation? Just before the C's demolished them on national
television?)
Good
Grief, they even somehow got Bill Walton to predict a win for
Atlanta over
Boston without dissolving into a gigglefit on the air. I hope Bill
collected oodles of money on side bets.
Yet
somehow, Boston keeps winning. Yes, some of the wins were luck, but
without luck you cannot be a
champion. Sometimes you need the ball to bounce your way, and every NBA
champion has had their share of lucky bounces.
The
Celtics have a better record this season than last season to date,
despite being the defending
champions with every
pissant team (Yes, Atlanta, that still means you. It's not a
rivalry until you take a series) coming after them like it's Game 7 of
the Finals, and playing a tougher schedule.
Despite
the so-called "experts" apparently enjoying the taste of crow and shoe
leather by once more anointing Los Angeles (or maybe Cleveland) as next
year's residence of the NBA trophy, Boston is clearly the better team.
Those
morons need to pay attention. Boston is 24-2, and riding a 16
game winning streak. The third rate Lakers have lost 2 of their
last 10 games. Yeah, yeah, i know they're 21-3 overall, but for
crying out loud, they nearly got taken down by the Knicks. They
DID lose to Sacramento, a 7-19 team. They have two teams in their
conference that have a combined win total only 2
games greater than the
Eastern Conference's worst team.
The
Lakers supposedly play better defense than they did last June.
Well, I sure as hell HOPE so, because their defense looked more like a
layup line by Game 6. But they still give up more points than the
C's do. Their offense, much as they say otherwise, still boils
down to Bean Boy having a good game.
But
the most telling difference is this. Celtics players aren't
gathered around the tv set watching Lakers games over a month before
they meet. All they'll need to see is some game tape a day or so
before the game.
After
all, they're not worried about what's behind them.
And
the Lakers are obviously worried
about what's in front of them.
November
25, 2008
The Redhead in Needham has
passed away.
Mrs. Helen J. (Weiss) Heinsohn died yesterday after a six year fight
against Cancer. For years, her husband Tommy would refer to her
as "the Redhead in Needham" during broadcasts, letting her know he was
thinking of her. Celtics fans who never met her knew her through
him. Those fortunate enough to meet her in person were most
fortunate to encounter a high-spirited lady with a quick smile.
Below is a photo of a portrait of Helen painted by Tommy in 1975.
Our thoughts, hopes, and prayers go to her family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to New England Baptist
Hospital, C/O Development Office, 125 Parker Hill Avenue, Boston, MA
02120
October
28, 2008
Ringing in the New Season
John Havlicek led a
cadre of past Celtics players including Bob Cousy,
Tom Heinsohn, and Jo Jo White in carrying the Championship Trophy onto
the Red Auerbach parquet floor. Havlicek handed it to Paul
Pierce, who hoisted it high before placing it on the table with the
rings.
Then, at Center court, the Celtics Ownership received their rings, as
did the Coaching staff. After that, Each Celtic player was
individually announced to receive his Championship Ring, as the
Announcer's voice, emotion-filled, finally gave way in announcing
Garnett and Pierce.
Then, at long last, the entire team, past and present gathered to raise
Banner #17 to the rafters of the Boston Garden, to the thunderous
cheers of the fans.
It was a fitting end to what has been an astounding Championship Season.
Now, the hard work begins anew, as the World Champion Boston Celtics
must now begin the road to Banner #18.
Thank you, Boston Celtics, for a great season!
Let's do it again!
It Starts with Defense. And, We Remember Red
Tonight, the World Champion
Boston
Celtics begin their defense of the title, with the championship rings
being given out and the raising of the 17th NBA Championship Banner to
the Rafters, followed by the Home Opener against the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
But before that, we remember where it started, as today is the 2nd
anniversary of the passing of Red Auerbach. This will be the
first time in the half Century of Championships that Red won't be there
to hoist the Banner. He literally rewrote the book on winning
Basketball, and was a primal force in the development of both the
Boston Celtics and the NBA as we know it.
Thanks, Red. We finally learned how to win it your way, with
toughness and defense. We won't forget.
October
26, 2008
Where's the Respect?
There used to be a rule
in
sports. You might not like a team, but you acknowledged if they
were playing well. When a given team had the best regular season
record, or the best scorers, defenders, coaching, and so on, you
respected that. If a team won the championship, you knew that was
automatically the n umber one team to start next season.
So it amazes me that the Boston Celtics get almost zero respect despite
their accomplishments.
Last season Boston came roaring out of the gate and began the season in
October with an 8-0 run. It was mid-January
before they lost their 8th
game, and mid February before they lost their 10th.
But no respect was forthcoming. The so-called experts kept
predicting doom. Rondo couldn't play starting Point Guard, they
said. The wins were mostly at home, they said, the Western
Conference will beat them like a dusty rug, they said.
Boston went 32-10 on the road last season. They were 25-5 against
the WC, including a sweep of the Texas teams during which the
demolished Houston's winning streak, and beat the despised Lakers in
BOTH regular season games. This, they did with Rondo as starting
Point Guard.
So the C's end the regular season 66-16, the best defensive team in the
NBA and hold home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Along
comes the NBA Finals, and damn near everyone
is ready to anoint the ^%@#^&^ Lakers as the champs--before the first game is even played!
During that series, the Celtics staged the biggest comeback on a
Playoff game in NBA history in one game, then in game 6 at the Boston
Garden, the Celtics systematically destroyed their archfoes. This
was an old-fashioned "take them out to the woodshed with a birch rod"
beating.
Over the Summer, the Celtics kept most of the same guys that won them a
title for the upcoming season. The same guys that mowed down the
rest of the NBA like the Justice League playing Charlie Brown's
All-Stars. The Lakers reported they got Bynum back from injury
this summer.
Yet nearly HALF of the NBA General Managers predict the third-rate
Lakers will win the title this year. Several preseason polls put
the Lakers over the Celtics as the top team.
This is monumental disrespect to a championship team. And there's
really only one way for the Celtics to respond. Run up the
score. Defeat the other teams so completely that it doesn't even
look competetive after halftime. Compile a record so dominating
that nobody save the truly insane can question which team is number
one, which team will win it all.
Banner 18, coming to the Boston Garden next June.
Be There.
October 25, 2008
Happy Birthday to me!
I'm celebrating with
chocolate chip
cookies.
October
24, 2008
Out in the Cold.
I learned
something new today,
something that left me cold. I was reading an article from Red's
Army, another Celtics fan site, that commented that they were in the
running for best team-related site for the Celtics on another site,
which was running this contest for all NBA team-related fan sites.
This was the first I'd heard of the contest. I went to the site
to cast a symbolic vote for this site. After all, it's
mine. I wasn't expecting to win, not against some of the
high-powered sites with professional web designers working on
them. But this site wasn't even listed.
I've been doing this longer than almost anyone, as far as current
Celtics-related sites/blogging goes. There's only one person I
know of who had an older site and it's no longer active.
I would have thought that merited at least honorable mention.
Then, I went to some of these other sites, many of them very nicely
done, slick, smooth and chock full of Celtics-related goodies.
All of them looking like professional sites. And of the 15
specific Celtics-related sites I visited, 12 had links sections to
other Celtics-related sites, most of them mentioning each other.
Not one site listed the CBW.
I've said from the beginning if someone wanted me to link to their
site, or recommend it, I'd be happy to. Nobody has ever taken me
up on it. I was hopeful that visitors here who went to other
sites might spread the word.
I'm not a professional web designer. I'm not able to do this
full-time, I don't have advertising to support professional help.
In fact, this site COSTS me money each month to run. I dislike
advertising on sites, I wanted the content to be all Celtics, not
annoying banner ads or popups for stuff I wouldn't sell to my worst
enemy.
I don't have inside access to the Celtics, I don't have credentials to
get me into games and press conferences. Mike Gorman doesn't drop
by to say hello. I don't have a weekly podcast and I don't have a
staff.
There's me, the computer, and a couple of outdated books on how to
build and maintain a website. One of my primary goals in having
this site was to accomodate people who had slow connections, or wanted
to get Celtics news without being besieged on some of the more
media-heavy sites.
But I felt that people generally had better connections as a rule now,
and I tried this summer to update the look of the site, and ultimately
had to abandon the idea, because I simply don't know how.
But despite getting over 17,000 visitors up to now, it's becoming clear
that it's nowhere near the number of fans out there going to the other
sites. And I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth the time and
effort to do all this.
It's not that I want the site, or myself, to be famous. I want
this to be a resource site that people use frequently and enjoy
visiting. Though illness has slowed me down considerably, there's
still a lot I want to do here.
But if it's become a vanity site just for myself, I need to know, so I
don't waste time with things like international game time converters,
or the NBA for Beginners section.
So, it's now up to you. If you like this site, mention it to your
friends. Maybe ask why some other sites don't link here. If
you find someone HAS linked here, tell me, and I'll set up a section of
links that will include linking back to them. Like I said, I
asked often some time back and nobody was interested.
I need to know, as Harry Chapin said, "Is Anybody there? Does
Anybody care?"
Perhaps they don't feel this place is serious enough. I was
serious enough to keep a positive outlook online when Rick Pitino was
playing doorman and people thought the Celtics were doomed. I
reviewed games where the Celtics played so badly Charles Barkley was
spinning in his grave. Those reviews stopped because, frankly, I
was no longer able to do them. I'm giving it another shot this
season, and we'll see what happens.
And, I want to know what YOU want. What need is not fulfilled by
the other sites? What would make it worth your time and trouble
to drop by on a regular basis? More articles? Team
Stats? Discussion forums? I do have the ability to do more
here, if there's a demand to get it done. If I don't know how,
I'll learn, somehow.
I'm deliberately not posting this on any messageboards. I'm not
being lazy, but the messageboards get a lot of daily traffic. I
need to know what we're getting HERE, and if it's enough to support
keeeping this site going.
But in the meantime, I'm out in the cold. And that's the view
from the doghouse.
October
20, 2008
Darius has Miles to go before he plays.
Today, the Celtics
waived Darius Miles
to bring the roster down to 15 players.
Cousy still on the outside looking in.
Since Comcast has no
response to the
deplorable situation with Bob Cousy, apart from form letters from Skip
Perham (whoever the heck HE is...), the CBW encourages fans to contact
anyone advertising on Comcast Sports Net during Celtics games and
inform them you will not suppoort their product...and WHY.
October
11, 2008
Comcast kicks Cousy to the curb.
After years of service,
Comcast ended Bob Cousy's association with
Comcast
by having some low-level guy fire him over the phone.
The moron behind this is Comcast General Manager and Vice-President
Bill Bridgen.
You can e-mail Comcast Sports New England via this link
http:
//newengland.comcastsportsnet.com/about/contact/
or Bill's site at Linkedin
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/9/b07/568
Or, Call Comcast's corporate office directly at 1 800 266 2278
To get a person, keep pressing *# at each prompt, and ignore the
recorded messages until a person picks up. (Per Gethuman.com)
Be polite, but let them know this is unacceptable.
October
10, 2008
Preseason tv?
As of today, barring
local coverage by
the opposing team, the only other preseason game that will be televised
outside the local Boston area will be Tuesday's game against Cleveland
at 7:30pm (NOT tonight, TUESDAY). That means that those of us
with such second-rate services such as Time Warner cable which do not
show the preseason games that are available on NBA League Pass channels
are out of luck. Again.
Those of you who can access radio stations carrying the game should do
so.
October 7, 2008
Celtics Preseason opener on NBATV!
The Defending NBA
Champion Boston
Celtics give us their first look at the defending champs after the
summer of Victory. The game will be broadcast on NBA TV at 7:00pm
Eastern Time.
Cleanup on Aisle 17!
As you can see, I've moved older news to the news page, since this page
was getting way too long to load up quickly.
October
6, 2008
New Season, new stuff.
With the first preseason game of the Celtics
stint as the
Defending NBA Champions just two days away, I've done what's locally
known as getting my act together and updated the CBW for the new year.
Unfortunately, my offseason experiment with a new format didn't work so
well, and the less said about my attempts to add video, the better.
On the positive side, the roster has been updated--which means it's
nearly certain Trader Dan will be working hard to make me KEEP updating
it. The CBW predictions list is now open, and the new schedule is
up, with accompanying national TV broadcasts in the USA. I
apologize to fans in other countries that I don't have an equivalent
schedule for you, but it took me three weeks to locate a reliable copy
of the NBATV schedule!
NBA TV--AARGH!
Please go to the link at the top of the page to see the Celtics
Schedule for all the details, but basically, NBA TV is making it REALLY
hard for Celtics fans to know in advance which channel some games will
be on. On top of THAT, some Celtics games do not yet have a set
TIME. I'll fill those in if there's time before the game actually
starts.
NBA
Finals: The ^%$##@%$& Los Angeles Lakers
4-2
Game
1: Home, Thursday, June 5 W 98-88
Game
2: Home, Sunday, June 8 W 108-102
Game 3: Away, Tuesday, June 10 L 87-81
Game 4: Away, Thursday, June 12 W 97-91
Game 5: Away, Sunday, June 15 L 103-98
Game 6: Home, Tuesday, June 17 W 131-92
Third Round: Detroit Pistons
4-2
Game 1: Home,
Tuesday, May 20 8:30pm W 88-79
Game 2: Home, Thursday, May 22
8:30pm L 103-97
Game 3: Away, Saturday, May 24
8:30pm W 94-80
Game 4: Away, Monday, May 26 8:30pm
L 94-75
Game 5: Home, Wednesday, May 28
8:30pm W 106-102
Game 6: Away, Friday, May 30 8:30pm
89-81
Second Round: Cleveland
Cavaliers
4-3
Game 1: Home, Tuesday, May
06 8:00pm W 76-72
Game 2: Home, Thursday, May 08 7:00pm W 89-73
Game 3: Away, Saturday, May 10
8:00pm L 108-84
Game 4: Away, Monday, May 12,
8:00pm L 88-77
Game 5: Home, Wednesday, May 14
8:00pm W 96-89
Game 6: Away, Friday, May 16
8:00pm L 74-69
Game 7: Home, Sunday, May 18 3:30pm
W 97-92
First
Round: Atlanta
Hawks
4-3
Game 1: Home, Sunday, April
20, 8:30pm W 104-81
Game 2: Home, Wednesday, April 23,
8:00pm W 96-77
Game 3: Away, Saturday, April 26,
8:00pm L 102-93
Game 4: Away, Monday, April 28, 8:00pm L 97-92
Game 5: Home, Wednesday, April 30,
8:30pm W 110-85
Game 6: Away, Friday, May 2, 8:00pm L 103-100
Game 7: Home, Sunday, May 4 1:00pm W 99-65
The CBW
breaks the 15,000 milestone!
Today, June
9, 2008,
we soared past 15,000 hits on this site. It may not seem like a
lot to most people, but we don't advertise. We're just plodding
along, reveling in the cross-generational phenomenon that is the Boston
Celtics. How appropriate that this comes in the midst of the
Celtics' first trip to the NBA Finals in over 20 years.
Thanks to every one of you who came to visit since the CBW started as a
single page site and stuck with both the site and the team as both have
haphazardly strived to become better each year!
August 05, 2008
NBA Officiating: was it Fixed; or does it just need to BE fixed?
For some time now, we've heard dribs and drabs
about Tim
Donaghy, NBA officials, the Mob, and rigged games. I've read
about what Donaghy has said, and what the FBI has said, and what the
NBA has said over the last year.
Tim Donaghy has been sentenced to 15 months in Federal prison (2
concurrent 15 month terms, actually) followed by three years probation
for his role in betting on NBA games, including games in which he
officiated. He would get information of who was officiating a
particular game, and any late news such as players who might be injured
or otherwise not playing. He gave this information to a former
high school classmate who had low-level ties to the Mob, which placed
the bets according to the information and gave Donaghy a cut of the
take.
Donaghy has admitted this. He knew the Feds were closing in
on him and he cut a deal, offering to cooperate with them in the
investigation. He named names, places and other specifics.
The Feds acknowledged that Donaghy was "highly cooperative".
However, Donaghy insists that the problem was more widespread,
involving other NBA refs, and "NBA Officials" as yet unnamed, who
pushed for the refs to alter the outcome of at least one Playoff game.
David Stern has, at every opportunity, deferred any questions on more
extensive involvement by repeating that Donaghy was a convicted Felon
who would say anything to get a lighter sentence.
But he didn't get a lighter sentence. He actually will serve more
time than the Mob associate who placed the bets.
Donaghy has never wavered from his declaration that other refs were
involved. Phone records have shown he placed 134 calls to Scott
Foster, with the timing of the calls coinciding with games under the
indictment. During the same period of time, October 2006-April
2007, the most times he called any other refs was 13.
It is interesting that Stern has said in a written statement, "The Government has said that they have
found no evidence of criminal conduct aside from that of Mr.
Donaghy. Once again, the only criminal conduct is that of Mr.
Donaghy."
Never once has Stern stood up and simply said, "No other Officials have
committed the acts Tim Donaghy has accused them of." There's been
no talk of slander or libel or perjury charges against Donaghy in any venue. None.
The FBI has only said that it investigated the claims, but the Statue
of Limitations had run out, and therefore there was nothing that could
be charged. To quote an article from the New York Daily News, "...when Prosecutors wrote a letter to the
Federal Judge outlining Donaghy's cooperation, Defense Lawyer John
Lauro was outraged that the information
about other NBA Referees and officials had been omitted simply because
no criminal charges were brought."
Today, we learn that Philip Scala, the recently retired Supervisory
Special Agent in charge of the Gambino squad, which uncovered Donaghy's
scheme in the first place, declares that he believes Donaghy's claims
that other refs were "dirty".
The much-ballyhooed "Pedowitz report", the investigation conducted by
former Federal Prosecutor John Pedowitz, was promised to be released
after Donaghy's sentencing. Now, there is suddenly no timetable
for release.
Given all this, and absent further conclusive information from any
other sources to this point, I believe Tim Donaghy is telling the
truth. I believe that something,
while perhaps not criminal, but likely unethical, and possibly contrary
to the various regulations of the NBA, has been going on for an
extended period of time. Donaghy has absolutely nothing to gain
by lying, and frankly, has been given a relatively harsh sentence
despite what everyone agrees was full and voluntary cooperation in the
investigation.
