I read a post from Steelcities blog last month asking for the real Jesus Shuttlesworth to please step forward. This was on my mind for most of the game as I watched my Boston Celtics being pressed into submission by the younger quicker and according to Sir Charles Barkley; "the more talented" Orlando Magic.

This was another one of those games where I knew in my gut that the Celts had the ability, the talent and the will to win this game that's for sure. But the frustration was in watching all of the missed opportunities as the Celtics would cut the lead down to 6 or 7 only to have an Orlando  player like Hedo Turkoglu make one of his patented awkward three pointers. Then Orlando would light it up for another 6-0  run and again make the game seem out of reach. The game seemed to have a life of it's own and my feeling was that maybe this one just wasn't meant to be.
With 8:49 left to play in the 4th. quarter the score is 77-63. The Celtics had just had another let down and Magic were on a 10-4 run since the start of the quarter. Then the next great story to come from the Boston Celtics post season run came to light. Stephon Marbury....................Who? That's right "Stephon Marbury" he played, he shot the ball and he scored! He scored all of his 12 points in the 4th. quarter.

But that still wasn't going to be enough. To win this one, the Celtics were going to need consistency and the "Real Jesus Shuttlesworth to please step forward." After 7 plus minutes of catch-up play the Celtics were poised to take the lead for the first time since the early 1st. quarter. Then it happened...................Ray Allen cutting from the baseline to the perimeter catches a pass from Rondo, turns and completes a perfect "Ray Allen 3 pointer." That proved to be the catalyst that the Boston Celtics had been looking for the whole game. It put them ahead 86-85 with 1:20 to play. From then on the Celtics played outstanding clock management (not like in the Chicago series) winning the game by the final score of 92-88.

The importance of this game was huge. After winning game 4 in Orlando to steal home court back from the Magic. Loosing it back again tonight would have been devastating. I hope that the Celtics have turned the corner, much like they did last year around this time.

I guess we will find out on Thursday!.........................Enjoy the game.


http://www.faniq.com/blog/They-call-him-Jesus-Shuttlesworth--Blog-23814

For years now we have listened to the ole heads ramble on about the pureness and goodness of baseball. You know the narrated story of the boy playing sandlot baseball and going to the ballpark with his dad. With the hot dogs, peanuts, the organ playing and the stadium announcer calling the plays. We as fans "sometimes" have this Norman Rockwell image of just what baseball should be.............Instead of what it really is.

Baseball has been around a long time. There have been many changes in the world that have had an affect on this sport. Two "World Wars, The Great Depression, Gambling Scandals and Players strikes. Also the good things like, Racial integration, Players Unions (Retirement plans) United Way and other charities that include community involvement.

Now we have this question of Steroids and HGH's and what to do about them. We also have this other matter of ethics to deal with........................Is it a mortal (baseball) sin to use performance enhancing drugs? If these drugs were available to ball players in 1925. Do you think baseball would have had a problem with fans calling out their heroes for cheating? The real problem is the fact that someone invented this stuff and it was available....................I hope it's not a shock to some but steroids were available in my high school in the mid 1970's. So they had to be  available at the professional level of sports before then even.

    There have always been performance enhancing drugs in sports......................They might not have been Steroids but cocaine, barbiturates and Amphetamines (known as greenies among baseball players)

I think that some of those who have used these drugs may have started out thinking that it was a new innovation that would give them an edge. But by the time the 1990's came around involvement had to be deliberate. So there is no sympathy for anyone currently playing the game to be using performance enhancing  drugs.

So let me get this straight. Now we find out about A-Rod, testing positive for steroids, 6yrs after the fact..............And there was no disciplinary standards set in place for them at that time.

Right?  

This was supposed to be survey test that took place in 2003 and was intended to be nondisciplinary and anonymous.

Right?

SI should be sued for defamation of character .....................................Not that I am an A-Rod fan. I could care less about the fall-out gossip from the Steroid era..............It's become more like the McCarthy era with ballplayers being blacklisted for getting close to some sacred record. As it brings out the bias and hate that is cloaked behind what some ole heads image of baseball should be.


