The Friends of Eddie Coyle

If you love the Boston Bruins, and if you love Robert Mitchum, then you need to watch “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.” Great underground Boston crime flick from the 70’s. Same director as “Bullitt” with Steve McQueen. Here’s a clip from the movie guaranteed to attract anyone who loves Bobby Orr and the Bruins.

The Evolution of Rajon Rondo

Not much has changed for Rajon Rondo since 2007. Well, except for becoming an All-Star, earning a spot on three All-Defensive teams and winning a championship ring. Also, his jersey is the third bestseller behind James and Bryant. So maybe a lot has changed in the literal sense. But in terms of those pesky invisible things, such as the perception of him and the degree to which he’s valued amongst other Point Guards in the league, he hasn’t made much progress. When ranking Point Guards in the NBA, analysts always seem to feel obligated against their will to fit him into the top tier. You name the NBA expert, and you can bet that he or she considers Rondo an afterthought to the likes of Derrick Rose, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Nowhere in recent memory can I recall a player who has been so clinically underrated. There was even a time not too long ago, 2008-ish, when professional basketball analysts placed a higher value on Mo Williams. Unbelievably ridiculous.

Many believe that Rondo’s inconsistent jumper renders him more of a liability than an asset, therefore knocking him down in the Point Guard ranks. But it should be noted that lump scoring and flawless shooting isn’t necessarily characteristic of the Point Guard position. John Stockton -- generally considered the gold standard of the 1 Spot -- averaged 13.1 points per game. Rondo’s already at 10.7 and he’s maybe 25% into his career, and getting better each season. Alternately, Michael Jordan was by far the most skilled ball handler on the Chicago Bulls and could easily have played Point Guard, yet he played Shooting Guard. Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant are phenomenal ball-handlers who could easily qualify as the Point Guards for any team in the NBA, but they’re best-suited for the 2 Spot because of their uncanny shooting abilities. Point Guards distribute first and score when they have to, and Shooting Guards score first and distribute when they have to. Rondo fits into the Point Guard category, and he is indeed a Point Guard, but he gets blamed for not having the skill set of a Shooting Guard. Does this seem logical?

At times I think we mistake as the aberration of Magic Johnson as the norm. We also tend to consider guys like Derrick Rose and Deron Williams as heirs to the Magic Johnson throne, but that’s completely inaccurate. Not only was Magic great at everything, he also managed to be a great scorer while being surrounded by other great scorers. He was a rarity, a talent amongst talents. Yes, Derrick Rose and Deron Williams are great scorers, but they have to be great scorers. They have nobody else on their teams to carry the offensive load. Same thing with Chris Paul. If these guys don’t bank 30 points a night, their teams lose. So, despite being Point Guards, Rose and Williams and Paul are also expected to perform like Shooting Guards because of the deficiencies of their teams.

To hold Rondo’s lack of scoring prowess against him is, in effect, to blame him for being on a good team that includes three Hall of Fame players. I’ve seen every game Rajon Rondo has ever played, and I can say with certainty that he’s more than capable of nabbing 20 points a game. I’ve seen him score 25+ without breaking a sweat and with no more than one or two jumpers nailed. The field isn’t where he collects his point totals. Nearly all his points come in the paint, and at the tail ends of the shot clock on broken plays that force him to hoist-up shots which he usually makes. Scoring isn’t difficult for Rondo. Free-throw shooting is, but scoring isn’t. The basic fact is that he just doesn’t need to have 25 or 30 points to win ballgames. The Celtics win all the time with Rondo having 15+ assists and anywhere from a few to 15 points. He scores what’s needed from him to win games -- and a championship. Why on earth would he go out and score 30 every night? That’s what Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and KG are there for. Rondo’s not looking to score, but Rose and Williams and Paul are always looking to score. From the opening tip, they’re looking to collect points for their team so they have a chance to win.

