NFC South Preview: Doggies, Hurricanes, and the like

Each of the contributors is going to be previewing one division and the remaining divisions will be assigned to several guest writers. We're going to try to do about one or two per week until the start of the season.

Ever since the Texans joined the league and there was realignment, I always looked at this division as the awkward division. The Panthers are still a pretty new team in my eyes, thus no rivalries have been formed. And the Buccaneers were just kind of pried away from the Central, which killed Favre’s “rivalry” (if you can call it that) with Warren Sapp and the Buccaneers. It also forced upon the average football fan another hopeful rivalry of Vick vs. Tampa’s defense. Yawn. The only constant here is the Falcons and Saints being in the same division. Not much history here, but recently many storylines have surfaced among these four teams.

Glass Half Full Storylines that may or may not interest you

1. Bruce Gradkowski to Maurice Stovall was the most electrifying play in sports

A friend of the blog’s went to the same high school as Bruce (Seton La Salle in Pittsburgh). She (yes, she) informed me that when the Buccaneers were playing the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Gradkowski visited his old school to the tune of a rally. Oh yeah, and t-shirts that said “Seton La Salle Grad(kowski).” Those clever Pittsburghers. The glass half full news? Gradkowski won’t be starting anymore. Phew. Jeff Garcia was acquired in the offseason and will take the helm (unless Chris Simms steals the job-- you do have to feel bad for him), which should be an improvement despite the horrendous offensive line of the Bucs. And Michael Clayton can’t have another bad season. Can he?

2. Reggie Bush, DeAngelo Williams, and Steve Smith have talent

And the best part for the Reginald? He has a very good offensive line, quarterback, and receivers around him to help him out. Bush’s talents can’t really be put into words-- he just gives you a scare every single time he touches the ball. As far as Williams and Smith go, that offense should be scary. The Panthers didn’t have much of a running attack last year with their subpar offensive line and DeShaun Foster limping around. I feel like he got injured a little bit too late in the season for DeAngelo to make his rightful impact. This year, DeAngelo should be getting more carries and I couldn’t be more excited. The little shit has some moves and I think he will ultimately give the Panthers more of a ground threat, lightening the focus on Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson Dwayne Jarrett. I would be picking the Panthers to go far this season because of their very above average defense (especially the line-- Kris Jenkins, Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker), but Jake Delhomme just doesn’t do it for me. Sorry. If David Carr takes over his job, then we’ll start talking.

3. The Saints rid themselves of Joe Horn

Good for them. And the kicker? They get to dick all over him two games a year now that he is with the Falcons. Suckers.

Glass Half Empty Storylines

1. No one feels bad for you anymore, New Orleans

Sorry, guys. This year you will have to actually win games by using such attributes like ability and talent. Katrina has since passed and the Saints’ defense is going to have to start contributing to football games since other teams will be trying. That sucks for Saints fans. At least Reggie Bush and Brees are, you know, pretty good.

2. Joey Harrington, it’s your show

ESPN already beat me to the “Cousin Padraig won The Open, so now its Joey’s turn to take advantage of the luck of the Irish” angle, so it looks like I’ll have to go another way. And I’m not looking to tie in his other cousin, Dan (poker professional-- a pretty successful family, that bunch). Joey Harrington really isn’t all that bad of a quarterback, as he proved in Miami with a few good outings until he lost running back Ronnie Brown and his helpfulness to an injury. He was drafted #3 overall in 2002 by the Detroit Lions, which was clearly a disaster waiting to happen. The Lions were awful in the three years with him at quarterback, but he did steadily improve for the most part. Anyway, things could be worse. It should be an exciting interesting year to be a Falcons fan

The Train Wrecks (Completely Empty Glass) Storylines

1. The Buccaneers Defensive Ends Get Senior Citizen Perks

Three of their ends add up to 32 years in the league (Greg Spires, Simeon Rice, and Kevin Carter). Gaines Adams was their first draft pick, but he is probably going to need a year to adjust. As for Chris Hovan and Ryan Sims and the interior line? They’re pretty bad.

2. Mike Vick will be Getting Friendly with Jail Security Guards

I won’t even waste your time with errant jokes.

