The Suffolk Voice: Manny, Was it Worth it?

The homerun we will never forget...

Well Manny, I hope you're happy.You made such a big deal about this contract situation, for what? A lousy $5 million more?

All you had to do was continue to hit the ball and not hit old men. We put up with the showing up late to Spring Training, we put up with your flopping around the outfield, and we put up with the fact that you never wanted to speak to the media. We put up with it! Somewhere along the lines, that became "Manny being Manny", don't ask me how. I loved you, Manny. You're like the ex girlfriend that I want to hate, but deep down I'd probably take back in a second.

So why?

Read the rest of this amazing opinion piece here at THE SUFFOLK VOICE

Joe Smith to Cavs... Mikki Moore to barber shop

Say it ain't so, Joe, say it ain't so!

Celticsblog.com is reporting that Joe Smith is signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Put.... the gun.... down....

On second thought, don't. This is terrible news. I hope I'm making too big of a deal about this than it actually is, but I just can't get past the fact that the only team we really need to worry about the most got the guy that WE should have gotten. Here we are with a grown man named Mikki in the paint while the Cavs get Joe Smith, Celtic killer last year in the postseason. Smith was supposed to be our PJ Brown.

To make matters worse, Smith will be in action on Friday against our very own Celtics. I'm not saying Cavs are guaranteed to win now, just that it sucks that we have to see him so soon after we were screwed out of getting him. No time to heal. It will be interesting to see Moore and Smith go one on one.

To make matters EVEN worse, Scals is out until at least April. Damnit... I feel like Moore is out there playing with a constant concussion, but Scals needs to sit a month? Come on!

World's Strongest Man

Such a bad picture of me...

Nothing like a snow day to get you watching some obscure television. ESPN2 changed from hilarious sports journalist banter including unnecessary yelling to the world's strongest man competition in the blink of an eye. I actually like this stuff. Tossing boulders over walls, pulling buses with pure brawn, and carrying a car chassis as far as possible are some of the amazing feats of strength these brutes showcase. Here's an idea though, a Regular Guy Strong Man Competition, that any everyday schmuck can participate in. Some possible events are as follows:

The Notebook - competitors watch The Notebook, are given 100 points and a point is subtracted for every tear that falls from their eyes.

Mother-in-law - competitors must sit at a table with their mother-in-law and the one who sits there the longest wins.

Hot chick/Dumb Story - competitors listen to a hot chick tell a really dumb story, the one that doesn't slap her by the end wins points.

Sitting in Traffic - competitors are forced to sit in endless traffic on a road with little to no scenery and only political talk radio available on the radio. Whoever contains their road rage the longest wins.

Barbecue - the final round pits two competitors against each other in the greatest backyard manhood challenge of them all. Competitors are graded on speed, quality, and quantity of their barbecue prowess in a timed event. Ingredients include chicken, beef, vegetables, sausage, and fish.

What are some other possible event ideas for the Regular Guy Strong Man Competition ? Let me hear them.

--MM--

Drew Gooden and Joe Smith bought out, Mikki Moore sound asleep

Well, late last night around 12am, two players, both much better than Mikki Moore, were bought out. Joe Smith was bought out by the Thunder, and Drew Gooden bought out by the Kings.

As you are all well aware, I was begging for Smith to be bought out and come to the Celtics. One thing lead to another and it got delayed, forcing the Celtics to make another move. So now the Celtics are stuck with the second coming of Mark Blount while Joe Smith goes to the Cavs, great.
Anyone remember Joe Smith killing us last season in the playoffs? Well, now he's on the team that poses the biggest threat of stopping the Celtics' chance to go back to the Finals.

These last couple of weeks for the Celtics have been nothing short of disasterous. KG went down, Scals went down, TA went down, and to top it off we're stuck with Marbury and Moore now.
Joe Smith was the answer the Celtics were looking for. Last year the answer was Brown and Cassell. The fact that Smith goes to another contender while we throw small players out there to guard big ones scares the hell out of me.

I'm losing more and more confidence in this team by the day, but all hope is not lost yet. Obviously when KG comes back back things will change. I'm still pulling for that #1 seed. Every team goes through a rough patch. If we can get our guys healthy before the playoffs then I guess I can't ask for a whole lot more. As long as Glen Davis continues to nail 18 footers all night, we've still got a chance...

RAWRRR!!!! MARCH!!!!!!!

IN LIKE A LION!!!!

