NOTE: This blog was written on Monday prior to the bombings in Boston. It was decided, by myself, that it was an inappropriate time to release this blog then. Having been there, a mere five blocks away from the bombings at the time, I can’t put into words how scary it actually was. Below is a link from Tuesday”s New Hampshire Sports Night where I try to do just that. Our thoughts and prayers are not only with the victims, but also the city of Boston and the proud region of New England.
Now, on to the blog…
Back in New Hampshire and getting my feet under me, I’m excited to be home. That’s right I said home. Anyway, the Final Fours (both of them) were a blast. Probably my favorite part was seeing the unlicensed merchandise stands outside the Georgia Dome selling red t-shirts that said “Won It For Kevin” in black lettering on them. Showing that anyone will do anything to make a buck. Nonetheless, the Final Four was an awesome experience, if you haven’t been start making your plans for Dallas and next April, it’s awesome. Baseball season is starting to pick up steam and the NBA playoffs are all but set. It’s going to be a difficult task for the Celtics to do anything going forward but with Garnett and Piece relatively rested, it’s possible that they could make a run.
Chris Ryan, Jeanne Lester and I checked out The Black Crowes on Thursday night in Boston and they rocked. To be honest, I don’t really listen to them. I only did because their drummer, Steve Gorman, is a friend (and killer sports host on Nashville’s 102.5 The Game). I was super impressed and they played for like two hours. I’m a country fan, but I really did like The Black Crowes. If you have the chance to see them on the road this summer, you’re missing out if you don’t go.
A special Sports Night reminder, we’ll be at Kimball’s CAV’ern in Pembroke on Thursday night and the recently engaged Luke Bonner will serve as co-host for the event. Special thanks to Bob Cavanaugh and the fine folks at Kimball’s, go check them out today!
The Boss is Back
Am I the only person somewhat surprised at the level of professionalism that the Red Sox have this year with John Farrell running the show? Sure I knew that Farrell was going to bring some sort of order to Sox, but this team compared with last year’s and probably some teams at the end of Francona’s tenure is night and day. Not only are the pitchers, specifically Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz, responding in big ways with their former chief back in the fray, but there is a different feeling with this Red Sox clubhouse than there was previously. The job Farrell has done can be compared to that of the job that East Dillon High School head coach Eric Taylor did on NBC’s hit series Friday Night Lights, where Taylor took his lowly destitute justification for a football program and ended up beating the mighty Dillon Panthers at the end of their first season. That being said, baseball season is still young, and the Red Sox still have a bevy of questions that must be answered, Wait until mid-June before we can decide whether this is actually a playoff team, but if they keep pitching this way, it’s entirely possible.
He Went There
The Orlando Magic are an atrocious excuse for a basketball team. There’s no denying that. Especially for Boston’s Jason Terry, who after falling to Miami on Friday night said, “I don’t want to give [the Magic] any fuel but, they’re terrible.” The Celtics went on to win 120-88, so perhaps Terry has a future as an analyst, but was it a good idea to say that? I’m not a believer in lying, but sometimes you don’t always have to say exactly how you feel. If someone asked me out and I wasn’t attractive to them, how do you think they’d feel if I said “well, I don’t want to make you feel bad, but you’re physical appearance simply isn’t up to par, nor are you all that fun to be around so unfortunately I am choosing to go in a different direction”? I’d be the #1 jerk in the world (up from my current spot on the leaderboard at #7…I’m coming for you Dwight Howard). In the end, it doesn’t matter, because Terry was right (and to be perfectly honest, I like Jason Terry and he is nothing but nice, honest and professional with me), but had they lost, he would have looked like a complete fool. I’m sure Doc Rivers was thrilled when he heard that.
The Road Should Always End Here
At the NCAA National Championship game, the saying on banners, ribbon boards and the like is “The Road Ends Here”. Very simplistic. The Final Four, like the Super Bowl, is in a rotating a city each year, giving cities the opportunity to bid for the event and then host it. I guess I’m okay with that for the Super Bowl, but why not put the Final Four in New Orleans every year? I went last year when the Men’s Final Four was in New Orleans, and this year when the Women’s Final Four was there. The Final Four in Atlanta was fun, but it was probably one-third as much fun as it was a year ago. Did I mention my team won the championship this year? New Orleans is a city that can use all the help it can get. The financial boom of hosting a Final Four every year would be huge for the city, the weather is usually serviceable (yeah I’m calling you out, Detroit), there are a plethora of hotels on Canal St., the airport is fairly easy to manage and the girls are always hot and the beer is ice cold. In fact, the NCAA always talks about how they do these things for the athletes; well I bet the athletes would like it to be in New Orleans, too. Most of sports’ biggest events are held in the same place; The Masters, The Kentucky Derby, The Daytona 500, the Boston Marathon, Wimbledon, BCS Bowl games, etc. Why not make the Final Four New Orleans’ annual top sporting event? Rotating events are meant for professional playoff contests and All-Star events. Honestly, who would want to go a Final Four in Salt Lake City? Let’s make sure that never happens.
Friend of Bone
Speaking of New Orleans, while on Bourbon Street last Sunday, I ran into a new “Friend of Bone”. Yes, that is Brittany Griner, a great job on the photography end by Eric Crawford of WDRB in Louisville, KY. There has been a lot of talk about Griner playing in the NBA. If we can have legitimate conversations about Griner playing in the NBA, can we have conversations about me winning a Grammy for top Country Artist? Griner is as much an NBA player as I am Kate Upton, and I believe that even discussing it makes me realize that people don’t believe that life on this planet is finite. If Griner struggles with the physicality of Louisville’s Sara Hammond, Monique Reid, Sherrone Vails and Antonita Slaughter, how is she going to fare against LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph or even Blake Griffin? Griner is 6’8”, so basically, she’s an inch taller than Paul Pierce. Pierce is a perimeter player, Griner isn’t. We have to end this conversation before I waste any more of life talking about Brittany Griner in the NBA.
Wife of Bone
Watching Adam Scott win The Masters made me think one thing, “this guy can have any girl he wants”. That’s a great predicament to be in. But it got me thinking, if I were in a position to where I could marry any woman in the world I wanted to, how would it change my thinking? Tom Brady was in that position, and he married the world’s top super model, so that tells you where his head is. What are the most redeeming qualities at that point? Would you marry a super model? Or would you marry a scientist who’s smarter than any girl you’ve ever met? How would you even think about looking for a woman without having a complete overload like in 2008 when your friends would bomb your BlackBerry and force it to shut down? If you are certain that you’re already married to that person, congratulations, you probably made the right choice. If not, you probably live the life of the five singers from the late 90’s pop group, O-Town in their song “Liquid Dreams”. No harm, no foul. However, if I was placed in that position, the one thing I know is this: I would marry whoever laughs at all of my dumb jokes. They say the key to a woman’s heart is to make her laugh, the key to mine is laughing at my pre-adolescences humor and finding my dumb decision making charming. There’s your cheat sheet, ladies. That being said, if Katie Holmes (as a 20 year old Joey Potter on Dawson’s Creek) were to be that girl, or if she had won a national championship, she’d have an inside track.
That’s all for the blog this weekend. Be sure to check out the show and of course, be sure head to Kimball’s CAV’ern on Thursday.
Jared