3. Cadillac Jokes Still Aren’t Funny

Like many others, I am sick of the “Cadillac just needs a tune up” or “Cadillac needs to go in the garage for a week to rest” jokes. Can we all agree that he just sucks?

Predictions

Like I said above, this division is just awkward. The only serious threats of doing anything are the Saints and Panthers.

As for the Saints, their offensive line and weapons are scary as hell. The only question mark is their defense-- I just can’t take them seriously. Their line and secondary aren’t awful, but their linebackers are a joke. When you’ve got guys named Scott Shanle, Scott Chicken Fujitas (I bet he’s never heard that one before), and Brian Simmons starting, its time to start re-evaluating your play.

I personally think the Panthers are scarier than the Saints, just because their defense is frightening. If Delhomme gets it together or Carr takes over and gets something going, this is going to be a tough team to beat. I feel like I’ve loved the Panthers in the preseason for the past 4 years. Since I’m stubborn, I’ll take them to win the division at 11-5. Saints 10-6. The rest-- who cares.

I Want to Fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

“I will beat him all the way back to England.” This quote came from the “retired” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. a little over a month ago, and no, he wasn’t talking about David Beckham. Shockingly, Floyd is ready to jump back in the ring, and the fight is being promoted by Golden Boy. Wow, Floyd really is sincere in what he says. He ragged on Golden Boy Promotions and said he was done with boxing. Three months later, he’s announced another fight with them.

As suspected, “Pretty Boy” will meet Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton on December 8th at the MGM Grand in Vegas. Yippie! Hatton has already said he’s going to fight at his junior welterweight size of 140 lbs. This means he’ll be fighting not only a quicker, more skilled fighter, but one that weighs 7 lbs more. Mayweather will almost certainly come in at the 147 lb. requirement as he realizes that Hatton (or any one for that matter) isn’t going to be able to beat him with speed. This is such a ridiculous fight. If money didn’t exist, there would no plausible explanation for it.

Mayweather said he’s going to knock Hatton out, and unfortunately I think he’s right! I mentioned this many articles ago when the fight seemed to be in the workings, but I’ll say it again: on fight night, Ricky Hatton’s face will be a dart board, and Mayweather will be throwing bull’s eyes. How can Ricky expect to use his style of always moving forward and bullying if he’s 7lbs lighter than Floyd? I just don’t get it. Mayweather has faster hands/better foot speed than anyone in boxing, so trying to beat him with those two things is like buying diapers 2hrs after taking an ALLI.

Look how Castillo (almost) beat Floyd. He just kept moving forward and bullying Mayweather. He wouldn’t let Floyd off the ropes. He was bigger, and Floyd didn’t know what to do. Hatton’s only chance is taking a similar approach. Bulk up, take chances, catch Floyd on the ropes, and turn it into a fight.

I’ll just come out now and predict a knockout in the middle rounds. I don’t think Hatton’s going to be able to do anything! He doesn’t move his head and walks right into big punches. Floyd isn’t a power puncher, but with his technical prowess, he will slowly dismantle Hatton. I can’t wait to see Hatton’s face in between the 4th and 5th round if he’s still in the fight. He’s going to look ridiculous.

I just wish Floyd would have taken a fight with Cotto! I swear that article about PBF dodging fights and being overrated is coming. If he keeps it up, I might just have to challenge him myself. I could get down to 147 lbs in 1 month. Hell, it’s only 12 pounds.


This Weekend: Eric Morales (48-5) and David Diaz (32-1) are fighting in Chicago Saturday night at the Rosemont Horizon (I don’t know the new name of the arena, so I’m still calling it by the old one). Morales goes after his fourth world title in a fourth diffrent weight class, and Diaz is attempting to measure himself against one of boxing’s true legends. I still haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to go to this fight, but if I do, I will keep a running journal. I wish I had a laptop, so I could do some ringside blogging, and then have my “corner man” translate it into Spanish. Please check out HBO on Demand (if you have it) and watch the short highlight reel of Morales. If not, got to Youtube and check out some highlights of him vs. Marco Antonio Barrera. He has been in some freakin’ battles. The man is a warrior, but at 31 he may have already fought too many times and taken too many big punches.

