Tourney Time
For three of our Wellesley High School winter athletic teams, their seasons were extended as they were able to qualify for the state tournament. The three teams that did so were the boy’s hockey team, the girl’s basketball team, and the girl’s hockey team.
For the girl’s basketball team, they were able to win their first tournament game last night, at home against Duxbury and will face Whitman-Hanson Saturday afternoon, at home as well. The boy’s hockey team, which has been a big story this winter, with their extremely successful season, is playing in their first tournament game Sunday in Bourne, against Milton High School, who the boy’s beat twice this season, both times by big margins.
The final team that made the tournament this winter is girl’s hockey. Unfortunately, their tournament life was short lived as they fell to Newton North in a game that came down to the final seconds. The girl’s though, should feel good that they were able to get into the tournament by winning their last couple of games during the regular season. Both teams that remain from the school in the tourney have a chance to bring home a state championship trophy, and hopefully one of those teams will finish the job and get that trophy.
Wild, Wild West
Lebron James and the powerful Cleavland Cavaliers came to Boston to face our beloved Boston Celtics. Although Lebron made NBA history by being the youngest player to score 10,000 points, the Celtics were able to hold off the rest off his team and come away with a 92-87 victory. Kevin Garnett solidified his own place in history by grabbing his 11,000 career rebound,becoming only the 28th player in history to achieve this.
Prior to this historical win, the Celtics faced some serious dilemmas while traveling the Western part of the U.S. Coming off of the all-star game, the Celtics suffered three straight losses to teams they’ve already beaten. Even though the losses to the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns were all close games, the Celtics proved that they were a better team over the course of the season. The Celtics showed that they were still at the top of their game by defeating the young and talented Portland Trail Blazers, and crushing the Los Angeles Clippers.
In my opinion, this little skid the Celtics experienced was nothing more than a prime example of players being tired. It is almost impossible for basketball players yo maintain a high level of intensity for an entire season. I believe that the Celtics will get back to their winning ways and continue to dominate the entire league.
I don’t want it back
I have not had a social life for the past three months. As I am a junior in high school, the following information might shock you: I liked it.
DO NOT POKE THE DAMN BEAR.
It’s February 29th. This day comes once every 4 years. And if Randy Moss isn’t wearing Patriot colors next year, it will be remembered as the worst mistake in franchise history.
Today marked the beginning of NFL unrestricted free agency, and the biggest name in need of a contract has the possibility of leaving Foxborough. The Patriots decided against placing the franchise tag on Moss when they had the opportunity to last week. He could be guaranteed to be back for next season already. Instead, Pats brass decided to gamble with house money by allowing Randy Moss, without a doubt the best receiver on the Pats and possibly in the league, to become an unrestricted free agent at 12:01 AM on February 29th, 2008.
And if he leaves, prepare to see the Patriots dynasty collapse.
Before the angry mob starts to form after that last statement, consider how important Moss is to this team. The usually reserved Tom Brady went so far as to say that he and Moss “are a package deal.” If there is any argument about Moss’ importance, there is none about Tom Terrific. He is the greatest in franchise history. He could set records for Super Bowl Championships when it’s all said and done. And oh yeah, he is coming off a 16-0 season in which he threw an NFL record 50 touchdown passes (23 of which landed in the hands of one Randy Moss) while led the Pats to within 35 seconds of the greatest season ever.
If Tom wants Randy, give him Randy. The last time Brady publicly voiced support for a receiver, the Pats sent Deion Branch to the Pacific Northwest for a first-round pick in the 2006 season. Brady, upset by the trade, struggled with a mediocre receiving core and failed in the playoffs for just the second time. Moss is more important to Tom than Branch ever was. The Pats have two options: repeat the mistakes of the past and watch an MVP fume, or resign the best receiver in the game and aim for a fourth title.
I’d take option two, but maybe that’s just me.
Conor
What happened to rooting for the home team?
So I went to my first Bruins game last Saturday, which was my first hockey game as well. I didn’t really know what to expect. I was thinking I would see stereotypical, crazy hockey fans banging against the glass, urging on a fight.
But it wasn’t really like that at all. There was ONE fight, but it was kind of disappointing. The gloves didn’t even come off. Oh yeah, and there was one crazy fan. A little girl in Bruins attire who was jumping up and down with a foam claw. Whenever the other team scored, she banged herself in the head with the claw. I was laughing REALLY hard.
As for the game, the Bruins were doing well, and the game kept coming back to a tie. The score was 3-3 in the final period. A Bruins guy was in the penalty box (which I thought was such a cool aspect), and Florida came back to score. And this happened again. And once more after that. For more information on the game click here.
By the time the game was 6-3, a hoard of fans had left. People kept shouting things to the players like “What the hell are you doing?” and “Shoot the damn puck!”
What ever happened to rooting for the home team? I mean, come on people, have some faith! It’s not like they could go down there and do any better.
But I still had fun. I was just annoyed at those fans. And I never got on the big screen.
