When you talk about a team that continues to impress everyone with their team play, it is the Celtics.  Every night they play above expectations.  It doesn’t seem to matter who is hurt.  Last night they won without Rondo and Allen so Pierce stepped it up…14 assists and Bradley scored 23.  Yes, the Magic were without Howard but I might argue that Rondo is more valuable at this time.  Sunday they won without Pierce, Garnett and Allen.  Even the Knicks game was not a disastrous loss.  Any team that shoots like that from way behind the three point arc is going to win.  I was amazed that the C’s made it close at the end.  They are playing great.

The breakup of the UConn basketball team has begun, and with it possibly the end of the Calhoun era??  Oriakhi is transferring to Missouri, Drummond and Lamb are going into the draft.  With no NCAA or Big East Tournament this year, the recruiting class will also take a hit.  Given his health situation, does Calhoun really want to spend the next 3 or 4 years rebuilding the program?  I think it may be time for Tom Moore to make the move from Quinnipiac to Storrs.  Just a thought.

The Red Sox.  Where to start.  Make no mistake about it.  Texas is good.  Real good.  But so is the talent on this Sox team, or should I say in this organization.  I think we need to be a little patient right now.  It was a brutal opening month schedule that continues this weekend with the Yankees coming into town.  One might argue that this is the weakest team that they have faced to this point.  Tigers, Rays, and Rangers?  Wow.  Boy could we use a four game set with the Royals or the A’s.  Papi looks great.  Sweeney has been a great surprise, especially in the late innings.  The Muddy Chicken and Aviles have been solid.  Gonzo and Ross are OK and Youk, Salty and McDonald are basically automatic outs so far.  That’s not enough for a team that has so many questions on the mound.  Beckett has been very solid in two of his three outings, as has Lester.  Both of them need a solid fourth start for us to at least exhale a little bit.  Buchholz pitched very well after a shaky start in his last outing.  Friday against the Yankees is going to tell us a lot more about where he is!  I think Doubrant and Bard have been fine.  The manager has been OK.  He has shown a pattern of leaving guys in there to work out of their own jams and it hasn’t worked out so far.  Those things tend to even out over a long season.  I’m not thrilled with Bobby V so far, but I don’t think he is the main reason for a 4-8 start.  I think the schedule is.  I do however think that if things don’t start to improve in May, the Sox should definately look at making some changes.  We have some pretty good talent knocking on the Major League door and it may be time for Aaron Cook, Will Middlebrooks, Ryan Lavarnway to make their way into the lineup.  Perhaps there is some pitching available in trades for established players???  Again, thinking out loud….

The 100 year celebration at Fenway is going to be awesome!  Could you imagine what it would be like to be having this if 2004 and 2007 never happened????

I’m very excited about the start of the Bruins defense of the Stanley Cup on Thursday against the Capitals.  I am not 100% confident of a Bruins win in the series, however, I feel we have the best goaltender and a number of very competitive guys who know if they don’t bring it, they’ll be golfing with me.

FYI, the only other NHL game I can watch other than a Bruins game is Flyers-Penguins!  They really don’t like each other.  Flyers 4-Pens 3 in OT.  Great stuff.

With all of the worries about the Red Sox pitching staff, it sure looks to me like the offense is sputtering mightily.  Ellsbury should come around, but Youkilis, Saltalamacchia, Shoppach look like automatic outs right now.  I think it might be time to send one of the 13 pitchers down to bring Lavarnway to the big club.  I really am not all that worried yet.  Looking forward to a great sports weekend with the home opener and the B’s and C’s playing big games!!

The Masters is a must watch!  Everything from Oosterhuizen’s Albatross to Bubba’s shot from the “pinestraw”, it became quite apparent that Golf does not need Tiger Woods to be great drama.  I thought Phil made a bad decision on four and then compounded it by playing very quickly and without thinking.  It might have cost him a share of the lead by the eighteenth.  Maybe not.  The humbling of Tiger, Rory, Sergio and many other top players just shows us that this is clearly the premier pressure cooker event of our time.  I can’t wait until next year’s tournament already!!