I think Diaz is actually older than Morales, but he’s a lot fresher. He’s fought lesser opponents and hasn’t taken the same abuse dished out to Morales by Barrera and Manny Pacquiao 3x apiece. I haven’t even begun breaking down the fight yet, so you’ll have to wait on my prediction. On the undercard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., an up and coming undefeated welterweight and son of the boxing legend Chavez Sr., will try to show he’s more than just a name. He fought on the Cotto v. Judah undercard, and was impressive from what I remember. I think this one could be worth the PPV cash if you get 4-5 people to throw down on it. HBO will give you three hours of coverage for 5-7 bucks a pop. Kind of like going to a movie, minus all of the sweet Bruce Willis Jackass comments!. (Inside joke)

AFC North Preview

Each of the contributors is going to be previewing one division and the remaining divisions will be assigned to several guest writers. We're going to try to do one or two a week until the start of the season. Here's the first one.

1. Ravens

I’m picking the Ravens to go 11-5, but make no mistake; this is a better team than the one that went 13-3 last year. They added Willis McGahee who will add much more diversity to their offense attack than they’ve had in the past. Not only is he more of a cut back runner with big play potential but he will also improve their passing game. With better hands than Jamal Lewis they will be able to run more screens and flares. Also, unlike Lewis, McGahee is comfortable in single back sets, meaning they will be able to use three WRs more often and spread the field. McNair just needs to stay healthy for the entire season again.

On defense the Ravens should still be pretty dominating. I mean they do have God’s Linebacker on their team. The only real question mark is how they will replace DE/LB Adalius Thomas who cashed in with the Patriots. More than likely they will turn to former backup Jarret Johnson, with Antwan Barnes and Dan Cody also seeing some time on third down.

The Ravens do have a pretty tough schedule, at one point playing at San Diego, then coming home to play New England and Indianapolis. But I expect them to match up well against division foes, going 5-1 and taking the division.

2. Steelers

I’m very excited about the start of the Mike Tomlin era. I loved Cowher, but he just didn’t seem motivated last year. I think Tomlin will bring a breath of fresh air while retaining a no-nonsense attitude. Here’s what he said when he was asked why he was wearing long sleeves in the ninety degree heat at training camp: “Its part of the mental warfare. I don’t want guys coming up to me telling me how hot it is because they know I don’t care. I hope it gets hotter.” Not quite the same as Mangini playing Mozart during practice.

The only significant loss the Steelers suffered was Joey Porter, who, in my opinion had become very one dimensional. They’ll look to replace him with draft picks Lawrence Timmons and Lamar Woodley. Timmons didn’t get off to a great start in training camp and word is he’s already slipped on the depth chart, but Woodley has been very impressive. They didn’t really do much to improve their secondary which was sometimes prone to big plays, but Polamalu should be completely healthy so that should help.

While the Steelers don’t have any significant new personnel on offense they do have a new offensive coordinator, former wide receivers coach Bruce Arians. Hopefully he will not only involve the receivers more (especially Santonio Holmes, who seems poised for a breakout year), but get the ball to TE Heath Miller who has some of the best hands in the league and was woefully underutilized last season. The question that everyone is asking is whether Roethlisberger’s struggles last year were the result of his off the field misfortunes or just evidence that he is nothing more than a good game manager who is not capable of throwing more than 25 passes a game effectively. Only time will answer that one.

I have them going 9-7 and 3-3 in the division.

3. Browns

Most people expect the Browns to be terrible. I disagree for several reasons. Regardless of who starts at QB (hint: not Brady) they will be much improved because of the upgrade in the offensive line. First-round pick Joe Thomas is signed and hardly missed any time in training camp. They signed the best available offensive lineman Eric Steinbach (from Iowa) and also should have LeCharles Bentley, who was the best available lineman from last year’s free agent class, returning. These three very large men should also help new running back Jamal Lewis . He may not be the same RB who rushed for 2,000 yards in ’03 but he’s definitely an upgrade over Reuben Droughns. His coke business might suffer in Cleveland though.

I know they haven’t really improved that much on defense but I think the D will gain confidence simply because they won’t be forced to stay on the field for 45 minutes a game.

