Celtics Get Their Own Rolling Rally

The "rolling rally", now a Boston fixture, took place this morning. The entire team was aboard duck boats and a huge crowd lined the parade route. A TV announcer said the most common sign was "Marry Me Rondo"! The players smoked cigars in a tribute to Red Auerbach's famous victory cigar.

I guess I'm getting old. I never even seriously considered going. I hate the crowds, and I had to be in front of the TV for Portugal-Germany, the best semifinal of Euro 2008.


Boston Herald Photo Gallery

Boston Globe: Crowds cheer as Celtics roll through Boston

Boston Globe Photo Gallery

Boston Globe: Sox to honor Celtics on Friday

Most Valuable Press Conference

Brian Scalabrine, who didn't play a minute in the playoffs, calls out the media for predicting a Lakers win:

Thanks, Red

Arnold, the man who made the Celtics the Celtics:



hat tip to Suldog, who found it on Red Sox Chick

How Sweet It Is

Boston Herald Photo Gallery

Boston Globe Photo Gallery

Celtics Crush Fakers, Win 17th NBA Championship

Paul Pierce is the Motherfucking Truth.

(apologies to Shaq who originated the phrase)

Don't talk to me about that rapist from LaLaLand. Paul Pierce is the MVP of the series, and Kevin Garnett was the MVP of the league. And if you had one guy to pick to take the shot with the game on the line, that man is Ray Allen.

Red Auerbach is smiling down on the Celtics tonight.

Obama Was Wrong

RayRay blows by the Euro-weenies to seal the win
He said Kevin Garnett was his favorite player, but he thought the Lakers would beat the Celtics in six because they had the better team.

Obama was wrong, and now he knows it.

Was there anything more satisfying than coming back from a 24-point deficit to beat the hated Lakers last night? Well, yeah, nothing beats the Sawx coming back from down 3-0 to beat the Yankees, the MFYs, in the 2004 American League Championship series. I'm not as invested in these Celtics as I am in the Red Sox, or as I was with the 1980s Celtics, a team that was assembled by Red, not purchased by Danny Ainge.

But this Celtics team is compelling, starting with Kevin Garnett, one of the most inspirational leaders I've ever seen, a man who came in and transformed an entire team. It's amazing to watch 12 players playing with Garnett's flaming intensity at both ends of the court, playing every professional game like college kids, filled with enthusiasm, every player on the bench jumping up and down on every possession.

Last night's highlights, for me, were: Ray Allen/Jesus Shuttlesworth , age 32, plays 48 minutes; Paul Pierce asks to guard Kobe Bryant at halftime; Paul Pierce blocks Kobe Bryant's fallaway jumper (almost impossible, watch the video here)!; James Posey rains in another outside shot in the 4th quarter, then pops out that goofy green & white mouthguard to grin; Pierce dancing around in the backcourt after Allen's layup sealed the win with 16 seconds left; the total silence of the "fans" at the Staples Center.

This morning I heard some radio gasbags call the Lakers "a bunch of softies and Euro-weenies". I think you could apply that description to the silent fans, too. Can you imagine the Garden (which should be renamed the AUERBACH ARENA, hello!) silent if the Celtics were in a close game? Never.

I think we can go back to what we used to call the Lakers: The Fakers.

While it would be nice to win the trophy in front of the Garden faithful, I would not be surprised to see the Lakers, their backs broken last night, fold like a cheap suit on Sunday night.

Suldog: Ubuntu

I*Heart*Celtics: I Love The Boston Celtics

Boston Herald: Game 4 Photo Gallery

Boston Globe, Game 4 Photo Gallery

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe: Seeing this was believing

How sweet it is

A Little Celtics History

Suldog: Why "Beat LA!" Is Noble

Why? Because in 1982 Boston fans chanted it to Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers as a sign of respect. They chanted it to a rival that was beating us on our home floor in a game 7. Unfortunately, it was not to be; the Lakers beat the Sixers in 6 games.

Here's the video:



boston.com, Celtics Blog: The origins of 'Beat LA'

Celtics, 1986 to Present

Chad Finn's Touching All the Bases: Reeling in the years

Win It For Red

Boston Herald: Celtics

As if they needed one, the Celtics have an extra reason to win the championship. If the Lakers win, Phil Jackson will surpass Red Auerbach as the NBA coach with the most titles.

If the Celtics had any class, they'd rename the new Boston Garden "Auerbach Arena".

The Truth

Rocked the Garden yesterday.

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe: Pierce stars in his moment of Truth

Highlight video:


Pierce's 41 points led the Celtics to a 97-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 last night. The game was a tense affair throughout. Even though the Celtics led from the start, the Cavaliers were never out of it. My one friend kept saying, if the Celtics just keep LeBron under 50 we'll win. King James was magnificent but had less of a supporting cast than Paul Pierce. Delonte West had 15 points but no other Cavs starter was even in double figures. Paul Pierce had the game of his life, not only scoring but having to defend LeBron. That guy is just a beast. When LeBron took his third three-pointer in the 4th quarter after making two in a row -- that would have cut the lead to 2 points -- we all had our hearts in out throats. But Pierce kept scoring, and the Cavs got cold, and that was all she wrote.

Doc Rivers had a good game too. His decisions to play Eddie House over the slumping Sam Cassell, and to give PJ Brown significant minutes (the Boston Herald called Brown the "AARP Player of the Week"), were the difference in the game. And, sad as it was to see, he was absolutely right to bench Ray Allen for much of the fourth quarter, as without his jump shot Allen is just deadwood on the floor.


In the post-game press conference Pierce claimed his free throw in the final minute that bounced high up and improbably in was tapped in by the ghost of Red Auerbach. He really semed touched, but if you watched the entire post-game, the "Red tipped the ball" idea was given to him by TNT's sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya in her interview (on this video, starting at about 4:35)on the sidelines just after the game ended. Here's Pierce talking about Red in the media conference:



Green Bandwagon: Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: - Game 7: The Paul Pierce Game

Paul Pierce had one of the biggest games of his career. He shot 56% from the floor and 91% from the line. On top of that he had 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. And those assists don't account for the two times he got Leon Powe to the line. He was dialed in and even called the final 3 minutes the toughest 3 minutes of his life. Keep in mind the fact that he was brutally stabbed once and almost died. I'm assuming he's completely blocked that out.

On to Detroit.

Celtics Get Robbed

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers argues a call with referee Joe Forte during the first quarter in Game 6 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, May 16, 2008, in Cleveland.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

The Celtics lost to the Cavs in Game 6 in Cleveland last night. The officiating crew of Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa, and Joe Forte were horrid, with their execrable work culminating with a series in the last minute where they called Paul Pierce for an offensive foul when LeBron James was not set -- his feet were in the air -- and then a blatant non-call on offensive goaltending against Ray Allen. Not that the Celtics played all that well, but the poor officiating made it impossible for the Celtics to come back from a 5-point deficit in the final minutes.

Why is Dick Bavetta still officiating in the NBA? The man is 68 years old, for crying out loud. He can't even beat Charles Barkley in a footrace anymore. Does he have naked pictures of David Stern in his safe deposit box? He needs to retire.

Boston Globe: Visitors charged up over last-minute call

CLEVELAND - At times it felt like the Celtics had eight opponents on the floor last night instead of five.

Boston not only lost Game 6 to Cleveland, 74-69, but got the wrong end of the whistle, too. The Celtics were called for 25 personal fouls, while the Cavaliers got 16. Boston also shot just 13 free throws to 25 for the Cavaliers, including 15 by LeBron James.

Bleacher Report: Celtics-Cavs: Garnett, Boston Can't Overcome LeBron, Officiating

That was, by far, the worst, most embarrassing performance by an officiating crew in the history of the NBA.

The only thing that comes even close is when they decided to give Dwayne Wade a few games in the NBA finals a few years ago.

LeBron James had more free throw attempts than the entire Celtic team. Which would have been okay—if the Celtics weren’t taking the ball to the hoop. But they WERE.

Paul Pierce couldn’t buy a call. Taking the ball to the hoop and drawing contact did nothing to help him.

I understand that Glen Davis is a rookie, but he was fouled seven times and didn’t make it to the line once. He was MUGGED under the hoop. Yet no call.

Kendrick Perkins was thrown off the spot when attempting a defensive rebound, no call. Yet he was constantly called on the other end for minimal contact.

I’m not rational right now.

I was ready to blast the Celtics for losing on the road again, or praise them for finally getting over the road hump.

But what I witnessed was not a basketball game. It was a WWE event, where they had a scripted outcome designed to build up the next episode, which is Game Seven in Boston on Sunday.

LeBron James is hard enough to beat by himself. He doesn’t need help.

Then he has the nerve to complain CONSTANTLY in the second half? Are you kidding me? He’s the most unenjoyable superstar since Reggie Miller. And unenjoyable isn’t even a word.

The NBA is broken. Completely and utterly broken.

Hoopsvibe.com: Refs Give Cavs an Assist, Force Game Seven

Obama Courts Indiana

On the basketball court, of course.



Hat tip to turnesq at dailykos.

And from the comments to that post, a bonus video for we Isiah Thomas haters: "The Worst Coach in the History of Basketball":

Bye Bye!

NYTimes: The Isiah Thomas Era Ends
The team was also plagued by off-the-court embarrassments like a tawdry sexual harassment suit brought by Anucha Browne Sanders, a former Knicks executive. Thomas spoke after the verdict.
Photo: John Marshall Mantel/Associated Press

Isiah finally fired. Don't let the door, etc. On second thought, I hope the door does hit him in the ass. Jerk.

NYTimes: Isiah Thomas fired as coach of New York Knicks

Obama's Hoop Roots

Bryant Gumbel interviews Obama on Real Sports:

Must-See TV

Earl Monroe: Clips from Philadelphia's Baker League; He Got Game; Winston-Salem State; Baltimore Bullets; NY Knicks.

ESPN will be showing the second part of their new two-part documentary, Black Magic, tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. It's about the civil rights movement and how black basketball players first, got to play and then changed basketball.

I only caught the last half hour tonight (thanks to this post on BoingBoing) and was entranced. College footage of
Dennis Barnett, Willis Reed, Bob Love, and other great players, and lots of interviews.

Tomorrow night will feature the story of Earl The Pearl Monroe, Black Magic himself. When I was a kid I saw him play for the Baltimore Bullets in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, before he was traded to the Knicks in 1971. I remember being surprised to hear the black people sitting around us high in the cheap seats calling The Pearl "Magic". The white announcers always called Monroe Pearl, never Magic. This was my first introduction to the fact that there was a black culture and I knew very little about it.

Maya Moore Could Be the Best Ever

So good that even the New York Times, which generally ignores women's sports, writes about her:

NYTimes: In Freshman Season, Moore Shows UConn What May Come

Think Pink Tribute to Kay Yow

Credit: Nelson Kepley/News & Record

N.C. State's Shayla Fields, (from left) Nikitta Gartrell, Hanna Halteman and Sharnise Beal celebrate their win.

RALEIGH -- Reynolds Coliseum became a pink paradise Sunday in celebration of the third annual Hoops for Hope women's basketball game.

More than 8,000 men and women, young and old, wore ribbons and their favorite shade of pink as N.C. State defeated Boston College 60-41.

The Wolfpack (15-9, 3-6 ACC) wore specially designed pink uniforms and Kay Yow's last name on the back of each jersey to support the team's coach, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and learned in November that she has stage-four cancer.

"We got Yow on the back of our jerseys because we knew that this day was for her, and all we wanted to do was go out, play for her and play our hardest," said junior guard Shayla Fields.

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is sponsoring the Think Pink campaign against breast cancer. Over 900 teams have signed up to participate. NC State's entire team wore jerseys with their coach Kay Yow's name on the back. She is back coaching while undergoing treatment for Stage 4 breast cancer.

I hate all the pink stuff but it's great to see all the tributes to Kay Yow. She has done so much to promote women's basketball and her very public fight against breast cancer is inspiring.

