Psycho Dad of the Week:

The Mount Rushmore of Crazy Sports Dads is ready to induct a new freak. This Guy. It took me about five seconds to hate Valerie Liukin—father of the American girl who won the all-around gymnastics gold—with a passion. I mean, I don’t have any kids (to my knowledge), so maybe it’s hard to relate, but he weirds me out. It’s impossible not to hate him. In fact, I found myself sort of rooting against his daughter the other night because I knew how upset failure would make him.  But at the same time I was rooting for her, feeling bad because if she didn’t win, her pops was liable to bug out and work her over with a lead pipe. 

Ultimately, I give Liukin a 93 out of 100 on the freaky dad scale.

For comparison’s sake:

Mary Pierce’s Dad was a 96

Jimmy McElroy’s Dad was a 94

Marv Marinovich was a 90

The Late, Great Earl Woods was an 87

Greg Jeffries Dad was an 85

The Dad from Varsity Blues was a "Make Your Own Rules!"  81

Ricky Roe’s Dad was a 77

Shooter from Hoosiers was a 70

Note: Five minutes later and I’m still laughing at the Shooter McGavin photo. 

Josh Beckett Ego Boost of the Week

In which I comment on how good he is so that he may overcome his obvious confidence problems.

(For last week’s edition scan down here )

On Monday night, we witnessed by far my favorite kind of Red Sox game—eight innings of Beckett followed by Paps coming in for the knock out.

On nights like that, the Sox essentially say to the other team, "Sit down, little boy. You are weak. We will dominate you and there is nothing you can do about it." It actually makes me feel like a cooler person for being a Red Sox fan. Watching those two combine on a gem is like seeing the PGA Tour all drop 25 in the same game, or Brady throw for 300 yards while the Kool Aid Man goes for 150. Only somehow it’s better.

On nights like that, they’re as good as any Sox team that’s ever existed. 

NBA Rule Change Suggestion of the Week: International Goaltending Rules!

If you aren’t familiar, in international hoops the ball is live as soon as it hits the rim. So, if you throw up a weak floater, and it’s bouncing around the rim, someone can fly in and knock it off. 

It doesn’t seem like it would make that much of a difference, but it does, and it’s fantastic. Almost every time this rule has come into play during the Olympics, it’s put the sick athleticism these guys have on full display. Watching Lebron, Kobe and DWade pick these balls off is literally sports beauty and I think we need to bring it to the States. Can you imagine the havoc KG would wreak if this rule were in play? He’d knock himself unconscious on the rim a minimum of three times a half.

Note: When i think of "sports beauty" only one play comes to mind

Note 2: Apparently the international officials are also a little more lenient on the "real goaltending" end:

Winners of the Week: The Sox Pitching Staff

Thirty-Seven runs in three games? That’s unheard of. That’s like a married guy convincing his wife to have morning sex three days in a row. When you get run support like that, it’s just your week. You have to take a step back, absorb all its glory and remember that it won’t always be this good. 

Of course, that run support almost wasn’t enough on Tuesday, but it’s hard to really care about that at this point. Dice-K and Lester each had extra solid outings against the Rangers—and of course, those came on the heels of Beckett’s gem in Chi-town (Seriously,Josh. You’re great..).

There’s hasn’t been a point all season when I’ve felt better about our pitching staff than I do right now. The Top 3 are absolutely owning it, and Byrd should fit in perfectly. I say the Sox are in first place by Sept. 1.

Speaking of Tuesday’s 19-17 gong show, was there any doubt that Papi was hitting another homer when he got up the second time in the first inning? I wish I could have bet on it. When a guy hits a homer and then gets another at bat in the same inning, he hits another one 60% of the time, every time. 

Under the Radar Award of the Week: The Patriots

There’s not much flavor coming out of Foxboro this summer. They’re just going through camp. No one’s been hurt. Brady’s not having any babies. No one’s been arrested in a couple weeks. And, hell, not even Gregg Easterbrook is writing about Spy Gate anymore.

It’s kind of nice. I like the thought of Belichick plotting and strategizing in darkness; outside of the national/ESPN microscope. I feel like he has some intense and sheisty shit planned for the ‘08 campaign. I would not want to be the rest of the NFL. Especially now that John Lynch is on board. He’s to us what Zach Thomas is to the Cowboys. A guy on his last leg, who’s going to spend the year absolutely murdering himself to get to the Super Bowl. 

Link of the Week:

In honor of John Lynch’s dedication to the Pats, here’s a dedication to him. (This video also got me even more giddy for the Celtics to be back)

Prediction of the Week:

I already made it. Sox will be in first by September 1!

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.

Thoughts from a week where we all officially fell in love with Jerod Mayo…

Winner of the Week: Jason Bay

Over the last 20 years or so, we’ve seen many a player (mostly hitters) get traded to Boston midseason and absolutely explode onto the scene. Off the top of my head, guys like Butch Huskey and Gabe Kapler come to mind as guys who came in, got all hopped up off the Fenway drug and played out of their minds during their Red Sox honeymoons. After one week, we can officially add Jason Bay to that list, with his 11 hits, 10 runs, six RBI and .423 over his first week in town.

It’s usually impossible for a guy to keep up that pace. To use the players I just mentioned as an example, Butch Huskey (they just don’t make name like that anymore) finished his half season in Boston hitting .260 with a Varitek-esque .305 OBP. Kapler’s power turned into krapler, as he only hit two homers in his final 66 games of 2003, after belting two in the same game during his second night at Fenway.

So how optimistic should we be about Bay keeping  up (or even hovering around) his current pace?

I feel pretty good about it. For one, he’s a proven All-Star. His stats don’t lie, even if they are from Pittsburgh. In 2005,  he hit .306, with 32 homers, 101 RBI and 21 SBs. The next season he was just as good. And after an off year in 2007, he’s been stellar in ‘08. He’s hit more homers than anyone on the Sox roster this season, and while he won’t be Manny, there’s no reason to think that he won’t prove to be a dangerous hitter all the way through October. But then again, until we see it, the jury’s still out. 

Top 7 Through 2 List of the Week

The Celtics title-defending schedule came out on this week, and everyone’s already sweating the hell out of the opener against Cleveland and the Christmas day game in LA—and for good reason. I was at half mast the second I saw those beauties. But everyone’s talking about those games, so for the sake the freshness, let’s take a look at the Top Five games to look forward to next season But since we’re omitting the top two, it’s a Top 7 through 2 List. Confused? Me too. Let’s move. 

Post script: Dates listed chronologically

* Friday, December 5: Trailblazers @ Celtics

Our first live look at Greg Oden—unless he’s been placed on the IR with alzheimers by then—oh, I get, because he looks like he’s 67 years old. Nice one, Rich. No one’s made that joke yet. 

* Friday, December 12: Hornets @ Celtics 

It’s cool enough having Chris Paul in town, but the N-O now comes equipped with a shiny new James Posey, making his return for what will surely be one of the biggest ovations an opposing player will have all year.

Note: With the Celtics playing on the first night of the season, I was hoping that Posey might have room in his schedule to make it to the banner raising on the 28^th. But looking at the schedule, the Hornets play the next night in Golden State. Might be tough. 

* Sunday, February 1: Timberwolves @ Celtics

As long as KG and Big Al are active, this game will always be one of my favorites. Especially now that you can factor Kevin Love into the equation. As an added bonus, the game’s at 12 noon (oh really, we thought it was 12 midnight) on Super Bowl Sunday. Actually, I haven’t decided yet whether I think that’s a bonus or not. But it’s something.

* Sunday, February 8: Spurs @ Celtics

Like last year, this match-up will be ABC’s Sunday afternoon spectacular, but new this season is the part where the Celtics play San Antonio and then don’t play another home game for nearly three weeks—thanks to two road trips and the All-Star break, the next home game is February 27 against the Pacers.

Note: The Celtics play eight games between February 5-23. One of those is at the Knicks and the seven others are against every 2008 Western Conference playoff team but Houston. That stretch has a tight grip.

* Sunday, March 1: Pistons @ Celtics

The Celtics and Pistons play twice in November, but we all know that in this regular season rivalry, it’s the third and final meeting that counts most. For the second straight year, the C’s have two home games and should be in good position to take the tie breaker. Just thank Good we didn’t have to play these guys on Christmas.

“Moment of Zen” (copyright Wicked Weekly) of the Week

Before last night’s Pats game Mike Lynch and Scott Zolak were discussing some training camp story lines when the topic of Matt Cassel came up. When asked his thoughts, Zolak goes into this long, heart felt explanation of what Cassel needs to do this year to keep his job and how if he doesn’t play with a sense of urgency he might be out of luck. And you know what? It was beautiful. It was sage advice. It was like listening to Socrates take Plato under his wing. Now I’m not saying that Zolak isn’t a valued part of Patriots coverage in this town (I actually think he’s pretty good) but at no point in his broadcasting career has he ever been more qualified to offer his insight than he was there.