I’m predicting that Browns go 9-7. Wait, before you ask me if I’m smoking crack (someone already did), look at their schedule. They play the Raiders, Dolphins, Texans, Bills, Cardinals and 49ers. If they can win one division game and surprise say, the Jets and Seahawks, that would put them right there. Ok, so maybe 8-8 is more likely, but it’s more fun to put them ahead of the Bengals. Anyway, they still go 1-5 in the division (their lone with coming in Week 1 against Pittsburgh).

4. Bengals

I don’t understand why everyone is assuming the Bengals are a lock to finish second in the division this year. Yes their offense is good. It was good last year too and it didn’t get them into the playoffs. They also lost some key players. Chris Henry is suspended for half the season and with all that time on his hands a marijuana or gun charge seems pretty likely. He may be suspended longer, who knows? Eric Steinbach and Kelley Washington are also gone and they only have basically one tight end.

The bottom line is that without a serviceable defense it doesn’t matter how good the offense is. The Colts already proved that. They did add Leon Hall at CB but they are really going to miss Odell Thurman and David Pollack. I’ve watched Chinedum Ndukwe at Notre Dame; he’s not that good. Leon Hall on the other hand is a pretty good pick and should add to the already solid secondary.

The Bengals will finish 8-8 this year and 3-3 in the division.

The Way I Live

Oh, the sweet sounds of a podcast. I think I am the only one that listens to these things, which is sad because I'm the one talking. I guess it just keeps feeding that already full ego of mine.

PMPC (This one is better. Sorry about that last one. Anyone listening must have been confused as hell.)


Best and enjoy the work day! The piture is from part of a joke I pulled via text yesterday. Basically, it involves me hooking up with someone who is later found out to be Big Boy.

Guy’s Favorite “Guys” (Vol. 2 [Concert Edition])

Wednesday night, I attended the Incubus concert in Cleveland with my girlfriend (adorable, isn’t it?). Talk about an absolute gold mine of guys. I don’t even know if I will be able to sleep tonight after writing and publishing the article. It’s like ripping off Isiah in a trade.

Rocking Out and Maybe a Little Too Old for this Stuff Guy

You know this one. He’s a 30, maybe even a 40-something. Bandana, ripped jeans and cut off or a band t-shirt (possibly from the glory days). He’s putting up his "rocking out" sign with pride and awkwardly dancing around. I’m guessing he is the guy that still talks about “that big play he made in the football game against the rivals back in high school.” To sum it up? An absolute shame.

Wearing the T-shirt of the Band that is Playing Guy

Props to Jeremy Piven’s character on PCU for this one. Maybe not many are familiar with that movie, but he cracks a similar joke. In short, you don’t want to be “that guy.” (Note: sometimes he and a little too old for this stuff guy go hand in hand).

So pissed off that he is at the concert because he had to bring his kid(s) Guy

At an indoor-outdoor type venue like Time Warner Cable Amphitheater, guys like these stick out like sore thumbs. They are about as far back in the standing area as they can be and just look bored to death. I’d rather not talk about this now because I just imagine myself being this guy in about 20 years taking my daughter to see 2023’s American Idol winner.

Shirt Off with Intense Body Odor Guy

Part of me sympathizes with these guys, because they are usually really sweaty and just get desperate, so the first thing to go is the shirt. I’m a sweater, so I understand the discomfort-- I just feel these are the kinds of things you need to know about me. What I don’t get is why every time I see one of these guys, I feel like they’re bumping into me on purpose. Oh, and they smell like complete shit.

Knows All of the Band Members First Names Guy

Man, aren’t these guys cultured? He talks about Brandon on the vocals or Jose bangin’ those drums like he’s been next door neighbors with them since they were in grade school (I did have to look up Jose’s name; just letting you know I wasn’t that guy tonight). “Man, Mike really goes to town on this solo coming up.” You guys are so chill.

Honorable mentions:

• Random Dancing Girl(s)-- a lock for every concert
• Hacky Sack Guys-- pretty standard depending on the show (see: punk rock)
• Annoying Little Girls that Scream and Yell about the Cute Lead Singer-- usually the daughter(s) of So pissed off that he is at the concert because he had to bring his kid(s) Guy
• Drunk and Singing Along Obnoxiously Guy-- a distant cousin of Wearing the T-shirt of the Band that is Playing Guy
  

Please note that a few “girls” made honorable mention. Usually I try to restrict my rules as pretty close to the vest, but with an event going on like a concert, exceptions need to be made.

