"Voldemort" Is King - that is, Cassell's been traded to Sacramento

Voldemort Is King - Cassell traded to Sacramento

Yeah, "Voldemort" AKA Sam Cassell, Voldemort's doppelganger but in reverse coloring, was traded to the Sacramento Kings during this NBA All-Star break. The man is about 70 years old and doesn't have much playing power left in him, but I have a soft spot for this eyebrowless wonder.

He's got team spirit and delusions of grandeur AKA already considered himself a coach and mentor before he was asked to be one.

This article makes him sound evem more Voldemort-like, or something magical amd mystical. Like a unicorn. But you get the point. It also talks about his time at MCI in Pittsfield, ME. I know a thing or two about living in that town, I tell yah. (Side note: I didn't know he lived with a Cianchette family, but that's an interesting addition to the story. The Cianchette's own a construction business in Pittsfield & one of them, though not Cassell's host father, was the Republican opponent to Gov Baldacci in the 2002 gubernatorial election.) When he talked about the movie theater playing the one movie all month long...My goodness, was I nostalgic.

So, yeah, he's a sentimental favorite and by no means a practical one. Like Varitek.

Well, here's hoping our lucky little team doesn't see its demise now that that kicked Voldy to the curb to make him King.

Ha ha ha ha ha

UBUNTU!!!!

Ubuntu!!!

My friends, my friends, my friends: ubuntu!

The Celtics defeated the Lakers tonight by just-about 40 points to win the Celtic's 17th NBA championship finals; their first in 22 years.

This is the first Boston team championship game to be won in Boston since the sports reign began in 2001 with the Patriots. All the other championships (Patriots & Red Sox) were won away.

I've been staying away from blogging and email and the internets in general for the last five days. It makes me more productive in certain ways, hence the lack of blogs for a bit. But I couldn't help but hop on tonight to celebrate.

Personally speaking, this is also the first time that I was actually in the city of Boston when a Boston team won the championships, as well. I was sitting at home watching the game solo when I decided, mid-first quarter, that if they should win, I would not be alone. I began to get ready to go out to West, and I am glad that I did, for I was in good, enthusiastic company there.

Truth be told, I sort of started to laugh at the end of the 3rd and all the way through the 4th because...well, it was almost comical how poorly the Lakers played and how definitively they lost. If I didn't hate Kobe so much, I would almost feel bad. But I do hate Kobe, and I do love this team of Celtics, so I don't feel bad, at all. Instead I feelt elated. Buoyant. Effervescent. I feel as though the world is at hand and we can all take from it what we will, provided we do so with a spirit that is generous, thougthful, determined, kind, hard-working and diligent. Whoas. I just got way deep there.

On another note, someone even bought a round of champagne at the bar upon the winning. That was cool, since I love the bubbly. Also, we all agreed that the "pink shirt" of Doc's, after Pierce dumped the red gatorade on him, would, like the bloody sock, become part of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

What a lovely lovely thing to happen. Someone at West said, and I completely agree, "What a great way to start the summer!"

My how the rest of the country will so much more defintively hate Boston, upon the THIRD sports team's championship win in the last 7 years.

I quite like being spoilt when it comes to my favorite teams winning or being enviably the best. I hope this continues and spreads. [Hint, hint Bruin's ownership.]

So, to bgein to wrap up, thank you MVP Paul Pierce, KG Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Big Baby, Rondo the 12 year old, Voldemort AKA Sam Cassell, and all the rest, and - even though I don't really like him (for some indefinable reason) - thanks to Danny Ainge, but most especially thank you thank you thank you to Doc Rivers. I know a lot of people have their doubts about him. I know that he gets very short shrift from the masses. But I also know that, were he not the big thinking/ detail orientated (my favorite type description, BTW) coach that he is, this wonderful, wonderful team would not have achieved as much as they had achieved this reason.

Thanks, Doc, for the Big Three, for the Dribble Drive Motion and, most importantly, for bringing ubuntu to a talented group of enthusiastic players and applying it to a team & a town who would so entirely and whole-heartedly embrace such philosophy. (Even if they didn't know they were.)