The biggest question is going to be..........Not where it stopped. But where it started. Who was the first baseball player to use Steroids? This is where we must draw that line in the sand and say: The Steroid era began here and from this point forward, until a full ban is in place, all baseball records will be marked with an asterisk.

 Bud Selig should step up to the microphone and show the baseball world that he does have a back-bone and Ban all performance enhancing drugs. If he can't do that then he should do the decent thing and step down as baseball commissioner.

That's pretty much my opinion on the topic of Steroids.....................What's yours?

While watching Sunday Night Football this season, it has become even more apparent that John Madden truly is an idiot. It's not like I personally have ever been a fan of the guy, but lets face it. This guys commentating has become so predictable and repetitive. His opinions come lumbering in like a "has been" boxer throwing a tenth round hay maker.

Tonight he was the defending of the officials bad calls during the two minute boo session in the fourth quarter...............How could Madden or Al Micheals  possibly know what the crowd was thinking? Do they have some kind of special psychologist skills that gives them the insight on what a whole stadium of angry fans are booing about?

It would appear that this is exactly what they are...........................John Madden interpreted the on going crowd reaction to stem from the bad calls from weeks one and two. That these fans were acting out their aggression because they were in fact bored and there was nothing else to do. The Chargers were ahead by 27 points and they were over reacting to a bad call......................Which by the way was deemed as a good call by Madden who always seems to think that the officials are right.   

  
Found this picture while looking for Chargers pictures......................It was too good to throw away!

His commentary has always been annoying to me anyway, but the past 3-4 years have been mind numbing to listen to this guy repeating the same old stories. He along with Dick Vitale (around March) should be locked away in a sound proof room in area 51 to protect us from the harms of psychological warfare. 

I haven't seen too many John Madden post lately..........................What's your opinion?

Doesn't it seem like the whole AFC chain of power may have been changed in just one weekend of football? With Tom Brady's new extra flexible GI Joe knee.
 And  the Colts come up empty in their new digs...............................Was that a sign of just how good the Bears are gonna be this year? Or perhaps it was a sign of how bad the Colts are going to be this year.
Needless to say, this was only the first week and there are 15 more games to be played for these teams. But this being only week one, leaves me wondering what land scape is going to look like in a few more weeks. The Chargers are still employing Norv Turner for some reason.............................Norv Turner and Herm Edwards are still employed right?.............I'll revisit those two guys as a main topic for some other post.
Anyway, back to Tom Brady's Knee...............................It looks like the early reports are that Brady is out for the rest of the season with torn ACL and MCL ligaments.

Does this mean that the Bills might inherit the AFC east? Will the Jets become contenders?

Then there is the biggest question of all for the Tom Brady haters out there in the world................................What are you feeling now? Didn't you wish that someone could have done this last year, while he and Randy Moss were running up the score on your favorite team?

Or does the reality of a great athlete being injured overshadow all the hate that you feel? Does the competitiveness of being a football fan go as far as wishing harm on a person?

I for one hope that he is going to be ok............................Because it would be so much more satisfying to beat the Patriots with all of their best players all on the field.

It sure is a popularity contest.......................I used to feel the same way about the voting systems in baseball. My example would be the baseball MVP award. The sports writers would over look a player who was (statistically) flirting with a triple crown. Instead award the MVP to a "Juicer" who was only popular with the sports writers.

Until recently my thoughts would have been very much right on line with that Joe Morgan belief that the best players deserve to be MVP's and Allstar's................Well that just might be the case next year when they become popular from all of those great stats. Then the Joe Bucks of the broadcast industry can come along and powder their noses and make stars out of them all......................LOL!


But enough about those of us that are critical about baseball......................Perhaps we study the game way too much. Maybe it's the 8,10 or 12 yr. old fans that would rather see their hometown hero in the Allstar game. Instead of that new player in the league, that no one can pronounce his name and is batting near .400 at the Allstar break.

If we had a game for the best players in the league it would have to be called: "The categorically best in the league game" (CBIL)
As for me I'll continue to cast my vote every year for my favorite players and the ones that I feel deserve it. Like I always have.