The Best Sports Events of 2011

To say 2011 was an eventful, newsworthy year for sports would be an understatement.  From the disgusting, mind numbing actions at Penn State and Syracuse to the championships of the Bruins, UConn, and Auburn.  We here at The Truth have put together a list of our top 5 sports events of 2011.  Now, these are our favorite events, not necessarily the most newsworthy.  Leave your thoughts and opinions and give your own top 5.  Also, we really appreciate you checking out the blog and will continue to deliver entertaining and informative posts.  Any ideas on posts or guest posts are more than welcome.  Without further ado let’s get to the fun.

Dan: Dan-o starts it up with a mostly video top 5.

5. LeBron Loses

Anytime Lebron loses in the finals after his "Not 1, Not 2, Not 3...." speech it is a great moment.

4. Uconn Wins

Hey, I might not be the biggest UConn fan, but it isn't because I don't like them. They are a New England team and I can respect that. Go Huskies!!

3. Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is one of my favorite sporting events every year. Betting on the winning horse always makes it better but win or lose there probably isn't another sporting event that gives you this type of atmosphere and lets you cheer for who you want year in and year out. Obviously a Boston team playing for their championship like the Bruins in the Cup or the Patriots in the Super Bowl is a different story, but that doesn't happen every year. The Derby does, and every year it is different horses and every year you get to the find the horse you want to root for. Maybe you are a person who actually places bets and you like the horse's pedigree and chance to win or maybe you are just a casual fan and you like his story, you like why it has a certain name, you like who owns it, you like their colors etc. Every person can find a horse they like and every year Churchill Downs brings you the same exact stadium rocking atmosphere. This year we saw Animal Kingdom walk away as the winner, jockey John Velazquez who is one of the most respected jockeys in the sport got his first Derby win, who only got to ride Animal Kingdom because the main jockey Robby Alberado was hurt earlier in the week, a good story.

2. Patriots Continue Their Success and Bobby Kraft Ends the Lockout

Although we haven't won the Super Bowl the last few years the Patriots continue to give us something to cheer for year in and year out and that is something to be thankful for. We have fallen short in the last month of the season the last couple of years but for the other 16-18 weeks of the season the Patriots at least allow us to root for another Super Bowl chance each year and that is a lot more than most teams can say.

However, that isn't the biggest success of the New England Patriot's this year. Robert Kraft the best owner in professional sports who is responsible for the reason we now have 3 Super Bowls and a successful football organization that we can be proud of helped the NFL dig itself out of the darkest days of the league and end the lockout. Because of Robert Kraft, his wife and his influence he has within the league he helped bridge the gap between the owners and players and is the reason we get to witness one of the most exciting week 16's in NFL football history tomorrow on New Year’s Day and why our Patriots are in position for another Super Bowl.  Thank you Robert, thank you Myra and thank you to the entire Kraft family.

1. B's win cup


If this isn't your top moment of 2011 get outta here!! Hit it..

V:  Below are Matty V’s top 5 stories of 2011.

5 - Iona gets upset in MAAC tourney title game:  This wasn’t a big surprise because they were such a young team last season. The bigger surprise was it wasn’t an Iona vs. Fairfield matchup like everyone predicted. Iona did its work in the tourney, but they ran into a hot St. Peter’s team at the time. With another year of experience under their belt and the addition of Momo Jones, 2012 looks promising for the Gaels.

4 - Pats acquire Ochocinco and Hanyesworth:  These types of acquisitions usually benefit the Patriots well.  We saw how Corey Dillon changed when he got here, we saw the Randy Moss of old come out in a Patriots uniform. Ocho and Hanyesworth haven’t panned out; they weren’t loud mouths or distractions like they have been with former teams.  Ocho is my boy. I will never hate on the guy.

Everybody else can hate all they want and say he sucks. He has not contributed a whole lot but he also hasn’t said a word to the media or anyone for that matter. Say what you want, idiots, but he will contribute to this team in the playoffs.

Hanyesworth came here fat and out of shape, plain and simple.  He sucked.  Couldn’t get on the field because Kyle Love was/is more dynamic than fat Albert is.  Once Brandon Deaderick got healthy and Gerard Warren started to contribute, Haynesworth was out the door. The move was a low-risk high-reward moved that just did not work out.

3 -The Red Sox Collapse: Everybody talks about the Yankees blowing the 3-0 lead to the Sox in 2004. I think this was worse. No words can describe this. Disgusting.  Flat out disgusting. This makes me never want to have fried chicken and Bud Light ever again.

2 - Robert Kraft single handedly end the NFL lockout:  This man is by far the most respected owner in the league. The man loses his beloved wife and has hated rivals giving him hugs on national television. The impact the Myra has on this organization makes you think that this was her way of saying “shut up and just play football.” We are extremely lucky to have an owner like Robert Kraft for our hometown team. Let’s go win the Super Bowl for MHK.

1 - Bruins Stanley Cup Victory: 

If you’re from Boston and love Boston sports, you are insane if this isn't #1 on your list. This is big for me to have this as #1 because we all know I’m not the biggest hockey fan. This team was special. I mean, they have to be extremely special to get me to tune in and watch on a nightly basis. From the experience of Recchi, to the excitement of Segs and Marshmont, this team had it all. The scary part is they are even better this year. This isn't a hockey team, it's a gang of brothers. Hockey wasn't like this a few years ago in Boston. Times have certainly changed.

Matt:

This was one of the hardest things to come up with.  My top 2 were easy choices, however I feel like I will make some Bruins fans a little upset with the order of the top 2.  I won’t ramble anymore, here is my top 5:

Honorable Mention:  Butler back in the NCAA championship, Brandon Bass trade, Heat Lose in NBA Finals

5 - Red Sox Collapse:  Before people say “Hey, Hey, Hey, that’s not a positive story for 2011,” let me explain.  This Red Sox team was flawed, even when healthy they were never the best team ever, as the Boston Herald proclaimed.  This team was never going to win a World Series, so this collapse expedited some of the changes that needed to happen. This team got boring to watch and very complacent.  Listen, I loved Francona as much as the next guy but he needed to go, Theo was missing on a lot of free agents of late, and players such as Wakefield and Varitek wore out their welcome.  My view is, after about 10 years, management becomes ineffective and needs new blood, and with this collapse that new blood is now in charge.  Here is to hoping that new blood will help turn around a stale franchise and lead us to really be the best team ever.

