Can the Garden Become the Garden?

From 1928 to 1995, the Boston Garden was one of the most famous, if not most infamous, arenas in all of professional sports. Did it have its flaws? Absolutely. It had no air conditioning, there were numerous seats that had obstructed views, most visiting athletes complained of the rats in the notoriously small locker rooms and it had dozens of electrical problems. To call the building antiquated when it closed its doors in September 1995 would be giving the Garden a lot of credit. Mike Lupica described it best when he quite simply called it, “a dump”. However, the Garden had its share of memories.

Most Bostonians look to the old Garden as the last bastion of true fanaticism in the city of Boston. The Garden hosted Stanley Cup championship games twelve times. It was the home to the NBA Finals nineteen times. By the time the old building closed its doors, it had enough banners hanging from the ceiling that the weight alone probably could’ve made the molding and worn-down roof of the Garden to collapse.

But what was the Boston Garden most famous for? Its noise. Visiting players often would call the Garden the most difficult arena to play in, not because of the conditions within the arena, but because of the raucous fans cheering for the Bruins and Celtics.

Since the B’s and C’s moved to the FleetCenter (now TD BankNorth Garden) in 1995, the new Garden has yet to take on the credibility of the old Garden. It’s not that the fans have changed, but rather the attitude of the teams has changed. Since entering the new Garden for the 1995-1996 season, the Bruins have only advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs six times. The Celtics, once the most heralded and awarded franchises in American sports, have only made the playoffs four times.

In April and May of 2002, the Celtics rode a wave of momentum into the playoffs, beating the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons, before losing to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals. During that run, the FleetCenter gained some of the old Garden magic. The noise and energy was back in the building for a brief period of time. Since then, the Garden has yet to rekindle the fire that it had for that six-week period in 2002.

But now things have changed. The acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have made the Celtics a perennial contender and odds-on favorite to win the NBA Championship. The Garden has been loud, but not old Garden levels of loud. Expect that to change when the playoffs start in a few weeks. And in a stunning development, the Boston Bruins advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs. For the first time since 2004, playoff hockey and basketball will take place in the Garden.

Wheelin’ and Dealin’

Two deals that have long been overdue for an announcement finally came to fruition today. Sam Cassell cleared waivers and signed with the Celtics and the Patriots signed Randy Moss to a three-year deal.

First, let’s cover Cassell. I can’t say enough about this move. With Cassell, the Celtics acquired a grizzled fifteen-year NBA veteran who has playoff experience and was starting point guard on the back-to-back NBA champion Houston Rockets in the mid-1990s. Cassell has arguably the best on-court sense in the game, and still has great court vision despite his age. ESPN’s Bill Simmons said that Cassell could “be the NBA’s first player-coach since Lenny Wilkens” because of how great he is at quarterbacking a team when he’s on the court.

Cassell gives the Celtics depth at its weakest position; point guard. While Rajon Rondo has performed better than anyone expected, the Celtics did not have a solid backup at the position. They have been rotating all season between Eddie House and Tony Allen, but neither are cut out for the point. Cassell knows the position, and is still averaging strong numbers (12.8 PPG, 4.7 APG) even in his fifteenth NBA season. This was a great signing, paired with the recent acquisition of forward/center PJ Brown, that could put the 46-12 first-place Celtics over the top in both the Eastern Conference and the NBA as a whole.

As for Moss, his signing was more a culmination than an acquisiton. It was a move that both parties needed to make. Had the Patriots dropped the ball, it would’ve been irresponsible at best and completely indefensible at worst. By keeping Moss a Patriot, it keeps Tom Brady happy, opens the field up for Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Ben Watson and Kevin Faulk, and gives the Patriots that definitive downfield threat that every contender must have.

Even when Moss does not have a big game, his input on the game itself cannot be questioned. He has an effect on every single play, as he often commands double or triple coverage and forces the defense to leave one of the Patriots’ slot receivers open for an easy grab and first down.

Moss, who has been called a malcontent by most in the media, wanted every Patriots fan to be aware of his intentions in 2008. “I’m ready to get back.” Moss said. ”We have some unfinished business to take care of.” With Moss back in the fold, the Patriots can now turn their attention to rebuilding a depleted secondary and an aging linebacker corps. The Patriots have already lost Pro Bowler Asante Samuel to the Philadelphia Eagles and Randall Gay to the New Orleans Saints. They currently stand with Ellis Hobbs and Brandon Meriweather as their #1 and #2 corners. As for the linebackers, they are not getting any younger. They’ve already released their youngest starter, Rosevelt Colvin, and re-signed one of their oldest, Tedy Bruschi.