So while everyone gets on Rondo’s case for his inconsistent jumper, I’m looking at all the things he does consistently -- like his dominant numbers in steals and assists and his double-doubles in the regular season and his triple-doubles in the playoffs. Not to mention the fact that he’s the best rebounding guard in the league. Also, he’s the leader of a team with three Hall of Famers on the roster. I’ll repeat -- he’s the leader. So again, while everyone’s questioning his jumper, I’m wondering why Paul wants to go to the Knicks. Could it be that he wants to distribute the ball to Amar’e and Melo, and that he doesn’t want the burden of having to score 30 a night? Why do you think Williams wants to get out of Jersey? Why do you think the Bulls aren’t winning titles? Rondo’s in a position all these other guards envy -- he’s on a winning team with other players who can score. So when are we gonna stop holding this jump-shot stuff against him?

It would be nice if he could hit his free-throws, but I won’t split hairs.

The Psychology of Belichick, Coughlin and Ryan

When it comes to the perception of Bill Belichick, there’s no middleground. You love him or you hate him. Me, I love him. And I love that so many people hate him. Kinda makes me love him more. Better to be feared and respected than loved and adored. Today during his press conference, Coach Belichick completely illustrated why those who love him, well, love him. When confronted with a foolish question by a foolish reporter about this Sunday’s match-up with the winless Colts, Coach Belichick unleashed his wrath on her. It went something like this...

Reporter: You think going into these games that the record doesn’t matter -- but obviously you can gauge your team’s performance better against a team that’s more competitive or has a better record, and you certainly seem more proud of your team --

Belichick: I don’t agree with that, so you can go on with your soliloquy, but I just don’t agree with that. You don’t think you can gauge your team based upon how a player blocks Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis? I mean, who else would you gauge it against? I mean, are you kidding me? Covering Reggie Wayne and Collie and Garcon -- you don’t think you can gauge your coverage based on covering those players? I don’t care what their record is. You think there’s a better receiver around than them? Better pass rushers than Freeney and Mathis? I mean, I’m not sure what games you’re watching here.

I don’t know who that reporter was, but I would wager there’s a spot open at her paper. Tom Brady received similar questions all day, and his answers most certainly invoked the spirit of his coach. It went something like this...

Reporter: Do you talk [to Peyton Manning], do you still communicate?

Brady: Yeah.

Reporter: I know you don’t mind not playing against him, but do you miss him? Does the league miss a guy like that?

Brady: I don’t know.

Reporter: Can you talk about [the Colts’] defense? People talk a lot about Manning being out, but can you talk about what you’ve seen from them defensively so far?

Brady: I’ve played Dwight Freeney a lot. I wish he was out, but he’s in there again and he’s a phenomenal player. If I could be a defensive end, I’d be like him. And Robert Mathis on the other side, both those guys can really wreak havoc. Coach said this morning that Freeney’s got like 99 career sacks and 43 forced fumbles, so almost half the time he sacks you he strips the ball from you.

I really like how the Patriots are handling this match-up with the Colts. They understand that a winless team is a dangerous team because their pride is on the line, and getting that first win against a team like the Patriots is everything to them at this point in the season. When you’re the worst team in the NFL, all you can play for is self-respect. So when a team like that plays the Patriots, it’s practically their Super Bowl. Belichick understands this. And it’s clear that his players understand this too. They’re not talking up the Colts too much, they’re doing it just right. I would expect other teams to say similar things, but not necessarily to mean them. The Patriots mean these things. They’re programmed by their Coach to anticipate everything. They’re mentally preparing for what I think will be a tough fight. Matthew Slater said it best in the locker room: “This is the National Football League, any team is capable of beating any other team on any given Sunday, so I think the biggest thing for us this week is to prepare for our opponent just as if they were 11-0.”