4 – Basketball is Back:  Everyone knows, basketball is my favorite sport – both college and the NBA.  I hated the lock out probably more than most; however it turned out to be a positive for both the NBA and NCAA.  First, college basketball had more players return for another year from the likes of Thomas Robinson to Doron Lamb, from Perry Jones III to Harrison Barnes, and from Jared Sullinger to Jeremy Lamb.  When all these guys stay, it leads to a better product for college basketball and you have seen that with so many exciting games already.  Moving on to the NBA, obviously the lockout being lifted means I get to see my beloved Celtics with the Big 4 one more year.  Also, if there was still a lockout you wouldn’t be able to see LeBron take 4^th quarters off like last year.  Besides the Celtics, watching Kevin Durant and the Thunder will be my favorite team to watch this year.  Let’s hope this year’s playoffs are just like 2011’s.

3 – Records Fall:  I’m only going to talk about Ray Allen breaking the career 3 point record and Rob Gronkowski breaking the touchdown record for a tight end, because well, I don’t really care about Drew Brees.  To watch Gronk this year is just amazing.  Gronk cannot be tackled by just one guy, and sometimes two guys aren’t even enough.  He is such a match up nightmare, especially in the red zone where safeties and corners are too small while linebackers are too slow to cover him.  It really is exciting every time he touches the ball.  “Me catch ball, me score touchdown, me spike ball hard.”  Moving on to one of the best pure shooters I have ever seen, Ray Allen.  Watching him shoot the ball is just a thing of beauty, I could not be happier to see him break Reggie Miller’s record especially against the Lakers at home with Reggie Miller in attendance.  You could not have written a better script for that record to fall.

2 – Bruins win the Stanley Cup:  I’m sorry Boston, hockey is just my least favorite sport.  I will admit I was blown away by how exciting playoff hockey was.  Tim Thomas really was unbelievable and single handily kept the Bruins in many games.  Then to watch Krejci, Lucic, Bergeron, Seguin, Chara, Seidenberg, and Marchand step up throughout the playoffs was special.  You can tell this team really loves playing together and should be exciting for years to come.

1 – Auburn wins National Championship:  Let me start by saying this – WAR EAGLE!!  What a season this team had.  From all the controversy and trashing of Cam Newton, it was unbelievable to see this team fight through it all and win the National Championship.  Lots of people were picking the high flying Oregon Ducks to win, but Auburn showed why they were the best team all year.  From the likes of Cam, Michael Dyer, Nick Fairley, Onterio McCalebb, Josh Bynes, and Darvin Adams, this was just an amazing season.  With how good Cam was, you could basically tell the defense what play they were running and they would still get positive yards.  Beating Oregon, Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia, and South Carolina (twice) really just shows how strong this Auburn team was.  War Eagle all day.

Again, thanks for checking the blog and we hope that 2012 will continue to be a very fun and exciting year.  Check for our bold predictions for 2012 coming Monday or Tuesday. 

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THANK YOU KESSEL!!

Happy New Year to everyone. Our Boston Bruins will be helping to take us into the new year tonight as they visit old friend Michael Ryder down in Dallas. 8 o'clock start time so it's little later than usual. However, the reason for this blog is to bring your attention to another hockey event that is currently going on up in Canada. The World Juniors tournament which brings together the top amateur hockey prospects from around the world is underway. Most of these teams from Canada, USA, Czech, Russia etc. are comprised of players who are already properties of NHL teams.

I have already made it clear how happy I am with our current Bruins team as well as how the Bruins management has put them in great position for the future. The B's who won the CUP last year and are currently 1st in the Eastern Conference again this year have a roster full of youth. 18 of their 24 players are under the age of 30 and 12 of those 24 are 26 years old or younger. So exactly half, yes half, are 26 years old or younger, mmmm that tastes gooood..

BUT, get a load of this!! As I mentioned, the World Junior Tournament is underway up in Canada and so far the two top teams are Canada and Russia, both are undefeated with 3 wins. So here is a little desert for you Bruins fans, helping to lead those teams are Bruins 1st round draft pick last year (9th overall, THANK YOU KESSEL), Dougie Hamilton, who has 1 goal and 1 assist and is a +4, not to bad for the young DEFENSEMAN (second youngest player on the team). I cannot wait to have him playing next to big Z. Helping to lead Russia to their 3-0 start is Alexander Khokhlachev otherwise known as "KoKo". KoKo has 3 goals in 3 games, oh and he is 3 months younger than Dougie!! Koko, was the Bruins 2nd rd pick (40th overall) but more on this part later.

Oh and that isn't it, the Bruins also had Jared Knight and Ryan Spooner invited to the Canadian tryout (Spooner probably would have made it but is sick with Mono) and Brian Ferlin is on the USA team but has not had much playing time. So what does all this mean?

The Bruins aren't going anywhere! Dougie Hamilton is the prize of the bunch, THANK YOU KESSEL, he recently signed his entry level contract with the Bruins which means we can probably expect to see him in Boston to start next season, he will have just turned 19 so obviously things arent set in stone but it's fair to say Dougie has done nothing but improve after last years draft. KoKo, well he may take a few more years to make it to Boston, he is a small guy 5'10'' at best but don't tell him that. He does a great job of blending his Russian puck handling skills with the physicality of the North American game. A lot of times NHL teams shy away from Russian prospects because they often decide to stay in Russia longer than prospects from other countries, however KoKo has already left Russia and currently plays in the OHL which is the top Junior League in Canada. Regardless, teams decided it was risk and KoKo slipped to the Bruins all the way into the 2nd round, according to scouts if it wasn't for the fact that he was a Russian player he should have been a top 15 pick! MMMM that tastes gooood..

