I have started up another blog off the Fox Sports site that I'll be using a lot in the future.  My other blog will feature my thoughts on areas outside the realm of sports.  I'll also be doing some sports blogging as well, and all sports posts will appear on both this blog and my new blog, starting today.  I had the desire to venture out beyond sports, and I hope some of you check it out.  (The venturing beyond sports thing starts in the near future, the only post on the new blog is the exact same one you'll find below.)  You can find my new blog at manrub.blogspot.com

When it comes to certain aspects of life, I am a bit of a masochist. I love eating incredibly spicy foods, having a nasty hangover, and subjecting myself to painfully bad television. I indulged my masochistic side last night, but it wasn't through food (my dinner was a delicious meatball sandwich), nor was it via a hangover (who has time to drink when you've been stuck at work until 7:00 all week?). My self-inflicted pain came from the television set, specifically Fox Sports New England's broadcast of the Boston Celtics taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. Any New Englander will tell you that enduring a full Celtics game these days is worse than a thousand kicks to the crotch.

This year's Celtics team is as awful as I can remember in my (short) lifetime. The C's have lost 13 in a row, tying a franchise record that was last tied in the woeful M.L. Carr era. They suck at home and on the road. The team is 2-19 since Paul Pierce was injured back in December. I don't have any basketball experience, but even I'm questioning some of the coaching moves by Doc Rivers. Sebastian Telfair, supposedly the point guard of the future, is horrendous. Tony Allen, who put together some promising performances during this slide, blew out his knee on an unnecessary dunk and is out of action for the rest of the season. One of the few bright spots has been the play of young forward Al Jefferson, who is averaging a double-double this season.

Outside of Jefferson's play, the Celtics are a team that is nearly devoid of reasons for optimism for the near future. Young players like Kendrick Perkins, Ryan Gomes, Delonte West, and Rajon Rondo have all shown flashes of brilliance this season, but none looks to be more than a solid, but not spectacular, player going forward. Gerald Green has the potential to be great, but his game needs to mature a lot before he can carry the team. Many people (myself included) are already writing off Sebastian Telfair as a total bust. Peering five years into the future, it is conceivable that a team led by Green and Jefferson, and aided by a then-aging Paul Pierce, could make a decent playoff run. Any dreams of success in the next two years, however, are nonsense.

What can the Celtics accomplish from now until the season's conclusion? Some may say that they should cut their losses and tank the season, hoping for one of the first few picks in the draft. Others may say that wins and losses don't matter at this point, so the team should play their younger guys as much as possible. I don't subscribe to either course of action. The Celtics should play to win every game for the rest of the season. More than anything else, the young players need to learn what it takes to win games. If using veterans like Wally Sczcerbiak and Brian Scalabrine is what it takes to achieve maximum victories, then that's the course the Celtics should take. Losing games won't guarantee that the ping pong balls fall in place in the draft. Even if the Celtics make a strong run to close out the season, they'll still likely miss the playoffs and have at least a fighting chance to get Greg Oden (who could be great) or Kevin Durant (who could be greater).

The future may be bright for the Celtics, but the present is pathetic. I'll keep watching, however. After all, I am a masochist.