That pretty much sums it up. In case you were wondering, it was a pretty decent concert. (Stop reading if you don’t know/like Incubus). They didn’t even play Pardon Me, Stellar, or Warning! But they did end the show with Aqueous Transmission, which was cool. That’s all.

The Ohio Bridesmaids: We Care about "Who's Now"

Not again, and not ESPN. I’m beginning to think this is some kind of sick joke.We’ve already documented the 2^nd place finishes of the Ohio State Buckeye football and basketball teams, as well as the crushing defeat of the the Cavaliers at the hands of the French flag waving Tony Parker and his Spurs. Next, came the loss of the Columbus Destroyers in the Arena whatever you call it. However, we thought the insanity was over until the Cleveland Indians made an improbable run to the World Series only to suffer a loss to whichever NL team plays poorly enough to sneak in. (I won’t even begin to touch on the rumors of Michael Vick’s planned midseason raid of the Dawg Pound.)

Now, we find out that Lebron James is facing Tiger Woods in ESPN’s “Who’s Now” championship. You’ve got to be kidding me. Lebron navigated through his tough bracket defeating Kelly Slater, who’s nickname in the bracket was the fitting “Who’s That”. I think she may have been in Playboy, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. In the semifinals, Lebron took down Shaquille O’Neil, setting up a match-up with ESPN’s “King of Swing” Tiger Woods. We all know how this one is going to end.

I’m pretty sure Tiger doesn’t lose unless he wants to. One would be foolish to assume he’s not going to do everything in his power to ensure victory, even if that means skipping his preparation for the PGA Championship to vote for himself 1 million times over the next day. Hey, the guy is an absolute nut. So, the trend will most certainly continue regardless of any attempt by Stuart Scott to sway the vote with his “Boo-Yahs” and “Cooler than the other side of the pillow’ references during Lebron’s highlight package.

We were beginning to think that Ohio, the bridesmaid, would eventually get her chance. I guess that’s not the case. Ohio is like the really fat, ugly bridesmaid who lost her shot at getting married a few too many twinkies ago. The state of Florida crushed any Ohio State Buckeye title hopes, and now it looks like one of its residents will do the same. It’s unfortunate, a “Who’s Now” victory would have completely made up for the other crushing Ohio defeats. Wait, not at all, but it would have been a start. A really, really small and annoying start.

Damn, Lebron even played second fiddle to Kimmel at the ESPY’s.

(This was a Guy Production in association with Poor Man's Entertainment. All information contained above came from Guy who was attending a concert and had no internet access.)

The Crap Your Pants Diet

Drug company GlaxoSmithKline has created the first over the counter weight loss pill (called Alli) and it’s creating quite a stir. Why? Well, because it makes you shit yourself. Seriously. The manufacturer has been up front about the potential side effect, yet it still seems to be selling well. It seems if you intake more than the recommended amount of fat there can be some uncontrollable side effects.

“I’ve pooped my pants 3 times today, and sorry to get descriptive but it even leaked onto the couch at one point!” writes one user.

Another user writes:, “Ya know how when you start moving around in the morning you pass a little gas. Well, I did and then went into the bathroom and to my horror I had an orange river of grease running down my leg.”

There have even been stories of people running to the bathroom at work with poop running down their leg. Eww. That’s just sick.

But it really is a novel idea. If the thought of shitting yourself in public isn’t enough to make you eat healthier then I don’t see what is.

Diet Pill's Icky Side Effects Keep Users Honest

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pedophile

written by special guest KingKongBundy

In light of the final Harry Potter book being released and the fanaticism that follows I thought I would pass on a story that I find all in all disturbing.

So as I am sitting in sitting at my desk typing up my cover letter on my TPS reports, my co-worker Ryan, sends me an IM telling me that if I want to see the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life, to go to the following link http://media.universalorlando.com/harrypotter.

