Fresh Brew

** How did the 38-year old Jason Kidd shut down LeBron James? I know that he’s a wily veteran, but that should be no contest. 

** After looking through the draft prospects, I like Marshon Brooks out of PC.  Pairing his freakish wingspan (7’1), scoring touch (24 ppg), and rebounding ability with Rondo would be a great start in the rebuilding process. 

** Draft prediction:  Danny takes an athletic big that can stretch the floor and hit the open jumper.

** Maybe Salty just needed someone to believe in him.  After batting .218 over the first two months, he’s hitting .357 in June and he’s showing some promise at the plate.  I think the Sox may have found their catcher of the future.

** You have to love Josh Beckett hitting Jeter and A-Rod before Sabathia hit Ortiz for his flipping of the bat the previous night.  The guy is a pit bull.  A pit bull who’s 6-2 with and a 1.86 ERA. 

** I never knew the Na’vi could cry.  Thanks to Chris Bosh for clearing that up.    

** It sounds like June 21^st could be the end of the NFL lockout.  That will ensure a full season and absolute chaos for a few weeks as teams scramble to sign draft picks and free agents.  Prediction: Logan Mankins will be signed to a long term deal in New England.

** Jerry Jones should try and learn something from his NBA neighbor and keep his mouth shut during the season.  It worked out pretty well for the Mavericks. 

** Advice to Robert Luongo:  If you’re gonna run your mouth about your expertise as a goaltender, you might want to back it up.  Getting yanked after 8:30 minutes and 3 goals (on 8 shots) is a little embarrassing.  

** For all the fans that thought the Patriots needed a “true” starting RB:  I read a stat this week that adjusted the yards-per-carry by the strength of schedule (it was a little complicated) and do you know who tied Adrian Peterson at 4.7? You guessed it: BenJarvus Green-Ellis. 

** US OPEN prediction:  Phil finally breaks through after being the runner up FIVE times.

**Dirk vs. Larry:  If you look at the stats you’ll see it’s really no contest.  Larry beats him in points, rebounds, assists, steals, FT% and FG% (career averages).  If you’re still not sure, I’ll throw in Larry’s three MVP’s and 2 Finals MVP’s.  Moving on…

** I’m giving Carl Crawford a pass for the month of April (.155).  Since May 1^st he’s batting .295 and looks to have recovered the swing the Sox paid $142M for.  It’s good to be a big market team. 

** The Bruins could have easily won all 7 games.  Not sure you could say the same about the Canucks.  Maybe that’s why the Canuck fans tried to burn down the city. 

** Tedy Bruschi must have been excited to have Bill Belichick as a surprise guest at his football camp this week until Bill chewed out a seven year old for being late.  The guy is always on. 

** If a pitcher throws a one hitter and no one watches it, did it actually happen?

** Keeping with the theme from last week (Seidenberg as my bodyguard), I would add Tim Thomas as my drinking companion.  There aren’t many elite players that seem completely normal and he fits the bill. He sees like the guy you’d be drinking beers with after a softball game. 

** Tim Thomas will forever be remembered as the hero, but a lot of credit needs to go to the Bruins top defensive pairing, Chara and Seidenberg.  They were tough, physical, and intimidated the hell out of the Canucks.  The Bruins held the top scoring offense in the NHL to 8 goals in 7 games and completely took the Sedin twins out of the series. Very impressive. 

** Saw this on my way into work this morning:  Hibernation always ends in October.  This year when the Bruins get back to work they’ll be the defending STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS.

 

Cuban!

Wow, he's taking it to a new level.

Great 00's

When I woke up this morning the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the Sports Gods had done their job (well, one out of three isn’t bad).  Since February 2002 the Sports Gods have been very kind to the Boston sports scene.  Granted, there would some tough losses (2003 Red Sox, 2007 Patriots, 2010 Celtics), but the Gods can’t come down on our side ALL the time.  It’s been an amazing run and it’s a travesty that the “Great 00’s” haven’t been done by Channel 4.  You bring back all the news personalities from the 80’s and you remake this: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqJSqG1X5Q8&feature=youtube_gdata_player 

 It would be a ratings bonanza.  Who wouldn’t want to see Lobel and Neumy together again?