And finally, a last, personal note. It was my dad's birthday last Monday. And Sunday was the first Father's Day I ever spent without my father. These wins and losses in sports may often seem insignificant, but it is times like these when I miss my dad so much. Because, as oil-and-water or fire-and-ice as we were, we could always come together in our celebration in the triumphs of the sports teams we so loved. Forever, for me, each loss, like this year's Superbowl, and each win, like this year's NBA championships, will bring me closer to the spirit of my dad. For back in February, when the Pats lost, I knew we would have been mutually despairing. And tonight, regardless of any other difference of opinion or disposition we may have had, this win would have made us both celebrate and be happy and tranquil (truly a happening) together.

And that, among a million other reasons, but this being of the top most, is why I love sports.

Ubuntu, Celtics, ubuntu.

Good night! Let us meet again at the same time next year for the same joyous reason!

NBA Stuff: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Oh Lordy Lordy. No wonder I haven't felt the need to keep up with General Hospital these last months. Just following the NBA is drama enough.

I'll start with the low and end with the high, so as to stay positive.

First, the lowest of the low, the ugly: Corrupt NBA Official Tim Donaghy

In an article in the New York Times, former & now disgraced NBA official Tim Donaghy was quoted as stating, "that N.B.A. executives directed referees 'to manipulate games' in order to 'boost ticket sales and television ratings,'" in a letter he wrote to United States District Court in Brooklyn.

Read the full article with all the sordid details here.

Next is the bad: Schill's Shrill Blog about Kobe

Mr Crazy Big Mouth Pain in the Ass AKA The Sultan of Bloody Socks AKA Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling blogged about his observations of how nasty Kobe Bryant was to his fellow teammates during game 2 at the Garden last weekend. Kobe responded by saying "Go Yankees" which lacks its sting considering the Yanks are tied for last place in the AL East, but that's Kobe for you. Socially awkward. It's because he was raised in Italy. If it were anyone else criticizing Kobe, I'd be all for it, but since it Curt Schilling, who I have absolutely no patience for, I'm all set with that.

More details on the fiasco at Yahoo Sports.

And finally, to the good: Unbuntu- to the Team, to the Fans and to the City

Remember last week when I got all preachy and sentimental about the Celtics this year being a special team, because they thought and acted a team, not as individuals? For instance, at the end of game 2, after Paul Pierce was interviewed for the post-game show, he turned around at waved to the fans. He slapped hands with the leaners-into-the-tunnel. He took his headband off and threw it into the crowd. As the camera followed him walking into the tunnel, he stopped, turned around, and remembered to take his wrist band off and throw that into the crowd of adoring fans. I was like, "Wha??!"

And Monday, in LA, after Kobe was interviewed he--walked straight into the tunnel without acknowledging a soul, much less turning around to remember that there's a devoted fan out there who would cherish a sweaty piece of rubber band and terry cloth.

That difference in leadership shows the difference in teams: LA is the same old same old showboatin' selfish but good players. The Celtics are very very different. Well, it was by sheer observation that I thought of this. And it turns out, I was right on because that has been their philosophy all season long.

This philosophy is centered around one saying: unbuntu. It is a southern African philosophy that is hard to put into words but loosely can mean, "I am because of you." (We've come a long way from "How you like me now boy?", haven't we?) Juxtapose (SAT word!) that with Kobe getting down on his team and you can see why the Celts are up 2-1 in the series despite predictions to the contrary.

Unbuntu is the word they chant in the huddle before playing, too. If you google "unbuntu" and "celtics" you'll get quite a few articles explaining it. I heard about it -- where else but? -- on NPR, specifically WBUR's Here and Now. If you want to hear the full story, click on this link and scroll down to the word "Unbunto" then click on the "Listen" icon.

