Sports Redux: Oklahoma? OK!

It took a little while for the Celtics to find their rhythm yesterday. Maybe it was the tough Houston game, maybe it was getting used to a new arena, maybe it was recovering from the whirlwind afternoon tour of Oklahoma City. We may never know.

But even though the C's started off a little (OK, a lot) flat, they turned up the D when it mattered and wound up pretty much cruising to a 96-83 victory. They gave up an uncharaceristic 29-point quarter to the Thunder in the first, which Rajon Rondo says they'd better get used to: "We've just got to take the punch the first quarter. A lot of teams come out with early gas."

But they got back on track, clamping OKC down to 15 in the second quarter and 11 in the third. The numbers they needed came from all over: Pierce (20 points), Garnett (17) and Ray Allen (18) balanced their points well, and rebounds, too; each one had 8 or 9. Leon Powe got 11 points off the bench, and Rondo dealt 11 assists. A decent game against a crummy team. A win. We'll take it.

Despite what some people (OK, us) told you, the Bruins did NOT play Toronto last night. They'll play tonight. Really. Everything else we said holds true. Also tonight is the second game of the MLS playoff series between the Revolution and the Chicago Fire. They tied the first, 0-0, so it's not stretching things to say they'd better score quickly.

ESPN reports that the Dodgers are making a king's ransom offer to Manny Ramirez. Because a well-paid secure Manny is a happy Manny? Let us know how that goes.