tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66186372023-03-22T09:27:39.955-04:00Boston sports notes and commentaryStats Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comBlogger284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1143628544472031742006-03-29T05:34:00.000-05:002006-03-29T05:35:44.483-05:00

A few things about the Red Sox roster...It's too bad that Dustan Mohr is getting stuck in a numbers game with the Red Sox. He's hit well, and played decent defense too. Most likely, they'll hold onto Adam Stern since he was a rule 5 draftee. Tony Graffanino's ability to play all four infield positions will be missed, especially if Mike Lowell struggles at third and J.T. Snow's bat doesn't come

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1143455727917948282006-03-27T05:34:00.000-05:002006-03-27T05:35:27.930-05:00

The Celtics meltdown in the fourth quarter yesterday against Chicago reminded me of a lot of games from the first half of this season, when they lost several close games with poor play down the stretch. Not only did the Celtics fail to gain ground on the free-falling 76ers (who lost again to stay 5 ahead of Boston), but they are now 3 games behind the Bulls in the loss column. Philadelphia and

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1143368367240230362006-03-26T05:18:00.000-05:002006-03-26T05:19:27.563-05:00

Harry Sinden and the Bruins waved the white flag yesterday, firing GM Mike O'Connell. While I agree that it is better to let O'Connell go now instead of letting him continue to sign players to long-term deals, it was a strange signal to send to the team just a few hours before last night's game against Buffalo.Sinden appeared to be emotional at the 6pm press conference, describing O'Connell as a

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1143191986315730532006-03-24T04:19:00.000-05:002006-03-24T04:19:46.326-05:00

The Patriots are keeping Troy Brown in the fold, and have inquired about Eric Moulds and Keyshawn Johnson, which are all positive signs as they try to rebuild their receiver corps. Brown is clearly slowing down, but provides Tom Brady an important safety net. He's certainly more reliable than Reche Caldwell. Now we'll see if they can get Moulds or Johnson to fill the number 2 spot.Mike

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1143020283300369212006-03-22T04:36:00.000-05:002006-03-22T04:38:03.320-05:00

Adam Vinatieri agreed to terms with the Colts yesterday, and Patriots nation is getting nervous. This is the first major defection of the Belichick era, and give Colts GM Bill Polian credit for upgrading his kicker position while sticking it to his arch-rivals at the same time.I have mixed emotions about the move. Now I know how Red Sox fans when Carlton Fisk bolted for the White Sox.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142934950028487802006-03-21T04:54:00.000-05:002006-03-21T04:55:50.043-05:00

The Red Sox trade of Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena is yet another sign that Theo is building for the future, not 2006. Arroyo may have peaked the last two seasons, and was never going to win 17-20 games, but he would have been valuable as a long reliever and insurance behind an old starting rotation. Now it looks like Matt Clement will be sticking around and Lenny DiNardo will fill the long

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142851137998509332006-03-20T05:37:00.000-05:002006-03-20T05:38:58.010-05:00

Nice win by the Celtics yesterday. The Pacers are decimated by injuries, but it looked like they gave up in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics outscored them 31-17 to turn a close 72-71 game into a 103-88 rout. Doc Rivers missed the game due to the death of his father-in-law, and assistant Tony Brown filled in well. Brown took a chance at the start of the fourth quarter, keeping all of his

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142678173089632002006-03-18T05:35:00.000-05:002006-03-18T05:36:13.090-05:00

WR Reche Caldwell isn't a big name, but for now he's the Patriots number 2 wide receiver. The scary part is that 2005 was Caldwell's first season that you could even consider "decent". Caldwell's first two years in the league were marked by a poor work ethic, and when he started to turn it around in 2004, he tore knee ligaments six weeks into the season. You can check out his career stats at

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142678130906780362006-03-18T05:34:00.000-05:002006-03-18T05:35:30.916-05:00

It's been a dismal season for the Bruins, but their marketing department appears to be working overtime. They have plans for a "speed dating" promotion (gives new meaning to the phrase "shut out"), plus NESN has been advertising for a new reality show called "Be a Bruin" which will give fans a chance to experience life as an NHL player. I wonder if open auditions are next.

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142592143913526402006-03-17T05:40:00.000-05:002006-03-17T05:42:23.926-05:00

Last night's game reminded me of many Celtics games from the early-to-mid 80's, except that back then, it was the Celtics who would start slow and then recover to defeat overmatched opponents. Miami played horrible in the first quarter, looking disinterested and unfocused. In contrast, the Celtics were on fire, making up for their lousy shooting night in Memphis and sprinting to a 16 point lead

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142418142004087322006-03-15T05:21:00.000-05:002006-03-15T05:22:22.006-05:00

The Patriots have had better days. They officially lose David Givens, then Miami trades a second round pick for Duante Culpepper.The loss of Givens was expected, especially since Antwaan Randle-El signed that ridiculous contract with Washington. I doubt the Patriots trust Bethel Johnson to be a top 3 receiver, so they'll need to shop for some veteran help. While Terrell Owens has too much

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142418092473924512006-03-15T05:19:00.000-05:002006-03-15T05:21:32.486-05:00

Is it just me, or is the Memphis PA announcer the most obnoxious and annoying PA announcer in the NBA? While watching the Celtics last night, I kept wanting to turn the sound off. He reminded me of Dave Zinkoff, who spent 40+ years as the Spectrum PA guy in Philadelphia. I swear it used to take him 3 minutes to say "Julius Erving", as he drew out every syllable for as long as possible.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142329947560125352006-03-14T04:52:00.000-05:002006-03-14T04:52:27.563-05:00

