Beantown Breakdown: Boston Sports Report

With all of the success of Boston's sports teams, are they becoming "Title Town, USA"?

 

 

Boston Celtics

Gang Green knocked off the Hawks and are now tied with the Sixers in their 2^nd round playoff series. The Celtics pride themselves on being a veteran team with championship experience but in Game 2 against Philadelphia they looked lethargic offensively until they rallied back in the 4^th quarter only to fall in the waning minutes with a brand of basketball that can be best described as befuddled and confused. When Rajon Rondo was asked what he was looking for when he chewed up the clock late in the game only to settle for a long range jumper that clanged off the iron, Rondo shrugged and said, “I don’t even know.” Really Rajon?

The Celtics will have to go back to basics and dictate the pace and flow early instead of mounting a surge late as they are prone to do if they want to take a game on the road in Philly. If they fail to execute and get down 3-1, Boston fans can already start thinking about next year.

Red Sox

Boston has finally exhibited a pulse by winning four straight with shaky ace Jon Lester slamming the door shut on the Mariners last night 8-0. While all signs indicate that Jon Lester may be rounding into form, the same cannot be said of his beleaguered counterpart Josh Beckett. Beckett lit up the sports talk shows around Boston when he played 27 holes on an off day during a week that manager gave him off to rest his sore lat. Beckett then trotted onto the Fenway diamond amid a chorus of boo's from the disenchanted home crowd only to be lit up for seven runs on seven hits and did not even make it out of the 3^rd inning. 

While Boston is about as tough a sports city as there is, only one thing that irks the fans more than failure is what Josh Beckett epitomizes…indifference. Fans in general cannot stand it when their emotional investment is far greater than the players’. While virtually all athletes are more concerned with their own interests above the teams, the least they can do is play the game. Josh Beckett has yet to learn this and doesn’t seem willing to try. Perhaps a change of scenery is in the offing but the Sox will want him to make a few good appearances before shipping him elsewhere in order to get as much value as possible.

 

 

After years of futility, the 2001 New England Patriots ended the drought with a world title and in subsequent years the rest of the teams followed suit. Boston currently houses the defending a Stanley Cup champion, the NFL odds 2012 Super Bowl favorite, two teams gearing up for the playoffs, and another starting their quest to clinch the World Series. As a proud Bostonian, it makes me happy to say that Boston is now becoming "America’s Title Town".

The Boston Bruins

Last year’s Stanley Cup champions are now poised for the playoffs and looking to defend their crown. As the curtain closes on the 2011-2012 season the Black and Gold are firmly ensconced as the #2 seed and will have home ice advantage against either Ottawa or Washington.

First round pick (and second overall) Tyler Seguin is coming of age. He has rebounded from a mediocre rookie season to lead the team in goals and points but just as importantly is finally buying into coach Claude Julien’s mandate that back checking is not a choice but an absolute necessity if he wants to continue playing with a spoked B on his jersey. 

Goaltending and defense have been the hallmarks of the Bruins success. Zdeno Chara is a beast on the blueline and Tim Thomas has bounced back from a mid-season funk to return to his All-World self. But what about the back-up? 

We don’t think much about second stringers, but they become the most important player on the team if something happens to the main man. Tukka Rask seems to be the heir apparent but he’s on the shelf with a groin pull. Marty Turco, signed straight from the Austrian league (was he really that shot that he couldn’t make an NHL roster, a former All-Star with a record tying three shutouts in a playoff series?) struggled in his debut but has looked sharp since, is ineligible for the playoffs because he was signed after the deadline.

So now the B’s have turned to the 25 year old Russian Anton Khudobin as Timmy T’s postseason back-up. The kid looked sharp as a razor in his Bruins debut, registering 44 stops on 45 saves en route to a 3-1 victory and giving the Ottawa Senators something to think about if they play the B’s in the opening round.

Follow the Bruins journey through the NHL Playoffs with SBR's NHL Betting Page.

The Boston Celtics

Ray Allen a super-sub, a sixth man? That’s what happens when a young stud blows it up while you’re ailing. Avery Bradley is the new gun in town and the kid has looked tremendous. But will the starting assignment, with a deposed Hall of Famer sitting and watching, give the kid the jitters? Only time will tell but the Green has looked sharper as of late and the Big Three, well, the Big Two anyway are playing inspired ball. 

But how far can this team really go? Sure they beat the Heat but seriously, as much as we’d love to see the Dream Team go down in flames at the hands of our boys, do we really and truly believe they can beat them in a playoff series? Before we consider that, right now they would play Atlanta, and even the Hawks have a better record (as of this writing) as a lower seed than the Celtics.

I’m afraid the championship window has closed and Danny Ainge will need to put on his thinking cap if he wants to resurrect this team in a hurry. Paul Pierce is still an upper echelon player while Kevin Garnett can, on occasion, still be the monstah that he was and Ray Allen has shown flashes of the silky smooth assassin that propelled him into the rarified air of the all-time great shooters from beyond the arc. However old legs are tired legs and in order for the Shamrocks to hoist another banner anytime soon, they need to get younger. 

Ainge wisely ignored the calls to blow up the team and parcel off his aging superstars at the trading deadline for a bucket of balls and a shiny new rim. Trading players is not an easy task in the NBA as the contracts have to match up and a host of other rules must be adhered to. Nevertheless, it’s not impossible and Ainge decided he would live and die with the players he has. A good decision this season but what he does next season may affect the franchise for years to come.

Follow the Celtics journey through the NBA Playoffs with SBR.

The Boston Red Sox

The hysteria surrounding this team is re-tahded (I’m allowed, I’m from Boston). Sure they broke down like an old Chevy last year but everything is all shiny and new but still the questions linger. Beckett’s thumb, Bailey’s thumb, Carl’s wrist, Valentine’s mouth, all these body parts reminds me of an autopsy room. The Sox dropped their first game of the season to the Tigers and sure there’s a lot of trepidation on Yawkey Way but what fun would it be without all that drama?

Look, when it comes to the Red Sox, the only thing that counts is beating the Yankees because as we all know, the Yankees suck…even if they have won 27 world titles and 40 pennants. The Sox are simply too talented not to win their fair share of games and for the luvva gawd, Bobby Valentine if you’re reading this, make sure Crawford bats second when he comes back. Pro athletes are creatures of habit and none more so than baseball players. He’s a number two hitter, not a seven or a nine. He’s a friggin All-Star and Francona shattered the guy when he lost patience early last season and batted him all over the order. 

Finally, the AL East is loaded. The Yankees are always going to be the team to beat, the Rays are pesky despite their limited payroll and even the Blue Jays look tough. Playing those teams on a regular basis will put a dent into the Red Sox total wins. But the good thing is every other team in the East has the same problem. They will all beat each other’s brains in until late September and into October. Then the fun really starts unless you’re the team on the outside looking in. 

The latest is that Bobby Valentine will go on a New York sports show and kibitz with the enemy. Red Sox Nation is up in arms and cannot fathom why the Sox skipper would consent to such a thing. Here’s a clue, it doesn’t matter. Maybe Valentine broke some unwritten rule of Boston sports, but if his Red Sox start notching wins, nobody will remember what he did or what he said. The only thing that counts in Title Town is winning world championships, because in Boston, getting to the playoffs just isn’t enough anymore.

Follow the Red Sox journey through the MLB season with SBR's MLB Betting Page.