This won't work all the time. There are going to be nights when lollygagging it in the first half, then turning it on in the second, won't be enough. Last night was not one of those nights.

The Celtics came out in the first half sluggish, especially on defense. "Their biorhythms are off," said radio announcer Sean Grande, and it sure looked like he was right. The Sixers, struggling all season and trying to welcome their new GM with an inspired effort, were hitting shots left and right, and giving the C's all they could handle. But whatever Doc said at halftime worked, as the Celtics, especially the bench, came out at a higher level and put Philly away in the second half.

The Bruins were on the other end of a comeback, unfortunately for them. They somehow built a 3-0 lead on Martin Brodeur and the Devils (Zdeno Chara, Glen Murray and Dennis Wideman with the scores), but Jersey came back, tied it up, took goalie Tim Thomas out of the game (unspecified "lower body" injury), and beat Tuukka Rask in overtime for the 4-3 win. Rask has to step up now; Thomas might be able to back him up, but Manny Fernandez isn't game-ready, and there's nobody in the minors that the B's feel comfortable promoting yet.

If your goal was to get your name out there, Anthony Smith, mission accomplished. The second-year Steelers DB (we hadn't heard of him until today either) "guaranteed" a Pittsburgh win over the Patriots this weekend. Smith said the Patriots will face their most physical game yet, that Cincinnati (4-8, 21 passing TDs) has better receivers than the Pats (12-0, 41 passing TDs), and that everyone in Pittsburgh feels the same way. If that's true, everyone in Pittsburgh must be smart enough to keep their traps shut. Remember the object lesson of Freddie Mitchell, who mouthed off before the Pats-Eagles Super Bowl, and two years later found himself fired as a substitute teacher in Indiana for hitting on students.