Sox Triple Play Makes John Valentin a Household Topic (for a day)

It's been a long, looong time since John Valentin was whining about Nomar usurping his starting shortstop spot and was shifted to third base and anonymity. But the Redsox complete a triple play and who is the first name discussed, John freaking Valentin. From the Herald:

“It was a bunt situation,” Valentin said. “(Mariners manager) Lou Piniella put on the bunt and (Newfield) fouled it off. Then he put on the hit and run and the next pitch was a line drive right at my shoetops. I caught it, touched the base, and touched Keith Mitchell running from first, and that was it.

“Right place at the right time. If you’re going to turn a triple play, you’ve got to be a little bit on the lucky side. It was pretty exciting time.”

Wilfork name surfaces in Shapiro's allegations against Miami Hurricanes

Vince Wilfork and Nevin Shapiro in 2002

The allegations in the University of Miami scandal include the Pats' Vince Wilfork. While its unlikely Wilfork will receive any punishment it will definitely tarnish his image, and even more likely the 2001 Miami National Championship may end up being rescinded. Read the in-depth investigation by Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson here:
Renegade Miami football booster spells out illicit benefits to players

The first was Wilfork, thanks to Shapiro’s relationship and a $50,000 lump sum payment the booster said he gave to the defensive tackle during his junior season. Later, the booster said he provided a pair of $50,000 Cadillac Escalades to Wilfork and his fiancée shortly after the defensive tackle declared for the draft.

Tom "Satch" Sanders - Portrait of a Career (Hat-tip hoopism)

Image Courtesy of Robb Harskamp and Milton Un, in collaboration with Hoopism.com.

Nothing Is Sacred - The Hollywood Remake of Poltergeist

A new ongoing feature of this site will be the "Nothing Is Sacred" series on how Hollywood can take a classic film and completely ruin it. The first film we are going to explore is Tobe Hooper & Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic Poltergeist. Sadly, this movie is actually going to be remade, so here is our predicted cast:

Role	1982 Original	The Hollywood Remake
Steve Freeling	Craig T. Nelson	Aaron Eckhart
Diane Freeling	JoBeth Williams	Maggie Gyllenhaal
Dana Freeling	Dominique Dunne	Dakota Fanning
Robbie Freeling	Oliver Robins	Joel Courtney
Carol Anne Freeling	Heather O'Rourke	Willow Smith
Dr. Lesh	Beatrice Straight	Sally Field
Tangina	Zelda Rubinstein	Betty White
Marty	Martin Casella	Andy Samberg
Ryan	Richard Lawson	Donald Glover
Mr. Teague	James Karen	John Slattery

The recasting of 4/5 of the Freeling family is easy. Eckhart and Gyllenhaal get to recapture their chemistry from The Dark Knight and Joel Courtney fresh off of his Super 8 fame moves on to star with the older Fanning sister. Carol Anne Freeling however presents the opportunity of a lifetime to one aspiring young actress, until of course Will Smith hears about it and forces a rewrite of the role so his daughter can star as the now adopted Freeling daughter.

The rest of the cast just falls right into place and turns this home run into a grand slam. Sally Field pushing her acting ability to the edge. Betty White is BIG right now! Sanberg and Glover are hilarious and finally add some much needed comedic relief to the dark film. And John Slattery is the guy from Mad Men!

Low Risk, High Reward - Haynesworth gets traded to the Patriots

The big question for the Pats the past few seasons has been the defensive line, which had not seemed to recover from the loss of Richard Seymour. The 6'6" 310 pound Seymour was constantly doubled and opened up the entire defensive line for bigger opportunities, particularly in the pass rush. They have found a potential answer to that huge void in 6'6" 335 pound Albert Haynesworth III. There isnt a huge risk here, they are only giving up a 5th round pick and the majority of Haynesworth's $100 million contract with the Redskins has been paid out (the Pats will be paying more in the line of $5 million for his services this season).

He has had his issues on and off the field, but thats the epitome of the risk/reward situation. Were his two seasons/20 games in Washington aberrations from an otherwise productive career or an indication of where things are heading? That has yet to be determined. But one thing we have seen is that Mike Shannahan has not had too many happy players under his regime there and there is a firesale surrounding very talented athletes on their roster.

