Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Where's the Beef?

I have recently been told that Certane, my blogging persona, has been made a permanent part of this blog. While I cannot speak to whether or not I am replacing individuals or simply being added, it is certainly an honor and a privilege that I will not take lightly. This post may not be the longest of entries but I just want to clean up some of the sports stories out there that are important to me. Apologies to Katz' article today(YOU CAN FIND IT UNDER THIS ONE) as I was unable to post this yesterday.

First off, I take offense to Da Bocker's remarks regarding the Celtics. I don't like the Yankees and from a competitive standpoint, I would prefer they did not trade for Todd Helton and Brian Fuentes(a recent rumor on ESPN) but to "despise" an entire city's sports based on the A-hole fans is stupid. As a Red Sox fan, I strive to not be a blind fan, and to a certain extent, I pride myself that I am not a stereotypical Red Sox fan. The anger in the words about Celtics fans "finding Durant as if they knew him" is just stupid and misplaced; perhaps a bit of jealousy because Bocker has been on the Bandwagon, following the guy for months. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Yankee fans, I find them, for the most part, to be elitist douchebags. Only informed fans are worth talking to, similar i am sure to Boston fans. But I don't root against them because of those fans, I root against them because of the competive nature of the rivalry. Which is exactly why I don't root against the Knicks, there is no real rivalry there at this moment. Sure Boston fans are overzealous based on love of sports but honestly; name me a professional sports team or fan that would not talk about a new acquisition at that talent level with great pride. I, myself, have adopted Reggie Bush in a similar fashion, just as the casual New York fan has latched onto Phillip Hughes or David Wright as if they had been dropped onto the face of the earth. Sure, Boston fans can annoy, in some cases, they have mastered the art but the whole paragraph, the whole reason given for the hatred of Boston sports fan is exactly how sports fans that do not have the time to follow college sports or check the minor league rosters are SUPPOSED to react and feel, Boston just has a knack for annoyance. There are casual fans, there are passionate fans, there are douchebag fans(quite a few of these can be found in Boston), there are informed fans. There is a difference and to despise the Celtics and root for them to miss out on the lottery based on the fans and not from a competitive stand point puts a person on the track to join the ranks of douchebag fans. C'mon its called following sports, Boston is annoying, say it and move on.

Then again maybe I am wrong. Maybe it is only Celtics Fans that root for guys like that. Because I'll bet Knick fans weren't obnoxious when they got Ewing. Each and every fan in New York already knew all about him. I'm sure no one reacted "as if he just popped onto this planet and they knew all there was to know about him"

Anyway, as far as the Celtics are concerned; it is devastating. I'm not going to play the unlucky card because as far as the Saints and Red Sox are concerned (screw the pats) I am in a good place sports wise. And also, I like the current Celtics team, they aren't terrible they just need one piece and a new coach / gm. Obviously Oden or Durant could have been that piece, now, its time to look elsewhere and get this team back on track. Lets get that guy outta Minny. I hear he can play a little bit.

And if Garnett comes over with Ricky Davis . . . so be it.

The Red Sox are on fire, they are dominating and Manny isn't even Manny yet. Basically they are gravy for right now, the Yanks may have taken 2 out of 3 but they just don't have that intimidating presence anymore. Its worse for them now than it was after blowing the 3-0 lead. I am just not afraid anymore; what happened to the Yankees? Was it all injuries? Was it poor planning? It is a little disappointing when my team loses 2 of 3 in the greatest rivalry ever and it doesn't concern me at all.