Josh Beckett Ego Boost of the Week:

(Last week’s edition can be found towards the bottom here)

Every time I see Josh Beckett pitch I become more and more confident of the Red Sox ability to repeat. I don’t care if he’s only 10-8 or that his ERA is up over 4.00, when Beckett’s on the mound—especially as we get into August, September and hopefully October—he’s absolutely fearless. If you approached Beckett sitting at his locker before a start,  you could smash his groin with a Louisville Slugger and he wouldn’t even flinch. That’s the kind of focus he’s rocking. And if the Sox can just claw their way into the playoffs, I think Beckett’s got what it takes to put them on his back one more time.  

Surprising Stat of the Week:

Unless he starts doing steroids, Manny Ramirez is very likely going to retire without winng an MVP Award—which is pretty mind blowing when you consider the mark he’ll leave on the game. In fact, Manny’s never even finished second in an MVP vote. He’s got two third places finishes. The first was in1999 when he hit .333 with 44 homers and 165 (!!) RBI and still lost out to Pudge and Pedro. In 2004, he hit .308 with 43 homers and 130 RBI but finished behind Vlad and Gary Sheffield.

The strangest year was 1998, where Manny had 45 homers and 145 RBI AND the Indians won the pennant, yet he finished sixth.

OK, that’s it. I promise.

Note: But wait, did you know that Pedro actually got more first place votes than Pudge in 1999. I didn’t remember that.

Note 2: And that in 1998, Albert Joey Belle hit .328 with 49 homers and 152 RBI and finished 8^th!

Gong Show Punchline of the Week: 

I tried to watch NESN’s coverage of the local Little League World Series last night, but the channel was blacked out. Is there any way that means the game was taking place within 35 miles of my apartment and wasn’t sold out?

Gong!

Note: The first time I typed that it came up as Dong. Now I’m debating whether I’m glad I caught it or would have rather accidentally published Dong.

Discovery of the Week:

There are very few things in life more boring than the minute and a half after a coach throws the challenge flag in a preseason game. 

The "Crap I Should Mention Something About Brett Favre" of the Week

After hearing Favre was traded to New York I immediately found myself hoping that No. 4 had already been retired by the Jets. Would he pick another number or threaten to hang them up if they didn’t unretire it?? 

Scott Van Pelt: OK, folks, hold the phone. We’re going to take you live to Wendy Nix at the Meadowlands for some breaking news out of Jet camp.

Wendy Nix: Thanks, Scott. My sources tell me that Brett Favre, his agent James "Bus" Cooke and Jets coach Eric Mangini have been behind closed doors negotiating Brett number. I’ve heard that he’s pretty set on wearing #4 but might be willing to settle on a deal for #7. Stay tuned every minute on the minute for updates.

Link of the Week:

I need help deciding if this is real or not. I’m like 80% on it being real, but closer to 150% on it being awesome

Note: I’ve been told that I might be very late in discovering this video. But the post stands.

Prediction for Next Week of the Week:

Aside from men’s basketball, I will be interested in the Olympics for approximately 45 seconds.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian. 

Debunked Myth of the Week: K-Rod is the best closer in baseball

I guess we should all be pretty impressed with Francisco Rodriguez this year. By all accounts, he’s having the greatest season of any reliever in the history of the world (only better). He’s going to smash Bobby Thigpen’s record for saves in a season and will likely even get his share of Cy Young votes. But before we go declaring K-Rod as the Messiah, let’s take a look at this little blind juxtaposition:
 

                  Player X               Player Y

IP                 45.1                      47.1
H                  34                          31
ER                11                          13
HR                 3                            4
BB                  7                          28
SO               54                           49
W                   4                            0
L                    3                             2
ERA           2.18                         2.47
WHIP         0.90                         1.25
BLSV              4                           3
SV                30                           43

So, who’d you rather have this season? The guy with a better ERA, lower WHIP, more strike outs and far fewer walks or the dude who just happens to have 13 more saves?

Player Y is K-Rod. Player X is Jonathan Papelbon. Now tell me: Who’s the best closer in baseball?

And the defense rests.

Note: Realistically, and begrudgingly, I guess the answer is Mariano Rivera. And no one else is even close.

Loser of the Week: Manny Ramirez

I was one of Manny’s biggest supporters during his time in Boston. He could have taken a piss on Ted Williams’ grave (icebox, whatever) and I wouldn’t have cared, as long as he played hard and kicked ass. But what he did here over the past two months was one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen in professional sports. Everyone’s entitled to hold a grudge or two. God knows I have about 5,000. But when you take that off-the-field bull and let it so obviously effect both your performance, and, most importantly, your effort on the field then I’m done with you.

I’ll always respect what he did for the Red Sox over his seven-plus years, but I’m pretty sure i’ll never respect Manny Ramirez, the baseball player,  again. Maybe he got some bad advice and wasn’t fully aware of how certain words and actions would be perceived. Or maybe he knew exactly what he was doing. With him, we’ll never know. But for now, it’s good effin riddance.

SAT Analogy of the Week

Fill in the Antonym: Minnesota is to Boston as Boston is to __________

And the answer is… Los Angeles. On the one hand, the state of Minnesota breeds their professional athletes to achieve dominance in Boston. They break them in, show them the ropes and then send them our way so we can reap the benefits. Think David Ortiz. Kevin Garnett. Randy Moss (although he had a quick detour).

On the other hand, we take our stars, milk them for all they’re worth and then let them run out to LA where they can wallow away in obscurity. Think Derek Lowe. Bill Mueller. Nomar Garciaparra (although he had a quick detour). Now Manny Ramirez. So long, sucker. Feel free to spend the rest of the season eating donuts with Andruw Jones.

The Rick Reilly “It’s like a Kiwanis Club meeting in here" Observation of the Week

First, let me just say that I’m not trying to make any sort of profound or political statement with the following. It’s just something I found interesting. (And it wasn’t my idea, anyway. it was my buddy Jay’s, so give him crap. P.S. Jay, Michael Wilbon should be contacting you within the hour.

So here it is. Now that Jason Bay will be taking Manny’s place in the order, here’s what the Sox line-up will often look like:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury: White
2. Dustin Pedroia: White
3. David Ortiz: Domincan
4. Mike Lowell: Puerto Rican
5. JD Drew: White
6. Jason Bay: White
7. Kevin Youkilis: White
8. Jason Varitek: White
9. Jed Lowrie: White

Did I mention that four of the five starters are white too?

Ladies and Gentlemen, you’re 2008 American League East Champions, the Utah Jazz!

Again, I’m not trying to suggest anything. It would be one thing if the Sox were fielding this kind of line-up and struggling, but with the success they’ve had, it just is what it is (a phrase I immediately hate myself for using).

Absurd Question of the Week: What’s wrong with Josh Beckett?

Last night, on Globe 10.0—the usually-awful-but-this-time-not-as-awful-because-Bob-Ryan-wasn’t-there NESN show, they asked this question: What’s wrong with Josh Beckett? 

If I was hosting and saw this question I’d get up, remove my mic, grab the cue card and used it to give my producer a paper cut—did I mention I’d also be traveling back to a time when they still used cue cards?

There is nothing wrong with Josh Beckett. Sure, a Sox ace hasn’t had a season this non-descript since Aaron Sele in 1997 (I’m exaggerating), but there is still and absolutely no other pitcher in the league I’d rather have on the mound in the 2008 Playoffs. That being said, we still have to make the Playoffs, so Josh, let’s pick it up a notch.

Confession of the Week: I miss the Celtics.

Link of the Week:

A couple months ago I linked to that awesome song from the Dockers commercial that dominated the NBA Playoffs. And judging from the comments section from that post, it was a huge hit. So with that, I invite you to check out the latest kind of fruity but amazing song from a commercial. I’m posting the ad above (instead of the video), mostly because I love it but the song is called Train Song by Vashti Bunyan. Enjoy, and join the migration.

Note: Obviously, Maroney is leading the Pats charge, and I’m pretty sure that’s Ben Watson behind him, but can anyone ID another guy?

Prediction of the Week: This one won’t come to fruition for a couple years (if it does at all) but after watching Team USA take on Turkey earlier in the week, I’m going to say this: Celtics second-round pick Semih Erden will play on and contribute to the team within three years.