								Def Interceptions	Fumbles		Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Sk	PD	FF	FR	Tkl	Ast	Sfty	AV
2002	21	TEN		91	16	3	1.0	3			21	9		3
2003	22	TEN	RDT	92	12	11	2.5	4	0	2	21	10		6
2004	23	TEN	RDT	92	10	10	1.0	3	2	0	26	11		4
2005	24	TEN	RDT	92	14	14	3.0	1	1	0	36	16		5
2006	25	TEN	RDT	92	11	10	2.0	2			23	7		4
2007*+	26	TEN	RDT	92	13	12	6.0	4			32	8		14
2008*+	27	TEN	RDT	92	14	14	8.5	2	3	2	41	10		19
2009	28	WAS	RDT	92	12	12	4.0	5	0	1	30	8		6
2010	29	WAS		92	8	0	2.5	1			13	3		1
Career					110	86	30.5	25	6	5	243	82		62
7 yrs		TEN			90	74	24.0	19	6	4	200	71		55
2 yrs		WAS			20	12	6.5	6	0	1	43	11		7

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/28/2011.

The Pats seem to have a precedent set with some other success stories and really dont have much to lose in this scenario.

2004 - Corey Dillon:

Dillon bristled at his lack of carries and told reporters he wanted out. After a loss to Cleveland left the Bengals 8-8 and ended their season, Dillon threw his helmet, shoulder pads and cleats into the stands at Paul Brown Stadium, convinced he would be traded with two years left on his contract.

"They don't need me," Dillon said afterward. "They've been winning, quote unquote, without me."

The Bengals of course have not manufactured malcontent after malcontent, right? And they have done so much in the years since Dillon, like creating a sitution where their "franchise" QB has told the team he will retire before playing another game for them. For the Pats, Dillon set a Franchise record with 1,635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2004 and helped lead them to their 3rd Superbowl.


2007 -Randy Moss:

That said, adding Moss, who will be playing for his third different team in four seasons and who now has been traded twice in three years, clearly involves some risk. Belichick and New England officials apparently have been candid in apprising Moss that there will be a zero-tolerance approach, and that the kind of behavior he has manifested at times in the past will not be acceptable.

Moss, 30, had not participated in any of the offseason conditioning sessions conducted by first-year Oakland head coach Lane Kiffin and the suspicion was that he would not show up for the start of training camp. Hoping to keep any distractions for his young head coach to a minimum, Raiders' owner Al Davis decided that Moss had to go.

The Raiders of course had a franchise QB that they did not want tarnished by Moss' attitude! For the 2007 Pats, Moss not only set a franchise record, he broke the Jerry Rice's NFL record with 23 TD catches.

E'Twaun Moore's Draft Day Diary

The behind the scenes look at the Celtics #55 overall draft pick, E'Twaun Moore. There have been rumors that Moore has signed with the Italian Serie A Team Cimberio Varese, but that deal supposedly will have a small window for him to opt-out should the NBA Lockout ever end.

From the Globe:

Team president Danny Ainge can’t give his approval or disapproval to Moore heading to Europe, or offer a guaranteed contract as incentive for him to remain in the States.

“It makes it tough, there’s no question,’’ Bartelstein said. “There’s things we’d like to be able to have a conversation with Danny about because I know how highly they feel about E’Twaun. But the problem at this point, we just have no confidence that the league wants to get a deal done.’’

Obviously the Celtics will retain draft rights for another year even if he signs with Varese, which could turn out to be a better option if he's Red Claw bound. But if they legitimately need SG depth, which they look like they do, it would be a big loss.

Sadly the NBA lockout has made it that

is a better and safer option in comparison to

Delonte West - The Lockout (Album Preview)

This is definitely unremarkable if I'm trying tp be nice (as we still want Redz to re-sign with Boston) but in reality just downright awful. I certainly hope Delonte did not pay real money for this "cinematography" and "production". The fact that they left the comments on youtube unmoderated is a BIG mistake. And I thought Marquis Daniels debut was bad!


Can this lockout end soon!

Don't quit your day job! (If you still have one)

With the lockout looming, its seems like some of the C's/ex-C's have been pursuing new careers. Needless to say based on what these guys are doing with their free time, the lockout needs to end soon!

Paul Pierce, professional gambler? Not for long after going all-in in the second round of the WSOP.



Rajon Rondo, Thespian? While he's making some serious Nike loot in this shoot, he doesn't quite look quite ready to follow in the shoes of Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen!


Ray Allen, however, might be pursuing a career as a Children's Birthday Party Entertainer? This is actually from his kid's birthday, but hilarious nonetheless!



Marquis "Q6" Daniels, gangsta rapper? Perhaps on his next single he'll have Delonte West freestyle? One can only hope!