See what I mean about leaving on a positive note? And to everyone reading my blogs: thanks. Unbuntu. (ha ha , der )

NBA Finals: Observation #3, Tome to Paul Pierce

You know how there's all those naysayers out there goin' "Nah, this is not nearly as good as the 80s match up." or "This is all hype." or "Those guys were genuine players, these guys are..." BLAH BLAH BLAH

While I completely agree that Kobe sux and is a good player but as an athlete to follow is rather boring (except for that weird creepy scandal back in the early aughts that landed his way-too-young wife a diamond the size of a landing strip), I have deep objections to criticism of the Celtics player, specifically Paul Pierce.

Um, hi, the guy heard his knee POP, sprained his knee, got carried off the RED AUERBACH court, only to heroically return and deliver a total of 22 points (I think that's what they said.)

Yeah, these players are SOOOOOOOO selfish.

Eat it, old naysayers. Eat it.

The most endearing thing was while Pierce was on his exercise bike on the side of the court, the portly middle aged fan next him -- who you could tell was thrilled -- said something to him and I was so worried that Pierce would be a disengaged player, concentrating on his knee and the game only. Instead, he laughed at the guy's comment and patted him on the shoulder then went back to concentrating on his knee and the game. Loved that. Loved.

I'm gonna get a little mushy here, so bare with me. Do you remember when Pierce almost died, back when he first arrived? Because he was a punk who went to da club and got stabbed? That was lame. Everyone collectively rolled their eyes, shook their heads, pursed their lips and turned on the Red Sox, Patriots or Bruins games instead.

I turn you now to opening day at the Garden, with the unvailing of the new Red Auerbach court and Paul Pierce dedicating this season to him. There was a wisdom and a maturity to his leadership (see, I told you I would get mushy), a selflessness very uncommon to the NBA. And it is THAT that makes this team so special. In the face of showboating ball hogging dbs 'n thugs (not my term, but the general public's term) this is a team that eschewed such assholery (made up word) and decided instead to play with each other for the common purpose of reviving a Dynasty, in the memory of a beloved & wise coach.

For this reason, I say, go forth and be unabashedly excited about the rising of the Celtics, after 21 years of blandness and disappointment. This is no fluke. Such a valiant turn around doesn't "just happen". It is a magic of chemistry, hard work, team work, gourmet Chinese food eating (see previous post) intelligent coaching and a SPIRIT of driveness that was created for stability. This is just the first year we see the Celtics make it very far into the playoffs, if not all the way. Mark my words. No matter what happens over all at the end of this season, this is a team that is now built to last, and last it will.

Okie dokie, I'm tired of being on this soap box and my violin has a broken string.

Good night!!!

NBA Final: Observation #2

I had to listen to the game as I was driving home from work tonight. Cedric was on a little extra wacky tobacky, or whatever it is that gets him to be the deliciously weird freak that he is. Anyway, aside from Sir Quaxalot and his quack-a-doodling, there was also some regular old commentary from old reliable, Sean Grande, who noted that Phil "The Buddhist" Jackson is something like 51-0 for first game appearances in NBA playoffs. Well, that was Zen. This is Now.

CELTICS 98
Lakers 88

NBA Finals: Thoughts from a Celtics Fan, pt 1

You know how everyone keeps talking about this being a throw back to the good old days of the Magic vs Bird times? I would really really really really really LOVE it, if - as they do in baseball - the basketball players took one game to wear the old school uniforms of the 80s. Can you imagine KG in a short little pair of NHers? That would be soooo awesome, in a very bad way.

I suddenly have this song in my head.

A Day in Town: The Best Part

I'm going to post a few pics and posts from my day in town with visiting gramma and cousin. First, I will start off with this very crappy quality picture of...Celtics coach DOC RIVERS fresh off the east Conference Finals win on Saturday.
We were eating at PF Chang's in the Pudential for dinner. He walked in to pick up take out. I looked at him and thought, "Why does that guy look so---?" Then I started to get giddy because here in front of me was super genius, the right honorable, soon-to-be NBA championship winning coach, Doc Rivers. I watched him watching my face register every thing and he kind of smirked. Then I leaned in to the table and said, "That's Doc Rivers!" Everyone turned around. I reached for my camera. "Turn of the flash--" To late, a giant flash filled the room as I, uber dork extraordinaire, took a picture of Doc River buying gourmet Chinese food.