When I turned the game on, I was hoping to see Erden play for maybe five minutes. I know Turkey’s not a powerhouse, but I figured he’s young, and by all accounts, unpolished and would be more of a garbage guy. Instead, Erden started and actually held his own against five of the greatest players in the world. He can pass, rebound, shoot and even handle the ball a little, and even though he still has a long way to go, he’s not Stojko Vrankovic (there’s only one Stojko!). I think there’s reason to be relatively optimistic. So there it is. Print this paragraph out, and talk to me in three years.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian. 

Thoughts from a week that taught us that Manny’s even weirder than we thought…

Red Sox Stats Pack of the Week (Now with subheads!)

Surprising Stat of the Week:

Dice-K’s averaging only 98.8 pitches per start this season. How can that be? I would’ve guessed it was at least up around 300.

That 98.8 is a little deceiving though. In his starts right before being place on the DL (66) and right after being activated (48), Dice-K threw… um, eight plus six, carry the one… only 114 total pitches. If you take those two starts away, his average pitch count bumps up to 104.3. That looks a little better, although I still figured it would be higher.

Dice K Bonus Stat: Dice-K has given up only five homeruns in 95 innings this season, while fellow countryman Hideki Okajima his allowed four dongs in a mere 39.

Asked what his secret was to keeping the ball in the park, Dice-K replied (through a translator): "I don’t know how to throw strikes."

Warning Sign Stat of the Week:

JD Drew is 3 for 21 since the All-Star break.

Note: Although, in his defense, he was robbed of a homerun by Ichiro on Wednesday afternoon.

Note 2: I get caught off-guard almost every time the Red Sox play a random midweek afternoon game. I never realize it’s on until at least the second inning.

Troubling Stat of the Week:

Aside from Jason Varitek–who at this point should be thrown out of the equation like a 48-pitch Dice-K start when discussing team stats—the two Red Sox with the lowest on-base percentages are center fielders/lead off men, Jacoby Ellsbury (.327) and Coco Crisp (.312). That doesn’t seem right. Espcially on Ellsbury’s part.

Because he brings a certain level of excitement to the game, one that Red Sox fans haven’t seen in a while (or ever), I think it’s easy to overrate the kind of season Jacoby’s had.

If I showed you these numbers, blindly

.259 AVG
5 HRs
27 RBI
11 doubles
4 triples
53 Ks/27 BBs
35 Sbs
.327 OBP
.356 Slugging
.684 OPS

and asked you to rank the kind of season Player X was having (from 1-10), I bet you’d give it a 4 or 5. Now, if I randomly asked you to rank Jacoby Ellsbury’s season to this point—without presenting the numbers—I doubt anyone would go lower than 6.

That being said, the stats obviously don’t tell the whole story with Ellsbury. He’s a game changer, and a very inexperienced one at that. I’m not worried about his future, but just don’t think we’ll be hearing many complaints when he doesn’t get any consideration for ROY.

Headline for Next Week: Pats Place Entire Team on PUP List. Belichick has no comment.

Yup, they’re all hurt

Winner of the Week: BoSox Bullpen

I don’t care if you’re playing against the Perkins School for the Blind, nevermind the Mariners, 10 straight scoreless innings from a bullpen is the real deal, and it’s looking like the addition of Justin Masterson might give the pen the kick in the ass it’s needed since April.

Sure, that’s easy to say after only one appearance, but Masterson’s been exceeding expectation all season, and we have no reason, at this point, to think that his transition into the bullpen will be anything but seamless.

When he made his impressive major league debut (6 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER) against the Angels in April, it was like, “OK, the kid’s got a future, but this will probably be his most effective start of the season.” Then he did it again a month later against the Royals (6.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER). Now we’re like, “Ooh, we might have something here.”

He had his share of struggles in June, but pitched at least five innings in each of his six starts, and the Sox went 4-2. He was always solid. Then, in presumably his last start of the season, he went into Yankee Stadium and held them to two runs over six innings. And we’re worried about his poise in the bullpen? Maybe this kid’s for real. Maybe Okey’s arm has finally loosened up. Maybe Hansen’s head is finally screwed on right. Maybe Delcarmen’s found a consistent rhythm. Maybe Timlin can reach back and bring it one more time for three more months. These are a lot of maybes, but at the very least, we’ve got to be a lot more optimistic about the state of the bullpen on July 25 than we were on July 18. Then again, one series against the Yankees can change that.

Note: If Masterson is going to be a legit contributor down the stretch this season, he needs a bad ass introduction song. Like Timlin’s Black Betty or Paps’ Shippin Up To Boston (but not like whatever the hell that song Okajima comes out.)

After consulting with my podcasting cohort Nick Altschuller, we’ve decided on Master of Puppets by Metallica. Not only does it have the word master in it, but it makes you want to run through a wall. Just the mindset we want from a reliever.

Note 2: O k a j i m a…OKAJIMA! O k a j i m a…OKAJIMA!! Are those the words to Okey’s song? I can’t ever understand it but always assumed they were talking about him.

Loser of the Week: Clay Buchholz

All that talk about Masterson sounds familiar, Oh yeah, we were saying the same things about Clay Buchholz last year. But there hasn’t been much to get excited about during Clay’s sophomore campaign. In his three starts since being called back up to the bigs, Buchholz is 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA and has surrendered 11 ERs and 20 hits in 15 innings. Eeeeeeee…

His work ethic’s been questioned in the past and the results so far this season have to be pretty troubling. Let’s hope that no-hitter isn’t looked back on as the apex of his red Sox career.

Link of the Week:

I wasn’t sure what to think about the A-11 offense the first time I saw it (last night, approx 1:30 am). Was it the coolest thing I’d ever seen? The stupidest thing I’d ever seen? The offense of the future? I’m still not sure, but the notion of a two QB offense is pretty damn intriguing. The video gets relatively boring relatively quickly, but if you ever needed more motivation to find a way to clone Tom Brady, this is it.

Note: Apparently this offense has its own website.

Prediction for Next Week of the Week: Whatever prediction I make will be wrong.

And that prediction is… that Mariano Rivera will blow a save this weekend at Fenway.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.

Swept Under the Rug Story of the Week: Donaghy’s Fave Five

How is Tim Donaghy’s cell phone relationship with fellow ref Scott Foster not a bigger story? Why is the link already lost in the archives of almost every relevant Web site? Is there something more going on? Has David Stern gained control of the media? Are we entering some Fight Club reality where Stern has brain washed all of society to work as one in the name of preserving the league?

I know we have to presume that Foster is innocent until something is proven, but goddamn, Scott!

Here are the facts from the Fox News article (I know, the words "facts" and "Fox News" have no business being together) on the latest findings:

"The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.

With the exception of 150 calls Donaghy placed to Thomas Martino, to whom he says he provided "picks" to win games and who was the middleman between the disgraced referee and a bookie named James Battista, the ex-ref phoned no one more than he called Foster. During this period, the most calls Donaghy made to any other referee were 13."

Back to me: Since day one, David Stern has called this guy a "rogue, isolated criminal." But now, records show that during the very time this "rogue, isolated criminal" was allegedly fixing the NBA, he was also calling another ref before and after all the games like he was his fifth grade girlfriend. And no one’s making a big deal? The NBA can just say, "We’ve investigated this and Scott Foster wasn’t involved," and we all just sit back and say, "Oh, well, OK. Forget it then"?

Like I said, we can’t assume anything. And maybe time will prove me a complete asshole for writing this item. But if Donaghy’s assertions that there were other refs (maybe Foster) involved are correct, then it crushes the NBA. Especially in light of Stern’s 100% promise that Donaghy was a lone rebel and that there was absolutely no chance there were any other issues. If Foster is found guilty, David Stern becomes Roger Clemens. Again, there are a lot of “ifs” in here, but I at least wanted someone to be talking about it.

Note: I don’t normally read Fox News, they just happen to be the ones who broke the story and it came up first on the google search I had to do because the STORY WAS ALREADY ARCHIVED ON THE OTHER SITES!

Loser of the Week: Alex Rodriguez

Yeah, it was fun reading about how no one showed up to A-Rod little All Star Game bash, but more important than that, think about this for second:

Imagine if someone told you today that five years from now Peyton Manning would be one of your favorite QBs in the league, Tony Romo would be NFL Public Enemy #1 and Tom Brady would not only be playing for the Raiders but you also wouldn’t give a crap about anything he was doing.

Not buying it, right?

OK, now let’s imagine we’re back in the summer of ’99; fully immersed in the debate over who’s the best shortstop in the majors.

In Boston, we have Nomar, his popularity is hovering right around Brady’s current level. He’s making a run at .400 every year and we’re all pretty much convinced he’ll finish his career as the greatest hitter who ever lived.