Glen Davis (& fellow LSU Alum Tyrus Thomas), Movie Producer? Apparently so. I have a strange feeling this potential new addition to the Criterion Collection is going to be released straight to youtube!



Shaq has moved on from retirement to TV, actually a legitimate career move, becoming a broadcaster for the next season (if there is one). We predicted a move to ESPN and weren't too far off.

Locked Out - Point/Counterpoint

NBA:

“We’re not going to lose any money. I’m not going to be commissioner of a league that is comfortable [losing money]. Because I don’t have a group of owners who find it acceptable for me to have that conversation with them."

“You don’t have $4 billion worth of revenue and pay out over $2 billion in salary and benefits to lose money. It’s something that we have sort of gotten used to as the revenues have gone up … but the world has changed about the prospect for all franchises, the world has changed for a lot of reasons – and economically – and now people who make investments in buildings and things expect not to lose money.”

-NBA Commissioner David Stern

Players Union:

As for the owners, they can inject all the fuzzy math they want into the equation about how many teams are losing money and how much, but humor me for a second while I get rhapsodize rhetorical:

1. How many of these billionaires actually rely on their teams to make ends meet?

2. How is it that every time a team gets sold, it fetches more folding money than the last time it was up for bids?

Stern orates about wanting the owners and players to be equal partners. I assume that means losses and profits. Fine, so fix it that the players get half the profit when the franchise is sold and half the annual write-offs.

You know who really deserves a seat at the table? No, not paying customers; they apparently enjoy having their pockets picked, no matter how deep.

It's the arena ancillaries, especially in smaller markets -- from team game-days to vendors to parking lot attendants, all whom badly need those 41-plus dates to help balance their own books -- in addition to neighborhood restaurant owners, whose existence might not totally depend on pre-and-post-game traffic, but get to maintain/increase staffs because of it.

These are the only people I'm really concerned about.

Don't make me pretend I care what happens to the owners or the players.

-Peter Vescey, NY POST

NBA:

"The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams. We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship, fairly compensates our players, and provides teams, if well-managed, with an opportunity to be profitable."

"We have made several proposals to the union, including a deal targeting $2 billion annually as the players' share -- an average of approximately $5 million per player that could increase along with league revenue growth. Elements of our proposal would also better align players' pay with performance."

- NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver

Players Union:

"For anyone who wants to extrapolate these numbers to the rest of the league, caveats apply. These are six-year-old financials for a single team in the NBA, where market size is destiny and where, for instance, New York's books won't look anything like Milwaukee's. What's more, this is about as close a look as you'll get at the financial workings of a sports franchise, and even then the balance sheets are hopelessly opaque. But that's partly the point. In the modern era, franchises are owned by businessmen who approach their teams as one of many interconnected wealth-generating mechanisms. As in Fort's example above, the real value of one asset (the Nets) can't be known without looking at the numbers for another (the Barclays Center) and another (the rest of the Atlantic Yards development), and so on. There's nothing illegal or even wrong with that, but in such a system you can see very quickly why incentives for owners often fall irreparably out of plumb with the wishes of their fans — owners want to maximize revenue (which is their right), and fans want to win (which is their nature), and both Wayne Huizenga and the folks in the grandstand at PNC Park will tell you that these goals aren't necessarily compatible."

-Deadspin: How to make a $7 million Profit look like $28 million Loss

NBA:
“I’m not scared; I’m resigned to the potential damage that it can cause to our league.” -David Stern

Before We Get Carried Away

"An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise."Red Auerbach

ESPN Boston 2011

Johnson is not Kevin Garnett, to be sure ("Don't anybody write it," Rivers joked Thursday), but there are several striking similarities between the pair's respective games. Both are long, athletic big men, capable of working with their backs to the basket in the post and stepping out and consistently knocking down a 15- to 18-foot jumper. Both understand what their strengths are on the offensive end and they stick to spots on the floor where they can best utilize those strengths -- a tactic Johnson impressed Rivers with during his pre-draft workout with the Celtics earlier this month.

"They're very similar... Same body type," said Rivers. "At the same time in their lives, [Johnson's] probably a better shooter, and Kevin became a great shooter. So there's a lot of upside things with him."

Hartford Courant 1993

"To be able to get our hands on a player of Acie's talent is quite fortunate for us, given that big men are at a premium," said Celtics coach Chris Ford.

Earl still is a gamble, highly touted as he may be. Earl is no Russell, nor is he Bill Walton -- although he does work out with Walton. Earl isn't even a Parish, although there is a resemblance.