Trade Winds Blowing Everywhere But Boston

Late last night, ESPN.com reported that the long-awaited trade of Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks was finally hammered out. Kidd was traded to the Mavs along with forward Malik Allen and guard Antoine Wright, in exchange for point guard Devin Harris, center Desagana Diop, guard Maurice Ager, forward Trenton Hassell, retired forward Keith Van Horn, two first-round draft picks and $3 million.

This is just the kind of trade that could swing the momentum in an already stacked Western Conference. This trade was made to counter the trades made by the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns earlier this year. On February 1, the Lakers acquired forward Pau Gasol in exchange for center Kwame Brown, point guard Javaris Crittendon and two first-round draft picks. Then, on February 6, the Suns traded for Shaquille O’Neal, sending forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat.

The Mavericks needed to make this trade in order to hang with the Suns, Lakers, Spurs, Jazz and up-start Hornets at the top of the Western Conference. In the West, there are nine teams with 30+ wins, compared to the Eastern Conference, which boasts only three 30+ win teams.

Right now, it looks as if the sure bet NBA champion will be coming from the Western Conference (yet again). The Hornets are currently the best of the West, led by all-stars Chris Paul and David West. Right behind them are the Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs and Mavericks, all within five games of the first-place N’Awlins bees. It’s literally anyone’s guess as to who could be representing the West in the NBA Finals. Even teams such as the Warriors, Nuggets, Rockets and Trail Blazers all stand a legitimate shot of getting hot at the right time and surging into the Finals.

Compare that to the Eastern Conference, where three contenders have emerged: the Celtics, Pistons and Magic. After the upper tier, the East is a joke. The defending conference champion Cavaliers stand only six games over .500. The eighth-seeded Nets are seven games under .500 and would be in the playoffs if they started today.

For a clear contender to emerge from the East, someone’s going to need to make a move. The Pacers have said that they want to get rid of Jermaine O’Neal, although he’s in the midst of a rumored trade to the Nets in exchange for Vince Carter. The problem within the Pacers, Magic and Celtics is that they do not have the youth, salary cap space or future talent in order to pull off a blockbuster on par with the Lakers, Suns and Mavericks.

The only legitimate trade rumor out of Boston is the possibility of acquiring Clippers’ point guard Sam Cassell, and that rumor has been lingering for over a month now, so it remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure: as the Celtics kick off the second half of the season tonight in Denver, its the beginning of a stretch out west that will put their toughness, integrity, teamwork and overall skill to the challenge.

The Train Kept A-Rollin’

Granted, it was a game that everyone expected them to win, as it was on home court and against the pitiful New York Knicks, who’d just ended an embarassing ten-game losing streak, the Boston Celtics went out there last night and did what they’ve done 40 other times this season: win.

But the win did not come without a price. Brian Scalabrine and Glen “Big Baby” Davis both went down with game-ending injuries. Scalabrine suffered a strained right groin and Davis left with a strained left quadriceps, which looked a lot worse than it actually was when it happened. Davis was on crutches and in visible pain following the game, and the entire Celtics team can now breathe a sigh of relief that they are at the All-Star break.

The Celtics, with the exception of All-Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and Sophomore All-Star Rajon Rondo. Allen found out last night that he’d be going to New Orleans to participate in the All-Star Game at halftime of last night’s win, when coach Doc Rivers informed him that he’d be replacing Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler.

Replacement center Leon Powe continued his phenomenal play, scoring 18 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and shooting 7-of-9 from the field. It’s play like that that could vault Powe into a sixth-man role once Kendrick Perkins returns following the break.

The Celtics now have five days off before their annual mid-February west coast road trip, which starts next Tuesday night in Denver as the Green battles with the Nuggets, who are headlined by Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, two of the NBA’s top-five scorers. It will be quite a test for the NBA’s best and most rejuvenated defense.

But for the next five days, the Celtics are going to enjoy a little rest and relaxation before continuing the final push towards the ultimate prize: a 17th NBA Championship.

