Let’s give you some links on this Saturday.

Writing for Indiana University’s National Sports Journalism Center, Dave Kindred says sportswriters can be a tough and fighting lot.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir writes the life of the late Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi is heading to the Great White Way.

Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News says Fox’s Joe Buck and Tim McCarver had a good World Series except for the end.

Tom Jones from the St. Petersburg Times writes that a suspended sports radio talk show host has been reinstated to his post.

Sarah Talalay in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says Jet Blue Airlines has snagged its first hockey team and arena sponsorship.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News writes that in less than one season, Tony Dungy has become a respected analyst on NBC’s Football Night in America.

In the San Antonio Express-News, Jerry Garcia writes about coverage of the last-ever Chili Bowl and the TV networks’ salute to the troops this weekend.

Danny Gallagher of the McKinney (TX) Courier-Gazette writes that Sean Salisbury’s civil lawsuit against Deadspin’s owner, Gawker, now includes the blog’s editor, AJ Daulerio.

For his part, Daulerio has no comment.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News reviews the week in blogging.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk gets an explanation from ESPN in a plagiarism incident involving the network’s Boston website.

The Sports Media Watch says the NFL on Fox is leading the pace among the league’s TV ratings.

SMW says the NFL on CBS did well even having games against the Minnesota-Green Bay game.

SMW says Florida is a big draw for CBS’ SEC package.

And SMW notes that college football on ABC was down last week.

SMW tells us that even though NASCAR on ABC’s ratings were down again compared to last year, they still were the highest of the season.

You have some ratings news and notes from SMW.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media is puzzled by the 2011 Final Four logo.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann is worried about the health of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Greg Amsinger of MLB Network has some thoughts on the Yankees Victory Parade.

Steve Lepore of Puck the Media says NHL Network is adding another radio show simulcast to its schedule.

Matthew Coller at the Biz of Football writes that Boise State has hired a PR firm to help in its efforts in procuring a BCS bid.

EPL Talk has some of the January changes to the English Premier League US TV schedule.

And that will do it for today. Back tomorrow. Enjoy your Saturday.

Don’t forget to check out the Weekend Viewing Picks for your sports and primetime viewing.

To the links.

National

One story that’s developing this afternoon. Pro Football Talk goes after ESPN Boston’s Patriots blog for plagiarizing word for word one of its articles written by Michael David Smith.

A few stories from USA Today. Michael Hiestand speculates on a combined Comcast/NBC Sports juggernaut.

Hiestand says a NASCAR spokesman took ESPN/ABC to task for its production of last week’s race.

Michael McCarthy writes that if the NCAA opts out of its current contract with CBS, then ESPN would be happy to jump in the bidding for the NCAA Tournament.

The Nielsen rating Wire blog notes that as the World Series’ ratings increased, so did interest in MVP Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell looks at the last men standing at the World Series of Poker.

Jon Weisman of Variety says the Yankees World Series win turned out to be a huge ratings victory for Fox.

David Tanklefsky from Broadcasting & Cable says Disney and ESPN will re-brand the Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Florida early in 2010.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says this year’s World Series was the most viewed since 2004 when the Red Sox swept St. Louis.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says the Series’ high ratings weren’t just due to the Yankees, but there were other factors that contributed as well.

The Sports Media Watch says the Yankees helped to bring a big audience to the World Series.

SMW says the World Series was a big hit in New York and Philadelphia.

SMW has the ratings for the entire 2009 MLB Postseason.

Good article by SMW on the ratings comparison between MLB and the NBA.

And the SMW has some ratings news and notes.

Jim McCable of Golfweek writes that Dottie Pepper is cutting down on her TV schedule.

Joe Favorito says when it comes right down to it, live sports is king.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes that 98.5 The Sports Hub is making a dent in its war with long-time incumbent WEEI.

Jessica Heslam of the Boston Herald reports that Fox 25 has not renewed the contract of Bulworth, Butch Stearns.

Bill Doyle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette writes about a Central Massachusetts native leaving WEEI’s sales department for a position with the Miami Dolphins.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says a new Knicks coach’s show on MSG Network might be turning a new leaf for the organization.

Richard writes the Yankees are a big TV draw across the country.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman feels MLB Network analysts and hosts made several errors after the Yankees clinched the World Series.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick will miss Bill Walton on NBA broadcasts.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union talks with NBC’s Tiki Barber.

Ken Schott of the Schnectady Gazette writes that NHL Network is picking up a Union College hockey game.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com writes in Press Box about ESPN’s Len Bias documentary, the Baltimore Sun not sending a reporter to the World Series and why Anita Marks is the subject of jealousy among her co-workers.

Mark Maske in the Washington Post writes that a down economy is a boon for the NFL’s TV ratings.

Tim Lemke from the Washington Times has the marketing winners and losers from the World Series.

Jim Williams in the Washington Examiner looks at former DC NFL team star John Riggins blasting owner Dan Snyder on Inside the NFL.

South

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wonders if ESPN has too much power in college sports.

Mike Bianchi from the Orlando Sentinel feels ESPN Radio’s Mike Golic owes an apology to Florida’s Brandon Spikes.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News compares how the World Series did against the Mavericks and Stars.

Barry says Dallas finished near the bottom of the major markets rated for the World Series.

Barry says there’s a clear winner in a three way sports radio ratings race in Dallas.

Barry writes that being the Cowboys flagship station is not helping one sports radio station.

Barry notes that NBC’s Football Night in America analysts aren’t high on the Cowboys.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle also writes about local sports radio and the World Series’ ratings.

In his blog, David adds a few items to his Friday column.

To the Daily Oklahoman where Mel Bracht talks to an unhappy Ron Franklin of ESPN who feels he’s being forced out of the network. I agree. Ron is nothing but class and I feel he’s one of the great college football and basketball announcers of all-time. But ESPN apparently doesn’t feel that way.

In his media notes, Mel writes that the Thunder set a ratings record for Fox Sports Oklahoma this week.

Mel also looks at the best college football games of the week.

Midwest

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Yankees are truly a marquee team as the ratings have shown.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business says the Bulls have upgraded their website.

Ed also has his weekly sports business and media winners and losers.

Paul Christian in the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin looks at Fox NFL Sunday heading to Afghanistan this Sunday.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about one local sports radio station’s personnel move.

Scott Dochterman of the Iowa City Gazette says no matter what one says about the World Series’ ratings, the NFL is still king.

West

Scott D. Pierce in the Deseret (UT) News says high definition is coming to the mtn., but not fast enough for some fans.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says a long-time sports reporter in the market is being let go by the local NBC station.

John Maffei in the North County Times also writes about the local sports reporter.

In the Ventura County Star, Jim Carlisle writes that Bill Walton will be missed.

Jim says Matt Millen is slowly rehabilitating his reputation after his failed GM tenure with the Lions.

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times warns of being caught on the internet or writing something on a social media site.

Tom Hoffarth in the Los Angeles Daily News discovers that former Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca has been handicapping the horses on TVG.

In his blog, Tom has some more with Lo Duca.

Tom also has his usual extensive media notes.

Canada

In the Toronto Globe and Mail, Bruce Dowbiggin writes that a Vancouver sports radio station is ready to launch a spinoff.

The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich says a former broadcast executive is finding a second life in front of the camera.

In the Truth & Rumours blog, William Houston says Phil Kessel’s debut for the Maple Leafs brought record ratings for Rogers Sportsnet Ontario.

And William looks at a sports talk show host’s firing from The Score.

That will conclude the megalinks. Enjoy your weekend.

Another Friday Megalinks Edition is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Saturday, November 7

Boxing
24/7 Pacquaio/Cotto – HBO, 9:30 p.m.
World Championship Boxing/IBO Light Heavyweight Title, Chad Dawson vs. Glen Johnson, HBO, 9:30 p.m.

College Football Viewing Picks

English Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Sunderland – ESPN2, 9:55 a.m.
Manchester City vs. Burnley – Setanta Sports, 9:55 a.m.
Aston Villa vs. Bolton – Fox Soccer Channel, 10 a.m.
Wolverhampton vs. Arsenal – Fox Soccer Channel, 12:30 p.m.
Blackburn vs. Portsmouth – Setanta Sports, 6:45 p.m. (same day coverage)

Golf
PGA European Tour/World Golf Championships, HSBC Champions, final round – Golf Channel, 10 p.m.

Horse Racing
Breeders Cup, live from Santa Anita – WCVB/WMUR/WLNE, 1:30 p.m./ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

Mixed Martial Arts
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers – WBZ/WPRI, 9 p.m.
UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira – Spike TV, 9 p.m.

NBA
Denver at Atlanta – NBA TV, 7 p.m.
Boston at New Jersey – Comcast SportsNet, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Chicago – WGN America, 8 p.m.

NHL
Detroit at Toronto – NHL Network, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Boston – NESN, 7 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 10 p.m.

Entertainment
Giada at Home: Giada’s Kidz Kitchen – Food Network, 1 p.m.
Legend of the Seeker (season premiere) – WGN America, 4 p.m./CW28. 8 p.m. (WCVB, Sunday, 11:45 p.m.)
Cops – WFXT/WNAC, 8 p.m.
America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back – WFXT/WNAC, 9 p.m.
Robin Hood – BBC America, 9 p.m.
Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall – History Channel, 10 p.m.
The Wanda Sykes Show (series premiere) – WFXT/WNAC, 11 p.m.
Saturday Night Live with Taylor Swift – WHDH/WNAC, 11:29 p.m.

Sunday, November 8

College Football
Nevada at San Jose State – ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

English Premier League
Hull City vs. Stoke City – Setanta Sports, 8:25 a.m.
Chelsea vs. Manchester United – Fox Soccer Channel, 11 a.m.
West Ham United vs. Everton – Fox Soccer Channel, 5 p.m. (same day coverage)

NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series/Dickies 500 – WCVB/WMUR/WLNE, 3:15 p.m.

NBA
Golden State at Sacramento – NBA TV, 9 p.m.

NFL Viewing Picks

NHL
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 8 p.m.

Entertainment
Sandra’s Money Saving Meals: Chinese Take Out – Food Network, noon
60 Minutes – WBZ/WPRI, 7 p.m.
The Amazing Race 15 – WBZ/WPRI, 8 p.m.
2012: Countdown to Armageddon – National Geographic Channel, 8 p.m.
2012 Apocalypse – Discovery, 9 p.m.
Curb Your Enthusiam – HBO, 9 p.m.
Mad Men (season finale) – AMC, 10 p.m.
Snapped: Monique Turenne – Oxygen, 10 p.m.

College Football
Boise State at Louisiana Tech – ESPN2, 8 p.m.

Golf
PGA European Tour/World Golf Championships, HSBC Champions, 3rd round – Golf Channel, 10 p.m.

MLB
New York Yankees Victory Parade – MLB Network, 11 a.m.

NBA
Phoenix at Celtics – Comcast SportsNet, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at New York – ESPN, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Portland – ESPN, 10:30 p.m.

NHL
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 8 p.m.

Entertainment
Ghost Whisperer – WBZ/WPRI, 8 p.m.
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC America, 9 p.m.
Lock ‘n Load with R. Lee Ermey – History Channel, 10 p.m.
20/20 – WCVB/WMUR/WLNE, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – WBZ/WPRI, 11:35 p.m.
Life on Top – Cinemax, 12:05 a.m.

WEEI is doing just fine, though, actually moving up a bit from 5.2 in September to 5.3 in October. The station is fourth overall on the chart while WBZ-FM, 985TheSportsHub went from a 2.5 in September to a 3.6 in October, good for 14th in the market.

WEEI vs. The Sports Hub - Jessica Heslam in the Herald breaks down the two stations, show vs. show.

Round 2 : SportsHub proves that it has arrived - Boston Radio Watch says that no matter how you look at it, WEEI is still the top dog in this fight, and is not going away.

‘Hub’ is climbing the charts - Chad Finn notes that the Sports Hub’s gains did not come at the expense of WEEI, though they’re showing that there is room in Boston for two strong sports radio stations.

Fox 25 dumps top sportscaster - Heslam reports that FOX25 has chosen not to renew the contract of top sports anchor Butch Stearns. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Stearns is interviewing with Comcast SportsNet, among other places.

Worcester native to join Dolphins - Bill Doyle has Worcester native Jim Rushton set to take over as the Dolphins’ senior vice president of corporate partnerships and integrated media. He’s leaving his job as vice president of sports sales and marketing at Entercom Communications, responsible for all revenues associated with the WEEI radio network.

Sports coverage? Think local. - That Bruce Allen guy in the Metro tells you why national sports coverage is worthless.

Jabs Reserved For Web Foe - Jeff Jacobs looks at a web group calling themselves the Paper Champions Society, who have been mounting a campaign against boxer Chad Dawson.

Elsewhere in the sports sections, here are some of the top stories from this morning:

For the Sox, Hermida a Lottery Ticket Worth Playing - Alex Speier has a look at outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who the Red Sox acquired from the Florida Marlins yesterday.

Six tricky questions for Epstein this winter - Bill Burt looks at Red Sox issues that GM Theo Epstein must address this winter.

At a loss - Bud Barth tells us that if the Bruins “were scoring goals right now, the Bruins would be the terror of the NHL, because the rest of their game has been that good for the last couple of weeks.”

Lack of scoring strikes recently has been striking - Bob Ryan thinks that the Bruins still have time to get things straightened out.

Don’t underestimate the Dolphins - Tedy Bruschi and Mike Reiss warn that there is a whole lot more to the Dolphins than just the Wildcat.

Worry Wart – Game Eight vs. Dolphins - Chris Warner has some more concerns about the Dolphins.

Rookie Myron Pryor preps to pick up ‘D’ line - Ian Rapoport looks at sixth round pick Myron Pryor making a place for himself on the Patriots defensive line.

Brian Hoyer making an impression with Patriots - Andy Vogt has another rookie, QB Brian Hoyer also learning the NFL ropes.

Shelden Williams answers Celtics’ role call - Former Celtic Ryan Gomes tells Mark Murphy why Williams has been successful with the Celtics.

Celtics couldn’t ask much more from their bench - Mike Fine calls this the “deepest and most talented bench the Celtics have had in the past three seasons.”