This is the new Universal Orlando Harry Potter Theme Park. Now let me inform you this is a 37 year old, white, male, has two sons, and his s/n is GenericWhiteMale (Thank you “How to Catch a Predator”). I rarely, though ever so often, do I hear a grown man talk about Disneyland like it’s the greatest place on earth, but this man could not shut up about this Disneyland-style theme park.

Now the part that concerns me, after watching a marathon of Chris Hansen’s ground breaking “How to Catch a Predator” I can not help but think, when are they going to air the special edition “How to Catch a Predator: Harry Potterland Edition”??

Now let me lay this out for you, do you know what will be available at this theme park?

1) Riding Broomsticks (We all know how this goes)

2) Wielding Wands (We all know Chris Henry’s Magic Stick will be there)

3) Flicking Bernie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans (We mean every flavor)

If this is all not a perfect recipe for a Pedophile’s dreamland, please tell what is.
In conclusion, do you want this man dueling wands with your kids?

It's Delivery, not DiGiorno

In the recent past, rumors have swirled about regarding the heist that Log's Blog and friends were attempting to pull on both pizza places and Cleveland athletes (primarily Damon Jones). Tuesday night, all of our dreams came true. However, I regret to inform you that there is no photographical evidence due to the bad quality of the pictures/videos we tried to take. It was simply too dark to get anything even close to good. But allow me to paint you a little picture.

At about 10:00pm, five men with a plan started their trek from Jacobs’ Field to the neighborhood of Damon Jones. Sadly, he was not home to take part in the festivities that were about to take place at his house. It was ignorant of us to think that a guy like Damon Jones would be home on any night of the week. Anyway, a simple order of 2 large pizzas, Howie Bread, and a two-liter were on their way from Hungry Howie’s-- but Damon wasn’t there to feast. The delivery man still put on a great show as we followed him back to Howie’s home base, as he appeared quite pissed off while explaining the ordeal to his co-workers (and rightfully so).

After the amusing, yet disappointing, run at Damon’s house, Paul Byrd’s was next on the agenda. Upon staking out the scene to get a good grip on the situation, Byrd was easily viewable in his living room, hanging out with no shirt on, which was easily the highlight of the night at this point (we’ve gotta look into getting Rich Garces’ address). Then, Coop called in the pizza from Papa Johns at about 11:30pm (two large pizzas, one with green peppers and pepperoni, one with sausage and mushrooms, cheese sticks, and a two-liter of Coke-- in case you were wondering). At first, the plan was to be on foot, “just taking a stroll through the neighborhood.” After realizing how bad of an idea it was, we just parked the car on the opposite side of the street of Byrd’s house, where the front door was right in our sites. Then we waited-- after all, Papa Johns gave us a 40 minutes to an hour time-frame. After about 45 minutes, the delivery car pulls into the driveway. A pizza girl (yes, girl) strolled up with the pizza not knowing what was about to hit her. She knocked. Nothing. She knocked again. Nothing. Then she went back to the car, looking to make a phone call to the number that we gave Papa Johns (which just happened to be a friend back home who was waiting for the call). She called and I’m sure the conversation went something like this--

Pizza girl-- I’m outside of your house with your order sir
Our intoxicated friend-- Yeah I’ll be right down thanks!

She goes back up. Knocks again. Still nothing. Knocks one more time-- and there he is! Paul Byrd himself flicks on the porch lights and tells the girl to go away! And the kicker-- he’s pitching Wednesday night! I swear to God I didn't even know until after the fact.

Sorry, Paulie. We love you, but it had to be done.

(Note: A special thanks to everyone involved. You know who you are)

Complimenting Ainge and McHale: What in the hell is going on?

I’m still not sure that Kevin Garnett has actually been traded as I’ve been hearing his name on the block for the better part of 10 years, but I have to believe the photos I saw of him standing in between Paul Pierce and Ray Allen weren’t just the creation of a photoshop extraordinaire. In the photo, Garnett is holding up his new #5 Celtics jersey. I suspect its one of five numbers yet to be retired by the Celtics, and wholeheartedly believe Garnett originally vetoed any trade to the Celtics because his jersey choices were being severely restricted. If the Big Three all perform well for Boston, their jerseys will be retired and the next big star to sign with the Celtics will be forced to take a decimal number or one in the triple digits. Thank god Bill Walton’s knees were shot when he signed with the Celtics!