So hold on Bruins fans, and for those of you haven't already it might be time to secure your seat on the bandwagon before they are all gone. Whether it is this year, next year or 5 years down the road the Bruins are going to give you something to cheer about.

P.S. The reason for my "Thank You Kessel Chant", the Bruins acquired the pick that allowed them to draft Tyler Seguin in the Phil Kessel trade but in addition to that they also received the pick that we used to draft Dougie Hamilton as well as Jared Knight. So again, THANK YOU KESSEL!!

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The Truth Helps

Just like this blog, The Truth always helps.  Paul Pierce is back!  Pierce led the Celtics to a 96-85 victory last night against the winless Pistons.  Celtics fans, we can all take a step back from the ledge.  We don’t have to tank for the lottery anymore.  We are now 1-3 (yes I can and will always say we).  It truly is amazing what happens when your best player comes back from an injury.  Pierce had 12 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.  They don’t seem like great numbers, but numbers don’t always tell the whole story.  The team was energized, confident, and this all comes back to the captain.

Suddenly Jermaine didn’t look like his career was over; he had 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and was a plus 25 (yeah like the hockey stat).  The starters plus Brandon Bass combined for 82 points on 31-51 shooting (61%).  This was because there was someone else besides Rondo on the floor who could create his own shot.  Suddenly guys like Ray, KG, JO, and Bass were wide open due to penetrating ability of both Rondo and Paul.

The defense was also much improved.  Tayshawn Prince (Paul’s cover) had 10 points and was a minus 17.  Rotations were quicker and help was needed less because instead of Sasha and his matador defense we had a physical Pierce out there.  The Celtics held the Pistons to 43% from the field and a measly 18% from deep.  If only we had this against the Knicks and Heat.  Here’s to hoping the Celtics can make one more run and have a healthy 2012.  This Celtics fan is taking a step back from the ledge.

Happy New Years.  All about Number 18 in 2012.

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Pats vs Bills Preview...Won't Even Be Close

This game/season series with the Bills reminds me of the 2003 season. You know, when the Pats cut the best saftey in Patriots history and Lawyer went to sign with the Buffalo? The Pats opened that year up in Buffalo and played like poop. Got smoked 31-0. Last game of the season comes around, I don't quite remember if any home field was on the line that but the Pats reversed that score and sent Buffalo home to their 3000 foot high snow banks with a 31-0 loss. Exactly the same thing this season. Week 3 this season, Pats get out to an early 21-0 lead and then they completely fall apart, losing 34-31.

A lot of people might think since Brady hurt his shoulder last week he wont play much tomorrow. Guess what? If you think that, you're an idiot. You think Brady is going to sit out with the #1 seed on the line and a passing record in his reach? Nope. He wouldn't sit out if this was a meaningless game. Brady will start and play well into the 4th quarter. He hurt his none throwing shoulder people, and he is a football player. This guy isn't going to sit anything out.

Call me crazy, but I think the defense shows us something this game. Have you seen the way Fitzpatrick has been playing recently? I mean, this guy has to have one of the best jobs in the world right? He plays great for 5 games this season. Gets a 50 million dollar contract. Then he falls apart. This guy sucks, absolutely sucks. I'd love to suck at what I do and still get 50 mill. I think you will once again see the opposition try to pick on McCourty. And why wouldnt you? Speaking of players who suck, my god. What happened to him? If he gives up 15 yards this game, he becomes the first DB in NFL history to give up 1000 yards receiving. Yikes. And that is why he is my player to watch on D. After that ugly performance last week (yes he had an INT but did you see the pass? Stevie Wonder could have caught that with one hand.) Dev is going to show us something this week and go into the playoffs on a positive note.

On offense, you'll see the usual. Welker. Gronk. Hernandez. Ocho (yep, not a typo). But keep your eyes on #22, Stevan Ridley. Kid is gonna break out this week. I don't know why it has taken them so long to use him but he played great toward the end of the game last week and Bill O'Brien had some nice things to say about Lane's boy after the game. I think he gets the bulk of the carries. He should be right around 100 yards with at least one TD.

This game won't be close. Pats win 41-10.

Happy New Year, everyone. Stay safe. Don't do anything Lane, Dan, or I wouldn't do....

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Iona drops to 10-3

So this wasnt the blog I want planning on doing to make my second comeback. Im like Jordan when it comes to bloging...multiple comebacks. Unlike the Iona Gaels, who couldnt rebound from a 43-28 halftime deficit. We lost 83-75

Clearly the Gaels got off to a sluggish start against the Hofstra Pride, at least I think they are the Pride. I know the used to be the Flying Dutchmen, maybe, I think. They remind me of Auburn. Just pick a freakin nickname. Anyways...Hofstra is now 6-7, meaning they were 5-7 coming into this game tonight. Ew. Ewwww. I guess Id rather lose to a crappy team now and smoke a great team in the tourney, but this lost hurts. Clearly, we see that Iona plays up to its competition and down to its competition. Very upsetting for a team with this much talent.

Not much to add on here. Optimus chipped in with 20 points and 13 bounds. Great effort out of Glover tonight, but not enought. Machado did have 10 assists but only had 5 points. Yes, 5 points! Interesting how once Doug Gotelib (or however you spell his name) come out with his top pro prospect this week with Machado ranked #12, he puts up a stinker like he did tonight. Awful performance. I expect better. Momo continued to impress by adding 20 points, 6 assists, and 6 bounds. Other than that, they only other Gael with double figues was Kyle Smyth. He dropped a whopping 12 points this evening.

I was hoping this team could build on their huge, dominating perfermance against a respectable program in William and Mary. But losing to Hofstra? Come on now.

Didnt their coach have to resign like 3 hours after accepting the job because of some sort of violation or rumor that came out about him? Im disgusted. Goodnight

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Is it Time to Jump?

Yeah I wrote a post yesterday about how I thought the Celtics would be alright this year especially when they got Paul Pierce back.  I really was hoping I would never have to write this post.  But I expected them to win last night, especially after I found out the news that Eric Gordon (my pick to finish 2^nd in the league in scoring behind Durant) wasn’t playing.  I thought this will be great; Celtics can get out to a nice lead early in the game, then rest the vets and have the young guys bring us home a victory.

