We already know they must hate us in Minnesota. Once, they had David Ortiz, Randy Moss and Kevin Garnett. Now they don't. But they must really hate us in Denver these days; less than two weeks after their Colorado Rockies were vaporized in the World Series, the Nuggets came to Boston and fared just as badly.

The Celtics (who said they'd need time to adjust to one another?) annihilated Denver almost from the opening last night. It was a close game for about six minutes or so, then the C's passing created open shot after open shot, and the Celts led by 16 after one.

In the second quarter, they blew it open, and it was 77-38 at halftime. There have been long stretches when the team could barely crack 77 for the game. Bob Cousy, sitting in on the broadcast, was raving about the Green's passing, which is a bit like Michelangelo popping in to compliment a young artist's brushwork. "I don't ever think I was down 40 points in my career", said Denver's saddened Allen Iverson afterwards. Time to go back to practice, man. Practice.

Want a simple explanation of why this game was a rout? Look at the shooting stats. Pierce, 10-for-15. Garnett, 10-for-14. Rondo, 7-for-11. Ray Allen, 8-for-12 (he's shooting 63% for the year). When you pass well, guys get open shots, and if the guys in question are talented, you score lots of points. And shoot 65% for the game. And make your coach (back with the team, for now) very happy.

Things aren't so rosy in the other locker room at the Garden. The Bruins can talk all they want about moral victories, playing three straight close games against Ottawa and Buffalo, but until they start scoring more, moral victories aren't going to cut it. Last night's 2-1 OT loss to the Sabres was another example of the B's good defense being cancelled out by its struggling offense. If you want concise, vivid analysis, ask Glen Murray: "We just can't put that little black thing in the net." And to think there are TV analysts pulling down six figures.

The Patriots are refusing to rise to Don Shula's bait that their potential 16-0 season would be tainted. They're all saying they're focused on winning the next one, and not on the crankiness of a man whose unique achievement in football history may not be so unique anymore. You have to figure the '07 version of the Dolphins won't be thanking Shula for stirring the pot, though.

(UPDATE: The Don has backed off a bit; saying there shouldn't be an asterisk next to the Pats' record if it happens. He said the accomplishment would be "the best in all sports". We still don't see Bill and the boys going easy on the Dolphins next month.)

The baseball fall meeting are keeping the Sox in the news, and keeping Theo Epstein hopping. He had a sitdown with Scott Boras, mostly about other matters, but you can be sure the subject of A-Rod was lingering in the air. He has to deal with whether the team is willing to go to Japan to open the '08 season. And he's talking about a possible six-man rotation.

What Theo isn't concerned about is the fate of the final ball from the World Series, which you remember, got Mientkiewiczed sometime after Varitek handed it off to Papelbon. "I have no idea where the ball is and don’t really care," he said. "I hope that’s a recurring problem for us".

Image from Monstrous.com.