I do a lot of different things at work. I check my mail, read the sports headlines, go to the bathroom and occasionally do "actual" work. Well, today wasn't one of those occasional days. (I'm kidding, I really do work hard... or do I? No I do.... I think.)
But anyway, today I was listening to ESPN Radio at my desk and heard Colin Cowherd talking about team USA. He, along with most sports personalities, agree that team USA has the best basketball players on the planet. Yet those same personalities also think that the 2008 version of the "Dream Team" doesn't stand a chance against the international competition this summer. Their main reason being that Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and company rarely play together, while teams from across the globe have been scrimmaging and practicing together for years.
I sent him an email detailing my disagreement, but he has yet to respond on air. I'm expecting a call at home later tonight.
Here is my point - Doesn't having the best players in the world trump chemistry? I realized that it hasn't in the years past, as Team USA has been embarrassed in recent memory on the international stage. But this is a different game. It's different than the pros, it's different than college and it takes a while to adjust.
Don't get me wrong, they cannot win on talent alone. They will need to practice together and adapt to the different rules. But at some point, talent takes over. Part of being great is making those around you better, regardless if you've played with them for seven years or seven minutes. Kobe Bryant made Pau Gasol look like a superstar in a few short months of playing together (until the Celtics exposed him as Pau Ga"soft").
I could take my YMCA basketball team (who just lost a heart breaker by one point) and practice everyday for three years. We would be a well oiled machine, knowing exactly where everyone would be without even looking. We could run our offense and defense in our sleep. Put us against a random group of five NBA'ers who don't even like each other and they'd cover the 45 point spread easily.
And just so you know, we are no easy competition. I've bumped my points average from 4.5 last year to well over 5 this year. And I would have broke double digits last week had the ref not had it out for me.
But the point amongst this random ranting is that there is a difference between a good player, and a great player. A good player consistently puts up numbers. A great player puts up numbers and makes those around them better.
So with great players on the roster, why can't USA win gold?
I'm open to your opinions.
Going for Gold
Well I Didn't Have to Wait 86 Years but Close Enough!
I have been working at experience.com for a year now and my favorite part of the job, besides reading the comments my adoring fans leave (most of the time courtesy of my uncle), is bugging the crap out of the poor intern who has to oversee our blogs. In the past it has been the lovely Jenna but Jenna is out, like Amy Winehouse's lungs and skinny jeans, and in her place is the ever so lovely Allison, or at least she seems lovely in her emails. And I simply ADORE the weekly email's from the intern to the bloggers and last weeks did not disappoint. Allison decided to give us some helpful hints on how to "spice up" our blogs and she suggested a haiku. So, Allison, I couldn't remember how many syllables were in each line of a haiku so instead I am going to write a short verse poem, dedicated to Allison the Intern.
Dear Allison,
Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I really don't give a crap that Spain won the Euro Cup because soccer is a sport that should be reserved for YMCA youth teams only,
so instead I am going to write about my summer swim team.
-Meredith
Ok, maybe that wasn't exactly Shakespeare but it got the point across. Those of you that read my blog last summer will recall that I became a first time, Co-Head Coach of the Clearwater Dolphins, a private swim club in my hometown, last summer. Last year we went 4-1 with our only loss, a heartbreaking one against what I can only call the Evil Empire, or Fish and Game, which is simply a stupid name for a pool club anyway. So, this year I am back in the coaching gig which is surprising to me because I had no intention of coming back at all. The job was just too overwhelming last year and I was really looking forward to my impending internship with 60 Minutes.
To make a long story short, Emerson, and this is the nicest way I can say it, screwed me over and it was bye bye 60 Minutes hello Clearwater! But I have to say, I'm happy I came back for another year because after a year of coaching, I am a lot less overwhelmed than I was last year. 150 kids last year was a number that almost led me into cardiac arrest. This year? Psh, bring it on, give me 250 kids I can still fit them all into a 53 event meet. Fish and Game is our first competitor of the season? Child's play.
