Welcome to May a day late but it is May.
The difference between Atlanta and Boston is really simple, Celtics have Paul Pierce and the Hawks do not have anyone like him. The Hawks may have talent but they do not have basketball players. Paul Peirce is a basketball player, LeBron James plays basketball. There is a difference. Pierce showed just how different again last night.
After reading and hearing John Harbaugh opine on the Patriots I have come to the conclusion that it really does not matter what Belichick or Brady do many people out there want to believe they cheated. Sadly the stigma may never fade. 5 Super Bowls are not enough and a win in a sixth probably would not matter to the majority. Sad but true. That said I am looking forward to the Patriots 2012 edition, aka the one with some defense!! Oh and please sign Welker soon. Thanks.
I fully expect the Red Sox to play well for at least another 2 weeks with KC, Baltimore and Seattle on the schedule. After that they had better have gotten their crap together.
Right now I am rather disappointed in both Buchholz and Lester. Neither one is pitching well. Buchholz may still be recovering from his back issues but Lester has no such excuse for his up and down April performance. Lester gets a sizable salary bump next year and in 2014 with a club option. He needs to prove his worth as a number 1 or 2 guy now, not later.
I like Youk and always have but he cannot stay healthy and from all accounts is not a clubhouse leader type. And at 32-33 years old it probably would have been a good move to trade him in the offseason, and yes I know they would have gotten nothing for him but so what. I think Middlebrooks is the third baseman very soon. Youk has no value now and may be a distraction as he tried to fight through another injury.

RIP Junior # 55 always

A student called me Broham today.. tee-hee

wah wah wah....i've been told that closers don't matter anymore

Kind of bittersweet to see Mariano lying on the ground writhing in pain and knowing that means his career is probably over. Over with a bang and a whimper. Also strange that his most memorable moments to me were failures, something that he did so infrequently. The Luis Gonzalez flair to end the World Series and of course the Game 4 LCS in 2004. Maybe the only Yankee I never detested and he seemed always so calm and relaxed even on opening day 2005 when he was the only Yankee cheered and he took it with a smile and a wave.
good luck going forward Mariano.

He won the crowd over that day.

I don't think he's done. He can still get guys out. Look at his stats this year. ACL's are almost minor injuries as this point.

He is 42 will be 43 that is the problem not the knee necessarily

Was in shock last night.. What a sudden way for a guy's career to end

Greatest Relief Pitcher of all time.. First ballot HOF.. Got to watch his entire career.. All with the Yankees.. Never put on another uniform.. Never smeared by ownership on his way out the door.. Never made excuses when he failed and never showed up an opponent when he succeeded.

He's been such a class act that it pissed me off that espn, si.com, and everyone else had the pic of him lying in pain as their cover photo..

Rivera & Jeter's retirements will be the moments I start to feel old.

Hawks.. MESS YOU UP

My two cents. It is a shame to see Mo end this way. I only hope he avoids a drawn out fruitless comeback.

Mel, they made that waaaaaayyyyyyy more difficult then it had to be. I thought it might even be scrub time. A willie green three here, Joe Johnson catching sporadic fire there and all of the sudden we're in OT?
Rondo has these ridiculous stat lines that I don't even think he plays well.
KG was player of the game IMO

I will bet everyone that still posts that Rivera pitches again.

Any Derby favs out there

Welp... Before last night I didnt think ATL had a chance to win a game in Boston.. Not anymore. Tomorrow could be a problem if Smith comes back and Ray or Avery cant play..

Brandon Bass is pulling a playoff no-show that would make Kevin Gamble proud..

