The Daily Grind

-FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Yankees are once again bringing aboard Sidney Ponson. Ponson left the Rangers on bad terms, but he was off to a torrid start with a 3.88 ERA. It's not likely that he'll keep that up. He had a 6.25 ERA in 16 starts, 19 appearances for the Yankees in 2006. This won't stop the Yankees from pursuing a more permanent staple for their rotation. Look for the Bedard, Sabathia, Harang and Arroyo rumors to continue.

-The Mariners apparently will begin the rebuilding process by releasing Richie Sexson. This will lead to Kenji Johjima to get more starts at first base, and that will in turn free up starts behind the plate for prospect Jeff Clement. It's clear the interim management in Seattle is really looking to clean house and get the awful taste of Bill Bavasi out of their mouths as quickly as possible.

-Tiger Woods will now missing the rest of the 2008 calendar year with a torn ACL. I am not a huge golf guy, but watching Tiger this weekend was a pretty cathartic experience. It really finally set in with me that he is the best professional athlete I have ever seen in my life. He's better than Jordan, Gretzky, Brady, Federer, etc... Its a sad day for golf, Tiger will miss the British Open, it'll be the first major he has missed since turning pro in 1996. Very unfortunate situation.

-The Lakers did not play a lick of defense, and no one denies that. But I don't think that Phil Jackson's rotations did the team any favors. Vladimir Radmanovic and Derek Fisher are pretty solid players with the 3-ball. Vlad shot 38% for the series from downtown, Fisher only shot 18%. But, thats not the point. A few names: Trevor Ariza, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf. Three players who did not get nearly enough burn in the series for the Lakers, and guys who play pretty solid defense with a mean streak.

-I was at the Celtics game last night. The atmosphere was crazy. The crowd started tons of anti-LA/anti-Kobe chants ("Beat LA," "No Means No," "Where's Kobe?" etc), I did not really participate. That is not to say I didn't cheer and/or vocally get into the game, I did, but it was kind of a personal experience for me. While everyone else in the building was seemingly convincing themselves the game and the championship was a wrap at halftime, I was constantly trying to create situations in my head that will get LA back into the game. This continued until there were 6 game-minutes left. I am crazy, I know.

I also felt I kept to myself throughout the game because I feel like I approach being a Celtics fan from a somewhat unique position. I am not a Celtics fan because of the history of the franchise. That is not to say I do not respect the history. I do. And I know quite a bit about it. And I love listening to scribes like Bob Ryan tell great stories about the great history of the Celtics. I am a Celtics fan because of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Eddie House, etc, you get the idea. The last five years I have fallen in love over and over again with the roster. I loved Delonte West, and I loved Al Jefferson. Scratch that, I still love those guys. The point is, I loved to immerse myself in the team, discover what certain players did well, and what they didn't do well. And I loved watching college basketball, ruffling through looking for players I thought could help the Celtics or oppose the Celtics in coming years. I will admit I loved Rafael Arajuo. Yeah, I know he sucks, or sucked... He might be out of the league.

For years prior to this, I loved to talk about the Celtics to anyone who would listen, and there weren't that many of them. I loved to talk about Jefferson, Delonte, Rondo and Perkins. I love to talk about their strengths and weaknesses. I loved to talk about how hard they all played, and how while I wasn't sure they were good enough to bring a banner to Boston, I was sure they would make most Celtics fans proud.

Then this year happened. And I was honestly lost. Suddenly I wasn't the only Celtics expert I knew. Everyone thought they were an expert. Instead of trying to dissect losses, and find the positives. I was forced to try to follow and understand winning, at an overwhelming 80.5% clip. I had to totally change my perspective as a Celtics fan, and as a basketball fan as a whole. I had trouble watching college basketball because, what reinforcements did the team need? Eventually I found my way, and I got on-board, it was harder than it should have been. It all happened so quickly over the last twelve months, it's hard for me to put it in words. It seems like just yesterday I was looking at the Globe the day after the draft lottery and seeing a picture of Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers facing the media with their heads down.


