Following in the successful footsteps of the Boston Red Sox, and New England Patriots, the Boston Celtics have quickly (and somewhat under the radar) become a legitimate threat to win the NBA title.
With the additions of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and many others, the thought was that the C's would be much better than last year's 24-win team, but what they've been able to accomplish in a few short months can be categorized as shocking, even to the most avid Celtics supporter.
They have gone from being viewed as a run-of-the-mill playoff team in the Eastern Conference (at the start of the season), to one of the top two teams in the East (with Detroit), to the top team and the East, and now is there anyone out there who would argue that they are not the top team in the league.
A week ago, the biggest question surrounding the team was - How would they fare in handling the daunting task ahead of them - going on the road and playing three games in five nights against the iron of the Western Conference - San Antonio, Houston and Dallas.
Their demolition of the three teams from Texas proved to be an exclamation point.
They rallied from a 22-point deficit against San Antonio. The next night, they crushed a Houston team that had won 22 in-a-row and last night overcame a fourth quarter deficit to beat Dallas. That's a season sweep for Boston (6-0) against teams from the Lone Star State and makes them an astonishing 23-4 against the much tougher teams in the Western Conference.
This is a team that before the season many so-called 'experts' figured would win between 45-50 games. They were right in that the Celtics would get to 50 wins. I'm sure they didn't figure that it would take just 62 games to do it.
We've now reached the point (in terms of fans expectations) that anything less than an appearance in the NBA Finals, Garnett and Company, would be a huge disappointment.
It's made having basketball in Boston a lot of fun again.
Quote of the Week: Comes from my soon to be three-year-old son, Dylan (who's quickly going from three to 30). Keep in mind his quote comes completely unprovoked as we were driving around last weekend shopping for a birthday present for his Mom.
Dylan: I'm going to sell Mommy on eBay.
Me: Buddy, if it was that easy, Daddy would have sold Mommy on eBay a long time ago and gone to a bar with the proceeds.
Music Note of the Week: This week's note isn't going to be about a particular band or new song, but rather a way of getting music.
With all of the concert footage up on YouTube, I've often wondered how great it would be to have the some of these live performance as .mp3 files to play on my iPod. Yesterday, I wondered no more. As with everything else in life, you just have to enter your query into Google and they will give you the answer.
New Google Slogan: Google: We Answer all Life's Questions.
Anyways, go to http://www.vixy.net/ and download their free desktop software. Once you download their software and launch the program, the converter (by default) gives you this part (http://youtube.com/watch?) of the url. You supply the rest of the URL and choose MP3 (audio only) from the 'Converts to' Menu and in a few minutes you'll have your audio file. SWEEETTTT!!!
Finally, Happy Easter to all.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dance The Night Away
The two least productive work days of the year (aka March Madness) starts at 12:20 this afternoon with Xavier and Georgia. There will be 16 tournament games played over the next two days and seven will occur during work hours (for those on the East Coast).
A tip for those who want to follow the scores while the games are going on (but don't want the boss to find out as they peer over your shoulder), hit alt - tab at the same time and that will open up the TPS report that you have minimized and should be working on.
I admit that I played it very conservative this year with my picks and have all four number one seeds going to the Final Four, with North Carolina beating UCLA in the final. I'm glad that this expert prognosticator agrees with my matchup in the finals and my champion. The Sports Gal has shown to be adept with her football picks for the past two years, so I'm hoping her expertise and knowledge carries over to the hardwood.
Let the Madness begin.
A tip for those who want to follow the scores while the games are going on (but don't want the boss to find out as they peer over your shoulder), hit alt - tab at the same time and that will open up the TPS report that you have minimized and should be working on.
I admit that I played it very conservative this year with my picks and have all four number one seeds going to the Final Four, with North Carolina beating UCLA in the final. I'm glad that this expert prognosticator agrees with my matchup in the finals and my champion. The Sports Gal has shown to be adept with her football picks for the past two years, so I'm hoping her expertise and knowledge carries over to the hardwood.
Let the Madness begin.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Rally Against Cancer With Dustin Pedoria (and me and thousands of others)
Following the Boston Red Sox and becoming a fan of the team, you quickly understood the wonderful relationship that the Red Sox have enjoyed with The Jimmy Fund for the past 55 years.
As a life long Red Sox fan, I've understood the importance of the work that is being done at The Dana Farber Cancer Institute to fight cancer in children and adults in support of The Jimmy Fund.
It's a charity that my Dad (who passed away due to liver cancer) was a supporter of and a big believer in, and one that I'm a big believer of as well.
When I arrived home from work Tuesday evening, there was a flier in my mailbox promoting a new fundraiser for The Jimmy Fund - Rally Against Cancer with Dustin Pedoria and The Jimmy Fund.
