Look who's endorsing Fan Fanatic Sports

"Fan Fanatic Sports is a really good up and coming site. It's a good source to get team information and a good way to check up on your favorite players."

--RON BRACE
New England Patriots
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Fan Fanatic Sports is your spot for up to date sports info for everything New England sports."

--RYAN DURAND
Tennessee Titans
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Celts inch past the Bulls ... again

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


Does anybody want to win these games?

Seriously, though, this is like the third ESPN Instant Classic game we've had to endure in the last eight days. This time, the Celtics showed resilience, winning, 106-104, after trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter.

This is the Paul Pierce we know. He made three straight jumpers in the final 77 seconds to clinch it. Money, just money.

But that said, they almost blew it several times.

First, in regulation, Stephon Marbury passed up a wide-open 3 to give the ball to Rajon Rondo on the baseline, which he subsequently missed (because at the end of the day, he's still an average shooter) on an opporunity to make it a two-possession game. At the other end, Ben Gordon tied it up with a 3.

Big ups to Kendrick Perkins for a near-career night on the boards (19, one off his career-high of 20). He provided the physical presence down low to combat Brad Miller and John Salmons. (What's that he's playing? Playoff basketball, thank you.)

That said, that second bad decision -- Rondo's forearm on Brad Miller from behind with three seconds left in overtime -- was a nail-biter. Great idea by Vinny Del Negro, using Ben Gordon as a decoy to draw the double-team and clear the lane for Miller. If he makes it, I think I'd have to take a chill pill. This series has already driven me bonkers enough.

"That wasn't a flagrant foul, that was a playoff foul," Perkins said in the press conference, drawing laughter.

Amen, brother.

-- First off, let's quell the historical comparisons before they start. This isn't even top 10 greatest series of all-time. Not top 15, maybe top 20. Way too storied of a history, and way too many great playoff series to even THINK of drawing comparisons to series from the past.

Think about it...Bird/Parish/McHale, Cowens/Hondo/Jo Jo, Hondo/Russell/Jones, Cousy/Heinsohn/Sharman.

People this day and age are wayyyyy too quick to draw comparisons to the game's greats. I'll never forget ESPN last fall running a graphic on SportsCenter comparing Matt Forte's rookie stats through four games to Walter Payton and Gale Sayers. I understand why we do it -- because in this day and age of short attention spans, sensation equals ratings -- but I don't agree with it.

Comparing a first-round 2-7 series against anything from the banner years is ridiculous.

I won't even get into the question of whether Glen Davis can be an All-Star in the future (who cares right now?).

Settle down people.

-- First Perk's "oops, I tripped" foul, now Ray Allen's foul-out. Ray said he was "extremely upset", and it's hard to argue with him. Hate to fixade on the refs, but this is getting out of hand. Referees need to loosen the reigns when a game is tight in the waning minutes.

-- In hindsight, I can see Marbury's thinking on passing up the 3 attempt. Rondo was open rolling to the baseline, for a higher-percentage shot. If Marbury misses that 3, how many of you would be screaming at the TV?

-- Now I see why we miss James Posey and PJ Brown. Think about it, if we had fourth-quarter stoppers like Posey, Brown and Powe in the lineup, how much more effective would the Celtics be at closing these games out? Instead, without KG, Powe, Posey, PJ and with a lanky 7-footer who can't stay out of foul trouble, I feel like we're giving away crucial points.

-- Classic Heinsohn...Out of that final timeout, before the Miller play, Mike Gorman points out that there are six Bulls on the court.

Gorman: "Looks like Noah will sit."
Heinsohn: (sarcastically) "Figures."

-- I'm calling it right now. If this series goes to 7, Garnett will suit up.

To play or not to play?

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


Since MRI's on Ben Gordon released yesterday showed he has a pulled hamstring, the biggest question has been whether or not he'll be a go for the Bulls tonight in Game 5 of what has become one of the few worthwhile first-round series in the NBA.

I, like Doc Rivers, expect Gordon to play tonight, but don't get this twisted: Gordon is going to be a hurting unit. You need your hamstrings to be in good condition if you're going to be taking lots of jump shots and attacking the basket. Look for Gordon -- who leads the series with 24.8 points per game -- to be used in more of a distributor role tonight, a la his UConn days.

Don't buy his "I'm looking for a miracle" line for a minute.