Another game to pay attention to is Packers/Giants. Part of what irritates me so much about New York football teams is that they so clearly get jacked-up to play against certain teams -- and against certain teams only. The reason the Jets are so inconsistent is because they don’t play against the Patriots all 16 games of the season. If they did, they’d be the most laser-focused team in the NFL. The Giants too. If you asked Rex Ryan and Tom Coughlin if they could play against Belichick 16 times, or if they’d prefer to play against a variety coaches, they’d both pick 16 consecutive Belichick games.

The question is: Why? Why do the Jets and the Giants get so amped to play against the Patriots, and get so tepid when playing against anyone else? Take the Giants; this season they’ve lost to the Redskins, the Seahawks, the 49’ers, the Eagles, and the Saints. One could argue that all of those teams are physically tougher than the Pats -- or at least, more consistently tougher in the physical department. So why did the Giants maul the Pats but lose to all those other teams? If you recall the season when the Giants won the Super Bowl, they were not a great team. People in New York hated them. They wanted Eli’s head on the chopping block. It’s my belief that the Giants only won that Super Bowl game because they were so amped to be playing against an undefeated Boston team. If they played against any other team, or if the Patriots hadn’t looked so damn indestructible that season, the Giants would’ve lost Super Bowl 42.

The basic fact is this: the Giants cannot win a contest unless drama is at play. They feed off it for strength. Same with the Jets. The Jets feed off Rex Ryan’s obsession with Belichick, it’s how and why they get psyched to play the Pats. Every time the Jets or the Giants play the Patriots, it feels like a Super Bowl game. It feels like the world’s gonna implode from the Armageddon-type drama surrounding the game. Neither of the New York teams really have that with anyone else. The Jets don’t have a grudge with the Broncos, and Rex Ryan doesn’t have a lifelong dream to upstage John Fox -- and that’s why the Jets lost a few weeks ago to Tebow. Winning the game isn’t enough for the Jets or the Giants, they have to be playing against a team that they WANT to beat. Otherwise, they’re sort of awful.

So, knowing that much about the Giants, their match-up with the Packers looks pretty damn interesting. Another perfect season to destroy. This is the kind of thing the Giants live for. Not banners or Super Bowl rings, but drama. Spotlight. An opportunity to ruin someone else’s day. That’s all they care about. I’m not saying they’re gonna win on Sunday, but I certainly think they’re gonna burst out of the gate with the most energy we’ve seen from them since Week 9 against the Patriots. I expect the Giants to treat this game against the Packers like it’s their Super Bowl and play their hearts out, and then I expect them to completely revert back to their mediocre ways next week against the Cowboys.

NFL MVP

There’s no definitive answer to the MVP question this year, which is great for football fans and a drag for football writers. I love Aaron Rodgers, and obviously I think Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. Truth be told, this MVP trophy could easily go to either of those two guys, and I’d be just fine with it. My guess is Aaron will win it, simply based on the total domination of the Packers. The greatness of Rodgers is unquestionable.

In terms of my Quarterback MVP, I’m giving my vote to Drew Brees. My favorite trait in great athletes is the will to win, and something about Drew Brees touched that nerve in me this season. When a Saints game is nationally televised, Brees makes sure to maul the other team to scraps of bones and tears. It’s not enough for Brees to win, but he really has to make the opposing team look like a junior high school football team -- and I love that about him. That’s my kind of quarterback. He makes other teams (like the Giants) understand that they’re not qualified to be on the same field as the Saints.

There is something I should mention, however, which no one else has really talked about yet. Tom Brady has a big plus in his MVP column -- out of the Pats, Packers, and Saints, Brady’s team has had the most difficult schedule so far. Both the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints have had easy schedules in comparison to the New England Patriots. Consider the first 12 Weeks of opponents:

Green Bay: Saints, Panthers, Bears, Broncos, Falcons, Rams, Vikings, Chargers, Vikings, Bucs, Lions.

New Orleans: Packers, Bears, Texans, Jags, Panthers, Bucs, Colts, Rams, Bucs, Falcons, Giants.