Well the last part really isn't true. When I found out we were against Fish and Game to begin our season I immediately began panicking, and this was March. The loss last year can only be compared to when Tim Wakefield blew it in the 2003 playoffs against the Yankees. We were so close to winning and then a million things went wrong. So, although I wanted to beat Fish and Game, the idea of starting the season against them terrified me because nothing is worse than being 0-1 off the bat.
Luckily, I don't have to worry about that! I spent a year thinking about that loss, pouring over lineups with my other coach trying to figure out where we went wrong. Turns out, we had all the tools we needed, we just need to figure out how to out coach them.
And OBVIOUSLY we out coached them because we won! And we didn't just win, we destroyed them 319 to 228. For a meet that I thought was going to be a nail bitter, they didn't even come close. Our kids swam their hardest and that showed in the way they placed and the records they broke. As a coach, it was probably the proudest moment of my coaching career. Just like the 2004 Red Sox, it was a long road to get to the best team in the league, but once we did, it was smooth sailing. And sure, they can argue that they were missing kids and this and that but at the end of the day, we will be the ones, hopefully, presented with the Dual Meet Championship Trophy after we have an undefeated season. Now, I know it's a bit soon to be making room for our glorious new trophy but, as long as we stay on track and don't get too big headed, that trophy has our name on it.
So, does it stink that I didn't get my 60 Minutes internship? Yes. Will there be other summers to do it? Certainly. Am I glad I came back? Without a doubt. Because when you think about it, there is no better way to go out than on top and I plan to go out as an undefeated coach for the 2008 Clearwater Dolphins.
2008 MLB Mid-Season Awards
It's almost July. Which means it's almost time for the MLB All-Star Game. Which means it's almost the half way point to the season.
What better time to write a mid-season MLB awards list? (Well, I guess mid-season wouldn't be a bad time.)
So here it is, feel free to comment with your own picks.
2008 MLB Mid-Season Awards
NL MVP - Chase Utley
The Phillies are well on their way to having their third different MVP in three straight years. Now, if they only had some pitching the Philly fans wouldn't be so angry all the time. Does Steve Carlton still pitch for them?
AL MVP - Josh Hamilton
An All-Star appearance, a Triple Crown, an MVP. All while laying off the pipe. Dreams can come true in America.
NL Cy Young - Brandon Webb
The best pitcher on one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. No joke for this one.
AL Cy Young - Cliff Lee
Back-to-back Cy Young winners for the tribe. Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn could have made it three in a row if he stayed away from the party life.
Most Likely To Get Hurt and Never Come Close To Batting .400 - Chipper Jones
He has already gone down with a quad injury, a back problem and a black and blue eye - and it isn't even July yet. Next time he sneezes he may end up on the 60-day DL.
Most Likely To Not bat .400 Even If You Double His Average - Adam LaRoche
Forget the Mendoza Line, with his early season struggles LaRoche has created new meaning for the word "suck."
Best Player Under 6' On the Worst Team - Tim Lincecum
At 5'11", 170-pounds, Lincecum offers hope for undersized athletes like myself. But my 70 mph fastball quickly dispels that hope.
First Person to Get Into a Fight for Defending His Belief That He Doesn't Have Anger Issues - Milton Bradley
Really, do you need an explanation?
Best 1970's Porn Mustache – Jason Giambi
The porn mustache could possible be linked to the g-string he wears before games. Research is still ongoing.
World Series Prediction – Cubs over the Red Sox
Two teams whose hometowns absolutely love them, but everyone else is sick of hearing about. When the Cubs win we finally can stop hearing them cry about the Billy Goat curse and Steve Bartman. The only downfall is if the Red Sox lose Boston fans might complain they are suffering from another curse. Only if.
Most Ridiculous Fight in Baseball – All of them
Does anyone else find it weird that when there is a fight and the bullpens clear, both team's pitchers run side by side until they reach the infield, and then they fight? I think there should be three separate fights - one in the infield with the position players and the bench; one in the outfield with the pitchers; and one in the press box with the announcers and beat writers. I'd throw down over a high and tight pitch to Nate McLouth.
Teenage Girls Are Deflating My Ego
My Saturday night was like any 20 something year old's Saturday night. I was dolled up and ready to get my....gymnastics on. That's right, Saturday night it was just me and my closest teenage girlfriends, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and the rest of the Olympic hopefuls competing to earn spots on the 2008 American Women's Olympic Gymnastics Team in Beijing.
