aaron c beals

free agents
i’ve read reports from “none of the free agents are coming back” to “they’re all coming back”. i just hope they get Posey. and it seems like he’s their top priority, which is nice. best case = we re-sign Posey and House. next-best = Posey. devastating = lose Posey and House, keep Pollard and Cassell.

draft
i think it was a solid draft, but the character questions on Giddens have me concerned. the C’s are a team built around character. maybe they’re hoping to pull a Pats / Randy Moss and turn a trouble guy around with strong leadership and winning ways. Erden is “Semih”-interesting, but until he proves otherwise, he’s a soft European player. i’m at the point where i have to assume that about every player from that side of the Atlantic. seriously, who can prove me wrong? i was hoping Dirk would be the one, but he turned out to be the poster child. the only truly hard-nosed foreign players in the NBA have come from South America. Bill Walker is the guy that has me most excited, because if healthy, he fits the mold of the player that won the Celtics the championship this year. the knee injury is a concern, though — don’t need another Wally/Raef/etc. i liked this quote from Walker:

“I’m aware of Leon (Powe),” Walker said. “I want to continue what he’s still doing and make Mr. Ainge look really smart.”

side note: the C’s got Walker from the Wizards on draft night in a trade “for cash considerations”. what does that really mean? the Celtics bought a draft pick? i’ve always thought “cash considerations” and “players to be named later” were shady draft terms.

i realize that i haven’t yet posted about the Celtics’ championship run, which is surprising, given how closely i’ve followed the team through the horrible/soul-sucking post-Bird era. questionable drafts (2001), bad trades (to many to count), bad contracts (blount), bad knees (wally, googs, raef)… and yet i always held out hope. as i said to John my brother Matt during the Finals — “i can’t believe i once talked myself into Jiri Welsch. JIRI WELSCH!”

in what can only be described as karma coming full circle, our half-season tickets happened to land us in the Garden on June 17th for Game 6. it was… well, i still haven’t fully recovered from the shock of the win yet, but Laura said it best: “i think this is the happiest day of your life so far, after our wedding day.” and you know what? she was right.

2004 was incredible. so was 2001, the year that kicked off the whole “Title Town” era. however, those of you who know me well know that above all the rest, the Celtics are my team. basketball is my favorite sport to watch, the NBA is my favorite league (sorry, college hoops — my school just wasn’t D1), and the Celtics… well, let’s just say that my first sports memories are from 1986.

i have more thoughts on the team, the season, and some post-season moves, but those will have to wait for another time.

one last note… as i was driving in to work the day after the win, WEEI had Wyc Grousbeck on (possibly my favorite team owner of all time, because he’s a townie and an unabashed Celtics fan). the hosts asked him for his top 3 moments of the season, and he responded (not direct quotes — i’m working from memory):

1. being handed the trophy and stepping up onto the podium (that wasn’t, by the way, really meant to hold a person)

2. unveiling Red’s autograph on the parquet during opening day

3. earlier in the season, seeing his life flash before his eyes as Glen “Big Baby” Davis flew headlong out of bounds and into Wyc’s seats

BIGGEST COMEBACK EVER!

i never thought that any NBA game could beat the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals comeback by the Celtics… until tonight. down by 24 points in the first quarter (a truly unwatchable quarter, by the way), slowly climbing back to within 2 by the end of the third, and finally closing it out with authority.

there’s very little chance of me getting to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight.

watching the game at home (my 1/2-season tickets only have every other home game and we got to see Game 7 of the first round) and the only way i can keep myself from exploding is to blog while watching the game… i’ll keep updating throughout the game.

(if this gets posted to my Facebook page before the end of the game, click on the “view original post” link)

3:32pm – that intro never fails to get me fired up… i’m amped up enough to be in the starting 5 right now. in related news, i’m psyched that ABC decided to show the C’s pre-game announcements. ESPN miserably failed to pull this off.