As I sit here on this miserable, snowy, Sunday night, I take a second to think about my weekend. Then, I cringe, and decide it's probably better to forget about my life and focus on sports. So, lets find out what professional athletes were doing while I was a.) dropping my phone in the toilet, b.) canceling my credit card only to find it minutes later, c.) eating pizza for breakfast... and dinner, d.) all of the above.

Cassel and VRABEL traded to Chiefs- I don't really know what to say about this trade just yet. I'm not sure if the Pats are done or what. We have like three second rounders now or something, so I'll wait to say if we got enough out of the deal. What kind of surprised the hell out of me was finding out that Vrabel was traded as well. "Bill, I know, I know... but it's Vrabel man. Vrabel! I know Bill, but still... it's Vrabel." I feel like we all feel this way. Nobody wants Vrabel traded. Nobody was at home last week looking over the roster saying. "TRADE VRABEL PLEASE!!!"

He was the ultimate Patriot. There are about 5 ultimate Patriots, he was one of them. Fill in the rest on your own time. Sure he wasn't the same Vrabel five years ago, but I mean, damn.. you're still Vrabel ya know... What can you do. It's business out there as usual. I'm not one to question Bill ever, EVER, and I won't start now, but still... it's Vrabel.

Marbury Joins Celtics- :sigh: He's here folks. I tried everything in my power to prevent him from coming, but to no avail. Listen, I'm willing to give the guy a chance, I want to be wrong about him, really, I do. His first game against Indiana he looked pretty good considering it was probably the first time he touched a basketball in a year. Today against Detroit though, eeeeee. Looked more like the Marbury I thought he would be. Way to make Will Bynum look like me in the sixth grade CYO tournament, my greatest sporting year to date. Like I said, I'll give him a chance. Not going to hate on him YET.

I just feel like he's what the french would call, le incompetent (what movie is that from). For instance, when he entered the game for the first time against Indiana and obviously got the standing ovation, he went out there smiling from ear to ear. Dude, you're in the NBA, it's not like 9 year olds rec league when you cant help but smile when you do something good out there. Not really an issue, but adds to my already bad feeling.

P.S. the Celtics played TERRIBLE today against Detroit. Unfortunately I went to the game and suffered through it all. Shots just were not falling today for Ray Allen. Real frustrating for him I'm sure.

Bruins do stuff- Bruins looked real nice on Thursday against the Ducks. Saturday, eh. I've seen a better effort out of some of those guys. On the other hand, some guys stepped up, like Matt Hunwick (look for an article by this guy coming out on Tuesday about it). It was a great game from a fan's standpoint. The Caps and Bruins are definitely evenly matched. Every game has been close, but the fact is the Caps have gotten at least one point from us in all four games. The Bruins will need to step it up in the playoffs if these two meet in the ECF. Obviously the ending was terrible, as Thomas let in a goal from wellllll beyond the blue line. Nothing you can do about it, it was a fluke goal. We did score with a few minutes left in the third to push it to OT so if you're an optimist, you're happy, if you're a pessimist, you're not.

--JT--

Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. arguing for sake of it?

Listen, the NFL draft is fun to watch. At least it was until ESPN decided to ruin it by announcing the picks 30 seconds before the commissioner would do so. Anyways, I'm already getting sick of the MKJr vs. McShay bickering. I put up with it last year and now I'm being forced to listen to these two cry about where Matthew Stafford goes.

The bottom line is both of these guys are historically wrong in their predictions about where players go. Last year, Joe Sports Fan, compared the first 135 predictions of 2008 draft with the actual first 135 picks of 2008. The results? Todd McShay picked nine, count 'em, NINE, correct picks for accuracy percentage of 6.67%. Not to be outdone, MKJr followed that up by picking EIGHT correct for a percentage of 5.93%.

I don't claim to know a whole lot about college football, and I'm not questioning the knowledge of these two highly paid individuals. To be able to list where you think players might go and actually back it up is impressive enough. What I am saying is that it is clear that the NFL Draft is full of surprises. Nobody really knows what teams are going to do. It's a waste of time to take up ten minutes fighting about where Matthew Stafford should go when in reality, nobody really knows.

Detroit could take Stafford with the number 1 pick this year, unless they feel like a better quarterback will be around at the number 1 pick next season... it's their call.

--JT--

Red Sox Back In Action

Mmmm french fried pertaters...


