Sports Redux: Emotional Wringer

Well. That was disappointing. The Celtics' 12-game winning streak is over, thanks to a loss to the Lakers that featured trash talking, great shooting (in spurts), surprising physicality from LA, and some really interesting refereeing. 110-109 in overtime was the final.

It's hard to put a finger on what went wrong without blaming the refs. Sure, Kevin Garnett fouled out on one of the worst calls we've ever seen. Sure, Ray Allen's last-second shot attempt in OT had the MBTA's anti-groping squad hauling Derek Fisher in for an hour-long interview. So there's that. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant may be unlikeable and sticks his finger in Rajon Rondo's face after fouling him, but the man can shoot. And he did, scoring 26. For the C's' part, they went long stretches without attacking underneath, giving the soft Lakers a little confidence to play a more physical game. And the best Celtics last night were probably Powe and House. (Well, maybe Rondo.) It all adds up to a disjointed, alienating game, a loss, and the Lakers holding a potential home-court advantage depending on how the playoffs shake out.

The one bit of good news for the C's yesterday was that Ray Allen was finally named to the Eastern All-Star team, replacing the injured Jameer Nelson of Orlando.

The Bruins won, in unnecessarily dramatic fashion. Tied with the bad Senators, 3-3, the B's had to go to some amazing glove work by Tim Thomas in the shootout. Thomas was matched for good saves by Ottawa's Brian Elliott, but the B's got the second point when P.J. Axelsson slipped one past him, making up for a less-than-ideal game.

As expected, the Patriots designated - sorry, slapped - the franchise tag onto Matt Cassel, which means they have to pay him $14.6 million, no questions asked, but can still trade him before next season if some other QB comes to camp healthy and ready to play.

And finally, it's Truck Day! Sure, it's 5 degrees out there, like it's been every day since Thanksgiving, but if you want to go see a bunch of cardboard boxes in a truck and thus dream of warmer times, knock yourself out. It leaves Fenway at 1:00 this afternoon; here's what to expect. Also to whet your baseball appetite, the Boston Pops are planning an Opening Day release of the Red Sox Album, which will feature orchestral arrangements of "Sweet Caroline" and "I'm Shippin' Up To Boston", among others.

Photo by Charles Krupa/Associated Press.