3:34pm – yes, Mark Jackson, LeBron is very special. a very special flopper. i can’t wait to see his first crybaby moment. i’m betting it happens about halfway through the 1st.

3:36pm – clean tipoff. good start. and it looks like the refs are going to be hands-off this game. that’s a good sign, assuming they can keep their calls consistent.

3:37pm – PIERCE!! welcome to the playoffs, mr. 4th quarter!

3:39pm – i love Delonte, but he’s been doing that forearm move all series. nice to see him get called on it. Rondo’s putting great pressure on him.

3:40pm – Dear Ray Allen, please continue to play tough D on Wally, just like that. Thank you.

3:43pm – PIERCE!!!! i’m dying here. Seat #8 misses me so badly it’s probably trying to kick its current occupant out.

3:46pm – daily “kicking myself for not buying full-season tickets” count: 2

3:50pm – since i have to listen to Breen, Van Gundy, and Jackson instead of Tommy and Mike, i’m putting myself in charge of dispensing Tommy Points. i’m giving myself a Tommy Point for wearing my green headband even though i’m here by myself.

3:52pm – Rondo is en fuego right now.

3:53pm – my buddy Brant had a fantastic idea: “you’ll need a code for everytime KG passes or shoots a jumper instead of dunking on ben wallace.” i have an idea for a code word, but i’d like to keep this blog clean, so let’s just call it the “anti-confrontational” count. right now, it’s at 1.5.

3:55pm – if i was the NBA player in the Yukon Denali commercials, i would have punched that guy out by now. he has remarkable restraint.

3:59pm – i’m not sure what quality Mark Jackson is attributing to LeBron. “remarkable… Schrempf?” didn’t he play back in the late 80′s / early 90′s?

4:02pm – i’m so glad Doc’s finally playing House again. “gee, here’s a guy who hit big 3′s for us all season long … let’s bench him for most of the playoffs.”

4:04pm – end of the 1st… C’s up 18-13. i’m barely able to deal with myself right now. there’s a reason Laura doesn’t often watch games with me.

4:08pm – i like the side-by-side commercials. i think that more television should be done this way — especially political races. can you imagine Hillary and Obama side by side?

4:10pm – ugh. a 24-second violation with the ball in PJ Brown’s hands. PJ BROWN. why is he seeing more than 45 seconds per game?

4:13pm – i agree with Jackson. #34 is going up into the rafters. there is no doubt in my mind.

4:14pm – House MONEY!

4:16pm – i’d rather not waste the effort typing it, but i have to point out how terrible Coors is. “our beer tastes like watered down windshield washer fluid, so check out these gimmicks on the can!” if you’re going to waste your money on crappy beer, please give it to Miller or Pabst.

4:20pm – PIERCE! nice lefty layup.

4:21pm – PIERCE FOR THREE!!!!!! and then drawing the foul from Pavlovic the next time down the court. imagine if he played like this every night…

4:24pm – Tommy Point for House Money!! now that’s what the Tommy Point was invented for!

4:28pm – nothing like a little scrappy play to fire up the crowd. could’ve done without the double tech’s, though.

4:38pm – ok, got sidelined by an emergency “i’m lost” call from Laura. back on track now — she’s no longer lost and i’m watching the game.

4:43pm – PIERCE! another great three; there’s no reason the ball belongs in anyone else’s hands right now.

4:46pm – nice flop, Verejao.

4:46pm – welcome to the game, Ray-Ray.

4:48pm – hard foul on Pierce, and my heart just stopped. he looks ok, though — he’s certainly had worse.

4:51pm – wow, did not realize that — if you get fouled and are too hurt to make the free throws, you’re done for the day. (unless it’s a flagrant 2) makes sense, i guess.

4:53pm – Pierce has over half of the Celtics points for the 1st half (26 of 50). outstanding.

4:57pm – i know it’s terrible, but i can’t help chuckling through the WNBA “sarcasm” commercials.

