It looks like Mickael Pietrus is gonna be OK

If you were watching this on TV last night it was scary, really scary.  But all reports today are indicating that it's not too serious.  You can read my update at CLNSRadio.com.  About a year ago something similar happened to Marquis Daniels.  Now he's the guy who may end up back in the C's rotation if Pietrus can't return to the court for a while (not to mention Ray Allen AND Avery Bradley have sprained ankles).  Combined with the serious heart ailments of Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox, Boston's bench has been absolutely decimated by freakish potentially life threatening health issues.  That's just not fair.  

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BIG game tonight 2.0, and the "Stiemsmometer"

Last night in Milwaukee the Celtics got a good road win against a hot team close behind them in the playoff race.  I was very encouraged by Boston's defense down the stretch, they held the Bucks to 33 second half points after giving up 29 a piece in each of the first two quarters.  And now we're back to exactly the same spot we were in just over two weeks ago.  For the second time in 16 days, the C's head into Philly tonight with 1st place in the Atlantic Division on the line.  Last time they got smoked.  Even if that happens again, Boston is in a much better place right now than most people would have expected after that loss.  The Celtics will finally be back home after a brutal 8 game road trip that could have easily destroyed any hope for the rest of the season.  Tonight they have a chance to close it out with what would be a very impressive 5-3 record, and take over the top spot in the division as well.  Worst case, the C's will be 1.5 games back, and still in contention for a high seed in the playoffs with some very winnable games ahead.

Now that Greg Stiemsma is the first guy off the bench, his block totals are starting to pile up.  He had 4 in the win in Atlanta on Monday night, and 5 more last night in Milwaukee.  For the season he's now averaging 5.87 blocks per 48 minutes, which leads the entire NBA.  It's time to start tracking this phenomenon.  First there was the Tebometer, now here is the "Stiemsmometer."  It's pronounced steems-mah-meh-ter, like "thermometer."



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My review of "The Hunger Games"

Let me start by saying it's good; as good as the book, if not better.  If you haven't already read the book, this won't be very helpful, but there aren't any real spoilers either.  The first thing I noticed was that the guy who plays Peeta seemed way too short to me, he's a few inches shorter than Katniss.  And soon after that I was very surprised to see Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, for some reason I was picturing an old fat guy.  But as the film went on, both actors grew on me.

Overall the movie does a great job of sticking to what happens in the book, and not leaving out anything too major.  Really my only gripe in this area is that because it's condensed (an inevitable dilemma when turning a book into a movie), everything happens too quickly during "the games."  Cold, hunger, thirst, and bad weather never become a factor, simply because there isn't time for them to.  This is a little annoying because one, it's called "The Hunger Games," and two, they make a point of saying during the training that many of the kids will die from these conditions, rather than at the hands of each other.

What the movie gives you that the book does not is a view of things from beyond Katniss' perspective.  Much of it is actually very reminiscent of The Truman Show.  From the fact that the games take place in a giant dome full of tiny TV cameras everywhere, to the ability of the producers to manipulate weather and daylight on a whim.  And most notably, the efforts made to force Katniss (or Truman) to turn around by creating a fire when she gets too close to the outer boundaries.  As a whole the movie puts a lot of emphasis on how the games work as a television show, something that is missing from the book.  One scene I particularly liked included a giant odds board of all the contestants and their chances of winning; i.e. "Rue: 60-1."  Unlike the book the film also gives you insight into how much the people in charge of the games actually choose who lives and dies.  Although my friends tell me I'll learn more about that when I read book number two.

My advice?  Read The Hunger Games first (it's super quick) if you haven't already, then go see the movie.  You'll like both.

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I felt like a reporter yesterday

First I watched the Sweet Sixteen teams' open practices at the Garden, then I rushed over to the advanced media screening of The Hunger Games.  Here's a few photos I took:

That's Channel 5 News sportscasters Mike Lynch and Mike Dowling in the middle pic.  And look how crappy the Garden rafters look with the banners taken down at the orders of Kim Jong Il; I mean the NCAA.  You can read the rest of my rant on this subject and more of my "Notes from the Sweet Sixteen practices at the Garden" on CLNSRadio.com.  

I couldn't take any photos at the movie premier because they took my phone away at the door.  I guess it's a pretty big deal.  My official "Hunger Games" review will be up at 9:45 am sharp!

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Waaaay too much is going on!

I don't know what to do.  Tebow is now a New York Jet.  The Saints just got rocked with suspensions for their "bounty" controversy.  The Sweet Sixteen teams are having open practices at the Garden right now, and I need to get over there and watch.  And tonight I'm going to the premier of Hunger Games.  Not to mention I was planning on blogging about the Celtics today and debuting the "Stiemsmometer."  I want to write about all of these things!  It's way too much to handle, I'm a little panicked.  So this is it for the moment.  More on all of these topics in the coming days.  Plus it's suddenly summertime.
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The internet has kinda ruined tourney pools

It's not the same anymore.  I used to only enter one pool each year.  I would fill out two copies of my bracket, one to turn in, and one to fold up and carry around in my pocket.  It's not as meaningful when you don't actually write down your picks by hand.  You can click your way to a completed bracket in 30 seconds on yahoo or espn without having to put any thought into it.  It's much less gratifying when you don't get to circle your winners, and you don't care as much when you don't have to cross out your losers.  I'm in eight different online pools this year.  I don't remember who I picked where.  It's not as fun as it used to be.

You can read my full article "The Death of the Paper Bracket" at clnsradio.com.

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I really wish this video game was a movie

This commercial for Assassin's Creed III has been on TV a ton lately.  I'm not a video game guy, but it looks really cool to me.  Not so much the game itself, but the premise:

I love this as an idea for a movie, there's so many things you could do with it.  In particular I really like the concept of one super assassin guy who might have been bought by either side, and then plays a huge roll in the outcome of the war.  Tell me that's not a great movie plot?

Also, is it crazy that this ad is on television now, but the game isn't coming out until October 30th?  Wow, how big is this thing?  Like, Titanic big?

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It doesn't matter if the Bruins are 2nd or 7th

I haven't been paying much attention to the Bruins lately, but I do know that they have fallen way back to Earth after destroying everything in their paths earlier in the season.  My ears perked up on Friday night though, when I heard that their 6-2 loss to Florida dropped them from 2nd to 7th in the Eastern Conference.  But then yesterday afternoon they beat the Flyers in a shootout, bumping them back into first place in the Adams Northeast Division (one point ahead of Ottawa), and the #2 overall seed in the East.

Here's the thing though: I don't think it matters at all, as long as they still make the playoffs.  It's not as if they are a better team today in second place then they were yesterday in seventh place.  Either they are good enough to repeat and win the cup again, or they're not, but it doesn't change day to day.  And off all the major sports, hockey is the one where home field/court/ice matters the least.  Lower seeded teams win in the playoffs all the time. You could make the case that they'll have to face a better team in the first round if they have a lower seed, but if it's Boston and Ottawa flip-flopping between 2nd and 7th, they'll end up playing each other either way.  Worrying about whether the Bruins are any good any more is one thing, but what seed they get is mostly inconsequential.

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