In New York, there’s Derek Jeter. We hate Jeter. He’s already won two World Series, broken our heart every chance he’s had and can makes us cringe with even the stupidest little smirk.

Lastly, there’s A-Rod: An up-and-coming megastar who also happens to be one of the more likable guys in the league.

So you’re walking around one day in 1999, listening to No Scrubs on your Discman and some ghost from the future (for fun let’s pretend it looks like Paul Giamatti but talks like Dikembe Mutombo) appears in front of you:

"Riiich… Riiiiiiiiich!! In 2008, all three of these great shortstops will still be active, but it’s not as you thiiiiiiiink. You will have more respect for Derek Jeter than almost any other player in the league. A-Rod will be the most hated man in the majors. And even though Nomar still plays, you won’t care about him at all. In fact, you won’t even what position he’s playing this year.”

I would have never believed it. Of course, in this scenario, Dikembe Giamatti was talking specifically to me. Maybe there are Bostonians out there who hate Jeter just as much as they did in 1999 or have followed Nomar’s career more closely since he went out west. But you have to admit that the public image of these guys has transformed more over the last 10 years than you ever could have imagined.

In conclusion, A-Rod is a loser.

Note: I used five years for the NFL analogy because football players have shorter life spans.

Note 2: My personal favorite memory of the shortstop debate of the late 90s came during the Home Run Derby of either the 1998 or 2000 All-Star Game. A-Rod was in the booth and when asked his opinion, said something like this:

“Well, the way I look at it. I’m the youngest, Derek’s the richest and Nomar’s the best.”

I remember thinking that was the coolest thing in the world. I would have died for Nomar back then. that one sentence might have made my summer. Then again, I was (am?) a huge loser.

WTF of the Week: Greg Norman is in the lead after two rounds at the British Open

The Shark! If Norman somehow managed to pull this one out, it would be one of the best stories of the year. They’d have to re-tape the ESPYs. Could anything compare to the sport’s premiere choke artist rising from the dead at 53-years-old and taking a major? It would be like The Rookie, Hoosiers, Tin Cup, and the priest’s final round from Caddy Shack all combined into one.

It was always really easy to root for the Shark. Not only did you want him to finally get over the hump, but he just seemed like a real chill. likable guy. I always got the impression that he’d be a great drinking buddy. Even after he choked away the 1996 Masters, I imagine he went back to the hotel bar, got wasted and finished off the night singing Midnight Train on karaoke. So for that reason (and all the other obvious ones), Let’s go, Shark!

Note: I didn’t know that it was the 1996 Masters off the top of my head. I don’t want to give off the impression that I know more about golf than I do.

Winner of the Week: James Posey

When I heard about Posey’s new contract in New Orleans, I wanted to give him a standing ovation (you know, one of those slow, “Sir, you have outdone yourself!” claps that the villains give after the hero figures out how they pulled off the heist). The man wanted four years. I didn’t think anyone in their right mind would give it to him (at the price he was asking). But he got it. He parlayed two months of stellar playoff hoops into a guaranteed $25M from now until 2012. You can’t help but be happy for the guy.

Now let me say this: I love Posey. I wore a Posey t-shirt for almost every game this season. But there is no way in hell I would have been OK with the Celtics giving him a 4 year/$25M deal. It would have been a mistake.

With the PGA Tour taking up a bulk of the cap for the next few years, flexibility is the key. Ainge needs to be able to mix and match. He’s got to find a bunch of parts that maker a better whole and under that philosophy, you can’t ever overpay for a role player. Four years, at that price just didn’t make sense. Not if we’re trying to build a consistent winner. Sure they could have brought Posey back and mortgaged the future in an effort to win it next year, or the year after that, but I’m not down with that. I’ve lived through enough years of the Celtics being a joke. I’m not satisfied with four years of success followed by a trip back to the basement because our cap is all messed up. It’s time to Belichick this team. Everything we do, we do for the purpose of sustaining our dominance. It’s got to be a business. You don’t act on emotion. You don’t break from what you know is right, regardless of how it might be perceived by the fans, or the players.

What makes me feel best about everything I just wrote is that I know Danny Ainge is on the same page. During his one-on-one with Gary Tanguay the other day, Ainge admitted that they didn’t even want to give Posey a third year, never mind a fourth. He knows what’s in front of him. Rajon Rondo’s contract. Perk’s contract. An even more impressive crop of free agents. Danny’s not building a three year wonder. He’s trying to build a dynasty.

Link of the Week:

For a report on Hideo Nomo’s high profile retirement from Major League Baseball, we go to Wicked Weekly’s newest correspondent… this kid. He tells it how it is. He kicks asses and takes names later. Kid, the stage is yours.

Note: During the first half of the 2001 baseball season, I had to follow the Red Sox from Europe—where I was studying for the semester. It was a frustrating yet pretty cool experience, and definitely took the level of my Red Sox obsession up a couple notches. I say this because my No. 1 memory from that time period was Nomo’s no-hitter. I was at an Internet Cafe in Amsterdam, and once I read the back of the packaging to make sure "random Asian pitchers throwing no hitters" wasn’t one of the side effects of the mushrooms, I celebrated like the Sox just won the World Series. I rattled off like 15 different emails to friends at home asking for a better break down of the events. So even if Nomo was a huge bust in Boston, at least he us that.

Prediction for Next Week of the Week: Sox drop four of their next six games.

Kind of interesting that the Red Sox will start the second half of the season in almost identical fashion to the Celtics.

Back in February, the Celtics traveled out West for five games after the break. They started out losing three straight (their first and only three game losing streak of the season) before salvaging the trip with two straight wins against the Clippers and Trailblazers.

The Sox kick off the stretch run with six at the Angels and Mariners. I say they lose four of them.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.

Conversation of the Week:

(Ring…Ring…)

RL: Hey, this is Rich.

MR: (Singing) Rollin’ down the street smokin endo, sippin’ on gin and juice! Ahhhhh!! Bahahahaha!!!

RL: Huh? Manny? What the eff are you doing?

MR: It’s the sixth inning, mang! I’’m on my phone!

RL: That doesn’t answer my question. And why are singing Gin and Juice?

MR: I keep my phone here now!

RL: You don’t see why there’d maybe a problem with you talking on it during a game?

MR: Waitta second. I thought Javy Lopez retired. And since when does he pitch? Isn’t he a catcher?

RL: Dude, the game’s back. Get on the field.

MR: K! We still on for the X Files movie on Friday?

RL: Yup.

MR: Pinky swear?

RL: I’ll talk to you later

(Sarcastic) Logical Move of the Week:

You wonder why some organizations hit rock bottom and build themselves back up, while others remain entrenched in the asbestos filled basement of their respective league. Earlier this week, Elton Brand signed with Philly for 5 years and $80M. Sure, he’s coming off major surgery, but this isn’t 1985 when a torn ACL could derail a guy’s career. It’ll probably take Brand a year to get back to full form, but once he’s healthy, the Sixers will have four year’s worth of one of the top five power forwards in the league. Brand’s averaged 20 and 10 (not to mention more than two blocks) for his career. He’s 29, and unless injuries become an issue, will be giving the Celtics headaches until 2013.

That’s the good. Now here’s your award winner. Two days later, another former No. 1 pick, Andrew Bogut, got a contract that could pay him $72M over those same five years. What’s wrong here?

I don’t want to knock Bogut too hard . His game’s pretty solid. Last year he averaged 14 and 10. Very respectable. Especially in a league where the true center (even though this is starting to change a little) is somewhat of a rare commodity. But this doesn’t look right:

Baron Davis: 5 years/$65M
Andrew Bogut: 5 years/$72M
Elton Brand: 5 years/$80M

I know Bogut’s only guaranteed $60M, but for the point of my argument, the incentives count. The first and third players on this list are game changers. They are in the elite tier of their position. As solid as Bogut is, I still count 11 NBA centers whom I’d rather have over the next five years:

(Alplabetically)
Andrew Bynum
Marcus Camby
Tyson Chandler
Tim Duncan
Al Horford
Dwight Howard
Al Jefferson
Yao Ming
Greg Oden
Mehmet Okur
Amare Stoudamire

Maybe the Bucks think they’re on the verge of making this work, with the addition of Richard Jefferson and want to sure up the middle. If so, all the power to them, but I still think that some of that money might have been better used elsewhere.

Note: Why don’t the Bucks get as much crap as the Hawks for passing on Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 Draft? Not only might Marvin Williams end up better than Bogut, but the Bucks presumably passed on Paul and Williams because they already had T.J. Ford, a piece of logic that would have worked if they hadn’t turned around the next and traded Ford for Charlie Villanueva. So instead of having a team lead by one of the two greatest point guards of the next 10 years, they ended up grossly overpaying for Maurice Williams. Nice work, guys.