WEEI Holds Steady, 98.5 Continues Rise, FOX Dumps Butch Stearns is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Surviving Grady absolutely hits this thing right on the head in assessing the indignation of a Yankees championship. Boston Dirt Dogs says the Steinbrenners got what they paid for, as does Toeing The Rubber, who is thankful not to be in any physical pain over this one. The Bottom Line has this title strictly a monetary transaction. And The House That Dewey Built marvels at the Celtics and Patriots, who have had long-term success while contending with a salary cap.

Red Sox Monster says the Sox front office now has some catching up to do, but The Mighty Quinn Media Machine is prouder than ever of the two championships Theo & The Trio have brought us this millenium. A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Country thanks the 2004 Sox for helping him to cope with a Yankees title.

Celtics

The C’s have their first six of a planned six dozen wins after back-to-back victories in Philly on Tuesday and Minnesota last night. Boston Celtics has Rasheed Wallace reaffirming his 72-win prediction, which is looking like a self-fulfilling prophesy. Celtics Hub appeals to our sense of self-worth to end the 72-win talk but, hey, we’re 1/12th of the way there. CelticsBlog ascribes the team’s success to the return of Ubuntu.

Red’s Army says the C’s had no business winning last night in Minnesota. Loy’s Place is incredulous that KG couldn’t contain no-name Oleksiy Pecherov. Tossing Batting Practice is alarmed at the rate in which C’s are jacking treys.

We’re already six games into the season, so it must be time to talk about next year as ESPN’s Boston Celtics Blog looks at 2010’s free agents. Mike Gorman has Rondo both rich and smart with his recent contract signing, but thinks his new deal will be a real deal for the C’s when a successor CBA takes effect.

After six games, Lex Nihil Novi is already hanging the Beast from the rafters, so can Springfield be far behind? Green Street finds a Ph.D. who proves KG is the NBA’s best and whose numbers make intuitive sense.

Bruins

It’s been quite the up-and-down season to date. Caveman Strong was frustrated when the B’s win-one, lose-one pattern was preserved with a loss at MSG on Sunday, while Wicked Bruins Fan was distressed to see the pattern broken in Detroit with a loss on Tuesday night. Chronicles From The Garden says the B’s picked the wrong night to end their win-one, lose-one rut.

The Canadiens come to town tonight and New England Hockey Journal says the Habs roster has a New England flavor to it. Something’s Bruin prescribes some crowd noise – and maybe a few goals – to help the B’s get by the Habs. Good news from Bruins Blog, which points out the B’s have only been shut out three consecutive times once in their illustrious history.

Kathryn Tappen has found the silver lining in the B’s goal drought. In his latest Pucks With Haggs incarnation, Joe Haggerty says the reality is that the B’s no longer have the “It” vibe. Naoko Funayama thinks it could take a hard shake to wake these scoring lines from their deep sleep. I’m Just Sayin’ wants to know GM Peter Chiarelli’s plans after trading all his goal-scoring to Toronto.

Bruins 2010 Draft Watch fears the Maple Leafs won’t stay tied for last very long now that Phil Kessel has made his long-awaited debut. And here’s Haggs back again on Big Bad Blog, having Kessel generating more offense in his first game than four lines of B’s can muster. If Exposure Bucks were negotiable, Haggs should be able to buy himself a couple of islands by now.

Patriots

With the bye behind us, it is the Patriots’ time now says Jeff Howe, as the Pats are 70-17 after Halloween since 2001. The Pats didn’t quite reach the first-half expectations of Steve DeOssie, who is concerned the two losses could prove costly. Pats Chowder finds ten things to be worried over, not the least of which is Tom Brady’s knee. Nevertheless, Mike Reiss has Brady feeling the best he has in ten years. Blaug considers some D-line options in the aftermath of Jarvis Green’s knee surgery.

The de facto second half starts off this Sunday against the Dolphins, and Extra Points has Vince Wilfork liking that the Dolphins want to hit him in the mouth, even as Tom E. Curran has Joey Porter hating the Patriots, ostensibly for kicking his ass. It Is What It Is brings us Bill Belicheck’s assessment of Bill Parcells’ influence on the Dolphins.

Lastly, I go out of my way to avoid these things during football games, but NE Patriots Draft brings us Visa’s new Patriots commercial that’s worth a view.

NCAAF

Never mind not traveling well, as Eagle in Atlanta says BC fans don’t even show up to home games. BC Heights tells us why the marching band hasn’t been traveling well this season. BC Draft is shopping for the best bowl destinations, and Yankee Stadium is on their list. Hmmmm, could be just the thing to erase those images of leaping pinstripes for the rest of the wintah! College Sports Blog has former RB Josh Haden making some travel plans of his own, but he’s still not sure where. BC Interruption nominates BC freshman LB Luke Kuechly as ACC Defensive Player of the Year after his play last week against Central Michigan.

The UConn Blog annoints last Saturday’s loss to Rutgers as the school’s worst ever, coming on a day of tributes to slain CB Jasper Howard. Sox & Dawgs thinks a prime time date with No. 4 Cincinnati this Saturday is already a tough rebound, but Kevin Youkilis might also be in the house. UConn Sports puts Coach Randy Edsall on the conservative charts somewhere between Rush Limbaugh and George Bush.

UMass Football Blog is trying to fend off negative attacks after the Maine Black Bears sunk their playoff hopes for a second consecutive year. And The Harvard Crimson hopes the Crimson got those special teams miscues out of their system last week against the Big Green.

Just think: only 101 more days until pitchers and catchers report! I’m not ready to go there yet. Let’s take it a week at a time. See you next Thursday.

Week Log: Another Little Souvenir of a Terrible Year is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

College Football
Virginia Tech at East Carolina – ESPN, 7:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois – ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.

Golf
PGA European Tour/World Golf Championships HSBC Champions, 2nd round – Golf Channel, 11 p.m.

NBA
Chicago at Cleveland – TNT, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Utah – TNT, 10:30 p.m.

Inside the NBA – TNT, 1 a.m.

NHL
Montreal at Bruins – NESN, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Anaheim – NHL Network, 10 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 8 p.m.
NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 12:30 a.m.

Entertainment
Survivor: Samoa – WBZ/WPRI, 8 p.m.
Bones – WFXT/WNAC, 8 p.m.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – WBZ/WPRI, 9 p.m.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – FX, 10 p.m.
Naked Science: Earthquake Swarm – National Geographic Channel, 10 p.m.
Private Practice – WCVB/WMUR/WLNE, 10:01 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – WBZ/WPRI, 11:35 p.m.

This morning’s articles, and in sports flashes and reports over the air since yesterday afternoon have, with a couple of exceptions, painted Joey Porter’s conference call with Boston reporters yesterday as just another Patriots hate session from the Dolphins linebacker.

Yes, Porter makes no secret of the fact that he hates the Patriots, and thinks that “Spygate” cost him two Super Bowl championships. However, during yesterday’s conference call, it was clear that Porter was being deliberately led down a path that would lead to him again revealing his hatred of the Patriots. He even mentioned it several times in the call, (which is available to read and listen to on Patriots.com- I encourage you to listen to the call…it’s pretty revealing at times.)

Let’s look at a few of the questions and answers from the call, along with my thoughts (in italics):

Q: Joey, do you have any reaction to the Sports Illustrated poll that has you the second dirtiest player in the NFL? (Nice opening question – let’s just get him in a bad mood to start off, maybe he’ll explode)

JP: No.

Q: Do you think it’s because some people don’t like you and put you on the list?

JP: Oh yeah, I have a lot of people that don’t like me. That’s fair to say. I don’t like a lot of people. It works both ways.

It’s nothing that’s going to change my everyday me being in that poll — one, two, five, wherever they put me. Obviously,

I’m on somebody’s mind though, so that’s cool.

Q: Why don’t people like you, Joey? (Did she really just ask that? Yup.)

JP: What’s your name? (Joey needs to know the name of the person who asked such a pathetic question.)

Q: Karen

JP: I don’t know, Karen. (I actually love this. Gets her name, like he’s going to address her personally. I see Karen Guregian with her pen poised in mid-air, ready to write down the explosion that is to come. “I don’t know, Karen.” is all he says. Perfect.)

Q: Last year with Matt Cassel, when he was here, you said you’d treat him like a backup. Obviously, Vollmer is a backup as well. So how are you going to treat him? (The object of this question seems clear – Porter went off on Cassel last year before the first game between the teams, maybe we can get him to do it again with another backup player.)

JP: You have the answers there already. You want me to say what you want me to say. Like you want me to answer that question. You answered that question about how I felt about [Matt] Cassel, you’re trying to get me to say the same thing about him so you can say, ‘Joey Porter’s talking about the backup.’ You go ahead and fill in the blank. I’m not falling for none of those little tricks. I get mad when I want to get mad. Right now, [with] you guys, none of you guys I’m mad at, so I’m not going to sit up here and give you nothing to talk about because I’m mad at neither one of you media guys in that room. So if that’s what this conversation is going to be about, about fishing, then you guys ought to come out here to Miami and we’ve got some good lakes we’ve got to fish here. You can come too, Karen.

(Porter calls them out on the question, knowing exactly what they’re trying to do to him, and he doesn’t seem to like it. He even tries to change things up by being funny. As we’ll see, it doesn’t work.)

Q: Joey, I heard the word ‘hate’ a lot in that locker room after you guys beat the Jets, and how you guys felt about them. And I remember you saying it’s always going to bring your best football out when you hate the other guy. You’ve played against the Patriots for quite some time whether it was with the Steelers or it was with Miami, what’s your feeling towards New England? (Duh. Did they have to be so obvious? Like they don’t know. )

JP: Same way they feel about me. So do you want me to say it first? (Again, Porter knows what they’re trying to get out of him.)

Q: I don’t know if they like you. (Playing dumb again.)

JP: You know they don’t like me. Everybody knows, let’s be honest, they don’t like me and that’s fair. I don’t like them and that’s fair. So it’s not like it’s a divorce happening, we were never really married anyway.

(It is what it is.)

Q: So you bring the same approach into this game as you would against the Jets last week?

JP: Yeah, it’s good to have a healthy rivalry. And, like I’ve said, to have a rivalry we have to win some, they can’t be one-sided. We split with them last year and the year before that they beat us twice. So this is my third year and [in this division] going up against them and we’re trying to change the way it used to be. My feelings toward New England goes back further. It goes back to my Pittsburgh days, so I felt a certain way after some things came out, way back when. I was in Pittsburgh for some AFC Championships that I’ve lost to them a couple of times that come to figure out a month later why we lost. So, yeah, I have a natural hate for them – period. And that’s just going to be with me forever. That’s not ever going to change.

(Now he decides to give in and give them what they want. Or he is just toying with them.)

Q: Can you identify what you’re referring to there, Joey? (Again, Duh. Why couldn’t one of them asked whether shoddy special teams might’ve had something to do with the Steelers losing that first AFC title game? THAT would’ve made for an interesting response.)

JP: Nope. You can fill in the blanks. Y’all are smart guys over there. (C’mon you idiots. Let it drop.)

Q: But you felt it cost you rings, then? (Salt. Wound. Rub. Maybe he’ll say even more. Please please please.)

JP: Yeah, I mean we do this every year around this time I do this conference call. You know exactly what I’m talking about. And they know exactly what I’m talking about. And that’s not going to change from my thought process on that situation.

(Haven’t we talked about this enough? Just read what I said the last 20 times this topic came up.)

Finally, the last part of the conference call was real football questions. Asking about facing Tom Brady, about what the Patriots did to them in the second game last year, how they spread them, and if last week’s game might’ve been a turning point for the Dolphins. Porter gave much more expansive and intelligent answers to those legitimate questions. Did you read any of that stuff today? Probably not.

It seems pretty clear to me that the object of this press conference was to lead Porter in a certain direction, with the object being to get the most inflammatory, outrageous answers possible. The general first impression that comes out of the reporting on this call is that Porter was just spouting out his hatred of the Patriots unprovoked, which just isn’t true. It is being said that Porter “tried to behave” – but how could he really? The media had a object in mind from this call, and they were going to do all they could to tweak Porter into giving it to them.

Was Joey Porter Baited By the Boston Media? is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Frank Dell’Apa has the Celtics unable to find and offensive flow for most of the game, but able to get the hoops when needed and make stops defensively when it counted. Mark Murphy credits the Celtics’ experience for the win. Jessica Camerato has three things we can take away from this game. Chris Forsberg also has a few thoughts on the win.

Dell’Apa’s notebook has Al Jefferson getting the jump on his former teammates last night. Murphy’s notebook has Kevin Garnett passing on the sentiment of being back in Minnesota last night. Forsberg’s notebook looks at a homecoming of sorts for Sheldon Williams.

Patriots

Head over to Patriots Daily for the weekly Around The League column by Jeremy Gottlieb.

Albert R. Breer says that it looks like the Patriots finally have a healthy and comfortable Tom Brady under center. Not so fast, says Ian R. Rapoport ,who isn’t yet sure which Patriots offense we’re going to see for the rest of the year. Rich Garven has Brady feeling good, and having it reflected in his play as of late.

Ron Borges has Vince Wilfork looking forward to a physical fight with the Dolphins on Sunday. Brian MacPherson pulls out some stats to show that Stephen Neal has actually been the Patriots best offensive player this season. Garven has the forgotten rookie Ron Brace making progress in practice. Chris Price looks at how the Patriots recognize and honor their Scout Team Stars.

Karen Guregian has Joey Porter doing his thing, hating the Patriots and zinging them whenever possible. Christopher Price has a look at the recent history between Porter and the Dolphins. Adam Kilgore has Porter seeking to stoke the fires of hatred yet again. Shalise Manza Young says that Porter actually tried to hold back yesterday, but couldn’t help himself. Chris Forsberg agrees that this was actually a somewhat kinder, gentler version of Porter.

Andy Vogt says that the AFC East no longer automatically belongs to the Patriots. Jeff Howe has Belichick remembering a “Wildcat” like series of plays used by the Steelers in the mid-90’s with Kordell Stewart.

Mark Farinella has the Dolphins created in the image of the Tuna. Rapoport has Belichick lauding the Bill Parcells system, on full display in Miami. Glen Farley has more from Belichick on Parcells and the Dolphins.