Now, there is nothing like a bunch of over achieving high schoolers to make a college girl feel bad about herself. The biggest tv show I have been on was on my campus channel that I'm fairly certain my roommate didn't even watch while 16-year-old Shawn Johnson is being interviewed on National tv in front of millions of viewers. I am stressing out over my first summer swim meet of the season while Chellsie Memmel gets to agonize over if her 3rd place finish at the trials and her performance in the training camp coming up are going to be enough to send her to the Olympics. I made grill cheese for the first time in my life and Nastia Liukin is a two time World Champion, 6 time World Medalist, and a 4 time U.S National Champion at 18. Oh and did I mention that Nastia, despite her nasty name, is super hot? Life is so cruel.
I have always had a love for women's gymnastics. In fact, I thought myself to be a future Olympian Gymnast for a very short period of time in my life. At the tender age of 10, I attended my first summer gymnastics camp....with a broken wrist. That should have been my first clue, especially for my mother, that maybe an accident prone child shouldn't be involved in a sport such as gymnastics. To make things worse, the genius' at my YWCA gymnastics camp decided it would be a grand idea to have the injured super tall 10 year old try her luck at the balance beam. And you know, there is nothing like a heavy cast on one arm to really help one find their center of gravity. But really, who needs balance on a balance beam?
Long story short, I fell rather quickly off the balance beam hitting the beam on my way down in a place that made me thankful that I wasn't born a boy. I spent the rest of my time at camp playing Connect Four. Glad my mom got her money's worth out of that camp.
Anyway, I was super excited that the trials were on because it gave me a chance to live out my dreams of what could have been through a bunch of girls, most of whom have neither graduated h.s., taken the SAT's, obtained a driver's license, or remember the 80's. God my life is sad. 
Johnson and Liukin. Image from www.usa-gymnastics.org
But I am sort of glad that I wasn't competing at the trials because for some girls, their dreams were crushed in front of thousands of fans in the stadium, millions more at home, and a bunch of reporters ready to descend upon them and really rub in that sense of defeat. At the end of it all, two spots were secured by Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson and four are left to be decided by the training camp in Houston and the Visa Championship's in Boston in a couple of weeks. But I did take some notes from the trials and here's my thoughts:
Nastia doing a sick flip on the beam. Image from usatoday.com
- Nastia Liukin can do a flip on the balance beam and land on one freaking foot. It almost makes you warm to her, but then you remember that she is Russian and she flashes the camera her cold Soviet stare and you loose all feeling in your body and start to fear her.
- Ivana Hong didn't qualify and I think I know why. She has some deeper issues to work out, mainly how she ended up with an Eastern European first name and an Asian last name. I'm still confused over it.
- Chellsie Memmel deserves to qualify. She is one of the older girls at the competition (I know 19, what a granny), and she has waited a long time for this moment and done everything on her own terms. Or at least that's what Bob Costas told me. She seems to be sort of the rebel of women's gymnastics (if that is even possible).
-Shawn Johnson is being painted as America's Sweetheart in this competition. This is the main reason I despise her.
- There are less scrunchies being used in women's gymnastics. I applaud that.
-Bella Karolyis should not be sportscasting along with Bob Costas. He sensationalizes everything and I have no clue what he is saying. Ever.
So, eventually I pulled myself away from the tv Saturday night and went out like any normal 20-year-old to a normal college party and found plenty of less than intelligent, intoxicated girls to boost my ego right back up to it's normal position. Now, I'll just have to sit back and wait for the Olympics to come around and puncture my ego once again. But, there will always be one thing to make me feel better about myself: Men's Gymnastics. Unlike the women's trials, the men's gymnastics trials were held on Saturday from 4:30-6:00 when no one watches tv, and although I may not be as cute as Nastia Liukin and the rest of the girls, I'm a whole helluva lot better looking than a majority of the men's team and I have a manlier voice than Paul and Morgan Hamm can ever hope to have (that may not always be a positive thing, but in this case, it is). So, thank you Men's Gymnastics, for always being around to help remind me that I am not nearly as irrelevant as I think I am.