After reading the information and seeing that I could start my own Rally Team, I did just that. I created a Rally Team called, what else, Chicks Dig The Long Ball. I'm looking for readers of this Blog (yes, that means, you, you and you way in the back, along with many others), to join my team.
All it takes to be a member of Chicks Dig is a donation of $5. In addition to helping out a wonderful cause, you are also allowed to, according to the Jimmy Fund, wear your Boston Red Sox gear to work or school on April 8—Opening Day at Fenway Park. Sweeettt!!!! Plus, you'll now have another reason to taunt all of those Yankees fans in your office (which can never be understated).
The kind people at Dana Farber were kind enough to create my own personalized webpage where people can go to donate and become part of the Chicks Dig team. You can find it here.
To learn more information, you can go to the Rally Against Cancer Homepage. From here, you can get to my donation page by clicking on the 'Join a Team' button at the top of the p
age, which will take you to a second page, where you can choose to join an existing team - 'Chicks Dig The Long Ball' from the drop down menu.
Or a third option, again from the Homepage, is to click on the Support an Individual tab and then enter my name - Anthony Hubbard.
To learn more about Dana Farber Institute click here. And to see all of the wonderful things that are going on to benefit The Jimmy Fund click here.
As a life long Red Sox fan, I've understood the importance of the work that is being done at The Dana Farber Cancer Institute to fight cancer in children and adults in support of The Jimmy Fund.
It's a charity that my Dad (who passed away due to liver cancer) was a supporter of and a big believer in, and one that I'm a big believer of as well.
When I arrived home from work Tuesday evening, there was a flier in my mailbox promoting a new fundraiser for The Jimmy Fund - Rally Against Cancer with Dustin Pedoria and The Jimmy Fund.
After reading the information and seeing that I could start my own Rally Team, I did just that. I created a Rally Team called, what else, Chicks Dig The Long Ball. I'm looking for readers of this Blog (yes, that means, you, you and you way in the back, along with many others), to join my team.
All it takes to be a member of Chicks Dig is a donation of $5. In addition to helping out a wonderful cause, you are also allowed to, according to the Jimmy Fund, wear your Boston Red Sox gear to work or school on April 8—Opening Day at Fenway Park. Sweeettt!!!! Plus, you'll now have another reason to taunt all of those Yankees fans in your office (which can never be understated).
The kind people at Dana Farber were kind enough to create my own personalized webpage where people can go to donate and become part of the Chicks Dig team. You can find it here.
To learn more information, you can go to the Rally Against Cancer Homepage. From here, you can get to my donation page by clicking on the 'Join a Team' button at the top of the p
age, which will take you to a second page, where you can choose to join an existing team - 'Chicks Dig The Long Ball' from the drop down menu.Or a third option, again from the Homepage, is to click on the Support an Individual tab and then enter my name - Anthony Hubbard.
To learn more about Dana Farber Institute click here. And to see all of the wonderful things that are going on to benefit The Jimmy Fund click here.
Lots of Screaming, Yelling and Buzzers Going Off
The theme for today's You Tube Tuesday on the Chicks Dig Nights with McLovin blog is a continuation of the topic from yesterday's post - the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament.
To get everyone amped up for the games starting this Thursday, here's a look back at some of the greatest games and buzzer-beating finishes of the NCAA tournament over the past 25 years.
I think it's amazing that year after year, the tournament still produces all of these last-second heroics and upsets. That's what makes the tournament so great and unparalleled in the world of sporting events.
It's also great to take a look back at some of the most memorable games and think, 'I was at such and such place and watched the game,' or 'This game had a big impact (either positive or negative) on my tournament pool.'
NCAA Tournament Memories Part I:
NCAA Tournament Memories Part II:
To get everyone amped up for the games starting this Thursday, here's a look back at some of the greatest games and buzzer-beating finishes of the NCAA tournament over the past 25 years.
I think it's amazing that year after year, the tournament still produces all of these last-second heroics and upsets. That's what makes the tournament so great and unparalleled in the world of sporting events.
It's also great to take a look back at some of the most memorable games and think, 'I was at such and such place and watched the game,' or 'This game had a big impact (either positive or negative) on my tournament pool.'
NCAA Tournament Memories Part I:
NCAA Tournament Memories Part II:
Monday, March 17, 2008
Analyze This....
...Or should we say Analysis Paralysis.
Right now, in offices all across the land, men and women are studying their 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball bracket from every possible angle, looking at it as a riddle in scale to anything that Dan Brown could conjure up in the DaVinci Code.
They are feverishly reading everything they can on ESPN.com and CNNSI.com looking for that one tidbit, one nugget of knowledge that will put their picks over the top. All for an entry fee (for most pools) of between $10-$25.
By the way, who the hell are the Drake Bulldogs and how did they get to be 5 seed in the West Regional?