Question of the Week: Were they really rooting for the Yankees?

After Tuesday night’s game against the Twins, Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley were recapping the out of town scores and had the following conversation (or something to this effect) after highlights of the Yankees/Rays game:

Eck: Can’t believe we have to root for the Yankees tonight!

Caron: I know. Folks, you wouldn’t believe how weird it was in the studio tonight with everyone cheering for the Yankees! What a bizarre season this is!!

Really? I realize that NESN is in the business of making fans think that every single pitch of a major league season is life or death, but they can’t be serious. How many times does this have to happen before we learn? The Rays aren’t going to compete for the pennant this season. Next year? Maybe. The year after that? More likely. But this season, they’ll be done by the end of August. It’s coming down to the Sox and the Yankees, and every game NY wins between now and September is just another bullet we’ll have to sweat out down the stretch.

Photo of the Week:

Carl Beane is the voice of Fenway Park. Over the course of every game, his job is to tell us who’s coming to bat and who is currently pitching—in fairness, he also announces the lineups at the beginning of the game, along with the name of the person singing the National Anthem, throwing out the first pitch and the kid who yells, “Pway Bawl!!”

Now we get to the picture. While driving through the Berkshires this past weekend I came across this car, which was, as you can see, fashioned with a back tire cover with CARL BEANE #26 embroidered on the back. And it didn’t stop there. The sides of the car were also plastered with decals sporting plugs for Beane’s website. I’m assuming that this is Beane’s car. I mean it has to be, right?

So what do people think about this?

I hesitate to pass too much judgment, because by all accounts, he seem like a pretty nice guy—he does a lot of work for the New England Adolescent Research Institute—but the car rubbed me the wrong way. Just seems too weird. As does the fact that, according to this article, he’ll record you a personalized voicemail message for $25. I think I’d rather put that cash towards a new Rich Levine #33 rear tire cover for my car.

Loser of the Week: The All-Star Game

I never used to mind when the Yankees and Red Sox dominated the All-Star voting, because for the most part everyone deserved it. Damon, Jeter, A-Rod, Manny, Papi, etc. They all started at some point and you could never argue with it. Sure, it was slightly skewed because of Red Sox and Yankees fans, but who else was going to start? This year’s a little different.

Six of the nine starters in the AL are from the two giants, and really only two of them (Youk and Arod) have any business starting. It just makes the game even less appealing (and I wasn’t sure that was possible) than ever before. And how about the Cubs? Fukodome? Really? I’ve never made it a point to watch the All-Star Game, but this year I’ll probably make a point not too.

Winner of the Week: Brandon Moss

Tuesday night, Brandon Moss hit a two-out single in the eighth to win the game for the Sox. Ho hum, what else is new? Moss is like the Cris Carter of the MLB, but instead of catching touchdowns, all he does is make game winning plays.

The guy’s at a tricky point in his career. He’s not good enough to be an everyday player, but shows enough promise that he’ll get his share of opportunities; however sporadic they may be. Take advantage of them and you’ve got a career. Miss the boat and the next thing you know you’re a throw in on some deadline deal for a middle reliever and have to start all over.

Brandon Moss has been ready to play. Not even an emergency appendectomy has been able to slow Moss this season. Every chance he gets, he’s making it count. He’s the anti-Craig Hansen.

Link of the Week:

As if Mr. Beane didn’t cause enough trouble this week, here’s a tragic product of a "Carl Beane" YouTube search.

Did these guys really spend the money to rent out a studio to record this song? It has to be in one of their basements, doesn’t it? And did they just not feel like writing lyrics?

Lead singer: OK, guys, I know we don’t have any lyrics outside the chorus, but I really think we have something here with the “Red Sox Rock” loop. Lyrics are just fillers. This is gold. Let’s go with it.”

Last question: How much do we think Beane charged these guys to record the intro? The $25 voicemail fee or the $300 wedding fee? I’m going to guess it was like $100.

Prediction for Next Week of the Week: Manny Ramirez (gasp!) won’t play in the All-Star game.

See You Next Week

"One Positive Thing About Baseball" of the Week: DVR Made Easy

So let’s say you’re watching a Celtics game, and you realize you forgot something at the store, or maybe you have to go pick up your dinner, switch your laundry, take the dog for a walk. You pause the TV, leave the house and try and get back as soon as possible, and when you do, you’ve got your work cut out for you. You’ve missed about 20 minutes of time, which in basketball means multiple possessions, a lot of hoops and potentially a huge swing in momentum. You have the conversation with yourself:

OK, should I try and catch up?… No, it’s cool, I’ll just fast-forward through commercials… but what if someone calls or texts you from the TV future and spoils a big play that you’d rather see live?… OK, I just won’t answer my phone… that’s stupid, what if you fast forward through foul shots as well. That’ll make up some time… all right, that sounds good… but wait, I kind of like the stats they show during foul shots…

You know how it goes. It’s a mess and brings far too much stress than you need when you’re already watching a stressful game. Anyway, with baseball—and especially the Red Sox this season—you go to the store, and 20 minutes later you’ve missed like six pitches. There’s so much painful downtime, you hardly need to pause it at all.

Note: And yeah, I’m desperately trying to find ways to be positive about the Celtics not playing another meaningful game for four months.

Random Rays Thought of the Week:

If there’s one Tampa fan who’s upset with the team’s recent success it’s that dude who used to harass the crap out of one of the Red Sox every game—you know the guy he picked on Bellhorn back in 2004, Loretta in 2005 (which was especially hilarious for some reason) and each year after had one player that he tormented.

I feel like screaming at opposing players was the highlight of this guy’s life. He probably spent the whole winter researching which player he’d pick on. He probably taped every game and stayed up late every night re-watching and critiquing his performance. This was going to be the year he took his skills to the next level. He never saw this coming. Now it’s so packed and noisy at the Trop, you can’t hear him at all. You can’t be sure if he’s even there. You know he’s devastated, and five years from now we’ll likely hear about him getting arrested at local high school for drunkenly screaming at one of the visiting players during a JV game.

Either that, or he’s totally cool with it.

Note: And where’s Dicky V? I’m convinced that he’s literally begun hibernating during the off-season, except for the three hours every June when ESPN injects him with Ritalin, no-doz and speed.

Question of the Week: What are we going to do with ‘Tek?

Criticizing Jason Varitek is like stealing from an old lady. It feels crummy, and your stuff invariably ends up smelling like old people. But seriously, what are we going to do with ‘Tek?

He hit .122 in the month of June. Last night the Rays intentionally walked Youk twice to get to him. Opposing teams are treating him like you used to treat the kid in Little League who wore a helmet even when he wasn’t playing. When he was taking cuts against Kazmir, he looked like me the last time I tried to take on the Extra Fast machine at the batting cages—except he gets paid $10M a year and I was drunk and wearing flip flops. Do we bench him? In a perfect world, maybe. Just for a little. But I think all we can do is sit back and pray that Jason pulls out of this. We’re not asking for .300, but maybe .270? OK, fine. We’ll take .250, but just make it snappy.

Really? of the Week:

It was the biggest at-bat of last night’s game (up to that point): Seventh inning, no outs, bases loaded. The Sox are up 4-2. Craig Hansen vs.Carlos Peña. It’s probably the high point of the young season for me, as far as intensity and interest goes. Then, my concentration is lost. Not only does the camera show one of the hottest girls I’ve ever seen (wearing full fatigues, no less) but it pans over to reveal that she also happen to be sitting next to the second hottest girl I’ve ever seen, who is, in turn, making out with a strange looking fat guy. There are some weird things going on down in Tampa this season.

In the name of the Red Sox losing five straight to close out the week, we’re going with two losers of the week instead of a winner.

Loser of the Week #1: Manny Ramirez

Over the course of his career in Boston, I’ve always been on Manny’s side. It’s helped that he’s been so wildly productive (hit .300 with 40 HRs and you can take a piss right on the field for all I care), but also, Manny always seemed like a pretty likable guy. He was just having fun, being himself and loving baseball. But the incident with the traveling secretary took it way too far.

It’s not like I’m saying anything new in criticizing Ramirez for beating up a 64-year old guy, but it’s reached the point where it’s almost impossible to defend anything Manny does.

Imagine you had a little nephew (or maybe you don’t have to imagine), and every time you’re over hanging out with him he likes to wrestle around and kick you in the shins. It hurts, but whatever, he’s your nephew, he’s four years old, he’s happy. But then one day he thinks it would be just as fun to whap you in the balls. Game over.

It’s not cute anymore. It’s not just little Stevie being little Stevie. It’s a serious problem.