And how bout Dampier? Had no clue he was still alive. He's a goon, right? Wonder how long it's gonna take for him to break someone's nose.. My money's on Game 5

BEATDOWN

May 7, 2012
Baltimore 19-9
Tampa 19-10
Toronto 16-13
New York 16-15
Boston 11-16
There is high comedy and then there is Adrian Gonzalez going 0-8 and Darnell McDonald pitching. Sad how low this team has sank so quickly!
How bad are things going on Yawkey way?
Ticket brokers are offering 2 for 1 and half price tickets and the Red Sox are still announcing sell outs. They have become like some communist country with their five year plan and denial of everything bad that is happening. Just keep pushing the sellout streak and the 100 year anniversary. Oh yes and play Sweet Caroline they love that. The whole thing is becoming unseemly.
Bard 4.38, Beckett 4.45, Lester 4.62, Dubront 5.19 and Buchholz 9.09. Well isn’t this just ducky. Very disappointed in John Lester and Clay Buchholz. Neither is getting the job done in any way. The Sox are going nowhere until they starters improve.
Wondering now who is getting more hosed long term the Sox with Crawford or the Angels with Pujols?
Yes I respect and actually do not hat Mariano Rivera, but do not make the jump and say that I must like Jeter and Posada as well. That would be a no, a big no.
Which is the bigger statistical anomaly? Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux combined 928 wins and zero no hitters or Nolan Ryan 324 wins and 7 no hitters?

Doesn’t it just seem destined that the Celtics and the Heat are going to match up again?
Speaking of Destiny I just have a feeling that the Patriots will be returning to New Orleans come next February. Super Bowl number 6 for coach and quarterback. Back where it all began.

Was that their best playoff game since Game 6 vs the Lakers in 08? Actually no its their best since Game 5 vs Cle in '10.

FF is calling for Bobby V's head.

Bruh, too late.. I called Pats Super Bowl two weeks ago..

Game 3 vs Orlando in 2010 was a wipeout too.. The game where Rondo did this..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvcbMNJQVbI

Its a lock

It is not even Mothers Day and I am really looking forward to Football.
SAD

Wanting football is sad? Then I don't want to be happy.

Where the f is TO?

Got to listen to Max and Grande last game. Made it sound like Pierce took only contested shots and he seemed to make all of them. Tough to lose when you shoot 65%. Close it out tonight. For all the issues with the C's injuries, they actually seem to have decent depth.

Love when FF gets pissy. I hadn't read in a long time. Good stuff.

If loving you is wrong I don't wanna be right.

Must be tough times in the FF household.
BTW what was Valentine doing in the first inning last night visiting the mound?
And Youk all good things some to an end, Adios and Goodbye!!
Celts really need to close tonight, save the wear and tear of another game.
TO is probably knee deep in prep for the D3 Lacrosse and lawn bowling title games.

Oh for crying out loud...

Take it to the hoop goddamit

And check Horfords pee. How's that guy playing 40 minutes? Please instruct Rondo and Avery to punch the ball from behind every time Horford decides to go coast to coast.

Going to the game tonight.

So thats pretty cool

Today May 10 is a really special day. 42 years ago Orr scored and brought the Stanley Cup back to Boston.
This week is also the 6th anniversary of the Board. Wow
Please focus and finish tonight, unlike last game

I am so disgusted with the local baseball team i refuse any further comment

You better not make em lose..

later Hawks.. still not good enough

Why do the Celts/Sixers begin Sat and Mia/Indy is Sunday? Come on man

Billy Cunningham and Bobby Jones ain't walking through that door, you halcyon mofos, you.

I was actually the key to victory. Doc heard me bitching about putting KG back in the game after he didn't do it after the long TV timeout with about 5 mins left.

You can really pick up on the little KG things in person. He was all over the court. Picking off passes. Blocking shots. And when was the last time he got in the post for that long? What a great game
PP was struggling but he had that huge baseline bucket when the game was just about to get away from them. And I had a great view of J Johnsons drive to the hoop at the end and he had such a clear lane. What a block by PP.
Freakin Horford was nearly the difference.

Sixers mess you up old school style

high school playoffs start today. should have never joked about the Wily Mo thing. Kid's striking out at unbelievable Pena pace. Sure can crush it when he hits it, though.

