Sports Redux: Rumors of the Celtics' Death Were Greatly Exaggerated

"Startin' to come together, Pepper, startin' to come together" - Lou Brown, Major League

We'll admit it. Two weeks ago, we were in the front seat of the "the Celtics are finished" bandwagon. In our defense...they lost to the Nets. That bandwagon's stuck in traffic, though, while the "these guys could make a run" bandwagon seems to have lots of open road in front of it. The C's clinched a winning record on this tough Western road trip by silencing the Mavericks 102-93 in Dallas last night, showing exactly the kind of aggressive defense and team effort that they'll need to silence doubters like ourselves.

It was a close game throughout - as you'd expect - but a flurry of layups by Rajon Rondo helped get the C's a three-point lead with 2:47 to go. A Pierce three (and isn't it nice that Pierce wasn't in foul trouble all night) helped seal the win. The C's are now an astounding 24-12 on the road, which is better than their mark at home, which Doc Rivers chalks up to...let's call it experience. "Crowd noise?...I mean, half of them are deaf, they’re so old, right? So they can’t hear it anyway. So maybe that’s an advantage." "Maybe we’re too comfortable at home," suggested Kevin Garnett. Maybe. They're in Utah tomorrow.

It was another day of upsets in the NCAA Tournament, with the biggest thud coming from #1 overall Kansas falling to Northern Iowa. Fans in Providence though, got to follow up seeing Georgetown fall on Thursday with St. Mary's upending Villanova and getting to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever. Bob Ryan analyzes the Gaels, and while he rightly focuses on center Omar Samhan and his smooth play under the basket (we're working on our "draft this guy, please, Danny" letter), he could talk a little more about their collection of fearless Australian guards. We fell in love with this team.

It seems like just a paragraph ago we were talking about old guys, so it's fitting that the Red Sox signed Alan Embree to a minor league deal. And what's more, Tim Wakefield gave up two hits in five innings yesterday as the Sox blanked Baltimore. Wake says he's "absolutely" ready to claim the fifth spot in the rotation if Daisuke's injuries linger. Of course, it's Wakefield, so we're pretty sure he's "absolutely" ready to be a closer, a bullpen catcher or get in the Wally suit if Terry Francona tells him that's what's best for the team.