The NBA has a responsibility to resolve this in a public and
transparent manner, as quickly as possible, by some means other than
trying to lay all of this at Donaghy's feet. Yes, he's a part of
it, but by no means is he ALL of it.
And that's the view from the doghouse.
July 14, 2008
Buy the Book
According to an article on ESPN.com, Bill Russell is writing an memoir
of his late friend, Red Auerbach.
"Red and Me" will be published by HarperCollins in Spring
2009.
"Arnold
Jacob Auerbach passed on Oct. 28, 2006 -- almost 50 years from when I
joined his Boston Celtics," Russell said Monday in a statement. "I felt
a tremendous sense of loss, a huge void in my life. There was an empty
space in my psyche where a special person had been. I thought about
that at Red's funeral. And the fact that there was no logical reason
why we ever should've become friends, because we came from such diverse
places. I thought about how much I missed his friendship."
I look forward to reading it.
June 29, 2008
A Toast To Those That Are Gone...
When I saw the first pic of Doc Rivers below, my first thought was
"Here, Red, light this sucker up!" So I found a picture to
compliment it, and recalled those who weren't able to see this magical
season in person.
Thanks
not only to Red Auerbach, but to Walter Brown, Johnny Most, Dennis
Johnson, and
ALL Celtics past and present, players, coaches, and fans alike, who
didn't live to
see this. This one's for you, too. We miss you all, and
hope the party in Heaven is going strong!
June 21,2008
"Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold!"
There are three things I'm reasonably sure of
when reading or
listening to King David I's comments about Tim Donaghy. First,
though he mostly controls it well, the man has a hell of a
temper. Second, he's not a devoted Star Trek fan. I'll get
to the third presently.
Recently, Donaghy's lawyer took advantage of a legal loophole to make
some very public accusations
about his former fellow NBA refs, coaches, and people somewhere in the
upper hierarchy of the league itself.
Shortly before this happened, the NBA had submitted what was basically
it's fiscal claim for money spent investigating Donaghy, or lost
because of his actions. Said amount was a cool One Million
Dollars. There were more than a few pundits who opined that Stern
was being punitive, which resulted in the documents making the
allegations.
This brings me to the third thing about Stern. In all his
comments both in print and on the air, he kept repeating the refrain,
paraphrased here, The guy is a convicted Felon co-operating with the
Feds, who will say anything to reduce his sentence; and anyway the FBI
has already investigated this.
This is exactly the problem. Donaghy IS a convicted felon
awaiting sentencing. The very LAST thing he's going to do is make
libelous statements about his primary victim. The Feds would cut
him off at the knees. And recently, we learn that the FBI did
indeed ask a lot of questions
about another ref, Dick Bavetta, even questioning some of the other
refs about him. That means that Donaghy was taken seriously
enough that they investigated it.
So why didn't Stern say the one simple thing that would have laid the
issue to temporary rest? Why didn't he get on camera and say,
"Tim Donaghy lied. His accusations are completely untrue."?
This would have been more than enough to satisfy all but the most
ardent conspiracy buffs.
But he never said as much. So the door was metaphorically left
open. But you just know that privately, Stern is seething.
After all the hoo-hah that erupted during a stellar Finals series (won,
need I remind anyone, by the NBA CHAMPION BOSTON CELICS in 6 games over
the &$^&$&# Lakers) Donaghy's lawyer reasonably requested a
more detailed accounting of the NBA's $1 million claim against his
client. When it came, it was more like one and a half million
dollars, which includes $750 for the sneakers Donaghy wore while
working.
Stern, and whomever is advising him, made a bad mistake here.
They're obviously going after Donaghy's pension, which the NBA still
owes since Donaghy "retired" before word of the investigation got
out. They shouldn't have been so greedy.
It would have been a far better--and more satisfying--punishment to
simply list the reasonable expenses, eat a few dollars, then proclaim
how wonderful it is to be part of the NBA family in this Championship
season...too bad some people blew their chance to be part of it!
Hence, my Star Trek reference, where in STII: the Wrath of Khan, said
bad guy is determined to hurt Jim Kirk in as many ways as he can,
ignoring his own advice that revenge is a dish best served cold.
Stern is so ticked off at Donaghy that he's reacting in anger, and
Donaghy is pushing right back. Sometimes, it's better to let the
other guy have a few ounces of flesh and go away, than to keep tearing
at each other.
Because the longer this goes on, the more I, and other reasonable
people, begin to wonder...is Donaghy telling the truth?
June 18, 2008
"I hope we made you proud."
That was what Defensive Player of the year Kevin Garnett said to
Defensive Legend Bill Russell as they embraced each other on the Red
Auerbach court just after the Celtics demolished the Lakers to win
their 17th NBA championship.
Not many people would be thinking about how someone else felt at a
moment like that. But from the day Garnett, Allen and Pierce
first stood together in that preseason press conference, this has been
the epitome of an unselfish team. Sure, they collected some
individual accolades along the way, but they all, every last one of
them, had only one common goal: to win the Title.
The difference was made obvious between the two Finals teams by
statements their coaches made. Doc Rivers, in a pregame locker
room speech before the start of the Finals, disparaged the
congratulations he'd received. "For what?" he said, This is where we expected to be!" By stark
contrast, Phil Jackson, in his post-finals press conference after being
shown in no uncertain terms he's not in Red Auerbach's class, expressed
surprise that the Lakers had made the Finals.
All season long, the Celtics played, worked and supported each other
along the long journey of the regular season, a season throughout which
they endured outright disdain from the "media experts" who flatly
denied the C's any chance of doing much more than managing to win more
games this season than last season. They never lost faith.
They knew what they wanted and how to get it.
The Celtics refused to listen to those who simply did not understand
this team, this new extension
of the teams of Celtics past, was not going to quit, no matter what got
thrown at them.
It did not matter how old some of the starting lineup was. It did
not matter that their starting Point Guard was a second year
player. It did not matter that their bench was a mishmash of
players from other teams and one guy literally talked out of retirement.
Each game won was another sign that they were doing the right things,
as a team that you might expect to focus on scoring was instead
listening intently to Assistant Coach Tom Thibideaux, a Defensive
master who taught defensive mastery to his players.
The "media experts" kept searching for reasons to doubt this
team. They can't win on the road, we were told. They can't
beat the Western Conference powerhouses, they insisted. They
can't keep up this kind of defensive pressure, they were certain.
Well, the C's won on the road, they kep up the defensive pressure and
made a shambles of the WC powerhouses.
Then, 66 wins later, the Celtics were the number one Team in the
NBA, with the home court advantage throughout the Playoffs, an
advantage earned through hard work.
Even then, the "media experts" were barely willing to concede that the
Celtics would get past Atlanta, certain among themselves that either
Cleveland or Detroit would put a merciful end to the Celtics
season. But despite problems on the road, this team learned from
their mistakes, and won at home, each game adding to their knowledge,
experience, and toughness.
Then, the Cleveland series, where LeBron James was seen as a likely
candidate to overpower the Celtics, but even here, the Celtics played
hard, gaining needed experience as they won a tough seven game series.
In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, Boston was seen
as a slight underdog, yet by now, the Celtics were putting it all
together, and beat Detroit twice at home to become the Eastern
Conference Champs.
And STILL, the "media experts" couldn't resist bashing the
Celtics, essentially handing the NBA title to the Lakers by
Acclimation. The Celtics have no chance against Bryant, they
insisted. Phil Jackson could start polishing his ring finger,
they avowed.
Six games later, the utter destruction of the Lakers--not to mention
the perfidy of the "media experts"--was complete. This team stood
proud and tall all season, a worthy successor to it's past.
Yet after all that, Kevin Garnett hoped only that they'd made Bill
Russell proud. I'll be presumptious enough to answer, "Yes."
This team made us ALL proud, and we thank you.
June 17, 2008
CELTICS WIN IT ALL!
The Good Guys turned a decisive 2nd quarter into the utter demolition
of the Lakers in an historic beatdown to win Banner 17! With four
minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, the Boston starters were taken
out, and the bench, which had been a major contributor, finished out
the game! This ended the longest playoff series run in NBA history!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM!
June 15, 2008
AAUGH!
The Celtics nearly had them, but the %^$%&$&% Lakers pulled
their collective fat out of the fire at the very end. Now, we can
close this out at home.
June 12, 2008
ONLY ONE GAME TO GO!!!!
After falling
behing
by 24 points, the Celtics fought their way back to beat the %^#^&
Lakers and go up 3-1 in the Finals. The C's can close this series
out on Sunday!
BEAT L.A.!
June 10, 2008
WAAH!
Iit's HARD to
win
when your starting Point Guard goes down and you're playing against 8
guys instead of 5.
Now we have to sit through an extra game in ^#&%&@# L.A.
BLEAH!
June 09, 2008
The Face of what Might Have Been.
I was reading
through the web about the latest victory of the Celtics over the
&$*#^*# Lakers, when I came across this photo of Antoine Walker on
espn.com
I couldn't help but see the haunted look in his eyes, as I
remembered
how Walker, then with the Miami Heat, offered Paul Pierce tickets to
see the Heat in the Finals, the implication being that was the closest
Boston would come to getting there that year.
Back then, not so long ago, Miami was the NBA Champion. The
Celtics were having another in a line of bad seasons, with the worst
yet to come.
There was a time when Antoine was The Man Who Would Be King. He
came to Boston in 1996, designated as the centerpiece around which the
Celtics would build their new team. One year later, the Celtics drafted
Paul Pierce, and the focus changed as it became clear Pierce was the
more talented player.
But 'Toine remained outspoken, rallying the team at crucial times, as
he and Pierce were the ofensive core of the team, both having to be
one-dimensional three point shooters as then Coach Jim O'Brien realized
there were no other offensive options available.
Danny Ainge, newly hired to manage the Celtics, was under the gun to
fix the team, and quickly began trading players--most annoyingly just
prior to the start of the regular season, in one case. One of
those players traded was Walker, in 2003, who publicly referred to
Ainge as a "snake" in the aftermath.
After bombing out in Dallas, where Coach Don Nelson couldn't get Walker
to stop firing threes or doing the "Walker wiggle", Antoing went to the
purgatory of Atlanta, and learnign what it was like to play to an empty
house.
Astonishingly, in 2004, Danny traded to get Antoine back for a season,
before trading him for good in 2005.
Back then it looked like Antoine was once more on top of the
world. He was playing off the bench, true, but for a team that
was a playoff contender, winning once. He had accomplished what
his good friend Paul Pierce had nightmares of with each successively
worse season in Boston.
The following year, Antoine was more often in the Miami doghouse than
on the court, as stories abounded of him being out of condition.
Then, the fortunes of Walker and the Celtics interchanged once more, as
Walker was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves...just after Kevin
Garnett went to the Celtics.
The T'Wolves struggled mightily with Big Al Jefferson as their new best
player, and ended the season with a record expected of a team berift of
it's star, while Walker was relegated to the bench, his only value to
them being his expiring contract. Boston completed it's
historical turnaround and was now in the Finals.
Now, here was Antoine Walker, watching what was once His Team going up
2-0 in the Finals against the ^$%&$# Lakers, and all he could do
was watch from the stands, and wondering what Might Have Been.
June 08, 2008
Stop Teasing Them!!!
The Celtics must
have been in a playful mood, to let nearly all of a fourth quarter 24 point
lead slip away. Please, stop doing that, guys. Some of your fans
aren't so young anymore. We LIKE a little less drama now and
again, and sqooshing the &^*$*@# Lakers by double digits works just
fine for us.
Just take them down in the next two games and come home and celebrate.
By the way, if anyone connected with the NBA peruses this site, will
you please dispense with the
hated 2-3-2 Finals format? The only ones benefitting from it are
the TV networks.
June 05, 2008
One Down, Three To Go!
The Good Guys proved
they are the better team tonight, overcoming the sight of Paul Pierce
being carried off the court in the 3rd quarter with a sprained
knee. The Truth returned minutes later and promptly sank two
consecutive three-point shots. When the C's overall offense went
south, they relied on their defense to see them through.
To those wits at ESPN, both half- and dim- , who, almost as one,
voted
to simply
hand over the NBA title to the lesser team...
BLEAH!
The Celtics will win,
preferably in 4 games, but they will win, and the
"professional" sports media, who has spent the entire
friggin' season bashing the BEST team in the NBA, will, at long
last, be completely silenced, and shamed.
And Bill Simmons, the sports traitor, should be banned in Boston.
Go sit next to your new buddy, Jack, you purple and gold turncoat.
BEAT L.A.!
Make
the call...
If you want to hear the January
30, 2004 conference call between Danny Ainge and Celtics Season
ticketholders, you can--but be aware that it's a 32 minute call, and
even as a condensed file, it may take some time to load up. I'll
be breaking it up into smaller chunks by tomorrow.
I have time and high speed access, let
me
hear it!
I'm not that obsessed, let me go to hear part one.
Remembering
Reggie Lewis
Ten years ago, the Celtics lost Reggie Lewis, who passed away while
playing a game of pickup basketball. Here's a toast to #35
May 30, 2008
It came down to free throws.
After a fantastic
fourth quarter by the Celtics, it came down to the final seconds at the
free throw line. Kevin Garnett missed two. Pierce missed
one, and then Ray Allen calmly went to the line and nailed both.
Pierce was fouled with 15.9 seconds, left and once more took the line
for two, making one, as Garnett rebounded the miss, and the Eastern
Conference Champion Boston Celtics dribbled out the clock, winning the
elimination Game 6 in Detroit.
We wanted it. We got it.
BEAT L.A. !!
May 28, 2008
Close, but we won it!
The Good Guys
made
some VERY foolish moves down the stretch, helped by the antics of Ref
Kenny "Go Home, nobody here likes you" Maurer. But they did
enough right in building a lead large enough to hold against the late
charge by Detroit. We also congratulate Ray Allen on finding the
basket once more, with an amazing breakout game.
Now, the C's can wrap this up on the
road Friday night by winning again
in Detroit, then we wait for....THEM!
May 26, 2008
There are more important things.
To everyone who gave their lives
in service to their country,
Thank You.
RATS!
The C's fall asleep to start the game.
The
Pistons took advantage,
building a
commanding lead in the first quarter. Boston did rally to keep it
close, but could never quite overcome the deficit--or, for that matter,
Jason Maxiell. This necessitates a Game 6, so the C's better get
their motor tuned up and running or they'll be on Summer Vacation!
May 24, 2008
Follow the Celtics Green Road!
The Celtics got some
of their own back, by coming into Detroit and making the Pistons like
they needed a lube job. In a series where each game has gotten
progressively tougher, I think we might even see an overtime game
before the C's finish them off 4-1.
May 22, 2008
WAAH!
Detroit lines up a win.
Thanks to a
lot of
foul calls, the Pistons eked out a win on the Celtics parquet court,
the first playoff team to do so this season. I'll go so far as to
allow 4-1 for the Celtics, but they need to shape up.
May 20, 2008
One down, three in a row to go.
The Celtics
beat the
Pistons tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, playing a
game that moved much faster--and had a
lot more offense--than anyone expected. Now, we look
ahead to Game 2.
May 18, 2008
It's not a hard foul unless
you end up in the third row.
Today's hame
7
against the Cavs was unquestionably
hard-fought. Bodies were flying everywhere on both sides.
Defense once again was predominant for all. But neither team was
willing to give way, and the Celtics rode their lead all through the
game until it was but a single point with 2:20 left in the game as a
timeout was called.
From the earliest stages of the
game, it looked like it would, as it
did in Game 5 last week, come down to who made their free throws.
Time resumed, and both Ray Allen,
who hadn't played well offensively,
and Eddie House, returned to the game. After the teams traded
misses, P.J. Brown hit a deep two with 1:21 to go in the game as the
Cavs called time, and the Celtics leading, 91-88.
Play resumed as Cleveland took it in
from the opposite end of the
court, and Delonte West, inexplicably left wide open, missed. As
had happened several tiomes today already, a jump ball was called in
the rebounding action with one minute left to play.
James Posey faced Ilgauskas for the
jump. But the tip went to
Pierce, who called time after diving on the floor to get the
ball! There were 58.1 seconds left in the game and the Celtics
maintained their slim lead.
When time was back in, the C's
brought in on the offensive end.
Garnett missed, and on the other end, LBJ missed. Boston took the
rebound and got the ball to Ray Allen. It took a few second for
the Cavs to realize Ray wasn't going to shoot an outside jumper and
kept driving to the hoop, when he was finally fouled with 18.8 seconds
left. Ray's been a lot better at the line than from the field,
and made both, whereupon Cleveland called time, with the C's lead now 5
points, 93-88.
The Cavs brought the ball inbound,
and James drew a foul on the miss,
with only 2 seconds off the clock. He went to the line and missed the first one! He
lined up for the second attempt, and rattled it in. Cleveland
promptly fouled Eddie House, who went to the line with 16.3 seconds
left, and Boston ahead by 4 points, 93-89.
Eddie had not attempted a free throw
in this year's Playoffs. He
shot 92% in the regular season. He set himself and made the
first. Then, he composed himself and made the second.
The Cavs eschewed a timeout and ran
upcourt, with Pavlovich nailing a
three. There were 7.9 seconds left as Pierce was fouled.
The first one boinged up off the back of the rim...then dropped in,
giving Pierce his 40th point of the game, much to his relief. The
second one wen in much more smoothly, as Cleveland once again called
time, and Boston now was up 5, 97-92.
Cleveland had two attempts, but
House rebounded the second miss, and
the Boston Celtics won, 97-92!
YAY!!!
May 16, 2008
"Three Blind Mice"
It's hard to win
when the other team has eight
guys on the floor.
All night long, the refs--apparently
visually qualified for handicap
parking--have been calling things overwhelmingly in favor of the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite this tremendous obstacle, the C's
fought hard to keep things close and give themselves a fighting chance,
but since they only had five guys, there was no way to prevent a
seventh game in Boston on Sunday.
Ok, they'll do to them what they did
to the Hawks.
May 14, 2008
YAY!
Celtics go to the Hoop, win again!