Managing Your Time 101
I'm here to answer the question we all have been thinking about...What do Willie Randolph and I have in common?
Well, I'm glad I brought it up, because there is one trait we share.
Neither of us can manage.
While he has trouble managing the underachieving Mets on his way out the door in New York, I am currently having trouble managing my time.
A big no-no in the sports writing world.
I have become the Pittsburgh Pirate feature writer for the monthly paper I work at. It's a great job, because they are my favorite team in my favorite sport. And yes, Pittsburgh still has a professional baseball team in case any people outside western Pennsylvania are reading this.
Usually my assignments are a Q&A with someone involved with the organization, and a feature story on any topic I see fit (as long as it gets approved by my editor). I settled on a standard topic this month, how players on the trade block deal with rumors circling around them before the July 31st trade deadline.
I had a list of three or four questions I was going to ask a few players in the clubhouse before a game last week. I left my day job around 4:30 and headed down to PNC Park (I'll let you imagine what my day job is, but I'll give you a hint: it involves a speedo, lotion and a camera with 500x zoom).
When I got to the stadium it was around 5:40 and the clubhouse was closing in 20 minutes. I walked in and didn't immediately see anyone I needed. So I left and ate dinner before going to the press box to watch the Bucs blow a lead in the 9th. I didn't think anything of it, as I was also going to the game the next day and figured I would have plenty of time if I got down there early enough.
I arrived at the park around 5:00 the next night, with plenty of time to do my interviews. But the only problem is right when I was about to step out of my car, my phone rang. It was the Pirates broadcaster with whom I was doing my Q&A with. I had forgot I had set up the interview with him at this time.
By the time I finished the Q&A, it was too late to go to the clubhouse yet again. So through two trips to the park and several gallons of gas, I had nothing to show for it.
So here I am, less than a week away from my due date with not one quote. Luckily my editor gave me an extension to finish my story, which means I HAVE to get my interviews done this Saturday, and write the story on the Lords' day. There really is no excuse on my part, as I had ample opportunity in my other two trips. I just failed to manage my time well.
I have no one to blame but myself. It's something a sports writer, or any writer for that matter, cannot afford to do.
Hopefully I will get what I need on Saturday. Hopefully I will have the story completed by Sunday night. If not, my next press pass might be at a YMCA checkers tournament.
Instant Replay in the MLB?: I'm Going to Have to Side with Lou on This One
I knew it. I knew I shouldn't have done it. Oh, why oh why did I HAVE to insult Vanessa Bryant in my first blog of the summer? Why was I tempted by that purple tutu to write demeaning things about Kobe's suga' momma,? Oh, those damn purple tutu's get me every time.
That's right, I figured all you blogettes out there, (that's my new word for readers of the blog, sort of like the Rockettes but without the high kicks), I have been placed under the Vanessa Bryant Curse. Worse than the Curse of the Bambino, the Vanessa Bryant Curse focuses solely on the world of sports, honing in on the sport nearest and dearest to your heart, and sucks the soul out of it.
And somehow, that tricky Vanessa knew that my favorite sport was baseball. Ever since I insulted Vanessa the world of baseball has been turned upside for me. First, the Red Sox trade Nomar (ok I know that happened about 6 years ago but I'm still upset). Then, two weeks ago, they try to eliminate fighting in baseball. And now, they want to add instant replays to the MLB? And the Tampa Bay Rays don't suck this year? What is this the second coming of the Apocalypse? What has happened to my beloved sport!
But rather than focus on the Ray's lack of suckage, fighting in baseball, or even Nomar (swoon), the focus of today's blog is on the push for instant replay's in the MLB. After many a blown call by umpires all over the league, the MLB is looking for a little computerized backup to help legitimize the calls made in baseball.
To which I have to say, seriously? Come ON MLB don't do this to me. What are we trying to become, the NFL with our flashy secretive replay TV's? What next Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders at baseball games? John Madden hosting Sunday Night Baseball while trying to sell us tough actin' Tinactin?