Instead, what I got was a nightmare.  We looked old, sluggish, and just plain awful.  Right now we are 0-3.  Hopefully we will at least win the next few with Detroit coming to town, a home and home with Washington, and then New Jersey.  Starting with the positives - Ray Allen is still Ray Allen, Brandon Bass has been great, and Rondo (well you already know how I feel on him).  And we still have yet to play with Paul Pierce.

The negatives, oh where do I start?  How about the fact that this team prides itself on its defensive intensity and has given up 106, 115, and 97 points in 3 games?  In the first half of those games, they have given up 62, 69, and 48 points.  Wow, this coming from a team that was giving up about 45 points a half and 91 points a game over the last few years.

What has happened?  Well one, Jermaine in a corpse, his career was over 3 years ago.  Two, Garnett has been absolutely terrible on helps and staying in front of his guy.  Finally, our guards (mainly Rondo) are taught to gamble and try and get steals.  This means sometimes letting guys drive by them and try to pick-pocket them after they are by.  In the past, there was always a shot blocker (Kevin Garnett with younger legs or Kendrick Perkins) or a guy who would take a charge (Glen Davis).  Where is that coming from right now?  Bass doesn’t have the same defensive instincts as Baby did so he doesn’t take the charges and he’s not big enough to block shots.  When was the last time you saw KG take a charge?  Has that ever happened?  And Jermaine, well like I said, they should just draw his chalk lines out on the court for him.

My one gripe with Doc is that he always seems to be afraid to play his young guys.  This year, more than ever he needs those guys.  They play 66 games in 120 days, there is no way KG, Jermaine, Pierce, Ray and Rondo can play 30 minutes a night back to back days.  Who knows, maybe E’Twaun Moore would be a Norris Cole type for you.  The only young guys Doc has played are Rondo and Big Baby when he was here.  Rondo was drafted 21^st overall and Baby in the 2^nd round.  The only reason they played were because the team wasn’t very good and Doc’s hand was forced.  Maybe the rookies out of Purdue can be similar to those two.  You won’t know if you don’t play them and let them learn in game experience.  You need guys like Norris Cole of the Heat to give you sparks when you need it and I would love to see the young guys get a shot like him.  If we continue to ride out these old guys every single game 30 minutes or more a night, we will see more nights like last night and it just may be time to jump.

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My Early Early Take on the Celtics

The Celts haven’t been off to ideal start so far at 0-2.  But it’s not time to jump off the Tobin Bridge just yet and prepare for the Lottery.  They have played two of the better teams in the NBA in those two games and both will be fighting for a spot in the Eastern Conference Championship this year.  Both teams have had something major to prove.  The Heat have lost 8 of the last 9 regular season games to the Celtics and just got embarrassed in the NBA Finals, while the Knicks got swept out of the playoffs last year by these Celtics.  Oh, and both games for the Celtics have been on the road.

One of the biggest reasons the Celtics have lost these two games is because no one out there right now can create their own shot other than Rajon Rondo.  Paul Pierce is banged up, but when healthy the Celtics will be just fine.  Pierce is still a dynamic scorer who can create for others and has a deadly midrange game as well as a recently added 3 point game (see Rondo detractors, it’s never too late to develop a 3 point shot).  He may not be as fast as he used to but he is still physical enough to guard some of the best swingmen in the game.

They may not have the size that they have had in the past, but do the Heat, Knicks, and Bulls have that size?  Absolutely not more than the Celtics.  The Celtics upgraded their bench to try and improve on their quickness and offense.  Keyon Dooling had 18 points last night, Brandon Bass has had double figures in both nights, and Marquis Daniels looks healthier than ever.  Avery Bradley and Chris Wilcox add to what the Celtics pride themselves on, their defense.  I haven’t even mentioned the three point threat of Mickael Pietrus yet.  With this cramped schedule, look for rookies JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to contribute as well.

Let’s talk about Rajon Rondo real quick.  He has certainly come out with a major chip on his shoulder and is averaging 26.5 points, 12.5 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.  He is even shooting 70 percent from the charity stripe and is getting there at a frequent rate due to his reckless abandon on taking the ball to the cup.  Yes, I know it is only two games, but if he kept that up, he not only would be by far the best point guard, he would be the MVP.  He seemed to have silenced the critics (some even on this blog) so far.

We are two games in to the year so far and the Celtics have lost two games they should have lost without their best offensive player in Pierce, no need to worry.  However, if the bandwagon fans are already jumping off, please don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

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LeBrick James

I know, I know, I know.  I have been slacking.  The holiday weekend was busy and didn't have time to post.  I will get you up to date with a new blog tomorrow about the Celtics-Heat game or the state of the Celtics.  Game 2 of the regular season tips off at 8 tonight.  To put you in the mood, here are a few videos that should make you smile.

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Bruins and TUUKKA still rolling..

I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday season.. I also hope everyone has been keeping up on their sports most notably our Boston Bruins, Celtics and New England Patriots. The Patriots had to fight for their win on Sunday but none the less a win. The Celtics, well they did not win but it was still a good opener considering they didn't have Pierce and yes I will say Mr. Rondo looked pretty damn good, I still trade him for CP3 all day though. Most importantly, I would like to bring your attention to our Boston Bruins. In case you haven't been paying attention let me go over a few things with you..

Since November 1st the Bruins are 20-2-1, they have gone from last place in the Eastern Conference to 1st place in the Eastern Conference as of last night. They also only trail the Chicago Blackhawks by 3 points for 1st in the entire NHL and the Blackhawks have played 3 more games than the Bruins.

The Bruins players continue to lead the league in key stat categories..