Congratulations to Paul Pierce. My favorite basketball player of all time. I have watched him play more than any other professional athlete in person, and on television. Pierce is a fascinating individual. He is not a petulant superstar, but he's not a team-first, me-second guy either. But he's the captain of the greatest basketball team in the world. It was worth the $450 just to see Paul Pierce on the stage as the MVP of the NBA Finals. Although Ray Allen probably should have been the MVP, if its based just on performance. But we all know there is an element of sentimentality and politics involved in the award.

-Getting into the NBA Draft, because it is time for that. Most reports (including ESPN's Chad Ford) seem to indicate that Chicago will take Derrick Rose with the first overall pick. That would leave Miami in line to pick Michael Beasley. But this is where it gets tricky, because Pat Riley is reportedly not high on either Rose or Beasley. I guess Miami seems to dislike Beasley's motor, worried he might be the next Derrick Coleman. And a lot of people out of Miami seem to think that a Rose-Wade back court might not work out since they are both primarily slashers and sub-par jump-shooters. O.J. Mayo could be the pick, or the Heat could trade the pick to Memphis for Kyle Lowry, Mike Miller and the fifth overall pick. Minnesota, I think, despite a lot of smoke and mirrors, will select whoever remains of Mayo, Rose, or Beasley.

If I am Pat Riley, I need a point guard who can shoot and get the ball to the best slasher in the NBA (when healthy), Dwayne Wade in space. Derrick Rose, though an immense talent, does not seem to fit that description. O.J. Mayo can fit the description, and he's a great talent, but he seems like more a two-guard, and he might not be able to share the ball efficiently with Wade. The Memphis trade intrigues me. I am not saying I love it for the Heat, but it is something to think about. Mike Miller would be a great replacement for Jason Kapono, whose 3 point shooting the Heat sorely missed this year. Dwayne Wade slashes to the hoop, passes out of a double-team to a wide-open Mike Miller. Swish. Heat fans could get used to that. Kyle Lowry is not a great shooter, but he has the makings of a solid NBA point guard. Lowry's AST, a Hollinger stat that measures the percentage of a player's possessions that end in assists was 33% in his 2006-2007 regular season, which would have put him the company of Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul this past year. I'll say it a bunch of times in the coming weeks and months: a healthy Dwayne Wade, a big PF signing/trade in the form of Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, and some polished young players... The Heat could turn things around very quickly.

-I missed Sean Grande's call last night. I guess Cedric Maxwell messed it up by screaming, "I got the ball," after the game ball fell in his lap. That's really too bad. If I hadn't been at the game, I would have muted the TV to hear Grande's call. If anyone's got a link for it, let me know.

-Pratt and I will go pretty in-depth with this tomorrow night, but I'm just gonna drop a quick list of teams that will offer James Posey the full Mid-Level Exception (and it will take the full MLE to sign him): The Celtics, Bulls, Lakers, Heat, Wizards, Cavaliers, Pistons, Magic, Hawks, Jazz and Hornets. I know any team will love to have him, he's a great glue guy, but any team with 0% chance of winning a title or going deep in the playoffs might as well not bother. Posey knows that, and the teams know that as well. The Rockets wont inquire unless they move Shane Battier. The Mavericks, I think, are on the way down. He won't go there, and they'd be fools to even ask. The Spurs, I think would be a good fit, but they like to discover their glue guys, so they'll hold down the fort with Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoku. Much more on this later. It's the biggest plot of the Celtics off-season. Yes, bigger than the draft.

-San Diego and Los Angeles might be big buyers in the trade market. Arizona has begun to falter badly, their young offense has been sputtering. The management of the Padres and the Dodgers may believe they could steal a weak division with a major upgrade or two.

Tune in tomorrow night... http://etin.emerson.edu have ITUNES or Windows Media Player ready. Its going to be a great show. Check back to the blog later tonight/tomorrow for the big preview page.

Miscellaneous Video of the Day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UUBC8NoQgA
The Brian Scalabrine Presser after the Celtics clinched the title. Is he the smartest or dumbest human being alive? Maybe that's not the right question. Is he Bill Walton without the talent? A more open-ended question: What the heck do you make of this guy?

Old School Rap Video of the Day:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1hZKN4AZ63g
The Pharcyde- "Runnin'"
Labcabincalifornia, their 1995 albums is one of my all-time favorite rap albums. A truly unique gem. Check it out if this is new to you. It shouldn't be new to you.