I have been watching the NBA playoffs for the last few days and noticed a few peculiar events.

1. On Friday night, the Lakers beat the Suns with Kobe Bryant scoring 17 points. When it was noted during the 3rd quarter that Kobe was the only starter not in double digits, the illustrious Bill Walton responded that Kobe was doing other things: playing defense, passing and showing leadership. Kobe Bryant demonstrating leadership? Wow. Those are words that I never thought I would hear.

2. On Sunday afternoon during the Heat-Bulls game, Gary Payton started yelling at Dwayne Wade in the middle of the game. Wade shouted back. Who stepped in to settle the situation? Not Shaq. Not Mourning. Antoine Walker. Are you kidding me? Payton and Wade carried their argument into the huddle and Walker tells Payton to cool it. What in the world was going on?

3. During halftime of the Mavs-Grizzlies game on TNT Monday night, Doc Rivers is in the studio. He points out that the Mavs are having so much success this year because Avery Johnson has convinced the players that if they play defense they can win. Doc Rivers is talking about a team executing on defense. What?!? This is the same guy who has been reported to spend very little practice time on defense. If you saw any Celtics game this year, this would be real obvious. Rivers then reiterated his point about the Mavs and defense during the post-game segment after the Mavs won. What is next? Tune into TNT on Tuesday and hear Larry Brown say that the Lakers are playing so well because the players like their coach. Rivers scored a 9.2 on the unintentional comedy scale.

4. During his post-game press conference, Avery Johnson said that he was glad that the Mavs were able to defeat the Grizzlies in 4 games because now he could get back to what he liked: practice. Excuse me coach. Your favorite part of the job is practice. Johnson said as if he disdained games. He was probably in Mark Cuban's office today asking if they even needed to play anymore games. "Mark, I like practice a lot. What purpose do the games really serve?" I have never heard an NBA coach talk about practice with such enthusiasm. He gets an 8.5 on the unintentional comedy scale.

5. On Monday night, the Clippers win Game 5 against Denver. Meanwhile the defending champion Spurs are tied at 2 games apiece with the Kings. The Clippers are at home waiting for the next round while the Spurs are struggling to advance. Talk about your upside down playoffs.

I do not know what to expect next. Could we see a Clippers-Wizards final? Then we would really be living in the Bizarro NBA.

Six hours before the first of nineteen meetings between the Red Sox and Yankees, Doug Mirabelli was in California as a member of the San Diego Padres. The Red Sox acquired (or is it re-acquired?) Mirabelli Monday morning. They had a private plane fly him from San Diego to Boston. He arrived at Logan Airport at 6:48 pm. The first pitch was scheduled for 7:09 pm.

The good citizens of Massachusetts put their tax dollars to work for the Red Sox and Mirabelli climbed into a state police cruiser, which was waiting for him. He made it from the airport to Fenway Park in 12 minutes. For anyone who has ever been to Boston, you can make from the airport to Fenway Park in 25 minutes on a Sunday at 3:00 am. While traveling at somewhere just under the speed of sound, Mirabelli changed into his uniform in the back seat of the state police car.

Barely having time to say hello to his teammates, Mirabelli put on his gear and took the field for the first pitch (delayed 4 minutes because of Mirabelli’s late arrival). The crowd erupted as if the team had just announced a 2 for 1 beer night. Why such a fuss over a backup catcher with a career batting average of .230?

Mirabelli is not your average backup catcher. Before being traded to San Diego over the winter, he spent the previous 4 ½ seasons as Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher. Wakefield is the definition of an enigma. He has averaged 188 innings over the past 11 years with the Red Sox. He has the third most wins in Red Sox history behind only Roger Clemens and Cy Young. He accomplished all this throwing primarily one pitch: a knuckleball. (He has a fastball which tops out at 77 MPH on a good day).