Tyler Seguin (+26) and Brad Marchand (+25) are 1st and 2nd respectively in the Plus/Minus category. (For anyone who doesn't know what that stat is, it means the goal differential of when each player is on the ice, so the Bruins have scored 26 more goals than they have allowed while Seguin was on the ice)

Tuukka Rask (.944%) and Tim Thomas (.943%) are 1st and 2nd for goalies in the save% category. Tuukka (1.66) and Thomas (1.84) are also ranked 2nd and 4th in Goals Against Average. Timmayyyy is 2nd in the league with 4 shutouts and Tuukka is 8th with 2 after he recorded 2 in a row last week. **Tuukka is now on a 140 minute shutout streak. 2 U's 2 K's TUUKKA TUUKKA

As a team you ask?..

The Bruins continue to put up outstanding numbers in key categories

They score 3.52 goals a Game (1st)
They allow 1.88 Goals a Game (1st)
Plus Minus +44 (1st)
They kill penalties with 88.9 efficiency (2nd)
They score on the power play 19.4 percent of the time (10th)

With all of that said and all of the numbers laid out in front of you, my favorite thing about this team continues to be their chemistry and "pack" mentality. Everyone single one of those players has each others backs and they play as a whole unit not just individual players. Cam Neely and Peter Chiarelli have this team pointed in the right direction and I could not be happier. Go get another one fellas..

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Merry Celtic Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Tip off at Noon.  I don't need to say more, all about 18.

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Iona is a WAGON

Ho hum. Just another dominant performance out of the Iona Gaels tonight. Blowing out William and Mary 83-65. Making respectable programs look like they are rec league teams night in and night out. Is it March yet?

Leading the way for the Gaels was none other than Scott Machado. Kid is a stud. STUD. No big deal, had a double double tonight. Get this, 10 bounds and 10 assists. That was his double-double. He is a PG people! He added 6 points to those 10 rips and 10 dimes. 4 points away from a triple-double, my god. Game over.

Optimus Prime had a solid game. By no means was it a typical glover night but still had a double double of his own. 12 points 10 boards. Not a bad night out of those two players. Sean Armond and Momo Jones each had 20 points. Momo added 8 assists. Taaj Ridley added 10 points to the mix.

4 out of the 5 starters had double digit points (Machado being the only one with single digits), two players with 8 or more assists, two players with 10 rebounds a piece, and two studs with double doubles.

This team is on a roll right now. Unstoppable. Sent the Tribe back to their wigwams and tepees with a couple black eyes.

Next game is Thursday December 29 @ Hofstra. Wagon I tell you. Lets goooooooooo

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I'M BAAAAAACK

I know you all have missed me dearly. I understand. The world can be normal once again.

After a nice long weekend down in NC, a miserable 16 hour drive up fro NC while driving a freakin uhaul truck, a full day of moving into the new apartment and two long days of work, I am finally making some posts again.

Shout out to Dan, Matt, and my two brothers Steve and Mike for helping out with the move (esp Steve for riding shotgun in the uhaul for 16 hours). Appreciate all of it. Gotta give a special thanks to the boss as well for setting up the wireless so our blog can get back to where it needs to be.

Everyone can carry on with their lives starting now...

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Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Let’s get this out in the open right away.  I hate Kentucky and I have little respect for the way John Calipari runs his program.  But I will throw out my biased opinion and tell you about my favorite player in college basketball not named Thomas Robinson.  He is a 6’7 freshman who plays with a reckless abandon that you rarely see out of a top recruit.  He also has possibly one of the coolest names in America too, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Kidd-Gilchrist has everything you want out of a wing player.  He has the size, name me one player in college basketball or the NBA that will be able to push him around, no not even you LeBron.  He has the shot; he is shooting close to 40% from 3 this year.  He can drive to the hoop better than almost everyone in college basketball.  He rebounds like a power forward and yet he is only a small forward.  He is shooting well over 50% from the field and is the second leading scorer on a loaded Kentucky team.  And we haven’t even talked about potentially his strongest skill set, his defense.  He is an elite athlete who has the strength and quickness to defend anyone in the NBA.  But he also has the desire to defend and you don’t get that from everyone, let alone an 18 year old freshman. 

Check out this description from Chad Ford of ESPN.com:  “No one did more to help their draft stock in the UNC game than Kidd-Gilchrist. His superb, physical, harassing defense on Harrison Barnes turned Barnes into a jump-shooter. Seeing Kidd-Gilchrist get into Barnes' grill won't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed his career in high school or as a freshman at Kentucky. He's long, athletic and absolutely fearless.”

He may not be the top prospect, but he will probably be a top 15 pick in this spring’s NBA Draft.  He isn’t like his teammate Anthony Davis or Harrison Barnes or the like who has unlimited potential but may or may not get there.  We know what Kidd-Gilchrist is, a high energy, strong, small forward who will give you max effort every single game.  My best comparison for him is a veteran Paul Pierce without the midrange game (yet).  Pierce ended up slipping to the 10^th pick in the 1998 Draft and ended up being the 2^nd best player from that draft besides Dirk.  Will the same happen for Kidd-Gilchrist?  I like my chances and cannot wait to follow his career.

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My Red Sox Rant....

I need to get something off my chest here.. And I know The Boss already had his rant on the Sox but I need mine too. Our Boston Red Sox are in the midst of their off-season, so far we have seen Nick Punto and Mark Melancon join the Sox. Before I go on my rant here real quick, I kind of like the trade for Melancon, in my eyes we gave up next nothing for a guy who seems to have above average stuff and a set between his legs which is required to pitch in late innings for the Boston Red Sox. Now off I go..