Now, all the Good
Guys need to do is close things out in Cleveland on Friday then they
can move on to face the Pistons, who just finished taking down the
Orlando Magic. If the C's win Friday, then Game One of the ECF
will be Sunday (in the same timeslot as the potential Game 7 of this
series). If Boston needs to go 7 games to beat Cleveland, then
it'll be a little later in the week.
By the way, did you notice that Antoine Walker was at the game
tonight? Wonder if Paul Pierce got him his tickets. :)
Danny Ainge, your NBA Executive of the
Year
Well, the award was
small, but the thought was big. Congratulations, Danny!
May 12, 2008
AARRGH!
Boston gets
case of Walkeritis, loses close game.
You would think
they'd learned their lesson. Stop hoisting threes and Go. To.
The. Basket.
But, nooooooo.
They apparently thought that trying to make tough jump shots was going
to do something other than play into the hands of the Cavs.
As a result, they looked silly at the end of the game, and gave away a
close one they should have won.
Game 5 Wednesday, let's hope they get it right this time!
May 10, 2008
AAUGH!
Boston once again
can't seem to get the road game going, as the Cavaliers thumped the
Celtics by 24 points. A combination of the failure of Boston's
defense to consistently stop the Cleveland offense, combined with a
distinct lack of Celtics offense, spelled doom for the Good Guys early
on, despite closing the gap to 12 points in the 2nd half. While
the C's did mostly keep LeBron James confined, the rest of the Cavs
were able to score early and often, especailly former Celtic Delonte
West.
The Celtics will have until Monday night to figure out how to win on
the road...though the way this year's Playoffs have been going, they're
not the only ones--the games so mfar have favored the home team
overwhelmingly accross the board, so it might prove absolutely critical
that the C's have the homecourt advantage throughout the Playoffs!
May 09, 2008
Another Celtics alumnus back in coaching!
Dallas
Mavericks
owner Mark Cuban confirmed really, really late Friday night that Rick
Carlisle had reached a verbal
agreement to become the new Head Coach of the Mavs. Delays
prevented the matter from being concluded earlier in the day.
Rick is expected to sign the contract Saturday, and there will be a
formal news conference next Wednesday, when Cuban returns from out of
town.
Rick inherits a team that has been bounced out of the First round of
the Playoffs two straight years and acquired Jason Kidd late in the
season to try to prevent that. The Mavs don't have a lot of cap
room , and have to face the reality of an aging roster that hasn't
gotten the job done. Celtics fans wish him luck--except, of
course, when playing against the Celtics!
May 08, 2008
Two down, and MUCH better offense!
The Celtics
demonstrated once again why they have the best defense in the NBA,
using their second consecutive Playoff win over Cleveland to once again
keep LeBron James and the rest of the Cavs from doing a whole lot on
the court. I keep telling people, Celtics 4-0 over
Cleveland. They gotta start listening.
First and Third
Today, we
learned
that Kevin garnett made the 1st All-NBA Team, while Paul Pierce was
voted to the 3rd Team. Doesn't matter too much, as the Celtics
are going to end up with the NBA Championship, which is MUCH cooler.
May 07, 2008
Yes, Marvin, it WAS that bad.
Today, the
NBA
announced that Atlanta Hawks Forward Marvin Williams would serve
a 1 game suspension at the beginning of next season for the
"Flagrant-2" foul he made on Rajon Rondo in Game 7 of the Celtics
/Hawks series. With 9:09 left in the 3rd quarter, Williams
stopped a Rondo breakaway basket by wrapping his arms around Rondo's
head in midair, and taking him down to the floor.
While I'm willing to take Williams
at his word--partly based on his
reputation, this hasn't happened before--that he wasn't trying to hurt
Rondo, it points up a growing concern, that players are at a huge risk
of permanent injury from airborne fouls. I think the NBA needs to
increase the severity of the penalty for Flagrant-2 fouls committed in
the air. Otherwise, it's just a matter of time before someone
gets seriously--perhaps permanently--injured.
I understand that despite it's original creation as a non-contact
sport, players today can expect to be attacked from a variety of
directions on offense and defense, no matter if you are within 30 feet
of the ball or not. But let's make a clear differentiation
between reasonably expected physical play and actions that in any other
venue would result in charges of aggravated assault and battery.
Sometimes it's more than "a
hard foul".
So, here's hoping that King David I,
and the Powers that Be in the NBA
take a close look at this extremely dangerous situation.
Because while I have my fair share
of ego, this is a situation where I
NEVER want to say "I told you so." The price is too damn high.
May 06 2008
One down, three to go!
I keep telling people, Boston will win
this series 4-0. Maybe now
they'll listen.
The Good Guys
out-defended the Cavs as the supposedly great LeBron James managed a
measly two field goals all night. One guy does not beat five. The
Celtics are a better team, and will continue to prove it!
The one problem for Boston was inconsistent offense. Rajon Rondo
came up big, but neither Paul Pierce nor Ray Allen really got
going. Pierce, in fact, reverted a bit by dribbling into the
teeth of the defense a couple of times. Pass the ball,
Paul. It's worked all season, it'll work here.
But without question, cookies for the C's defense tonight!
May 04, 2008
YAY!
THIS is what should happen every time the Celtics play the Hawks!
Boston utterly
destroyed the Atlanta
Hawks, leading by 37 at the end of the third quarter! The truth
is, the 4th quarter was pointless...as was about half of the 3rd
quarter.
After a harrowing moment when Rajon Rondon was taken down (he recoverd
and continued to play), the Celtics, who had been all business from the
opening tip, clamped down even harder on the helpless Hawks.
The only lead Atlanta had was at the beginning of the game, when they
won the tip and scored. The Good Guys put the gas pedeal through
the floorboards and never looked back.
Now, they face a Clevaland team that is markedly better--i.e. they
stand a chance of winning a game in Boston. The C's can't afford
to let down at all. In fact, they need to rathcet things up,
because the Cavs will play them a lot tougher then Atlanta did (and I
say this despite the abberrations of the games played in Atlanta).
ONE series down, THREE to go!
May 02, 2008
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Doc, please stop playing with
your rotation. KG, stop taking
fallaway jumpers. Paul Pierce, stop losing your composure.
Celtics, STOP LOSING GAMES!!!
After winning yet another
game
in Atlanta, the Team That Has Nothing To Lose now has forced a Game 7
against the Team of Destiny. Boston once again failed to bring
the defense, helped along with the refs basically calling a shooting
foul nearly every time the Hawks had possession of the ball.
It all comes down to 48 minutes at the Garden. Sunday Afternoon.
Be There!
April 30, 2008
YAY!
This
is how it was supposed to happen, the Celtics stomping on the Hawks en
route to a 110-85 win. Now, the Celtics fans need to make another
pilgrimage to Atlanta for Game 6 this Friday night. Make your
voices heard as the Celtics look to gain a measure of revenge--and
redemption--by celebrating the series win on the Hawks' homecourt!
April 28, 2008
AAAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!
This is Bad. The
Hawks
took the game with a combination of atheletic play, good free throw
shooting and bad officiating. Boston had it's chances to win and
they did not. Now, it's going to be that much harder.
Come Wednesday night, we'd better Rock the Garden!
April 26, 2008
WAAAAAAAH!
The Good Guys were beaten
by a
wild Hawks team feeding off the support of the 3/4 filled Phillips
Arena (and a good part of that were Celtics fans). This was,
relatively speaking, the likeliest game for the Hawks to take.
Now, the C's need to right things on Monday night.
April 25, 2008
Congratulations to Kevin Garnett for winning the 2008 NBA Defensive
Player of the Year!
He was presented with the
award
just before the start of Game 2, and in keeping with his philosophy of
the team effort all season, he called his teammates out to center court
to join with him as he hoisted the trophy.
April 17, 2008
66-16
Congratulations to the Celtics for their incredible regular season
turnaround!
April 14, 2008
NO WINNER!
That's right, for the second
year in a row, the CBW
Predictions list yielded no winner
from the oodles who gave their prognostications.
Congratulations
do go out to FleetAinge,
JB, and Tom Vanderbilt,
who hung in there
longest; missing out only when the Celtics were down to their
last 4 games! But with 2 games left, the C's have already notched
a record of 64-16, 2 more wins than the three people mentioned above
predicted.
It should also be noted that the C's
record thus far is only a few
games less than were
predicted by three people...Way of the
Ray predicted 75-7, Snoopy
the
Celtics Beagle (me) went with 72-10,
and Mrs. Celtics Beagle
predicted 73-9.
Perhaps we've convinced some of the
...*ahem*...less optimistic people
to be more positive next season!
Meanwhile, I'm making plans to
celebrate the C's monumental Playoff
Run, which begins after the end of the regular season this week.
YAY!!!!
However, this means that
2005-06 winner Steve Chomicz
keeps his standing as
defending champion for another season!
Thanks to everyone who participated, and better luck next season!
March 5, 2008
The PLAYOFF-BOUND Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons!
With their 47-12 record
after
taking down Detroit, the Celtics have guaranteed
themselves a place in the
2008 playoffs! Now, they need to
play
for Home court advantage so it'll be more fun when they bring home
Banner #17 this June!
March 4, 2008
Ok, I've been sick, let's catch up...
Garnett was injured and
unable
to play in the All-Star Game, and eventually, Ray Allen was finally
invited. Ray kept the East in the game and by my view, should
have been MVP. Garnett has since come back from his injury and is
playing better.
The Celtics have acquired P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell. Neither is
expected to play nin Wednesday's game against the Pistons.
Gabe
Pruitt has been sent to the D-League where he will actually
leave
the bench during games.
The Celtics had their
(relatively speaking) worst month of the
season
in February, yet still have the best record in the NBA.
The pluperfect morons at ESPN still
don't respect the Celtics, or the
EC in general. Like the fisherman said, kiss my bass.
OK, all caught up. Now, let's
root for the Celtics to beat the
Pistons!
January 31,2008
Kept in Reserve...
Tonight, it was announced
that
among others, Paul Pierce was
among the Eastern conference All-Star
team as a reserve. Congratulations, Paul!
Unfortunately, Ray Allen was NOT selected as a reserve, an ommission
that pains Celtics fans. WE appreciate you Ray, even if THEY
don't!
January 30, 2008
So, what's (or who's) the Point?
It's been a subject of
discussion since last summer. Rajon Rondo and who at Point
Guard? With the rampant success of the Celtics the options
suddenly became much more varied than last summer, when the C's were
thrilled to talk to anyone who wanted to play here, never mind a
particular position player.
Now, everyone from Gary Payton to
Jason Kidd to Damon Stoudamire to Sam
Cassell has been mentioned in one forum or another. I think it's
safe to bet that Payton is off the short list, personally. I also
think that while Jason Kidd wants to be traded, and the Nets are
willing to trade him, that New Jersey is not going to hand him over to
the Celtics. I think the price for Kidd will be too high.
The latest scuttlebutt is
that Danny Ainge would like to land
Sam
Cassell, even though Stoudamire is available as early as this
weekend. Cassell would have to be acquired via a trade, whereas
the C's could sign Stoudamire outright.
My preference is to take
Stoudamire. If he works out,
fine.
If not, you're only paying the vet's minimum, so package him in a
trade. At the very least, you get Rondo some experienced help,
which the team needs right now. Injuries--albeit relatively minor
ones, I hope--have given the C's starters problems of late, and the
Good Guys need someone who can run the floor until the healing is
done--and keep command once everyone is healthy.
The trade deadline is
approaching, but whomever the Celtics get
is
going to need that time between now and then to mesh with the team's
style of play, so the C's can start the second half as strongly as they
did the first.
*sigh* If only Cooz were 30
years younger... :)
January 24, 2008
Kevin Garnett: Eastern Conference All-Star!
Well, it's
official. With
2, 399, 148 votes, the 6th highest vote total in All-Star history,
Kevin Garnett was the leading vote getter in either Conference, and
will be among those representing the Eastern Conference as a starter in
the 2008 All-Star game on Sunday, February 17, in New Orleans.
Other EC starters are LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, and
Dwayne Wade, who will all be coached by Boston Celtics Head coach Doc
Rivers.
The reserves will be announced on
January 31, on TNT, and will
be
selected by Head Coaches in each Conference, none of whom are permitted
to vote for their own players. Celtics fans, of course, are
rooting for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to be selected, and both players
did garner a respectable number of votes in the fan balloting. In
fact, Ray Allen missed being a starter by a mere 185,000 votes, just
behind Jason Kidd.
Congratulations to everyone who got in!
January 21, 2008
Now he has TWO teams to coach!
With the victory over the
ineptly coached New York Knicks, Doc Rivers has clinched the position
of Eastern Conference Coach at the All-Star game next month.
Given the way the votes have been going, it's likely that Kevin Garnett
will be there as one of the starters (the full lineup of which will be
announced this Thursday), with a strong chance that Ray Allen and/or
Paul Pierce may be added as reserves.
January 11, 2008
oh, NOW they want us...More TV schedule changes!
Thanks to the Good Guys
phenomenal season (and possibly having a little to do with Miami's
really rotten season...)
there are new additions (and changes) to the National tv broadcast
schedule for Celtics games:
January 27, Sunday vs. Orlando Magic is now a 1:00pm game on ABC
February 10, Sunday vs. San Antonio Spurs is now a 1:00pm game on ABC
February 22, Friday vs. Phoenix Suns is now a 10:30pm game on ESPN
The changes have been made to the CBW schedule.
January 02,2008
A Belated Happy New Year!
Ok, so I took a day off to
celebrate. I do have a
life, y'know! Hope everyone had a happy, serene, and safe holiday
season.
The NBA Takes it Back
Late today, word came down that
the mysterious technical foul assessed on Ray Allen after that stinking
coward Lamar Odom body checked him into the first row was officially
rescinded. Meanwhile, the gutless wonder of the $%&#&#
Lakers was suspended for a single lousy game anc charged with a
Flagrant 2 foul for actions that merited a 5 game suspension, but it's
better than nothing.
December
30, 2007
BEAT L.A.!
December
27, 2007
Stuff the ballot basket!
The latest round of votes
for
the 2008 All-Star Game, and Kevin Garnett, in his first time on the
Eastern conference ballot, is in the lead--in fact, he's got more votes
than anyone in EITHER conference, with 1, 186,690 votes, putting LeBron
James in his place--second--with 1, 005, 733 votes. Nobody in the
WC has over 1,000,000 votes yet. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are
both currently fourth in their respective positions in the balloting
thus far. There is no word on specific totals for the rumored
write-in votes for Brian Scalabrine. I suspect that if the
current road trip proves successful, there'll be a noticeable increase
in votes for the Good Guys. Remember, voting is open until
January 20, so vote early, and often!
December
26, 2007
Bill Walton revives his career...for
the second time!
Celtics fans gleefully
recall
when Bill Walton defied the AMA and took his tortured tootsies to
Boston to play some backup for Robert Parish. All that was really
expected was that he give the Chief a much needed few minutes break
during the course of games in a long season.
But something happened along the way to a quiet retirement.
Walton played like he had healthy feet for a whole season.
Suddenly, the three slowest guys in the NBA were running the fast break
against the ^#^&@ Lakers, and making the so-called "showtime" look
bad. Walton was the guy who invigorated the Celtics, and the
first to openly declare he wanted a championship that season.
When the championship--and accompanying parade--happened, I watched
Bill Walton with a smile like a five year old on Christmas a week after
his parents won the lottery. While he was unable to play at that
level again, it did revive his career and give him a host of happy
memories enroute to enshrinement to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
But the cost was high, physically. When he left the Celtics in
retirement, he needed a cane to walk and wore sneakers because shoes
were too painful. Gradually, his feet were restored to sufficient
sturdiness that he walks without such support anymore. He moved
on to broadcasting, and to ESPN, becoming their lead NBA analyst in
2002. But ESPN was not always a happy place for Walton, who
proclaimed loudly his allegience to the Celtics and to Red Auerbach
personally. Then, as now, ESPN was among the leading groups
dispensing anti-Celtics rhetoric in the sports media, to the point
where they essentially tried to prevent Walton from speaking more than
absolutely necessary. This was helped by the downturn in the
Celtics fortunes, and Walton was seen as a remnant of a bygone era, to
be humored, tolerated as a token Celtics fan.
But things have changed. Big Bill is much more high profile now,
his counsel sought as ESPN scrambled to think of positive things to say
as the Good Guys have made their tremendous start to this season.
He dispenses wisdom and the occasional hisroty lesson, quoting everyone
from Ronald Regan to Jerry Garcia, his presence and commentary likened
to a more laid back version of Dennis Miller without the foul language
or snide remarks. This is all the more remarkable given that for
the first 28 years of his life, he had a severe stutter that he didn't
then know how to overcome, and even today encourages other people with
stutters to literally speak out.
So now, for the second time, the Celtics have helped Bill Walton revive
his career, and as a longtime fan of Bill Walton, I'm personally
thrilled. Now, if he could just find a way to slip Stephen A.
Jackson some decaf, we'd all rest easier.
December 24, 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Here's hoping everyone has a happy, and safe,
Holiday season!
ROAD TRIP!
After winning tonight's game against the Magic 103-91, the C's embark
on their first major road trip out west. It's something of a first, as
longtime Celtics Analyst Tommy Heinsohn will NOT make the trip.
Back in September, Tommy
announced that he was reducing his travel because of unspecified health
problems with his wife, Helen, long known as "the Redhead in Needham"
to faithful watchers of Celtics tv broadcasts. Tommy will be in
the studio, with Donny Marshall filling in on the road temporarily.
While we will miss Tommy on the road, I'm sure it'll be nice for him to
be home for the Holidays.
December 22, 2007
Please (Let Me) Come To Boston...
Wow. What a difference a
21-3 record makes, along with a couple of over-30 players, to the
Celtics. In the uproar over the rare loss to the Pistons the
other night, both Gary Payton and Travis Best have publicly said they
want to be the backup Point Guard behind Rajon Rondo.
Anyone with more brains than a pet rock knows it's not because they're
in awe of Rajon, no matter HOW well he's played of late. Despite
some of the idiocy still rampant in some quarters denigrating the C's
accomplishments this season, people are realizing this is a Playoff
team.