There was a lot of talk in the offseason about the Red Sox treating 2006 as a rebuilding year, and waiting for prospsects such as Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester to lead the way in '07. So far, there is some evidence to support that. This year's starting rotation could include 4 players at or pushing 40: Schilling, Wakefield, Wells, and (still a long-shot) Clemens. The infield includes three

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142329929856718182006-03-14T04:51:00.000-05:002006-03-14T04:52:09.856-05:00

I recently read Danny Ainge quoted saying that he considers Raef LaFrentz a "core player" for the Celtics. LaFrentz has shown flashes, especially while playing center recently, but on a contending team he is strictly a role player who mixes three-point shooting with decent defense. Only Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West have demonstrated enough multi-dimensional ability over the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1142329882659562202006-03-14T04:50:00.000-05:002006-03-14T04:51:22.673-05:00

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Onside Kicks. Thanks to all who have visited over the past two years. Today also marks the debut of a new look and new focus for this blog. After two years of being exclusively a pro football blog, I'm switching gears and will now be writing about all of Boston's pro sports teams.Over the past few months, I'd grown a little bored with this blog. Last August

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1141899854378346872006-03-09T05:22:00.000-05:002006-03-09T05:24:14.393-05:00

Well, that's finally settled. The NFL owners voted 30-2 to approve the union's latest offer, and the CBA has been extended for 6 years. It was interesting to read how Paul Tagliabue stressed to the owners that labor peace and the cap had rapidly increased the value of their franchises. Businessmen can have a hard time looking at intangibles, and in this case the negotiations were being

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1141553037948218612006-03-05T04:59:00.000-05:002006-03-05T05:03:57.960-05:00

The negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA have descended into absurbity again. Yesterday, the two sides "broke off talks" at 3pm ET, with one representative declaring that the talks were "dead". Yet a few hours later, the two sides apparently agreed to meet again today. Either the media is getting used to spin the discussions, or two sides who can't agree on how to divide millions of dollars

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1141263764808666042006-03-01T20:41:00.000-05:002006-03-01T20:42:44.830-05:00

Are the NFL owners as stupid as their baseball counterparts? We'll find out the answer by the end of the week. The NFL owners are holding the line in negotiations with the players association, even though they are holding a knife to their own throats in the process. If the NFLPA can be believed, once the cap is allowed to expire they will never let it back in, which will dramatically alter the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1140949023860547792006-02-26T05:16:00.000-05:002006-02-26T05:17:04.526-05:00

The Patriots' handling of Adam Vinatieri's contact is a big story around the league. Unless he re-signs by Friday, he'll be a free agent, and I bet Bill Parcells is already salivating. While the Patriots refuse to pay anyone top dollar, I wonder if Parcells and Jerry Jones will show the same restraint. On the other hand, I doubt that the Patriots will try to give Vinatieri less money per year,

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1140690659186205302006-02-23T05:30:00.000-05:002006-02-23T05:30:59.196-05:00

Even with the NFL CBA negotiations bogged down, teams are moving forward with their plans for 2006. The Jets have been active, restructuring Curtis Martin's contract, franchising John Abraham again, playing hardball with Chad Pennington, and releasing Ty Law. While Abraham will complain, he doesn't have much leverage. And the Jets are definitely doing the right thing with Pennington, who has

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1140343969926273472006-02-19T05:11:00.000-05:002006-02-19T05:12:49.940-05:00

Last week, via Baseball Musings, I found a series of articles in the Boston Herald with Red Sox owner John Henry. The passage that caught my eye was Henry's comments on baseball's luxury tax:"Baseball has to address the disincentives created by large scale transfers of revenue from successful clubs to less successful clubs," Henry said. "At high enough tax levels the incentive is to invest

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1139999031603334832006-02-15T05:23:00.000-05:002006-02-15T05:23:51.620-05:00

The eventful offseason for the New York Jets continued yesterday, as Chad Pennington was reportedly asked to take an $8 million pay cut. Pennington has missed major portions of the last two seasons with injuries, and was never known for a strong arm to begin with. With two desirable QBs available in the draft (Matt Leinart and Vince Young), and the Jets selecting fourth, the handwriting could

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1139653881118860582006-02-11T05:30:00.000-05:002006-02-11T05:31:21.133-05:00

Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt pulled out of the Oakland Raiders job search on Thursday, becoming the latest candidate to turn down Al Davis. Oakland has to be one of the worst jobs in football. With a meddling owner, a monstrosity for a stadium, and a bad team, it is a poor situation for any coach, never mind a first-time coach. Plus, you have to live in the shadow of San

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1139443424499934582006-02-08T19:01:00.000-05:002006-02-08T19:03:44.513-05:00

ESPN announced their new Monday Night Football broadcasting team today, and I think it has a good chance of being a success. The major headline was that Al Michaels is off the crew, something that was rumored even before the Super Bowl. Michaels will likely leave ABC and rejoin John Madden at NBC on Sunday nights. It's a good move for Michaels, who didn't have much to do at ABC anyway, and I

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618637.post-1139307465807030352006-02-07T05:17:00.000-05:002006-02-07T05:17:45.823-05:00

A few random thoughts on Super Bowl XL...Pittsburgh made two huge plays in the second half, starting with Willie Parker's Super Bowl record 75 yard TD run, and culmunating with WR Antwaan Randle El's 43 yard touchdown pass to MVP Hines Ward with just under 9 minutes to play. Randle El made history as the first WR to throw a TD pass in the Super Bowl, which was even more remarkable since he had

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14706421284694834043noreply@blogger.com