As Red Sox fans, Pink Hats or non-Pink Hats, we just witnessed the worst, end of the season playoff push collapse of any team in ANY sport. So far, we have signed a mediocre util guy in Nick Punto and a "let's wait and see what we have" bullpen guy in Melancon. Oh and we have replaced Terry Franconca with the most interesting man on earth in Bobby Valentine. AWESOME!! That should do it Larry, Mo (Tom Warner) and Curly (John Henry), you have fixed our issues now. I am so glad you marched into Felger and Mazz's afternoon talk show on 98.5 the Sports Hub to show us how much you care, John Henry. It's funny though, we haven't seen you or heard from you since, unless you want to include that horrific dog and pony show of a press conference to announce Bobby V as new manager. To me, all I see is a group of guys looking to turn the most profit they can without causing a complete boycott by Red Sox fans. The other thing, is why are we tap dancing around this luxury tax limit all of a sudden if, its never been a real issue before but now all of sudden we cant go over it? We can sign John Lackey for 5 years at 80 million or JD Drew to a similar deal but we have no interest in CJ Wilson at 5 years for 77 Million? If you ask me I wouldn't mind slotting CJ WIlson into our 4 spot for the next 5 years. He may not have a great track record in the playoffs but he is dynamite in the regular season and in an ideal world he wont be pitching much in the playoffs anyways with Fried Chicken, Jon Lester and Clay in front of him. Let me stop myself there though, I don't want to turn this into a "We are the Boston Red Sox, we can out spend everyone and build an All-Star team" rant. That's not my style and I don't like that strategy. All I want is change..

I want a team that is going to go out there and grind it out every night, I want 3 Kevin Youkilis's, 3 Dustin Pedrioas and 3 Trot Nixons in my lineup and I want 5 Curt Schllings in my rotation and 7 Alfredo Aceves in my bullpen. I know that those guys will give me all they have every night, they wont sit cause they rolled out of bed and their hammy felt the slightest bit tight or because they have a blister on their finger or their favorite catcher isn't behind the plate. They will strap on their jock's, lace up the spikes, rub a little dirt on themselves and play ball. Obviously what you just read the last couple seconds was a pipe dream but you get my point now. But why can't we at least try? Why can't we send Beckett packing for a younger less proven pitcher who may not have the same stats or identical stuff to Beckett but at least someone who has the potential and the determination to become the best? Let's be honest would it really be hard to find someone to replace Becketts production from last year? So what, maybe we need to eat a little money or include a prospect or two to get someone worth while back but at least it's change, at least it will help to wash ourselves of the mediocrity our Boston Red Sox have become. See ya Timmy Crazyballs, its been fun watching your knuckleball flutter but it's time to step aside, see ya Tek love ya but it's time to spend more time with your new wife. We need to wash ourselves of the old and wash ourselves of the feeling of contentment, that we are the Boston we can just show up fat and slow and still win championships.

If you are serious about caring what the team looks like on the field John Henry then why aren't we doing anything? I am not asking to spend more money or field a full roster of All-Stars I am asking for change and not just the manager, I want new faces, I want a whole team of guys who care, guys with something to prove. Not fat pitchers who have already earned their millions and I use the term earned lightly, John Lackey, but players who are just content showing up doing their thing and being overpaid. The biggest shake up we have had is letting Papelbon walk, financial reason's or not he was not the change we need. I was just as sick of his attitude as the next guy but at least he put his attitude toward his performance, at least he took accountability when he sucked and at least he wanted the ball in his hand when it mattered. The way I look at it, we now have a team with less talent more holes and the same damn fat cat personality.

Thank you John Henry I am really glad you are showing us how much you care. Is Liverpool on tonight?

-The Truth

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Rebuilding in Lawrence

Well, this is something new for my Jayhawks. It’s this thing called rebuilding. Yeah the Kansas got a little unlucky by having their two top recruits ruled ineligible for the season, but even then this is a down year for Kansas basketball. If there is one positive you can take out of this season so far, it has been the emergence of Thomas Robinson as a National Player of the Year candidate. He has been an absolute beast, including last night putting together what is becoming a very typical stat line for him, 21 points and 18 rebounds. On the season T-Rob is averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds a game, as well as a steal, block and assist a game. He has an NBA ready body now and will be a sure-fire lottery pick.

If you are looking at one player to describe how Kansas’ season is going thus far, look at Tyshawn Taylor. The immensely talented point guard is one of the most inconsistent players in college basketball. Already this year, he has a 13 assist game and an 11 turnover game. Talk about frustrating.

Really the one key piece Kansas is missing is a legit outside threat. Going back to their dominant days with Pierce to Brandon Rush to Sherron Collins to Brady Morningstar to Xavier Henry to Tyrell Reed to whomever, they have always had a consistent outside threat. Right now, they are trying to get that out of Elijah Johnson, former walk-on Connor Teahan and Travis Relaford and that’s just not happening. To Taylor’s credit right now he is hitting about 50 percent of his shots from 3, but just doesn’t take many shots from there. This is where Ben McLemore (the Jayhawks prized recruit), would have improved them tremendously. McLemore is a long wing player than would immediately start or could be a spark of the bench and could knock down long range shots. Defenses are currently collapsing down on Robinson and Jeff Withey, making it a very predictable offense.

All of this is shown in last night’s loss to Davidson. Kansas didn’t hit a 3 in the second half until about 3 minutes left in the game. Kansas shot 26 percent from 3 for the game and only 58 percent from the free throw line. Those are things you need to have, as well as consistent point guard play to be successful.

The Jayhawks go on the road Thursday night at USC then have 2 more games until Big 12 play. Consistency is going to be key going forward. On the plus side, I would rather no one but Coach Bill Self to lead my squad. You know the defense is going to be there and you will get 100% effort from Robinson. Rock Chalk Jayhawk into Los Angeles.

-The Boss

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The Debate for Rajon Rondo

(Note: There has been a lot of digs at Rondo on this site and elsewhere.  Here is The Boss' take on Rondo and the arguments for his sake.)

Is the grass always greener on the other side?  I say no.  Celtics fans, appreciate what you have with Rajon Rondo.  In case you were living under a rock this past month or so, Rondo has been involved in countless trade rumors.  The trade that had the most momentum was a possible Rondo for Chris Paul switch.  Most everyone I talked to (read: argued with) said that trading Rondo for Paul would be the right choice moving forward.  I’m here to debate that point and to show you why you should appreciate a top 3 point guard when you have one.

Right now, I don’t think there is a debate; Derrick Rose is the best PG in the NBA.  One would argue that Paul was that, even I would say he was before he had a major knee surgery.  Probably one of the most important things a basketball player can have is healthy knees, especially when you are a point guard.  Big guys can get away with this because even after the knee problems, they are still big, a point guard loses all explosiveness and develops a more average game.  So because of that we see a dip in Chris Paul’s numbers.

