Sports Redux: Outnumbered, Outgunned

Outnumbered? Well, if you count Motown Steve Javie as wearing a Detroit jersey over his referee's uniform. Endless moaning about the refs is for losers and Spurs, so we'll keep it brief. We'll just say that if you have the desire to send Richard Hamilton any fan mail, just address it to the free throw line at the Garden; it's the one place he's sure to be found.

Outgunned? Well, yeah. The Pistons, who have been here before, many times, had an answer for everything the Celtics threw at them last night. Hamilton, when he wasn't "fouled", was pretty much money from the floor. And when he wasn't, Antonio McDyess or Rodney Stuckey would pop one instead. Meanwhile, the Celtics were ho-hum offensively (credit some good Detroit D there) and the Pistons were the first to send the Garden crowd home unhappy with their 103-97 win.

The good news for the Celtics was that Ray Allen returned from his two-series cruise of Antarctica. Pushing his way into the lane a couple of times early seemed to pay off, as he finally nailed his first jumper in a month, and finished with 25. Garnett had 24 and Pierce 26 as the C's stars balanced the best they have all postseason. If only the bench wasn't 3-for-11 combined. The bad news is that (a)Chauncey Billups no longer looks rusty, and (b)Guess what? They lost home-court advantage! And the Pistons really looked like the confident, businesslike bunch that we feared. The potential good news is that the C's won in their only trip to Auburn Hills this season. Now they have to do it again.

The Red Sox finished off a nice week of mugging tourists from the Midwest. They swept Milwaukee, and they finished off a four-game sweep of Kansas City on two grand slams by J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell. Daisuke improved to 8-0, even though there were long stretches where he couldn't find the plate, walking six with two wild pitches. Even with the offensive cushion, KC nibbled back, lighting up Craig Hansen and David Aardsma before Papelbon came in to nail it down and preserve the 11-8 win. It's out west to Oakland tonight, for Tim Wakefield vs. Rich Harden.