"A lot of people used to compare me to Robert Parish," Earl said. "The shot-blocking ability, the shooting touch we both possess . . ."

Acie Earl: 6'10 240
JaJuan Johnson: 6'10 220

Both were Big Ten Defensive Player of Year (Earl 1993, Johnson 2011)

Earl's Junior Year: 19.5 PPG 7.8 RPG 4.0 BPG
Johnson's Junior Year: 15.5 PPG 7.1 RPG 2.0 BPG

Earl's Senior Year: 16.9 PPG 8.9 RPG 2.5 BPG
Johnson Senior Year: 20.5 PPG 8.5 RPG 2.1 BPG

If that doesn't scare you, this will:



If you are currently looking to buy a house in Iowa, Acie is your man!

#12 & #55 Meet the Media

"Kevin's a great teacher. Actually, the best teacher that I've ever coached, by far. But if you don't listen the first time, he'll never teach you again, and that's just how he works. We warn guys of that, and some follow, and end up being coached by Kevin Garnett, and some think they know it all, and they're not."
-Doc Rivers

#12 JaJuan & #55 E'Twaun met the media for the first time officially as Boston Celtics team members. In regards to the life lessons of KG, Johnson will "definitely listen". He better. As Patrick O'Bryant once learned, these classes are not an easy A, particularly for those that don't pay attention:

To Rivers' earlier point about past teammates who didn't listen, a post-practice session between Garnett and former C's center Patrick O'Bryant from two years ago still comes to mind. Garnett spent the entire time dunking over the blank-faced O'Bryant and shouting, "Do you feel me?" -Mark Murphy

Not a whole lot of updates from Ainge other than the usual media mumbo-jumbo. Meaning no movement before the lockout, Green's qualifying offer will be made, no updates on Davis'/Delonte's status with the team, nor updates on potential return of the other bench filler from the 2010-11 squad (yes to Arroyo/Pavlovic but no to Wafer/Murphy), nor any potential free agent targets (from Marquis to CP3).

“We can’t really get anything major done. We’ll have some more conversations before July 1 comes along, and then we’ll just go from there. I think we’re all hopeful, but we just have to deal with what’s there.” -Danny Ainge

Translation, get ready for an even slower summer than normal and who knows how long this lockout will be. Here's a clip from the Media session with the new Rookies:

Purdone: C's go with 2 Boilermakers Johnson & Moore

"Two really good, productive college players. Mature kids, great character and attitude. We got some shooting, we got some length, and I think they're a good fit for us."

"We think [Johnson is] a both-ends-of-the-court player. He can shoot, he can rebound, block shots. He's got some good energy and good length. I think that he fits a lot of parts that we need."
-Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge

"I like it. Big 10 Player of the Year, athletic, can shoot -- I like it a lot. We didn't think he'd be there and he was. [Johnson can] pick-and-pop, he's a terrific shooter for his size and [is] extremely athletic. Obviously, he rebounded well in college which you hope translates over. But we've proven we can get bigs shots and, so we can get him shots and he'll make them. The defensive part, he comes from a great program, he's a high-character kid, and at [No. 27], that's what you hope for."
-Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers

Personally I really like the Moore pick a lot, he's a smart kid and had a very impressive collegiate career (in 2010-11 he had eleven 20+ points games, three of which were 30+ point games). Johnson seems like a risk, particularly with his need to bulk up for the NBA game. He's shown flashes of brilliance, a 17 rebound 7 block game against Michigan State and was the Big Ten Player of the Year and also Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Both are 4 year college players and have the ability to contribute right away. Moore was an Academic All-American and a Third Team All-American. Moore is only the fourth player in Big Ten history to tally 2,000 points (2,136), 500 rebounds (611), and 350 assists (400) in a career.


JaJuan Johnson's Draft Combine Interview:



E'twaun Moore's Draft Combine Interview:

2011 Draft Prospecting - Our Pick for #25 - Jeremy Tyler

Overview:
Jimmy Butler out of Marquette, Jeremy Tyler the High Schooler/turned pro in Japan/Israel and Norris Cole out of Cleveland State seem to be the primary targets for the C's. There have been murmurs of moving up to get USC's Vucevic, but for a guy who's upside is basically Nenad Krstic, it just doesn't seem likely, particularly if it involves the very valuable 2012 Clippers pick. JaJuan Johnson is another name that seems to be mentioned, but my guess is that Ainge is hoping he drops into the second round as he needs bulk, he's so skinny he makes Tayshaun Prince look obese.