The trade has the city of Boston buzzing, and the Celtics have a legitimate shot of making it to the NBA finals assuming Ainge’s master plan doesn’t involve the Big Three playing five on three. The Celtics had to give up their core of young talent to get Garnett, and are left filling in the smaller pieces of the puzzle both at point guard and the center position. The # of players traded by the Celtics for Garnett actually broke the record for most given up in one trade. The Rockets held the record previously, giving 6 players up when they acquired Scottie Pippen.

Saying all of that, I think the trade was beneficial to both parties involved. The T-Wolves acquired Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomez, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff and his expiring contract, and good old Bassy Telfair. They will have some wiggle room once they deal with Ratliff and Jefferson is one of the most talented young low post players in the league. Gerald Green is insanely gifted athletically, and if he progresses as expected, we can expect big things out of him for years to come. McHale will also be able to build through the draft as they acquired the rights to two future draft picks from the Celtics. I won’t comment on Telfair as he’ll be kicked out of the League by 2009. Overall, I think the T-Wolves got what they could for Garnett, and the deal works better than the speculated trades which had Garnett being moved to Phoenix or LA. McHale actually handled the situation properly, and is probably secretly rooting for the Celtics to win a championship anyway, so it seems pretty logical.

People have to give Ainge two big thumbs up if this was part of his “master plan.” He realized his time in Boston was nearing an end if the Celtics didn’t immediately make roster updates. From what I gathered, the Celtics and the city of Boston weren’t willing to wait another 3-5 years as their young nucleus of talent developed. The city wants a championship now, and Ainge gives them a shot at winning one. He was able to hold onto Paul Pierce, pick up Ray Allen on draft day, and then use those players to make the trade worthwhile for Garnett. KG wants to win, and Ainge was able to convince him that Boston was the place it was most likely to happen.

Doc Rivers doesn’t have any excuses now. I’ve tended to back off as others have voiced their opinions about his shitty coaching, but now its time to git’r’done! (First Larry the Cable Guy reference on the blog. I am both shocked and saddened by this.) Garnett, Piece, and Allen are all perennial all-stars, and one could argue they are top three players at each of their respective positions. More importantly, they are all unselfish team guys, and I’ll guarantee there will be enough shots to go around. Garnett is perfectly content averaging 15-17 a game, and doing more damage on the boards and defensive end of the court. He actually deferred too much in Minnesota in an attempt to get other players involved. If his mentality remains unchanged on the offensive end, he’ll now be deferring to two big time scorers in Piece and Allen.

The Celtics need to continue Rondo’s development (or pick up a veteran point guard who distributes) and handle their situation at center. Currently, Kendrick Perkins is projected to be their big man, but he’s played 2.5 seasons in the NBA and is averaging 4 points a game. If he develops, or they can pick up a veteran center, they will have a legitimate shot at competing with teams out West. Remember, the days of dominating centers in the NBA seem to be over for the most part. I can only think of Yao off the top of my head.

Garnett, Pierce, and Allen are all somewhere between the ages of 30-32 which means they have at least 3-4 years to win a championship. The team could be scary a few years down the road if they gel, and better pieces are picked up to fill out the team. I don’t think the age issue is relevant here. Short-term it makes sense as they can continue meshing and still probably navigate their way through the shitty East!

Injuries have plagued Allen and Pierce recently, but if they remain healthy, look out. I don’t see any team in the Eastern conference being able to beat them in a 7 game series if those three are on the court at the same time. I’m usually skeptical when teams try to create a “mini-all star” team, but in fact, that was the most effective strategy in the 80’s when the Celtics and Lakers were winning so many championships. (Bird, McHale, Parrish/ Magic, Worthy, Kerem)

I am really excited to see how this plays out. Balancing the league and getting talent to move back east will help make for a better NBA product. I can’t make fun of Ainge or McHale this time. They did a damn good job of creating a deal that seems to make sense for both parties. Other teams in the East will be forced to make moves, which will increase competition. It’s only a start, but a damn good one if things work out the way I hope.