Trying to catch a knuckleball is like trying to catch a wiffle ball with a flat wooden paddle on your opposite hand. Any professional catcher will back this up. Jason Varitek won a Gold Glove last year and he once had 3 passed balls in one inning of catching Wakefield during a playoff game. Amazingly, no one scored. Mike McFarlane, who was known for his superlative defense, had over 15 passed balls (a career high) the season he caught Wakefield. Before Mirabelli’s return, Josh Bard had 10 passed balls in Wakefield’s five starts. Project those stats over 30-35 starts and you shatter any record for most passed balls in a season.

Compare this to Mirabelli: He had 6 passed balls all last season catching Wakefield.

While people may see his story as another example of the craziness of Red Sox Nation, no other team has Tim Wakefield and no other team has a knuckleballer.

The difference in Wakefield was instantly noticeable. He threw his best, hardest breaking knuckleball with runners on base without any fear. He threw the fewest number of fastballs in any game this season. When he walked Alex Rodriguez on 4 pitches to load the bases with no one out, Mirabelli went to the mound to talk to Wakefield. You could see the chemistry.

In his post-game interview with ESPN, Mirabelli could not stop smiling. The whole day was surreal to him: News of the trade to his old team, a whirlwind cross country jet ride that concluded with the plane skidding on the tarmac, the escort to the ballpark, the reception by the crowd and a 7-3 Red Sox win. It was like watching a band that reunites after one member quits because he girlfriend convinces him he would be better on his own. When that guy returns to the band, he knows it is where he belonged all along. That was the look Mirabelli had during his interview. He was where he belonged.

Doug Mirabelli is the ultimate specialist. He is the master of a rare art form. For that, he gets $1.5 million dollars, catches a pitcher who throws a knuckleball once every 5 days and receives a hero’s welcome, as he should.

While most baseball fans have probably never heard of Doug Mirabelli, he will play a huge role in the outcome of the Red Sox season.

As most college football fans are aware, Jimmy Clausen, "the Lebron James of high school football", announced that he plans to attend Notre Dame next January and play football for Charlie Weis. The stats are astounding- 88 touchdowns and over 7,200 yards passing in three seasons. The only time in the last ten years, Notre Dame was even in the running for a recruit this highly regarded, it was some kid named Bush. He ended up going to USC and you will probably hear his named called at the NFL Draft between 12:00 and 12:30 on Saturday.

While most fans will see the signing of Clausen as a huge coup for Notre Dame, as he chose ND over USC, the real victory is the effect that Clausen's commitment will have on next year's recruiting class. The recruiting landscape of today is much different than even 5 years ago. Kids from all over the country attend camps and all-star games together. The Internet and mobile communications have enabled these top players to stay in touch with each other year round. Thus, when they see a good player that they know personally, commit to a school, they seriously consider committing to that school as well.

Clausen's announcement was way over the top. (He made the announcement at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN. During his announcement, he made the Beano-esque statement that he looked forward to going to Notre Dame to win four national championships.) However, it is clear that he is the marquee recruit of Class of 2011. In fact, he has been called the most polished high school quarterback since John Elway. Clausen wants to lead Notre Dame's return to greatness. He will do his best to recruit other good players on offense and defense.

The Clausen announcement coupled with the strong incoming freshman class is a signal to top recruits that Notre Dame is once again a major factor on the college football landscape. The reason for this turnaround is simple: Charlie Weis.

The top high school players care about two things: PT and the NFL. With the dearth of talent that was present upon his arrival (Notre Dame now has 10 juniors on scholarship), Weis can promise recruits they will have the opportunity to play right away. In addition, Weis has the NFL pedigree to teach kids what it takes to play on Sundays and the contacts to lobby NFL personnel on a player's behalf. Clausen summed up today's recruiting realities, "Yeah, this is a business decision...If you want to go to the NFL, you've got to want to work. You want to be the best you can be. And part of getting there is choosing coach Weis. Honestly, I think it pretty much just came down to coach Weis for me. "

He did not mention Notre Dame's academic excellence or its storied football tradition. He called it a business decision. This statement may not sit well with some alumni but it is reality. The upside of this reality is when Weis hits the road this week on a month long recruiting trek, other blue chip recruits will commit to play with Clausen and for Weis.