Body slamming Jack McCormick was Manny’s kick you in the balls moment, and it’s going to be pretty hard to ever take his side again.

Losers of the Week #2: The Red Sox bullpen

Which was worse: Blowing that 9-6 lead in Houston on Saturday or that abortion of a performance in Tampa last night? That’s like choosing between a paper cut to the eyelid and a lawn dart to the spine.

Regardless of which poison you prefer, you can’t help but be uncontrollably terrified of anyone in the bullpen not named Papelbon. We knew that Okijima wouldn’t keep up the pace of last season, but who could have imagined he’d prove this ineffective? He’s become the Sam Cassell of the Red Sox. Tito keeps trotting him out there, even though everyone knows that he’s going to fail. It’s not like Francona has many other options, but this is getting ridiculous. Priority one for Theo this month is picking up another arm for the bullpen.

Note: I’d choose the lawn dart.

Links of the Week:

So in reading a little bit about next year’s NBA Draft (never too early!) I learned about a Spanish kid name Ricky Rubio. He’s a 17-year-old, six-foot-four point guard who’s been playing professionally in Spain since he was 14. He’s also a consensus Top 5 pick in the 2009 Draft.

Naturally, I was pretty curious so I went to youtube him. This was the first video I found, and initially I thought it might be the most unintentionally hilarious mix tape I’d ever seen—highlighted by the 53 second mark, when R. Kelly is about to go into the chorus of "I’m the world’s greatest!" and Rubio throws a half court chess pass to a streaking teammate who has the ball blocked out of bounds.

Anyway, I stuck around a little longer than many people would, just long enough to witness the move he pulls at the 1:56 mark. Suddenly, I was a little more interested and dug a little deeper.

Not only is the music far cooler here, but it’s pretty clear that this kid is nasty. He’s looks like an under control, less-shot-happy Jason Williams. I’m excited.

Note: He’s playing for Spain in the Olympics. So it’ll be fun to see him there.

Note2: According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong), the Spanish pro league is consistently one of the top divisions in all of Europe, so these moves are legit. It’s not like those old Al Jefferson in high school tapes.

Note3: The biggest stars always have the coolest names, and Ricky Rubio is a cool ass name. He’s destined for greatness.

Prediction of the Week:

Unless both of these things happen:

1. David Ortiz comes back healthy before the September
2. Theo trades for a reliable bullpen arm

There is no way the Sox even make the ALCS.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.

Three Random Draft Observations of the Week

*Worst comment of the entire night (paraphrased here):

"Hey, guys, did you hear that Doc Rivers Gatorade shirt went up on EBay this week and someone bought it for $50,000? I mean that’s great, but get a life!" –Stuart Scott

Stu, you are soooo right. I’ve always considered rapists, pick pockets, ambulance chasers and people who donate 50K to benefit children’s charities to be society’s biggest bottom feeders.

*Eric Gordon looks like a combination of Jay Williams and Steve Erkel if said Jay Williams/Steve Erkel combo constantly looked constipated.

*When you hate someone for as long as I’ve hated Stephen A. Smith, you surrender all hope that you’ll ever enjoy his presence on any given broadcast. But as weird and wrong as this feels to say, I enjoyed Stephen A. Smith last night.

He asks real questions, sugar coats nothing, and for some reason, players are comfortable enough with him to actually answer. Those post-pick interviews could have easily been as cookie cutter as a third grade report card, but SAS kept it pretty legit. From asking DJ Augustine about Raymond Felton, Gallinari about getting booed and Russell Westbrook about the knocks on his ability to run the point, I thought he did a surprisingly decent job.

And on that note…

The Three Best (hilarious) SAS interviews of the night:

1. Joe Alexander: Only because his awkward intensity sounded exactly like Joe from Family Guy.

2. Brooke Lopez: Only because his clothes and grace were reminiscent of the giant from Big Fish while his voice was Mr. Larson from Happy Gilmore.

3. Darrell Arthur: Only because at one point SAS said this sentence on national TV: "Darrell, now we goin’ to Doris, who’s down there wit yo mama!"

Note 1: When Brook and Robin Lopez’s were choosing a college, do you think they took into consideration the fact that Stanford had already sent a pair of identical twin seven-footers—Jason and Jarron Collins—to the league? It can’t just be a coincidence that the NBA’s only two sets of freak twins of the last 20 (or more) years went to the same school, right? Maybe Stanford has scientists engineering these dudes the same way the Chinese government created Yao.

Note on a Note: Here’s something weird about Jason and Jarron Collins. Not only are they identical twins, but over the course of their seven year careers they’ve averaged an almost identical 4.4 and 4.3 points per game. Granted, Jason’s played about 100 more games and made two appearances in the Finals but still, for their numbers to be so similar is kind of eerie.

Note to the Third: I usually like quirky athletes—I enjoyed watching Ricky Williams give interviews with his helmet on, love Jesper Parnevik’s pants and used to laugh at Jonathan Silverman’s character in Little Big League—but the Lopez brothers are the exception to the rule. There’s something about them that I absolutely hate and I can’t imagine how awful it must have been for the other Stanford guys to put up with Brook and Robin over the last two years. I think the fact that they won’t be together anymore is the best possible scenario for any team that has to put up with their weird BS, but I still don’t foresee them becoming anything more than gigantic—literally and figuratively—and freaky pains in the ass.

Check out this story for confirmation

I’d love to see Brook plop himself down next to Vince Carter on the team plain and strike up a conversation about the time Peter Pan saved the Lost Boys.

Segue.

"Random List of the Week"

I was relatively indifferent on the Yi for Richard Jefferson trade. First, there’s not a team in the league I care less about than the Bucks, and second, in the last year the Nets have become more irrelevant than the latest hard copy edition of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Anyway, here’s the one thought I had: I’m happy Vince Carter is getting what he deserves again—the leading role on a garbage, going no where team.

It’s funny to say this now, because Vince was one of the most entertaining and likable guys in the league when he first started. He was on everybody’s short list of favorite players. Now he’s a disgrace.

My buddy B and I were talking about this yesterday and came up with an idea for a list:

Players That You Used To Love, But Now Hate Just As Much:

Here’s my Top 5 (in no particular order):

1. Vince Carter: He’s the captain. My junior year of college, I spent three quarters of my formal hiding in a side room watching the dunk contest because Vince was in it. This past season, I went to Nets games more excited to see Sean Williams.

2. Ladanlian Tomlinson: Not only has he been the most electrifying running back/football player of the last 10 years, but he always seemed like a throwback sort of guy—a top notch teammate who’d give his left arm for a win. Turns out that was only the case when the Chargers sucked. No one in the league—including TO, Pacman and Rae Carruth—has dropped farther in my own graces than LT2. And this isn’t just a Pats thing. Freakish skill aside, I’d take Phillip Rivers as a teammate over LT any day.

3. Stephon Marbury: I was late on the Marbury hate train, mostly because I loved his game so much. The way he wraps the ball up—like a running back on a goal line charge— his way to the hoop is one of my favorite subtle signature NBA moves and any high-scoring point guard always has a special place in my NBA heart. But he’s officially fallen off the Mohegan Sun.

4. Johnny Damon: This is 100% Red Sox related.

5. Warren Sapp: It was hard not to be a Saap fan when he came out of Miami. How can you dislike a fun-loving fat guy who moves like a linebacker and talks some of the most entertaining trash in the league? You can’t at first, but once fun-loving fat guy becomes a shadow of himself, stops sacking quarterbacks but continues to talk the same amount of trash, it’s time to cut him lose and hate his guts.

Citizen of the Week: Brian Scalabrine

On Wednesday, Scal and Tony Allen went down to Washington DC for the day with a bunch of students from Grover Cleveland Middle School—who won the trip from the ASSISTS community service contest sponsored by Southwest Airlines and the Celtics

.

I made the trip down there with the crew and watched Scal absolutely light the world on fire for 17 straight hours. It was a crazy long day. We met at 5 am, bussed to Providence, flew to DC, hit up the White House, had a meet and greet with John Kerry, toured the Air and Space museum, visited the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, scaled the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, flew back to Providence and pulled back into Dorchester at 9 pm. There were no real breaks, certainly no naps and very little relief from the 90-degree temperature. Scal never missed a beat, and played all 17 hours with the energy of Leon Powe during garbage time. His only downfall was when I owned his ass in the old "Which college did NBA player X attend game." Scal might not recover from that until the start of training camp. Anyway, nice job Scal, and congrats again to the kids from Grover Cleveland Middle School.

