http://www.yardbarker.com/users/celticsblog Recent Yardbarker Articles: celticsblog en-us I couldn't help but chuckle upon reading this blurb from a Miami Heat blog: (http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2008/07/ricky-do-lose-t.html) Among the emails to pass this way in the recent dog days of free agency are those wondering, just wondering, about the potential virtues of a Ricky Davis reunion. Yes, he can score. Yes, there might be something to be said about Davis as a sixth man. But there's no way you distance yourself from 15-67 by bringing back too much of the 15-67. With Mark Blount and Marcus Banks, there is little choice. They're under contract. But with Davis a free agent, the Heat would actively have to pursue a reunion. With all due respect to Heat fans, ...aaaaaaaaaahhhahahahahahah! Hooooo! Glad that's not us anymore. That is all I have to say about that. Thank you. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:31:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295583 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295583 Herald Tim Donaghy pals go to jail (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1109044 format=text) Globe League suspends Mahorn, 10 players (http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2008/07/25/league_suspends_mahorn_10_players?mode=PF) CelticsBlog Tough spot for D West (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3666 Itemid=189) Looking way back to 2000 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3668 Itemid=189) LOY's Place Rumors and free agent updates - lots of signings edition (http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2008/07/rumors-and-free-agent-updates-lots-of.html) Celtics 17 Tony Allen: Ever since this ubuntu thing (http://mvn.com/nba-celtics/2008/07/24/tony-allen-ever-since-this-ubuntu-thing/) ESPN Ellis inks a $67 million deal to stay with Warriors (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3504378) Team USA's golden oldie brings leadership, experience (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris page=TeamUSA-Kidd-080723) Battista sentenced to 15 months in prison; Martino gets one year (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3503167) Pierce says Olympic team needs to reclaim glory, win gold (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=3504106) And One Just a game to play (http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2008/07/just_a_game_to_play.html) The Leaf Chronicle Daughters... Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:21:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295497 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295497 A Daily Babble Production It appears the market is not being particularly kind to one former Celtic this summer. Point guard Delonte West is a restricted free agent in Cleveland, and while there have been rumors of interest from several teams around the league, he has received no formal offers. Since most teams can't offer anything beyond the mid-level exception, the consensus seems to be that an offer to West will certainly be matched by the Cavs. But as the News-Herald's Bob Finnan reports (http://www.news-herald.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19866232 BRD=1698 PAG=461 dept_id=21849 rfi=8), the Cavs and West are nowhere close to reaching an agreement on an extension. Word from Finnan is that at the very least, West will be looking for a deal that tops back-up Daniel Gibson's five-year, $21 million extension. When all is said and done, the Cavs will likely have leveled at least one long-term offer to West, who also has the option of taking the team's $2.76 million qualifying offer and heading for unrestricted free agency a year from now. Therein lies the catch to making the decision. If Delonte West feels like he is being low-balled by the Cavs, it would make sense for... Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:37:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295269 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295269 For some reason, I thought of Kedrick Brown (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Lor0CwwTE) today. That got me thinking about the old days. Not the good old days of the 80's. The bad old days of the early 00's. Believe it or not, I had already begun blogging back then. It wasn't actually a blog. I don't think blogs were invented yet. It was a website that you had to create files for each article and save them to the server and all that fun HTML stuff. Anyway, I found that old site, then called Celtics Rant (http://web.archive.org/web/20030308173227/www.sportsrant.net/celticsrant/rants/fallofempire.htm) on the wayback machine. I couldn't help but laugh at some of my writing. I had the same undying passion and hope for this team, but I did't have anything near the audience I have now. In fact, I think my audience consisted of a couple friends and my parents (who don't follow sports). So since it is pretty quiet for the moment, I thought I'd share this old article on the Fall of the Celtics Empire. I'll also follow it up with a couple more wayback archived posts. Enjoy. Read More (index.php?option=com_content task=view... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:11:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295206 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295206 Sports betting (legal and illegal) is a huge business, worldwide. On July 29th, former referee Tim Donaghy is scheduled (again) to be sentenced for passing information to gamblers, which gave them an edge in betting on NBA games. Why has it taken so long to pass judgement? You'd have to ask the lawyers and everyone has lawyers. Donaghy, the league and even the referees are represented by council, as the defendent tries to manipulate a lighter sentence and the other parties try to keep the NBA from becoming irrelevant entertainment, like professional wrestling. Here is the gist of Donaghy's claim for leniency as presented by William Bender of the Philadelphia Daily News on June 11th. In a letter submitted yesterday to U.S. District Court Judge Carol Amon, attorney John Lauro detailed Donaghy's testimony on the "inner-workings" of the NBA - a league in which Donaghy alleges executives manipulate games to boost earnings, referees accept gifts from coaches, and "anonymous" observers who are