...New Look C's...

This is the most incredible off the court day I can ever remember for the Boston Celtics. Here, in fact, are my top 5 most memorable off the court day the C's have had, to me, in reverse order of importance:

1. The day in Bailey Island, ME where Jake showed me, with a tear in his eye, the day the Celtics traded Bryant Stith. 
2. While I was at the draft lottery, the Celtics expected to get the #1 pick (again) and secure either Oden or Durant, and instead ended up with the #5 pick, which deflated me at the time, but led to... 
3. At the draft, the Celtics draft Jeff Green & traded him on draft night for Ray Allen - starting the rumors of the eventual Garnett arrival in Boston. 
4. The day the ping pong balls bounced the wrong way and the C's thought they'd get #1 & #3 (Duncan & Billups) in the draft, and ended up with #3 and #6 (Billups & Mercer). 
5. Today, the day they traded Perk & others, in conjunction with the complete NBA mania, and the short 9 man Celtics squad v. a new look Denver team. 

So that brings us to today, and as someone who clearly talks about and loves the NBA, I have had more than a few folks ask me what I think about today's deals.

I think today's flurry of trades are not ones you can assess totally, as I don't think they are done. The Celtics are going to acquire other players, and individual moves are just pieces of the puzzle. If the Celtics acquire Troy Murphy, and if they acquire another big man who can play some kind of Defense, even a Rasheed Wallace, and if Shaq is healthy and just resting, then I am not upset at all with the deal.

Jeff Green is a superstud, I believe that. Last year during the playoffs I wrote this about Jeff Green:

But the Thunder's chemistry is in a lab coat, with beakers and bunson burners all over the place. At this point they are mad scientists. Chemistry doesn't just keep people happy, chemistry makes normal players turn into complete badasses. Their bench is so deep, and so badass, and I don't even think they are that physically gifted, or at least NBA-gifted. Jeff Green has turned into a supermachine, a defensive player with the confidence of a Hall of Famer. He is so quietly destroying the Lakers with all the intangibles that I am starting to think he is in his early 30's, and somehow had a Face/Off transplant with Pippen from the mid 90's.

To be honest, I feel that way about him still. As Steve Kerr put it tonight, big men aren't the Celtics issue, Dwight Howard is almost literally a clown and the Magic aren't the problem. Yes, we may struggle against LA again, but I don't think I'm too terrified - and there is no planning on beating Duncan if the Spurs advance, you just have to hope it happens. Bottom line, I think that Jeff Green is the best player in the entire trade, and I am psyched to have him in green, extension or not.

Now we get to Kendrick Perkins, which is absolutely more complex and difficult to think through. Here is what I wrote about Perkins after his injury during the Finals last year. If you don't feel like reading the entire other post, the gist is this: I love Perkins, I was sad to see him get hurt, and I am furious that he was robbed of the ring.

But it gets more complex. The NBA is finance, plain and simple. The NBA is about squeezing the proper combinations of contracts & attitudes into a giant blender, and making the nectar that comes out taste delicious. It's a nearly impossible task.

I have said for a long time, that in a marriage, love isn't enough for it to to work. It's a baseline, you have to love each other, but you have to realize that you also have to have aligned philosophies on money, kids, things that you find fun, how to approach life, etc.

In the NBA, talent isn't nearly enough. Having the right Center for your team, even if he is perfect for you and perhaps better than the one you replace him with - that may not be enough to make it all work. And I think the fact that Perkins contract was up this year, and at this time last year I was already completely concerned with his financial situation, which, I cannot say enough, is more important than the player's talent and/or chemistry with the other players.

So Perkins is gone, and I think he is gone because his injury threw his contract situation into complete chaos. The real value for him is a moving target, and when given the choice to offer Jeff Green just under $6 Million next year (qualifying offer), and let his restricted free agent status tell us, is he worth it? I think we extend his contract, sign Kristic and let Big Baby walk. Those are my takes, but Ainge has never done what I thought he would do.

I will miss Perkins, I was not shy about loving his style, his game, his play, and his heart, even if he was a pain a bunch of the time.

Perkins was not his former self, however. He was more than a liability this year offensively, and I didn't see light at the end of that tunnel, for this season at least. Perkins couldn't jump, couldn't go back up quickly, and his temper is a dangerous thing in the league of quick T's. Don't take this as sour grapes - I think he is fantastic, and I could see the C's winning it all with him as the anchor on defense.