The Red Sox.  Hmmm… where to start?  I’m so sick and tired of the mainstream sports media (who think they actually know baseball) already stating that Daniel Bard has to be the closer.  That is ridiculous.  After watching Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett pitch?  Yes, we need the back of the bullpen to perform better.  Yes, it was a severe blow when Bailey got hurt.  But guys….it was three games!!!  Relax!!  Please.  The long term success of the Red Sox over the next few years has a lot to do with whether or not Daniel Bard can be a starting pitcher.  We need to find that out now, not next year, not two years from now!  Do you really think that Aceves and Melancon are as bad as their first two outings…..against arguably the best lineup in baseball??  C’mon you guys.  Stop embarrassing yourselves.  The good news is this.  Aaron Cook looks like he’s back to his “A” game and will probably be able to start with the Big Club soon.  Dice-K is ahead of schedule as well.  Although we have no idea what we will get out of those guys, they are re-enforcements.  We need to let this bullpen get their feet underneath them.  They are good pitchers.  They can get people out.  They have done it in the past and they will do it again.  The big worry I have is with Beckett and Buchholz.  Let’s speak again on this subject in a few days..

The Bruins are in a much better situation as the #2 seed than the Rangers are as the #1.  Let me explain.  The Rangers should get by Ottawa and the Bruins should get by the Capitals.  The big matchup to watch, however, is the Flyers-Penguins series and the Panthers-Devils series.  I think that Pittsburgh will eventually get by the Flyers and the Panthers will survive the Devils.  However, I believe that the winner of that Flyer-Penguin series is going to be physically and emotionally spent for the series with the Rangers.  I do also think that they will recover and take the Rangers to a long and physical series while I think the Bruins will have a much easier time with the Panthers.  This would set up a Rangers-Bruins conference final in which one team may be in much better health.  Your thoughts??

Ozzie Guillen is quite possibly the dumbest person on planet earth…  You get the entire Miami area geared up and excited about a new stadium and an exciting young team…….and then you tick off the entire area by saying you love Fidel Castro…..you respect Fidel Castro.  Earth to Ozzie.  He is a brutal dictator who oppressed the people of Cuba for 50 years.  Many escaped to South Florida after losing family members to his vicious reign and you say that.  Bet they’ll be buying lots of tickets now.  I wondered how long Ozzie would last in Miami.  If the Marlins are smart (and I’m not so sure they are), they need to cut their losses before it’s too late.  The White Sox waited way too long, but I’m sure they are happy now!

I love the way the Celtics are playing right now!  Avery Bradley has established himself as a breakout player in this league.  His defense is stifling and he is a perfect compliment to Rondo’s style.  Garnett plays great every night and Stiemsma is giving great minutes off the bench.  I don’t know if they can go deep in the playoffs but they have certainly outplayed the expectations.  Hear that Red Sox??

Enjoy your week.

I will be focused much more on the Celtics-Spurs game.  The Celts are 15-5 since the All-Star break and have peaked our interest.  Can they actually make a run at this thing??  Having slapped around the Heat the other night, the Spurs will be a great measuring stick.  The combination of Rondo and Bradley in the backcourt, and Garnett in the middle has created a very potent defense that make the Green a very tough team to play against.  Look for my analysis tomorrow.

The Bruins are looking great right now.  The Pens game did not bother me at all as the important thing now is to get healthy and rest Tim Thomas for what is probably going to be a every game playoff run.

Check back later for a Red Sox post!!!

Catchers(3):

Salty, Shoppach, Lavarnway

Infield(7):

Gonzalez, Pedroia, Aviles, Youkilis, Punto, Anderson, Ortiz

Outfield(4):

Ellsbury, Sweeney, Ross, McDonald

Starters(5):

Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Doubrant, Bard

Bullpen(6):

Bailey, Melancon, Aceves, Albers, Bowden, Padilla

Disabled List (7)
Matsuzaka, Lackey, Jenks, Hill, Miller, Crawford, Kalish

Your Thoughts???

According to Patriots injury reports, Tom Brady’s left shoulder has been injured for about four years now.  The fact that he is now listed as probable is not a shocker.  The only reason it made news this week is because there are some people in the media that think the Pats should rest Brady this week.  In my humble opinion…….Are you crazy??  This is clearly a rythym offense, when hitting on all cylinders, scary.  I worry more about a bye week than I do about Brady resting.  As a matter of fact, try getting Brady to sit out a play requires an act of congress (probably a bad analogy given the effectiveness of congress lately).  He simply refuses to miss playing time.  Ask Brian Hoyer.  Having said that, the Bye week is crucial to the Pats this year.  They need the time to get some injured players back.  Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Patrick Chung, as well as many “banged up” guys can really benefit from the rest.  I would look for a bit of a slow start (surprise) by the Pats in their first playoff game after the bye.  Good thing is that it will be at home.