Loser of the Week: Mock Drafts

I’m not knocking the experts for failing to project that the Celtics would take JR Giddens—pick No. 30 is a complete crap shoot. What was sort of pathetic about all the mocks, was that by the time No. 30 came around, most, if not all, of the guys that the experts had the Celtics potentially taking were still around, and still, not one of them had it right.

When the pick came up, I was hoping it would be Chris Douglas Roberts, was thinking it was going to be Jevon Hardin (Marc Spears projected him and I trust Spears’ sources) and was praying it wasn’t going to be some foreigner that wouldn’t be around for three years. Then it was Giddens and I was like, "Huh?"

But the more I think about it, the more excited I am about Justin Ray. You can’t be too concerned with his past, not when Kevin Garnett is a huge part of his future. The Celtics are like the Patriots now. You can take a chance on talented guys with character issues because there is a foundation and code of conduct on this team that doesn’t let anyone stray from the pack, certainly not an unproven rookie. The Celtics are the anti-New York City. If you can’t make it with them, you can’t make it with anyone.

Winner of the Week: The Red Sox

See that dude still booing JD Drew and wondering out loud whether Schilling might be ready by September? He’s not alone. A lot of Boston checked out on the Sox during the Celtics run for 17. There was only so much time; so much love to dish out. But now the Sox are back in the forefront. And if you’re just coming around, here’s a quick breakdown of the emotions you should adopt heading into the second half of the season:

You should feel:

happy for JD Drew

scared about Papi

sad for Mike Timlin

inspired by Lester

excited about Justin Masterson

unhealthily excited about Ellsbury

frustrated with Lugo

perplexed by Dice–K

unimpressed by Hansen

thankful for Papelbon

and

a sense of closure for Curt

That should do for now.

Note: I need to give a special bit of love to JD Drew. I never got a chance to really comment on his resurgence during the Celtics run.

You know how Dr. Evil becomes a good guy at the end of Goldmember and Austin Powers has a crazy hard time accepting his change of heart? That’s how I feel right now. I’m so used to hating Drew that it doesn’t seem right to completely trust him yet. But I’m getting there. Not that you care.

Note 2: On the topic of Papi, I know the news has been encouraging on him over the last week or so, and I have a little bit to add. I have a good source inside Papi’s medical team that told me that the big man was pain free when he got his cast off the other week. I guess it’s relatively rare for a guy to be in that state, at that stage, so yeah, another piece of good news.

Link of the Week:

Because now I’m nostalgic for Vince…

Note: It’s a testament to his awesomeness that he made those awful old school Raptors jersey’s look so cool.

Note 2: This point is undebatable. The worst parts of any NBA highlight video are the dunk contest clips. Whether it’s MJ, Vince, ‘Nique, Kemp, etc, I’ll take a solid in-game throw down over a contrived dunk contest move every time.

Note 3: Check out the aftermath of Vince’s famous Frederic Weis dunk at the two-minute mark. You ever notice how close KG was to getting knocked out by Carter’s emphatic fist pump? Someday I’m going to ask KG about that.

See You Next Week!

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.

What will Kevin Garnett do with his life now?

Is there anyway KG can remain as intense and focused next season when the very thing he was so focused on (for so long) is now neatly wrapped around his finger? I say no. That’s not to say his effort will be compromised in 2009, I just don’t see how he can be as obsessed. It’s human nature. It’s the Zelda Corollary.

Remember when you first got Zelda? Not that we had anything beter to do with our lives back in the late 80s, but the day you got Zelda, Zelda became your life. And you wouldn’t rest until Gannon was hunched over in a bloody heap on your black and white VHF/UHF TV. You spent months living and breathing that effing game; it’s all you thought about. And then—months later–when you finally beat it, it was like, "Um… so what do I do now?" You played again, and you still got excitement for going through and winning it all, but it was never the same. Not without curiosity over what it would be like to scale the mountain; or the taunting from your friends who had already sealed the deal. You kept beating Zelda but you could never recreated the drive and intensity of doing it the first time.

Is there a chance that KG is immune to the Zelda Corollary? Sure, the guy is barely human. But even if he does fall victim a little bit, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. At the very least, KG might start to enjoy himself a little more out there. That doesn’t mean he’ll become complacent, but now that the 500-pound monkey is off his back, he can get back to playing like he did when he first came into the league. Before all anyone ever talked about was that he hadn’t won a title.

How much can Ray take?

Ray Allen’s the kind of dude who bluffs you into folding a pair of 10s when all he’s got is 2-3 off-suited. Think about all he went through this year: There was the added pressure and expectations of teaming up with KG and the Truth; there were the sore ankles; there was the ongoing attempted murder trial with his mom and step dad in South Carolina; there was the unconditional worst shooting slump of his career during the most important postseason of his career; there was his son’s mysterious illness that resulted in a trip to the emergency room after Game 5 of the Finals. And those are only the things that we know about. But through it all, Ray was a rock. His face never changed; his game never pressed; his leadership never lacked. There are about five or six guys on the 2008 Celtics who you could say this about—which is likely one of the reasons they won the title—but Allen is a pro’s pro.

Is there anyone more deserving that the Truth?

We’ve now had six World Championships in Boston since 2002, and I’m having trouble coming up with one guy on any of those teams more deserving—from a Boston fan’s perspective—than Paul Pierce. Maybe Bruce Armstrong would be in the conversation had he not retired a year early or Drew Bledsoe had he started all season in 2001 or Nomar had he not been traded, but in reality, no one on any of the title teams went through more up and downs with the city of Boston than Pierce. And the way he won the title (literally putting the team on his back for extended periods of the playoffs and taking home the Finals MVP) was just icing. It’s going to be weird no longer having to defend Paul Pierce’s worth to people outside Boston, but I couldn’t be happier that the case is closed. Paul’s a champ and no one can take that away.

He’s really only 22?

Rajon Rondo is the same age as the Olsen Twins. For some reason this comparison always gets me. Not only because he’s so fricking young, but because I can remember watching Full House back on TGIF when I was growing up, and can’t imagine my reaction if someone had said to me then, "Hey the next time the Celtics win a title, their starting point guard will have been born the same year as that annoying baby." But weird and awkward analogies aside, I couldn’t be more excited for the Rajon Rondo era. Him and Jacoby Ellsbury are the next generation of Boston megastars.

Has Perk finally found his niche?

This is coming from the guy who crapped on Perk more than anyone else I know: Perk is a certified NBA center. I had my doubts. We all had our doubts. But over the last two months, all that was erased. I’m not saying he comes into next season the next Robert Parish. But I do believe that he’s sorted a lot out in his head. I think he has a better understanding of what he can do, what he can’t do and, most importantly, what he has the potential to do in this league. On top of that, you can’t teach the kind of toughness he showed in these playoffs.

How will Posey be remembered?

I wrote in my magazine column this week that James Posey is like the Internet. Life was OK before it arrived, but now that we got a taste, there’s not way to live without it. But let’s say the worst happens and Posey takes a big money, longer term deal with the Lakers or the Cavs or any of the other contenders that will be throwing big bucks at him over the next couple of months. What will Posey’s legacy be in the landscape of local sports? Will he be Keith Foulke? David Patten? It’s hard to take an unbiased stance on it right now; it’s way too fresh. But I know for sure that even though Posey will forever be overshadowed by the PGA Tour when people look back on the 2008 title, I’ll always remember him as one of the more enjoyable and likable Celtics of my lifetime.

What’s Leon ’s Ceiling?

It’s easy to get carried away with Leon Powe’s potential because he’s such a likable player/person. But if we’re being real, what’s the best-case scenario for Powe? On our podcast this week, Nick projected a poor man’s Charles Oakley, but then again Nick would have Leon ’s child if it were biologically possible. How about Antonio Davis? I’d take that

Has Eddie earned a contract?

What’s more improbable: the Celtics going worse to first, or the prospect of Eddie House actually playing on the same two years in a row? Um, yeah, still probably the Celtics, but you’ve got to think—or maybe just hope—that the team doesn’t forget all that Eddie can do, Eddie doesn’t forget all he can’t do and a deal will be worked out to bring House (and hell, give his little kid a ball boy contract if it sweetens the deal) back to Boston. Is finding another back up point guard still a priority? Without a doubt. They still need a guy who can bring the ball up when Rondo’s on the bench. But on a championship team, there’s room for a backup PG and an Eddie House. His intangibles are off the charts, and after watching the way he gracefully handled be screwed over by Doc in the Playoffs and then seamlessly adjusted back into the lineup when his number was called, you know he can handle anything. He’s a guy you need on a title team.

Really, Glen?

I’m not ready to talk about Big Baby yet. How can you do justice to his post-title transformation from lovable, goofball to borderline mental patient in one paragraph? Let this photo fill the void until the time is right.

Can we start giving Sam a little credit?