Jonathan Comey trots out his week 9 power rankings.

Kilgore’s notebook has Belichick extolling the methods of his former boss, Bill Parcells. Rapoport’s notebook has Stephen Gostkowski a potential weapon against the returns of Ted Ginn Jr. (column by Lesley Visser) Vogt’s ntoebook  has more on Porter. Young’s Patriots journal has the competition heating up in the coming weeks for the Patriots. Garven’s notebook also looks at Porter’s hatred for the Patriots. Farley’s notebook has more on Porter. Farinella’s notebook has more on – you guessed it – Porter.

Bruins

Mike Loftus has the struggling Bruins set to host the Montreal Canadiens, who have been up-and-down themselves. Fluto Shinzawa says that with Marc Savard out, David Krejci needs to step up his game, something he has been unable to do thus far this season. Stephen Harris says that the Bruins need some goalscorers to step forward. Matt Kalman says that this game with Montreal comes at a good time for the Bruins.

Misc

Oh yeah, in case you missed it, the Yankees won their 27th World Series last night. Congrats to them.

Amalie Benjamin has Series MVP Hideki Matsui leading the charge last night.

Nick Cafardo has the old-guard foursome of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte enjoying their fifth World Series championship together. (Posada only played in 8 games for the 1996 team though.) Peter Abraham and Steve Buckley have Pedro Martinez going out with a clang last night. Peter DeMarco has Yankees fans in Boston proud and vocal of their team.

Alex Speier ranks this Yankees team as the best World Series champ of this decade.

Abraham’s notebook has former ace Chien-Ming Wang facing an uncertain future. Buckley’s notebook has Matsui getting long awaited World Series title.

Bill Burt claims that the Red Sox can learn a lot from these Yankees. Michael Silverman says that Theo Epstein can’t wait to get next year started.

Bob Ryan likes the job that Frank Spaziani is doing in his first season as Boston College head football coach. Eric Avidon has a look at senior wide receiver Rich Gunnell.

Mark Blaudschun has running back Josh Haden deciding to transfer out of B.C. Steve Conroy says that Haden never felt right here. Avidon’s notebook has more on Haden.

Celtics Fight Off T-Wolves is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Sources have told Fang’s Bites that Edes has already signed with ESPN. More to follow.

Developing: Gordon Edes to ESPN Boston? is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week and it’s time to do some links. By the way, you may see this a lot over the next 100 days until the start of the Winter Olympics. NBC Universal will be doing a big promotional push for the Vancouver games. NBCOlympics.com has done a relaunch and added a new DVR-like player powered by the very shaky Microsoft Silverlight technology and you have Facebook connectivity there as well. This promo will be on tonight and then others will play on NBC Universal’s networks throughout the time leading up to the Olympics.

I’ll more on that later. First, let’s do some sports media links so I can do some work and then record a podcast this afternoon.

Sean Leahy of USA Today’s The Huddle blog says CBS’ Screamin’ Gus Johnson apologizes for a comment he made during Sunday’s Jacksonville-Tennessee game.

Michael Hiestand from the Nation’s Newspaper writes that Fox is seeing ratings jumps in many markets for this year’s World Series.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the Yankees players may not have wanted a World Series Game 6, but certainly management won’t mind.

And Darren tells us that sports retailers are ready in case the Yankees win the World Series.

The New York Post’s Page Six jumps on the Jim Nantz divorce settlement.

Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News quotes Fox Sports President Ed Goren as not being a fan of constant conferences on the pitcher’s mound.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner notes the World Series ratings for Fox and Comcast’s impending purchase of NBC Universal.

Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that a long-time opponent of the Florida Marlins’ new ballpark received some love.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says former Cowboys WR and current Metroplex sports radio host Michael Irvin feels current Dallas WR Roy Williams ignored his advice on how to improve his pass patterns.

Barry writes that most of America doesn’t care about the World Series.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the Tribune has lured a Sun-Times sports editor to its side.

Ed reviews a new book written by famed Chicago sports personality Chet Coppock.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at baseball crackpot Bill James’ assessment of the Brewers.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News says Bill Walton is going to be Truckin’ as he steps away from broadcasting. I hope you get that reference.

Tom has the college football TV schedule for SoCal this week.

Tom also has the NFL TV schedule.

In the Toronto Star, Chris Zelkovich says the World Series was a relatively large attraction for Rogers Sportsnet last week.

Rick Kissell of Variety says four World Series games hit a ratings Grand Slam for Fox.

Toni Fitzgerald in Media Life Magazine writes that the World Series is getting Fox off to a blistering start for the November sweeps ratings period. One aside here. Don’t think this is not lost on Fox. Next year’s World Series also starts in late October so getting the Fall Classic to spill over into November might not be a rare occurrence anymore.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek says anyone hoping for a sign from Comcast on its impending purchase of NBC won’t get any today.

MLB Network host and Fang’s Bites Award-winner Victor Rojas breaks down tonight’s World Series Game 6 on his MLB.com blog.

The Biz of Baseball’s Maury Brown lists five reasons why MLB needs a 7 game World Series.

Maury has also relaunched his personal website and says MLB and the NFL are telling states to keep out of their personnel matters when it comes to drug testing.

Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch writes that NBC is improving the video player on its Olympics website and providing social networking as well.

The Sports Media Watch lists the weekend overnight ratings for all sports action on the broadcast networks.

And SMW says Monday Night Football took a ratings hit against the World Series.

Chris Byrne’s Eye on Sports Media notes that notorious self-promoter Jenn Brown has demoted herself from co-host of ESPN’s College Gameday.

Ian Bethune over at Sox & Dawgs is thrilled to have ESPN/ABC’s top college football announcing team calling this Saturday’s UConn-Cincinnati game.

The Big Lead enjoys the battles between Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and the local media.

And we wrap up with The Five on WEEI.com as hosted by Kristine Leahy.

Pedro Martinez is no goat - Gerry Callahan, Dan Shaughnessy and Steve Buckley all wrote articles on Pedro Martinez’s start in tonight’s game six of the World Series. Callahan reminds us again that he’s a pretty damn columnist when he wants to be. You don’t need to read Shaughnessy’s. I particularly liked Callahan’s proposal for the headline for the New York Post tomorrow should Pedro shut down the Yanks.

Balance sheet is better - Adam Kilgore has a look at how the Patriots have balanced out their offense better in the last five games, and how it has translated to success for the team.

Rasheed Wallace shows way in return to Philly - Mark Murphy looks at Rasheed Wallace’s successful first return to his hometown of Philadelphia while wearing Celtic green.

Beckett recalls when he was Lee - Bill Burt talks to Josh Beckett about the postseason that Cliff Lee is having, and how Beckett can relate to it.

10 things to know about the Miami Dolphins - Mike Reiss looks at this week’s Patriots’ opponent.

Nothing doing for Bruins again - Fluto Shinzawa reports on the Bruins being shut out for the second straight game.

Knee surgery for Green - first reported by Tom E. Curran on CSNNE.com yesterday, this Patriots notebook in the Globe says that the Patriots defensive lineman could possibly be ready for the Colts game next Sunday.

Mike Wright gains bigger role with Jarvis Green out - Karen Guregian looks at how Mike Wright’s role and responsibilities will grow this week with Green out.

27 reasons to root against the Yankees - Jim Donaldson stretches as bit with some of these.

Also, be sure to head over to Patriots Daily to check out a midseason edition of Making The Grades, as well as a look at the 1994 Patriots in the 50th Anniversary Minute. (I have to confess, I had no idea that Bob Kratch was an All Pro selection that year.)

Wednesday’s Best is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

Golf
PGA European Tour/World Championships/HSBC Champions, 1st round – Golf Channel, 11 p.m.

MLB
MLB Tonight: World Series Live – MLB Network, 5;30 p.m.

World Series/Game 6, Philadelphia at New York Yankees – WFXT/WNAC, 7:57 p.m.

MLB Tonight: World Series Live – MLB Network, midnight

NBA
Miami at Washington – ESPN, 7 p.m.
Boston at Minnesota – Comcast SportsNet, 8 p.m.
Dallas at New Orleans – ESPN, 9:30 p.m.

NHL
San Jose at Columbus – NHL Network, 7 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 9:30 p.m.

UFL
Las Vegas at New York – Versus, 7 p.m.

Entertainment
Martha Stewart’s Thanksgiving Desserts – Fine Living Network, 8 p.m.
Inside the NFL – Showtime, 9 p.m.
Alaska State Troopers – National Geographic Channel, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – WBZ/WPRI, 11:35 p.m.

This is a review of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary film, “Without Bias“. For a generation of Americans aged 35-50, the date of June 19, 1986 will forever resonate. It’s the day the young, vibrant and talented basketball star, Len Bias died. Drafted the same week by the Boston Celtics, Bias, a forward at the University of Maryland had his whole future ahead of him. The Celtics, notably GM Red Auerbach, had schemed three years to get Bias. He would be joining an NBA World Championship team filled with talent such as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson.

During a celebration with some friends in a dorm room, it all turned south when Bias suddenly died of a cocaine-induced seizure at the young age of 22.

Director Kirk Fraser takes a look at the events leading up to and after Bias’ death. It’s a historical account using news footage and interviews from then and now with those who knew Len (parents, siblings, friends, coaches, teammates, reporters) and those who did not. Similar to other 30 for 30 projects, there’s no narrative and the interviews and pictures are allowed to speak for the subject.

Fraser does a good job in interviewing Bias’ family, father James, mother Dr. Lonise, sister Michelle and brother Eric. In addition, he’s able to gain access to Bias’ friend Brian Tribble, the man who had the cocaine that Bias used on that fateful night, plus teammate David Gregg who was also in the room, as well as fellow teammates Keith Gatlin and Jeff Baxter who were in other rooms, but apparently did not know of Bias’ drug use.

When Bias collapsed and went into a seizure, we hear Tribble’s chilling 911 call and his disbelief that something like this could happen. In addition, Tribble says he felt pressure that he had to pull Bias out of the seizure. But by the time Bias gets to the hospital, he’s breathing on a respirator and he’s practically gone.

Throughout the documentary, we hear from an all-star cast of reporters such as CBS Sports’ James Brown who was a sports anchor in Washington, DC covering Len Bias; Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post who was then a young reporter covering the NBA and a friend of Bias; Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. In addition, Bias’ coach at Maryland, Lefty Driesell talks about his memories.

Friends, family and teammates except for Tribble and Gregg all expressed shock that Bias had used cocaine and refuse to believe that he was a habitual user. Tribble said he and Bias used on occasion and because it didn’t affect their training, strength or family life, they continued to use.

The style of ESPN’s 30 for 30 is to not to use a narrator as HBO Sports employs in their documentary. For the most part, the other four documentaries did not need a narrator, but for “Without Bias”, I felt it definitely could have used one. In addition, the documentary is a pure historical account with some cause and effects of his death. I would have liked to have seen more of a reconstruction of the events surrounding Bias’ death and what caused them.

I felt that when Fraser used news footage of the announcement of Bias’ toxicology results, it was glossed over too quickly and then dropped to move on to another subject.

But I give credit to Fraser for getting the family as well as those at the dormitory on the night of Bias’ death to talk about what happened. However, this is a subject that needs more than an hour to explore.

Of the five documentaries that I have seen in the 30 for 30 series, this is the weakest of the bunch. I give this an overall grade of B minus, but still a powerful documentary especially hearing Brian Tribble’s 911 call.

“Without Bias” premieres tonight at 8 on ESPN with multiple replays throughout the week.

I had to leave my office earlier today to help one of my employees who doesn’t know who to install a printer driver properly so that has put me behind the 8 ball for the rest of the day so I’ll be here late. But after the links, do expect a review of tonight’s ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Without Bias” sometime mid or late afternoon Eastern Time. I have the DVD screener right next to me so I will put that in the laptop as soon as the links are done to watch it.

So without delay, here are the links.

Bob Kimball of USA Today looks at the ratings of selected weekend sporting events.

USA Today’s Game On blog will miss Bill Walton on NBA broadcasts. While I’m not a fan of the NBA as I used to be, Big Red was always a fun listen and I enjoyed his on-air arguments with Steve Jones on NBC. He’ll be missed.

Stephanie Reitz of the Associated Press reports that CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz will have to pay his ex-wife nearly a million dollars annually in alimony plus other costs as part of a divorce settlement. That’s a lot of money. Thanks to USA Today’s Game On blog for the link.

The Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand talks with the ESPN official who’s responsible for heading up the network’s efforts to televise next year’s World Cup from South Africa.

Famed baseball writer Murray Chass notes the number of newspapers NOT covering the World Series this year.

Marc Berman of Mediaweek says Fox won Monday night’s primetime ratings thanks to the World Series, but its overall numbers were down from Sunday.

Anthony Crupi of Mediaweek writes that USA defeated ESPN for the cable ratings last week, but Monday Night Football was still the top rated show.

Brian Steinberg of Advertising Age has a story on how ESPN is helping advertisers with ad campaigns showing how it can tie the network to a certain product.

Major props go to CNBC’s Darren Rovell for admitting he was wrong about NYC Marathon winner Meb Keflezhighi’s background. Here’s Darren’s original post on the subject. Good on Darren for doing some research and realizing what he originally wrote was wrong.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch gives praise to Fox for not overfawning on Brett Favre during Sunday’s Minnesota-Green Bay game.

Writing for Indiana University’s National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans warns of sports radio talk show hosts rushing to get stories on the air without checking their facts.

Doug Most of the Boston Globe looks at ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary on the late Len Bias and wonders “what if”?

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir writes that hatred for the national announcers on the World Series dates back a long time.

On a similar vein, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post tells Yankees fans that Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are not rooting against their team.

Dan Mangan of the Post writes that ESPN is warning its employees about intra-office affairs. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News seems to be unhappy that Fox gets a long World Series.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes that NFL Network’s slate of Thursday Night games is fast approaching, but there’s still no agreement between the NFL and Time Warner Cable.

Pete notes that the ratings for World Series Game 5 were lower than Game 4, but it was still higher than last year’s Game 5.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with MLB Network’s Matt Yallof who has worked both in Philadelphia and New York.

