Anywho, I decided now would be a good time to knock one of these Bad Larry's out because A) I've got free time to do it and B) there's so much going on in sports right now. I think we were all kinda dreading July too, seeing as it historically has been one of the less interesting sports months.
Thankfully, NBA free agency never ceases to amaze and Aaron Hernandez hasn't cleanly left a bar on his own terms in six years. The circus has died down but as is the case following anything newsworthy pieces have to be put together.
Throughout the past two weeks, Boston sports were effectively drunk. Stanley Cup mayhem, murder mysteries, unloading of superstars, The Hub had everything you could ever ask for as a sports fan and roughly 3% of the past two weeks was predictable and made sense.
And if the last two weeks was pure Bostonian drunken stupor, this week might be the hangover (at least until Fourth of July weekend officially starts, then everything is off the table.)
Let's get to it.
Tankapalooza 2013
Do you think Danny Ainge thinks he has us all fooled? The king of public deception, Ainge recently had the audacity to state the idea the Celtics would try and tank during the upcoming 2013 season was ludicrous. After all, this is the BOSTON CELTICS, rich with tradition, winning, and honor.
| Me, tank? Never. |
Except the current roster has none of that.
It actually stinks.
And they are going to tank.
So I guess we're now rooting for the esteemed Boston Celtics who just-so-happen to be tanking. You go Danny, you go!
Never before can I remember the idea of losing basketball games be so prominent. ESPN Boston did a fan poll which showed the majority of fans actually want the Celtics to lose games next year. Seriously, fans want their team to lose, in professional sports, in Boston.
I guess it's a relieving sign that fans are catching up to common sense. I could go on about how the NBA is poorly structured--after all, the only way to have a shot at becoming successful is to spend years being really, really bad and then HOPE you have some luck-- but instead I want to throw caution at the idea of tanking.
It all seems really simple actually. You take a roster which still has Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, attempt to surround them with horrendous talent in the hopes they play as poorly as possible, pray that the 10 other teams doing the same thing do it worse than you do, and then rely on a ping pong ball to bounce your way and determine the fate of your franchise.
THEN, if by the good grace of God (David Stern) the Celtics end up with a top-3 pick, they can choose from relative unknown's Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, and Jabari Parker.
There's no possible way any of that could go wrong.
In theory, I enjoy the idea of tanking as much as the next guy. But in Boston, tanking rarely ever works out. Remember in 2007 when the Celtics put all their eggs into the ping pong ball basket only to receive the 5th pick? Thankfully Danny Ainge was able to perform voodoo magic on two other GM's and fleece the Timberwolves/Sonics for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Or how about in 1997, when the Celtics won 15 (yes, 15!) games under M.L Carr en route to tanking for the services of Tim Duncan, only to see the ping pong balls bounce in San Antonio's favor.
Simply put, it's not as easy as it sounds. Tanking is all fun and dandy until you remember you're relying on luck and college freshmen who have yet to play a minute of collegiate basketball. And in the Celtics' case it's easy to see what can happen when one part of the plan goes wrong.
Enough about tanking.
The Patriot Way
I've noticed multiple media members puff their chests in recent days, taking to the airwaves or the newspapers to subtly proclaim how they "had an idea" that Aaron Hernandez would be a problem or that the "Patriot Way" is unfolding.
To criticize the New England Patriots for not having a better grasp on Hernandez's social situation is, while partly revisionist theory, acceptable.
The media, in an effort to explain why they only received cookie-cutter answers to their questions in press conferences dubbed the tight-lipped Patriots method of doing business "The Patriot Way." It's a convenient moniker really, a three-word title which could define a franchise short on drama and long on winning.
Now, "the Patriot Way" is lost. Only, the Patriot Way really isn't lost, because there was never a Patriot Way in the first place. You still following me?
The Patriot Way was, and still is, winning. Last time I checked New England was still pretty good at doing that.
Instead the media is yet again reverting to laziness. Just as they lazily deemed Bill Belichick's brainchild of a franchise "The Patriot Way" they are now criticizing him for not upholding their imaginary standards. As if Bill Belichick cares what we think.
The Patriots certainly could use a change in philosophy on the field, but that has little to do with Aaron Hernandez and much more to do with adjusting to the new-age NFL. Belichick runs the gamble of picking up a headache every time he invests in a player with questionable background. As is the case with most investments, sometimes you hit and other times you come up dry.
While Belichick has come up dry in recent years--and maybe that has something to do with his control over the locker room (he's not getting any younger)-- assuming he had any idea what Hernandez is doing off the field is ludicrous.
The Patriots paid Hernandez a lot of money. With a fat contract comes responsibility and inherited maturity. The Kraft's have a longstanding history of trusting their players. These are grown men, adults, and professionals. Hernandez burned the Patriots in more ways than one, but blaming New England for not doing their due diligence (without having any basis for that argument, mind you) is irresponsible.
Dear John Lackey, I'm Sorry
Crap, I've already written way more than I was expecting. I'll try to keep this short.
I think Red Sox Nation might start to owe John Lackey an apology. Lackey, coming off Tommy John surgery which may have actually been more required than we were lead to believe, is currently the most consistent pitcher on a team which boasts the most wins in the American League.
Did I actually just write that?
Lackey currently owns a 2.81 ERA. His K/9 of 8.24 is the second highest of his career. He's never walked less batters per 9 innings than he is right now. He's stranding runners at an 80% clip, and this is all while allowing 1.15 homers per nine innings.
On a team which struggles to hit homers, has barely any power at any corner position, and currently has one of its top pitchers on the DL and the other struggling mightily, John Lackey is providing sorely needed reliability.
I can't believe I wrote that.
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