An Alphabet's worth of points on the recent NFL draft, the NFL, and other loose topics, I tried to Live Running Diary it but I got drunk and fell asleep half way through.
A) I really like JaMarcus Russel, everything I saw from him was impressive. Not very mobile though, I was confused when they compared him with McNabb.
B) Calvin Johnson was a stupid choice.
C) That isn't enough, if I hear one more person say that it was the right choice, I am going to vomit. They have wasted pick after pick on WR while the rest of their team decomposed. Peter King applauds Matt Millen; Kiper thought they finally found the right receiver to take. Every single analyst thought they had a fine draft. Are you serious? Their QB is Jon "Perennial Backup" Kitna. There defense is the epitome of terrible. Their Offensive line is a disgrace. Last year, they had Roy Williams and Mike Furrey (who was great for them). If you don't like the value trade down and take someone who is a better fit. The Lions barely improved in this draft and with LaRon Landry, Brady Quinn, and Joe Thomas on the board, the Lions made the wrong choice.
D) How does Matt Millen still have a job?
E) I am extremely jealous of the Redskins situation with Safeties, love LaRon Landry
F) Buffalo: Good Pick Marshawn Lynch : Great Pick Paul Poluszny
G) J E T S : I don't like the Revis pick, I loved Revis going into the draft but I think Brady Quinn should have been the pick. You might like Chad but he isn't the long term future
H) Though I like David Harris a lot
I) Tough not to love what the Pats pulled. Even if they did draft the off field reincarnate of Ray Lewis.
J) Did not see anything that I liked about Chicago's new Tight End. Not impressed, really glad the Saints didn't draft him
K) Not impressed with anything the Giants did for the second year in a row.
L) If I was starting an NBA franchise and could take either one at the beginning of their career, I think I would take Shaq over TD but I don't believe there is a wrong answer.
M) I couldn't be less excited for the NBA playoffs right now.


N) Robert Meachem is not Joe Horn, but I think he is good. And yes I know everything there is to know about him even though he just fell into my world. I have been following his career since High School, I swear.
O) Hockey grew on me just a tiny bit over the last few months. It is now just behind, all college sports, NFL, NBA, MLB, WTA, PGA, NFL Europe, NBDL, and Soccer (non American). Congrats, you passed MLS!
P) Its tough to call either Durant or Oden, "not a good fit" for any team. They are that good.
Q) Would have liked Hibbert for the C's over that Chinese guy. Oh well
R) I have just completed the greatest run in the history of reality TV. It can be confirmed by many. I picked Jordin Sparks before she sang a note, the first day of American Idol and never swayed. Thank You. Thank You.
S) I still hate Arod but I respect Jeter
T) I don't like Curt Schilling's blog even though I am a Schilling fan
U) If you haven't read Gilbert Arenas' blog, you don't know what you are missing. http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas.html
V) I am really greatful that the Saints did not move. If they had, based on the fact, that I couldn't root for a San Antonio team, I had planned on following Donte Stallworth until something stuck. Rooting for the Pats would be unbearable.
W) Patriots are going to be too good next year. Anyone that believes Randy can no longer dominate is kidding themselves
X) But what do I know. I'm just an ignorant sports fan from Boston that has been following Yi Jingjingjaroo since he was a small child

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

A Live Running Diary while reading Certane's blog:

a) beersandwiches just went from bad to worse

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't you be highlighting the classifieds and posting your resume on Monster.com or something, as opposed to surfing the web for blogs?

JWS said...

Fans often stem from their media and sports radio... there is a reason Bill Simmons who many of us read religious, a man from Boston, listens to Mike and the Mad Dog.

I happen to agree with many of Certane's points about Boston fans, but what bothers me the most about Boston fans is they often know a lot about their own teams and then ZERO about the rest of the sport, so then when you talk to them its all Sox, Pats, Celts, etc... I mean play fantasy, watch some playoffs, do something to appreciate the sports world outside of Boston.... and quit annoying me

Larry Hughes who? Hit a game winning uncontested 6 footer then come talk to me about how important he is. Yes he plays good defense on Billups, but u are not losing an all star here (the problem is Eric Snow is his backup, who really sucks)

Damon Jones is not the answer either, I'd give the minutes to Daniel Gibson

JWS said...

From the Bill Simmons live chat today

Nasser (Phoenix, AZ): You are starting a franchise and you get to pick between Tim Duncan at the height of his prime of Shaq at his zenith. Who you taking?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: Shaq at his zenith was more dominant than Duncan at his zenith. But that's the thing about Shaq - he played two MONSTER years and a ton of good ones, but Duncan was consistently better and more dominant, and he had a greater effect on his teammates. If you were picking between them for a 12-year span, you'd have to take Duncan. You'd have to.

Certane said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Certane said...

Im sticking with Shaq.

cjeasy said...

Really liked the way you tied up that column with a sentence that drew back on what you had been writing about earlier. Thanks, Rick Fucking Reilly.