Bad news for the Sox yesterday.  Ryan Kalish had surgery that will probably keep him out until June and maybe to the All-Star break.  Having traded Josh Reddick to the A’s for Andrew Bailey, right field becomes a more pressing issue.  For the first time since the season ended I heard the names Darnell McDonald and Mike Aviles.  In case you forgot, both of these guys are under contract and on the roster.  With the addition of Ryan Sweeney, an excellent defensive outfielder, the Sox have a number of options.  I really don’t see anyone out there on the free agent market that would be a significant upgrade over these guys, especially financially speaking.  I think the rest of the lineup should be able to carry the offense through that early season period.  Anyway, it really will be all about the pitching, right?

Happy New Year everyone.  I look forward to entertaining you all in 2012.  As always, feel free to share your comments about any and all subjects.  Looks like another great year to be a New England sports fan!!

How many times am I gonna say this…..Great job by Tuukka Rask.  He kept the B’s in this one until the under-rated Dennis Seidenberg to put home the game winner in OT and lead the Bruins to their 7th straight win.  Looking forward to watching every game going forward.

UConn men have found their stride,  beating South Florida tonight without Jim Calhoun, who is serving a suspension.  Jeremy Lamb led the way tonight with 23 and Freshman sensation Andre Drummond is getting better every game and will be scary good by the tournament.

Without Paul Pierce the Celtics are a very good team that lacks the end of game threat.  That is what Pierce is.  He not only wants to take the last shot or make the last defensive stop…….he usually does it, and does it well.  The unfortunate start for the Celtics does not worry me as much as some.  I thought they played very well in the New York and Miami games.  Tonight was a different story…playing back to back road games with two open roster spots would be tough for any team, never mind the aging Celts.  However, the schedule gets soft and comes home over the next two to three weeks.  I would look for the Green to be looking at 10-5 after 15 games.  I guess we will find out how smart I am after that.  If I’m right, I will remind you.  If I’m wrong, I am counting on  you’all to keep me honest through your comments.

Watching Ron Paul on Jay Leno.  He is a very interesting guy!

About the Red Sox…. I like the move of Tim Bogar to bench coach.  Pretty tough to get a guy thrown out from there.  Baseball America list of Sox top prospects surprisingly omits Jose Iglesias.  Not surprising is Will Middlebrooks as top prospect.  Look for him to make his move to the Majors at some point this year.  Anthony Renaudo is another one to watch.  Right-handed pitcher could find himself helping out at some point this year.  He has continued to impress everyone in the organization.

Pats-Dolphins and Jets-Giants both on at 1:00.  I just changed the batteries in my clicker.  Cowboys-Eagles at 4:00.  I love Christmas Eve!!

As for yesterdays game, I think Tim Tebow played pretty well on the big stage.  However, I thought the Pats first quarter swiss cheese defense made some great mid-game changes and created turnovers and played much better the remainder of the game.  Feeling very sad about Andre going down for the season, but Mark Anderson didn’t miss a beat, gathering two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.  I think we may see the Pats morph into a 3-4 defense now that Carter is out.  We will see.

Bruins, Bruins, Bruins!!  What else can ya say about these guys.  Tonight’s tough hard-fought win over the rival Canadiens showed everyone that they can consistently play 60 minutes of hockey.  No one is tired, no one defers.  And of course Tim Thomas was again outstanding.

I don’t know how to say this politically correctly.  I watched the UConn-Baylor girls basketball game.  The Huskies were up 11 with eight minutes left and could not stop Brittany Grimer.  I can see how some people might think she is a man.  She sure played like one……dominating!!!

Quiet week in Sox World this week….bet that won’t last.  Will be heading to the Cape this weekend to spend time with Mom, Stace, Erin, Ben and Kyle.  Merry Christmas y’all.

Talk tomorrow.  Scott

Also this weekend, #1 Baylor faces #2 UConn in women’s hoops.  Good game.

Interesting to see how Newt Gingrich handles the attacks that he will see and hear from a desperate Mitt Romney tonight in the last debate before Iowa.  Should be a witty exchange for sure.

One other quickie…..With Josh Willingham signing with the Twins yesterday, does that make Michael Cuddyer more available for the Sox???  Just askin’……