Another Night, Another Win

Wow. Just wow. How do they keep doing it? Despite 1/3 of the Big Triumvirate being out with an abdominal injury, the Boston Celtics just continue rolling along, they continue winning, and they still have the best record in the NBA. Last night, the Celtics went into Indianapolis and beat the Pacers, 104-97, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.

Role player-turned starter Leon Powe continued his torrid pace in the place of Kendrick Perkins, scoring 16 and grabbing 9 rebounds in only 30 minutes on the court. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen continued their strong teamwork without Kevin Garnett, combining for 51 of the Celtics 104 points. Rajon Rondo continues his defensive mastery at the point, which started opening night against Washington and has continued throughout the 2007-08 NBA season, as he held Indiana point guard Travis Diener to 6 points on 2-for-8 shooting.

One word of note for the Pacers that is a positive: Danny Granger is an electric player. His stat line last night was average for him, as he scored 18 and grabbed 10 rebounds, but he is a force on the court, and will carry the Pacers into the next generation, taking the torch from Jermaine O’Neal, who took it from Reggie Miller before him. There is no better basketball state than Indiana, from high school to the pros, and when the Pacers are good, Conseco Fieldhouse can rock like no other arena in the NBA. If Granger can continue to carry this team into the future, with a few smart moves in the front office from none other than Basketball Jesus himself, Larry Bird, the Pacers could look into being a serious contender within a few years.

The 40-9 Celtics tonight will face the 15-36 New York Knicks in Boston. The Knicks won on Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks to snap their nine-game losing streak, and the last time these two teams met in Boston, the Celtics blew the doors off the Knicks, en route to New York’s most embarassing defeat in franchise history, losing 104-59.

Setting Up Shop in Fort Myers

All the bags were packed and the truck was loaded up. Saturday afternoon was a sight for sore eyes in New England, a vision of the future for those yearning for the national pasttime, as the trucks left Fenway Park heading south for Fort Myers, Florida, the spring home of the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

As the Red Sox begin their quest to defend their crown, its been almost stunning as to how little news came out of Red Sox camp this off-season. The team, that is more often than not the center of the Boston sports universe, was inactive in the off-season, its biggest move being the one it never made. The Red Sox attempted valiantly to acquire Cy Young winner Johan Santana, however when the deal fell through, it was the New York Mets that made the move to trade for the talented lefty. However, the biggest news out of the Santana saga was that the Red Sox had driven the price high enough that Santana was out of range for the Red Sox division rival and hated foe, the New York Yankees.

As the Red Sox were readying to all reacquaint themselves with one another in Fort Myers, news came out that Curt Schilling, re-signed in the off-season to a one-year deal, had injured his right shoulder, and would be out until the All-Star break at the absolute earliest. While this news no doubt affects the Red Sox rotation, the boys from Beantown have been blessed with starting pitching this season. They enter the 2008 campaign with ace Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, ready to prove himself to those in Red Sox Nation who doubted his struggles in late 2007, Tim Wakefield, Julian Tavarez and talented  youngsters Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz all as legitimate starting pitching options.

However, in case Lester or Buchholz struggle to turn the corner in 2008, the Red Sox have been heavily pursuing Oakland Athletics starter Joe Blanton, who Oakland is looking to trade before the season starts.

One way or another, one thing is for sure: the 2008 Boston Red Sox will not be much different than the 2007 edition. Every player from the World Series winner is back, with the exception of relief pitcher Eric Gagne and outfielder Eric Hinske. The young talent that showcased their skills on baseball’s biggest stage; names such as Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Lester, Matsuzaka, Buchholz, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon all have a year of experience under their belts going into their title defense.

A great article regarding the slow off-season in Boston came via Eric Wilbur on Boston.com today, here it is if you want to check it out.

If news breaks before the official start of Spring Training, we’ll be reporting it.

A Big Win

For only the second time in their last seventeen meetings, the Boston Celtics beat the San Antonio Spurs. Now, for a team with the best record in the NBA, a win like this would not seem significant. However, the Celtics won without All-Star forward Kevin Garnett. The Celtics have proven all the doubters wrong. They have silenced all those who believed that all it would take for the Celtics season to come crashing down was an injury to one of the so-called “Boston Three Party”.

Since Garnett went down with an abdominal strain, the Celtics have gone 5-2, with wins coming against some of the best teams in the league, including the Dallas Mavericks and defending champion Spurs. The Celtics are not rushing Garnett back, and it was announced today that Garnett would miss the All-Star Game in order to heal up for the second half of the season.

