Boston Sports Then and Now

I will take your mother out to a nice seafood dinner at the Union Oyster House and NEVER call her again.

How do I say goodbye to what we had?

The good times that made us laugh

outweigh the bad.

I thought we’d get to see forever

but forever’s gone away,

It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

Along with “Songs About Rain,” “When Can I See You Again” and “I Will Always Love You,” they’re playing this on loop on Cleveland radio stations today (we can only hope they’re not playing that God-awful theme from The Drew Carey Show in between). Apparently, LeBron and the LeBronettes are breaking up. Apparently the best team in basketball and the best played in basketball are done…playing basketball.

This is what happens when you’re part of a tortured fan base. We know how it goes – we spend the first 40 years of following the Patriots and nearly a century following the Red Sox thinking the same damn thing – one little thing goes wrong and it’s over. In a valiant attempt to counteract ESPN’s non-stop reverse-jinxing of the Cavs this morning and afternoon, I present this little morsel to you: THE SEASON ISNT F*CKING OVER. The Celtics still need to finish off this thing, and finishing is something they’ve proven to be exceptionally bad at (especially at home) all year long.

A trip down memory lane, if you will. This is a Celtics team that, as recently as Sunday, got outmuscled, outhustled and outbustled by these same Cavaliers en route to their biggest home playoff loss in A HUNDRED NINETY-TWO stinkin’ playoff games. The same Celtics that found it in them to lose to the Nets at home. The same Celtics that finished 2 games better on the road than they did at home this year. You might say that these are the playoffs and it’s a different season and just like they told us all year long, they’d be fine when it got to the playoffs. And I’d respond by telling you that you must not have watched the Bruins’ past three games.

Read the rest of this entry →

Courtesy of  North Station Sports

Celts and Cavs: Past and Present

With the 2010 Celtics-Cavs Eastern Conference semi-finals series now heading back to Boston, many observers are calling this a potential “rematch series” for Cleveland, with the Celtics having ousted the – at the time- defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers from the playoffs in the 2008 conference semis.

That 2008 series was a grueling 7-game battle that ended with Paul Pierce outdueling Lebron James in an epic Game 7 at the new Garden en route to eventually leading the C’s -along with the new Big Three- to Banner 17.

The truth is, however, (no pun intended on “The Truth”) that 2008 series was not the first time the Celts and Cavs had ever met in the playoffs. In fact, it wasn’t even the first time the two teams had met in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. In 2008, the Celtics were actually the ones seeking revenge for their predecessors against Cleveland. Revenge, for a 1992 playoffs series loss in 7 games, that also closed out the original Big Three Era and saw Larry Legend play his last games as a Celtic and in the NBA.

Like the series this year, the Celtics traveled to Cleveland for Games 1 and 2 back in 1992, dropping the first game and taking the 2^nd to head into a Game 3 at the Garden all knotted up at one win a piece.

(Funny side note: Everyone bickers about the playoffs scheduling layout for this current series with the Cavs -game Saturday; game Monday; three days off; game Friday- but that has been the 2^nd round format for scheduling since the television explosion in the mid-80’s. Ironically, those were the same exact days of the week with corresponding games as the Celts-Cavs series in ’92!)

Read the rest of this entry →

When the playoffs start, the custom is to toss out the stats from the regular season and consider the teams more or less even. This was certainly a welcome thought for Celtics fans, having suffered through a season of inconsistencies too numerous to mention.

A clean slate, a fresh start. They’ll be bringing their best game. Question is, just what does that game look like again? You need to reach back to Christmas, when the record was 23-5, back to the start of the season, where they won their first six games, eight of their first ten.

In those first eight weeks, there was no nagging discomfort each time the C’s took to the court as to what things would look like from game to game. Quarter to quarter. Optimism abounded, it felt good to watch the Celtics play. It was obvious the Celtics were a predominantly defensive team. An excellent defensive team.