New England: Dolphins, Chargers, Bills, Raiders, Jets, Cowboys, Steelers, Giants, Jets, Chiefs, Eagles.

If New England had Green Bay’s schedule, we’d probably be 10-1 instead of 8-3. And if Green Bay had New England’s schedule, they’d probably be 9-2 instead of 11-0. New Orleans would probably be the same, at 8-3, with New England’s schedule. None of this takes anything away from the greatness of these three teams, but the varying difficulties of their schedules is worth noting.

When it comes to bloodthirsty quarterbacks, you can’t go wrong with Brady, Brees, and Rodgers. If a three-way quarterback tie was possible, this would be the occasion to award such a thing. These are, quite simply, three perfect quarterbacks. One of them has a perfect record, which is big. One of them has three Super Bowl rings, which is even bigger. And one of them has a Vicks commercial. I kid, I kid.

Drew Brees, Quarterback MVP.

But for my league MVP, I’m going with Wes Welker. Through 11 games, he’s first in receiving yards with 1,143. In context, that’s 120 more yards than Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.

When discussing “the most dangerous man in the NFL,” we’re always very quick to name Brady, Brees, or Rodgers. Acceptable, of course, and understandable. But take a moment to really think about the concept of danger. Is there really anyone more dangerous this year than Wes Welker? I won’t put up a fight with Rodgers or Brady or Brees -- but in my mind, it just doesn’t get more dangerous than Wes.

Three Easy Pieces

Once again, as a newly-minted NBA season approaches, the Celtics are overlooking the weaknesses in their team and trying to sign players that won’t help them win a championship. In other words, another season without a banner -- and another chance for the Lakers to tie the title record. On the chance that someone in Celtics management or somebody high-up in the ranks of Boston media gets a hold of this brief article, I’d like to introduce three steps that would bring the trophy back to Boston this season...

First, you get Jamal Crawford as our 6th Man. That plugs the gap left by James Posey. Crawford comes off the bench with grace and he does everything; he keeps leads, he extends leads, and he leads comebacks. His specialty is butchering the hearts of teams with daggers, usually in the form of three-pointers from way beyond the arc with very little time left on the clock. A paid assassin. Get that man in a green jersey.

Second step, you get Marc Gasol as our starting Center. Offensively more productive than Perk and just as tough, and with more energy and personality to his game than anyone else we have on the roster, Gasol would be an instant smash hit in Boston. He would cause pandemonium at the Garden. My first choice for the 5 Spot. A future champion. We need this man.

The third step is where it gets dicey. I propose we get Brandon Jennings. But unlike Crawford and Gasol, Jennings is not a free agent. A trade would have to occur, but it can be done. He’s floundering in Milwaukee. I love the Bucks, but he just doesn’t fit in that system. The Celtics lack a fresh young star who can play multiple positions and bring match-up problems for other teams. Jennings is a one-man blizzard with a high IQ and raw skill that has yet to be molded. Is it possible to get him? I don’t know. But he is a player of the future. As Theo Epstein might say, invest in future performance and not past performance. Put Celtics management and Bucks management in a room, and make a deal.
                                                         

1969-‘70: Big and Bad

There are many reasons why I wish I was around during the 60’s -- the music was daring and soaked with raw energy, comics and baseball cards were works of art, movies were fresh and outstanding, sports were shot on grainy film and fans dressed to the nines as they cheered with unflinching loyalty, and the Big Bad Bruins were simply the most perfect team in any sport.

Young, elegant, dynamic, rich, strange, violent, emotional, entertaining, and totally committed to winning -- they didn’t dominate the NHL for as long as the Celtics did in the NBA, but the ‘69-‘70 Bruins were special almost beyond the description of words.