An interesting note to this year's tournament. Both finals participants from last year (Florida, Ohio State), did not make the this year's tournament. That's the first time that has happened since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Thoughts such as these are going on in the minds of many as they fill out their brackets:
Do I have too many top seeds advancing?
My first pass at filling out the bracket has all the number 1 seeds going to the Final Four that never happens. I need to redo my bracket.
Which game is the 4-13 upset going to happen this year?
Gonzaga is usually good for an upset in the tournament - can they beat Georgetown in the second round?
Who will this year's Cinderella be?
The answers to the questions above are:
No
No, it's not wrong to have all the 1 seeds going to the Final Four, they were a combined 125-9 in the regular season.
All the 4 seeds will win in the first round this year, though Notre Dame-George Mason and Clemson-Villanova are intriguing potential 5-12 upsets.
Gonzaga will not beat Georgetown in the second round.
As for this year's Cinderella, if we knew how they were going to be before hand, then they wouldn't be a Cinderella.
Also, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all the Irish folks out there. As for their beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish, they will survive the first two rounds but then lose in the Sweet 16 to North Carolina.
Right now, in offices all across the land, men and women are studying their 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball bracket from every possible angle, looking at it as a riddle in scale to anything that Dan Brown could conjure up in the DaVinci Code.
They are feverishly reading everything they can on ESPN.com and CNNSI.com looking for that one tidbit, one nugget of knowledge that will put their picks over the top. All for an entry fee (for most pools) of between $10-$25.
By the way, who the hell are the Drake Bulldogs and how did they get to be 5 seed in the West Regional?
An interesting note to this year's tournament. Both finals participants from last year (Florida, Ohio State), did not make the this year's tournament. That's the first time that has happened since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Thoughts such as these are going on in the minds of many as they fill out their brackets:
Do I have too many top seeds advancing?
My first pass at filling out the bracket has all the number 1 seeds going to the Final Four that never happens. I need to redo my bracket.
Which game is the 4-13 upset going to happen this year?
Gonzaga is usually good for an upset in the tournament - can they beat Georgetown in the second round?
Who will this year's Cinderella be?
The answers to the questions above are:
No
No, it's not wrong to have all the 1 seeds going to the Final Four, they were a combined 125-9 in the regular season.
All the 4 seeds will win in the first round this year, though Notre Dame-George Mason and Clemson-Villanova are intriguing potential 5-12 upsets.
Gonzaga will not beat Georgetown in the second round.
As for this year's Cinderella, if we knew how they were going to be before hand, then they wouldn't be a Cinderella.
Also, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all the Irish folks out there. As for their beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish, they will survive the first two rounds but then lose in the Sweet 16 to North Carolina.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Random Thoughts, Sights, Sounds - A Potpourri of Knowledge
The Randomness comes around the horn style on this Friday.
With the start of the baseball season approaching fast (11 days away), baseball stat geeks all across America are thumbing through the 2008 Bill James Handbook (which came out last November) in preparation for being able to drop this type of knowledge on their other stat geek buddies:
David Ortiz' OPS (1.153) in the second half of the season, while he was battling a knee injury, was 0.67 points higher than the next highest American League player (Carlos Pena, 1.066). And for those who thought Ortiz was having a down season, he was 0.01 points behind AL MVP Alex Rodriguez in OPS for the season (1.130-1.129).
The next time any of these type of guys see a girl at a bar, it will be their first time.
Anyways, James is viewed as the statistical God of the Baseball Universe. With that in mind, I want to take a look at his projections for the upcoming 2008 season, specifically the starting pitchers. Hopefully, James and his band of merry nerdy men are underestimating the success of the starting staff of the Boston Red Sox. If not, the Sox are in trouble this season.
Last season, Boston's top 4 starters, Josh Beckett (20), Tim Wakefield (17), Dice-K (15) and Curt Schilling (9) combined for 61 wins (which was about two-thirds of the number of wins for the team). This year, James has projected that Beckett and Dice-K will tie for the staff lead in wins at 14, then comes Wakefield (11) and Lester (10), combining for 50 wins. If that happens, there is no way the Red Sox will come close to the 96 wins they had as a club a year ago, and they will be hard pressed to make a return trip to the postseason.
I think (and hope) that the number of wins this year for the four starters will be higher than 50. It's a pretty safe bet that Beckett (barring injury) would win more than 14 games. Would it be a surprise if he won 20, or more, for the second consecutive year - not really. I also have a feeling, based on Lester's increased strength and being farther removed from his battle with Cancer, that he will have a very good year, certainly better than what James' predicts (10-10, 4.02 ERA).
In my opinion, the starting staff needs to be better overall than they were a year ago, as I feel the bullpen (especially Hideki Okajima) will be hard pressed to repeat their success from a year ago.
