Results tagged “Lakers”

Sports Redux: Abundance of Pitches

Something strange is happening this season. The Red Sox, despite all of the hiccups and difficulties experienced this season, are in first place in the American League East. They're riding that magical 8-0 season record against the Yankees. And now, in a turn of events the like of which this Bostonist has never before seen, the Boston Red Sox have more talented pitchers than they know what to do with.

This was just about as sweet as anything could ever be.

Objectively, the Celtics are right where we want them. They did their job and took one in LA, and have two chances to finish the Lakers off at home. Realistically, though, the C's had a golden opportunity - just waiting there - to snatch another game, and thus the series, away from the Lakers last night, but just couldn't finish it off.

All right, fess up. Who went to bed at halftime?

We, to be honest, had the exact opposite of high hopes for last night's game. The Lakers were going to be in front of their home crowd, energized, with the referees desperate to be on their side to avoid another four-hankie Phil Jackson press conference. And if you'd told us before the game that Paul Pierce would be a train wreck, KG would be way off his shot, and Rondo would get hurt, we'd assume about a 114-91 blowout.

It was night of rest for the hometown teams. The Celtics are leading the NBA Finals 2 – 0 and they’ll be live from The Staple Center tonight for Game 3. If the Celtics were looking for another reason to beat the Lakers, they can look no further than Lamar Odem.

Bostonist is dedicated to bringing you the best of Boston-based viral videos every week. Whether it's glam rock tea parties, awkward teen rappers, or pee-pee dances for the Bruins, Bostonist is here to bring you the best.

Over the last few years, Boston sports fans have grown accustomed to hearing about the bets waged between mayors and governors whenever their teams are duking it out for a title. The stakes? Typically, it comes down to food - lots of food reflecting some of the finest culinary tastes each team's hometown has to offer. In other words, food that the fans would love to be able to eat. The victorious fans are left puffing out their chests with pride while, we imagine, their municipal counterparts are leaning back in their chairs and unbuckling their suddenly-tight belts.

One quarter of the way there. And in the matchup of the MVP versus the defensive team of the year, the Celtics shook off some first-half shakiness to put the defensive hammer down on LA, flummoxing Kobe Bryant and company and taking Game One of the Finals 98-88.

Does this game really have to start at 9? The fretting, the pacing, the worrying, the shot after shot of tequila - can't the NBA string this brutal and glorious anticipation out for three more hours? How about midnight basketball?

A June battle with Tampa Bay for first place? Is that what we've got tonight? Really? Well...yeah. And the Sox had to scramble yesterday to put first on the line tonight. Down 4-3 in the sixth (three runs on homers by Lowell and Drew), the Sox hit the Rays for four game-winning runs. The Sox loaded the bases unconventionally (HBP, error, walk), then got an RBI single from Varitek and a 2-run double from the ghost of Coco Crisp. Ellsbury hit a sac-fly to make the final score 7-4. Justin Masterson got his second win, Papelbon his 17th save.

It won’t be a series; it’s going to be a spectacle. Last night, the Celtics beat then Pistons and will move on to face the Los Angeles Lakers. It will be the C’s first time at the finals since 1987; the Celtics faced off against the Lakers and came up short in the series 4 - 2. The two teams have met 11 times in the finals; the Celtics lead that with 8 wins.

It seems for some reason, Tom Brady and Randy Moss don't want to take a 6,000 mile flight this week and be reminded of Sunday's crushing disappointment. Brady's ankle issues are well-documented, of course, but Randy is feeling sympathy pain and is skipping the trip to Hawaii as well. So the Pro Bowl will have to go on without them. Tissues all around.

Hey, wasn't this West Coast trip supposed to demonstrate that the Celtics weren't quite as good as everybody thought?

Does the venue make the team or does the team make the venue? And what happens if the venue has two teams, two games, and one day to pull it all off? The two host teams win, venue staff deserve medals, and a lot of people walk out of the place happy. There wasn't much of a battle on the boards of the TD Banknorth Garden on Friday night. The Celtics, doing what has become...

