I'm sick of "little kid game" halftime shows.

This gets really old when you see it over and over again.

Last season I noticed a disturbing trend at the TD Garden: The Celtics began to forego actual halftime shows more and more often in favor of brief children's games on the parquet.

I know they're cute, and it's great for the kids.  I realize the crowd loves to see 6 year olds dribbling a ball half their size, and occasionally miraculously throwing it through the hoop that towers above them.  But if you have season tickets, this wears thin pretty quickly.

There's been 5 Celtics home games so far this year, and 5 half time shows of children running around on the floor.  Come on Celtics!  Spend a little money on some of the awesome shows that are available!  I'm not saying they shouldn't have the "little kids games," I just want them to think about the loyal fans who are there night after night, and mix it up a bit.  I don't think that's too much to ask.

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So I guess the AFC East is over now?

The Bills beat the Dolphins 19-14 last night.  I didn't watch it (did anyone?), but the Buffalo victory leaves both teams now tied for second place in the division at 4-6.  A month ago every AFC East team was 3-3, and it was the first time an entire NFL division had the same record that late in the season in 25 years.  Since then New England (6-3) is 3-0, the Bill and Dolphins are each 1-3, and the Jets have gone 0-3 to fall into last place at 3-6 overall.  The Patriots now appear a lock to have the best record in the division for the twelfth straight season (every year Tom Brady has started).

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Things that happen in the front row

Before the second half starts, they hand you an "in game program" with all the first half stats.

Player's wives/girlfriends wearing insane diamonds sit next to you.  They all look about 16 years old.  On the other hand, Doug Flutie does not.  He's getting up there... As is Jo Jo White, who turns 66 tomorrow.  You get to wish him "Happy Birthday" when you bump into him in the men's room.

Both camera men and referees sometimes get in your way.

You hear the players swear.  A lot.

And every once in a while Paul Pierce almost lands in your lap, then knocks down a huge three on the other end (turn the volume down before watching, it is LOUD in there).

If you'd like to read about what actually happened in the game, check out my article "Depth revealed in Doc's odd crunch time lineup" on CelticsLife.com.

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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" by Pearl Jam

According to the band's Wikipedia page, Pearl Jam has released a total of 9 albums dating back to their 1991 debut, "Ten."  Allegedly they even put one out as recently as 2009.  But as far as I'm concerned, they retired on a high note after their second album "Vs." in 1993.

I will always remember it as "the orange CD," and it was loaded with great songs.  While it was extremely hard to pick a favorite, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town wins by virtue of title alone.  I couldn't find an official video online, but this live performance works just fine.

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Tim Tebow's "best" passing game ever?

During the New York Jets 28-7 loss in Seattle on Sunday, Tim Tebow put forth the greatest completion percentage day of his NFL career.  The Jets backup connected on all 3 of his pass attempts; a very impressive 100% (to the surprise of no one, starter Mark Sanchez was 9-22, 41%).   In fact, Tebow has now completed 4 straight passes going back to his 1-1 performance on October 14th against Indianapolis.  Alas, his career completion rate still stands at just 47.9%.

It's also worth noting that on this momentous day, Tebow's aerial perfection was good for a grand total of just 8 yards, and a 79.2 passer rating.  By comparison, in the same game Seahawks wide reciever Golden Tate was perfect throwing the football as well: 1-1 for 23 yards and a touchdown (a 158.3 rating).

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Ok, I'm a little insane about this double digit assist streak

The Celtics have underachieved so far this season, but they were finally putting together a solid wire to wire effort last night in Chicago.  However, as I watched a 13 point 4th quarter lead dwindle down to 3 with five minutes to go, the score was not what concerned me; Rajon Rondo had only 6 assists.

Jeopardy answer in 2024: "Who are the 3 greatest point guards ever?"

Amazingly in the final 3:12 of the game he assisted on each of the C's final four field goals, and finished the night with 10.*  His streak of games with ten or more lives to see another day, now at 31.  The Celtics also held on for a 101-95 victory.  I have to admit though, the win was the secondary priority for me.  Despite the fact that I wrote about this a week ago, I wasn't sure if I actually believed it myself until it came right down to it.  In the final minute of the game both the win and the streak were on the line, and the streak felt more important.

Last week the records were not readily available.  But as I assumed, now that Rondo's streak is among the all time best (see picture), the media has figured it out.

Rondo also did something else last night you very rarely see in an NBA game: He led Boston in points (20), rebounds (9), assists (10), and steals (5).

* It may actually be 11; with 4:54 to go Jason Terry hit a jumper and Pierce was credited with an assist, but it was actually Rondo who passed him the ball.  I didn't think the pass was worthy of an assist, but if it was then Rondo actually assisted on Boston's final five baskets.

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Sadly, "Transformer" technology has regressed

Original "Bumblebee"

When I was about 7-10 years old, Transformers were easily the coolest toys out there.  If I had to name one genre of toy that defined my childhood (other than Legos, that is) "Transformers" would be it.  Due to the recent movies, Transformers are still popular two and three decades later.

But, there is one major difference: Today they now seem to be marketed to much younger children.  I'm going to put the blame on life like video games that are probably a lot more interesting to the average 8 year old than a car that changes into robot.

"Bumblebee" today

And because they are now for younger kids, Transformers are way less awesome (bad grammar intended) than they used to be.  Unlike video games which have gotten more intricate and complex, Transformers have gone the opposite rout.  They are big and bulky, and not as fragile.  They're less detailed, and don't have as many small moving parts.  They take fewer steps to transform; in fact some of them don't even transform at all.  Oddly enough, the Transformer technology of 25 years ago was far superior than it is today.


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