With the start of the baseball season approaching fast (11 days away), baseball stat geeks all across America are thumbing through the 2008 Bill James Handbook (which came out last November) in preparation for being able to drop this type of knowledge on their other stat geek buddies:
David Ortiz' OPS (1.153) in the second half of the season, while he was battling a knee injury, was 0.67 points higher than the next highest American League player (Carlos Pena, 1.066). And for those who thought Ortiz was having a down season, he was 0.01 points behind AL MVP Alex Rodriguez in OPS for the season (1.130-1.129).
The next time any of these type of guys see a girl at a bar, it will be their first time.
Anyways, James is viewed as the statistical God of the Baseball Universe. With that in mind, I want to take a look at his projections for the upcoming 2008 season, specifically the starting pitchers. Hopefully, James and his band of merry nerdy men are underestimating the success of the starting staff of the Boston Red Sox. If not, the Sox are in trouble this season.
Last season, Boston's top 4 starters, Josh Beckett (20), Tim Wakefield (17), Dice-K (15) and Curt Schilling (9) combined for 61 wins (which was about two-thirds of the number of wins for the team). This year, James has projected that Beckett and Dice-K will tie for the staff lead in wins at 14, then comes Wakefield (11) and Lester (10), combining for 50 wins. If that happens, there is no way the Red Sox will come close to the 96 wins they had as a club a year ago, and they will be hard pressed to make a return trip to the postseason.
I think (and hope) that the number of wins this year for the four starters will be higher than 50. It's a pretty safe bet that Beckett (barring injury) would win more than 14 games. Would it be a surprise if he won 20, or more, for the second consecutive year - not really. I also have a feeling, based on Lester's increased strength and being farther removed from his battle with Cancer, that he will have a very good year, certainly better than what James' predicts (10-10, 4.02 ERA).
In my opinion, the starting staff needs to be better overall than they were a year ago, as I feel the bullpen (especially Hideki Okajima) will be hard pressed to repeat their success from a year ago.
The Music Note of the Week comes from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's album - Raising Sand.
Yes, the album is five months old, but it's relatively new to me. Not a bad album, has several good songs that have been getting radio play (Killing the Blues, Gone, Gone, Gone, Please Read the Letter, Fortune Teller). It sucks that Krauss and Plant are going on tour through the end of June, as it's delaying a possible reunion tour for Led Zeppelin.
Too bad, as Led Zeppelin showed how good their live performances will be last December with their performance in London, specifically the song, Kazmir. Jason Bonham nails this song and starts going nuts around the 6:45 mark.
Finally my wife, Lisa, will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of her 25th birthday this coming Sunday (March 16th). So happy birthday, Lisa. She shares her birthday with Wolfgang Van Halen, who'll be 17 on Sunday, so happy birthday to Wolfie as well.
As I told you this past Tuesday, everything in the Universe can be tied back to the mightly Van Halen.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Eye Candy
That sound you just heard was my jaw hitting the floor (ok, so you didn't actually hear it, but work with me here) as I've just seen a picture of Clay Buchholz' girlfriend, Penthouse Pet of the Year Erica Ellyson (top, photo from Penthouse). All I can say is, well done, sir, well done indeed.
Clay is now challening Tom Brady for the award in the category of 'Which Boston Athlete is Dating the Hottest Chick'. Tom, I see your supermodel and raise you a Penthouse Pet of the Year.
I have no plans of addding a Buchholz photo to this post, so everyone can get a look at him, as it doesn't really matter what he looks like, no one is going to be looking at him anyways. Honestly, it's not fair that an individual person has as much good fortune as Buchholz currently is enjoying.
Buchholz will always have a special place in the hearts of the members of Red Sox Nation, with his no-hitter, thrown in his second big league start, and as a member of a World Series winning team. His image has just grown by leaps and bounds to the male Red Sox fans, as he's gone from dating a Victoria Secret's model to upgrading to Ellyson (I never thought you could upgrade after dating a Vicki's model, but appears that it's possible.
He's battling for the fifth spot in the Red Sox starting rotation, has electric stuff and is seen as a possible Ace in the Red Sox rotation for years to come. He is indeed living a charmed life - a life that begs the questions 'Can it get any better?'
I love the quote from Clay's dad regarding his son's antics, courtesy of the Boston Herald's Inside Track via the Karlson & MacKenzie show on WZLX.
“It doesn’t surprise me any,” said Clay’s dad. “Last year up in Boston he was dating a Victoria’s Secret model, so he’s moving up the ladder . . . . I mean, he’s got pretty good taste.”
Saying that Clay has good taste has to be the understatement of the year. You can check out more of the lovely Erica on her MySpace page, where accoring to the Boston Herald she likes, "being naked and spanking"
Saying that Clay has good taste has to be the understatement of the year. You can check out more of the lovely Erica on her MySpace page, where accoring to the Boston Herald she likes, "being naked and spanking"
Which doesn't sound like a bad way to spend an evening with Erica.
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