Rant of the Week: Obsession?

One thing you pick up on really quick if you sit anywhere near the Dog Pound at Agganis Arena is how much the BU kids really don't like BC. While no one in Hockey East really likes the Eagles, I can't think of another fan base that is this specific. PC fans as a rule do not like UCONN, Syracuse, or Georgetown in basketball. But we don't add "Huskies suck" to our chants like BU fans do to BC. The college kids in scarlet not alone: "Clarkson still sucks" at RPI and SLU and "Tech still sucks" at NMU. And of course, we have the endlessly insipid "Yankees suck" merchandising spree outside Fenway Park. But the Grandfather of all mutual antagonism is Scotland's Glasgow derby which has religious as well as sporting dimensions. In one form or another, obsession is rampant in sports.

And let's be honest with ourselves: it gets a little silly. Here's some examples of obsession getting well out of hand.

-In the Globe sports page, why are there Lakers fans on the Celtics blog? The two teams play each other twice all year. It doesn't make sense. It also makes little sense for the aforementioned trolls to continuously put down the Celtics as "irrelevant" when they seem to spend more time commenting on the blog than actual Celtics fans. I feel bad for the people who write these blogs. Some good reporting is getting muddied by garbage.

-I've mentioned this before, but the Providence Journal's message board is dominated by a handful of URI fans who seem more interested in public financing for the Dunkin' Donuts Center than they are in what the Rhody basketball team is doing. I'm not sure why they begrudge the Providence Bruins a chance to play in improved facilities just so they can screw over PC basketball. Seems kind of petty to me.

-This one really gets me: Start with a ridiculously prejudiced conceit (the Steelers are a dirty team). Add in a fan base that has never been able to cope with the idea of losing to the Patriots in not one, but two AFC title games. Then add a dash of ESPN fueled conspiracy theories that are exceeded in lameness only by the idea of Elvis still being alive. You would come up with this.
Hoo boy. The obsession here is multifaceted and quite insane. On both sides. I don't have a problem with Mr. Molori's writing (he's been giving props to the Emmy Award winning John Carchedi for years). But writing about how dirty the Steelers are? Maybe he thought his blog needed some web traffic. And it worked too well.
Steelers fans come across just as poorly as Mr. Molori. Actually, they come off worse because they just make the same moronic points over and over again. Sad. Very sad all the way around.

So I guess the lesson here is to be really really careful at how seriously you take these rivalries. Because if you go too far, you'll end up looking quite deranged and I'll make fun of you.

Random rants:
-Hey, with a seven game winning streak - punctuated by convincing results over the Suns and Magic - I believe the Celtics are no longer in "a rut". Now if only we can convince people that Stephan Marbury would not be a good pick up, we might get through this.

-Speaking of insanity, the Red Sox literally have no better options at catcher than Jason Variteck. And Mr. Variteck has no better option that the Red Sox - despite Satan Boras' delusional attempts to portray the opposite. So why the endless trade rumors on WEEI? Well, it's either that or whine about President Obama some more.

-Speaking of insane situations, the full scale rumble last Friday at Lawler (that just feels wrong. It will always be the Volpe Complex to me) that saw two BU players get injured, a parade of Merrimack players going to the penalty box, and Jackie Parker's angry post game diatribe about the refs not protecting his players has led to yet another half assed attempt to get Merrimack kicked out of the league. When are Hockey East fans going to give this up? The league isn't kicking anyone out. What might happen is that Merrimack might get sick and tired of finishing in the basement every year and drop hockey. And I'm sorry, that doesn't help anyone. Someone has to finish in last place. Umm, I hope not PC.

-Aside from Merrimack, is there any more depressing group of fans than Mainers? Even PC fans were convinced they could win ONE game. Despite a record that's much better than PC's, the Black Bears are "cursed" and need to get rid of Tim Whitehead post haste. Maine has been crappy for about a year and a half. PC has been stumbling in the dark wood for about 7 years. Yet we're the optimists. Go figure.

-Two shootouts for the Bruins this week are two too many.

-Hi Mark!

My teams: A year in review.

You usually see this lazy crap masquerading as columns/blog entries in late December. But I'm SO lazy that I waited until early January. So there.

We'll start with the least successful teams and move up.