The ability to take it today made my day. I would say made my week, except that my brother just got married, so this will have to remain second. Actually, the reason why this picture, albeit crappy condition that it's in, is so special is the #2 best thing. And then, finally, in 3rd place, is seeing Doc River in person at Pf Chang's.

PS The meal was super super super delish as always. Our waiter was awesome. Scott, was his name, and he's also the Pastry Chef at the Boston College Club. He brought my cousin a bowl full of super hot sauce and then, to go with her dessert, a bowl full of cherries. She has that cute little North Carolina accent and all, y'all.

We had lotsa fun.

During the Celtics Game...

So there I was, having the Celtics game on in the background, reading, writing, taking notes, as ever.

During commercials, I switched to NECN to see about the latet details on the train accident. This was later in the evening, about 11 PM.

When I went back to the game on ESPN, the programming thingy incorrectly said that "SportsCenter" was on instead of the (loooong) Celtics game.

And this is the cable info description for ESPN's SportsCenter:

A hip, Emmy Award winning daily scrapbook of homers, touchdowns & slam dunks.

So, I decided to make that my new blog description, simply because it is so very lame.

Yay to Celtics. Bummer about the Sox. Suct to be a Detroit anything fan tonight, eh? Take you, your octopuses, your freakish Silence of the Lambs mask, your crap baseball team and your blond rapper and stuff it in the trunk of the car that's no longer made there & instead manufactured in Japan, okay DEE-troit? Nobody likes you.

I think I need a nap. I'm a little grumpy. It's the combination of school work, work work and West Coast baseball games, all conspiring to keep me up late and wake me up early. Plus my stomach is getting all weird again. Pinchers in my intestines. Really lovely and whatnot. I'm glad I shared. Okay, anyway, I'm off to go change my blog description then go to bed.

S'laters....

Celtics on Sunday

Steve (see blog listing at right for "Steve") wrote a nice bloggy blog about the game. See it here.

I wrote a comment saying that it was magical and that it was as if the ghost of Red Auerbach had swooshed in and placed that awkward foul shot that really put the game to rest in the basket at the end of the fourth quarter.

My comment:

At the end, with that last, seemingly impossible, yet nail-in-coffin foul shot of PIerce’s that went in, I said, “It is as if the ghost of Red Auerbach just swooshed through the new Garden and placed the thing in the basket.”

How beautiful was that? And, even though you’re not a Red Sox fan, how beautiful was that no hitter tonight? It’s a magical time to be a Boston sports fan, I tell yah. There’s something in there. Maybe it’s because I moved back from Maine.

Yes, that’s it! It’s all one, giant, years long celebration of my reluctant return to MA. Trying to entice me to stay a little longer and whatnot.

Enh, probably not. But anyway…

Then I went to You Tube to find a highlight of the shot. If you go to 1:54 of this clip, you'll see it:



Then you'll hear that, while I was in my living room in a section of Boston, Paul Pierce was in the Garden-- thinking the same exact thing!!!

Isn't that amazing?

No, not really. I know.

But, still, it's cool that after that foul shot went in I thought of Red and so did Pierce. It shows I'm a sensitive fan, even if I am an fairweather one.

A Neophyte's Theory on Why the Celtics Are Inconsistent in the Playoffs

I am a neophyte when it comes to basketball. I'm an uber neophyte. I mean, I barely know anything. (Accept I know that the Celtics won all three games I went to at the TD Banknorth Garden.) That said, here's my theory as to why, to put it in neophytic terms, they've been playing so off-and-on.

A while back, I read an article in Sports Illustrated about a new offensive strategy for basketball. The strategy is called the "Dribble Drive Motion" and Doc Rivers and the Celtics are one of the few NBA teams to employ this method. It is often used in high schools and colleges and getting out to the middle school level, too. (Read the article here.)