Boston drank the Bruins like champagne, and television brought the magic of the Garden into the living room; “TV38 Sports Presents ‘The Road to the Stanley Cup;’” Orr, Esposito, Hodge, Stanfield, Ace, Turk, Chief, Swoop, Shadow, Elbows, Pie, Cheesey -- they were a Dick Tracy comic strip on ice. They were a snapshot from a moment in time, frozen in gold. Black and Gold, to be exact. And so, today, as the defending Stanley Cup champs went 12-0-1 in the month of November, we should take a moment to consider the possibility that we could be in the midst of a another golden era. The talent and the personalities are there, the fans are there, and most importantly -- the Cup is there.

Sleeping Dogs

It’s a major mistake to think the disgust with James begins and ends in Cleveland. I’ve never been to Cleveland myself, so his decision to leave didn’t smack me upside the head with any sort of betrayal whatsoever. As a diehard Celtics fan, the only other team I always have my attention on are the Lakers. When Los Angeles makes a move, I’m required by New England law to take notice. No other team is on our ass with title wins, so LeBron’s “Decision” was initially pretty irrelevant to me.

But in the thick of that gloomy summer, “The Decision” became relevant to everyone. It was forced down all of our throats. It didn’t even matter if you cared or not, LeBron’s indecision was a phenomenon larger than Team Edward, Team Jacob, Health Care, Paris Hilton, and the Kardashian chick all combined. Like the great Tim Tebow debate, it became a situation that you were forced to take a side on. LeBron made so many miscalculations, it’s truly unbelievable. You almost have to believe he purposely tanked this thing to properly explain his actions. I’m not a PR person, but my guess is he had such a person. What exactly was that person getting paid for? He must have had a manager, an agent, a this, a that, and they all get paid millions of dollars -- but for what? The Summer of LeBron was such an extraordinary debacle, it remains the source of immense hatred for people in all states of the country -- not just Ohio.

Cleveland is a place that doesn’t have a lot. Similar to New Orleans and Detroit and Oklahoma City, Cleveland is a struggling part of America that just seems constantly weighed down with bad luck. That’s partially why Drew Brees and Justin Verlander and Kevin Durant are such national heroes -- they give purpose, prestige, and esteem to those cities. New Orleans may not have the glitz and glamour of New York City, and they may not have the legacy and championship banners of Boston, but they have Who Dat, and that makes them just as relevant. Well, for a while, that’s what LeBron James did for Cleveland. As long as LeBron played for the Cavs, every team in the league had to mentally prepare for a game against Cleveland. You couldn’t just show up and play. You had to walk through the tunnel knowing that a lion was waiting on the other side. It didn’t scare Paul Pierce and the Celtics, but it sure did scare everyone else. And although I know next to nothing about Cleveland, I know the people of Cleveland loved that. They loved being feared and respected. They loved being a somebody. Outside of the Celtics, every team feared playing at “the Q,” and the city soaked that up like a big fat piece of sourdough bread in a bath of sloppy turkey gravy. And you know what? The rest of us were sorta ok with that. Let Cleveland have a big-time player. Every city needs to feel proud of something, and LeBron was a great talent to have. I felt good knowing that LeBron was holding up a city on his shoulders. It gave James a purpose that went a lot deeper than basketball. He was their mascot, their mayor, their King, their representative, their spokesman, their heart, their soul, their everything.

And then he left. Ok, he’s allowed to leave. He’s a grown-man, he can do what he wants. But the way he left was simply unbelievable. Even for someone like me who couldn’t possibly care less about the Cavaliers, I was shocked. I didn’t know LeBron was capable of that sort of malevolent indifference. I really didn’t. He always seemed like a gentleman who valued pride over all other things. To draw out the decision, to do it so publicly, to phrase it the inane way he did, and the “villain commercial” he did for Nike, it was all so incredibly unlike the guy everyone thought they knew. Could you envision Kevin Durant doing a “villain” commercial? Of course not. Durant’s not a villain, he’s a role model. I was never a fan of LeBron, but I sorta saw him as a similar type to a lot of other people. So when he dropped the bomb of taking his talents to South Beach, it was shocking.

