On the way out of the TDB Garden last night, we weren't completely thrilled about the Celtics' victory over King James and the Cavaliers last night. It was a kind of sloppy game, Paul Pierce was way off-target all night, and the effects of jet lag were obvious. Then we stopped for a second and remembered where this team was a year ago. In one season, we've gone from plummeting towards ignominy, to beating the Eastern champs while clucking about aesthetics. We'll take that deal.

It was a game that somehow felt both closer than the score and never in a lot of doubt. LeBron, while providing ample material for the highlight reel, had a pretty bad shooting game (7-24). You may have also heard the entire state of Ohio shreiking when James rolled his ankle late in the first half and crumpled to the floor. He was back at halftime. And while it's true Pierce was way off, others stepped up, like Ray Allen with 22, KG with 18/11, and Leon Powe with 13.

The C's also took a moment to welcome newly-signed bruiser P.J. Brown, who was in street clothes and a scowl on the bench. We think the scowl was a good scowl. We're still waiting for news about Sam Cassell; Bill Simmons weighs pros and cons, then says the C's should go for it.

We're going to completely scrap the political commentary for once, and straight-up report that the Red Sox very much enjoyed their visit to the White House. Jason Varitek presented the President with a Sox jersey. The President cracked "Thanks for wearing pants" to Jonathan Papelbon, and made a few more quips, showing why he's the guy Americans wanted to vote for because he'd be cool at a picnic. We're twitching from not making a political comment here. Twitching.

But it's back to work - well, sort of work - for the Sox, as they play their annual tilts against local college teams. They play BC this afternoon and Northeastern this evening before getting to real competition - well, sort of real competition - against the Twins tomorrow.

The Bruins try to continue their hot streak tonight against Pittsburgh. Their win over Ottawa Monday led to the Sens firing head coach John Paddock. OK, it probably wasn't just that game, but we'll reiterate, any time a win leads to your opponent firing its coach or embarking on a massive soul-search, that's a quality win.