With that in mind, the Celtics need to do a better job defensively tonight if they are to come out alive. Derrick Rose came loose on a few backdoor cuts, and Brad Miller got off some good shots (including long-range) when they went high-low. But considering front-court rotation they have right now, clogging passing lanes and denying entry passes on a consistent basis is easier said than done (and for the record, Brian Scalabrine is NOT a length guy).

A few more thoughts:

-- Yes, still fuming on Kendrick Perkins' call Sunday. Bill Doyle provides some colorful insight on why Perk gets caught up so much, but still ... give the dude a break.

-- The bench is thinner, but that doesn't let them off the hook for their sub-par production. The C's had just 11 bench points in the loss Sunday, compared to 25 in the blowout win on Thursday. In Game 2's loss, they had just nine. Get the picture?

Eddie House is 5 for 15 on 3's in the playoffs, after setting a franchise record for 3-point percentage (over 46) during the regular season. And in a sign of the end of all things to come, Scal played 17 minutes on Sunday. Hopefully, JR Giddens can bring some spark, after a good D-League run in Utah.

-- Brad Miller won't be reprimanded for his retaliation on Glen Davis in the third quarter Sunday, and he shouldn't. They shouldn't have even called for an ejection in the first place (which was later reduced to a technical). Like I've said, playoff basketball is physical. Let the players play.

-- ESPN Chicago's Jon Greenberg is channeling his inner Andrew Perloff when he writes today of Joakim Noah, "If you're a Celtics fan, you're probably going to boo him mercilessly Tuesday night."

Huh?

He also uses powerful imagery to show just how unique Noah is, with anecdotes such as Noah approaching Jerry Reinsdorf and asking, "What's up, Bossman?"

Oh no he didn't. Wow, he must be such an original cat if he has the audacity to address his boss as, er, a boss.

See, this is the part I can't stand about out-of-town bloggers. They probably read some crazy chucklehead from Boston ranting foolishly in a funny accent, and thought "Gee whiz, these guys must be on the same level as Philly fans. I bet they even curse!" And henceforth, they now have a narrow view of Boston sports fans as outlandish, obnoxious and misinformed.

As if this was the Boston Garden in the 80's, and Bulls-Celtics was a natural rivalry.

Give me a break.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't know too many people who hate Joakim Noah's guts. If anything, they're fairly indifferent to the guy. Never mind that he's been the least productive of Chicago's five starters in this series.

Please, radio people from Chicago, don't make like Mariotti and fudge your way to stupid assumptions.

Wakefield Dazzles Tribe As Sox Continue To Roll

Jason Bay once again homered in the ninth to help the Red Sox to victory, but the story of the game was the pitching performance of Tim Wakefield. The veteran knuckleballer didn't give up a run and allowed just one hit on four walks through seven strong innings. Manny Delcarmen continued his impressive 2009 campaign, pitching a perfect eighth inning before giving way to closer Jonathan Papelbon, who looked shaky but managed to nail down the save for the streaking Sox. Boston has now won 11 straight games and sits percentage points ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the American League East.

Defending A.L. Cy Young winner Cliff Lee also pitched well enough to win, but Indians closer Kerry Wood needed just one-third of an inning to give up the lead. Dustin Pedroia walked to lead off the Boston ninth, followed by a bloop single from David Ortiz that fell in front of a charging Grady Sizemore. After Kevin Youkilis flied out, Jason Bay came to the plate in yet another big spot, and he didn't disappoint. He launched a Kerry Wood fastball into the left-centerfield seats to put the Sox up 3-0 and push them to victory.

The Sox seem to have the complete package this season after a sluggish start. The offense during the 11-game win streak has averaged 8 runs a game, the starting pitching has been quite good and the bullpen has been dominant. There's an old baseball adage, "You can't win the Pennant in April, but you can lose it." Indeed, early season injuries have not been allowed to affect this team, as guys like Nick Green have stepped in and performed at a high level. That will be important to remember come mid-September, when this team is driving toward the 93-95 wins it will take to win the division.

The Sox look to make it 12 in a row tonight. In game two of the three-game series against the Tribe, Brad Penny (2-0, 7.80 ERA) faces Anthony Reyes (1-0, 4.76 ERA). First pitch is at 7:05 from Progressive Field in Cleveland.