Anyone here read Peter King of Sports Illustrated? I'm assuming most of you have. He writes a weekly column called Monday Morning Quarterback -- a must read if you follow football at all. My main reason for mentioning him is that within his MMQB column, he has a section called "Ten Things I Think I Think." Given my lack of contribution to Big Papelbon (other than in the comments section), I felt like I needed a more substantive post with some current thoughts on the Boston sports scene. Here goes:
- Missed the Celtics season opener the other night. Saw the highlights on ESPN though and I'll tell you what... the 2009 Celts are going to be a tough team this season provided they stay healthy. What a great combo of veterans (Pierce, Garnett, Allen, 'Sheed, House and Daniels) and youth (Davis, Perkins, Allen and Williams).
- Following up on point number one, LeBron IS a human highlight film. However, I'm going to reiterate that if he doesn't learn to be more reliant on his teammates (Shaq might help that), championships are going to continue to be elusive.
- Cliff Lee. Game 1 of the World Series. WOW. Enough said.
- Sounds like the Red Sox might make a run at Ben Sheets. Yeah, I know that the last few science experiments with Mssrs. Penny and Smoltz didn't work out so well. But this one's got nothing but upside considering the fact that they've already got three legit studs in Beckett, Lester and DiceK and a stud in the making with Clay Buchholz. Sounds like the Sox interest in Adrian Gonzalez is also heating back up. The idea is that Gonzalez (40 HRs in 2009) would play first and Youk would bounce back to third.
- What about them Patriots? True, they last two teams they've played are a combined 0-12 but good teams beat bad teams soundly. And the Pats have done just that winning 59-0 and 35-7 respectively -- both times in bad weather. Looks like Brady's fate will rise and fall based on the presence of his security blanket, Wes Welker. Nice to see them at 5-2 going into the break. I pity the next nine teams that have to play them.
- University of Texas has two teams ranked number three in the country right now. Everyone in Austin knows that the men's football team is one of them. How many Longhorn fans/Austinites know that the men's basketball team (preseason coaches' poll) is the other?
- Good to see the A-Rod we all know and love (kills it in the regular season/chokes in the post season) resurface for the World Series. He's batting a stellar 0-8 with 6 strikeouts. Even if the Yankees win, this makes me oddly happy.
- If Garnett, Allen, 'Sheed and Pierce can all stay healthy this season (yes, that's a huge IF), the Celtics could win 70 games. Just sayin'.
- Regarding the Bruins (5-5-1), I hope they do well this season. Beyond that, I got nothing for ya. Not the biggest NHL fan.
- Best wishes to Brad Mills, former Red Sox bench coach, who was named manager of the Houston Astros. Hopefully he'll bring a little of that Boston/Philly mojo to the 'Stros. It would be nice to see them get back into the hunt.
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2 comments:
Off-the-cuff responses:
#2 -- LeBron needs a serious second-option player. The Cavs have plenty of *good* players, but no Pippen or McHale. Shaq could well be that, depending on how much mileage he has left in him, but LeBron is in the same stage that Jordan was before Pippen blossomed -- he can't do it all alone, but the team too often has *looked* to him to do it all alone.
#3 -- Penny, Smoltz, and potentially Sheets are the kind of luxury experiments that the Sox can make. And I've always thought that Adrian Gonzalez would look great in that lineup, playing 1B or as the DH of the future.
#5 -- The two Miami games are highly winnable, but they bookend a tough stretch at Indy, hosting the Jets, and at New Orleans. If the Pats go 3-2 aver their next five games, they should be in the catbird seat: their final four games should be straightforward wins.
#6 -- UT also has one of the TWO best women's volleyball teams in all the land.
#10 -- The Astros have needed more bats for ages and ages and ages, but McLane is too stingy. Until they break that cycle, there's only so much Mills or any other manager can do.
My 10:
1) Kate Hudson has taken A-Rod's mojo. Was he ever really this bad?
2) Watching Pedro pitch 87 mph fastball is simultaneously painful and fascinating. It also explains the career of Jamie Moyer.
3) Agree about LeBron-- my headline for that game would have been "LeBron leads Cavs to.... oh wait, nobody followed."
4) I live in Boston. What are these "college sports" of which you speak? Is Austin Texas about to become the 3rd-leading producer of professional basket weavers?
5) Celtics look ridiculously deep-- I didn't notice Big Baby wasn't there until after Game 1.
6) Who's the skinny guy wearing #5 for the Celtics? He yells a lot. I think he'll be good for the team.
7) I am in a state of calm re: Bruins. Partially because I trust they will be a good team again. Partially because-- I have no freaking idea, actually. I like the Bear videos though.
8) I should have saved the bear video comment for this. Less work
9) i like Pats. But wil like them better when they beat teams that have actually won a game this season. Regardless, they look good and Brady is back.
10) The snow game vs. the Oilers was AWESOME television
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