Let’s get into some numbers.  First, Rondo has improved in literally every year since he has been in the League.  Assists, steals, field goal percentage, points, have drastically improved since his first year and in almost all cases increase each year.  His point total was down last season, but his assist total went up and his total shots went down.  On the other hand, Chris Paul already seems to be on the decline.  He peaked in 2008 and 2009.  His point totals, field goal percentage, and assists have gone down in the past two years.  He went from 22.8 points per game in 2009 to just over 15 points a game last year.  His assist total went down over 1 assist per game.  Is this due to the injury?  Could be, but who is to say he is ever going to get what he had back?

What is the most important thing that you want your point guard to do?  To me, it’s to make everyone else on the court better.  The easiest way to do that is to penetrate and score, penetrate and dish to a cutting big guy or penetrate and kick the ball out to an open shooter.  There is no one better in the game at this than Rondo.  Last year alone, Rondo averaged 4.6 assists a game that led to a dunk or layup.  That is much better than Paul’s 3.1.  That shows his ability to penetrate and dish to a big guy.  Rondo also leads Paul in assists to an open outside shooter, 3.3 to 3.  Paul is known for running a pick and roll/pick and pop offense, so you would think he would have more assists in either of these categories, but he doesn’t.  Rondo also scores more often and more efficiently than Paul at the rim as well.  Rondo scores twice as many points than Paul at the rim while shooting 63% to Paul’s 61%.

Detractors of Rondo will often knock his outside jumper.  While Paul does have a better outside shot than Rondo, 45% to 41% (16-23 feet), Rondo’s shot is far from below average.  People consider Derrick Rose an excellent scorer, even from deep.  However, Rose is only shooting 38% from that same distance.  Paul and Rose also take that shot more often than Rondo because they need to, while Rondo does not.  If Rondo played with the caliber players that Paul played with he would be forced to shoot as much as Paul does, and could put up very similar numbers.  One thing I can’t argue is Rondo’s free throw shooting, which is mediocre.  My one defense would be, Shaq and Dwight Howard both have worse percentages, and however people don’t think any less of them.

I will argue that there are a lot of similarities between the two point guards, starting with their defense.  Both guys have made 3 All-Defensive Teams, however Rondo has been First Team twice and Paul only has been First team once.  Both guys are stubborn and super competitive.  Things have come out about Rondo’s stubbornness; I will argue that is just his competitiveness showing and his passion.  These trade rumors are going to already fuel the huge chip on the shoulder that Rondo has against every elite point guard.  Give me a guy who goes 110% and has extreme passion all the time rather than a guy that coasts of natural ability any day.

My final argument for Rondo would be the success in the playoffs for each.  One stat that speaks for itself is Rondo’s triple doubles, he has 6 career playoff triple doubles.  For a point guard to have 6 is absurd, let alone in the most competitive games of the year.  Rondo has an NBA Championship; Paul has got out of the first round once.  Note that Chris Paul’s Hornets were a 2-seed and lost in the second round.  As a favorite, Rondo has never lost a playoff series, let alone in the second round.  Rondo has been to 2 NBA finals and has led the Celtics to countless playoff wins.  Yes, both players are great but I will take a guy that has a reckless abandon for the game who has improved every year and makes every teammate better over someone with a balky knee and has already reached the peak of his career.  The grass isn’t always greener elsewhere, in fact it’s pretty green in Boston with Rajon Rondo.

-The Boss

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Get Well Jeff Green

As the title says, get better Jeff.  We will miss your athleticism this year, but your life and well being is more important...



-The Boss

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A Red Sox Offseason to be Forgotten

Coming off one of the worst, if not the worst collapses in all of sports, the Red Sox should be thinking about improving their team in a significant way.  There has been major turnover in the management of the team.  Theo left, Terry left and we can all wish that Larry joined them.   Theo Epstein Ben Cherington took over as general manager.  Could he sound any more like Theo, it’s literally humorous how similar they are.  Cherington, without a manager, decided that Bobby Valentine would be a good hire.  Does anyone really believe this was Cherington’s pick?  What a farce, this has Larry written all over it.

Let’s get into the Valentine signing a little bit.  Did you know he invented the wrap sandwich, got his clothes dry-cleaned at age 16, won a science fair in high school, re-invented baseball in Japan, was going to be the heir to OJ Simpson at USC, and is a great ball room dancer.  Does anyone care?  This just shows how much of an egomaniac he is that he needs to brag about all these things.  Why would one of the biggest markets hire this guy to be their managerial position?  If he was that great of a manager, someone would have hired him since 2002.  Yeah, he hasn’t managed in America in a decade.  But boy was he great on Baseball Tonight.

Enough on the manager, in major league baseball, I am a firm believer that you can’t win if you don’t have the players.  Unlike any of the other team sports, baseball can’t win on well-designed plays; you win based on individual performances.  So, you need players.  Let’s recap what has gone on so far this offseason.  Jonathon Papelbon walks, JD Drew, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield look to be done as well (Thank God).  Paps will be tough to replace, but you can find closers anywhere, you don’t need to overpay there. 

How come there hasn’t been any improvement to the starting pitching staff yet?  As much as people want to blame the beer and chicken, it was the pitching that let them down.  I mean maybe the Red Sox are figuring it will be addition by subtraction by not having Lackey and Dice-K this year.  One idea is to move Daniel Bard to the rotation.  Do we really expect Bard to be a good starting pitcher for us?  Jumping from 70-80 innings a year to 180-200 innings will not be easy.  He can’t crank it up to 98 all game long and he can’t just get away with 2 pitches.  The one time Bard in the minors he had an ERA over 7 and walked more guys than innings pitched.  Usually guys are in the bullpen because they couldn’t crack it as a starting pitcher.  But realistically who is going to pitch after Lester, Beckett, and Buchholz?  Are the real possibilities Andrew Miller, Joe Saunders, Felix Doubrant, or Bard/Aceves.  Is that really the best a team with a $175 million payroll can do? 