Laura Nachman says two local Fox sports TV reporters didn’t get their baseball lingo straight on Monday.

Tim Lemke of the Washington Times writes about the new deal Capitals star Alex Ovechkin signed with super sports agency IMG.

Marc Weiszer of the Athens (GA) Banner-Herald says Georgia’s SEC game against Auburn on November 14 will be on either ESPN or ESPN2 in primetime.

Barry Horn in the Dallas Morning News looks at Sunday’s sports TV ratings in the Metroplex.

Barry has what Dallas will watch during NFL Week 9.

Barry says Texas A&M will be back on local TV this week.

Barry notes that Dallas and Houston really don’t care about the World Series despite the high national ratings.

Barry is really happy over the name for a new sports radio station in Texas’ state capital.

Speaking of that new station, John Maher of the Austin American-Statesman says fans will now be able to hear sports talk on crystal clear FM.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle also looks at the low World Series ratings locally.

David reviews ESPN’s new 30 for 30 documentary on the death of Len Bias.

David writes that Stephen Colbert’s production company is now sponsoring USA Speedskating. That’s not a joke.

Rick Rouan of the Youngstown (OH) Vindicator writes that the NFL Network and Armstrong Cable have signed a multiyear agreement that brings the Thursday Night Football schedule to local TV’s.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News reports that previously, Armstrong had carried the channel, but refused to carry the games.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business would like the World Series to end in October.

Ed says the Blackhawks are drawing well for Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Lewis Lazare of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that thanks to the Bears, newsradio WBBM is expecting to see a ratings boost in October.

Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic says a decision on what network and time Arizona State and Oregon will play on November 14 will be made on Sunday?

Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times writes that of all NBA analysts for ESPN to lose, Bill Walton was not the one.

Ryan Leong of Examiner.com goes behind the scenes of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s 49ers postgame show.

William Houston of Truth & Rumours writes that CBC’s Battle of the Blades is such a ratings success that it’s seriously considering a second season.

At Puck the Media, Steve Lepore answers readers’ questions.

Chris Byrne of the Eye on Sports Media says self-promoter Jenn Brown has named herself co-host of ESPN’s College Gameday which might come as a surprise to Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard.

Chris has some more advice for sports media organization when publishing press releases.

To the Sports Media Watch and several posts on sports TV ratings.

SMW says CBS is riding BCS Championship contender Florida to good ratings on its SEC coverage.

SMW has some various news and notes.

SMW has even more news and notes here.

And SMW notes that the ratings for NASCAR on ABC fell once again on Sunday.

Joe Favorito looks at athletes trying to find that happy medium on Twitter.

On Monday, WFAN’s Mike Francesa responded to Phil Mushnick’s column in the New York Post that he’s anti-Semitic which is preposterous. I have two sources for you to visit. This is the audio from themikefrancesa.com. Bob’s Blitz has the video from YES Network.

And we finish up with The Five from WEEI.com with the always lovely Kristine Leahy.

We’re done with the links. Back later with the review of “Without Bias”

In this latest webisode, Kenny’s lovely producer, Sarah Morton (Alison Becker), tries to break away from ESPN and join Jimmy Kimmel’s Live staff, but not without Kenny’s intervention.

Mayne Street – S03 Ep. 2

Not bad. Nice to see Alison again. We have always liked Alison.

College Football
Bowling Green at Buffalo – ESPN2, 7 p.m.

MLB
MLB Tonight: World Series Live – MLB Network, 6 p.m.
Path to the Championship – MLB Network, 7 p.m.

NBA
Celtics at Philadelphia – Comcast SportsNet, 7 p.m.

NHL
Bruins at Detroit – Versus, 7 p.m.

NHL On The Fly – NHL Network, 8 p.m.

UEFA Champions League
AC Milan vs. Real Madrid – Comcast SportsNet, 2:30 p.m.
Atletico Madrid vs. Chelsea – Fox Soccer Channel, 2:30 p.m.
Manchester United vs. CSKA Moscow – Setanta Sports, 2:30 p.m.
Bayern Munich vs. Bordeaux – Setanta Sports, 6:45 p.m (same day coverage)

Entertainment
E:60 – ESPN, 7 p.m.
V (series premiere) – WCVB/WMUR/WLNE, 8 p.m.
NCIS – WBZ/WPRI, 8 p.m.
30 for 30: Without Bias – ESPN, 8 p.m.
NCIS: Los Angeles – WBZ/WPRI, 9 p.m.
Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers – Showtime, 9:30 p.m.
Sons of Anarchy – FX, 10 p.m.
Big Break: Disney Golf – Golf Channel, 10 p.m.
Late Show with David Letterman – WBZ/WPRI, 11:35 p.m.

1) Patriots were big winners - Albert Breer’s look at how the Patriots established themselves as the favorite in the AFC East without playing a game yesterday.

2) Shelden Williams making most of his opportunity - Tim Weisberg’s look at how reserve forward Sheldon Williams is stepping up in the wake of Glen Davis’ injury.

3) Celtics win game but Rondo loses cool - Mike Fine’s look at the battle between Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul last night.

4) Key stretch includes 3 divisional games - Mike Reiss and Rodney Harrison look at the next five games on the Patriots schedule.

5) The Bruins Are Desperate For a Goal Scorer - Joe Haggerty tells us why the lack of a goal scorer is the biggest problem with the Bruins right now.

This Morning’s Top Five Articles is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

CSN’s online presence at CSNNE.com will now feature the following lineup:

• Veteran MLB reporter Sean McAdam will cover the Red Sox for Comcast SportsNet after 24 years with the Boston Herald and Providence Journal. McAdam is a member of the Baseball Writers of America and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter.
• Veteran NFL reporter Tom Curran will cover the Patriots after serving with NBCSports.com, the Providence Journal and the MetroWest Daily News.
• Sherrod Blakely, respected NBA reporter and Detroit Pistons beat writer for several Michigan newspapers and MLive.com, will cover the Celtics.
• Joe Haggerty will cover the Bruins for Comcast SportsNet after covering the Bruins and Red Sox for WEEI.com, Boston Metro and the Woburn Daily Times.
• Art Martone, sports editor at the Providence Journal for the past nine years, will serve as CSNNE.com sports editor.
• Improper Bostonian sports editor and columnist Rich Levine will share humor and insight as a CSNNE.com columnist and editor.

For the website, Comcast SportsNet has also hired digital media veteran Bill Via as senior director of digital media. Via has been designing and implementing strategic digital campaigns since 1994 and has comprehensive television experience. Via has developed digital media strategies for A&E International, WGBH Boston, Telemundo and KHNL-TV in Honolulu, HI.

NECN sports personalities Mike Giardi and Chris Collins will now also join the Comcast SportsNet news team, alongside Michael Felger and Gary Tanguay, and recent additions Kevin Walsh, Carolyn Manno, Jessica Moran and Jackie Peper.

CSN will debut a new 30-minute program to air three times a night; SportsNet Central. The new show will start on December 3rd, at 6:00pm and will air each night at 6:00 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.

In total Comcast SportsNet is creating more than 40 new local newsroom reporting and production positions and has constructed a new newsroom, added a new studio set and expanded its production facilities at the network’s Burlington, MA headquarters. Comcast SportsNet is consolidating the sports news operations of NECN into its Burlington facility and will serve as the exclusive source of sports news on NECN and NECN.com beginning on November 2. NECN will air encore presentations of SportsNet Central each day.

Related link: NECN, SportsNet find way to share strengths (Globe)

Comcast SportsNet Announces Web, Broadcast Overhaul is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

The Celtics made it 4-for-4 on the season with their 97-87 win over Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets at the TD Garden last night.

Julian Benbow says that Paul Pierce was just too much for the Hornets last night. Mark Murphy says that the Celtics actually had to exude some fourth quarter sweat in this one. Bill Doyle has Rondo and Chris Paul battling all during – and after – last night’s game. Robert Lee has Paul Pierce with another strong game to lead the Celtics to the win. Jim Fenton has Rondo stirring things up last night. Jessica Camerato has Captain Clutch, Paul Pierce, again coming through for the Celtics.

Gary Washburn has a look at the testy night between Rondo and Paul. Steve Bulpett also examines the battle of words and game between the two under-25 point guard stars. Mike Fine has Rondo losing his cool last night. Bill Burt says that things are getting personal between the two young point guards. Jessica Camerato looks at what Rondo has learned while playing through contract negotiations.

Bill Burt says that the Celtics “Bring it” on defense every night. Lenny Megliola has the Celtics not entirely happy with their 4-0 start to the season. Bulpett has Glen Davis working on his left hand game while his right is in a cast. Tim Weisberg has Sheldon Williams making the most of his opportunity while Davis is out. Brian MacPherson has Kendrick Perkins making the most of his offensive opportunities.

Benbow’s notebook has Rondo not worried about his contract, or future. Murphy’s notebook has more on Rondo’s state of mind last night. Doyle’s notebook looks at a strong start to the season for Paul Pierce. Lee’s Celtics Journal has more on Rondo and his contract. Fenton’s notebook has Pierce off to a sizzling start this season.

Patriots

On Patriots Daily, Chris Warner serves up a Jets/Dolphins, Patriots bye week Gut Check.

Albert R. Breer says that the Patriots were the real winner in yesterday’s AFC battle between the Dolphins and Jets. Ian R. Rapoport has the Dolphins letting their play do the talking, while the Jets just talked. Mike Reiss has the Patriots getting a little separation in the AFC East.

Karen Guregian hands out some midseason awards for the Patriots. Breer has Jason Taylor talking about nearly signing with the Patriots in the offseason.

Bruins/Misc

Kevin Paul Dupont has the Bruins unable to get on the scoreboard in a 1-0 loss to the Rangers yesterday. Stephen Harris has the Bruins continuing their win-one, lose-one streak. Joe Haggerty has the Bruins in desperate need of a goal scorer. Harris has Bruins tweaking their fourth line yesterday. Matt Kalman has a look at the powerless power play for the Bruins.

Dupont’s notebook has Zdeno Chara sending a message to Sean Avery. Harris’ notebook has the Bruins power play coming up empty.

Mark Blaudschun has the BC football team in a good position. Eric Avidon has the Eagles set to go bowling again.

Frank Dell’Apa and Kyle McCarthy have the Revolution winning their opening playoff game against Chicago.

Celtics Get Win, Rondo Gets Deal is a post from: Boston Sports Media Watch

COMCAST SPORTSNET MOVES CELTICS HOME GAME PRE AND POST GAME SHOWS TO NEW ACE TICKET STUDIO ON CAUSEWAY STREET

New Store Front Studio Premieres with Celtics Home Opener on October 28

BURLINGTON, MA – Comcast SportsNet and Ace Ticket announced today that the regional sports network will host its Celtics Pre-Game Live and Celtics Post Game Live studio shows from the Ace Ticket Studio on Causeway Street for every 2009-10 Boston Celtics home game. 

The store front studio, located at 109 Causeway Street, inside the Ace Ticket flagship location and directly across the street from TD Bank Garden will premiere with the home opener on Wednesday, October 28. Before and after every home game, studio host Gary Tanguay and NBA analyst Donny Marshall will analyze the game, welcome special guests to the studio and link up live with its telecast team Mike Gorman, Tommy Heinsohn and Greg Dickerson from inside the TD Garden.

 The studio will feature three high definition cameras that Comcast SportsNet will send back to its Burlington studios. Celtics fans will be able to view the telecast from inside the Ace Ticket location and from the exterior on both Causeway and Friend St as the studio will be lined with glass panels that extend around the 25 foot perimeter. 

“The Ace Ticket Studio represents a first for Comcast SportsNet and it brings our telecast to a new level. Sports is about the experience and giving fans a chance to experience our Celtics telecast is an exciting way to begin this much anticipated season,” said Bill Bridgen, Comcast SportsNet’s executive vice president and general manager. 

“The store front location directly across for the Garden will give our customers and Celtics fans a front row seat as Comcast SportsNet puts on its award winning telecast,” said Ace Ticket Founder and CEO Jim Holzman. “Ace Ticket continues to expand its presence in New England and to work with Comcast SportsNet gives a high profile opportunity to reach our consumers.” 

Comcast SportsNet will use the studio throughout the year and extensively on Celtics home game nights as it will provide an exclusive location to interview Celtics front office officials, visiting team representatives and high profile fans attending the games. 

Comcast SportsNet reaches more than 4 million households in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Comcast SportsNet’s programming includes the Boston Celtics, Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight, Celtics Now, Sports Sunday, The Baseball Show, New England Tailgate, and Net Impact. Comcast SportsNet’s partnership with the 17-time NBA Champion Boston Celtics is the longest team-regional sports network relationship in New England and the fourth longest in professional sports. Comcast SportsNet New England is owned and managed by Comcast Sports Group. Visit www.comcastsportsnet.com for more information. 

Comcast Sports Group operates 10 sports networks that deliver 2,400 sporting events annually and sports news and analysis to 40 million cable and satellite homes. Comcast Sports Group’s networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet California, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, SNY, The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network, and CSS. Comcast Sports Group also manages New England Cable News (NECN), the nation’s largest regional news network, and The Comcast Network, based in Philadelphia and Washington, which delivers community-oriented programming. For more information, see ComcastSportsNet.com.

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The Good

Steve Begin: Nasty, in-your-face player. Appears to be an upgrade over Stehane Yelle on the fourth line and is a +3 on the season. Some teams in the league won’t be thrilled about facing the physical presence of Begin, Thornton & Bitz for 11 or so minutes a night.

Marc Savard: Never any questions as to his offense. His pass to Marco Sturm for a goal on Saturday was the epitome of threading a needle. Dropping the gloves and defending Sturm was even more impressive.

Marco Sturm: Rusty in the opener but was superb against Carolina. His pass to Hunwick for a goal was Savard-esque. Kessel’s goal will be replaced, folks.

The Bad

Mark Recchi: Admittedly, probably nit-picking here but he only has two shots on goal and is -2 on the season.

The Fans: Okay, just the ones booing Aaron Ward on Saturday night. He brought nothing but honor to the Bruins uniform. Sober up, or at least grow up.

The Ugly

Jay Harrison’s Face: “We’ve got a bleeder.”