This is from Wikipedia:

Dribble Drive Motion AKA Memphis Attack...The offense focuses on spreading the offensive players in the half court set, such that the point guard can drive through the defensive gaps for a layup or dunk, or kick out to the perimeter if the defense collapses on the driving guard. The offense is also known by various other names, including the AASAA offense (for attack, attack, skip, attack, attack), the Walberg offense, three or key or Princeton on Steroids.

As devised by Walberg, the Dribble drive motion offense is predicated on some basic principles. Like the Princeton offense, it is a "four-out" offense. That is, only one "post" player (generally the center) plays under the basket, while the other four players play the "perimeter", outside of the three-point line. Unlike the Princeton offense, which is built upon passing to players who cut towards the basket, the Memphis offense uses a player (usually the point guard) to dribble-drive towards the basket. Depending on the response of the defense, the driving player can either take a lay-up, pass to the post player to shoot, or "kick-out" pass to one of the perimeter players. If the ball is returned to the perimeter, the player that receives the pass either takes a three-point shot, or dribble-drives to the basket themselves, restarting the entire process.

My theory is that this new offensive strategy worked fantastically and got them to the playoffs. However, once they got in there, they tended to want to go back to the old ways of playing--the familiar ways, if you will. And that's why there's so much inconsistency. They're either killing by double digits and making crazy plays because they're employing the DDM, of they're falling back on the old ways of playing and barely scraping by, if at all.

They have to renew their confidence in their way of playing and right themselves for the rest of the playoffs--resolve to see this DDM thing out--or go back to their old ways that didn't work well (hence the poopy previous seasons) and lose. What's it gonna be boys? Yes or no?

Thus ends the basketball neophyte's pontification. I will now return to my regularly scheduled cluelessness.

(I stand by this banner and get my picture taken with it every time I go to the Garden. It's a sort of talisman at this point. Plus, it isn't a bit dorky at all...What is this tune I suddenly have in my head?........Fill the steins to dear old Maine! Shout til the rafters ring. Stand, and drink a toast once again. Let every loyal Maine man sign!--Drink Drink Drink!)

Twins? -- mean observations during the Celtics game

Twins? -- mean observations during the Celtics game

Yeah, he's been hittin' the threes all night tonight, and he's been an almost silent partner in this quest for NBA championship glory, what with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and (the of COURSE addition to my list of phantom husbands) "KG" AKA Kevin Garnett in the limelight, and yes, he is integral to this playoff season, BUT

Sam Cassell (#28)

looks like
Lord Voldemort

New Colors

We're all green at In the Pines for the official start of the Celtics season. New era beginning? Let's hope. Then I'll get into basketball, too, and never have time for sitcoms...

Friday Night Adventures in Boston

How about this for Friday Night Romps:

This weekend, I went - for the first time in my life - to a Celtics game at the Garden. BronBron was playing. The new triple threat was scoring. And Rene, Rachel and I got on the jumbotron during a TO.
I think the team may make a 360 this year. A real turn around. (Paul Pierce made the 360 quote this year during the preseason, after Garnett came to the team. Umm, wouldn't that be ending up exactly where you started?) I've never been a big basketball fan, but if the Celtics get back to mid 80s level of performance, I will be happy for them.



So, ready for a juxtaposition? The Friday before this one, I went to see the one, the only, my dearly beloved, Tori Amos at the Orpheum, across town from the Garden.


First she played as "Clyde" (second from the left). Then she came back to the stage as Tori. She played with the band, who included a new guitarist/ all around stringed instrument player, Matt Chamberlain on drums and Jon Evans on bass. Then it was just her and the piano, a segment called "T&Bo" ("O" with umlaut, after the Bosendorfer). The band came back for a few more songs, then left. Then came back for an encore. Then left. Then came back for the second encore. Then left. Then came back for the third encore. She played for almost three hours. It was lovely.

She had a half magenta/ half violet draped pantsuit thingy on first. Here are the swatches (best I can do without actual photos of outfit):

Then she came out with a long sleeveless dress style shirt with matching pants. Here's another swatch:

It was sparkle-y.

So, while I do complain about Massachusetts, it is nice to live around Boston on Friday nights, because I get to do things like the Tori concert or the Celtics game.

However, I am missing this: