Number 17

The Boston Celtics get their 17th NBA Championship Trophy and the players get their rings. Paul Pierce was overcome -- then went on to lead the Celtics to victory over LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Now I Hate Comcast Even More

This is your brain on dope.
Comcast GM Bill Bridgen.
I bet he's not from around heah.

Boston Globe: Cousy fired from Celtics broadcasts
Comcast GM prefers two-man booth setup

How could they? Do they have no decency? Celtics legend Bob Cousy gets the ax from his lousy 10-game a year stint (pocket change to Comcast), and with a phone call from some low-level manager? THIS IS BOB COUSY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. Cousy is The Cooz, the guy who dazzled in the 50s, coached in Kansas City in the 60s, and has been the voice of the Celtics here in New England for decades. I learned everything I know about point guards and fast breaks from listening to the Celtics during the Larry Bird glory years. He has that hysterical Frenchman's lisp that caused him to utter such gems as "Wick Wobey with the webound" and "Wobewt Pawwish with the wainbow jumper" and now "Way Allen fwom twenty" which you just have to love. He's the Cooz! He's not just some old broadcaster you put out to pasture.

Brief break for a funny story: My friend L went to a Celtics game in the mid-80s with our friend G, an athlete but not a sports fan. L saw Cousy in the hallways of the Garden after the game and asked him for his autograph. She was thrilled! Her friend G asked, why are you getting all excited over getting some TV announcer's autograph? L hunted down a payphone on the street outside the Garden, car horns and drunks blaring in the background, to call me just so someone would understand that SHE GOT BOB COUSY'S AUTOGRAPH! And to tell the story of how our friend did not know that Bob Cousy was BOB COUSY, THE Bob Cousy, the man, the Cooz, the ballhandler extraordinaire, the man who was on a first name basis with Arnold and Russell, the pride of Holy Cross, the Houdini of the Hardwood, Mr. Basketball, Mr. Celtic!

Fire Bob Cousy? What, they couldn't find a puppy to kick?

This may be business to Comcast, but it's war to me. Like Bob Cousy, I have The Killer Instinct, so watch out Comcast GM Bill Bridgen, we're after you. (Killer instinct, of course, does not refer to actual killing, just to beating an opponent. Got to keep Homeland Security from investigating me.)

Two videos of Cooz in his prime:

A Few More Celtics Videos

LA: You just got Rondo'd


Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen on Letterman:


Big Baby is GOING TO DISNEYLAND:


hat tip to my favorite Celtics blog, I*Heart*Celtics

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

Celtics, 1986 to Present

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

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