Doc!

This time last season, fans at TD Banknorth Garden were chanting, "Fire Doc" because they felt Celtics coach Doc Rivers, above, wasn't getting enough out of a poorly assembled team. (AP)
One of the nice things about the revival of the Celtics (I take back all the s**t I said about you, Danny Ainge) is Doc Rivers finally getting the credit he deserves.

I've been a big fan of Doc's since the 1980 Boston Shootout (high school tournament), which my friend and I attended to get a look at this tall sophmore from Cambridge we'd been hearing a lot about. Whatever happened to that Patrick Ewing guy, anyway? But we walked out incredibly impressed by one Glenn Rivers, a senior on his way to Marquette, who dominated every game he played in and was named the tournament MVP.

Now that the Celtics have started the season a blistering 20-2, Doc is getting the kudos he deserves.

WaPo: The Doc Is In for Celtics
Rivers Perceived More Favorably With New Roster, 20-2 Start

Celtics Fans: This Year, Arrive Early

Boston Celtics forwards Kevin Garnett (L) and Paul Pierce smile during a time out in the third quarter of their NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Boston, Massachusetts November 7, 2007. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES)
Last night the New and Improved Boston Celtics massacred the Denver Nuggets, a good old fashioned throttling, 119-92. The score of the game was 38-22 at the end of the first quarter, and and unbelievable 77-38 at halftime. Yes, the game was over not only by halftime, but midway through the second quarter. Celtics fans, you've been warned: For this year's team, you've got to arrive early, or the game will be in the bag.

As a fan from the good old days of the 1980s Celtics, I actually enjoyed watching the game. I haven't watched the Celtics since Antoine Walker left, because there's been no spark. Last night, there was passing -- passing! -- and lo and behold, something never seen in the modern NBA, commitment on defense! When Chad Finn wrote that Kevin Garnett was going to restore Celtic Pride and make Celtics fans happier than they could imagine, I scoffed. Now I'm a believer. The big man has the team united as a team, everyone heads up, cheering for their mates from the bench, and giving it all on the floor. Is this the NBA? Can I be dreaming? A team playing as a team and not as a talented group of individuals all seeking to pump up their personal statistics, team and result be damned?

The announcers got into it, with Bob Cousy doing one of his rare full game appearances. They were talking about the playoffs by the 3rd minute of the game, and Cousy made a Larry Bird reference in the second quarter! I'm going to have to make some time in my winter schedule for watching the Celtics. They could make me stop hating the NBA.

Boston Globe, Jackie MacMullan: Another big step forward

Boston Herald, Steve Buckley: Hopes for title ring true
Pierce keeps it real with Garnett, Allen

New Court Filings in Anucha Browne Sanders Case

MSNBC illustrated their story with this picture.
Anucha Browne Sander's lawyers filed her response to the defendant's motion to dismiss her case (routine in civil cases) and those papers were unsealed by the court yesterday. This case remains a doozy. Browne Sanders attorneys say Isiah Thomas told a cheerleader to go to the referees' lockerroom and "make them happy"; that guard Stephon Marbury had sex with a Garden employee, who said she felt she could not say no because of who he was; and that Stephon Marbury called Browne Sanders a "black bitch". He admits calling her a bitch.

I think it's interesting how Browne Sanders attorneys' portray Isiah Thomas telling the cheerleader to go to the refs lockerroom and "make them happy". The cheerleader interpreted the statement as "go in there and flirt with them." I think you could just as easily presume that he meant, go in there and have sex with them. I wonder if they will argue it that way, or stick with the cheerleader's interpretation.

MSG is going to call Browne Sanders a liar because she filed false tax returns. When MSG asked for her tax returns in discovery, her lawyers must have discovered her two major falsehoods. One, she wrote off expenses on a consulting business. Either the consulting business did not exist, or it was prohibited by her MSG contract and would have voided the contract. Whichever it was, her lawyers filed corrected tax returns retracting the deductions and paying the taxes. They also corrected her claim of charitable deductions that she hadn't made. Essentially, she cheated on her taxes.