I also can see them winning it when nobody is there on the Lakers to cover a second unit of West, Jeff Green, Troy Murphy, Glen Davis & Jermaine O'Neal. So at the end of the day, I think the emotions are real, and strong, but the reality is, I like this new look team.

...My 2011 Oscar Thoughts...

Picture

1. The Social Network
I saw this on a plane, and I feel like if I saw it in the theatre it'd be in my top 5 of the last 5 years (see my list below).  I feel like this movie had everything, but unfortunately it looks like it embellished the truth pretty significantly, so that's disappointing. But oh well, who cares. I don't. The score, I should mention, was my favorite since Wall-E.

2. Toy Story 3
At the time when I saw this, I declared it my favorite all-time animated film.  There hasn't been an animated movie that has brought out the kind of emotional reaction and connection like this one did, ever. On a side note, I am not confident about Cars 2.

3. 127 Hours
I put off seeing this one for so long because I knew the story - i saw the hour 20/20 or whatever it was with Tom Brokaw and Aron Ralston a few years ago. I knew about the arm, the fall, the tendon, the water, the whole thing...But this really was an achievement by Boyle more than anything else, he really drove the story home with tons of clever film techniques that I don't think anyone would have imagined - I won't give things away, and I don't know technical film-speak, but he made a story we all know, and sorta dread reliving, into a compelling 1.5 hours.

4. The Kids Are All Right
Totally unique look at gay marriage and gay relationships. It wasn't about the troubles of life b/c the couple was gay, it was about the troubles of relationships, and how confusing they are in general. I think in the long run, if people watch this en masse, it could do more for the same-sex marriage cause than any other movie to this point has.

5. True Grit
Like every Coen Brothers movie, this was entertaining from start to finish. See my sub-Coen Brothers list below.  If I could write one sentence as compelling as every single line in a Coen Brothers movie, I'd be such a happy fella.

6. The King’s Speech
The acting performances were incredible, and the story was really great. I had 2 British people watching this movie about 7 rows in front of me, and they were the only people laughing at some of the jokes. I think I would have liked this more if I was British.  Royalty is silly, though, isn't it?

7. The Fighter
I spend my whole life avoiding conversations like basically every conversation that took place in this movie.  What a painful existence - I don't mean poor, I mean completely happily ignorant. So happily ignorant they don't even know they're all unhappy.

8. Inception
I liked Inception more than this, but it's such a hard film to put into place compared to the rest of them. It was a visual spectacle, it was the token Summer nominee that will be part of the 10 films as long as there are 10 nominees, it deserves accolades but I don't think it deserves Best Picture nomination. It was a cool story, but and as I said before it sorta did break new ground visually...basically I don't have anything bad to say about it, but it wasn't what is usually a Best Picture nomination.

9. Winter's Bone
This one is so clearly the result of the 10 nominations. This was Frozen River, it was Vera Drake - it wasn't a Best Picture nominee for real, it was just a few good & great acting performances. I can see how this book could be astounding, but as a film it was just so-so.

10. Black Swan
If Natalie Portman wasn't exploring her sexuality on the big screen, this movie would have been nominated for a Razzie.  How many consecutive conversations between The Swan & the Director did we need to hear him say cliche after cliche about her needing to "let go?" See my sub-Worst Best Picture Nominees since '00 list below.


(If it's in red, I didn't see it)
Actor 

1. Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
2. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
3. James Franco, 127 Hours
4. Jeff Bridges, True Grit
5. Javier Bardem, Biutiful 


Actress

1. Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
2. Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
3. Natalie Portman, Black Swan
4. Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
5. Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

S. Actor

1. Christian Bale, The Fighter
2. Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
3. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
4. John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
5. Jeremy Renner, The Town

S. Actress

1. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
2. Melissa Leo, The Fighter
3. Amy Adams, The Fighter
4. Helena Bonham Carter, The Kings Speech
5. Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Director

1. Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
2. David Fincher, The Social Network
3. Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
4. David O. Russell, The Fighter
5. Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

No Danny Boyle in this category is dumb. Dumb Dumb Dumb. I would say that his direction and film-making in this year was outdone by nobody - the story of 127 Hours was carried completely by the direction. The acting was good, but not as good as the direction. So stunned.

Original Screenplay

1. Inception
2. The Kids Are All Right
3. The King’s Speech
4. The Fighter
5. Another Year

Adapted Screenplay

1. Toy Story 3
2. The Social Network
3. 127 Hours
4. True Grit
5. Winter’s Bone

Animated

1. Toy Story 3
In the category, there is no way anyone could compete with this. Pixar is magical, the characters are iconic, and the story was fluid and fantastic. This is a no brainer, and the Academy will agree.