LeBron could’ve left Cleveland AND averted a PR disaster with a few simple steps. First of all, he should’ve held a press conference exclusively with the Cleveland newspapers and Cleveland reporters, and the citizens of Cleveland. It would’ve taken 20 friggin’ minutes to make it more personal, and to speak to the people directly. Be straight with them -- “Look, this is my home, I played my best for you, I love you, but it’s time to move on, blah blah blah.” Boom. Crisis averted. Sure, they would’ve been sad, but they wouldn’t have been hurt. Everyone gets broken-up with at some point, but it’s another thing to get dumped. By dragging the whole nation through it with “The Decision,” he basically stripped Cleveland naked and told them to wait in the bedroom. He put the city under a spotlight that they really didn’t need to be put under. It was the utter indifference to his home, to his roots, and the unbelievable excess of his ego that startled me, and continues to startle every basketball fan outside of Miami.

There was another way to avert the entire crisis. LeBron had multiple teams to choose from: the New York Knicks, the New Jersey Nets, the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Chicago Bulls. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Miami is the tackiest choice on the menu. For one thing, Miami sucks. It really, really sucks. It’s sludgy, gaudy, garish, and ostentatious. It’s the home of house music, drunks, douchebags, and people who wear Ed Hardy. It’s like playing for a team called The Las Vegas Prostitutes. And in addition to those scientific reasons, it should also be noted that Miami isn’t a historically significant basketball city. Their fans care little to nothing about the sport, and basketball fans generally repay them the favor. If anything, it’s a mutual dislike. So there was simply no honorable reason for LeBron to choose Miami. And when he finally did choose Miami, he made it even worse by claiming it was because they have a good school system. Things like this add up, and eventually you find yourself the most hated man in sports.

LeBron could’ve easily gone to the Knicks and been fine. The Knicks are a legendary team in a legendary city with a legendary arena, but they are historically awful. They have everything except championships. Plus, New York is a basketball city. Hands down, they’re the most basketball-adoring city in America. Every kid from New York knows how to play basketball. It’s Mecca for basketball lovers. So, had LeBron chosen the Knicks, it would’ve made sense. He would’ve been the Savior of a team that really, truly, badly wants to win for the fans. He could’ve held the press conference in Cleveland with his hometown fans and reporters, given them the news personally, then gone to the Knicks, and he would’ve been on easy street. No problems. And you know what? He probably could’ve had a similar situation by choosing the Bulls. In essence, he would’ve been choosing to play with a great point guard in another legendary basketball town. He also could’ve averted disaster by choosing the Clippers, who are even more historically awful than the Knicks, and he could’ve signed-on as the guy to leap that team past the Lakers. He could’ve even been ok with the Nets, because they’re the Mets of New York and he easily could’ve lifted that struggling club to prominence. And people would’ve rooted for him in all these situations.

He said it wasn’t about the money. In some sense, I actually believe him because he took a bit of a paycut to go to Miami. But if it truly wasn’t about the money but about championships, then why not Memphis? Or Golden State? Or Dallas? Or Boston? Or New Orleans? Or Philly? Or San Antonio? Or Milwaukee? If money wasn’t of real value in the decision, he could’ve gone to any of those ball clubs I just mentioned and won a championship last year. Those are all teams that were “one LeBron away” from winning it all. He could’ve said, “Pay me a hundred bucks,” and won a ring. Problem solved. But instead of taking a hundred dollars and a championship ring, he took millions and hooked-up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh -- a slap in the face to the very word “teamwork.” It was a lesson to kids everywhere that shortcuts exist, and you should most definitely take them. So when the Heat lost to an actual team, it felt pretty good. I was still disappointed because it wasn’t the Celtics, but at least Dallas was a real team. It was a reminder to kids everywhere that even though some professional athletes tower up to almost seven feet in the air, they’re not all necessarily people to look up to.