But, for once, Trader Dan seems to be keeping his cell phone holstered,
which is a good thing. I agreed with his idea of going for Reggie
Miller, and but for Reggie's belief he could no longer hack the NBA
grind, he'd have been playing with the team for some time, now. While I personally agree we do
need a veteran PG, we need the RIGHT one, not just ANY one. He
has to be someone who is willing to come off the bench, with the
possibility of a few starts if Rondo is injured/sick, or against a
particular team. He has to be a teacher, as well as a player, and
not someone out to try to take Rajon's job away.
This will not be easy to find, but with the announcement of
interest from various players, at least there will be a devent variety
to choose from. As to the two players mentioned above, I'm sure
Travis is a nice guy, but we need a PG playing in the NBA, not in
Italy. Gary Payton, frankly, had his chances, and blew them
badly. Does he really think Danny Ainge is going to believe Gary
is staying sober when his track record indicates that high-pressure
situations drive him to drink? Payton is one of the great Point
Guards of the game, but I just don't see him being able to withstand
the overwhelmingly high expectations the Celtics have of themselves
this season. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm going by the track
record. Perhaps it WOULD be different if Payton came off the
bench and was mostly expected to teach Rajon. But I don't believe
so.
December 21, 2007
Waiving goodbye...
The Celtics have waived rookie
Brandon Wallace. Between lack of playing time with the Celtics
and an injury after being sent to the D-League, there just wasn't
enough to justify keeping him on the roster past the December 20
deadline that would have guaranteed his contract.
December 19, 2007
MORE schedule changes!!!
The Good Guys are more
and more
popular, as four more games, in addition to tonight's game on
ESPN, have been
moved to National TV. The CBW schedule has been changed to
reflect new start times and broadcasters, which are:
March 18, 2008 vs Houston 9:30pm, TNT
March 20, 2008 vs Dallas 8:00pm, TNT
March 26, 2008 vs Phoenix 7:00pm, ESPN
April 02, 2008 vs Indiana 7:00pm, ESPN
December 16, 2007
GAME SCHEDULE CHANGE!!
The game on Wednesday, December 19 against the Detroit Pistons has been
moved back a half hour and will start at 7:00pm EST.
December 08, 2007
ESPN.com blew it.
Ok, sometimes people just
go to
far. ESPN.com recently had their latest mini-poll for
visitors to take, with multiple choices, the most popular being the
winner. The following anti-Boston statements were the choices.
1. Steelers beat Patriots
2. Santana traded to any team
besides (Red) Sox
3. Kevin Garnett blow out his knee.
4 All of the above.
The first, I can understand.
Football fans of opposing teams hate
to see any team go undefeated.
The second is, I think along a
similar vein, given the baseball team's
overwhelming success.
The third is reprehensible.
Blowing out your knee, in this case,
is not only extremely painful, but a potentially career-ending injury.
What really scares me is some idiots
actually voted for that choice, along with "all of the above"!
When I went to the site
this evening, I found the following results:
In total, out of 6,791 votes cast,
4% specifically wanted Garnett's
knee blown, while 26% wanted "all
of the above"--including the
damage to Garnett's knee--to happen.
Four states had 50% or more voting
this way.
Twenty-five states had 25-49% voting
this way.
Twenty-one states had between 10-24%
voting this way.
That means that some morons in all
fifty states entered a 10% or
greater vote for a choice that included this.
If you know someone who did this,
let them know what idiots they are
for doing this, "even in fun" since this is NOT funny.
If you ARE one of the idiots who
voted this way, get your nasty ass off
my site and never return. I don't want you here.
I know it was a small minority of
people taking part in this, and
almost certainly included some people "voting" more than once.
Still, it's disturbing that ANYONE did. And ESPN.com is, as
Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said, "classless" for doing this. They
owe Garnett a public apology. Knowing their general anti-Celtics
bias as they've made obvious, they won't.
So I will.
Kevin, I'm sorry. I feel badly
that this was done. It was
cruel and thoughtless at the very least. ESPN.com should never
have put up this online poll. And those few who voted for such a
painful injury to happen to you were likewise thoughtles and
cruel. On behalf of REAL Celtics fans everywhere, I apologize for
the few empty-headed morins who constructed and participated in
this. I hope you will accpet this apology in the spirit in which
it is given.
Here's the state by
state breakdown, with total votes, percentage
voting for Garnett, and percentage for "all of the above".
Remember, these people are MORONS. Should you find them, let them
know their behavior is unacceptable:
Alabama: 31
votes: 3% / 26%
Alaska: 7 votes: 0% / 57%
Arizona: 104 votes: 5%/31%
Arkansas: 11 votes: 0% / 18%
California: 606 votes: 4% / 23%
Colorado: 137 votes: 8% / 27%
Connecticut: 106 votes: 4% / 26%
Delaware: 18 votes: 0% / 28%
Florida: 191 votes: 5% / 35%
Georgia: 114 votes: 3% / 25%
Hawaii: 12 votes: 0% / 17%
Idaho: 16 votes: 0% / 13%
Illinois: 257 votes: 6% / 30%
Indiana: 107 votes: 1% / 32%
Iowa: 49 votes: 0% / 18%
Kansas: 33 votes: 0% / 15%
Kentucky: 58 votes: 2% / 26%
Louisiana: 44 votes: 7% / 25%
Maine: 14 votes: 0% / 50%
Maryland: 125 votes: 2% / 30%
Massachusetts: 497 votes: 5% / 14%
Michigan: 148 votes: 6% / 29%
Minnesota: 174 votes: 4% / 17%
Mississippi: 8 votes: 0% / 25%
Missouri: 112 votes: 4% / 29%
Montana: 14 votes: 0% / 21%
Nebraska: 26 votes: 0% / 19%
Nevada: 33 votes: 0% / 21%
New Hampshire: votes: 51 8% / 14%
New Jersey: 217 votes: 3% / 29%
New Mexico: 13 votes: 8% / 15%
New York: 553 votes: 3% / 33%
North Carolina: 156 votes: 3% / 22%
North Dakota: 16 votes: 13% / 19%
Ohio: 238 votes: 4% / 32%
Oklahoma: 32 votes: 13% / 22%
Oregon: 67 votes: 6% / 31%
Pennsylvania: 436 votes: 3% / 27%
Rhode Island: 62 votes: 8% / 23%
South Carolina: 40 votes: 5% / 30%
South Dakota: 19 votes: 5% / 32%
Tennessee: 65 votes: 2% / 20%
Texas: 294 votes: 4% / 26%
Utah: 52 votes: 2% / 17%
Vermont: 18 votes: 6% / 28%
Virginia: 323 votes: 3% / 23%
Washington: 175 votes: 1% / 22%
West Virginia: 25 votes: 4% / 28%
Wisconsin: 115 votes: 0% / 29%
Wyoming: 6 votes: 0% / 50%
International results: 734 votes: 6% / 28%
December 02, 2007
Chalk it up to experience.
As people who watch the
Celtics
on tv are aware, there's been a new pregame ritual in place since the
arrival of Kevin Garnett. Before the start of the game, Kevin
goes to the scorer's table, pours a large mound of talcum powder on his
hands, then claps in an exaggerated manner, dousing Celtics
Play-by-Play man Mike Gorman with this large cloud of dust.
The first time I saw this, I thought it was a one-time thing, a little
spur of the moment joke.
Nope.
Apparently, Garnett has been doing this for years, some people attributing it
to a copying of Michael Jordan doing the same thing.
We're not talking a trace amount here. There's literally a mound
of powder in Garnett's hands, enough that Gorman has to cover his suit with a towel so as
not to end up having to get his suits dry cleaned every night.
While Gorman is too nice and classy a guy to say anything negative
about this, it is clearly embarrassing when this happens. A few
people have archly suggested that if Gorman has a problem with it, he
should "be a man" and tell Garnett as much.
I think Garnett should be his OWN man and alter his routine. What
he's doing is childish and disrespectful, especially to a man of
Gorman's accomplishments.
I think the powder routine should TAKE a powder and be replaced with
something less intrusive. There are any number of things Garnett
could do if he absolutely HAD to use powder. For instance,
sprinkling a SMALL amount on one hand and giving Gorman a high
five. Low-key and minimal cleanup involved.
Pregame routines DO have their place. Bill Russell used to throw
up before every game. James Posey stands near midcourt and gives
each teammate a hug before the game starts. (In fact, several
former Heat teammates have stated they miss that.)
So Kevin, presumably being an intelligent man, can certainly come up
with a better way to start the game.
I ask anyone who reads this that attends a Celtics game to chant "Put
the Powder DOWN" at Kevin when
he loads up his hands until he gets the message.
Mike Gorman gets a cookie for his taking the high road in what can only
be a source of annoyance to anyone with a shred of common sense.
God knows, I'd have a super-soaker at the ready if I were the subject
of this talcum terror. :)
November 24, 2007
Flash Fact:
Gabe Pruitt joined Brandon Wallace in the D-League as the newest
members of the Celtics affiliate Utah Flash.
It can be tough going
from the
NBA to the D-League, but given the results last season, this may
benefit them greatly. They'll get actual playing time and a
chance to develop their skills. While Wallace's length of stay is
undetermined, the Celtics apparently told Pruitt he'd be there about
four to five games.
November
23,2007
Time, time, time...It's telling you a
story...
If you live far away from the
Celtics home court, or you're just travelling, now you can know exactly
when you should be rooting for the Good Guys! The brand new part of the
CBW, our very own time machine, a conversion chart so you can keep
track. It is still in it's early stages, but here's your first
look!
Celtics Game Time
Converter
November 22, 2007
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
As many of us gather
around a
table laden with goodies and prepare to suffer the annual bout of
determining whether the turkey or the people got more overstuffed, I
recall something the late Harry Chapin said:
November 21, 2007
We need Quality People running the Knicks, not Idiots ruining them.
Today, ESPN reported that
King
David I, er, NBA Commissioner David Stern had NOT taken Cablevision
Magnate Charles Dolan out to the NBA woodshed to tell him to get his
incompetent son James damn dirty paws off the New York Knicks.
Too bad, because that's what needs to happen. The Knicks, under
the double whammy of James Dolan and Isiah Thomas have managed to
overpay just about every player on the team--including former Celtic
Dan "I'm too short to play defense in the NBA" Dickau, while losing
games for rotten coaching as much as rotten play. They allowed
one of their players to stage a temper tantrum that on any other team
would have gotten his butt nailed to the bench for several games, yet
reward him with more playing time before apologetically making him not
start for a few games, after even his own
teammates voted to make him sit at least ONE game. Over
the Summer, they managed to very publicly lose a sexual harassment suit
that, according to some legal experts, even the L.A. District
Attorney's office would have won in a slam dunk.
Supposedly, Stern also went to Jim Dolan at a board of govenors meeting
and essentially said of the rapidly deteriorating situation, "Either
fix it, or I will." Stern denies this.
Even if it's not true, Stern should have said, "Hell, yes, that's
EXACTLY what I said. These guys are stinking up one of the oldest
NBA teams."
And that's why I'm writing about the New York Knickerbockers for a few
minutes. They used to be a good, quality team that the Celtics
knew would give them a tough game every time. respective fans
disliked each other with the half-grudging respect you give to an
opponent that forces your team to play at a high level consistently.
The Knicks deserve better than to be run into the ground by the 21st
century's answer to the detestable John Y. Brown and idiotic Phyllis
George.
(Yes, you two morons, we're still
pissed at you).
Thomas should be fired, for incompetence at least, if not for whatever
sexual misadventures he's embarked on. And Jimmy Boy Dolan should
have his behind parked on the curb right next to his bubbleheaded booby
of a coach.
Looking at those two, I am almost
relieved that all we had to
worry about in recent years was M.L. Carr and Rick Pitino.
Save the Knicks, or at least bring in someone who can slowly rebuild
them into something besides a lame joke. They were once among the
class of the NBA, and they deserve better.
November 10, 2007
I goofed! The Celtics schedule has now been corrected to add the
NBA tv games.
November 01, 2007
Predictions Updated! Also, the team roster, the new schedule and
other Neat Stuff.
July 31, 2007
Big Ticket To Ride
Yes, the rumors are
officially
confirmed true. The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Kevin Garnett to
the Boston Celtics.
Although the precise details have not all been confirmed, the press
release from the Celtics official site stated that in return for
Garnett, Minnesota will receive players Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff,
Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and Ryan Gomes, plus a 2009
first-round draft pick (top three protected) in addition to the return
of the pick the Timberwolves gave up in the Ricky Davis/Wally
Szczerbiak trade from January of 2006, and some "cash considerations".
Garnett will reportedly agree to a three year extension on his current
two year contract, and may have waived at least part of his expensive
trade kicker to complete the deal. There will likely be more
details reported at a press conference at 6pm tonight from the Boston
Garden, at which Garnett, as well as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are
expected to attend. Celtics.com stated they will carry live
streaming video of the press conference.
Ratliff was considered little more than a contract to come off
someone's books as part of a trade, and Green and Gomes still need a
lot of work to be truly NBA ready. "Six-gun" Telfair was allowed
to polish his reputation just enough to get trade value. Truly
the majot hit the Celtics take is the loss of Al Jefferson. He
was doing nicely toward the end of last season, and was essentially
classed with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce as the core of the team.
But Minnesota's Kevin McHale also likes him, and insisted he be part of
the deal. That's the only really bad part--Big Al sees the
Celtics become a major contender just as he gets traded to Minnesota,
which will essentially be the Celtics without Pierce OR Garnett.
Clearly, the Celtics ownership has rolled the dice...er, gone all
in....umm, bet the limit... OK, so gambling analogies are in bad
taste right now. In any case, they want to win it all NOW, and at
the very least, presuming healthy seasons for Pierce Garnett and Allen,
they look good for the Eastern Conference Championship, unless someone
moves San Antonio or Dallas out of the Western Conference.
For those who wanted a patient building of the team via drafting and
trades, well...you got hosed. Either the C's win it now, or not
at all. It's a hell of a risk, especially after the ongoing
disaster that was last season.
Let the Games begin!
July 27, 2007
Waive good bye to Allen Ray
Mike Gorman's hopes of being able to make Ray Allen/Allen Ray
jokes this season were dashed as the C's waived Allen Ray.
July 24, 2007
David Stern uses press conference as audition for "Dancing With the
Press"
For the last several
days, just
about everyone has realized that today's press conference given by NBA
Commissioner David Stern would have to be one for the record books, in
order to start reweaving the tattered shreds of trust in not only the
officiating of the NBA, but the ability of the Commissioner to police
it.
Instead we get Stern portraying Colonel Klink and Sgt. Schultz of
"Hogan's Heroes", as the Mob tunnels beneath the foundation of the NBA
camp under everyone's nose.
Stern's had one doozy of a quote, when he said he understood Donaghy "was the only referee alleged to have bet
on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others.
Let me make it clear that's my current understanding. If that
understanding changes tomorrow, I will so inform everybody"
Stern then said he was unaware of any discussions of Donaghy
potentially fixing games, despite widespread reporting of same.
You can just imagine him saying, "I
see nothing, hear NOTHING!"
Gee, maybe he stopped reading the newspapers and the internet,
and watching tv because he
didn't want to hear spoilers for the last "Harry Potter" book.
Not because of any sports book. It's possible, I suppose.
In his wishy-washy effort to appease fans who have seen the worst
claims of the conspiracy theorists confirmed, he said, "I pledge that we will do every look-back
possible to analyze our processes and seek the best advice possible
to...continue to assure fans we are doing the best we possibly can."
Then Stern insulted people's intelligence when asked if he was
surprised that the NBA's background checks and oversight of it's
referees missed Donaghy's alleged conduct. "I'm surprised, but I guess no more
surprised than the head of the FBI, head of the CIA when rogue
employees turn on their country despite the best investigative
procedures in the country."
Gee, Col. Klink, at least with the FBI and CIA, you're generally
dealing with professional crooks--people who are smart enough to know
how to deal with a potential investigation, or have the backing of a
government to learn how to try to keep ahead of the
investigators. You're going to tell us that a guy whose problem
was so "secret" that his own
neighbors knew for over a year that he was gambling is as smart
as those guys? Or does it mean you hired Maxwell Smart to run the
investigation?
Stern blew it.
He should have come out and said something like, "We screwed up.
We were concentrating on only monitoring certain facets of officiating,
and that narrow-mindedness allowed an official with a gambling problem
to continue working even after people knew he was placing bets.
"We're working to resolve the matter, first by cooperating with
investigative authorities, then by instituting a full, no-holds-barred
background check and investigation on every NBA official that Donaghy
might name.
"We guarantee that by tipoff of the upcoming NBA season, every single
referee will have been vetted fully. Since our internal oversight
has failed, we will utilize respected outside investigations to review
our organization.
"We will review tape of every single game worked by Donaghy, and make
case by case decisions on whether changes to any NBA records are
warranted, from number of fouls to win-loss records. This process
will take time, but it will happen."
You get the idea. He needed to take a get-tough, plain-spoken
approach that left no room for doubt that this mess was going to be
cleaned up NOW.
Instead, we got Colonel Klink telling us once again that there's never
been an escape under his command.
And questions about Stern's own failures to keep on top of the
situation?
"DIS-missed!"
July 20, 2007
More details on the betting scandal.
If David Stern was hoping
the
indictment would precede the naming of the referee in the middle of the
betting scandal, he would have had a better chance of hoping someone
wouldn't spoil the ending of the latest Harry Potter book.
Tim Donaghy is the name of the Referee who will live in infamy,
not
just in the NBA, but for all sports. He is the first official in
any of the major American pro sports leagues of Basketball, Baseball,
or Football to be indicted--well, in strict terms, he's not indicted
yet, but it's going to happen--for gambling on games in his sport.
Worse, he placed bets on games he worked. We don't know
yet which games. We
don't know if
his actions affected the winner
of the game, or "just" the point spread, or any other aspects of the
games. We do know, based on consistent reports, that it was
"double digit" numbers of games, most likely over the last two
seasons. We know that the amount of money involved was in the
"thousands of dollars".
Perhaps worse yet, this wasn't just Donaghy falling afoul of the
Nevada
Gaming Commission, or getting spotted on the road. His name came
up in New york, as part of an ongoing investigation into organized
crime.
That's right, while most of us were content to watch "the Sopranos", Donaghy was living the mob
life. In fact, people associated with policing
legal gambling in Las Vegas swear they had no clue there was a problem, much less an investigation.