Head-manning The Week:

The team catches a few days off before meeting up with Anaheim on Thursday night. The Ducks are an extremely physical squad and the Bull Gang better give an extra turn to the nuts, bolts and screw holding the boards together.

Saturday night brings the Islanders and highly touted prospect John Tavares into the Garden. He’s said to be a “can’t miss” player and, based on limited observations here, that would be tough to argue. Then again, the same was said about Bobby Carpenter on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the early 80’s.

WESTERN

15. Phoenix: What a mess. Hockey will never make it in the desert.
14. Colorado: Looks like a few lean years for a once proud franchise
13. Minnesota: I sure miss the old jerseys of the North Stars. Viva Cesare Maniago.
12. Dallas: Steve Ott. Enough said
11. Edmonton: For some reason, I love watching games played in Edmonton. Perhaps it’s the lighting?
10. Los Angeles: UMass’ Jonathan Quick might play his way onto Team USA’s entry in Vancouver.
9 Nashville: Still hard to take hockey seriously in the Music City.
8. Columbus: Still hard to take hockey seriously in a college city.
7. St. Louis: Most underrated team logo in the NHL.
6. Anaheim: Not pretty during the regular season but nasty during the playoffs.
5. Detroit: Still an elite squad but definitely on the back nine.
4. Calgary: Always a favorite at this address for beating the Canadiens in the ’89 Finals.
3. Vancouver: City is hoping to be Ground Zero for all things hockey in 2010.
2. Chicago: Their window of opportunity opened rather quickly but could also close just as fast.
1. San Jose: Almost getting to be now or never for the regular season sensations.

EASTERN

15. NY Islanders: They’ve got their building block in Tavares but they’ve yet to break ground.
14. Atlanta: At least congratulate them for outlasting the Flames in Atlanta. Where have you gone, Dan Bouchard?
13. Toronto: Give Komisarek credit for not jumping out west and avoiding Lucic.
12. Montreal: The squad Gainey has put together will get him the boot by next May.
11. Florida: I still can’t believe they traded Luongo.
10. Ottawa: They begin the climb back towards respectability. Did Kovalev bring his personal sniper from the Montreal balcony?
9. New Jersey: Lemaire is back behind the bench. Avoid attending Bruins – Devils games.
8. Buffalo: Watching Steve Montador take a beating in every fight is a must for all sadists in good standing.
7. Tampa Bay: Too much talent to stay at the bottom of the conference.
6. NY Rangers: Can Torts make all the odd-ball pieces of the puzzle work? Ten bucks says that Gilroy easily makes the jump to the NHL.
5. Carolina: Aaron Ward may not contribute all that much on the ice but he’ll be an All-Star in their locker room. Class act.
4. Philadelphia: Ultimately will de done in, as usual, by stupid penalties.
3. Boston: Don’t expect to match the number of points from last season. Do expect them lo last a bit longer in the playoffs.
2. Pittsburgh: I still can’t believe Hal Gill’s name is on the Stanley Cup.
1. Washington: Will they trade some offense for some defense at some point?

Stanley Cup Final: Pittsburgh over Chicago (because Marian Hossa always seems to be on the wrong end in the Finals)

Hart, Vezina & Norris: Who cares? It’s all about winning the Cup.

Centers:

Marc Savard: Playmaker extraordinaire and in a contract year. Will he commit to being an all-around player?

David Krejci: Returning from hip surgery earlier than originally expected. Most complete forward on the team.

Patrice Bergeron: Hopefully the lingering cobwebs from earlier concussions are a thing of the past. He should improve on last season’s total of 39 points.

Steve Begin: Basically this year’s version of Stephane Yelle. Solid fourth line player

Forwards:

Milan Lucic: The team feeds of his emotion at times. Must take fewer dumb penalties. Should be a major part of the offense.

Blake Wheeler: Added off-season muscle and hopefully won’t hit the wall again. Expect a big year from him.

Marco Sturm: If the knee holds up, should pot 25+ goals. Intense, solid two-way player.

Michael Ryder: A fast start, unlike last season, would be a boost for the team. Underrated two-way player.

Mark Recchi: Classy veteran but how much gas is left in the tank? Watch him fearlessly park himself in front of the goal. Great at tipping shots from point.

Chuck Kobasew: Hard-nosed winger with the ability to score. Salary could make him expendable later in the season.

Byron Bitz: Fan favorite but had a mediocre training camp. Must establish a physical presence on the fourth line.

Shawn Thornton: Team policeman and respected veteran in the locker room.

Vladmir Sobotka: Pesky player with good wheels. Not shy about taking the body.

Defensemen:

Zdeno Chara: The league’s best last season. Could use a lighter workload but I don’t think he’ll get it (or want it).

Dennis Wideman: Love him from the blue line going forward. Is a liability in his own zone. Must put the puck on net more.

Andrew Ference: Injured a good chunk of last season but played well when healthy. Must not let NHLPA activities affect his play. He’s no Brad Park.

Derek Morris: Good skater and can move the puck. Is he Dennis Wideman II though?

Mark Stuart: Tough, strong physical presence on the backline. His stock is rising in the league.

Matt Hunwick: Smaller player with great wheels. Can he hold up for an entire NHL season after rupturing his spleen?

Johnny Boychuck: End of the bench defenseman who could play forward in a pinch.

Goalies:

Tim Thomas: Can’t dispute a Vezina Trophy but is he capable of carrying a team to a Stanley Cup?

Tuuka Rask: The Bruins prized prospect. Has all the tools to be a superior NHL goaltender. Should play at least 30 games this season.

The Celtics will begin their quest to bring the NBA championship back to Boston on Tuesday, October 27th in Cleveland against LeBron, Shaq and the Cleveland Cavaliers on TNT. That will be the first of a staggering 32 nationally televised games for the Celtics, nine of which will be on TNT. (Seven Celtics games are on NBA TV, so I’m not sure if those should really count as “Nationally Televised.”) The Celtics home opener is the next night, the 28th against the Charlotte Bobcats. The first rematch with the Chicago Bulls will be that Friday night, in a game that ESPN has picked up, the first of 10 ESPN appearances by the Celtics.

The early part of the schedule features 10 out of the first 16 games at home, but then starting on November 29th, the team hits a stretch of eight games in 16 nights, with seven of those games on the road, including a three game trip through Charlotte, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

After a Christmas Day playoff rematch in Orlando with the Magic, (2:30pm ABC start time) the Celtics head out on their first West coast trip of the season. The Clippers, Warriors and Suns are on the itinerary for this quick three game set. Kobe Bryant and the world champion Los Angeles Lakers (that stings) make their only appearance at the TD Garden on Sunday, January 31st. This is another ABC game, tipping off at 3:30. With that being the weekend between the AFC and NFC championship games and the Super Bowl, the NBA will have the stage to itself to present that marquee matchup.

Boston sports fans are circling the following Sunday, February 7th on their sports calendar, hoping it turns out to be a Boston doubleheader. The Celtics host the Orlando Magic at 2:30 that afternoon on ABC, and the Super Bowl kicks off a little more than four hours later.

The last game prior to the All Star break for the Celtics is a trip to New Orleans to play the Hornets on February 10th. The 11th to the 15th of that month, the Celtics are off for the break before heading out on their traditional post All Star break West coast road trip starting in Sacramento on February 16th. Then, less than three weeks after their first matchup, the Celtics and Lakers conclude their two game season series on a Thursday night TNT game, which is a curious move on a couple fronts. Why would the NBA place two of their marquee games just a few weeks apart like this? And why have it at 10:30 at night on a weeknight? Why not another Sunday afternoon? Was TNT guaranteed to get one of these games, so it had to be then?

After that four game West coast swing, the Celtics will be home for nine of their next 13 games. The stretch includes a February 25th TNT home game with the Cavs, as well as a Sunday afternoon (3:30pm) ABC game in Cleveland on March 14th. At the end of that week, the Celtics depart on a mini, four night, three game swing through Houston, Dallas and Utah.

The final regular season matchup with LeBron, Shaq and the Cavs is scheduled for April 4th, another ABC game, this time at home at 1:00pm. The regular season concludes on Wednesday night, April 14 with a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

So what do you think? 74-8? Sound good? OK, that’s probably a tad optimistic, but this looks to be another fun season following the Celtics. Training camp is a week away. Can’t wait.

Leon Powe was probably my favorite member of the Boston Celtics over the last few years. Quiet, hardworking, willing to do the dirty work under the basket, Powe was perfect in the role the played for the Celtics. The fact that he had overcome so much in his life added to the appeal of Leon Powe as a person.

He grew up in the foster system in the Oakland area, trying the best he could to keep tabs on and take care of his younger siblings, Powe ended up the University of California, where he led the Pac-10 in rebounding at a freshman, and then returned from a devastating knee injury his sophomore year to become only sixth player in history to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding during his junior year, with totals of 20 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. Despite being somewhat undersized as a power forward at 6-8, 240 lbs, Powe was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft by the Nuggets and then traded to the Celtics.

During his three seasons with the Celtics, Powe endeared himself to fans with his tenacious, powerful style of play. It seemed he routinely outmuscled bigger and stronger players under the basket and dunked on them. Off the court, he founded a non-profit organization in the Bay Area to give support and education to children who are enduring a similar upbringing to what Powe himself had. Despite not being a highly paid NBA star, Powe was certainly among the busiest when it came to charity and off the court activities. It seemed this offseason was going to be his chance to finally make some good NBA money, but a torn ACL in the playoffs against Chicago put his entire NBA career in jeopardy.

Comments made by Doc Rivers seemed to indicate that he really hoped to keep Powe around, and bring him back next season. That didn’t happen. The Celtics chose to allow him to become an unrestricted free agent, with the team perfunctorily wishing him well on the way out the door. It sure seemed like good-bye, something I didn’t understand at the time, and still don’t understand. River talked often about the quality of person that Leon Powe is. That you really want more those on your team. Powe was facing another long rehab following his knee surgery, but it seemed that he would be a guy that the Celtics would take care of. Maybe something happened behind the scenes, but I doubt it. This was just a business decision. The Celtics felt they couldn’t afford to tie up a roster spot with a guy who won’t be back until, at the very soonest, the All Star break.

It’s their loss. This week Powe received an two year offer sheet with the Celtics biggest rivals in the Eastern Conference, the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Powe agree to the deal, and pending his physical, will make the deal official. This one hurts. It’s not quite Johnny Damon going to the Yankees, because I’ve got absolutely no animosity towards Powe. It’s just going to hurt seeing Powe in that Cavs uniform when he finally makes it back. Given his history, I have absolutely no doubt Leon Powe will make it all the way back. Let’s hope the damage to the Celtics is minimal.

Oct. 3 Carolina, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 8 Anaheim, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 10 N.Y. Islanders, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 12 Colorado, 1:00 p.m.

Oct. 16 at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Phoenix, 9:00 p.m.

Oct. 21 Nashville, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 22 at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Ottawa, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 29 New Jersey, 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 31 Edmonton, 1:00 p.m.

Nov. 1 at N.Y. Rangers, 1:00 p.m.

Nov. 3 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 5 Montreal, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 7 Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 10 Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 12 Florida, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 14 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16 N.Y. Islanders, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 19 at Atlanta, 7:00 p.m.

Nov. 20 at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 23 at St. Louis, 8:00 p.m.

Nov. 25 at Minnesota, 8:00 p.m.

Nov. 27 New Jersey, 12:00 p.m.

Nov. 28 Ottawa, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 2 Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 4 at Montreal, 8:00 p.m.

Dec. 5 Toronto, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 10 Toronto, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 12 at N.Y. Islanders, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 14 Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 18 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 21 at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 23 Atlanta, 7:00 p.m.

Dec. 27 at Florida, 5:00 p.m.

Dec. 28 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 30 Atlanta, 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 1 Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m.

Jan. 4 at N.Y. Rangers, 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 5 at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 7 Chicago, 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 9 N.Y. Rangers, 1:00 p.m.

Jan. 13 at Anaheim, 10:00 p.m.

Jan. 14 at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

Jan. 16 at Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m.

Jan. 18 Ottawa, 1:00 p.m.

Jan. 21 Columbus, 7:00 p.m.

Jan. 23 Ottawa, 1:00 p.m.

Jan. 24 at Carolina, 5:00 p.m.

Jan. 29 at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 30 Los Angeles, 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 2 Washington, 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 4 Montreal, 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 6 Vancouver, 1:00 p.m.

Feb. 7 at Montreal, 3:00 p.m.

Feb. 9 at Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.

Feb. 11 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 13 at Florida, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 2 Montreal, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 4 Toronto, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 6 at N.Y. Islanders, 2:00 p.m.

Mar. 7 at Pittsburgh, 3:00 p.m.

Mar. 9 at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 11 at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 13 at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 15 at New Jersey, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 16 at Carolina, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 18 Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 21 N.Y. Rangers, 3:00 p.m.

Mar. 23 at Atlanta, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 25 Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 27 Calgary, 1:00 p.m.

Mar. 29 Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.

Mar. 30 at New Jersey, 7:00 p.m.

Apr. 1 Florida, 7:00 p.m.

Apr. 3 at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.

Apr. 5 at Washington, 7:00 p.m.

Apr. 8 Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.

Apr. 10 Carolina, 1:00 p.m.

Apr. 11 at Washington, 3:00 p.m.

There’s certainly some merit to the belief that the NHL would like young Mr. Crosby to seize the position of “face of the league” through a seventh game victory. But, is that truly what the league and its fans need now? Or would the league be better off with a victory by the Red Wings and a restatement of the value of dynasties, be they real or perceived?

For many years, the various pro sports have followed the marketing lure by ordaining individual players as the face of their respective leagues. We moved away from the days of the “Big Bad Bruins” or the “Broad Street Bullies” and into the days of “The Great One” during Gretzky’s tenure in the NHL. Gretzky was bigger than the game and brought the league attention that crossed prior boundaries. Since that success, the NHL has always pined for the next big star that it can anoint and recapture the glory of Gretzky. (Eric Lindros was going to be that guy, wasn’t he? ) Now, in Crosby, the NHL believes it has that next transition star. Since even before his arrival, the league has touted him as the next big thing.

