To promote LucidSportsFan I'm giving away a pair of Celtics tickets vs the Spurs this Wednesday, 2/12

I think I have a pretty solid product here.  People who have taken the time to get to know this site tend to keep coming back regularly.  So if you're new to LucidSportsFan.com, please spend few minutes looking around.  Scroll down through the past week's posts, and click on any of the topics on the side that might interest you; there's lots of entertaining stuff beyond just sports as well.  I recommend fashion, commercials, and recycle sunday (which is basically a highlight reel) to name a few.

Now here's how you can win the Celtics tickets: Enter via twitter, or facebook for the old fashioned folks who still haven't twittered up.  To be eligible on twitter you have to first follow @LucidSportsFan (or already be a follower), and then just retweet the tweet that mentions this contest.  Similarly on facebook you can "like" the LucidSportsFan page, and then share the link to this post.

I'll choose a winner at random on Tuesday, and get in touch through whichever method that person used to sign up.  You can pick up the tickets outside the Garden before the game Wednesday evening.  Thanks in advance to everyone for helping me promote my site.

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The Celtics Tankometer is falling, but not because of the winning "streak"

The Celtics have won two games in a row for the first time since mid-December, when they led the Atlantic Division with a 12-14 record.  But in all honesty, the pair of wins are about as unimpressive as you can get.

After a rare three straight days off the C's beat an Orlando squad at home that has the 2nd worst record in the NBA.  They followed that up with a win in Philadelphia Wednesday, the team with the league's 3rd worst record.  Not only that, but the Sixers game was payback for Philly's victory in Boston the week before (payback because there was no way the tanking 76ers were going to let themselves beat the Celtics twice in eight days?).

The dial dropping from 62% last week to 54% this week actually has less to do with the victories, and more to do with the play of Rajon Rondo.  In his last two outings Rondo has started to look a lot more like his old self, averaging 13.5 points, 10.4 assists, and 7.5 rebounds while shooting a very impressive 68.4% from the floor (13-19).  If Rondo keeps playing like that there will certainly be more W's to follow.  With the Sacramento Kings (17-32) in town tonight the winning streak may well reach three.

Complete history of the Tankometer

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ESPN isn't televising the Sochi Olympics (but they hope you won't notice); NBC makes them look like Star Trek

NBC has held the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics in this country for years (since 1988 for Summer and 2002 for Winter), but ESPN is doing their best to make you forget that the "worldwide leader" can't actually show any events themselves.

Here are a couple of the official logos representing the Sochi Winter Olympics beginning tonight:

And here is a photo containing the logo that NBC is using for their coverage (which I have to say does a spectacular job making the Winter Olympics look very much like a new sci-fi series that I probably don't want to watch):

And finally here is a screenshot of ESPN's Sportscenter featuring a logo they created specifically for their own reports on what happens in Sochi:

Pretty lame ESPN, you're better than that.  I wonder if I should try this out myself?

Mine's got mountains, and the colors of all five rings.  Beat that.

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Advice for LeBron James in free agency: Go win titles everywhere you can

Today the following quote about LeBron James' upcoming free agency became a minor news story in NBA circles:

"This time is going to be different, if LeBron decides to look at other options it won't just be teams with cap space. He has 30 options if he wants them."

ESPN attributes it to "a source close to James."  I don't for one second believe this actually has any bearing on anything, but it does bring to mind something that I have been meaning to write about.  Here's my suggestion for LeBron:

Want to prove without a shadow of a doubt that you're the best player in the world?  And make your case for rivaling Jordan as the greatest of all-time?  Rather than whining about how you could score as much as Kevin Durant if you shot as often as he did, here's what you can do to silence all of your critics.  People like me who relish the fact that you couldn't get the job done in Cleveland and had to team up with two other superstars to win a title in Miami will have nothing left to say.

Embrace the role of villain.  Become an assassin for hire.  For the remainder of your career sign nothing but one year contracts.  Win as many titles in as many places as you can.  Pick a moderately talented team and go play there next season.  Maybe see if you can snag a championship with Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker, and Gerald Henderson in Charlotte.  If that doesn't work you can join James Harden and Dwight Howard in Houston in 2015, I'm sure you guys would get it done there.

After that you could try playing with Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka in OKC in 2016.  Keep doing this until you retire.  You might have to get paid a lot less money than you're accustomed to, but who cares?  You're already a bazillionaire and can stay that way from your endorsements alone; and wouldn't it be worth it to have complete control over the balance of power in the NBA year in and year out?

And who knows LeBron, I'd probably even do a 180 and welcome you to Boston with open arms for a 2017-2018 Celtics title run alongside Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger, and Andrew Wiggins.

Thanks and credit to fellow Celtics Life writer @Mike_Dyer13 for putting this idea in my head.

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Has Tim Tebow given up? Say it ain't so!

It's now 2014.  Tim Tebow didn't play a single down in the NFL in 2013.  And he barely even saw the field in 2012.  The last time he started a game was in 2011.  And if you saw Tebow's Super Bowl commercials (pictured, in which talks about all the great things he can do while not having a "contract"), it's hard not to wonder if he may have called it quits on his dream of playing quarterback in the NFL.  His career completion rate still stands at just 47.9%, and after tracking it for two plus seasons with the Tebometer, it's looking like he may have officially reached the end of the line.

Don't give up Timmy.  Say you'll be a tight end.  Tell every team that'll take your call that you'll do whatever it takes to help their ball club.  I'm sure somehow some way you get can yourself another chance to throw a few more of those slow wobbly inaccurate passes on the world's biggest stage.  Here's a little motivational speech that might help you:



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First Super Bowl ever with two coin flips and two Gatorade baths?

At yesterday's pregame coin toss either the referee or Joe Namath (wearing a ridiculous coat probably intended to entice Suzy Kolber to make out with him) forgot to tell the Seahawks captains to "call it in the air," leading to this ensuing multiple flip scenario:



After Peyton Manning's Broncos had been thoroughly embarrassed (and yes Peyton, no matter what you say you were embarrassed), Seattle players drenched their coach with orange Gatorade.  Unfortunately for Pete Carroll some of them clearly didn't realize it happened, because a short while later a bucket of yellow sports drink was also dumped over his head.

I'd be willing to bet both the double coin flip and the double Gatorade bath are Super Bowl firsts, and the combination of the two undoubtedly is.

For people who enjoy making unusual wagers on the big game, only the second coin toss, tails, counted (obviously, since the ref caught the first in mid-air).  But Las Vegas sports books did actually pay out on both Gatorade showers; orange at 3-1 odds, and yellow at 5-2.

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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" inspired by Seattle's Super Bowl victory

Yes, winning a Super Bowl is good reason to go on vacation and kick back with a few pina coladas, but there is actually another explanation for why I chose this song.

Before today the last time the city of Seattle won a major sports championships was 35 years ago, when the SuperSonics took home the NBA title way back in June of 1979 (the late Dennis Johnson was MVP of those Finals, long before he would become one of the 18 greatest Celtics of all-time).

A few months after the Sonics' victory Rupert Holmes released the single "Escape" on September 21, 1979.   At first it was only moderately successful, but when he added "The Pina Colada Song" to the title it shot up the charts, and became the final Billboard #1 hit of the 1970's on December 22, 1979.



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