According to an AP report on sportingnews.com, the MLB wants to created a a "NHL-style war room" in New York where video feeds would be reviewed by a supervisor. Basically the supervisor would review any play that was being questioned and describe it to the umpire crew chief, letting him make the final call. So, it's sort of like the blind leading the blind, right? And, can it even be called an instant replay if the umpires are not even seeing the instant replay? Call me crazy but, this sort of sounds like adding an unnecessary middle man to the whole situation.
But really, it was Lou Piniella that captured my thoughts exactly, and a heck of a lot more eloquently when he stated: "I don't think it's needed at all to be honest. How many times do you see players make errors? Baseball has talked about speeding up the game. It's all you hear. All of a sudden, they want instant replay? You're going to have slower games and more restless people in the stands."
Amen to that Lou, amen to that.
And a final thought, why do umpires need extra assistance at doing their jobs? Baseball is the slowest moving sport besides curling, heck, curling may even move faster than baseball. There are only 10 players, counting the one at bat, on the field at any given time for four or so umpires to pay attention to, is that really not enough eyes to make a correct call? I mean, you're getting paid to watch a Major League Baseball game from on the field! What could be better than that? What are you not doing when you are supposed to be paying attention and making correct calls? Checking out the hot ball girls? Making crowns out of dandelions? Do your job! Maybe it isn't instant replay that the MLB should be looking into but instead, younger, less A.D.D prone umpires.
So how do you feel about the instant replay? Is it a yay or a nay in your book? Let me know, write a comment below!
Top Nine Reasons the Celtics Will Win the NBA Finals
As the NBA enters their 8th month of playoffs, I thought I would offer a little insight into the Finals. After all, I'm tremendous at making predictions, so you can take this to the bank.
TOP NINE REASONS THE CELTICS WILL WIN THE NBA FINALS
9. I picked the the Lakers to win in six. FYI, I also picked the Mavericks to beat the Hornets, the Suns to beat the Spurs, the Wizards to beat the Cavaliers and Houston to beat Utah. Huh.
8. Pau Gasol looks like a human version of Big Bird, minus the crack addict friend Snuffalufagus.
7. Kobe Bryant can't do it all. As Jalen Rose said on ESPN, he is playing like the late, great, Tupac Shakur. "All eyes on him." Wait.... Tupac is dead?
6. Leon Powe is now referred to as Leon POW! by Phil Jackson. No one in the history of the NBA Playoffs has ever lost with a last name name that has an exclamation mark.
5. Kevin Garnett is pulling down boards, hitting outside shots and swearing loud enough for the cameras to hear him more than usual.
4. Ray Allen of UConn is taking a seat and Jesus Shuttlesworth of Big State is taking his spot on the court. "Jesus Shuttlesworth is the best thing to happen to basketball since the tennis shoe." - John Thompson
3. Paul Pierce with one knee - and probably a boat load of pain killers - is better than Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher and Vladimir Radmanovic.
2. Lakers' guard Sasha Vujacic wears a woman's hair band and calls himself "automatic." Automatically gay, maybe. Not that there is anything wrong with that...
And the number one reason the Celtics will win the NBA Playoffs...
1. They are already up 2-0. If we only knew that a week ago, how rich we all could be.
Major League Baseball: Sure to Provide a Brawling Good Time
Ah my first baseball bench clearing brawl, I remember it as if it were yesterday.
It was a typical summer day in 2000 when Pedro Martinez took the mound in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (excuse me, they are now just the Rays, they changed their name for obvious reasons.....I'm just not sure what they really are....). Pedro had only thrown three measly pitches before innocently plunking Gerald Williams on the hand. Gerald did what most level headed grown men do when someone gives them a boo boo, he charged the mound and started the first bench clearing brawl of maybe one of the best games I have ever seen. Not only did the Sox win 8-0 but by the end of the game, there had been 2 bench clearing brawls, 8 Rays ejected, four players hit by pitches, and a handful of Sox players sent to the hospital (www.sptimes.com). That game had everything baseball should be about, good pitching, lots of runs scored (by the Sox naturally), and fights.