It’s my belief that the NHL (and all the other leagues, for that matter) would do well to return to the days of giving the teams the top of the marquee and giving the players the second slot. While people recognize Gretzky as the unquestioned star of that time, most fans refer to the dominance of the Oilers of that period. Remember, they won without Wayne, too. In the same way, people remember the dynasties of the Islanders and the Canadiens more than they focus on the great accomplishments of Mike Bossy or Clark Gillies or whichever really annoying French guy was skating for Montreal at the time.

What the league needs now is a classic hero/anti-hero confrontation. It needs a strong dynastic force like a Champion Red Wing team. Even better, they need that team to deny St. Sidney from the Cup. The celebration when we see someone reaches the top of the mountain is often far less interesting than watching the climb to get there. While there would be a great amount of celebration if Crosby hoisted the Cup, isn’t it better for the NHL if the drama of St. Sid winning his first plays out a little longer? Better still if the Red Wings oblige and play the unmovable force against which he has to play?

The NHL shouldn’t focus on signature moments, because moments are too fleeting. The NHL should focus on signature events. Events like the high quality Stanley Cup Finals being played between two good teams who happen to have several great players. The events may not have the “where were you when” panache of a signature moment, but they have staying power that outlasts the individual accomplishment.

Mr. Crosby’s got many great days ahead of him (unless the NHL’s New York based PR machine decides to anoint John Tavares next year and Sid gets pushed to second fiddle). The league needs an iconic championship team against which its many subplots can play out. It needs a Red Wings championship.

You say Ray Bourque finally holding the Stanley Cup over his head in 2001. I say, great, but that was after the game concluded.

You say Bob Nystrom scoring the Cup-winning goal in overtime in 1980. I say okay, but that was only Game 6 of the series and is probably not even recalled by casual fans.

You say Bobby Orr flying through the Garden air after winning the 1970 Stanley Cup in overtime. I say it was Game 4 of the series and the Blues were basically an expansion team, not to mention that was almost 40 years ago.

Other than those, I can’t think of many other modern Stanley Cup moments that are forever etched in the minds of hockey fans. Friday’s Game 7, however, has the ingredients to provide one of those rare, memorable moments badly needed to help promote and market the game going forward and one player in particular has the potential and ability to make that moment happen——- Sidney Crosby. Crosby entered the league as the newest “Next Great One” and has lived up to the enormous expectations but has been hearing, if not seeing, the footsteps of Alexander Ovechkin the past couple of regular seasons. Game 7 gives Crosby the chance to distance himself from Ovechkin and truly make his North American face the undisputed face of the league, much to the delight of the NHL league offices.

The 1950 Detroit Red Wings were the last team to win the Stanley Cup in overtime of Game 7. Imagine it’s overtime of this year’s Game 7 and Crosby gatheres the puck in the neutral zone, dekes a defenseman and performs an acrobatic move to slide the puck past Chris Osgood, winning the Stanley Cup over the hearty defending champions. A mega-star would be born and the NHL’s marketing division would immediately cancel all summer vacations.

The sport desperately has been awaiting a magical moment. What do you say, Sid?

In order to predict the winner of the series, we’ll follow the wisdom of Original Six-raised (Boston Latin and Harvard) philosopher George Santayana’s, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This series shapes up as a repeat of the Oilers – Islanders Finals from 1983 and 1984.

The high-octane 1983 Edmonton Oilers were hockey’s New Kids On The Block in the ’83 Cup Finals and poised to knock the three-time defending champions from the throne. However, with the likes of playoff tested Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies and Denis Potvin, the Islanders would have none of that and not only defeated the Oilers but swept them, surrendering only six goals in the four game series.

Fast forward one year to the 1984 Cup Finals and the same two combatants are back again, this time a rapidly aging Islanders team one year older and a maturing Oilers team one year wiser. The teams split the first two games in New York and then ventured west for three games in Edmonton. The series never returned to Long Island because the Oilers vanquished the honorable champs in three consecutive blowouts, thus ending the Islanders dynasty and beginning one for the Oilers.

Power Play thinks this year’s Finals shapes up in much the same manner. The Penguins should benefit greatly from their experience in last year’s Finals and use it as a springboard to leap-frog the venerable Red Wings this year.

Penguins in 6

By Jeremy Gottlieb

Well, that was a huge bummer, eh?

Talk about an anti-climax. The last thing I or pretty much anyone to whom I’ve spoken would have predicted for Game 7 at the Garden the other night was that the weary Celts would be blown out of the gym. The Celtics had history, experience, their home crowd and a seemingly mentally weak opponent all working in their favor and they still managed to drop one of the biggeststinkbombs of the season. So I guess that means it’s time to reflect now that enough time has passed that I can clearly wrap my head around it all. But before we go any further, let me put out one, small disclaimer. This will not be another one of those, “If only KevinGarnett had played, then they may have won it,” columns. So many supposedly shrewd, intelligent writers have mailed in that kind of drivel in the last couple of days, it’s made my eyes bleed. Really, guys? You think ifGarnett had played, the Celtics might have beaten the Magic? Wow, thanks for such astute, expert analysis. Now I know exactly why they lost.

No, here at the BSMW Full Court Press, we don’t believe in insulting our readership with such simplified obviousness. Everyone who has ever watched a sporting event knows that if the team thatlost’s best player didn’t play, that’s probably a huge reason why said losing team went down. Apparently, a lot of our local bastions of basketball knowledge forgot this.

Anyway, let’s not waste any more time discussing such nonsense. I’d prefer to examine how the Celtics got as far as they did and why. The series against Orlando didn’t have nearly the drama or suspense or sheer joy of the first-round series with the Bulls. But there were plenty of twists and turns. On one hand, you could argue that the Celts should have lost in five games. Orlando had both Games 4 and 5 wrapped up before going completely mental and spitting the proverbial bit. On the other hand you could argue that the Celtics should have won in six games. When Paul Pierce stepped to the line with 2:03 left in that game, just after the play of BrianScalabrine’s life (his “in your face” stuffing of Rashard Lewis on the low block that couldn’t possibly happen 99 out of 100 times) the Celtics had a chance to jump ahead after having held the Magic to just four points in the previous four minutes. Pierce, who shot 85 percent from the stripe in the series, missed enough big ones both against the Bulls and the Magic that when he clanked up both attempts, it wasn’t really surprising. What was surprising was that Orlando, which had virtually cornered the market on not being able to capitalize on pretty much anything up to that point, saw an opening, somehow flipped a switch on their collective mental toughness meter (which at that point was hovering around zero) and ran off an 11-2 run to escape with an 83-75 win and force another Game 7.

In hindsight, that was pretty much it. Like several Celtics fans I know, I figured the whole Game 7 at home thing would be enough to carry them. I thought it was a fluke that the Magic had kept their composure and managed to take advantage of such a huge chance at the end of Game 6. They had blown their wad in doing that, it seemed, and there was no way such a fragile group could summon the requisite chutzpah to beat a defending champ on the road in a deciding game, even a defending champ as tired and depleted as the Celtics.

Of course, that wasn’t remotely what happened. Instead of yet another Game 7 triumph, the Celtics completely wilted when it mattered most. I won’t waste too much time belaboring this point, but under the circumstances, considering the losses in personnel and the subsequent alternatives, reaching the ultimate game of the conference semifinals was a major accomplishment. It’s a bit astounding that they got as far as they did. That by no means absolves them of their performance on Sunday, but it is worth noting.

It was awful, really. Even though Ray Allen played by far his best game of the series, everyone else was basically out of it. Pierce was doubled anywhere on the floor at which he touched the ball and had no answer for it. Kendrick Perkins had his worst game in weeks, disappearing on offense and even missing three straight layups on a single possession at one point. Rajon Rondo hit a couple of jumpers but lacked the explosiveness he displayed earlier in the playoffs and was mostly ineffective, not to mention the fact that he was schooled by the not-really-that-good Rafer Alston. I would mention the bench, but there isn’t one, although one particular yokel earlier this week was shouting at me about how Doc Rivers should be ashamed of himself for employing an eight-man rotation, even though pretty much every coach since the beginning of time has done the same come playoff time (including Doc Rivers last year), and that Mikki Moore and Tony Allen should have played more in Game 7. Whatever, it was the worst-case scenario and not too many of us saw it coming.

But even though they absolutely stunk on Sunday, it’s hardly the last or most pertinent thing we should remember about this particular Celtics team. Instead, the focus should be on how admirable their overall performance throughout the last few weeks has been. I’m not a huge fan of trafficking in cliches, but this team showed a massive amount of heart, the heart of a champion. They outlasted Chicago and its Energizer Bunny youngsters and they came within one game (or a couple minutes, going back to Game 6) of bouncing an Orlando team with far more talent and athleticism while using Scalabrine as their sixth man/main backup at center and both forward slots. They were so thin that they had to take Big Baby (who is about to get PAID) out after one foul as opposed to two. They were forced to rely on Stephon Marbury at times, and even though he rewarded them for it in Game 5 and was by all accounts a perfect soldier during his time here, he was still too rusty and out of his element to live up to it.

All that, and they still were this close to winning the right to get swept by LeBron and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were tired and banged up and practically patched together with duct tape, yet they just missed winning two playoff rounds. Not too shabby. Of course, the end was bitter and disappointing. But it was a hell of a ride and for that, this group, the 2008-2009 defending NBA champion Boston Celtics, should be commended.

It’s nice to see the Bruins develop a rivalry with the Hurricanes, pretty much courtesy of Scott Walker’s sucker punch of Aaron Ward. Ward was engaged with Matt Cullen before Walker crashed the party (Third Man In) and popped Ward as he was still trying account for Cullen’s whereabouts. In any event, a regular season Carolina game in Boston would generally be a ho-hum affair and just another night on the NHL calendar, albeit with a fair number of Hartford Whalers jerseys in the crowd. Thanks to this series, and specifically Mr. Walker, that will probably change starting next season. Disdain for the opposing team is always good for hockey.

“The most dangerous lead in hockey is a two goal lead.” No truer words can be found. Sure, a two goal lead is great, but it gives a team a false sense of security that can lead to a tie score in less than 90 seconds. Every time the Bruins went up by a deuce in Game 6, Carolina seemed to be on a five-on-five “power play” in the Boston end of the ice with the Bruins missing easy opportunities to clear the puck out of their zone of a countless number of occasions. Tim Thomas was spectacular while denying the Hurricanes the chance to make it a one goal game and blowing the roof off the RBC Center.

Steve Montador can scare the living hell out of any Bruins fan when handling the puck in his own end, but the guy clearly can skate and is effective in the transition game and jumping up into the play in the offensive zone.

Dennis Wideman has been a disappointment this series. Like Montador, he’s not to be trusted in his own zone with the puck, but he usually compensates for that with his offensive skills in the attacking zone. However, even in the offensive zone things don’t seem to be going his way as of late with the puck always seeming to be jumping over his stick or him making an errant pass on the power play. His inability to put the puck on net is now becoming legendary for “Wideleft.” He’s still a skilled a player and can hopefully gain some confidence going forward.

Patrice Bergeron is playing some sound hockey right now. His direct passes to Recchi and Kobasew for goals in Game 6 were pinpoint and almost indefensible by Carolina.

The Hurricanes clearly have no answer for Milan Lucic, who can impose his will on them any time he wants, and that seems to be every time he’s on the ice as of late. How can this guy not be consider the successor to Chara as captain of the Bruins?

Byron Bitz has done a stellar job and his physical play will probably keep Blake Wheeler on the bench for Game 7. Perhaps the Bruins might even give him a normal hockey number during train camp in September?

Okay, prediction time. Power Play has always maintained that a team failing to close out a series in Game 6 at home rarely wins Game 7 on the road and that should hold true Thursday night in Boston in front of what promises to be a raucous crowd. If Carolina doesn’t score first they’re in a heap of trouble as things could spiral out of control for them very quickly. Prediction? Bruins 5, Hurricanes 1.

In hindsight, the timing may have been by design as it gave Thomas a “vote of confidence” by team brass prior to the start of the playoffs. Chiarelli may have realized that the weight of impending contract negotiations may not be ideal for a goaltender gearing up for what was expected to be an extended playoff run. A few soft goals or bad games in the playoffs could potentially have a goalie thinking of future years rather than the task at hand.

Thomas has been more than effective and has looked comfortable in the six playoff games thus far and credit must be given to team management for acting swiftly and decisively in identifying Thomas as a key ingredient for their playoff success this season and going forward, presumably in tandem with the grooming of Tuukka Rask.

By Jeremy Gottlieb

I don’t know about you, but I feel like tonight should be Game 8.

It seems really hard to grasp that the Celtics’ first-round series against the Bulls is over. By the time the third overtime of Game 6 rolled around, I figured that the two teams would just keep playing each other forever, or at least until someone keeled over. And now, it’s over. Let the withdrawal symptoms begin.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy the Celtics won. I’m ecstatic about it, actually. The fact that they were able to stay on their feet throughout all seven of those games plus all seven of those overtimes and wind up the ones that didn’t get knocked out wassupremely impressive. Both teams were so totally staggered, so banged up and so running on fumes by the time Saturday night rolled around, being the one who gave out first was nothing over which to sulk. They showed tremendous character and fortitude in outlasting the Bulls and should be not only commended, but remembered for it, no matter what happens next.

Which leads us to that very question: what is going to happen next? We know that the Orlando Magic, their monster of a center and their wildly oversensitive head coach will invade the Garden tonight for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. And that’s about it. Just as the last series proved to be impossible to predict (even in the end, when it seemed the Celtics and Bulls couldn’t play without at least one extra period, they finished Game 7 in regulation with barely a sliver of the suspense found in the previous three games), what the Celtics may do against Orlando is a complete mystery.

There are at least a couple of possibilities. They could be completely spent from the energy, both physical and mental, expended against the Bulls. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and Doc Rivers can talk all they want about how playing a ton of minutes doesn’t matter because they’re all basketball players and that’s what they do. Tack on the amount of time played by the Celtics’ starting five to the amount they’ve all played over the course of the season, plus all of last season, when they participated in 26 playoff games, and you have a truckload of minutes. Enough minutes that would add at least a little bit of weight to even the most well-conditioned player’s legs. And on top of that, there’s the emotional toll after a series that featured so many highs and lows that even the most stoic, bloodless guys had to have felt them. The Celtics are exhausted and they may be too gassed to stay with the Magic.