From the records, we know that in the last 2 seasons, we know he
officiated at 68 games in the 2005-06 season and 63 games in
2006-07. He was also one of the officials in 20 playoff games,
including 5 this past season alone:
April 23, Pistons vs. Magic
April 27, Warriors vs. Mavericks
April 29, Suns vs. Lakers
May 04, Nets vs. Raptors
May 12, Suns vs. Spurs
After hiding futilely behind a generic "no comment", during
which time
the public found out more about the case than some of the attorneys
probably knew, David Stern finally issued the following statement:
"We
would like to
assure our fans that no amount of effort, time, or personnel is being
spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an
individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional
sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever
happening again."
Well, gee, I feel better already.
Let's keep a few things
in mind--and perspective. First, Donaghy isn't the
Godfather. He's a guy with a reported "gambling problem" who got
introduced to the mob when his losses got too large for him to
realistically cover. He's a relatively small part in an overall
investigation into organized crime making money by fixing basketball
games. He was convenient to the mob, but unlikely their only
means of generating income.
Second, Donaghy has already been "brought to justice", in that
he's
been identified, and will, in short order, face Federal indictments for
his part in this. Without knowing all details, I think it safe to
say we can expect racketeering charges, conspiracy charges, etc.
I think it likely that the Feds would rather squeeze Donaghy for
testimony on the actual mobsters, than focus on throwing him in a cell
and losing the key.
Third, Donaghy's career is already over. Partly because
he'd
recently retired after 13 years as an NBA official (though it's a safe
bet, so to speak, that this was privately encouraged and kept secret so
as not to hinder the investigation); and partly because even if he
hadn't there's zero chance he'll ever be allowed near a professional
sporting event ever again.
What does all this mean for everyone involved?
For Donaghy, he'll face the Federal charges and even though no
rules
specifying what to do in Basketball--as opposed to Baseball which has
some experience in this--he'll certainly be banned from anything to do
with the NBA, de facto, if not specifically written. He can also
probably forget ever seeing an NBA game live again. He'll be
lucky if Stern can't get an injunction preventing him from subscribing
to NBAtv. Even death won't help, because I think Sid Borgia and
Red Auerbach will make their way to Hell and beat the shit out of him.
For David Stern, it's a PR nightmare, no matter how you slice
it.
He's spent years trumpeting the integrity of the NBA officials and one
of the veteran officials ends up involved with the mob to fix
games. He'll have to be somewhat more tolerant of Mark Cuban and
Tommy Heinsohn, who, I am sure, take no pleasure in being proven right
in such a manner. He'll have to take public, transparent steps to
reassure everyone from the Federal Government to the casual NBA fan
that this was a fluke.
For the officials, it's an even worse nightmare. Everyone
knows
that someone in every NBA venue will have signs or shout comments
referring to this. They've gotten to conduct discipline behind
closed doors for ages, and that's going to have to end. It's not
inconceivable that one or more other refs might find themselves giving
testimony in the case. Nobody wants to see Ronnie Nunn, Joey
Crawford, or Dick Bavetta in
a court instead of on one.
For the teams, it's a case of "nothing can be done".
Unless Stern
feels gracious--and I really think he ought to, considering--there's
nothing in the NBA rules that specifically alludes to what to do if a
game is found to be fixed. Normally, the deadline for protesting
is long past, but I think someone needs to look at this set of
games--however many they turn out to be--on a case by case basis.
It's possible that all Donaghy did is ensure that the point spread was
covered, or not, as needed. It is also possible his actions, or
lack of actions, determined which team won. So every game needs
to be checked, but the teams also need to be realistic. If you
got blown out by 30 points because your team couldn't play defense that
night, you can't lay that loss on Donaghy. But if your star
player got tossed in a close game, you might have a case. This is
going to be a mess to untangle, and nobody will be satisfied, no matter
what is done.
For the fans, it's confirmation of the conspiracy theorists
worst
allegations. The games were fixed, by the very people who are
supposed to ensure the rules are followed. If you thought
attendance dropped last season, watch and see what happens if Stern
can't convince everyone that's it's just one guy.
For the game of Basketball, it just really, really sucks.
A Bad Bet
For years, we've watched and listened
to Tommy Heinsohn verbally beat up NBA referees on the air. We've
read with bemused tolerance of the antics of Mark Cuban when he
criticizes the refs and draws fines so large you'd swear the NBA was
short of money and needed a loan.
But now, all those rants, all those comments must be taken with great
seriousness. Because the FBI is reported to be investigating an
NBA referee involved with organized crime in a point-shaving operation.
Worse, the ref, so far unnamed, was apparently betting on games
he was
officiating.
The investigation has been going on for at least a year, and the
betting--well into the thousands of dollars--was on games possibly
dating back to the 2005-06 season.
The NBA is aware of the situation and released a statement
basically
saying "no comment". David Stern knows who it is, and is
likely only awaiting next week's predicted surrender/arrest of the ref
in question before issuing what I predict should be the fastest firing
in NBA history.
It won't matter about whether the ref fixed the games, just the
fact he
was betting on NBA games at all, much less games he worked, with a mob
bookie, to boot, should make his dismissal a mortal lock. You can
also expect a number of teams to challenge the results of various
games--possibly including playoff games--played over the last two
years. Let's face it, the conspiracy buffs are right about one
thing--certain playoff matchups are worth more money than others.
So now everything about the games this referee worked will need to be
examined closely, though the NBA rules make no provision for changing
any of the results this long after the game, even in the face of this
situation.
This will not be resolved quickly, but I believe several things
need to
happen. First, the name of the ref needs to eventually be
revealed, so he can be fired. Then, the Commissioner and his
assistants should--assuming he hasn't already done so--begin compiling
a list of every game this ref has worked for the last two--and possibly
more--seasons. The teams involved should be contacted and
informed that the outcomes are under review. If the final score
of a game was unaffected by the ref's actions, let it stand. But
the fouls--especially any technical fouls that were--or were not--assessed need to be
scrutinized.
This process needs, desperately, to be transparent, and to do
that,
there's only two people truly qualified to make this so--Tommy Heinsohn
and Mark Cuban. Both of them have historically shown they
won't participate in any effort to whitewash the refs, yewt despite
their individual bombastic behavior, they're both basically
level-headed people. Cuban has the funds to hire the very best
investigators and technicians, and Tommy has a lifetime of knowledge of
basketball--plus time spent running insurance cases--to bring to the
job. If they pronounce a game clean, nobody is going to question
their judgement--at least as long as each reviews the other's
team.
The NBA cannot afford for this to be a closed-door
investigation.
There's no way, not after years of theorists have accused various refs
of being involved in all sorts of behavior. Especially, to name
two problems, after the tax problems in 1998 that involved over a
dozen refs; and the suspension just recently of ref Joey Crawford for
his incident with Tim Duncan, everyone needs their hands above the
table and the door wide open.
For now, we all have to wait and see what happens, but we also have to
remember--only one ref stands accused in this matter at this
time. While it's only natural to perhaps give all the officials a
closer look, we also must realize the majority of them are doing their
jobs legitimately, and let them DO their jobs.
SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE
2007 Summer League record: 3-2
July 6 vs. Portland Trailblazers
W 74-66
July 9 vs. San Antonio Spurs L
60-53
July 11 vs. Chinese National Team
W 80-52
July 13 vs. Milwaukee Bucks W
84-76
July 14 vs. Dallas Mavericks L
91-70
July 16, 2007
What's next? OVERSEAS TRAINING CAMP!
Presuming that Trader Dan
doesn't blow up the roster between now and then, the next step before
the new season will be training camp, which will be held in Rome, Italy
from October 1-5, and will play several exhibition games while
there.
The Celtics wil be joined by the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota
Timberwolves, and Toronto Raptors. Boston will play a preseason
game against the Toronto Raptors at the PalaLottamatica on October 6,
before travelling to London, England where the C's face the Memphis
Grizzlies at London's new O2 arena on October 10. As yet, no
other preseason games have been officially scheduled, but it's likely
there'll be more.
While I like giving the fans in Europe a chance to see NBA teams play,
I'm extremely concerned about what this kind of international travel
will do to the players when combined with traning camp AND exhibition
games. I got tired last season of hearing Doc Rivers' complaints
about lack of practice time, and it's hard to see how you can get
meaningful, productive practices when you're travelling through Europe,
instead of locking everyone into the training facility at home and
learning, perhaps, how to play defense, while teaching the Point Guards
how to distribute the ball.
July 14, 2007
Final Summer League game is a loss for the Good Guys
Boston closed out it's
2007
Summer Session with a loss to the Mavericks, to the utter glee of the
two hyperactive morons broadcasting the game for NBAtv. The
Celtics obviously need to work on their defense and ballhandling, which
means--to me, anyway--that Boston needs a true Center (7' or taller)
and a veteran Point Guard. During last night's game, Mike Gorman
said that Trader Dan wanted to get something done before the start of
the season, but I sincerely hope he gets it done before training camp,
so the new people--whoever they are--have time to practice with the
Celtics before having to start the season.
Oops...
Somehow, I missed the change in
opponents for the C's, from the originally scheduled New York--who
could have put their starters
on the floor and probably still
lost to the C's Summer League roster--to the unbeaten Dallas
Mavericks. The game time remains unchanged. Sorry!
Two consecutive wins!
Let's hope this doesn't become as much cause for celebration as it did
last season ! The Good Guys followed up their win over the
Chinese National team, wherein they gave Yi Jianlian a physical welcome
to the NBA; with a high scoring win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, they go for three in a row, having already guaranteed a winning
Summer League record.
July 9, 2007
Celtics now 1-1 in Summer League play
The San Antonio Spurs staged a
late 4th quarter surge to go ahead in an offensively challenged game
for both teams, winning it 60-53 over the Good Guys. Rajon Rondo
really needs to work on his decision making at Point. Glen
Davis showed his conditioning is improving. But overall, this
game was a step back for Boston after their previous game.
The C's never really ran well, and the offense was just not working
well enough to stave off the Spurs, who finally found the hoop after
taking 2 quarters to score 20 points. Hopefully, the Celtics will
do better in their next game, Wed, July 11, vs. the Chinese National
Team, at 10:00pm Eastern time.
July 6, 2007
Celtics win first Summer League Game despite near-total incompetence of
NBA.com
The Celtics were much
better
than NBA.com kept telling us. Their supposedly accurate box score
had them trailing Portland all night long, when in fact, the Good Guys
led by as many as 20 points, and ended up beating Portland, 74-66 in a
game that NBA.com LIED about broadcasting on the web via their site.
Yes, I am ABSOLUTELY NOT going to let that drop.
Thank you to FLCeltsFan for her timely work in getting factual info on
tonight's game.
Those of you lamenting not getting Greg Oden in the draft, he managed
to foul out early on, so he wasn't a factor at all, really.
The next Celtics Summer League game is Monday, July 9 vs. the San
Antonio Spurs.
Supposedly available for us to watch, but unless you have tickets or
FSN New England, plan on finding another way to watch, since NBA.com
has proven totally unreliable.
GO CELTICS!
NBA.com LIES about broadband availability of Summer League games.
This past week, NBA.com
stated
that all Summer
League games would be available via webcast on NBA.com.
Well, that turned out to be a LIE.
I went to NBA.com and tried to log in and watch the Celtics play
Portland, and was told the game was blacked out in my area. I
don't live in Boston. I don't live in Portland. There's no
national broadcast of this game. Nowhere did they say it was
subject to any blackout to begin with. So why was it blacked out?
Because the NBA LIED when they said the games would be available
on
their site.
So I'll have to hope they
weren't also lying when they
said they would broadcast a tape delay of the game tomorrow on NBAtv.
But I now expect they'll LIE
about that, too.
They owe every fan who wasn't able to log in and see the game an
apology, and then some...like a copy of the Celtics DVD set (Portland
fans already GOT what they wanted). But they're probably too busy
thinking up new things to say just to get people to their site, then
not do what they promised.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Looks like NBA.com has all three covered.
July 1, 2007
Out with the old, in with the old...er, new.
Ok, you knew there were
going to
be comments about that. Anyway, today is the day that the Celtics
introduce the newest members of the team, draft picks Glen Davis and
Gabe Pruitt; along with their trade acquisition, Ray Allen. With
that, we officially say farewell to Delonte West and Wally Sczerbiak,
wishing them both well with their new team--except when they play
Boston, of course.
The numbers game...
As Celtics fans all know,
choosing a number for a player's Celtics uniform is tough for a new
guy. Especially so for Ray Allen, who has worn the same number since High School,
#34. Since Paul Pierce was already using it, Ray has selected
#20; whilst Glen Davis will wear #11, and Gabe Pruitt was lucky enough
to get #13.
Next up...the Summer League, LIVE!
I'd like to think it was
me
complaining for the last few years, but I'll give credit to the NBA for
finally seeing the light over the silly pre-recorded broadcasts of
Summer League games that left Celtics fans confuisedly wondering when--or if--they'd get to see the Celtics
play! Well, this summer
EVERYONE will get to see the Good Guys! FSN New England will be
broadcasting all five of the
Celtics Summer League games! NBAtv will broadcast all the Celtics games live, and
NBA.com will also be broadcasting ALL the Summer League games live via webcast.
The schedule is as follows, all times Eastern
(I double checked):
July 6 vs. Portland Trailblazers
WIN 74-66
July 9 vs. San Antonio Spurs
LOSS 60-53
July 11 vs. Chinese National Team
10:00pm
July 13 vs. Milwaukee Bucks
8:00pm
July 14 vs. New York Knickerbockers
4:00pm
Now, if only the Celtics got tv
coverage like this during the
regular season...
June 28, 2007
The 2007 NBA Draft is here...
And the news has just become all but official at 7:56pm ET, as the
Celtics have finally ended the speculation about a trade for the number
5 pick by choosing Jeff Green of Georgetown, then trading him
immediately to the Seattle Supersonics along with Delonte West and
Wally Szczerbiak in return for Ray Allen.
This comes as a
last-minute
surprise to a lot of people,
who had included the Celtics as a potential part of several trade
proposals involving Kevin Garnett in some way over the last week, most of which gave the Celtis the
short end of the stick.
The fact that nobody at ESPN likes this trade gives me hope that
it's a
good trade, since the guys at ESPN are largely a bunch of
Celtic-bashers who hate to
see anything good happen to the C's. Steven A. Smith, this means you. (And for the
love of Linus and Lucy, will you please
stop talking like Martin Luther King, Jr. giving a sermon? You
sound like someone injected you with a quart of caffeine.)
But many Celtics fans seem down on this trade as it now
stands.
People point to the age of Allen, 32, and his condition, plus his
strength as an offensive player when the Celtics so clearly need a
defensive presence--like a Center who can rebound--and wonder whatthinking.
It is unusual--at least to me--that at 8:45pm, nearly an hour after the trade was reported
as "a done deal" on ESPN, there's been no official word from anyone,
and even the Celtics official website doesn't so much as acknowledge
the pick, never mind the
proposed trade. It
makes me wonder if there's been a snag along the line somewhere, or if
it really takes this long to say "yes, we did it" to the NBA officials.
Trader Dan was
But some people--like Mike Gorman--are indicating there's more
involved
to this deal than was immediately obvious, so it's possible that there's another trade in the works!
For those not familiar with Ray
Allen, here's the link to his page on the Seattle Supersonics site:
http://www.nba.com/sonics/roster/ray_allen.html
As of 11:45pm, it's finally official, in addition to the players
mentioned previously, the C's also get #35 pick Glen Davis.
Also, at #32, the Celtics drafted Gabe Pruitt.
Let the yelling and screaming commence!
June 27, 2007
Plenty of NBA television coverage guaranteed...well, except for the
Celtics.
The NBA has extended it's
television contract with ESPN/ABC and TNT through the end of the
2015-16 season. ABC will continue to show 15 regular season games
and the NBA Finals, as they do now. ESPN and ESPN2 will continue
to show 75 regular season games, and one of the Conference
Finals. ESPN also gets coverage of the NBA All-Star Celebrity
Game, draft lottery and the draft itself, while ESPNU will get coverage
of the NBA pre-draft camp. TNT will keep airing 52 regular season
games, the All-Star Game and one of the Conference Finals.
The changes mostly focus on the increase on the maximum number
of times
a particular team can appear on ABC. ESPN will air more early
round playoff games. ESPN International will get worldwide
television rights.
And somehow, despite airing a combined 142 games, they'll
probably still manage not to
broadcast any Celtics games.
Again.
I firmly believe that any extension should have been contingent on a
requirement that between the networks, every NBA team goes on their
national broadcasts at least once. But King David I...er,
Commissioner Stern...is determined to enrich his personal legacy at the
expense of the foundations of the NBA.
June 25, 2007
CBW Draft Opinion
After wearing headphones
to
drown out the chorus of "waah!"s (including my own) over the rotten,
stinking, idiotic lottery system that allows not only the possibility
but the likelihood that the two worst teams end up drafting 4 and 5, I
looked over the people likely to be around when the Celtics make their
pick on Draft Night.
But first, I say categorically, I am opposed to any trade for
Kevin
Garnett. Losing Al Jefferson would be a major mistake. I
also think that there are easier ways to move Sebastian Telfair.
Garnett is already playing in a cold-weather climate for a team
fighting to be in the playoffs again, and there's no earthly reason for
him to make what amounts to a lateral move, when it would be far easier
for him to move to Phoenix, where he obviously wants to go,
anyway. I know there's considerable temptation to do a trade, but
I don't think Garnett will be around long enough to do anything but
give C's fans stomach aches when he leaves next year.
So, Trader Dan should just sit back and do the draft.
Because he has a chance to turn rotten luck into a huge positive
deal. When you lose out on Oden/Durant, anyone you pick is "the
best you can do". But ther recent emergence of Yi Jianlian may be
a lifesaver for C's ownership, players, and fans. I believe he
can become exactly what the C's need--a big man under the basket, not
in the sense of Shaq, or Bill Russell, but someone to give the Celtics
some presence under the hoop against the majority of other team's big
guys. If he can rebound decently and make the correct pass to the
outlet, Boston might be able to run an honest-to-God fast break on a
consistent basis.