Our Pick:
Jeremy Tyler, San Diego, CA
The risk/reward factor is there with Tyler, but quite simply the Celtics need to swing for the fences and get someone who can immediately help the Big 3 on the run for #18. While Butler is the safest bet, he is another Swing Forward and, provided Green comes back and Marquis returns for 3.0, the C's are stocked right now. The depth at the 5 is Jermaine O'Neal. Delonte West (hopefully back as well) and Avery Bradley (expecting huge year out of him), make Cole's a Lobsterclaw almost by default. I like Johnson, but moving the 55th pick and the 2013 2nd rounder to get a pick in the 40's seems a better approach to nabbing him. Which brings us back to Tyler, whom seems like the best fit for the C's at #25.

After initially committing to the Rickator & Louisville, Tyler went straight from High School to the Israeli Super League's Maccabi Haifa, but was labeled a "bust" after playing in just 10 games. Somewhat ridiculous considering he was just 18, should have been a High School Senior and instead was living in a tumultuous Foreign Land. Tyler quit and moved home after just under a year with Haifa.

"Was he ready to accept the responsibility of going to a foreign country? Probably not. It's quite different from Brandon Jennings," his advisor Sonny Vaccaro said. "It's more embarrassing than detrimental."

Moreover when you look at the comments from Tyler, even more questions arise as to what type of environment it was in Israel:

"If he just gave me a little confidence, said something to me in practice, it would make a big difference," Tyler said of then-coach Avi Ashkenazi. "But he doesn't. He just ignores me."


Tyler then went to Japan to play for pro ball for the Tokyo Apache, while seeing 33 games of action the performance was still underwhelming, but once again it is skewed due to lack of playing time. In 15.4 minutes per game he averaged 9.9 points on 51.7% shooting and 6.4 rebounds, not exactly horrific numbers, particularly when looking at other foreign prospects like Enes Kanter or Bismack Biyombo. For a team desperate for offense, like the Celtics, 10 points in 15 minutes of play is exactly what this team needs. Combine that with the tutelage of Kevin Garnett, whom had a few off years coming straight out of highschool, and its an ideal scenario for Tyler to come to the Celtics.

This is the pick that is not the safest bet, but with the C's desperate need to contend now, the necessity to hit a home run with this pick is huge, not so much is the need to find someone to ride the pine.

The NY Times did a very interesting Bio of Tyler a few years back and its worth reviewing to get a better idea of why Tyler might have been motivated to take $140,000 to go to Israel rather than the privilage of a few years with the Ricktator. Here's a quote on his current motivation, in case you're envisioning the second coming of Andrew Bynum:

“I have a vision, and my vision is to make the pros and have a successful life,” Tyler said. “Partying and all that stuff isn’t in my arsenal.”

Obviously crazy things will happen on draft night and who knows if Tyler's stock will rise/fall in the coming hours. It would not surprise me if Bishop Ainge traded all of his assets for the BYU savior Jimmer, but I'm pretty sure Doc and Wyc would not be attending the Draft "Party" if he did!

Notes
As previously mentioned, we've been using the tremendous Draft Profiles put together by Chris Forsberg/Grag Payne @ ESPN's Boston Celtics Blog, here's an overview of all of their hard work:

THE BIGS
Nikola Vucevic, 7-0, 260 lbs., USC
Jeremy Tyler, 6-11, 263 lbs., Tokyo Apache
Kenneth Faried, 6-8, 225 lbs., Morehead State
Justin Harper, 6-9, 228 lbs., Richmond
JaJuan Johnson, 6-10, 220 lbs., Purdue
Jon Leuer, 7-0, 223 lbs., Wisconsin
Jordan Williams, 6-9, 247 lbs., Maryland
Trey Thompkins, 6-10, 239 lbs., Georgia
Malcolm Thomas, 6-9, 223 lbs., San Diego State
Greg Smith, 6-10, 253 lbs., Fresno State
Keith Benson, 6-11, 217 lbs., Oakland

THE OTHERS  
PG Malcolm Lee, 6-6, 198 lbs., UCLA
PG Norris Cole, 6-2, 175 lbs., Cleveland State
PG Reggie Jackson, 6-3, 208 lbs., Boston College
SG Marshon Brooks, 6-5, 195 lbs., Providence
SF Jimmy Butler, 6-8, 222 lbs., Marquette
SF Kyle Singler, 6-9, 228 lbs., Duke