Or, they may be recharged and re-energized. There’s no doubt that the Celts are flying after coming out on top against the Bulls. Even for a team that has been to the heights that the Celts have reached, winning such a battle, especially while playing severely undermanned, has to be totally elating. Now, after showing the kind of heart and resolve on display against Chicago, perhaps they see themselves as world beaters and will play as such. Or maybe they’re just so happy to be rid of the Bulls (especially the hideous Brad Miller andJoakim Noah) that just seeing a different uniform on the other side of the floor will carry them. Who knows?

What is clear, or at least clearer, is that the Celts are going to have to deal with a better, more experienced group. As well as the Bulls played all series long, particularly the duo of Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose, they don’t have anyone who even approaches Orlando’s Dwight Howard. Howard, who on any particular night may well grab 25 rebounds and block seven shots, is an absolute beast, a prototypical center for this era of the pro game. As well as his will to rebound and defend at the highest possible level, he is extremely quick and is able to get around pretty much every big man he faces with ease. He has harnessed that quickness and applied it to his offensive repertoire to the tune of 21 points a game. He can post up or face up and be just as dangerous regardless.

If the Celtics want to win, they may just have to live with giving Howard what he wants. As we all know so well, the Celts’ front line is thin. Kendrick Perkins will have the task of checking Howard and he has to stay out of foul trouble, not just so there will be less need forMikki Moore and Brian Scalabrine on the offensive end but on defense as well, where each of them will be eaten alive before fouling out in 10 minutes. Big Baby Davis had one of his better games of the season against Howard and the Magic, outplaying him on both ends, but that was with KevinGarnett backing him up. Big Baby emerged as a true threat against the Bulls and the Celtics will need all they can get from him in this round, so the less time he has to spend grappling with Howard the better. Howard’s going to get his, so the Celts just have to ensure that everyone else in blue doesn’t.

After Howard, the Magic thin out. Hedo Turkoglu is their next best player, and although he has proven to be somewhat of an assassin at big moments both in these playoffs and before, he’s been playing on a bad wheel that may or may not affect him, particularly when it comes to driving to the basket. The point guard isRafer Alston, a journeyman equally capable of throwing out a great game and a stinker. Rashard Lewis, the team’s highest paid player, was quiet in the Magic’s first-round win over Philly and has appeared to be rather passive in big games. Their starting 2-guard a rookie named Courtney Lee who can really shoot, is out with a fractured sinus. No one on their bench is all that scary, unless you count Duke alum/slow, no-position, long range gunner J.J.Redick scary. Second-year big guy Marcin Gortat, did put up 11 points and 15 boards in place of the suspended Howard in the clincher against the Sixers so given the Celts’ depleted frontcourt, they may need to pay him some mind.

The point is that these are the guys the Celts have to make beat them. Despite Howard’s mammoth presence up front, the Magic are a perimeter-oriented outfit. They shoot three after three after three with a lot of screen and roll up top to freeTurkoglu and Lewis for open looks, as well as a fair amount drive and kick stuff too. There won’t be as much ball movement as the Bulls employed and Orlando doesn’t have nearly the team speed that the Bulls had. Although they will get out and run from time to time, these factors play into the Celts’ hands.Rajon Rondo, who must be considered among the league’s elite point guards after his performance against the Bulls, shouldn’t have too tough a time against Alston, and both Pierce and Allen are likely to be able to operate a little bit more freely against the Magic’s D, which won’t be as quick or aggressive as the Bulls’ was. Orlando probably caught on to the fact that Pierce’s worst moments in the last round were when he was trapped or at least doubled at the three-point line so seeing that approach won’t be surprising. And a more consistent effort from the bench, thin as it is and Eddie House’s perfect Game 7 notwithstanding, would be nice, though saying that is like hoping for rain in the midst of a drought.

So that’s what next. I’m not particularly ready to leave the Bulls series behind just yet (and by the way, as great a series as it was, and man was it amazing, it was not one of the best series of all time for the simple fact that it was just the first round – move it up a couple rounds and we’re onto something) but as gratifying and meaningful as it was, it’s now history. It was one step, even if it felt like 20. And now, another task is at hand. It’s a task the Celts will handle – they take the Magic in six.

As the number one seed, the Bruins will face the lowest remaining seed remaining after two Game 7s finish tomorrow evening. Let’s take a quick look at the three possibilities next in line for the Bruins.

Rangers # 7: Couldn’t close out the Capitals in Game 6 at home which will be prove to be fatal for them. Teams rarely recover from this missed opportunity and go on to win on the road in Game 7. The 2001 Devils and the 2004 Flames both had a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice in Game 6. They both squandered the opportunity and lost Game 7 on the road. Ditto for the Rangers tomorrow night.

Hurricanes # 6: They’ve played the Devils honorably thus far. However, beating Marty Brodeur in his home building in a Game 7 will prove to be a daunting task. They’ll play with grit but will ultimately lose a close, hard-fought game.

Penguins # 5: With the Rangers and Hurricanes predicted to be on the short end of their respective Game 7s, the Pittsbugh Penguins, along with their explosive offensive arsenal will be the lowest remaining seed still standing and be headed to Boston later in the week for the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

By Jeremy Gottlieb

Four games down and it feels like 24. One blowout sandwiched among three total nail biters, the most recent of which was an absolute classic. What more can the Celtics and Bulls possibly give us? Yet there are at least two, potentially three more games to play (and believe me, this series is going seven) and if those games follow anything close to the same path the rest of the series has, ESPN Classic may have to rethink its strategy of showing nothing but reruns of the World Series of Poker. The series has had its fair share of intriguing plotlines, from the explosion of Derrick Rose to Rajon Rondo’s taking the next step, to Paul Pierce’s surprising amount of lethargy in three of the four games to the emergence of Joakim Noah as a supervillian (the thought here is that he’s involved in at least one fracas before the series is over). And as entertaining as each of the first three games were in their own ways, none of them combined added up to what we got from Game 4, a relentlessly “can you top this,” type of contest that alternately blissfully and painfully seemed to never end. It was playoff basketball at its finest, one of the best, most competitive games of the year, a true test of wills that ended with the Bulls winning 121-118 in double overtime.

Early on, things were mundane at best. It took Pierce, who was absolutely blistering hot to start Game 3, until almost halfway through the second quarter to score his first points. Kendrick Perkins, who seems to have Noah’s number in the low post, was the Celts’ most reliable option at this point, and he, along with Rondo, carried the load while Pierce was taking his time waking up in time for the noon central time start and Ray Allen got untracked. Meanwhile, as happened so often during the season, the bench turned a slim, first quarter lead into a 16-2 Bulls run practically on cue in the early stages of the second quarter. It was quite dispiriting to see Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore, after each of their solid performances in Game 3, return to the ranks of the irrelevant at best, hopelessly lost/overmatched at worst.

The Bulls were certainly not the same team that stunk out the gym in Game 3. They were much looser, more focused and calmer. Their energy, which was nonexistent Thursday night, gave the Celts fits, especially on the defensive end, particularly when it came to Pierce. And speaking of energy, the game also marked the official emergence of Tyrus Thomas as a certifiable beast. Thomas was all over the place, adding to his league-leading playoff blocked shot total, in on every rebound, ferocious on defense, particularly down low and pretty much just jumping through the roof. All the talk about Rose and his enormous talent is certainly justified, but if Thomas, who also has hit a few big shots in the series, continues to develop, he will be an all-star several times over.

Pierce and Allen both hit a few shots in the waning stages of the first half but for the Celts, it was all about Rondo. He hit the break with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists, and continued to be the best player on the floor wearing a green uniform. On defense, he was a one man swarm, holding Rose pretty much in check (at least temporarily) while keeping up his furious pace on the glass and doing all of the little things that any team needs to win. On the ABC telecast, both Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy were falling all over themselves praising Rondo for everything short of doing cartwheels, all of it perfectly justified. And even though Pierce made just three of 10 shots and Allen took only four in the half, the Celtics were ahead going into the locker room.

The second half started quite similarly to the first, with the Celts confounding propensity for sluggish starts rearing its head again. They missed nine of their first 10 shots in the third quarter but were bailed out by the Bulls’ youth and inexperience. The hosts couldn’t get out of their own way, committing seven turnovers and sending the Celts to the line 12 times in the quarter. Worse, Rose was playing passive which made up for the facts that Pierce again couldn’t get going and Big Baby, such a crucial offensive weapon for the Celts since his man doubles off him and he’s wide open all the time, was suffering through a horrendous shooting day. It seemed as though the Bulls wouldn’t be able to capitalize on their best chance of the day to send the Celts home and the Celts took advantage when Pierce got hot toward the end of the quarter and they ended the frame on a 12-0 run.

The fourth quarter was when things started to enter a different realm. Big Baby and Bulls’ big man Brad Miller got into a near-scuffle and it ignited Rose. Suddenly, the player who owned Game 1 was back. Rose was trying to take the game over and if it wasn’t for Rondo, who was careening toward another triple-double, he may well have done it. Meanwhile, Perk, who averages 1.5 moving pick fouls per game, committed his second one of the game and fouled out. I love Perk and how he’s developed over the past couple of years, but it would not be asking too much for him to learn how to set a legal screen. Anyway, his expulsion from the proceedings robbed the Celts of their only real shot blocker and their second best rebounder (if anyone wants to argue that Rondo is not their best right now, please feel free to bring it). This lack of a defensive presence in the paint opened things up for Rose even more and he took advantage.

Down the stretch, with Rondo still controlling things and Big Baby’s shooting struggles extending into the post, where he missed three layups between the final quarter and second overtime, Allen started to make his presence felt. He hit a three in the final two minutes so naturally, with the Bulls up three with just under 10 seconds to play, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he’d be getting the ball. What wasn’t so obvious was that the Bulls defense on the play would be so bad. Both Noah and Thomas got caught in a screen set by Big Baby and Allen’s look from the right wing was wide open. He buried the shot and we were on to the first OT.

Soon after extra session No. 1 began, Rondo had the triple-double. He’s now averaging one for the series, only the fourth player to ever do that, and the first Celtic since Larry Bird in 1986 to have two in the same series. Allen drilled a couple more from long range and Rose was beginning to lag. When they went up five with two minutes left, it felt like the Celts would survive. But Ben Gordon, who put on the best Andrew Toney impression in Game 2 since Andrew Toney, had bounced back from a sore hamstring to make a couple of big shots in the overtime, including a swooping runner high off the glass over both Big Baby and Tony Allen that defied logic. Ahead by two, Pierce made a free throw then missed his second one of the series that would have ended the game with nine seconds left. Just as it was a no-brainer for Allen to take the shot at the end of regulation, so too was it that Gordon would get the ball at the end of the overtime. The Bulls called his number, he barely shook free of Pierce, launched an off-balance bomb from the right wing and nailed it. What goes around comes around and we were headed for another extra frame.

There was some suspense in OT, version 2.0, but not as much as there had been. The Celtics were the team that seemed to have had its spirit broken, not the youthful, inexperienced Bulls. John Salmons, who was awful in the first half, made two big shots, scored six of the Bulls 11 points in the frame and rung up two huge defensive plays on Pierce, one a strip while Pierce was driving with the Bulls up two and the second a partial block of Pierce’s last-second three-point heave. Rose and Gordon each had a couple more big moments and even though Pierce made a huge three to cut the Bulls lead to one, making the thought of a third overtime very real with about 15 seconds left, it just wasn’t going to happen, despite the heroics of both Rondo and Allen. Both teams had multiple chances to win and both teams probably should have won before it was all said and done. The Bulls just made one more shot than the Celts did, the way it usually goes down in the best games.

So what do the Celts need to do going forward? They need Pierce to play more like he did in Game 3, for starters. Sure, the Bulls are playing him extremely well, trapping and harassing him when they can and siccing defensive maven Kirk Hinrich on him when they can’t. But his energy and intensity just don’t seem right which is very confusing. He must step up, which we all know he can if he so chooses. They also need to tighten up defensively. They were positively demonic on D in Game 3 and for stretches yesterday. But there were missed assignments and slow rotations at crucial points yesterday as well and that sort of thing needs to be eliminated.

Still, there isn’t that much to complain about. It was a very tough loss and naturally, it’s far better to be coming home up 3-1 than tied 2-2. But it was such a great game, so worthy of all the praise one can dish out, so exhilarating and infuriating and exhausting and magnificent all at once that the final outcome seems less important. It will be pretty hard for any of the remaining games to live up to Game 4. But it can’t hurt to hope.

By Mike Brilliant and Tom Scott

Tom:

Great end to the first half. Good to see the team extend the league with Rondo on the bench. Was the celtics demise greatly exagerated?

Mike:

The Celtics were being counted out by most experts. Going in to tonight’s game, the Bulls were even money to win this series. And what about all that talk of Pierce being too tired, too run down and the victim of over 200 games in the past 20 months?

The key to the first half was Pierce getting off early and the Celtics playing their championship defense. It seemed like Boston was creating turnovers on every other possession, and they got to just about every loose ball.

Rondo turned in another awesome effort and even Marbury created a spark off the bench tonight that we all expected from Day 1.

Tom, what do the Celtics need to do in the second half to continue their success?

Tom:

Defense and ball movement. The first half defense was great. The bulls shot 33% and they were taking at least 15 seconds a possession in order to get a shot off. Keep the defensive intensity and the hustle to loose balls. On offense, it’s the ball movement. They had about a five minute stretch in the first half when it was Paul Pierce isolation offense from 2005. There’s no need to repeat that again.

Give me your two things that make you confident and two things that still concern you going forward?

Mike:

I really like how Rondo is running the team. Right from the get-go, it seemed like Rondo was running after every defensive board. Rose has received all of the publicity this series, but Rondo has clearly outplayed him. He has been the MVP of the series so far.

I also loved the way the Celtics came out and played defense. You expect it from Rondo and Perkins, but even Big Baby was moving his feet and blocking shots. The Bulls had over 20 turnovers. Many of those were self inflicted, but the Celtics force many more with their aggressiveness.