Put away the Ray-Bans and 45 SPF sunblock because things get serious today down in the Sunshine State. That's right, cutoff drills and pitchers fielding practice is all but over as the Red Sox begin games on this lovely Wednesday. At 1:05PM the Sox took on and handily defeated a far inferior Boston College squad who were probably too worried about their Religious Studies midterm to even focus on the game. The highlights were some minor leaguers hit some doubles that scored some runs, Josh Beckett whipped two scoreless innings then chewed two tins of regular tobaccky (as opposed to wacky tobaccky) and called it a day. Clay Buchholz took a few minutes out of his busy day he had planned (bang playmate, rinse, repeat) to hurl a scoreless 3rd inning.

Tonight the ever-competitive Mayor's Cup begins as the Red Sox battle the Twins at 7:05PM. The Mayor's Cup is the annual spring break tournament between the two squads, with whoever wins the most games keeping the "trophy". Tim Wakefield starts for the Sox while some no-namer starts for the Twins (oh wait, he has a name, its Glen Perkins) Most of the regulars will suit up for this one so be sure to flip back and forth to NESN between American Idol songs (I mean... what...)

--MM--

Awesome new NBA commercial

Saw this first over at awfulannouncing.com, one of my favorite blogs. Real nice commercial on NBA greats past and present.


My only problem with it is Bird missing that shot- thats a bunny.

--JT--

Moore signed, Marbury next?

ESPN is reporting that the Knicks and Stephon Marbury have agreed to a buyout. This means that all signs point toward Marbury joining the Celtics, that is if they Celtics want him. Although I haven't heard Ainge say he wants Marbury, there have been indications of the sort.

I have been critical of Marbury in the past and feel that he doesn't add a whole lot of positives to a team. He has never been a winner, and has shown numerous signs of selfishness in the past.

This is what I want to know: By trading away Patrick O'Bryant and Sam Cassell for essentially Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore, have we really gotten better? Granted, POB was nonexistent, but I can't see Moore doing a hell of a lot more. As far as Cassell goes, he didn't play this year, but Marbury hasen't either. Cassell has the leadership and the experience of playing with this current team, not to mention he is a proven winner. Having Cassell on the bench is worth more to me than having Marbury on the bench.

I just don't see why we need Marbury I guess. I feel like the cons heavily outweigh the pros. With Rondo, House, and Pruitt at the PG position, where does Marbury fit in? Does Marbury even deserve a ring if the Celtics are lucky enough to get that far? I was fine last year with PJ Brown and Sam Cassell joining late, because they filled clear voids on the team. Moore will not be PJ Brown, not a chance. Brown could actually rebound, and we saw him hit clutch shots. I can't even picture Moore being in the game in a situation where clutch was necessary.

There were times last year when I wanted to strangle Sam Cassell for hoisting terrible shots. If Marbury takes the same path, I'm not sure if I'll have the patience of keeping the game on TV.

Update: It appears I'm in the minority in not wanting Marbury, as over 75% of celtics fans over at celticsblog.com want the Celts to sign him. Hey, I hope I'm wrong about the guy.


--JT--

The Suffolk Voice: No Garnett, No Problem

The Boston Celtics have played two full games since the injury to Kevin Garnett, and as the legendary Ron Burgundy would say, "In no way is that depressing."

The Celtics, coming off a blowout win in Phoenix 128-108, were still on fire from Sunday when they took on the Denver Nuggets and won convincingly 114-76.

The reason the Celtics are blowing out semi-respectable teams in the West is because guys are stepping up in the absence of Kevin Garnett.

Read the rest of this amazing article HERE!

The Other Guy In Rudy

Showoff...

So I am daydreaming on the bus to work today and all of a sudden it hits me, what did the other guy in Rudy think? What guy am I talking about? Well the one player who had to sit in that final game because Rudy got to play. Think about it! Coach Devine knows there is a strict 60 player dress rule. All the players that went to his office in the climactic scene knew THEY wouldn't be the ones that would actually have to sit, no no of course not. Imagine if you were the 60th guy on that roster though, barely dressing for every game. Maybe he was a Senior. Maybe it was HIS last game too. Maybe his dog just died and he was REALLY looking forward to being on the sidelines for his final game vs. Georgia Tech. He is on a goddamn scholarship to Notre Dame! I bet his whole family was getting ready to make the trip to South Bend for his final game as a Fighting Irishman and now they had to cancel because he wasn't even going to be on the field. But NOOOOOO Rudy has to come along and screw it all up and now he is sitting in the stands drinking hot chocolate. To add insult to injury everyone starts chanting "Rudy... Rudy... Rudy!" I wonder if he did. I wonder if he played along like he wasnt wicked pissed that he had to sit so Rudy could play. Maybe he hated Rudy for being a suck-up and always trying so hard and making everyone else look like jerks. Now he has to sit and watch his team win the big game, but nobody ever worries about him. Well I do.