If I still didnt hate Horford for punking Pierce in the 08 Playoffs, I'd give the dude tons of credit. The C's had no answer for him. Fortunately, he realized a few days too late that he wasnt injured no mo'.

I got no scouting report on the Sixers.. Mac?

Pass -- found myself looking them up on ESPN to find out who their starting two guard was. I remember the Sixers beating them by 40 but forgot the C's handling them easily the next two times. Iggy always gives Pierce a tough time.

KG was awesome last night. Not just the points and rebounds. When has he blocked that many shots? And every time he switched guys, the little guys couldn't take advantage of him. Very impressive.

Such a great block by Pierce. See Simmons piece today? Wasn't his meltdown in Indiana officially 100 years ago?

The win obscured a terrible outing by Rondo. Made terrible decisions so many times when faced with a pass/shoot option. He missed an open Avery on a back cut twice in one possession. He gets a gimme though for being so damn good the rest of the series.

Bass killed the C's in Game 5. Every time Josh Smith set a pick, the Hawks scored. Why they didn't do that every time Bass was in the game last night is a mystery to me.

Good luck Wily Mo.

Red sox blow.

Gummy is still the smartest guy in the room.

Gritty... once again

I friggin cant stand the never-ending pick 'n pop play out near the arc.. Other teams keep sniffing it out and force the Green to make real tough passes on the 1/2 court offense. I know Pierce cant move and Ray is hobbled, but Doc's gotta draw up a way to get more motion in the offense.

Bradley's 1-on-1 defense down the stretch.. man...

Gummy's right

May 14, 2012
Baltimore 22-13
Tampa 21-14
New York 19-15
Toronto 19-16
Boston 15-19

Well 4 games under .500 is better than 7 games under. Right?
It is still a little shocking to me that Red Sox management does not get how pissed off a lot, of not the majority of fans are. They would seem to be smart guys and yet they either don’t get the anger and apathy of the fan base, or worse they really don’t care. I don’t expect the players to get it and Josh Beckett is example number one, he does not care what fans think. Fine Josh but could you at least fake it a little. I know he has no idea how much of a pompous arrogant jerk he seems when he whines about only having 18 off days. It seems like September never ended and these guys have not learned a thing from it. Still!
Every game Middlebrooks keeps hitting means more and more goodbye Youk.
Rob Bradford made a good point on Saturday talking about Francona and John Farrell. If the Sox management was sour on Francona at the end of 2010 and he had one year left on his contract why didn’t they pull the trigger then and make the switch? Perhaps another major error in judgment.

The resurgence of KG has certainly been a pleasure to watch. And I am enjoying this gritty down and dirty run by the green team. I have no delusions of grandeur though. Grit and guile can get them only so far. Hopefully back to the Finals, but everything now really is gravy and a fitting tribute to the big three and the life they brought back to the Celtics.
Please Hockey gods I really want to watch the Stanley Cup Finals but not Phoenix New Jersey.
I hope it is an omen but when I saw Don’t’a Hightower at Pats minicamp he looked a lot like Willie McGinest.

I'm still mad that PP sprained his knee at shootaround.
Bradley needs to play more. He changes the tempo. And I remember Pietrus never missing against us. Now he can't make. Mel, would we rather Doc dust of Quis if Pietrus' shot continues to be off?


Love the drunk drive by from Gummy

Pietrus still plays good defense.. I say stick with him..

Bob, what do you want Sox management to do to show you that they get how pissed off you are? You and a million other people have to stop watching NESN for anything to happen.

Well I think that the sell out streak thing is a good place to start. It is a sham. Come out and admit it. Secondly Luchino should have made some kind of statement saying that the Sox are not playing up to expectations and they expect better.
The empty seats are something they cant ignore and NESN And WEEI have to be down.

Time to sit Pierce?