Yi sounds made to order for this. He's tall but not
lumbering
like Shaq, and he can apparently run the floor decently. With his
height, he'll be able to convert some baskets just by contending for
rebounds, and if Al Jefferson continues his rebounding ways, that means
not only second chance baskets, but a chance to reduce the number of
times guys from other teams steamroll over the Boston defense and shoot
over the collection of Point Guards that Trader Dan has racked up.
He's going to need about three years to really come into his
own,
between adjusting to living in America and learning the NBA game.
He'll almost certainly need to beef up a little, or he'll get knocked
out of position. But at the 5th pick, you get a legitimate center
who will, at the very least, make the opposing offense think twice
before rolling to the hoop automatically.
The other potential plus is that if he and Jefferson can tie up the
middle, Pierce can roam a bit more freely, and when they triple him, he
can lob up a pass to a guy tall enough to catch it and put it in for
two, an option that hasn't really been there for some time.
Taking Yi is, no question, a risk. But the C's options are
limited. They need a dominating inside man to trigger any hope of
the fast break. If Yi can rebound and pass decently, take him at
5, and package Telfair in a deal for a veteran from some other
team. Let Delonte West be the PG, and if Tony Allen can go the
distance, and prove last season was both a fluke (injurywise) and NOT a
fluke (his impressive offensive run before that injury), and you have
the makings of a high pressure offense. The other addition Boston
needs is someone to coach the defense for Boston, as even Coach Rivers
admits it's not his strong suit. And make damn sure someone
introduces Yi to Bill Russell.
So there you have it, the CBW advocates taking Yi with the 5th pick and
eschewing any trades involving that pick, or Al Jefferson.
June 15, 2007
Summer League Schedule for the Celtics
The Good Guys-or, at least,
those whose health and senority allow them to and the new draft picks
(assuming Trader Dan doesn't give the store away between now and then),
will be playing in this year's version of the Summer League in Las
Vegas from July 6-14.
The schedule is as follows:
July 6 vs. Portland Trailblazers 7pm
July 9 vs. San Antonio Spurs 1pm
July 11 vs. Chinese National Team 7pm
July 13 vs. Milwaukee Bucks 5pm
July 14 vs. New York Knickerbockers 1pm
May 22, 2007
The 2007 NBA Draft Lottery Results
WAAH!
1. Portland Trailblazers
2. Seattle Supersonics
3. Atlanta Hawks
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. Boston
Celtics
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Charlotte Bobcats
9. Chicago Bulls
10. Sacramento Kings
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Philadelphia 76ers
13. New Orleans Hornets
14. L.A. Clippers
May 21, 2007
Draft Lottery Tomorrow Night! or, "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"
Tuesday night, ESPN will see how long
they can
drag out an event that normal people accomplish in five minutes.
Depending on who you talk to, coverage starts at 8pm, even though the
TV schedule says 8:30pm. The same
schedule says the previous
broadcast, "NBA Shootaround" starts at 7:30pm, and the evening's
playoff festivities don't start until 8:30, but we all know THAT will
be delayed so the game announcers can have theirBleah.
I'm going to TiVo it, and zap through the BS until I see the look
on Celtics representative Tommy Heinsohn's face. Then I'll
know what happened, and post it here
through the evening's
proceedings. Basically, ESPN wants you to have an early supper
and leave them on all night. Yeah, because their analysis is so
darn insightful.
The Main Event
As long as we're
discussing
things that haven't happened yet, The NBA Draft itself
- you know, the event that we're taking 90 minutes tomorrow night to
determine the order of? - is June 28 starting at 7:30pm (and you KNOW
they're going to make us sit through more
pre-event drek, so take your tummy medicine first, you've been warned)
Just playing around...
And in keeping with today's futuristic calendar theme, the Summer
League, which used to be a relaxed way to say "hi" to the C's in the
offseason and is now a semi-event, will start up on July 6.
The last few years, NBAtv sat on the broadcast rights and refused to
air the games live. C'mon guys--it's JULY. Even the
hyperextended playoffs should be over by then. The games take
place early in the day. Just run them live and have some
fun...and maybe WE can have some fun too, instead of trying to figure
out that byzantine tape-delay schedule you
foisted on us the last 2
years.
The Celtics are coming, the Celtics are coming!
Much as the cry heard of the British
visiting what were the colonies back in
the late 1770's, or the musical "British Invasion of the Beatles in the
early 1960's, the Boston Celtics will be playing an exhibition game in
London, England on Wednesday, October 10, at 7:00pm (London time, about
2pm EST) at the new O2 arena. This is part of the extravaganza
knowns as NBA Europe Live, as well as celebrating the opening of NBA
offices in London.
On the really distant chance that Sebastian Telfair is still with the
team by then, we'd like to remind him, and all the players, that the
British are a hell of a lot less tolerant of illegal possession and use
of firearms than we are here in the USA. Leave the guns at home, okay?
May 09, 2007
Paul Pierce won't play (international) ball.
It was announced today that Paul
Pierce will not be playing with the US Men's team at the qualifying
tournament in Las Vegas. What remains murky is whether it was
Pierce who declined to go, or Managing Director of USA Basketball Jerry
Coangelo who disinvited him.
Coangelo released a statement saying that, "By not playing this summer,
he is pretty much eliminated from playing in the Olympics. It
would be hard to make the case that you should play in the third year
after missing the first two. He understands that.
I wonder if Coangelo
understands
that the track record of USA Basketball with Pierce has been
abysmal. First there was the disaster engineered by George Karl,
who managed to single out Pierce as the reason for that team's
losing--when the record clearly shows that Pierce was one of two
productive players on the entire team.
Then they strung him along another year, as Pierce fought through
injuries and tried to drag the Celtics into the playoffs, culminating
when with only two weeks notice, they suddenly invited him to play for
them--with the understanding, of course, that they may or may NOT let
him play in the Olympics.
And here they go AGAIN. Someone ought to remind Jerry that
while
representing your country is indeed an honor, those who choose to
participate need to be respected. When they were literally
begging NBA players to sign up for the team, Pierce was the ONLY PLAYER
who did so unconditionally. Yes, he would do whatever he
could. Last summer, unlike a few overrated egomasters one could
mention, he was sidelined by elbow surgery which, it turned out, wasn't
as successful as everyone hoped--as evidenced by the condition of said
elbow by this season's end.
Pierce is a good player, and always does his best. But he
is
also, not unreasonably, a proud man, justly proud of his
accomplishments. His day-to-day obligation is to the Boston
Celtics. His doctors have been urging him to rest, especially to
rest his elbow, which no longer needs to be drained because it drains itself. Pierce's only
response to this latest set-to has been to refer all questions to his
agent, who would only confirm that Pierce wasn't playing.
That's what I know. Here's what I think. Pierce
needed this
summer to rest a legitimate injury that seriously afected his
play--and, incidentally, left him out of shape, a rarity in
itself. Every other time he could participate, he did, as far
back as 1996, when as a college player, he was on the 22-under
qualifying tournament for USA Basketball, which went 5-0. He
wants to represent the USA in the Olympics. Pierce has his
faults, but laziness isn't among them.
But if they let Pierce play in the Olympics, other players--who
have
much thinner excuses for not being there in the qualifiers--will whine
publicly. So instead of being reasonable and saying, "Sure Paul,
provided your level of play is consistent, you get better and we'll see
you at the Olympics.", they decide to "make an example" of him, hoping
that the other players will straighten out.
That won't happen. People like Kobe Bryant, etc., march to
their
own drummer, and nobody is going to tell them squat. They KNOW
Coangelo is under the gun to produce a winning USA Basketball
team. The problem is, Paul has tried to respect the process, and
the process will deny him what he has worked hard to achieve--a place
on the US Olympic Basketball team.
I can imagine what will happen in 2008, as the US team needs quality
players and once again, offers a last-minute invitation to
Pierce. Here's an idea, Jerry, since you guys seem to be short of
common sense--apologize for jerking Pierce around for several years,
and talk about working with the Celtics to get practice in with the US
team during the next year, and tell Pierce to pack his bags for the
Olympics.
May 08, 2007
Congratulations to Rajon Rondo!
Rondo was chosen as a member of
the NBA's All-Rookie second team today! May it be the first of
many positive recognitions of being a Boston Celtic!
May 04, 2007
Don Nelson Smokes Mark Cuban
It's rare for us to mention
another NBA team in a positive way, but "Nellie" was one of ours long
before he went out west. After all he has gone through, I like to
think that at some point in the fourth quarter of last night's
dismantling of the Mavericks by the Warriors, an image of a familiar
someone was sitting next to Nellie, proudly lighting up a victory
cigar, and growling, "You did good, Nellie. Take a day to enjoy
it, then get these guys ready for the next
series."
Congratulations, Coach Nelson. You did your teacher proud.
April 24, 2007
Tony Allen is Cleared...
Today, a Chicago judge
cleared
Tony Allen of all charges relating to a fight/shooting at a Chicago
restaurant nearly 19 months ago. The State was told it had not
made it's case of three counts of aggravated battery against Allen.
This situation was a cloud over Allen's season, which was shortened by
his January 10 knee injury. His physical rehabilitation continues
and he is expected to be playing next season.
...while Sebastian Telfair is
Cleared
Out.
In an e-mail to Boston Globe reporters Peter May and
Shira
Springer, Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck stated
that, "...we have removed Sebastian Telfair's nameplate from his
locker in Waltham. The facts and circumstances of his case have
not been determined but he does not have a Celtics locker and we do not
anticipate that he will."
This is interesting, in light of the fact I fully expected the C's to
at least string Telfair along until a trade could be made. It now
appears that the Celtics may be looking to void Telfair's contract
entirely for violations of team/NBA rules.
Telfair's attorney, Ed Hayes, sank to a new low by comparing the
team's
decision to the situation with the Duke Lacrosse players in North
Carolina in a statement to the Associated Perss, saying "It always
bothers me when you punish a guy so severely before there's been a
finding of fact. I think that's wrong whether it happens in
Durham, or in Boston."
Sorry, Eddie, you got it wrong. The Duke players were
attacked by
a District Attorney so out of control that even other lawyers are
saying there's grounds for a civil suit. Those players were
accused of rape by a woman who kept changing her story even as the D.A.
couldn't wait to prejudge them. They were indeed wrongly accused
and their reputations suffered because everyone--including the
University--rushed to assumptions.
In this case, we have
incontrovertable facts.
Fact: Sebastian Telfair
was caught BY THE POLICE while speeding at 77mph in a 35mph zone at 4AM
on Friday morning.
Fact: When stopped by those
same police officers, they found he was driving with a suspended
Florida license.
Fact: Police saw a .45 caliber
handgun sticking out from under the front passenger seat. Under
New York State law, when drugs or weapons are found in a car, everyone
in the car is charged with the related offense unless someone admits it
belongs to them.
Fact: Telfair initially denied
knowing how the handgun got there.
Fact: The police subsequently
determined that the weapon belongs to Telfair's girlfriend. This
makes it extremely likely that Telfair lied to the police.
Fact: This is NOT the first
time his girlfriend's gun has ended up in Telfair's possession.
Given these facts, it's entirely reasonable that the Celtics are
taking
steps to distance themselves from Telfair. The fact that
Telfair's on court play wasn't so hot didn't help, but the fact is,
this kind of poor judgement is something the team does NOT need.
There was no rush to judgement here. Even Telfair and his
attorney aren't challenging the police account of what factually
happened. So trying to compare this situation to the persecution
and harassment endured by the Duke Lacrosse players is not only
idiotically wrong, it's offensive, both to the Duke men, AND to the
Celtics.
Looks like Telfair's poor judgement extends to his choice of legal
representation.
In any event, the Celtics are taking the proper action.
April 23, 2007
Book him, Danno...
I
just don't get it. Really, I don't. Sebastian Telfair
plays Point Guard for the Boston Celtics, a job many people--including
me--wish they had. One of the expectations of this job is that
you make at least a reasonable attempt at keeping your proverbial nose
clean. So it's hard to understand how Sebastian ends up speeding
through a Yonkers, New York neighborhood, doing 77mph in a 35 mph zone
at 4AM.
Given the rotten luck of the Celtics in general this season, it
was
inevitable that the cops stopped him, discovering that Sebastian was
driving with a suspended license.
But the .45 caliber handgun under the seat was a bit of a
surprise.
In 2005, when Telfair was with Portland, he got busted for
bringing a
gun onto the team's private jet--coincidentally parked at Logan airport
at the time. He claimed it belonged to his girlfriend and he took
the wrong bag with him on the trip by mistake. Makes me remember
the old joke about why the husband started wearing the girdle.
Anyway, he was arraigned, and pleaded not guilty, getting a bail of
$7,500. Wyc Grousbeck, in a public statement, said that players
had been "explicitly warned, this year" to obey all regulations nand
laws concerning guns. They're waiting for all the facts, but the
main fact is this:
It's a near-certainty that Telfair has played his last game as a
Boston
Celtic.
With the draft looming nad a desperate need for veterans to come
to
Boston via free agency/trades, the C's want no part of the bad
reputation that Telfair's stupidity brings. It's a tough enough
sell to get players to play for the C's.
Telfair claims the gun wasn't his. Fair enough, the state, should
they choose to prosecute, has to prove that.
But you can't ignore that Telfair WAS speeding. Since
there's no
mention of sobriety tests, it's reasonable to presume he wasn't drunk
or stoned at the time, so he was as alert as you can be when tooling
around at 4AM on a Friday morning.
He also had a suspended driver's license. That meant he
shouldn't
have been behind the wheel in the FIRST place.
One of the primary ingrediants of a quality point guard is good
judgement, knowing when to pass or shoot, etc. This good
judgement must also be exercised off
the court. Telfair has shown he doesn't have that quality in sufficient
amounts to keep him over the other candidates for the job that the
Celtics already have.
If he can't figure out he shouldn't be speeding while driving on
a
suspended license, then he probably can't be counted on to figure out
who gets the ball in the game. Should the gun be proven to be
his--or that he at least knew about it--that would make a bad situation
worse. People get killed by someone with a gun and poor judgement.
I suppose the C's will mitigate the situation in the hopes of trading
Telfair, but the fact is, if that doesn't work, they'll fire him for
cause. Hopefully the rest of the NBA players--Celtics
included--will take the hint and show better judgement.
April 18, 2007
The 2006-07 regular season is over.
The Celtics playes their final
regular-season game tonight, a 91-89 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Thanks to the Celtics for a hard-fought, if difficult, season.
And, thanks to everyone who visited the CBW this season. As the
summer progresses, I'll be catching up on things and making gradual
improvements to the overall site. As always, everyone who visits
helps make the effort that much more worthwhile.
April 13, 2007
50 years ago, today, it all began for the Boston Celtics Dynasty.
It was April 13, 1957. Paul Pierce would
not be
born for twenty years yet, Gerald Green not for nearly thirty.
Red Auerbach was not the Legend, and there were a lot of sports fans in
Boston who couldn't tell you who was on the Celtics that season.
For the record, those players were, in alphabetical order:
Bob Cousy # 14, Tom Heinsohn # 15, Dixon Hemric # 20, Jim Loscutoff #
18, Jack Nichols # 16, Togo Palazzi # 12, Andy Phillip # 17, Frank
Ramsey # 23, Arnie Risen # 19, Bill Russell # 6, Bill
Sharman # 21, and Lou Tsioropoulos # 29.
The picture above shows
the team
as they were in 1957, when the team photo was taken.
The NBA championship series the Celtics played against the St.
Louis
Hawks was literally the stuff of Basketball Legend in the making.
Both the first and seventh games went into double overtime with an
identical final score. Red Auerbach punched out Hawks owner Ben
Kerner on his own court before game 3, netting Red a $300 fine from NBA
Commissioner Maurice Podoloff--which surely makes the current NBA's
leading financial supporter, Mark Cuban, just a tad envious.
But it was the players themselves who ultimately made the series
Great. Players such as Bob Cousy, on his way to becoming
known as the "Houdini of the Hardwood", joined in the backcourt by Bill
Sharman, a great player in his own right with an amazing jumpshot.
"Jungle" Jim Loscutoff, who occasionally used his physical
prowess to
"explain" to opposing players that hacking at Cousy was
unacceptable--with said explainations often ending with the explainee
on the floor. This overshadowed his overall superior physical
play at times.
Then there were the New Kids. The two rookies, Tom
Heinsohn and
Bill Russell. Heinsohn was a "territorial pick"--these were used
to allow a team to forfeit a first round pick and choose a player from
a 50 mile radius of the team's home city, and Heinsohn, a graduate of
the Championship Holy Cross college basketball team, was a natural fit
for Auerbach's physical, uptempo play.
Bill Russell was almost a complete unknown in the NBA when
Boston got
him. The University of San Francisco had won two NCAA Titles with
Russell at Center, and Auerbach had waited as patiently as he could for
Russell to return from competing in the 1956 Olympics, where the Men's
Basketball team won a Gold Medal. But a lack of national coverage
for Russell's college team made the man and his team nearly unknown
outside of those teams hapless enough to play them--which included an
impressed Tom Heinsohn. Red managed to cut a deal with none other
than the St. Louis Hawks to secure Russell, giving up Ed Macauley and
Cliff Hagan in return.
But even before Russell returned from Melbourne and the
Olympics, the
Celtics had already compiled a 16-8 record and first place, due in part
to Heinsohn's brilliant play, which earned him Rookie of the Year
honors.
But on April 13, 1957, it all came down to one game. Two
players
considered mortal locks for the Hall of Fame, Sharman and Cousy, played
arguably their Worst Game Ever as Celtics. Cousy went 2-20.
Sharman was 3-20. You'd think that with your two best offensive
players shooting a combined 5-40, that the Celtics were doomed.
But the New Kids came to play, and they unleashed their level
best
against the Hawks that day. Heinsohn scored 37 points and made 23
rebounds, which is staggering in any league, much moreso when the
playoffs usually come down to defensive grinding and low scores.
Bill Russell, just saved the series, after scoring 19 points, 32
rebounds, and 5 blocks, one of which defied several Laws of Physics.
With a minute left in regulation, and the Hawks up by one, Jack
Coleman
snagged a long rebound and was headed for an easy layup. Russell,
from the other end of the court
saw Coleman headed toward the basket, and raced him to the hoop.
Russell blocked Coleman's shot.
