Sports Redux: The Champs Are Here

Paul Pierce has been here through it all. He slipped to #10 in the draft, becoming such an obvious pick that even Rick Pitino couldn't screw it up. He survived a stabbing. He and Antoine Walker mad-bombed their way into an improbable Eastern Finals appearance. He played through the agony and misery of the dismal mid-00's, always giving it all, always wearing his heart on his sleeve, always waiting for the day to come when all the pain would be worth it.

And now it is. And walking the gauntlet of Celtics legends, hearing the roar of the crowd, and finally hoisting the ring over his head, he got a little choked up. Well, a lot. But he managed to get through the banner-raising and the pregame speech without incident, and finally it was time to put 2008 in the vault and start defending.

It wasn't easy. The Celtics played the first half like they were still wearing their rings and it was affecting their shots and passing. Pierce was the only guy scoring early.

But this team is strong, and it is deep. Leon Powe came off the bench and immediately started attacking, pounding and scoring. Tony Allen put together one of those five-minute stretches of basketball that make us dream what would happen if he could keep it going for ten. And Rajon Rondo put together an Iversonian collection of sweet passes and reckless-but-beautiful charges into heavy traffic. It all added up to a satisfying second half, where the C's played their game and came away with the 90-85 win.

Pierce led the team with 27, which helped him pass Bob Cousy into fifth place overall on the Celtics' all-time point board. Only the (Original) Big Three and John Havlicek are ahead of him, but he'll need 10,000 more points to reach the top. Other good Celtics news: Danny Ainge was rewarded for last season with a raise and a promotion, to "president of basketball operations." Well earned.

Tim Thomas continued his lights-out tour of Western Canada. After blanking Edmonton 1-0, he followed it up with a 1-0 shutout in Vancouver. His 31 saves beat the 27 he made against the Oilers, and the Bruins have themselves a winning streak going. Michael Ryder scored the only goal. John Buccigross of ESPN writes a magnificent ode to Phil Kessel today.

Somehow, perhaps, maybe, the final three innings of Game Five will be played tonight (if possible) in Philadelphia. "We'll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here," said Commissioner Bud Selig, right before he flew home to Milwaukee. Second-graders around the country report great disappointment; when they look up "boob" in the dictionary, they get a picture of Selig instead of what they were hoping to see. Our friends at Phillyist run down the fiasco.

Photo by Elise Amendola/Associated Press.