Moving on to the present, last night the despicable Canucks were battered yet again by the Bruins at the Garden and now we have a Game 7 on Wednesday night in Vancouver for the Cup (a big one).  Things couldn’t get much better for Boston fans.  On Sunday afternoon the Red Sox annihilated the Blue Jays, running their streak to nine in a row and showing the league that they might be who we thought they were in spring training.  They are 6-0 on their current road trip (sweeps of NY and Toronto) and they can extend their AL East lead with a good showing in Tampa. With a lineup that’s on fire and Beckett and Buchholz starting two of the games, they have a great chance to finish the trip 8-1.  I’m guessing  Terry is sleeping a little better these days. 

 On to the NBA, roughly six hours after the Sox win we were treated to the dismantling of the Heat by the Dallas Mavericks and the crowning of Dirk as the NBA’s top dog (for the moment).   With the Celtics obviously enjoying their vacation, having the Mavs win was a nice consolation prize. The arrogance of the Heat was too much for most fans to handle and to see them go down in flames AT HOME was a beautiful thing.  We also were treated to LeBron’s press conference where he informed us that we can all go back to our miserable lives and stop bothering him since the season is now over.  Stay classy LeBron.  If I were LeBron, I would grab a giant bag of popcorn, ease onto the couch and pop in some tape of Jason Terry.  You know, the guy who outscored you 107 to 106 in the series and played like he had nothing to lose (even though a tattoo was on the line).  I’ll never understand how someone as supremely talented as LeBron could simply vanish on such a grand stage.  At least Eddie House went down swinging (or chucking up 3’s).

 Then last night the Bruins completely undressed Roberto Luongo and forced him to the bench after allowing 3 goals in 8 shots.  He may want to keep his goaltending pearls of wisdom to himself.  Talk about a fraud.  It will be very interesting to see: A) if he starts tomorrow night, B) if he decides to wash his hair between games, and C) how short his leash is if he does in fact start.  I’m optimistic about Game 7 and Tim Thomas is the reason.  He’s been incredible for this run and he’s got one more in him. I can just feel it.  Screw the stats and the Bruins trouble in Vancouver.  They’re bringing the Cup home with them! The Red Sox and Mavs have been nice, but the Bruins winning is all that matters right now. 

Quick Note:  Mark Cuban tweeted on Monday morning that he was in bed with the championship trophy.  That’s good stuff. 

Beautiful Day

Fresh Brew

Back in college the weekend started on Thursdays for most "students"' and the weekend usually consisted of consuming some adult beverages.  As you know, when people have said beverages they tend to argue about sports, politics, music, television, pretty much anything.  I recently argued with my brother-in-law for about 3 hours about high school football prowess.  I've been out of high school for 14 years.  That's what happens.  Since most of you will be discussing sports at some point over the weekend, I figured I'd throw in my two cents every Thursday to get the ball rolling.  Remember, this isn't college and most of you have some responsibilities on Friday, so there's no sleeping in and calling Mina's for lunch.  Let's get it started...

** I’d like to thank CSKA Moskow for signing Nenad Krstic and saving Danny Ainge from having to take part in an uncomfortable press conference where he explains the positives of bringing him back.

** The next major championship for Tiger Woods will be on the Champions Tour.

** The resurrection of David Ortiz has been unbelievable.  Almost too unbelievable, wouldn’t you say?  

** Finals Stats:     LeBron’s 4^th quarter points:  11   Bruins goals:  14

** Would you trade Jeff Green for Andre Iguodala?  I would, but Danny wouldn’t ($$ and years). 

** After watching Freddy Garcia and AJ Burnett, you have to assume Cashman is willing to give up pretty much anything for a reliable arm.    

** Not only is Dice K done pitching for the Red Sox, he’s done pitching in MLB period.  When’s the World Baseball Classic again?

** If it became necessary for me to have a bodyguard, my first call would be to Dennis Seidenberg. 

** The latest the NFL could start the season is November 1st (an 8 game season with the SB on February 12th).  That couldn’t be more depressing.