Last night’s pounding of the Celtics by the Cavaliers brought the regular season woes and worries back into clear focus: The Big 3? Well, yeah, they did look old. The team’s energy level was depleted. Offensively, they weren’t moving the ball around and the defense that is the cornerstone of this team was just not there.

Read the rest of this entry →

What a quiet night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Monday night. The Celtics came into the game with a determination to return to Boston with the series split 1-1, and did exactly that.

It was Rondo's Court at the James Kingdom (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Rajon Rondo had a spectacular night. He had 13 points and 19 assists, tying a team playoff record for assists, and had command of the King James court much the way he did in game one. Off the bench, Rasheed Wallace had his best night EVER as a Celtic. He scored 17 points in 18 minutes, three of those from downtown.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were both quiet in the first half; KG had a much better second, finishing the night with 18 points and 10 rebounds. I’m thinking Pierce is due for a big game when they return to Boston for Game 3 on Friday. Ray Allen scored a team high 22 points, three of those from beyond the arc, and Perkins pulled down 9 boards.

Rasheed Wallace on FIRE! (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The officiating may have seemed in favor of the Cavs tonight, given there were a total 31 personal fouls called on Boston compared to 16 on Cleveland. No mind, and no excuses, they came up big despite some questionable calls and foul trouble.

After scoring the first two points in the game, Cleveland would only see a 17-16 lead with three minutes left in the 1^st quarter – the rest of the game was Boston’s lead. The Cavaliers were within four at the half, down 52-48, when the Celtics came out and outscored them in the 3^rd quarter, 31-12. This was particularly satisfying given the countless times in the regular season when they could not string together effective play from quarter to quarter.

Read the rest of this entry →

The Captain has his hands full(Photo AP).

The Boston Celtics went down to the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, but not without a strong fight and some excellent play that had too often been missing over the regular season.

The 1^st and 2^nd quarters belonged to Boston.  Paul Pierce had 8 of the first 12 Boston points in the first six minutes of the game, and Kevin Garnett put up 10 points in the 1^st half.  As quickly as Pierce’s hand got hot, however, it went cold for the rest of the game.  He didn’t score again until the 4^th quarter, and finished the game with 13 points.

Early in the 1^st quarter, Kendrick Perkins was cut over the lip by Shaquille O’Neal and would need five stitches before returning to the game.  More of a concern were fouls – Pierce and Rasheed Wallace both with three, & Glen Davis with four in the first half, and KG also ended up with three after only two minutes gone in the 3^rd quarter.

The score at the half had Boston up by 11 points over Cleveland, 54-43.

Read the rest of this entry →

Courtesy of North Station Sports

Their are few professional sports team’s that can boast the mystique and winning ways of the Boston Celtics. Since the franchise’s first title in 1957, the Boston Celtics have won 32 percent of the NBA championships. Prior to their 22 season championship drought, the Celtics had compiled 16 championships in 32 seasons, 55 percent of the championships from 1957 to 1986. The Celtics currently have 22 retired jersey numbers retired,15 players and 5 coaches enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

#5-Cleveland Cavs

The Boston Celtics dominated the first half century of NBA history. It’s not a surprise that as team’s tried to get by the mighty Celtics year after year, some of the league’s greatest rivalries were born. Here are five of my favorite match-ups.

#5-Cleveland Cavaliers

Though this rivalry is in it’s infancy, it is worth mentioning as today’s top Eastern Conference rivalry. They have only met once in the NBA playoffs once since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined the Celtics.

2008’s seven game series in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, went the distance and LeBron James and Paul Pierce match each other shot for shot in game seven. The Celtics would pull out a win as the game went down to the wire.

Though the team’s have not met again (yet) in the post-season, their regular season match-ups have been exciting and drama filled as the two team’s hatred for each other is reminiscent of the bitter Celtics/Pistons and Celtics/Lakers of past generations.

Though this rivalry does not possess the historical references of the match-up’s higher up on the list, the drama and tension that mounts when the two square off is rarely matched in today’s NBA.

Read the rest of this entry →