This year is an unusually sporty Christmas

NFL on Christmas Eve.  NBA season openers on Christmas Day.  It's the hundred year perfect storm of WAY too much stuff to watch.  Happy Festivus!

I'm surprised the Red Sox aren't doing anything

For the past several years I have felt like the baseball off-season has gotten shorter and shorter.  There's always been big player signings and other news to keep the sport relevant during the winter months.  But as a Red Sox fan, this November/December has been extremely boring.  I'm not really sure what they are waiting for.  From a PR perspective, this is a terrible time for them to sit around and do nothing.  Tickets aren't selling, and right now is probably the least enthusiastic Boston fans have been about their team in the last ten years, maybe more.  Now here's the key point of this blog: I'm not saying that baseball-wise they necessarily should be making trades or signing expensive free agents.  They've got a solid team, and if a few things had happened differently last year it's a whole other story.  But in order to appease the average angry and disinterested fan, I'm amazed that they haven't.

I already know what record the Celtics will finish this season with

Yesterday, while I was wandering around doing some Christmas shopping, I came to the conclusion that I knew exactly what the Celtics record would be this year.  The NBA is playing a 66 game season.  Boston is going to finish 37-29.  Mark it down, it's a lock.  It was actually really easy to come to that number.  38-28 feels too good.  There will be a lot of games they "don't show up for" on the second night of back to backs, or when Doc sits the starters to try to keep them healthy and rested for the long run.  But 36-30 doesn't seem good enough, that's too close to mediocrity.  So there you have it, 37-29.  In fact, I guess that number is so obvious that Bill Simmons also predicted it.  If you read that link, it's basically exactly what I am saying here.  Last night while I was at the C's pre-season game I told my buddy my prediction, and he informed me that Simmons had picked the same thing.  I was pissed.  I debated not writing this.  And right now when I searched for it and found that link from ESPN Boston, I got even more irritated because it's pretty much my thoughts exactly.  But I've come this far and there's no turning back now.

In the picture that's new Celtic Brandon Bass dunking on some Toronto Raptors, who don't look much like an NBA team by the way.

Awesome Old Song of the Week/Greatest Christmas Song Ever: Bruce Springsteen "Santa Clause is Coming to Town"

I got a lot of hits last week when I tried this for the first time, so I'm sticking with it.  I give you "The Boss," rocking out Christmas style:

While I'm on the subject I feel like I should also mention the best Christmas album ever, the original "A Very Special Christmas."  It came out in 1987, and started a trend of major pop stars making up tempo Christmas music compilations.  I think somebody actually gave a copy of the cassette to my dad as a joke gift, but I loved it.  Especially Christmas in Hollis by Run-D.M.C., as far as I know the first ever rap Christmas song.

This "GameFly" commercial scares me a bit

This ad runs a lot.  I mean all the time.  Although I am usually watching TV during the middle of  the afternoon on weekdays, so that definitely has to come into consideration.  But still, the fact that there is a legitimate target audience for this commercial kind of blows my mind.  I would get it if it were for 11 year olds.  But adults?  Really?

The first obvious question that jumps to mind: what is that blond girl at the 6 second mark doing in this commercial?  Whatever Alex P, you're not fooling anybody.  But the part I really love is the red headed guy's line at the very end, "You have to have this service, you call yourself a gamer?  You have to have it."  Wow, it must really suck for all the people out there who've been thinking all along that they are "gamers," but just realized they're not because they don't have GameFly.

Tebometer Monday: logic and reason finally prevail

Yesterday Tim Tebow completed 11 of 22 passes, which brings him to 148-302 for his career, exactly 49%.  And for the first time in 7 weeks, the Broncos didn't win.  There was no fumble, missed field goal, or player inexplicably running out of bounds to save Denver this week.  No more late game magic.  Although I have to admit, with New England leading 34-16 on the first play of the 4th quarter, I was temporarily afraid it was all going to happen again.  It looked like the Patriots had Tebow sacked in the end zone for a safety, then he dropped the ball, and it was either going to be a defensive touchdown or a safety.  But somehow he manged to pick it back up, avoid getting tackled, and still get a throw off; leaving the result of the play as just an ordinary incompletion.  Then on the next snap (which was a 3rd and 10) Tebow had a ridiculous scramble.  But he didn't quit get the first down, and the madness was over.  For now, the fate of humanity is safe and sound.

I'd also like to state for the record that we may have already seen the apex of Tim Tebow's career as a starting quarterback in the NFL.  I could well be wrong, but I definitely think it's possible that it's all downhill from here.  And in case you never read Tebometer version 1.0, it's a "Tebow-meter," but it's pronounced "Teh-bah-meh-ter," like "thermometer."  Hence the graphic on the right.

The kick that started it all

Back in the summer time occasionally I used to just post a picture with a quick sentence or two and go to the beach.  I haven't done that in a long time, but today is one of those days.  So before I head out the door to watch one of the most anticipated regular season NFL games in a long time, I leave you with this: the greatest kick in NFL history, and the game that changed the course of fate in the universe and sent the Patriots and the city of Boston on an unprecedented run of sports dominance.

Amazingly, that's the only clip of this moment available on youtube.  And although it's pretty crappy, I did notice something from it for the first time: the unmistakable groan of the crowd as soon as Vinatieri kicked it.  While it was happening I remember having exactly that reaction, right off his foot the low line drive looked as if it had no chance at all.