Today, Tom Heinsohn considers that the greatest single play he's
ever
seen in his 51 years with the NBA.
And, in an ironic twist, Heinsohn himself would foul out of the
game,
on, of all things, a defensive move. But it was enough.
With Heinsohn and Russell, and the rest of the team all doing their
best--even on a bad day for some--and after a heart wrenching last
second shot by Bob Petit dropped off the rim, the Boston Celtics were
NBA Champions at last, eleven years after the team came into being.
Many kudos since have been rightly given to the team and the
coach. Red himself passed away earlier this season, and the
players have all long since retired, many to well-deserved entry to the
Basketball Hall of Fame, and/or the Banners of retired numbers high
above the parquet floor.
But this was the team that started it all, and none of it would
have
happened without one man, one whose name is never mentioned quite as
loudly as the others.
Walter Brown. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the
NBA, and
the man who used his own money to fund the creation of the Boston
Celtics. He mortaged his house to pay for the team's expenses,
nearly bankrupting himself in the process.
While Red Auerbach has often been quoted as saying an Owner's job was
to pay the bills and brag at dinners about how great the team was,
clearly there was a personal relationship between Red and Walter that
was based on mutual respect and a mutual love--the Boston
Celtics. After the initial poor seasons of the Celtics, Brown
literally asked sportswriters who the new coach should be, and hired
Red on their recommendation. Red did things his own way,
promising Brown that his way would produce Championship teams.
Brown was part of the core group of owners and innovators who
developed
the way we know the game of Basketball today. This championship
was the first of seven that Brown would live to see before his passing
in September of 1964. Following his death, the Championship
trophy was named after him and he was posthumously elected to the
Basketball Hall of Fame in 1965.
So as we look back for a moment and rightly celebrate the achievement
of the players and coach of the 1956-57 Boston Celtics, we also take
time to say "thank you" to Walter Brown.
April 12, 2007
NO WINNER!
The CBW Predictions
List/Celticsstufflive Poll for this year ends early, as NOBODY
won. Thanks to all who participated and better luck for everyone
NEXT season!
Paul Pierce isn't walking through that door..
Not in uniform, anyway.
With the season effectively over, and no chance at the worst record in
the NBA (thanks to Memphis), Pierce will not play again this
season. Likewise, Brian Scalabrine and Michael Olowokandi are
out. Al Jefferson is day-to-day but doubtful, and Delonte West is
the only one on the team that thinks he can come back from an ankle
sprain and play before the season ends. Welcome to Kevinn
Pinckney, whose presence at least helps ensure the C's can dress enough
guys to play!
March 30, 2007
WAAH!
With tonight's loss to the
Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics are mathematically eliminated from the
2007 NBA Playoffs. The Good Guys have 10 games remaining on the
schedule as we urge them to continue to play their very best throughout
the remainder of the season!
The Predictions List/Celticsstuff Live Poll is winding down to the
final group left in the running! Don't miss a race a lot closer
than anything in the NBA!
March 28, 2007
DO touch that dial!
Celtics games will now be broadcast on WEEI AM 680 radio starting next
season.
Boston Celtics and Entercom Boston
announced today that they will move
the broadcasts of Celtics games from Boston's Talk Station, AM 680 WRKO
to Sportsradio 850 WEEI beginning with the 2007-2008 season and will
last through the term of the current agreement. For the past two
seasons Celtics games have been broadcast on WRKO.
Both Sean Grande
and Cedric Maxwell are expected to remain as the
play-by-play team. Executive Director of Basketball Operations
Danny
Ainge and Head Coach Doc Rivers will continue to make their weekly
appearances on WEEI during the season. In addition, the Celtics
and
Entercom will continue to promote the team's games across Entercom
Boston's network of stations including WRKO and WAAF and the WEEI New
England Network made up of WEEI FM 103.7 in Providence, WVEI 1440 AM in
Worcester, and WVEI FM 105.5 FM in Springfield will serve as regional
affiliates of the broadcasts.
March 27, 2007
Catching up...
Michael Olowokandi will
be out
the remainder of the season after suffering a broken bone in his foot.
Wally Szczerbiak is recovering from his season ending ankle surgery of
March 8.
I'm still totally opposed to tanking, and am giving some serious
thought to whether Jeff Van Gundy's notion of opening the NBA Lottery
to ALL teams can work.
March 09, 2007
Celtics start new streak!
The good guys win over
Seattle
after taking it on the chin--and several other body parts--againsst the
Houston Rockets the other day.
As to the following, I saw the picture, immediately thought of the
caption, and HAD to put it up here.
"Damn, Chris, you make a few million a year! Spend some of
it on deodorant, ok?
March 05, 2007
Congratulations to Big Al Jefferson!
Al Jefferson was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the
Week. He becomes the first Celtic to win the honor other than
Paul Pierce or Antoine Walker since the late Reggie Lewis! Way to
go, Al, and here's hoping it's the first of many honors coming your way!
Speaking of Winning Titles...
Congratulations to the Celtics on their current four game
winning streak, and we look forward to keeping it going strong through
to the Playoffs and the NBA Title!
February 28, 2007
Cedric Maxwell's comments about the kitchen land him in hot water.
I just this evening
learned that
during the Celtics/Rockets game last Monday, Celtics WEEI-AM
radio commentator Cedric Maxwell said that referee Violet Palmer should
"go back to the kitchen," and subsequently that she should "go in there
and make me some bacon and eggs, would you?"
He apologized this evening on the air before tonight's game
against New
York, saying, "If I said anything that might have been insensitive or
sexist in any way, then I apologize, because she worked extremely hard
to get where she is now, end of quote."
WEEI play by play announcer Sean Grande followed the on-air
apology by
adding, "We are not changing the way we do our jobs beacuse of the
tendency of media outlets to present people's comments in a way that
serves their story."
The Celtics games are normally broadcast on WRKO radio, but this
game
and the previous game were both broadcast on WEEI.
As I said, this is the first I've heard about it. As
usual, I
have some comments to make. First, Maxwell's comments were
dumb. VERY dumb. He should know better. I personally
think Violet Palmer is an incompetent referee, and should have been
dismissed from the league for that incompetence some time ago.
However, that is no basis for Maxwell's comments, which were personal,
not professional.
Cedric's apology is insufficient and vague. It literally
sounds
like the attorneys at the radio station drafted it, and told Max to
read it verbatim. "If (he) said anything that
might have been insensitive or sexist in any way"? Hey, Max, be
honest. You told her to go back to the kitchen and cook you
breakfast. there's no "might" in a comment like that.
Why not say, "I insulted her in a way that had nothing to do
with her
degree of professionalism or her ability to do her job. I
verbally smacked her in the chops while on the air, and I screwed
up. I apologize to Ms. Palmer, and ask for her forgiveness."
I know some people will point up that Tommy Heinsohn has been
lambasting officials for years. True.
But always in the context of their
ability to do the job.
I've never heard of Tommy saying something that required a legally
inspired on-air apology.
And Grande is living in a fool's paradise if he thinks this
won't lead
to changes. There's no doubt some people have called for Max to be
fired. I think Max was dumb, but not to such an extent that he
should be fired. He just needs to think before he speaks.
I'm willing, within reason, to consider that Max just messed up.
Nobody's perfect, but when you make your living with words, it is
incumbent upon you to utter--or write--those words with more care and
concern than the average person.
I have no idea what Violet thinks of Max. I'm willing to
bet that
as a referee who happens to be female and black, she's probably heard a
lot worse. But I imagine it hurt a bit more coming from a former
basketball player who happens to be black. And before Max
dismisses this as foolish, think for a moment - what would have
happened if your positions were reversed and she told you to "mind your
place", as you told her?
Tribute to Dennis Johnson
tonight
The Celtics will honor the memory of Dennis Johnson, who died last
week, during tonight's game against the New York Knickerbockers.
Wally gone for the Season
Today, it was reported that
Wally Szczerbiak will have ankle surgery on March 8, and will be out
the remainder of the season. He had re-injured the ankle a week
ago Tuesdayduring a game against the Sacramento Kings. This is in
addition to the previous season-long losses of Tony Allen and Theo
Ratliff. The Celtics can ill afford this, just as Paul Pierce is
returning to form and the C's celebrated a victory against the Houston
Rockets just last Monday. The only positive side for
tonight is that the Knicks are also dealing with major injuries and
have the worst coach in the NBA. Let's root our team to another
win!
February 22, 2007
Dennis "DJ" Johnson 1954-2007
Dennis Johnson,
of the
great players in the history of the Boston
Celtics, died after collapsing during a team
practice of the Celtics D-League affiliate, the
Austin Toros basketball
team
of the NBADL,
of which he was Head Coach.
"DJ" was drafted into the NBA in
1976 by the Seattle SuperSonics, and was MVP of the 1979 NBA Finals,
when he led Seattle to the NBA Championship.
In 1980, he was traded to the
Phoenix Suns, where he promptly led the Suns to a Pacific Division
title against the Lakers.
In 1984, he was traded to his
final
team as a player, the Boston Celtics. He was instrumental in two
Championship Celtics teams, in 1984 and 1986. 
In 1990, DJ retired from
professional basketball, and his number "3" was retired by Boston in
1991.
He served the Celtics as an Assistant Coach from
1992-1997. He also served briefly as Head Coach of the Los
Angeles Clippers, before going to the NBADL to coach the Toros.
In 2003, he was nominated for
election to the NBA Hall of Fame, but was not elected.
No less than Larry Bird
described DJ
as: "...the best I've ever played with."
The CBW joins with Celtics fans worldwide
in expresing condolences to his family, friends, and teammates.
February 20, 2007
Tanks belong in the Army, NOT the NBA
I was very angry after reading
the following from the Boston Globe:
It
is
dangerous to have your chances of building a team predicated on hope
and luck (just ask Rick Pitino), but that
did not stop Celtics personnel from showing highlights of Greg Oden and
Kevin Durant
at their recent owners meeting. The Celtics have been sternly reminded
by the league not to lust out loud after college underclassmen; any
hint that a team is angling to lose is met with serious consequences.
Well,
this is NOT right. I
have never belived in
"tanking". NEVER. The point of fielding a basketball team
and playing the game is to go out there and WIN. So Boston doesn't
get first pick in the Lottery. Tough noogies. We don't root
for the lottery, we root for championships. If anyone in the
Celtics organization has been seriously planning for tanking, they
should be immediately fired. I
would honestly rather have my team go down fighting than just give
up. If they only win a few games, let it be because that's all
they could win, not because some howling idiot is obsessed with ping pong
balls.
I am one of the C's staunchest lifelong fans. I believe
they will make the playoffs
and win it
all, despite their current
record and injury woes. But, I also realize that there is a
real possibility the Celtics might miss the playoffs and end up in the
lottery. It's only right to assess the possible draft picks for
June,. wherever the team ends up. But actively lobbying for a
couple of kids who may not even be IN the draft? That is not
something I will accept.
It's called "cheating".
And it is wrong. The
Celtics have long been known to be in the forefront of supporting
various ethical issues, including matters of race, physical abilities
and sexual orientation.
This is the ULTIMATE expression of a positive ethical
stand. If
you play, you play to win, period. Anything less cheapens what you've
done, for your team, your opponents, and your fans.
I know some people will point to the numbers and whine about
needing
the highest pick available. To them I say, "Remember Tim
Duncan." Followed by a suggestion to look up some of the first
class talent we DID draft, only to trade away before they had a chance
to show what they could do--Chauncey Billups, for example.
Still others will point to our win/loss record and claim we need
the
help a high draft pick will bring. To them, I say this--consider that Boston's losses
were in games where we were missing over 60% of our offense.
Boston was playing the end of it's bench against some of the best starters in the league.
And for the overwhelming majority of the time, they played
competetively.
There were few
blowouts, and
several games came down to one or two baskets. The fact that
rookie mistakes were made is allowable--if not comforting--because a lot of them
ARE rookies. They played hard, and never gave up. They deserved
a hell of a lot better support than those ignorant clods at ESPN and
other "professional" commentators gave. I'm proud of every single member of the team,
from Coach Rivers on down to the end of the bench. It was inspiring to watch, even as the
losses were wrenching to take.
I normally don't make value judgements on others because I'm not
generally qualified to do so. But in this case, I will, because I
believe it's one of the few times that the line between right and wrong
is much more clearly defined than normal. Anyone who actively supports
tanking is embracing a negative
ethical point of view of the team. You are in the wrong.
I stand in utter and total disagreement with all of you. Don't try to argue your case with
me, don't try to change my
mind. I'm simply not interested.
It. Is. WRONG.
Banner 17 will come, and I'm
looking forward to this June, when I expect my team to be too concerned
with the playoffs to worry
about the lottery.
And that's the view from the
Doghouse.
GO CELTICS!!
February 17, 2007
Green dunks his competetion!
In the last portion of the NBA
All-Star Saturday proceedings, Gerald Green showed why he deserved his
dominant win, and also made a case that he'll be the favorite to repeat
next year!
Kudos also go to Paul Pierce, who must have felt a bit down not being
in the All-Star Game, but remained upbeat and animated, helping Green
and even coaxing one of his competetiors to help with Green's dunk!
February
15, 2007
In Other Words...
The interview with former NBA player Tim Hardaway in Miami last Tuesday
was staggering. Tim said--in so many words, that he hates
gays. He doesn't want one on his team, in the locker room, in the
USA, or anywhere on the planet.
Well, I'm not gay--just to make clear I'm not pursuing a self-motivated
agenda, when I say the following:
Tim is so full of shit, he should squish when he walks.
This is a man who was able to make his living in the NBA in the
footsteps of people like Bill Russell, who was subjected to comments
equally idiotic as those Tim made this week. Then, they were
talking about Black people--African-Americans.
You know--like Tim.
And how, exactly, does he repay the courage of people who smashed the
"color line" to pieces? By engaging in the same kind of racist
rhetoric which--had the word "black" been used instead of "gay"--would
have caused outrage and led to boycotts and lawsuits. Tim shows us all
that his mentors are not the
Bill Russells of the world, they're the guys with white hoods, burning
crosses, and rope.
He has every right to speak his mind, however filthy and detestable the
content.
So do I.
Tim was an excellent basketball player, nothing changes that.
But he's a rotten person--and
nothing changes that, either.
February 14, 2007
WE WON!!!!!
The grueling 18 game losing streak is OVER, as the Good Guys defeated
the Milwaukee Bucks, 117-97, in the first game that Paul Pierce and
Wally Szczerbiak played together since December 16.
In that stretch of time, we: celebrated Christmas, Hanaukah, New
Year's, Martin Luther King
Day and Valentine's Day.
had a transition from springlike weather las month to a major snowstorm
today. agonized over those morons at ESPN dissing our team (again), and
wondered if Wally remembered what it was like NOT to have a
sprained ankle.
February 12, 2007
TRUMP DOESNT COUNT PAST 14
Will someone with access to Donald Trump please
pass along the
following: "This week, on 'The
Apprentice', the winning team was awarded a chance to work out
with the Los Angeles Lakers. When revealing this reward, you
referred to the Lakers as the winningest team in the NBA, with fourteen
championships. It's a shame that you can't count to sixteen--which is how many the
Celtics have, several of them coming in victories OVER the
Lakers. You owe it to Celtics fans--as well of fans of your
show--to correct this obvious error and give the Celtics their due.
NBA to Vegas--if All
Bets are off.
After a meeting with the Mayor of Las Vegas, site
of this year's
All-Star Game this upcoming weekend, King David I proclaimed he's love
to eventually put and NBA team into "Sin City"--provided that the local
betting places are prohibited from placing bets on games the local team
plays. Apparently the team owners really want this to happen, and
a lot of people in Vegas want it to happen. Some people have
pointed out it's more than a tad hypocritical to exclude Las Vegas from
the NBA fun when games are already played in courts located in the
middle of casinos.
February 12, 2007
Green represents The Green in Vegas
The official word came
out today, Gerald Green will indeed be participating in the Slam Dunk
Contest at the All-Star festivities next weekend. With Pierce's
injury precluding him from his perennial All-Star berth and no other
Celtic chosen, Gerald is the only official representation the Good Guys
will have. Here's hoping he follows in the footsteps of Dee
Brown, who 's no-look dunk gave him the win in 1991.
February 11, 2007
Catching up again.
It's been a tough time and I'm just now getting things back to where
they should be.
December 19, 2006
The recent news has been moved to the Celtics
News section. It should make the main
page load up faster and be easier to read. I've left the Red
Auerbach tribute where it is for now, though it will have it's own
section eventually.
November
1, 2006
Remembering Red in Green
There
will be a public memorial today at city Hall Plaza. Before
tonight's opening home game, there will also be a tribute to Red.
All NBA games will begin with a moment of silence for Red this week.
The season begins
Red would no doubt have been the first to remind us the Celtics have
work to do starting tonight. They begin their regular season
tonight against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.
October
31, 2006
Red
Auerbach was buried today in a private funeral at the King David
Memorial Gardens in suburban Washington, D.C. The graveside
ceremony was attended by about 150 family and friends. Plans are
underway for a public memorial in Boston tomorrow.
October
30, 2006
An idea whose time has come.
I
encourage everyone who visits the CBW to please take a few minutes to
visit celticsstufflive.com and read the open letter to
NBA
Commissioner David Stern from Jon Duke, in which he advocates the
creation of a new NBA Championship trophy and naming it in honor of Red
Auerbach.
This is not about
honoring Red as the engineer of the Celtics
from last place team to the greatest dynasty in sports history; rather,
it speaks to his place in shaping the very existence and form of the
NBA itself, in smashing color barriers and bigotry with the disdain it
deserved, in promoting the NBA throughout the USA and overseas, and his
contributions in forming the rules and conditions by which the game is
now played.
To be sure, there have been other great coaches in NBA history, as
there have been other great General Managers. But Red, in all
honesty, was literally in a class by himself as Coach and GM, a fact recognized even by
some of his most bitter rivals.
After you read the letter, I also encourage all of you--politely,
please--to second Jon's letter, and make Commissioner Stern aware of
your support for this idea.
Thank you.
In Memoriam
Coach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach
September 20, 1917-October 28, 2006
Red died today of a heart attack at the
age of 89.
Red Auerbach, more than any other person, was the bedrock upon which
the Boston Celtics were built. He was a coach, an inspiration,
and a Legend.