4:59pm – ok, time for a rant. Michael Wilbon summed up what a lot of people have been thinking: “when you hear the Big 3, you assume it’s KG, then Ray Allen, and then Paul Pierce is the 3rd”. and then he went on to voice his surprise at Pierce’s stepped-up play. yes, Mike, you thought that. yes, other people around the league thought that. C’s fans who have either just re-joined or appeared this season thought that. but those of us who have stuck with the C’s through the last 14 often-painful years know better. as KG has repeatedly said in interviews: this is Paul Pierce’s team.

5:08pm – i think i need more Sir Charles in my life.

5:09pm – oh, summer television programming, you’re so terrible.

5:13pm – i know that Tom T used to be an assistant coach for him, but JVG is all but openly fawning over the C’s right now. interesting — i wonder if he was gunning for Doc’s job last off-season.

5:15pm – a last-second “chucker” shot followed up by his 4th foul — this is not Wally World’s tonight.

5:19pm – ah, the refs finally decided to call Big Z for traveling. it only took 20 cumulative extra steps over 5 plays.

5:24pm – PIERCE!!! thanks for waking up the guys with that huge 3, buddy. the C’s have been lethargic so far this half.

5:25pm – Bennett Salvatore, you remind me of Steve Martin, only without the humor … and the banjo.

5:26pm – the “anti-confrontational” count has been reset to zero because of KG’s last rim-shaking dunk through traffic.

5:27pm – if #34 keeps this up, Laura’s going to have her work cut out trying to convince me that our first son shouldn’t be named Paul Pierce Beals.

5:35pm – that’s right!! jaw all you want, Ben Wallace, you’ve been pushing off on rebounds all day.

5:40pm – we’re up by 7, guys. why do we need to run 3-point plays?

5:41pm – ugh. there are days that i miss having Delonte on the roster. today is one of those days. not that i want last summer’s trades reversed, but i think i’d give up Cassell for West. heck, i’d even throw Scalabrine in the deal.

5:45pm – 73-68, Celtics at the end of 3. i’m sitting as still as a 4-year-old who’s just washed down a bag of cotton candy with a 64oz Mountain Dew.

5:53pm – nice assist by Pierce to Rondo. that’s about as unselfish as it gets, folks.

5:54pm – think my yelling at LeBron made him miss that free throw? i’d like to think so.

6:02pm – i take back some of my earlier ribbing of PJ Brown. good play, old man.

6:04pm – Pierce just schooled LeBron. sit down, son!

6:10pm – Pierce is a one-man wrecking crew. draws two quick fouls and the assist to KG!

6:18pm – it’s just a game it’s just a game it’s just a game it’s just a game

6:19pm – oh, who am i kidding?

6:22pm – PJ BROWN! i take it back, man. i take it back. those are some serious veteran nerves of steel.

6:25pm – PIERCE!! Paul Pierce for President! and somebody get that man a Tommy Point!

6:29pm – up by 3, 18.8 to go, and we have Ray Allen shooting free throws!

6:30pm – 1…

6:30pm – 2…

6:31pm – ok, i’m not even pretending to sit anymore.

6:32pm – LEBRON MISSES A FREE THROW!

6:33pm – missmissmissmissmissmiss… d’oh.

6:34pm – house … money.

6:34pm – dammit. dammit. why was Pavlovic open???

6:35pm – pierce shooting free throws. wow, my heart stopped when that ball hit the rim. NAILS THE SECOND!

6:37pm – 5 point game. 7.9 seconds.

6:37pm – HOUSE STOLE THE BALL! HOUSE STOLE THE BALL!!

6:48pm – i just picked myself up off the floor. see you Tuesday.

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Celtics in Comcast HD
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Celtics road games are now available in HD. Comcast Sports Net launched its exclusive HD channel on Comcast cable systems. ALL Celtics games, home and away, are now offered in high definition on Comcast channel 852. Check out the Celtics in HD tomorrow night as they take on the Indiana Pacers at 7:00 p.m.

finally! it took FSN/Comcast long enough to get around to this; it was especially frustrating knowing that the local markets of the home teams were getting an HD broadcast.