I ran into this problem a lot in civil cases. People don't realize that when you file a lawsuit, you open up your life to examination. And nobody like paying their hard-earned money to the government. My clients tended to be more working class, so the big problem I ran into was clients who had worked under the table. I would say to them, if you want the court system to enforce the law, you have to expect to comply with the law in all respects. People of means don't work under the table, but they have their own way of cheating the government. And open themselves up to the accusation of being liars, because essentially they lied to the government on their tax returns.

Politicians do this too. The richest man running for President right now is the Mittwit, Mitt Romney. In the three years before he decided to run for Massachusetts governor, he took a homestead exemption on his taxes for his home in Utah. It saved him $148,800 on his taxes. A multi-millionaire lied on his taxes to save $54,600 a year. He blamed it on his tax preparer, too, and the voters of Massachusetts forgave him. We'll see whether this really hurts Browne Sanders at trial.

WNBC.com (AP): Former Exec.: Isiah Thomas Urged Cheerleader To Flirt With Refs

NYDailyNews: Garden of sin in suit
Fired executive's filing tells of sleazy doings by Isiah and Marbury

The sordid allegations include:

* Thomas allegedly urged Knicks cheerleader Petra Pope to cozy up to the refs before a game against the Nets in 2004.

"What she told me was that Isiah asked her to go into the referees' locker room and make them happy," Browne Sanders testified. "I asked her to tell me what that meant and she said, 'Well, he wanted me to flirt with the referees.'"

She said Pope told her she reluctantly did as she was asked.

* In November 2005 a member of Browne Sanders' staff told her and another female Garden executive that she had sex with Marbury in a car after a boozed-filled night at a "gentleman's club."

The woman said Marbury textmessaged her a few day later saying, "I want some more of that," according to court documents.

The woman told her bosses the sex was consensual. But she also said "she did not believe she could say no because of who Marbury is," according to the court documents.

* Browne Sanders claims Marbury called her a "black b----" after she complained that the star guard's cousin - who also was employed by the Knicks - had been making graphic sexual comments to her staff.

But Knicks brass said in a statement that the suit filed by the team's former senior vice president for marketing and business operations was "riddled with fabrications."

[]

At one point the Garden was ready to make the case go away with cash, according to court papers. But when Browne Sanders' lawyers asked for $6million in 2005, Garden Chairman Jim Dolan called it "ridiculous" and nixed the payout, the papers said.

Earlier that year, Browne Sanders was given a $75,000 raise and her annual salary jumped to $250,000. She said she was told she was doing a terrific job and, with the Garden's backing, was named to the Sports Business Journal's list of top professionals.

The Post's article lays out MSG's defense:

NYPost: FOUL ON STEPHON
KNICK STAR SLAPPED IN MSG SEX SUIT

In a statement, an MSG spokesman said, "This lawsuit, just like Anucha's four years of phony tax returns, is riddled with fabrications from a fired and disgruntled former employee who was let go for poor performance and manipulating subordinates for personal gain."

"The public should know and the jury will learn that Anucha will make up stories and twist facts to pursue her real goal: money," the spokesman said.

A lawyer for Sanders called MSG's statement "a desperate attempt to mislead the public."

The documents released yesterday also show that Sanders, whose salary reached $300,000, had cashed in on nearly $80,000 in bogus tax deductions while she was on the team.

She scurried to cover her tracks last year by filing new tax returns for 2003 and 2004 - but only after a federal judge in her sex-harassment suit ordered her to share copies with MSG.

In her original tax forms, Sanders claimed she ran a "direct marketing" business out of her home from 2001 to 2004 - an unauthorized moonlighting gig that would have violated her contract with the Knicks.

Sanders wrote off nearly $20,000 in annual travel, meals and other expenses for a business she now claims she never operated - blaming her former tax preparer for the alleged fraud, which also involved padding her contributions to charity by tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Sanders has accused the married coach Isiah Thomas of repeatedly propositioning her for sex, then calling her a "bitch" and "ho" when she rejected his advances.