His record as Coach of the Celtics included the unequalled Celtics
Dynasty years, where his teams dominated nearly every season of the
1960's.
In the years following his retirement from coaching in 1966, the
accolades came from all corners of the Basketball world. He was voted
the greatest coach in the history of Basketball in 1980--14 years after he retired.
He masterminded some of the best blockbuster trades in NBA history,
putting together multiple championship teams both as Coach and later,
as General Manager.
He was a fearless opponent, a knowledgable teacher, and an astounding
coach.
We join with generations of
Celtics
fans worldwide in saying, "Goodbye,
Red--and thank you."
The
CBW presents a partial look at the Life and Times of Red Auerbach.
No one story could tell all the stories of Red's life. But here's
our section with some of the professional highlights of the storied
career of Red Auerbach.
Red Auerbach Tribute
Who's
On First?
The sole winner of
the 2005-2006 predictions was
Steve
Chomicz
We congratulate him on his prediction of 33-49, even if it meant the
C's had a dismal season. This is the first time that only one person has won!
December 18, 2006
The CBW Editorial
on the fight between the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets has
been updated with CBW reaction to the mediocre excuse for punishment
meted out by the NBA.
December 16, 2006
Fight Night at MSG
Read the latest CBW Editorial
on the fight between the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, and
what the CBW thinks should happen next.
December 11, 2006
Out with the New, In with the Old
ESPN reports that as of January 1, 2007, the NBA will return to
the old leather basketball, discarding the composite "compost" ball
that was the subject of numerous complaints, most recently
microfilament cuts on the hands of players. The formal
announcement is expected later this week. The CBW has been
opposed to the new ball from the start, and we applaud the decision to
discard it, however late this decision came.
December 7, 2006
November 27
Catching up...
The
CBW has been backed up not only with me getting sick--and having
surgery--but by the sudden demise of the old computer. It's taken
a while, but things are slowly getting back to sort-of-normal.
With that in mind, have a look at the latest CBW Editorial
and feel free to respond.
November 8
Foul Play?
A New CBW Editorial to read.
Emergency
surgery for Al Jefferson
Word
arrived late this afternoon that Al Jefferson underwent an emergency
appendectomy today. Celtics trainer Ed Lacerte sent Al directly to the
hospital when the young man arrived at practice following a night of
"severe stomach pain". He's expected to be out at least 2-3
weeks. Hopefully, he's recovering peacefully and getting the rest he
needs. Get well soon!
October 26, 2006
The unkindest cut...
The Celtics reduced their roster to the League
maximum of 15
players by waiving Luke Jackson and Brian Grant. Tony Allen's
option was picked up by the Celtics. Presuming Trader Dan isn't
planning yet another weird trade, the Celtics--for the moment--have
their team set for the new season that begins next week.
October 25, 2006
Celtics in the Lottery--and it's GOOD news!
On October 31, The Massachusetts State Lottery will start a
Celtics-themed scratch-off ticket lottery game, with a One Million
dollar prize, and other prizes including season tickets to the Boston
Celtics! The price of the tickets will be $5.
October 24, 2006
A ballsy move by Stern
King David I--er, NBA Commissioner David Stern made it quite
clear the new ball is here to stay. This, despite widespread criticism
from players, coaches, and even television analysts that the compost
ball is a real stinkeroo. Stern insists that more recent vigorous
testing has proven that "the dramatics around it were a little
overstated in terms of the downside and not enough recognition of the
upside".
He's making it sound like a bunch of little kids complaining about a
schoolyard basketball, as opposed to professionals with years of
experience behind them. But this is typical of King David.
He's determined to do it his way, more preoccupied with keeping the
sponsors at Spaulding happy than keping the ball that was working fine
by all accounts.
By keeping the compost ball, Spaulding can junk the process used to
make the old leather balls, which saves them oodles of money--though
one wonders what happens to the people employed in those areas.
Since these balls may need replacing more often than their
predecessors, they can sell more compost balls. The current NBA
rules state that only one ball can be used in a game. That one
will go out the back window before next season, and yes--hooray for
Captain Spaulding--MORE SALES!!
Did he call 911, or
"1-800-dial-a-thug"?
Sebastian Telfair continues to maintain that the New York City
police department is not investigating him in the shooting that was
loosely connected to the mugging/robbery of Telfair recently.
However, the NYPD is basically saying "Yes we are." Given the
various levels to the truth employed by Doc Rivers recently, I'll go
with the guys who have the documented records. Well, people
wanted to report something in preseason besides "Six-Gun" Jackson in
Indiana, and they got their wish. Telfair is hopefully being more
cooperative with the police than say, Doc was with the press.
October 22, 2006
Predictions and prognostications
The CBW predictions
list has joined forces with the group at celticsstufflive.com to do the predictions of Celtics
wins/losses this season. Remember, you can make or change your
prediction up until the opening tipoff of the Celtics' first regular
season game, which is on Wednesday, November 1, 7:30pm EST against the
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, just over a week away!!
October 21, 2006
The Celtics waived players Akin
Akingbala and Kevin Pittsnogle yesterday. The CBW
predictions
list was updated today, as well.
October 13, 2006
Trader Dan's open for business.
Today, the Celtics traded Dwayne Jones to the Cleveland
Cavaliers for Luke Jackson. This as the Celtics were preparing to
PLAY Cleveland tonight in new Hampshire.
October 9, 2006
Bad Ball?
Read the new CBW editorial!
Over the Air...
Thanks to celticsstufflive.com
for having mamebers of virtual NBA fandom, including me, on last
night. It was a blast, and these guys have some VERY
cool sites.
October 6, 2006
Have Gun,
Will Travel...
Read the new Celtics Beagle
editorial about the doings at an Indiana strip club.
October 5, 2006
No
Date
for the Ball
Since yesterday's comments about the new NBA ball (see below),
I've read a number of negative comments from players and coaches
throughout the NBA, which apparently boil down to the bakll having a
better grip when dry, but much worse when wet. The concensus
seems to be "we're stuck with it". Like many people, however, I
wonder why they changed the ball at all, if there weren't any major
complaints. Perhaps Spaulding needed to make some money for
Christmas. Personally, I think they should have left well enough
alone. The last thing
the Celtics need is a ball that increases missed shots and turnovers
late in the game. Ok, maybe next-to-last before Rick Pitino and M.L.
Carr coming back to coach.
October 4, 2006
Having a
Ball, wish you weren't here...
This
season marks the first time in 35 years that the NBA has
changed the ball used in the regular season. So far, both
Shaquille O'Neal and Pat Riley both hate it--which tells me it's a great idea.
Supposedly, the ball has a better grip, especially when wet. Paul
Pierce has said he likes it, and believes he'll hold onto the new ball
more. Of course, it'd also help if Paul would stop dribbling into
the teeth of the opposing defense. According to what I've read in
learning about this new ball, it's already been used at the (almost)
NBA level, in the NBDL and the NBA All-Star Game last season.
Celtics fans should remember that we have yet to see proof that the
Good Guys have overcome their turnover issues with the OLD ball...we'll
wait and see.
October 2, 2006
The CBW joins with fellow virtual Celtics fans from all over, as
the Celtics Beagle was asked to participate in a live webcast on
www.celticsstufflive.com.
The program runs every Sunday evening from 7:00pm-9:00pm EDT, and all
Celtics bloggers who signed up will be on the program this upcoming
Sunday, October 8.
September 26, 2006
Here's the NBA rule changes for the
200-07 season
September 25, 2006
I've updated the info on the Predictions List as we begin
our attempt to do a joint
list with the gang over at
www.celticsstufflive.com.
That means that people who make a prediction at one place, will
be listed automatically on the other! Go to 2006-07 Predictions
List
for more details.
Feet at the Fleet
Since
the Time of the Beginning (of the Celtics, that is) The Good Guys wore
black sneakers, with an occasional excursion into green. This, because
in those cost-conscious days of yore, Red determined that black sneaks
looked cleaner longer, and didn't show wear and tear as much. Now
that players have a tad more spending money, the C's--at the urging of
Paul Pierce and the recently traded Antoine Walker--will sport white
sneaks at home. But don't worry, all you traditionalists out
there--the black sneaks will still be worn on the road.
OFFSEASON
PERSONNEL MOVES 2003
May 21, 2003
The Celtics have extended the contract of Head
Coach Jim O'Brien.
June 16, 2003
Bruno Sundov has exercised his player option with the Celtics.
DRAFT NIGHT, June 26, 2003
The Boston Celtics drafted Guard
Troy Bell of Boston College with the 16th pick, then took Guard Dahntay
Jones of Duke with the 20th pick.
Shortly after that, the Celtics
traded both players to the Memphis Grizzlies in return for Guard Marcus
Banks of UNLV and High School Center Kendrick
Perkins. Brandon
Hunter was selected in the second round at #56. Welcome to
the Celtics, everyone!
July 10, 2003
Marcus
Banks and Kendrick
Perkins have been signed to contracts.
July 16, 2003
The Celtics re-signed Center Mark
Blount.
July 19, 2003
Tommy Heinsohn is a happy camper as the C's re-sign Walter
McCarty.
July 25, 2003
This has been a busy week. Today, the latest is that Guard Mike
James has been acquired from the Miami Heat.
July 28, 2003
Brandon
Hunter has been signed to a contract, to the joy of everyone who
oohed and aahed over him at the Summer League Games.
July 29, 2003
The week was even busier than I thought. We bid a fond farewell
to J.R. Bremer and Bruno Sundov, as they are traded to the Cleveland
Cavaliers in return for Forward Jumaine
Jones. Welcome to the Celtics, Jumaine!!
September 23, 2003
Bimbo Coles has signed with the Miami Heat after playing last season
with the Celtics.
September 29, 2003
Rookie camp begins with Marcus Banks, Brandon Hunter, Kendrick Perkins,
being joined by Mark Blount, Kedrick Brown, and Mike James. To
allow them to play something other than three-on-three, the C's have
invited Rick Anderson, Mateen Cleaves, Chuck Edison, Eddie Elisma,
Rusty LaRue, and Ray Young to join in the preseason fun.
October 2, 2003
The veteran players
report to camp today and join in
Coach O'Brien's quest to have the team play better defense; whilst GM
Danny Ainge would like to see more windburn while moving upcourt.
We're rooting for everyone!
October 14, 2003
Mateen Cleaves has been released from the team.
October 20, 2003
Antoine
Walker and Tony
Delk have been traded to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Center Raef
LaFrentz,
Forwards Chris
Mills and Jiri
Welsch, and Dallas' first-round draft pick in 2004.
October 23, 2003
Rusty LaRue has been waived.
October 28, 2003
Kedrick Brown has gotten his option through the end of the 2004-05
season. Kendrick Perkins, Brandon Hunter, and Chris Mills were
placed on the injured list. Jumaine Jones is recovering from his
strained hamstring, and the C's hope to have him available by "the
fourth or fifth game" into the season.
The official Boston Celtics starting linuep on
Opening Night will be: Mike James and Paul Pierce at Guard, Kedrick
Brown and Vin Baker at Forward, and Mark Blount at Center.
He has a head for
Basketball...
Danny Ainge has accepted the
position
as Head of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics. He's
publicly
stated he's not rushing into any decisions--i.e., there's no trade talk
going on as yet.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ROBERT PARISH ON HIS ELECTION
TO THE 2003 CLASS OF THE
NAISMITH MEMORIAL NBA HALL OF FAME! Please
click here for more.
His Number's Up!!
The Celtics announced that next
fall, they would retire #31 for Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell, who took
the
Celtics on his back during a magical series against the Lakers.
One in the Hall, one in the
Cold
The votes came in, and Robert
Parish was elected to the NBA Hall of Fame. We're
disappointed
that Dennis Johnson didn't get in at the same time, but he won't be
overlooked
for long!!
Kids in the Hall...
Celtics Players Robert Parish and
Dennis Johnson are among the finalists for selection to the NBA Hall of
Fame. The list of inductees will be announced on April 7.
They'll
need at least 18 of 24 possible votes to get in. Here's hoping
the
Honors committee voting goes more smoothly than, say that bunch in
NYC...
:>)))
Coach O'Brien on line 17...
Back on Oct 14, there was a teleconference
on NBA.com with Celtics Coach Jim O'Brien. Check it out!
Among
other things, he said, "With the addition of Baker to go along with
Antoine
Walker, Eric Williams and Paul Pierce, we think that we can have a
solid
inside-outside attack." That should relieve a few people who
worry
about the perimeter game.
He didn't
forget defense, of course, proclaiming,
"...the emphasis has to be at the defensive end. We understand we'll be
a team that other organizations want to come after, but we think if we
can be tough-minded, with the idea of not letting the basketball be
scored
in the paint, either on drives or post-ups, that gives us our best
chance...".
To me, this says they'll continue to address the poor rebounding.
He also
has the same view of Vin Baker as I do--great
minds and all--as he said, "One of the nice things in being able to
have
somebody like Vin, we think we can surround him with four three-point
shooters
to make it difficult for teams to come after him with more than one
player.
So we're hoping, keeping our fingers crossed that we have the best of
both
worlds -- a strong inside attack with a potent three-point shooting
attack."
I think this will work very well providing two things--first, Baker
continues
to improve his understanding and execution of offense and defense on
the
Celtics; and sacond, that thethree is shot more effectively than it has
been in the preseason. You've got to convince opponents that it's
an offensive option you have to defend seriouely, or Baker will be
smothered
under the hoop.
A little Six.
Over on NBA.com, there was a
chat on Oct 24 with Bill Russell. Go on over and read the
transcript.
What was that again?
During the ESPN broadcast of the Celtics/Wizards
game on Oct. 25, they gave the first clear explaination I've seen
of
the new instant replay rules for this season. Since NBA.com has
not--that
I've been able to find--set up a section officially regarding this, I'm
reprinting the guidelines here as described by ESPN.
INSTANT
REPLAY OVERVIEW:
When
Replay Can Be Used:
1) Made
field goal or foul call when no time is
left in the first three quarters.
2) Made
field goal or foul call when no time is
left in the fourth quarter OR any OT that could affect the outcome
of
the game.
What
can be reviewed if shot or foul call occoured
before
time expired:
1) If the
shot was a 2 or 3 point attempt.
2) If a
shotclock or halfcourt violation occoured
before shot or foul call.
3) If a
boundary line violation occoured on the
shot attempt.
There
is a 2 minute limit on all reviews.
The
officials can consult, in order, the national
feed (ESPN, TBS, ABC), then the local feed, then the visitor feed to
check
the best viewing angle.
If there
is no definitive decision, the play stands
as it was originally.
ESPN's own "Instant Replay"
In an
article by David Aldridge on ESPN.com on Oct 27, there's an
in-depth
description of exactly what does--and does NOT--call for instant replay
in the NBA. This was written after participating in the NBA's
annual
seminar for League officials. It's part of an overall article on
the NBA refs, well worth reading in it's entirety. Here is an
excerpt
dealing specifically with the Instant Replay:
"In the
NBA version, there are four, and only
four, triggers for the replay system. Replay cannot be initiated by a
coach
-- no "challenge" system here -- or even by the officials themselves.
The
triggers are automatic, and unambiguous:
1.
A
made
basket at the end of the first, second or third quarters, with no time
remaining -- 0:00 -- on the clock.
2.
A
madebasket
at the end of the fourth quarter or overtime with no time remaining --
0:00 -- on the clock that could affect the outcome of the game.
In other words, a basket that ties or wins the game for one team. If
the
score is 100-90, a made basket at 0:00 will not be reviewable.
3.
A
foul called at the end of the first, second or third quarters, with no
time remaining -- 0:00 -- on the clock.
4.
A
foul called at the end of the fourth quarter or overtime with no time
remaining
-- 0:00 -- on the clock for which the resulting free throws could
affect
the outcome of the game. In other words, the team committing the
foul
has to be in the penalty, or get in the penalty with the foul, or the
player
who is fouled has to be in the act of shooting. But again, if the score
is 100-90, the foul will not be reviewed.
"Once one
of those four triggers occurs, the crew
chief goes to the scorer's table. Each of the two other officials goes
to each of the two teams, keeping them at arm's length from the crew
chief.
At the scorer's table will be a pair of headphones, a monitor and a
clock
on top of the monitor. The crew chief will push a button that will
connect
him (or Violet) with the television producer who's doing the game. (If
the game is being broadcast nationally, it will be the national
network's
producer. If the game is being broadcast locally, it will be the home
team's
producer. If the home city isn't broadcasting the game, it will be the
away team's producer.) Once the crew chief punches the button, the
clock
on top of the monitor will begin counting down from 2:00. When that
clock
reaches 0:00, the crew chief has to make a call, one way or the other.
"The crew
chief can ask for as many replays as
he (or Violet) can watch in that two-minute period. There will be a
couple
of new innovations at the crew chief's disposal to help determine
whether
a made basket was shot in time. Each arena will have a bank of red
lights
running from midcourt several feet in both directions atop the scorer's
table to help determine, for example, whether a made halfcourt shot was
released in time. And each basket will be ringed with an LED display of
red lights for the same reason. If the ball is still in the
shooter's
hand when the lights come on, the shot doesn't count. And the game and
24-second clocks have been modified. Instead of the one clock facing
the
floor above each basket, the clocks are now four-faced, ringing the top
of the basket so that they are in view from almost every camera
angle-baseline,
behind the basket, what have you.
"The crew
chief's primary review is, of course,
whether the shot was released in time, or whether the foul was
committed
before time expired. (The crew chief cannot reverse a foul call, even
if
it is obvious by replay that the foul did not occur. Once it's called,
the only question is whether it was committed with time on the
clock.)
But the crew chief does have the discretion to alter certain
calls.
The crew chief can reverse a made basket, for example, if it is
determined
that an eight- or 24-second violation has occurred. The crew chief can
change a two-point basket to a three (or vice versa), if it is
determined
that the shooter was (or wasn't) behind the 3-point line when the ball
was released. Or, the crew chief can disallow a basket if it is
determined
that the shooter's feet were out of bounds when he left the
floor.
A call
will be reversed only if there is "clear
and conclusive" evidence. That will be left up to the crew chief's
discretion.
If the three officials disagree, the crew chief will make the final
call."