Remember when Celtics-Lakers games used to mean something? In the Sixties, the Celtics championship road seemed to always end with a victory over LA. In the Eighties, the Bird-Magic schism divided the NBA right down the middle, but the Lakers took two out of the three Finals in which they went head-to-head. The rivalry even has its own Wikipedia page. Alas, for the last 20 years or so, the cachet has been long gone. While...

Where do you start when giving Thanks to everyone in the local sports scene who's made the past eight months or so almost perfect? Not to beat a dead turkey, but the Red Sox are world champs, the Celtics are rejuvenated and playing great basketball, the Revolution made the Finals again, BC is headed for a bowl game you've actually heard of, the Bruins are playing better than expected and are fun to watch, and...

The good news is, they got some hits.

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried...

Harry Doyle and the Friends of the Feathered are breathing a sigh of relief this morning. After two losses at Fenway, Chief Wahoo's Tribe turned on the juice Wednesday night, pounding out a season-high 18 hits and smacking the Sox 8-4. Boston gave Daisuke a 2-0 lead after four innings, but Dice had been living dangerously all along, and Cleveland finally started to make him pay. And pay and pay. The Indians score two in...

Trot Nixon's homecoming game at Fenway was one to remember. Not so much for Trot (1-for-3), but for the fact that this game had a little bit of everything. An inside-the-park home run for Kevin Youkilis (shhh...20 game hitting streak...shhh). A conventional home run for Manny, tying him with former teammate Jim Thome for 25th place all time. A controversial third-strike call in the ninth that brought both managers out for some earnest discussions with...

6-0. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it looked grim for a while for Josh Beckett and the Sox. Dan Johnson broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth with an RBI single, but the Sox rallied off 2 off the Oakland bullpen in the bottom of the inning. Then Okajima and Timlin shut the A's down, and just like that, Beckett became the majors' first six-game winner in the 6-4 triumph. Bostonist hearts...

Finally, we can put the one-day wonder of Sockgate behind us. O's broadcaster Gary Thorne admitted he misinterpreted Doug Mirabelli's horseplay as a confession, and thus has no reason to believe that Curt Schilling painted his sock to look bloody. The lesson here, of course, is that horseplay has no place in a major league clubhouse. Curt took the opportunity to unload on the media; you get the feeling that parts of his diatribe were...

There are two types of people in the world: those who are willing to slog through rain, wind, possible snow (hey, you never know) and agony to complete a marathon, and...the other kind. Bostonist freely admits to being the other kind. But to everyone who wills their way through this, we tip our hats, raise our glasses, and count our blessings that we'll be home watching you on TV. If you have time to fiddle...

What do two guys from the greater Boston area talk about on late night television? Easter candy of course. Last week B.J. Novak, a Newton native and star of the office, was on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (Conan's from Brookline and is a Harvard alum.) B.J. was on Conan to promote his new movie Rain Over Me but like many late night TV interviews it took a little while to get there. They started...

The Bruins pounded the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 last night. Not only are the Bruins winning consistently, but they are getting closer to a playoff spot. A few weeks ago, this would have been inconceivable, but the Bruins continue to surprise. It's looking like Marco Sturm is close to re-signing, and Patrice Bergeron seems to be recovering from his injury.

Ah, finally, a break from Aqua Teen Hunger Force … When the chips are down for the local sports teams, it's time to talk about what players, coaches, owners, and GMs are doing in their spare time. They're getting busy. In what would have been a major local story were it not for a certain cup, cluster o' fries, and a "meat wad," word leaked out that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein got hitched -...

Invited to this little soiree was our star Red Sox ace, Curt Schilling. Curt proved to be the most eloquent of the ballplayers there, fielding a larger number of questions than the others. However, there has been some discussion that the stance taken by Mr. Schilling was less than acceptable. He felt that this steroid problem is something more far-reaching than just the sport of baseball, and that energy should be spent across the board in the professional sports world. He also made it known that he thought baseball would be able to effectively police themselves in resolving this issue. As much as Bostonist loves the guy, one has to believe that that's about as probable as the Red Sox winning the World Se- ... uhhh... as the Cubbies winning the World Series.

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