It’s impossible to get worked up Sam Cassell now that the Celtics won—even though it appeared at times like the Alien was doing his best to make sure Banner No. 17 never got raised. But now that it’s in the books, maybe we can start to appreciate all that Sam brought to the team off the court—when he wasn’t forcing fade away jumpers over 7-footers.

My favorite Cassell story came from the Atlanta series. During a timeout in Game 2—and from my seats about 12 rows back behind the Celtics bench—I saw Cassell hovering over one of his teammates and absolutely taking him to task for something that he’d done on a previous possession. I couldn’t make out who the other guy was, but he was nodding his head and looked completely entranced by what Cassell had to see—like the kid from Rookie of the Year (but in American Pie) when Casey Affleck introduces him to the secret book. I assumed that it was Rondo, maybe Perk or Leon Powe, but when the mystery teammate stood up, it was Paul Pierce. That image always stuck with me. There was no one too good or too big to learn from Sam I Am, and that, at the very least, had a marginal effect on the Celtics ability to bring home the title.

Will we ever hear from PJ Brown again?

PJ Brown came into our lives out of nowhere. And I have a feeling he might disappear just as quickly. Cassell is going to be around the NBA for the rest of his life, and guys that leave the team this offseason—whether its Posey, Allen or House—will move on with other teams and come back to Boston a few times a year. But other than the ring ceremony on opening night, we might never see PJ Brown again. Nice knowing you, PJ. Thanks for everything.

Is it time for Tony to move on?

When the season started, the Globe’s Marc Spears did a story—albeit a slightly humorous one—about the Tony Allen becoming part of Boston ’s Big Four. All Tony really became was Black Jack Haley, but he couldn’t have had more fun doing it. I’m guessing Allen moves elsewhere next season, but I definitely have faith in his game. If he can stay healthy, and ends up on a crappy team like the Bucks or the T-Wolves, I bet he could average 15 points a game. And let’s never forget that reverse alley-oop he threw done in garbage time of Game 6. At the time I didn’t think I could get any happier but watching this work of art go down took me to an entirely different level. Whenever Tony Allen is catching reverse alley-oop from Eddie House, you know the game is over, and this time it signified the official start of the Celtics NBA title celebration.

So we really have to keep paying Scal?

Now that it’s official that Brian Scalabrine is far more Celtic team mascot than NBA player (no offense, Scal. I still love you, it’s just the truth) can we remember for a second how mind-blowing his contract is? Scal is on the books for the next two season for an average of $3,310,345 a year. James Posey’s player option for next season was supposed to be $3,462,480. Need any more explanation for why Big Game James is opting out?

What did we expect from Scot Pollard?

The funniest thing about the way Pollard’s season played out is that if you had asked me back in October how I thought he would do, I’m almost positive I would have said,

"Yeah, he’ll be OK for a little, but will probably end up getting hurt and hosting his own show on Comcast or something."

Scot Pollard was exactly what we thought he was!! Woah, sorry. But really, he’s everything we expected, which in my book is awesome. I don’t think you can underestimate the importance of having a laid-back, fun-loving, unselfish guy like Pollard around the team—regardless of how much he plays.

So that’s a wrap. Terrific season. Unbelievable memories. And even though I’m not sure it can get any better going forward, it’s sure going to be fun.

See You Next Week

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.

“Defining Moment” of the Week

Ray Allen’s “give me the ball and get out of the way, there is no effing chance a guy named Sasha is stopping me” move on Sasha Vujacic at the end of Game 4 was the definition of what we’ve been looking for from the PGA Tour these entire playoffs.

The game was on the line, and Ray assumed total responsibility. He put the team on his back and said, “this is my game, and I’m finishing it right now.” If the Celtics end up winning the championship, this shot will not only be looked back on as the defining moment of the series, but potentially the defining moment of Ray Allen’s Hall of Fame (maybe) career.

There was nothing getting in the way of his will to score that hoop—not the fatigue, not the refs and certainly not Vujacic. And the way in which he finished it off was vintage Ray. It was everything I’ve grown to love about his game since last November, when I realized that he was far more than just a glorified spot up shooter.

Note: In Pierce’s interview with Michelle Tafoya after the game, he was talking about Ray’s basket and alluded to KG setting a big screen. Maybe Paul forgot which play he was talking about…

Note 2: I was talking to my buddy Jay after the game and he brought up an interesting debate:

Jordan’s down-the-lane-mid-air-hand-switching-lay-up

vs.

Ray’s baseline-double-pump-reverse-but-there’s-one-catch-I’m-not-even-going-to-look-at-the-hoop-
when-I-shoot-lay-up

Should Ray’s move be considered in the same category as Jordan’s?

At first I blew it off as crazy. Jordan’s was in a class of it’s own. But I take it back now.

As I see it, the Jordan move has three things going for it:

1. It’s Jordan—it’s probably the most memorable moment (or second to the last shot in Utah) of the most memorable career in NBA history.

2. The camera angle is absolutely perfect.

3. It signified a huge moment for the league, with Michael officially taking the torch from Magic and the Bulls officially ending the Lakers Dynasty (although HIV would have a pretty strong effect on that too.)

But if we’re being real—and take out the Jordan factor for a second—I think Allen’s reverse gets the nod.

First and foremost, because of its place within the context of the greatest comeback in Finals history, and second, because it was probably the most athletic, creative and down right filthy move of the entire season. I not only watched it in ABC’s super slo-mo, but I actually slo moed the slo mo and watched it frame by frame five times. I’m still not sure how he pulled it off.

So I’m going to say that Ray’s is better and should probably garner as much attention, but sadly, it won’t.

“Random Stat” of the Week: During this post season, the Celtics are 1-4 when Ray Allen scores 20 or more points, 4-1 and when he drops fewer than 10 points and 7-0 when he finishes anywhere between 16 and 19.

I’ve got to confess that I have absolutely no idea what to make of these numbers, and if the Celtics can win one more game I’ll never think about them again. I just found it slightly strange and interesting, and wanted to share the wealth.

Your Weekly Reminder of the Irrelevance of Traditional Media: Rondo’s Blog

This photo cracks me up. You’ve got all your beat guys, all your columnists and all your TV reporters crowding Rondo like a pack of bugs at a light bulb. They’re all passive-aggressively leaning in—maybe shoving each other a little—in an attempt to get closer and find the perfect time to ask an unoriginal, robotic question (How’s your ankle? How would you say your ankle is? If you were to describe to me the status of your ankle, how would you describe it?).

They have their recorders extended out with their off hands, while the dominant hand scribbles down every thing Rondo has to say. All so they can go back to their laptops and write the same story as everyone else, using the exact same bland, clichéd quotes that Rondo gave because there’s nothing in the world he wants to be do less than speak with the media about his ankle.

So now the interview’s over, and everyone runs off to be the one who posts the same story first (“Rondo says, ‘It’s not that bad!!!! I will play!!!!’”), but there’s one problem: While all these guys are editing their words and videos, Rondo heads up to his hotel room and posts this:

If you were watching the game you know that I injured my ankle in the third quarter. It happened on a fast break and I rolled it. I think I may have stepped on someone’s foot, but I still haven’t seen the play. It’s a different feeling than I’ve ever had. I’ve injured my ankle before but this one is unlike the others. The pain is on the inside of my foot. All the other ankle sprains have been on the outside. I will be getting a lot of treatment tonight, tomorrow, Thursday to try to get it ready to go for game 4. I did try to go again in the fourth quarter, but I really couldn’t make any hard cuts. No one is 100% at this point, but I was probably 50%. Coach made the right decision taking me out because I didn’t have my quickness. E House did a great job filling in. When his name was called he was ready to play and that’s big for us.

There’s no question this one is disappointing. We feel like we had a chance to really put them away and go up 3-0. Paul never had a chance to get in a rhythm because of foul trouble and we just struggled on offense. Even though we played very bad we still had a chance in the end. We just didn’t get the stops down the stretch when we needed it. They were very aggressive tonight similar to the way we were in game 2. But in the end we still had a chance but let it get away.

Heading back to the hotel and will keep working on my ankle. Lots of ice and I’ll keep it elevated. I’ll have more later. Until then I’ll holla.

There it is. All you’d ever want or need to know about Rondo’s ankle and status for Game 4, and it’s even in Rondo’s words. Rondo’s real human words!

It’s a sad fact of the Internet age—well, not for us, but for fossils like Buzz Bissinger and Dan Shaugnessy—but that 200-word blog post is more interesting (from a fan perspective) than anything any journalist could come up with, given the access they have to players in this day and age. And it’s only going to move farther in that direction.

Note: Given what we saw with Rondo last night, are we at the point where we