The Celtics won today without the services of starting center Kendrick Perkins, who was out with a strained left shoulder and is most likely to be out until after the All-Star break.

For the Celtics, the upcoming break will provide much-needed rest to a team that is beaten down physically. However, despite their mounting injuries and ailments, a role player will step up and provide the clutch play when called upon. Leon Powe hit the game-winning put-back on Friday night in Minnesota. Rajon Rondo led the C’s with 11 rebounds and 12 assists today against the Spurs. And Glen “Big Baby” Davis played one of the grittiest games of his young career, coming up with big defensive stands in the fourth quarter and preventing Tim Duncan from getting open for easy shots.

After the break, the Celtics have a west-coast road trip, with five games against the conference that they have yet to lose to this season. They travel to Denver to meet Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin and the rest of the Nuggets, then they travel to Golden State to battle the young and fiesty Warriors, then its a duel in the desert with the Phoenix Suns, and they end the trip with a battle with the scrappy Trail Blazers and a trip to Hollywood to play the Clippers. If the Celtics can come back home on February 27th with an over .500 road trip, then they will look at it as a success, as they have been managing to play some of their grittiest basketball, despite losing two starters to injuries.

This entire roster deserves a Tommy Point.

I’ll Be Back Later Today

After the proper grieving period, I’ll be back to posting tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got a lot to talk about, from the Celtics’ success, even without Kevin Garnett, to the oft-discussed shoulder of Curt Schilling.

 See you soon…

The Day After

I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll be back when I’m good and ready.

Super Bowl XLII Update: Saturday

The time has come. Four weeks of preseason football. Seventeen weeks of regular season football. Three weeks of postseason football. A bye week. It’s all been leading up to the Super Bowl. The chance for one team to etch its name in the history books. The chance for one team to call themselves champions. Who walks out of Glendale holding the Lombardi Trophy high in the desert sky? 

SUPER BOWL XLII:

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots (-12)

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, 6:18 P.M., FOX

19-0. It’s something in the football world that is supposed to be impossible. A team’s not supposed to win every game. There is a salary cap and parity and free agency in place to make sure that things like that don’t happen. The mere thought of it is usually met in response by a laugh or a confused look. Yet, the New England Patriots stand one win away from accomplishing the feat that was once viewed as impossible. And standing in their way are the New York Giants, a scrappy team that got hot at just the right time, and nearly ended the Patriots quest for a perfect regular season.

Since the first week of the season, the Patriots have been the most villified team in the league, possibily in NFL history. After a 38-14 victory over the New York Jets, the Patriots were exposed as cheaters, as an illegal videotape was seized and a cameraman was found videotaping the Jets sideline. The league handed down some of the heaviest fines in its history, even going as far as taking away a first round draft pick from the Patriots. How did the Patriots respond? They came out in week two and shellacked the San Diego Chargers, 38-14. After taking on the role of “cheaters”, the Patriots then took on new tags. Arrogant. Pompous. Dirty. They ran the score up, and kicked dirt in your face in the process. They beat teams by scores of 38-7, 48-27, 52-7 and 56-10. When they went into the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, facing the Colts, with both teams at 8-0, the Patriots rallied together and came back from a ten-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Colts and stand alone as the NFL’s sole unbeaten. They stormed back on a blustery night in Baltimore, catching the luckiest of breaks, including a timeout from the sideline, a false start penalty on offense and a holding call on the defense, all which prevented the Patriots from losing that game. They won games they weren’t supposed to win. On any other night, the Ravens would’ve beaten them. But on that night, with a healthy dose of talent and luck, the Patriots beat the Ravens. They took offense to players guarantees. An anonymous Steelers safety named Anthony Smith guaranteed victory over the Patriots in week fourteen. The Patriots ran roughshod over the Steelers, embarassing Smith for three passing touchdowns in his direction. They came back ferociously on a night when the world was watching. Down 28-16 in the third quarter against the Giants, they battled back and won a dogfight, 38-35, cementing their place in history as the only team to finish a sixteen-game regular season unbeaten. But that wasn’t enough.

They entered the playoffs with people questioning their ability. The world thought Jacksonville had the gameplan and the talent to beat the Patriots. The Patriots won convincingly. The Chargers gave them everything they had, and the Patriots iced them away, running over nine minutes off the clock on their final drive. And now its the Giants once again. The team that stood in the Patriots’ way on the road to regular season perfection stands in their way on the road to overall perfection and immortality.