Luckily for me, the Sox are one of the scrappiest teams in the major leagues and a few days ago, they made me a proud momma again by getting in a bench clearing brawl with, who else, but the Rays. This one wasn't as much of a spectacle as the one in 2000, but Coco Crisp did land a pretty good punch on their starting pitcher's jaw which I saw about a thousand times (thanks for in depth coverage Sports Center. Copy and paste the link below into your browser to see the actual fight. I can't figure out how to link yet, I'm a work in progress).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbfQEs6tWAE
But with all the fighting going on in baseball, many people have called for baseball brawls to stop. They want harsher punishments for those who charge the mound, throw a punch, and a general no fighting rule for baseball,
To which I have to reply, are you people insane!? You can't get rid of fighting in baseball! Taking the brawls out of baseball is like taking away apple pie from America, they just go hand in hand, you can't do it. Some of the best moments in baseball have happened because of brawls. Think back to 2004 when the Red Sox were starting to fall apart in July and Jason Varitek, the Captain and catcher of the team, started a fight with ARod when he looked as if he were going to attack Bronson Arroyo. Sure he was suspended four games but that was the same game where the Red Sox started to chip away at the Yankees A.L East lead and eventually ended up turning their season around and securing a Wild Card spot. I don't think that would have happened unless Jason Varitek had done something to get the team riled up. And with a bunch of testosterone filled jocks in your clubhouse, what else is going to get their blood boiling? A trip to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway? A sing a-long to the Newsies? I don't think so, what's going to get them fired up is a good ol' fight. And maybe a steak. I don't why, but guys really really love biting into a half cooked piece of cow. 
photo from bostondirtdogs.boston.com
So this is what I have to say to the baseball gods: Work on cutting down the time it takes to complete a game. Get rid of that stupid "Take me out to the ball game" song. And please, permanently remove Jim Kaat, Tim McCarver, and those Sunday Night Baseball dudes on ESPN, but leave the brawls alone. Fights in baseball are just apart of the game and I would be more concerned if players were not throwing a few punches everyone once and a while. You fight when you care about what you are doing. So if players are showing their love for the game through a brawl every once and a while, then so be it. I would be more concerned if a player wasn't protecting his pitcher from getting hit or charging the mound when he he feels that he has been wronged, because that means his heart isn't in the game and you don't want to see that either. So I say let 'em fight and let them play ball!
Please don't hurt me Kimbo
A lot has changed since my last blog. The weather has gotten nicer, the Tampa Bay Rays are in first place in the AL East and Kobe is quietly approaching MJ status. But if you missed CBS' airing of MMA on Saturday night, you really missed out.
MMA stands for mixed martial arts, for those of you who weren't sure. It is basically backyard fighting in a cage. And for this event they had the ultimate backyard fighter - 6'2", 250-pound Internet sensation Kimbo Slice.
Now this isn't the type of show you would usually see on cable television, especially on retirement homes' #1 station - CBS. It seems better suited for the FOX airwaves, right after their season finale of "Will You Fornicate With My Mother?"
But violence aside, it was actually entertaining. True MMA fans are complaining that it's ruining the integrity of the sport, having an amateur like Slice fight as the main event. Well, I'm not one of those people, and I would just like to apologize to Mr. Slice in their behalf, because, well, he scares the hell out of me.
Watch the video of him on youtube when he lets his opponent punch him in the face several times before he knocks him out and you'll understand.
His beard looks like it's made of steel wool. His nostrils are big enough to fit my whole fist. I was thinking about mailing him my lunch money today, just to avoid possible future confrontation. But I think he'll be able to survive off his six figure payout from Saturday.
He entered the match 2-0, with no fight lasting into the 2nd round. This time, however, it took him three rounds to pop the seven inch, blood-filled zit his opponent called an ear.
It was the first time I watched MMA, and I came away entertained. The women's match entertained me, too. And they weren’t even naked. Go figure.
So as a rookie to the MMA world, I would like to give my full endorsement, whatever that is worth. I will more than likely watch it again, unless there is something better on.
This is Joe Giardina, and I support this message.