Celtics curb stomp Thuggets, Scalabrine's head hurts

"Brian Scalabrine- 4.6 pts, 3.4 reb, 1.5 ast, 0.3 concussions"

Did you see what I did with that title? I took Nuggets, and incorporated the fact that they played like thugs last night, and came up with the word "Thuggets." Thats the type of creativity you get here at The Ole' College Try (.blogspot.... still working on that). Gotta love it.

Anyways, how obvious was it that the Nuggets were out for us last night? First, they take down the man known simply as Veal. I'm no doctor, and I don't claim to know a whole lot about concussions, but I do know that when you're fresh off two concussion it's probably not a good idea to get another one. Hey, I'm just saying. Well thats what happened to Mr. Scals last night as he was visciously jumped on by some hooligan. Let's go through what happened:

Rondo gets under the basket and dishes it to Scals, who surprisingly was not parked out at the three point line. Scals goes up with ball when some punk named Petro decides he is going to sit on Scalabrine's head. Huh? Listen folks, it's red hair, not a target. What happened to wrapping your arms around the dude with the ball and calling it a day? Why the hate? Is it because he's a ginger? Honestly. Because if it is... I guess I can understand. Kidding, of course. So Scals gets creamed, and ever so graciously flops lifelessly to the ground. Based on the way he fell, I thought he was out cold. What happens next? The trooper turns over and looks around like it's Christmas morning and he can't believe all the presents he got. Just Scals being Scals.

Let's hope our token Irishman is back before St. Patrick's Day.

Also, Ray Allen got mauled by Kenyon Martin driving to the hoop, and then crushed by Billups while taking a three pointer. I don't know why anyone would be out to get Allen. The guy is the classiest player in the league hands down. Listen Denver, I realize that being down by 47 points puts you in a bad mood, but here's an idea that may work... play defense. Box out. Grab Rebounds. Show a little respect for the game. Oh well, we won't be seeing these bums in the NBA Finals anyways.

--JT--

Rondo beats career high of...26?

The Celtics cruised past the Suns today just like they did in the Garden when they played them. I don't know what it is with the Suns, Rondo just owns Nash completely. It's just that Nash cannot contain him. I wasn't surprised that the Celtics curb stomped the Suns today in Phoenix. The Suns are not a very good team. When you don't play defense you won't succeed. The Celtics, although giving up 108 points, generally play better defense than every team in the league. It will be interesting, however, to see how this team performs defensively without KG on their ass all game.

So Rajon Rondo scored a career high 32 points today... Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the guy. But I keep thinking to myself, "This guy's previous career high is only 26 points?" I guess I was just surprised to hear that, being that Rajon Rondo is so important to this team's success. He has never really been asked to score, and not needed to. Maybe now with Garnett down for an extended period of time, he will have to step up his scoring. The points have to come from somewhere. Rondo is an interesting PG. He reminds me a lot of Jason Kidd except without beating his wife. He's a play maker. He hustles for the ball. He's not afraid of getting hit going up for a rebound or a loose ball.

The saying has always been that the Celtics go how Rondo goes. He will have to step up even more so now that KG is out. As tough as it is to make guys like Scal and Baby look like actual basketball players, Rondo will be asked to and expected to do so.

--JT--

Will Solomon traded to Kings

Well, that was fast.

10 minutes after we trade for Solomon, we trade him to the Kings for another heavily protected second round pick, essentially nothing. So all in all, we traded Patrick O'Bryant for nothing. Surprised? I'm not. We go back about exactly what O'Bryant was worth.

Now we have two roster spots open, and got rid of some salary. Joe Smith and Marbury perhaps? I hate Marbury, but I'll take the bad with the good if I have to.

--JT--

Patrick O'Bryant traded for Will Solomon

"There is Celtics speed, and then there is Patrick O'Bryant speed." -Doc Rivers

Looks like the Nocioni trade isn't happening, not surprised there.

Patrick O'Bryant was traded to the Sacramento Kings today for a mediocre PG, Will Solomon. This really isn't a big deal, but it probably means that Stephon Marbury isn't coming to the Celtics, which to me is a good thing.

Rumors are the Celts are still waiting to see if Joe Smith gets bought out. Other than that, I don't see any major moves for them. All we can do is pray the Cavs don't make any moves either.

--JT--