It’s tough to criticize a team that wins on the road by 30, but I’m a bit concerned about their big man situation. As noted before, Mikki Moore is a human foul machine and is really the only reserve big man. I know Scalabrine is back…but he hasn’t played in two months.

Tom Scott:

Big Baby had a great game, he is getting better and better. The man is incredibly light on his feet. He looked good with that finger roll the other day and tonight he had some nifty moves. As an aside, with NFL draft coming up, could big baby have become Antonio Gates? He’s got great feet and is quicker than he looks.

The other plus item was clearly the defense. They came out with much better focus on defense. I think part of it was the “us against the world on the road” metality but the other half was effort. They shut down the lane, challenged most shots and made the Bulls work hard.

On the downside, Pierce and Ray Allen had a combined total of one rebound and zero assists. They did play good D tonight but it would be nice for them to contribute in these other categories. The Celtics’ best games this year involved these two stuffing the stat sheet

Prediction for Game 4?

Mike:

To beat the same team they just blew out on the road will be a tall task for the Celtics. Chicago will have three days to think about how bad they were, which should prove to be the ultimate motivation. Saying that, if the Celtics play stellar defense and the starters stay out of foul trouble, there’s no reason they shouldn’t have a good chance to win.

By Mike Brilliant and Tom Scott

Editor’s Note: With two playoff games in the books, I’ve solicited the contributions of two former writers for the Full Court Press to chip in with playoff coverage. Last season, they gave us their back and forth opinions in a regular column called the “Give and Go”. Thankfully, Mike and Tom “the Chest” Scott are back. As noted in the past, these guys are all about the basketball.

Tom Scott:

With Game 2 over, another thriller, the question is – Are the bulls a good #7 seed or are the Celtics just a bad #2 seed?

Mike:

There have been many first round series that have been much closer than anyone expected. Off the top of my head, I can remember the Celtics being involved in quite a few. There was Cleveland back in the mid-eighties. Indiana in 1991 and 1992.

Having said that, I think the Bulls are comparable with the Hawks and the Heat who are the #4 and #5 seeds respectively. Since the acquisitions of Brad Miller and John Salmons, Da Bulls are playing well over .500 basketball. Chicago could be this year’s Atlanta.

So what is/are the Celtics’ problem(s)?

Tom Scott:

Chicago is even better than that. They might be equal to Orlando. They finished the season 14-7 since March 4th. Orlando was 15-7 and the Celtics were15-6. So clearly they came together after the trade while Rose got used to the league (what rookie wall?). They really remade that team nicely by getting rid of Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and Nocioni. Brad Miller and John Salmons really round out the team. Salmons is playing good defense on Pierce. They are definitely a team on the rise.

That being said, Boston’s problems really arise from one major issue – Defense. The Bulls are getting transition points all of over the place by out-hustling the Celtics on the break. After the first 8 minutes of Game 2 until the end of the half, the Bulls were pushing when they could. It also helps that they are more athletic than the Celtics.

The help defense is also a problem. Without KG, they are not able to rotate quick enough and to help protect, like when Rose blew by Rondo all throughout Game 1. Then Chicago put up 115 points in Game 2 and they shot 50%. This is way above the average they allowed all season.

I also have to wonder: What happened to the bench?

Mike:

I agree. The Boston defense over the last two games has been their biggest problem. Giving up 115 points per game is not going to win you many playoff games. Also, Ben Gordon was getting far too many open looks. The Celtics didn’t really pay attention to him until it was too late. He was totally “en fuego.”

Regarding the Boston bench, they obviously didn’t do a great job in the first half of Game 2. Once Rondo and Perkins came out of the game, the Celtics blew their double digit lead almost immediately. It seems like the only players I truly trust off the bench are Eddie House and Leon Powe. Um, make that just House as we won’t be seeing Leon on the floor anytime soon after he tore his left ACL.

Rondo and Perkins were superb in the first half. Their replacements, Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore? Not so much. I’ll start with Moore. You would think that he should be able to match up with Noah (athletic, slim build) and Brad Miller (a jump shooter). But Moore is a human fouling machine that can’t rebound and can’t seem to grasp the Celtics’ defensive concept.

As for Marbury, not only is he tentative going to hoop, but he somehow lost his outside shot. We know he can’t play on the ball defense, so the Celtics appear to be left with Sebastian Telfair all over again.

Doc Rivers didn’t do the starters any favors either. It seemed like House was the only significant bench player who received minutes in the second half. By the end of the game, it seemed like the offense was stagnant probably due mostly to fatigue. Pierce wasn’t going to the hoop at all. Then again, I’m not sure I can attribute that to fatigue or the lack of calls he’s been getting all series from these minor league NBA refs.

All that said, if there was one guy who should have played more, it’s Tony Allen. As hot as Gordon was in the fourth quarter, why wouldn’t you put Allen on him? I asked the same question in Game 1 when Rose went off for 36.

What’s your forecast for Game 3? Will the Celtics’ road woes from last year’s playoffs continue?

Tom Scott:

I agree on TA. I was wondering if he was hurt. He would have been a good matchup for Gordon and would have been useful on Rose on Saturday.

I think they can win one in Chicago but I’m not sure it will be Game 3. The crowd will be crazy and the team will definitely feed off that. I guess the biggest hope is that perhaps the Bulls will read their own clippings and may not have the same focus they had in Boston. Conversely, maybe the Celtics can rally around themselves and try to survive in a hostile environment.

Ultimately, they need the defense to be better and they need the offensive movement they had in Game 2. Ray Allen finally decided to move in the second half and it showed. In Game 1 and in the first half of Game 2, he stood around. He wasn’t doing what made him successful, i.e. coming off picks, moving and finding the soft spots.

What happened to Pierce in Game 2? He looked out of the game.

Mike:

Pierce looked like he was exhausted. How else to explain why he got his jumper blocked by a point guard, Derrick Rose, late in the game? He also was very hesitant to drive to the basket all throughout the game. Then the few times he did, the refs didn’t give him a single call.

Pierce played 43 minutes on Saturday. This is fine, because the game went into overtime, which added 5 minutes to his total. But Doc really put a lot of pressure on the starters Monday with his non-existent substitutions. I remember Doc blew a game by leaving his starters in all second half during Game 2 in 2005 versus Indiana. He’s lucky it didn’t cost him on Monday.

Tom Scott:

Pierce got outhustled on the block and the out of bounds save and looked like he was out of energy. Now with Powe out, using the bench effectively will be important. They need to continue with rotating substitutions rather than bringing on four bench guys at once. They’ll probably use Marbury on Rose but they might be better off letting him take Hinrich to the hoop and abuse him a bit. Generally speaking, Stephon and Eddie House both need to step up big on Thursday.

Coming attractions on FCP: More “Give and Go” with post-game analysis of Game 3

By Kevin Henkin

Although this has nothing to do with the Bulls or even the Celtics, I thought it was worth mentioning nonetheless:

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had a piece that embarrassingly fawned all over the Los Angeles Lakers and their semi-passionate fan base. My favorite nugget of information gleaned from the article was the fact that, according to one Los Angeles insurance carrier, at least 350 pets in the LA area are named after Kobe Bryant.

Hmm. Actually, I think it makes far more sense for Celtics fans to name their dogs after Kobe because it would provide everyone with a constant source of amusement whenever discipline was required . “Oh no! Kobe Bryant just peed all over the floor! Bad Kobe !” Or “No! No! No! Kobe , how many times have I told you not to eat your own poop!” Or “Fer Crissakes, Kobe Bryant just ran away with my dirty underwear again!” And finally: “Kobe, leave that poor woman’s leg alone! That’s disgusting!”

Moving along, some might call this the blatant recycling of old material. I prefer to view it as a fond reminiscence of those heady days of the title run of last spring. Here are some random Rolling Observations I made during a couple of the playoff games I attended last year. They’re about a few specific players that I happen to find myself missing these days:

Kevin Garnett (from Game 1 of the Cleveland series):

Anderson Varejao draws a hard foul. While at the line, the crowd starts a “Sideshow Bob” chant. It’s funny because it’s true. Sideshow Bob can’t cover Kevin Garnett either.

Leon Powe (from Game 1 of the Atlanta series):

Just when the crowd seems to be getting a little sleepy, Leon Powe wakes them up with an eye-popping jam against double coverage, including Josh Smith. I’m pretty sure Leon Powe could muscle a slam through a truck full of fast drying concrete. This from a guy who couldn’t get on the floor at the beginning of the season. Now he’s clearly an important (if unheralded outside of Boston) part of the rotation.

James Posey (from Game 1 against Atlanta):

After a Joe Johnson three, James Posey responds seconds later with his own three, then grabs the rebound on the next defensive possession. This reminds me of the words of his former coach Pat Riley offered earlier this season in the bowels of this very building. After a drubbing by the Celtics, when asked to reflect on the loss of James Posey (due to salary cap considerations), Riley said, “James Posey is a big shot, big game, big time player.” True, that.

Sam Cassell (from Game 1 against Cleveland):

Sam Cassell knocks down his first jumper after talking some smack to Delonte West. Although I couldn’t catch the full exchange, it was something about West’s mother being overweight and crashing through the wall yelling Kool-Aid.

and:

After a Cleveland miss, Sam Cassell of all people tears away the rebound and is subsequently knocked to the floor by Ilgauskas. The big Lithuanian knees Cassell in the head for good measure, but Cassell knees the Cavs in the groin by knocking down his free throws.

Coming attractions on FCP: The revival of the “Give and Go” by Mike Brilliant and Tom “the Chest” Scott

By Kevin Henkin

The NBA: Where Immense Frustration Happens. Ugh. Where to begin? With some salient facts, I suppose, which are as follows:

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics at home in Game 1 of their first round playoff series, in overtime, by a score of 105-103.

Bulls rookie point guard Derrick Rose submitted a performance for the ages. In 49 minutes of play, he recorded 36 points on 12-19 shooting to go with 11 assists. He also hit all 12 of his free throws.

Rajon Rondo was almost as magnificent with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

Ray Allen, meanwhile, was horrid. Yes, he missed the shot on a good look at the end of overtime that would have tied it for Boston but it was his overall line of 4 points on 1-12 shooting (including 0-6 from deep waters) that spoke volumes. With Kevin Garnett out, the Celtics simply cannot afford to have Ray Allen become invisible for another playoff series.

Joakim Noah hauled in 17 rebounds to go with his 11 points and 3 blocks. Noah in particular seemed to swallow up Glen Davis whenever Baby approached anywhere near the basket. Brad Miller grabbed another 12 boards off the bench. For the game, Chicago out-rebounded Boston by a margin of 66-57. The effort by the Bulls on the glass was certainly among the primary deciding factors.

Paul Pierce had a lackluster first half, scoring only 4 points before coming alive in the third quarter and beyond. For the game, he finished with 23 points on 8-21 shooting. What he’ll be remembered for most, however, was missing the second of two free throws with 2 seconds left in regulation. Hitting the shot would have sent the Bulls packing. Instead, the miss left the game tied at 97 all. In the subsequent overtime, Tyrus Thomas seemed to become Ray Allen by connecting on multiple contested outside jumpers whereas Ray Allen seemed to become Tony Allen, suffering form a sustained poor shooting touch as well as a nasty case of butterfingers at the most crucial of times.

Now for some musings beyond the numbers:

I think anyone watching the game had to feel very early on that the Celtics were not submitting a playoff level of intensity. Doc Rivers admitted as much during his in-game comments to ESPN. I remain mystified by this. As a team without its emotional leader and defensive anchor, the Celtics obviously realize that their margin for error, even against a lesser team like the Bulls, has shrunk considerably. Therefore, one would think that no one in a Celtics uniform would ever be seen – on the parquet floor, no less – TAKING PLAYS OFF. And yet that’s exactly what happened on numerous occasions over the course of the game.

Take, for example, the last play of the first half. With time winding down, Ben Gordon launched a three point shot from the top of the key. When the shot left his hands, only Brad Miller moved towards the basket. When the shot bounced wide to the left with one second left, it fell into the hands of the advancing Miller, who laid it in easily just before time expired. Replays showed that no Celtics players were even in the lane when Miller received the ball, with most of them still stuck to the floor exactly where they were when Gordon launched the shot. It was an inexcusable collective lack of effort that ended up costing the Celtics dearly later in the game.

There were other examples, such as a Rajon Rondo drive just inside the three minute mark of the third quarter. On that play, Rondo took a deep rebound and charged full steam up the court against a back-peddling Bulls defense. Again, replays showed that the only other Celtics player even within twenty feet behind him was Ray Allen as the lagging trailer. Meanwhile, the other Boston players – Pierce, Davis and Kendrick Perkins – all jogged up the court behind the play. Left alone, Rondo stubbornly charged hard into the heart of the Chicago defense with the hopes of drawing a foul. He turned the ball over instead.

These are the plays that I cannot erase from my mind, and believe me, there were others worthy of scrutiny. Look, we all know that losing playoff games at home is going to happen. It just shouldn’t ever come down to a lack of proper effort. Yes, it’s true that Derrick Rose played out of his mind. It’s also true that the officials were regrettably a factor. Hell, an entire article could be devoted to exploring their gross incompetence displayed over the course of this game. Leading the charge was Bennett Salvatore, the man you may well remember for calling the ludicrous offensive foul against Paul Pierce in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit last year.

Regardless, if we’re going to assign blame, accusing fingers should be pointed first and foremost at everyone in a Celtics uniform not named Rajon Rondo. Outside of the young point guard, who nearly dragged his team to victory all by himself, all other Celtics players were guilty of either inexcusably dogging it on occasion or submitting a sub-par overall performance. Ray Allen, as noted above, was beyond ineffective. So too were Eddie House, Glen Davis, Stephon Marbury and – to a lesser degree – Paul Pierce.

In the wake of the news that Garnett was likely a scratch for the playoffs, the Celtics players to a man said all the right things. Don’t count us out. We’re still playing for a title. Sounds great in front of the microphones but now it has to be backed up on the basketball court. That includes the entire forty-eight minutes of the game, by the way. Forget all the doomsday prognostications about Cleveland or even Orlando. Chicago is the team that presently stands in the way of a successful title defense. Get past them and maybe we can resume discussing of likelihood of an upset against the vaunted Cleveland Cavaliers.

To be continued…