2. How to Train Your Dragon
Who names movies? Who titles films? This is a terrible name for a really great story. It was a funny & caring story, and the name of the movie is terrible, which I think turned off viewers. I am biased, it wasn't as good as Tangled, but it was good.

3. The Illusionist
I am completely baffled by this selection. Triplets of Belleville was really entertaining from start to finish, the story was quirky and made sense. This story was nonsense. It was, as Ryan said, a movie you like if you are trying to prove something about yourself. It was mostly boring, I didn't fall asleep, but the connection between the main characters made no sense.  Visually, the only interesting thing was the vehicles - this guy loves transportation (bikes, trains, cars, etc), but otherwise it was a yawn, and in ryan's case, a snooze.

I also want to say that it is effin nonsense that Tangled wasn't nominated. The scene on the water with the floating candles was a remarkable achievement - one of those scenes that animators spend months and months working on, and one of those scenes that changes the landscape of the genre.  I am not sure if there was something going on, some kind of bias, but it was really stupid that it was skipped over, especially for The Illusionist.



* My Top 10 Films in the Last 5 Years:
10. Waltz With Bashir
9. Up
8. The Social Network
7. Inglorious Basterds
6. The Cove
5. Atonement
4. There Will Be Blood
3. Toy Story 3
2. The Hangover
1. The Dark Knight


* Top 10 Coen Brothers Movies:
10. Hudsucker Proxy
9. Miller's Crossing
8. Intolerable Cruelty
7. Raising Arizona
6. True Grit
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
4. Burn After Reading
3. A Serious Man
2. Fargo
1. The Big Lebowski


* Top 5 Worst Best Picture Nominees Since '00:
5. Master & Commander
4. Black Swan
3. The Blind Side
2. Curious Case of Benjamin Button
1. Crash - and it WON!?!

...If there is NBA Hoops Next Year...

My projected 2012 NBA All-Star Teams:


East:
G - Derrick Rose, Bulls
G - Dwyane Wade, Heat
F - Lebron James, Heat
F - Carmelo Anthony, Knicks
C - Dwight Howard, Magic


G - Darren Williams, Nets
F - Chris Bosh, Heat
F - Kevin Garnett, Celtics
G - Rajon Rondo, Celtics
F - Paul Pierce, Celtics
F - Carlos Boozer, Bulls * Edit on 2/24 - I forgot Amare, and this will go to him. I'm big on Bogut next year.
C - Andrew Bogut, Bucks


West:
G - Chris Paul, Hornets
G - Kobe Bryant, Lakers
F - Kevin Durant, Thunder
F - Blake Griffin, Clippers
C - Yao Ming, Team TBD * Will be replaced by Tim Duncan, Spurs


F - Pau Gasol, Lakers
G - Tony Parker, Spurs
F - Kevin Love, Wolves
F - Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
G - Russell Westbrook, Thunder
C - LaMarcus Aldridge, Blazers
G - Eric Gordon, Clippers

...the Melo saga is over, and everyone is upset...

We treat pro athletes, and their desires, like George Bailey treats his family in this scene (start at :50, and watch til 8:25 if you are ambitious. Just do it, it's tremendous movie-making).  Watch this scene as if we all George Bailey and we're fans of the NBA, and his children are the players who make up our team, year in and year out.



We are a chaotic fanbase - we are fickle group of maniacs who cannot decide what we want, except we all know we don't like it when people are rich. The only thing we like less than these guys being rich, is them being rich & happy - oh nothing is worse.

Maybe I'm misreading things, but no question the overall media, even the NY media, seems to be frustrated with this deal.  Dick Vitale had the nerve this morning on Mike & Mike radio show to say that the quality of the NBA product will be bad, b/c there are 8-10 teams that are good, and the rest will stink.

This is coming from a guy that champions NCAA basketball - has he ever seen the 20 worst teams in the tournament before?  Out of the hundreds of teams in the NCAA tourney, there are 7 or 8 every year that actually have a chance to win, the rest are a collection of crazies who are good enough to play D1, not good enough for the pros, and definitely not talented enough mentally to will a team to greatness.

But this isn't college, it's about the NBA, it's about Jon Barry and everyone else who is really mad at Carmelo for wanting to play with Amare, and possibly one of the three best point guards in the league, next year when Paul or D. Williams joins them both in New York.