supposed to monitor the referees' performances hobnob with the refs in their locker room. Even on the less than high definition quality picture of my vintage Betamax , it became obvious to me, during the Eastern Conference finals in 1981, that some basketball games were officiated differently than some others. Watching the Philadelphia 76ers, giving up leads of 17 & 11 points respectively; while being held, poked, pummeled and pounded, during long stretches in the waning minutes of games six and seven, unable to score, possession after possession, under the watchful eyes of the three blind mice in striped shirts, gave credence to the lament of all of the losers' fans that had been suggesting for years that Boston got favorable calls. Remember, there weren't that many games televised in those days, which meant my vision of the events on the floor were being channeled by legendary homer announcer, Johnny Most. From there it was the "Jordan Rules" and the resultant acceptance of one criteria for the superstar and another for the rest of the players. I don't remember any real anger setting in until Shaquille O'Neal joined the Lakers and I watched in horror as he bulled his way to the hoop, knocking down anyone in his path, for the basket "and one." I didn't need Tim Donaghy's legal team to tell me that the Sacramento Kings got screwed in 2002 . I've often commented on the apparent ability of the league to influence the outcome of any game or series, merely by stressing certain instructions given to the referees for that event. rasheed-wallace.article.jpgAll it would take is to show some footage and instruct the refs. to keep an eye on the low post banging, to take Shaq out of any game. Showing footage of pulling and grabbing on the perimeter, would allow slashers like Dwayne Wade a much easier time. Since there are uncalled infractions on literally every possession almost any team or player can be singled out to be aided or retarded by attention to certain traits and tendencies. Why should it be a surprise that in this climate of flexible rules and implications that the league office was manipulating outcomes to get even with critics like Mark Cuban and favor big market franchises, that a referee would figure out how to cash in on this information? Suffice it to say that I was not shocked to read that Donaghy was indicted (and convicted). Now we read in an article by Jana Winter for Fox News that another referee, Scott Foster, might have some explaining to do.......... Read More ...(cell phone)records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering. With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided "picks" to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13. Donaghy might logically communicate with other referees he was officiating with, and there are many such calls in Donaghy's records. But Donaghy and Foster did not referee a single game together during the 2006-2007 season. Donaghy also had three other cell phone numbers registered in his name, all of which he used. But he called Foster using the phone the feds say he designated for mostly gambling-related use. The short calls with Foster stopped abruptly in mid March 2007, when Donaghy is believed to have stopped his gambling. 0_65_scott_foster7.jpg R.J. Bell of Pregame.com has tracked some of the games that Foster officiated. Here are some excerpts from that damning report . During the 2006-07 period under investigation, 10 games refereed by Scott Foster had lopsided enough betting on one team to move the point spread by at least 2 points; those 10 teams were UNDEFEATED against Vegas meaning that the big-money gamblers won a perfect 10 of 10 times on Fosters games; the odds of that happening randomly are greater than 1000 to 1 against! Also of note is the number of games refereed by Foster and Donaghy that resulted in big line moves. Ten of 62 games involving Foster during the period under investigation had line moves of 2 points or more (16% of games). Eight of 73 games refereed by Donaghy during 06-07 had line moves of 2 points or more (11%) of games. Combined, the two questionable referees had big line moves in 13% of their games. A random sample of the first 100 NBA games of December 2007 resulted in only 6% of games having a line move of 2 points or more.... Donaghy and Fosters games had big line moves over double as often as a random sample of NBA games. Thinking out loud, I wonder how Fox got the phone records in the first place? Could it be Donaghy's legal team, which implied in previous public statements that they had provided evidence of other ref's involvement which were being ignored by prosecutors? Someone on the prosecution team, or even in the league office, being frustrated by a coverup? Has anyone asked Donaghy what the conversations were about? If he's really serious about seeking leniency.... as a co-operating defendant and all that....I must presume that this topic will be broached. This is a story that will just not go away, as evinced by this article by Michael McCann for Sports Illustrated. watergate7a.jpgThough still unlikely, the odds of a Congressional investigation increased with news of Donaghy's and Foster's unusual calling pattern. (The calls reportedly tended to last less than two minutes and occur before and after games that Donaghy officiated and has admitted to betting on. No information is known about the nature of the calls, though government investigators have interviewed Foster.) Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, has expressed interest in the Donaghy investigation and more generally in how the NBA safeguards against criminal influences. In fact, in a letter addressed to commissioner David Stern last year, Rush admonished, "If the [Donaghy] allegations prove true, this could be one of the most damaging scandals in the history of American sports." ...last month, Rush wrote again to Stern, firmly insisting that Donaghy's statements to federal investigators raise "serious questions about the validity" of the NBA's assurances and, perhaps ominously for the league, that Rush is prepared "to intervene if necessary." To the extent Foster's role implicates the NBA in its monitoring of referees, Rush will clearly be more inclined to call a hearing. Sharon Jenkins, a spokesperson for Rush, confirmed to SI.com that the congressman is well aware of the Donaghy/Foster phone calls and is closely following the developments. She also said Rush may exercise his right to call a hearing. You can read Zebraphobia Pt 1, posted to this site in June of 2007: Here Michael McCann the previously noted writer for Sports Illustrated is also associated with The Sports Law Blog and will be the guest of Celtics Stuff Live to talk about this unfolding situation, on August 3rd., a few days after the next attempted sentencing of Donaghy. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:44:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294926 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294926 Herald Celtics bank on Tony Allen’s health (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1108810 format=text) WNBA fights for attention (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1108812 format=text) Hawks guard Childress signs with Greek club (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1108671 format=text) Globe Allen will be ready to jump in (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/07/24/allen_will_be_ready_to_jump_in?mode=PF) Posey introduced by Hornets (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/07/posey_introduce.html) Big Baby at RMV (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/07/rich_gotham_cel.html) MetroWest Daily Celts' brass enjoying glory (http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x2109422476/Megliola-Celts-brass-enjoying-glory) More Links After the Jump Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:52:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294904 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294904 Tony was in town to sign his contract yesterday, so the local scribes all have stories on him. Boston Herald - Rich Thompson (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1108810 srvc=rss) MetroWest - Scott Souza (http://blogs.metrowestdailynews.com/celtics/?p=1831) A few papers have the key quote by Ainge: “We just think he is healthy now,” said Ainge, who sounded relieved to be through with the bargaining process. “We (knew) there would be a transition last year when he came into training camp with a leg brace and wasn’t 100 percent healthy or mentally confident in his leg. “By the end of last season we thought he had turned the corner and Doc (Rivers) and I both think he’s going to have a breakout year this year.” But the one that really caught my eye was fom the Globe where Ainge compares and contrasts Tony and Posey: He's a slasher and attacks the rim. [Posey] is a spot-up shooter and he defends the bigger guys a little better than Tony, Ainge said. But Tony moves his feet and fights through screens better than Posey and he can play a little point. When [Rajon Rondo] went down, he scored 16 points in the first half against LA and we won a big game on the road. We gain things - he gets to... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:39:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294828 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294828 I saved some of my favorites for last, and Rondo is certainly one of my favorites. Anyone who has read this blog for long knows that I have a great affinity for pass-first point guards that can play defense. Once upon a time I had great hope for Orien Greene and before that I really wanted to believe Marcus Banks was going to be the answer. Those are just two examples of a long line of points that didn't pan out in Boston. Then along came Rajon Rondo. From his first summer league game, he was clearly better than Sebastian Telfair and had all the makings of a late first round steal. He's been slashing through the lane and setting up our shooters for open looks ever since. Every few months you can see real progress in his game, to the point where he has established himself as the 4th best player on the team, and one of the most important when it comes to determining the outcome of each game. When Rajon is on his game, there's simply no stopping this team. He has lightning quick speed that he uses in short bursts that keep the defenders on their heels. He is so important because when he's... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:20:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294770 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294770 A Daily Babble Production Two Western Conference teams made their rotations one step deeper this past Tuesday. One needed high-energy reserves however it could obtain them. The other was looking for help at a particular position and not only got that but a nice project player as well. The Suns signed Warriors forward Matt Barnes to a one-year deal (http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/07/22/20080722barnessuns.html), and the Warriors in turn sent a conditional future first-round draft pick to the Nets for enigmatic point guard Marcus Williams (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3500699). Both teams addressed needs and did so at bearable costs. We're hopping aboard the respective wagons on these two moves. Read More.. (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3660 Itemid=260)All of Steve's daily posts can be found in the CelticsBlog: NBA blog. Check him out! Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:57:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294726 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294726 Elrod Enchilada has his latest article up on RealGM. (http://celtics.realgm.com/articles/361/20080723/no_rest_for_the_architect_danny_ainges_summer_vocation/) A sample: But the more important reason is that Danny is already thinking three or four years down the road, to when KG and Pierce and certainly Ray Allen are moving past their primes and the Cs will no longer be in contention. Although winning in 2009 and 2010 is job one for Danny, there is a job two: extending the Garnett-Pierce era another season or two to 2011 or 2012 or even 2013. Having James Posey’s 34 or 35 year old body and $7 million contract would undermine that. Danny wants to have the chance to use whatever money he can on players who are either off the books quickly, like Eddie House, or who will still be in their prime the duration of their contracts. So good-bye James. Likewise, another way to extend the Garnett-Pierce era is to develop young players who can emerge within one or two or three years as valuable rotation players. This is how teams like the Patriots stay at the top in the NFL and it plays to Danny’s exceptionally keen eye for locating talented players in the bowels of the first round and the second round of the draft. It has the additional and crucial... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:28:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294661 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294661 Herald Sebastian Telfair gets multiyear deal from T’wolves (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1108584 format=text) Full plate for Glen Davis (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/2008_07_23_Full_plate_for_Glen/srvc=sports position=recent) CelticsBlog Runnin' Fives: Toronto Raptors (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3652 Itemid=189) Zebraphobia part II (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3658 Itemid=203) LOY's Place Brawl breaks out in WNBA game (http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2008/07/brawl-breaks-out-in-wnba-game.html) Rumors and free agent updates - options are dwindling edition (http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2008/07/san-antonio-spurs-re-signed-36-year-old.html) More Links After the Jump Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:47:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294355 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294355 A Daily Babble Production Welcome to the newest edition of the CelticsBlog NBA page's newest feature, Runnin' Fives. Over the course of the next few months, we'll be picking a five-man all-time team for each of the Association's thirty currently active franchises. The rules are simple: The goal is to put together the best possible standard five-man line-up (two guards, two forwards, one center, with some room for finagling if need be) for each team based on the performance of the players while with said team. For instance, it's hard to imagine Michael Jordan making the Washington squad or Karl Malone or Gary Payton challenging for spots in Los Angeles (or Mark Blount making any team, anywhere). We'll be progressing from youngest franchise to oldest at the rate of one to two teams per week, pursuant to the workings of the NBA's news cycle and availability of sources as we'll be checking in with bloggers, beat writers, fans and anybody else we can get a hold of for insight on their teams. And of course, we're always looking for your input, and we invite all readers to submit their own line-ups, honorable mentions, dishonorable mentions and everything in between in the comments section below. We eagerly look forward to hearing from you! We kicked off... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:58:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294172 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294172 Yesterday, our own Steve Weinman (see all his posts on CelticsBlog NBA (index.php?option=com_content task=blogsection id=10 Itemid=241) ) took some time to help Hornets fans become better aquainted with James Posey. See his post here. (http://www.hornets247.com/post.php?id=247265) Here's a small clip: But what you’ll see when you watch him every night is more than that. This isn’t a guy who just makes an effort defensively. He makes every effort for every second he is on the floor. He is the type of defender who wants to be inside the clothes of his man. He is the sort of player who just has to have every 50-50 ball. He’ll back down from nobody. He’ll come out of scrums clutching loose balls that you thought he didn’t have a chance to get. He’ll give your Hornets team a mean streak and an added layer of protection for every player on the team. This is a guy who truly gets the meaning of working or what’s on the front of the jersey. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:02:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294068 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294068 A lot of what this team still needs depends upon how good Patrick O'Bryant really is this year. If he can't give us productive minutes backing up Perk, we're stuck with smallball and forcing KG to guard centers. If he can develop into a solid option, that shores up the 4 and 5 positions quite nicely. Is Danny ready to roll the dice on that chance? Not just yet. In his interview on WEEI today, Ainge note that if the playoffs started today he wouldn't be satisfied with the backup center position. I suppose that means that he'll wait and see what O'Bryant can offer the team. If he can't cut it, Ainge will look for either another PJ Brown type of late season pickup, or explore trade options during the season. Nobody really knows what we are going to get out of O'Bryant. He admits himself that he had problems with work ethic. The other side of the coin, however, is that he might not have had much of a chance in Golden St. Consider this anecdote by Bay Area blogger Tim Kawakami (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/07/21/the-warriors-bye-bye-brigade-barnes-pietrus-and-obryant-and-baron-get-new-scenery/) (hat tip to JE Skeets... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:54:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293848 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293848 Herald Celtics back on guard (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1108390 format=text) James Posey: Move was tough deal (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1108391 format=text) Tony Allen, Eddie House to sign with Celtics (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1108241 format=text) Globe Celtics rebound, re-sign Allen, House (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/07/22/celtics_rebound_re_sign_allen_house?mode=PF) NBA restructures referee operations (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/07/nba_restructure.html) C's to unveil new license plate (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/07/cs_to_unveil_ne.html) MetroWest Daily Celtics: Allen, House signed (http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x2109422126/Celtics-Allen-House-signed) More Links After the Jump Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:54:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293849 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293849