Moving on to the other moves this offseason (or lack thereof).  Sox brought in Mark Melancon from the Astros for injury plagued Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland.  Let’s just say that’s the only move I like this offseason.  They brought back David Ortiz for another year, when is this guy gonna get the boot like the others?  There is no one I’d rather on my team than someone who interrupts a press conference to flip out about 1 RBI being taken away (I wish he ended up with 99 RBIs on the season).  Let’s not forget Nick Punto, a guy with a .249 batting average and 14 home runs in his career.  Another stellar move was bringing back former Red Sox great Kelly Shoppach who hit a robust .176 last year.

On the bright side the Yankees pitching staff isn’t much better and ticket prices in 2012 are staying at 2011 prices.  Ohh and don’t forget it’s the 100 year anniversary for Fenway Park, remember to buy a brick before they are all sold out. 

- The Boss

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Pats vs Broncos Prediction

Enough of this NBA and NHL garbage. Time to talk some Patriots.

First, I want to apologize for my lack of effort yesterday. Had to get up early to travel down to NC. Didn't get back until late and I just didn't feel like blogging. Sorry. You guys deserve better than that. Second, I want to give a shout out to the high school principal who suspended those four clowns for "Tebowing" in the hallway of the school. Those four deserve it. You want to make your school look bad and look like selfish idiots, you should be suspended. And enough of this "Tebowing" crap, I'm sick of it. Its bad enough that this guy is getting the press that he is. Lets stop this before it becomes a problem...oh wait, it already is.

On to the game. I really do think that this sets up to be a good game for the Pats. Yes their defense is not that great, but they win when they need to. If they do have a "strength," it is stopping the run. You take the read option and run game away from Tebow. Keep him inside the pocket, and make him beat you by throwing the ball. Yes, I know he has won games on TD passes, but at least one play on those final drives, Tebow has done something ridiculous to drive them down the field.

Two key defensive players you need to keep your eye on during the game. 1: Brandon Spikes. Tebow's buddy in college. The defense will get a huge boost if Spikes plays on Sunday. I saw that he practiced with the team on Wednesday (haven't check to see what his participation was yesterday and today) (The Boss update: Brandon Spikes has participated all week in a limited capacity) but it has to be a good sign that he is back out on the practice field. Stopping the run is the best part of his game. Get him back in the middle with Mayo and running the ball up the middle should be difficult for the Broncos. 2: Andre Carter and Mark Anderson/whoever is playing the other DE spot. You have to get pressure on Tebow and keep him contained in the pocket. If these guys can do that, then that leaves plenty of time for Big Vince, Love, and/or any blitzing LB to get to Tebow.

On offense, look for the same players to chip in. Brady will be Brady. Welker will be Welker. Gronk will be Gronk. If there is an x-factor to look for on the offensive side of the ball, its Aaron Hernandez. The Broncos will try to take away Gronk and Welker. How successful they are at this remains to be seen. I see the Pats running a lot of 2 TE sets like they have been doing all season, and the defense losing sight of Hernandez. I'm thinking around 5-7 catches, 80ish yards and a TD. It will also be interesting to see how much Branch plays after leaving last weeks game with an ankle injury. If he is limited, look for the Ocho/Underwood combo to have a couple catches in this game. Maybe even one or two for a huge first down.

There is no doubt in my mind that the pats will win this game. The question is how much? If the Pats score 24 points, they will easily win this game. I see the Broncos trying to run the ball a lot and keep Brady off the field. Thus, keeping the score as low as possible. The more points that are scored, the more this game favors the Pats.

Pats win 34-17.

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Top of the Morning to Ya....

And now a message for Doc Rivers on how to handle Rajon Rondo this season....



That's enough Rajon please don't embarrass me in front of my friends....



-The Truth

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Return to Dominance? The Greyhound Story

Yeah I'm gonna talk about my school and yes, I am one of the few alumni (with Scaf) from my class that still goes to the games.  I have even traveled to Bentley, Umass Lowell, St A’s, Holy Cross, and Providence to see them play.  Some say I am crazy for doing that, but you know I didn’t go to a big school and love the basketball, so why not I say?  Is it over the top that Scaf and I have tried to find commits through various websites?  Maybe it is, but I call it passionate.  Do you know how pumped we were when we found a recruit on ESPN's top prospects from Massachusetts (the only one there that didn't go to a Division 1 school)?  Yeah that’s you Jimmy Zenevitch.  Students go crazy for the Jimmy Zenevitch era; it’s gonna be a fun 4 years.

It's impossible not to be excited for the Coach Matt Mahar era to really get started, when he gets his guys in here.  That’s no knock on the current players, but has recruiting ties nationally.  He came from Charminade University (yes that is the school that hosts the Maui Invitational.)  On his resume includes wins against Villanova, Oklahoma, and Princeton.  Let’s go over that again, Charminade, a small division 2 school in Hawaii, beat a Big East, Big 12, and Ivy League school.  Can you imagine the hope that gives us in Worcester?

Yeah I remember the great battles with national power Bentley in both the NE-10 and NCAA tourneys.  The Hounds put up a good fight, but the one thing that was missing was a really good defensive effort.  Guess what has changed under Mahar?  Yeah you guessed it, that defense.  The help defense, the switches, and communication have improved dramatically.  What better way to win, and win a lot, than playing good defense and scoring at an efficient rate.  What's easier than scoring than feeding the ball to the block with our two monsters in Tim Beinart (6'6) and Jimmy Zenevitch (6'8) and then on top of that Ronson Quick coming off the bench, it is a loaded front court and all will be back next year.

Every home game I attend I look up at the banners and I see the dominance of the teams from the 70s.  I am confident the Mahar era will at least get us back to the NCAA tourney every year and hopefully more can give me a glimmer of the old time promise.  

Ohhh and I didn’t even mention the girls team.  With the senior leadership of Kelly Meradith and the dominant sophomore and junior classes, this team should be loaded for years to come.  Did I mention they are undefeated and ranked number 14 in the nation?  Is this the start of the return to dominance for the Hounds?  I sure hope so, at the very least it will be an enjoyable ride.


-The Boss

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