Halfway to Glory
Every season, the NBA takes a break from the tough playing, to either rest, or participate in one of the many all-star game contests. Since the Celtics maintain the best record in the entire league, they will be well represented at the All-Satr venue in New Orleans this weekend. Injured Celtic superstar Kevin Garnett will not play, as he is still recovering from his abdominal injury. The rest of the Big Three (Paul Pierce and Ray Allen) and coach Doc Rivers will be there to represent the Celtics in this worldwide event.
This past week proved to be a big one for our beloved Celtics as they beat the seemingly unbeatable San Antonio Spurs 98-90 on ABC. There were many questions surrounding the Celtics, such as: How would they resond to the loss of Kevin Garnett? and Can they beat the best teams in the league? On Sunday, the Celtics silenced all of their critiics by handeling the experienced Spurs. To me, this was the biggest win of the season for the Celtics because they not only played great and deserved to win, but some of the younger players, such as Rajon Rondo and Leon Powe, proved to everyone that are going to be great players in a couple of years. After beating the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks, the celtics hed into the All-Star break with an unthinkable record of 41 wins and 9 losses.
The answer to last week’s trivia question was Dee Brown. He won the 1991 slam-dunk contest by dunking the ball without being able to see where he was going. For next week, the trivia question is: In total, how many NBA championships have the Boston Celtics won? After the All-Star break, the Celtics face the Denver Nuggests and the Detroit Pistons. this will be tough games, but hopefully kevin garnett will be back, and the team’s success will continue.
Red Sox gear up for season
For our hometown baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, another season is starting up this week. This is because pitcher’s and catchers are reporting for spring training in Fort Myers, Florida and the position players are soon to follow. The team has high expectations this season, as they are coming off their second world series championship of this millenium, and they are returning the core of last year’s team.
This year’s team will have to go with a shorter spring training than usual, as the team is going to be opening their season much earlier than usual this year, with two games in Tokyo, Japan against the Oakland Athletics. There are a lot of questions right now about the health of star pitcher Curt Schilling, and whether or not he will be able to play this season. Even if Schilling can not go, the Sox have a very talented pitching staff, which includes Josh Beckett, and Daiskue Matsusaka, who will be entering his second season in the major leagues.
I expect this team to do great things this season, and to compete for their second straight AL East title. In my opinion, the Yankees glory days are a thing of the past and the Sox will now make a push towards becoming as great a team, if not better than the Yankees were in their glory days. Fenway Park will be the place to be this season, and I can assure you it will be a fun season of baseball, and a successful one for our hometown Sox.
Random C’s Musings
With the Pats season ending tragically and the Red Sox still a few more weeks away, it’s nice to have another local sports team worth paying attention to. So here are some random notes on the Celtics from my horribly warped head:
Glen Davis makes them fun. KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen may be the driving force behind the C’s outstanding record, but Big Baby’s intensity off the bench makes even the casual fan want to stop what they’re doing and pay attention. And is it just me, or does this kid look like he has more fun on that court than the rest of us put together?
Scot Pollard is fun to watch, and a big guy off the bench is always good. But, uh, he may have a small problem with Clam Chowder, if you know what I mean.
While this is horribly out of character for a Boston Sports Fan, I must say that The Big Ticket’s injury doesn’t scare me too much. Yes, abdominal strains can linger and yes, KG has missed 7 straight games. But the way the bench has picked up the slack in his absence has been outstanding. At this rate, KG could be out until the playoffs… and the C’s might still have the first seed in the East.
If you who is reading this saw Sunday’s effort against the Spurs, you’ll understand my next statement, if you didn’t, please ignore it. Brian Scalabrine should never, ever shoot a jumpshot. EVER. And with that I sign off, as I have junior thesis work to do and a Celtics game to procrastinate with.
Conor
Unsure About Schilling
Dealing with Loss
Throughout the first half of the season, superstar Kevin Garnett crried the Celtics to a legue-leading record a a renewl of Celtic pride. This past week, Garnett suffered from an abdominal injury and could not move without experiencing severe pain. Paul Pierce and the rest of the Celtics battled this past week to earn 2 wins and one loss.
On a Sunday afternoon the Celtics handled the powerful Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitski. They ended up winning by a score of 96-90, but they appeared to be in control the entire game. The team then took a deserved break and resumed play on Febuary 5th against Lebron James and the Cleavland Caveliers. The young superstar proved to be too much for the Celtics to handle as he scored 33 points and had about 10 assists and rebounds. Cleavland big man Zydrunas added 21 points as the next in line for the power foward slot was 6′8″ Leon Powe who had to cover the 7′1″ Ilgauskas. That being said, the Celtics played very hard and remained competitive until the final minute. The very next day, the Celtics returned home to face the Los Angeles Clippers. In a hard-fought game that included Sam Cassell committing a hard foul against Rajon Rondo. Cassell received a great deal of critiicism for this act of violence. Despite the chippy play, the Celtics came out with a win.
The answers to last weeks trivia question were Bill Russel and Tommy Heinson. This week’s trivia question is: What is the name of the Celtic who won the 1991 slam dunk contest? The upcoming week appears to be one that will tire out our beloved Celtics as they are playing five games in six days. The all star-break will follow, and then the seconed half of the season awaits.