For the Patriots, a win would give them 19-0, the greatest regular season in football history, and would place them among the greatest teams in football history, if not the greatest. It would cement Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s seat in Canton, Ohio. It would breathe new life into a dynasty that people that had expired, giving the Patriots four Super Bowl championships in seven years. For the Giants, a win would be the biggest upset in football history. This is the plucky team that everyone thought maxed out against the Patriots. But they stormed into Tampa Bay and beat up on the Buccaneers. Nobody thought they could beat Dallas in Texas Stadium, but after a late Tony Romo interception, the Giants had ousted the NFC’s best team. And on a freezing night in Green Bay, after their kicker missed multiple chances to win the game, a little kicker from Scotland named Tynes hit a miraculous 47-yard field goal to send the Giants to the Super Bowl and shock the world once again. So why can’t they do it one more time? Why can’t they win one more stunner? Why can’t they do what nobody thinks they can do, when that’s what they’ve been doing all postseason?

Why not? Because this Patriots team is something special. No team prepares like the Patriots. No team gameplans like the Patriots. No team manages their matchups better than the Patriots. Bill Belichick has been given two weeks to prepare for the Giants, and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that he’s used every waking moment of these two weeks to ready themselves for the Giants attack. Belichick has only one playoff loss in his entire career when he’s given a second chance to see a team.

The Giants live and die by their defensive pass rush. Guys like Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Antonio Pierce live off knocking the opposing quarterback down and out. They were effective in doing so during their matchup with the Patriots in week seventeen for a majority of the game. However, the Patriots were missing offensive linemen Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur, and their best blocking tight end, Kyle Brady. With a healthy offensive line playing at 100%, it will not be as easy for the Giants to get to Brady. They could have some success, as the Chargers did in the AFC Championship Game, but if Brady can get just an extra split second, he’ll find his open receiver.

For the New York Giants to win, their offense needs to attack, attack, attack. Plaxico Burress can dominate Ellis Hobbs. He did in week seventeen. Eli Manning can toss screen passes to Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Kevin Boss and exploit the aging Patriots linebackers. He did it for most of the game in week seventeen. They cannot turn the ball over, and they cannot settle for field goals. In the AFC Championship, the Chargers drove up and down the field on the Patriots, but stalled in the red zone and had to settle for three instead of seven. To beat the Patriots, you must match them touchdown for touchdown, not field goal for touchdown. The Chargers had four scores, the Patriots had three. And yet the Patriots still won by nine.

The Giants can slow Randy Moss. The Jaguars and Chargers have both done it. However, just because Randy Moss does not have an impact on the postgame stat sheet does not mean that his impact on the field was not felt. He opens up the field for guys like Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney and Kevin Faulk to catch short passes and break them open for big gains. The Patriots also have suddenly found a running game. Laurence Maroney has two consecutive 122-yard games in the playoffs, and has become a bonafide threat in the Patriots offense. No longer are the Patriots pass-first, pass-second, run-third. They are now multi-dimensional.

The world thinks that New York can win because they are hot at the right time and the Patriots seem to have stalled. However, the weather has been more of a factor than anyone can understand. In poor weather games, the Patriots have scored 21, 31, 28, 20, 27 and 31. In good weather games, the Patriots can light up the scoreboard, scoring such absurd point totals as 38, 48, 49, 52 and 56. University of Phoenix Stadium is domed, with no wind and a fast track. It’s the perfect conditions for an offense such as the Patriots.

One more factor about the Patriots: Junior Seau. Do you think a guy who has played as long as he has, without a Super Bowl ring, won’t be hungry come Sunday night? Do you think for a second that he won’t be going all-out on every single play? He’s just one example of the Patriots attitude and mentality, which is team-first. They want to win for the team. They aren’t going out there for 53 rings. They’re going for one trophy. One taste of immortality. For some guys its their last shot, for some it could be their only shot.

The New York Giants could keep it close. Don’t discount them for a second. They’re a good team that is red hot right now, led by a quarterback who has found his stroke at the right moment. But there is just no concievable way I can see them winning this game. The Patriots are just too good, and they’ve come too far to just let it all fall apart in the last game of the season.

Final Score: New England 35, New York 24