** Predictions:  Bruins in 7 (2-1 OT Win) and Mavericks in 6 (a rout with Terry and Dirk draining 3’s)

** Am I the only one that thinks WEEI is trying waaaaayyy too hard with all this hockey talk?  You are who you are and it’s not a hockey station.  Kudos to 98.5 for the authentic coverage. 

** Why hasn’t Michael Bowden made the ‘jump’?  It’s amazing to think that he made his debut in 2008 at the age of 21. 

** I’ve always liked Shaq (my wife disagrees with that statement), but I won’t remember his time in Boston as a success.  His injury (along with the GM) torpedoed the Celtics title hopes. 

** I picked up some Narragansett Summer Ale pounders last night and was pleasantly surprised. They were a perfect pairing with the Heat loss.

** Good News:  Kevin Faulk looks great after his knee surgery.  Bad News:  Kevin Faulk has longs odds to make the roster. 

Note:  Starting next week this will be posted on Thursday afternoons.

LeBron, the Friendly Ghost

LeBron’s vanishing act has begun.   The games are getting bigger and the player that everyone was raving about after the Eastern Conference Finals is wilting under the pressure.  It’s like the changing of the seasons.  It’s going to happen.  The excuse was always his supporting cast, but that’s a myth, a fallacy, quite frankly, bullshit.  Obviously it doesn’t matter who he’s surrounded by, whether it’s Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Mo Williams, or Delonte West.  He’s going to shrink.  My only theory on why it happens is that this is a guy that’s been coddled and praised every day since he was 10 years old and when push comes to shove he doesn’t have the mental toughness.  The NBA Playoffs bring an intensity that he can’t match.  You saw it two years ago against the Magic.  You saw it last year against the Celtics.  If you watched the game last night, you saw it AGAIN versus the Mavericks.  This is a guy that averages 27.7 points per game in the regular season and UPS his game to 28.2 points per game in the post season, but the NBA Finals have been a problem for him.  He’s averaging 19.6 points per game in 8 games and he’s never scored more than 25 in a single game.  You might say that I’m nitpicking, but that’s an 8 point drop.  That’s a huge drop off in production.  In contrast, Mr. Wade (the guy you want to have the ball at the end of the game) is spectacular in the Finals.  I’d go through the stats, but the eye test should be enough.  The guy’s a winner and a TRUE competitor.  I realize that last night is only one game, but LeBron’s totals have dropped in each of the four games (24-20-17-8) and I feel it’s a meaningful trend.  He’s great as a frontrunner, but when that extra effort is needed, I’ll take Wade any day over the “King”. 

Level One

Two weeks ago I said that it finally felt like baseball season, as the Celtics were done and the Bruins were battling with Tampa Bay to see who would play for Lord Stanley's Cup (haha, is that even right?). I was 100% wrong. Boston is alive with the sounds of cross-checks. No, this isn't going to be a critique of the Bruins putrid power play or the insane risk-taking of Timmy Thomas. It's more a congratulatory, "welcome to the party". The city of Boston has done a lot of celebrating in the last 10 years and the Bruins have been on the sidelines watching and they've certainly arrived. As someone who could care less about the sport of hockey, this postseason has been incredible. They've kept my attention, which isn't easy to do. I've found myself actually talking about hockey and it wasn't in a sarcastic or derogatory fashion. I'm invested in this team. That's the great thing about being a sports fan. I've had my eyes opened to a sport that I never thought twice about. It's almost like being a little kid again because there's so much to learn (that's why there will be no critique). There was no chance of me reading the Sunday notes column in the Globe by Kevin Paul Dupont, but I'm doing it. That was the page I always skipped. BUT, this postseason has changed things. I'm not saying I'll be watching preseason games in October, but these games have given me a better understanding of the game. I could see myself watching some regular season games next season (when the Celtics are off and there's no national NBA game on). I realize the Bruins bandwagon is packed at the moment and I wouldn't dare step on any toes, but I'm walking alongside and enjoying every minute of it. Go Bruins!