Does anyone remember what the preseason over/under for the Celtics was? Because we're pretty sure it was about 48 wins, but it seems like all evidence has been scrubbed from the Internet. If anybody thought back then that Ghidorah would take a few months to get used to one another and the C's would struggle, they sure wouldn't want it on their record now.

Because last night was win #50 for the Green, who look exactly like they did in the first month of the season, blowing inferior foes off the court. Last night it was Philly, who had won eight straight home games and was feeling pretty hot. Next thing the Sixers knew, it was 15-0 Celtics. It got a little closer than that (it was even tied late in the first half), but the C's put the clamps on in the third quarter and coasted to a 100-86 victory.

Garnett led the way, with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Ray has 21, Pierce 17, Rondo 8 assists, and Sam Cassell creaked his way through five rusty minutes. He swears he'll get better.

The team's fired up about reaching the 50-win mark for the first time since Larry was here. "It doesn't really mean anything," said Ray. "I haven't even looked at our record," added Garnett. "You don't get a trophy for getting 50 wins," chimed in Doc. When we said "fired up", of course we mean "keeping it in perspective and keeping their eyes on bigger prizes".

The Bruins are in Ottawa, and Claude Julien has a dilemma on his hands. Tim Thomas has been solid all year, but has had a few crummy games in a row. Alex Auld may well be the starter for as long as he can keep up his hot streak. Of course, he'd sure appreciate...let's say...3 or 4 goals in the same game from his offense. That'd be nice.

The Sox' long Florida nightmare is over. They snapped their six-game losing streak, admittedly with a tie, but the grapefruits do taste a little less sour this morning. Jon Lester looked all kinds of sharp, striking out five in four solid innings. Beckett got an MRI on his aching back, so it's not out of the question that Lester might start Opening Day in Japan.

Image from Wikipedia.