Back, Back in the Blogging Groove
June 2nd, 2008 will probably go down as the most important day in the history of important days. Bigger than Pearl Harbor, or the day Princess Di married Charles, or even that day when Tanya Harding hired those thugs to wack Nancy Kerrigan in the knee with a pipe (I'm still not over that), today is the greatest day of your lives.
And why is that?
Because my blog is back for the summer! Rejoice! Bust out that champagne (only if you are over 21 dearies), throw some confetti, and put on some cheesy bar mitzvah dance music, because you have not one, not two, but 11 wonderful weeks of blogs by myself and Joe to keep you entertained this summer. At this point those of you who have been reading from the get go (aka my mother) haven noticed that I tend to leave after each semester with a big fanfare style fair well only to return weeks later in grand splendor so, why must I celebrate every time I return? Well kids, one day I'm probably going to say something wildly inappropriate and experience.com will wise up and send me packing so I am going to live each blog as if it were my last.
But I'm pretty sure I won't get the boot this summer so yippie! Now for our first blog topic. I'll be honest, it took me awhile to come up with this one. What should a girl from Boston write about? What could possibly be going on in the world of sports pertaining to Boston that would tickle my fancy?
If you answered the Celtics advancing to the NBA finals for the first time since 1987 (which also happens to be the year I was born! Who feels old now? ) to face off against the Lakers (who they happened to lose to in 1987, wow '87 was a bad year except for my triumphant arrival into this world) you would be correct! Sure I may be a little biased but, I'm willing to bet my little brother that the Celtics win. And, if I lose, well really I still win because deep down I always wanted to be an only child and sharing a bathroom at home with a 15-year-old is horrific.
But, since I know you all love my lists, here are my top reasons why the Celtics will win and deserve to win the NBA title:
1. It makes for a really good story: From a journalist perspective, the Celtics winning is good for business. One of the worst teams in the league last year does a 180 to come back one of the best teams in the league sealing the deal with an NBA title for Beantown. The Lakers have too many titles anyway, they should learn to share and it's about time that the Celtics have a turn.
2. After that whole Superbowl fiasco that we really don't need to go into the Patriots are a better team anyway and we all know that, Boston could really use a victory to boost moral. It's been a rough winter (thanks a lot Spygate).
3. There hasn't been a car burned in Boston and enough drunk college kids arrested for disorderly conduct since the Sox won the World Series in 2007! We really could use some more anarchy in Boston.
4. It gives people an excuse to blast the Drop Kick Murphy's in celebration. Not that people in Boston ever seem to need an excuse to play the Drop Kick Murphy's.
5. Paul "The Truth" Pierce plays better against the Lakers than any other team. And that's the truth.
6. Spencer and Heidi are Lakers fans, that's enough of a reason to want them to lose.
7. The Celtics are the underdogs in this situation. The only team that's rivaled them this year are the Lakers and Kobe has proven to be unstoppable in the post season. Which is exactly why they should choke and fail in the series to end all series.
8. Green and white are totally better team colors than yellow and purple. Oh wait, my school colors are yellow and purple......
9. I've waited my whole life to see the Celtics win a NBA title (literally)
10. Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa, is crazy. Why is that #10 you ask? Well I'm hoping if they lose she will throw an absolute fit just like she did when she cursed out reporter Laura Lane for making fun of her tutu. I'm also hoping if I degrade her enough in this blog, she'll come after me because how awesome would it be for Vanessa "only publicly known because she married Kobe Bryant and decided jewelery was enough to forgive her husband for adultery" Bryant to post a comment on this blog! I'll be famous! So here it is, Vanessa, your tutu is ugly, you're no Carrie Bradshaw you can't pull it off, and I don't like your weave. So there. 
Photo from www.babble.com
And with that I am done with my top ten list of why the Celtics will win the NBA title. Boston sports teams are known for doing the impossible (think the 2004 Sox and heck, the Bruins even making the playoffs was nothing short of a miracle), so I don't see why the Celtics cannot do the same. If history has anything to do with it, I think we'll see the NBA title brought back to Beantown after much too long of a hiatus.
*Note: I hope someone got that my blog title is based on the song "Back in the New York Groove." I simply replaced "New York" with "Blogging" aren't I witty!