(ok, so it’s just a moral victory. i don’t actually have cable…)

so after almost 2 straight weeks of Pats-specific stories (even the Media Day coverage was heavily skewed in the local boys’ favor), ESPN.com dropped this bomb on us today:

the Giants’ source of inspiration

aw, crap. talk about having to overcome some rather serious karma. not only are the Pats no longer the underdogs (they waved bye-bye to that long ago) and headed for super-villain (thanks to Spygate and piling on the points this season), but now they’re going to have to beat the team inspired by a disabled Iraqi war vet? this can’t end well.

from today’s Daily Dime on ESPN.com (emphasis mine):

This time, however, the aura surrounding the Nets is different. The roster remains fundamentally flawed from the duplication Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter bring to the roster, and the nine-game losing streak has left New Jersey with a goal for this season that really boils down to striving to secure the seventh or eighth playoff seed in the East, which brings with it a daunting postseason matchup against the clearly superior Celtics or Pistons.

you would think that with all the talk about the transformation of the C’s this season, this sort of rhetoric wouldn’t faze a diehard fan like me. but you know… it really doesn’t get old, and i don’t think it ever will.

i realize that baseball season is over, but tonight as i was recovering from the harrowing Pats win over the Ravens, i came across a great resource for the baseball-challenged: “Baseball Pitches Illustrated”.

as much as game 1 was a showcase of Red Sox batting talent, last night was a showcase of the top-tier pitching talent. i knew Schilling and Pap would rise to the challenge, but it was great to see the rookie Okajima come in and throw 4 strikeouts facing 7 batters.

unfortunately (yes, i’m man enough to admit this), i fell asleep mid-game and missed the 3rd and 4th innings. it was only about 25 minutes, but i missed the Sox’ first run. cut me some slack — i’ve been battling sickness all week.

one non-game-related note: last night, they had the first (as far as i know) preview for season 7 of “24″. this happened at about the time i was waking up. dazed, confused, and wondering how i ended up on the couch, this was my one and only reaction:

between this and the new season of Lost (which, if i haven’t mentioned it before, Laura and i are both now addicted to), i’m going to be very short on spare time come January.

some thoughts as i watch game 1 of the 2007 World Series:

* i can’t believe the Sox are back in it. 2004 feels like forever ago and just yesterday, all at the same time. i’m giddy.

* what a start by Beckett — sure, he’s given up 1 run, but 5 strikeouts over two innings? nasty. just nasty.

* and how about Pedroia?!? the kid’s awesome. have you ever seen him stand next to Ortiz? the size differential is comical. there’s a sitcom brewing there.

* i listen to and watch a lot of comedy, but i’m apparently the only person who has never listened to Dane Cook. and after his playoff commercials, i aim to keep it that way. words that come to mind include “grating” and “jackass”.

* i spent the entire ALCS watching the game on FOX but listening to WRKO, because i couldn’t stand hearing Buck blatantly root against the Sox and McCarver’s idiotic musings. it worked out well — the sound wasn’t as rich as the TV, but i got to hear Joe Castiglione, and the sound was synced up almost exactly with the TV. but tonight, WEEI’s “we own Wednesday and weekend day games” clause kicked in, so i had to switch over. they’ve got a 3-4 second delay going. it’s painful. i tried for an inning and a half, but i just can’t do it. tomorrow, we go back to WRKO.

* given the choice of paying $300 to sit at Fenway in the cold rain and paying $0 to sit here on my couch and watch the game in HD? warm and relaxing, i choose you. of course, i say this having gotten my Fenway playoff fix at game 1 of the ALDS, watching Beckett’s complete-game shutout gem. go ahead, hate me. i’m shielded by my 2004 World Series hoodie.

* it’s not so much that i hate the Chevy commercial as much as i have now resolved to avoid purchasing a Chevy truck at all costs.