We get mad at the players for wanting to play for a team purely for money (Joe Johnson in Atlanta), and we get mad at players when they join up with other superstars in an attempt to win it all (Lebron, Bosh & D.Wade).  We're just upset about it all.

We are George Bailey when it comes to being possessive about our superstars..."what's wrong with our car!" we lament, and we scream at our players for leaving for money, and scream at them for leaving for rings.

Now, I am of the opinion that Carmelo + CP3 + Amare may not be enough to win it all, but I know they have a shot. I don't buy this, "too many superstars on one team are bad" theory, but you can't argue with the fact that Carmelo, in his own brain, thinks a championship is more likely.

Guys like Jon Barry & Dick Vitale spending their time living in Pottersville, thinking that the only way to earn your success is to do so on your own, miserably, without a friend in the world...they resent the guys who want to be with friends, play where there is fame, and make the money they have earned.

As far as the money goes, I don't know what to tell you, people, you are in control of all this. We are in control of all of it. I live my life understanding that fact, and understanding that as long as I dish out $80/seat 10-15 times a year, I am allowing Kevin Garnett to be paid an insane sum that makes no real sense.  I contribute, so I don't complain.

Every time you watch a game on TV, buy a shirt, or buy products that are advertised on the TNT broadcasts, you are contributing to it all. Every time you go to a bar airing the game, or take part in a fan poll on NBA.com, you're contributing. That's just the way it is. I don't know if that's the real crux of the issue with this trade, but I know it's part of it all.

...Me and The Beatles...

First of all, I can't believe that the Blogger dictionary doesn't know The Beatles, and remove the squiggly "you spelled this wrong" line underneath it. How sad. It sorta diminishes this post before I even start, but I guess I could have kept my mouth shut and none of you would have known.

It is not a common thing that you can pinpoint the moment your life changed, and I am not exaggerating at all that I could easily do that when it comes to the Beatles.  As a matter of fact, with the help of Trav, I bet he could tell me, almost to the minute, when my life changed.

Mr. Brande, 10th grade History/Social Studies teacher at Silver Lake Regional, who knew he would be the catalyst for a momentum shift in my musical life that would change the way I approach art - maybe he knew, and it was certainly his intention, but I wonder if he knew.

I walked into his History class on Wednesday, December 23rd, 1992, I think it may have actually have been 5th period, but i am not entirely sure, and Brande sat us down to tell us that, because it was the last day before Christmas break, we'd watch The Compleat Beatles, which you can watch on Youtube and I embedded Part 1 here:



I sat, and watched, and its hard as an adult to remember at time when I listened to Beatles songs with zero context - the thoughts of "I've heard this before" or, "Mrs. Donavan used to sing this to us in First Grade," were the depths that my thoughts went to.

Until Eleanor Rigby came on the screen. I don't think I had ever heard that - the deprivation of not hearing that song literally may be the closest to child abuse that my parents ever came - until the moment it came on the screen during the Compleat Beatles.  


The song was completely mesmerizing to me, and it broke me down quickly. I don't know what I was listening to at that time of my life, I know I was still into Bel Biv Devoe, and I owned some Fresh Prince albums, and I am sure I was into the High 5 At 9 on whatever JAMN 94.5 was at the time...but the point isn't to list off things that people will remember, it is to refresh my own memory of my relationship with the Fab 4.

The next day, Christmas eve, I took out my parents old album collection and searched high and low for Revolver, so I could listen to Eleanor Rigby.  I remember talking to my mom about what album Eleanor Rigby was on, there was no internet or itunes, no way to remember the albums and songs except asking your Mum...

I went to great lengths to listen to my parents vast Beatles collection on vinyl. The stereo system was downstairs, and my bedroom was upstairs, and I actually sent speaker wire outside the house up to my bedroom, and plugged in the speakers so I could play albums downstairs, and listen in my room while I played Super Nintendo. My parents vinyl collection included Sgt. Pepper, Let it Be, Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album and a few others.

That collection was supplemented over the years by cassette tapes mostly, and then gradually onto CD's. By the time I hit college I owned every second of Beatles music available to the consumer world - and the release of the Anthology albums and TV shows was something I'll never forget - it was a real taste of what it felt like to hear something "new"...

This commercial spoke to me so completely



It's almost 20 years later, and I still own it all, and don't listen to it enough. I really ache for the feeling of listening to those songs on vinyl during nights and weekends, and I am amazed by how good that really sounded.  I miss the feeling I used to have about the Beatles, and I'll never find it again, and it's sorta sad, but it's a fantastic memory I have of childhood.