PC Hockey: What an awful awful excuse for a year. The Friars ended 2007 by defeating the national champion Spartans at the GLI which gave everyone a sense that this team might be on the verge of something great. They weren't: the team imploded down the stretch, getting swept by Merrimack(!), shut out twice by BU and bounced casually by the championship caliber Eagles in a HE Quarter final series that was over after 2 minutes in game one. The new season was just as poor. Aside from winning the Mayors Cup, the Skating Friars did nothing right and ended up winless in Hockey East, with one measly tie against UVM.
Trending: Up. It seems odd, but the Friars can't do worse. They did end 2008 with a win, even if it was against a woeful Brown team that might actually be in worse shape (!).

PC Basketball: Yet another miserable end to the season and an awful away record doomed PC in the Big East and led to Tim Welsh's ouster. Keno Davis took over and while there's been some improvement, this is beginning to look a lot like a rebuilding year.
Trending: Down. Keno's team might get better, but the Big East is too good to not punish a team in transition.

Arsenal: Not a lot happened with the Gunners this year. Thanks to the rise of Chelsea and ManU's constant ability to sign everyone on the planet (who wasn't snatched up by Real Madrid) Arsenal is stuck in or near the Big Fou without actually challenging for a league title. The only problem is, Liverpool has picked up the pace and Aston Villa is now above them. This might be the year they finish out of the Champions League.
Trending: Down. I have a bad feeling Everton is going to catch them as well. But at least Spurs might get relegated!

Georgia Tech football: A pretty successful season, forgiving the bludgeoning LSU gave the Wreck in the Chick-fil-A Bowl (wha?!?). The team was a tie breaker away from the ACC championship and they finally -FINALLY- beat Georgia.
Trending: Up. Especially if they can figure out this whole forward pass thing.

Bruins: Last season ended like every decent Bruins season in the past 6 years - a playoff loss to the Habs. In this case, the Bruins dragged the far superior Canadiens to seven games before succumbing. Little did we know that last season was a mere precursor to one in which the Bruins would end up as the hottest team in hockey!
Trending: Up. The Bruins are - by ONE point - the best team in hockey right now. Inexplicable.

Patriots: The Patriot's bid at history fell short when they lost the Super Bowl to a Giants team that basically pulled the game out of no where (when you catch a ball with your HELMET, God likes you very much). Karma did not get kinder in the first game of the 2008 season when Tom Brady was injured and Matt Cassell took over. The injuries just got worse from there. But for some reason, the Patriots just kept winning. Despite the aforementioned injuries, an awful secondary and screwing up three chances to take out very good teams, the Pats finished 11-5 and were a few Favre interceptions away from the Jets bailing them out. The Pats remain the only 11-5 team in the 12 team playoff era to miss the playoffs.
Trending: Up. The reasoning here is that even if Brady doesn't come back, the Pats have a legitimate QB to back him up. The injury problems can't possibly be as severe as last season and if the team has any intelligence at all they will FINALLY fix the secondary.

Red Sox: The Red Sox' attempts at defending their World Series title were derailed by mounting Patriot-esque injuries and the rise of the Tampa Bay Rays. Yet despite all of this, the Sox managed to drag the Rays to seven games, losing 3-1 in the deciding game. The worst part of the year was been the post season where the Yankees went on a characteristic spending orgy, signing up free agents in a (probably futile) attempt to surpass the Red Sox and Rays. The AL East has gone from two teams to three in the blink of an eye.
Trending: sideways. The Sox have done nothing in the free agent market and next year's team looks pretty much identical. Thee Yankees got a lot better, but I haven't heard a peep from the Rays.

Celtics: The Celtics cruised through the regular season. The playoffs were an intense struggle: the egregiously poor officiating the NBA is known for conspired with the C's looking completely lost on the road to create two grueling seven game series against the Hawks and Cavaliers. Then the Celtics got stronger and took out the Pistons and Lakers to raise the 17th banner. And the current season was more of same. The only problem is the recent west coast road swing where the Celtics lost 3 close games. It seems that the bench is even more of a problem than last year.
Trending: Down. Unless they can add someone to the bench. In their defense, after the phenomenal stretch they were on from last year up until Christmas Day, there's no where else to go.

Celtic FC: How can you do better than three league titles in a row? How about four? As of today, the Hoops are 7 points up on Satan and in good shape for the rest of the year - mostly because they can focus on the league due to their ABYSMAL stay in the Champions League.
Trending: sideways. Winning the SPL is great, being in position to do it 4 years in a row is better, but what the hell happens to this team on the road in Europe?

Hi Mark!
Happy Birthday, Favorite Person!!!

Things to be thankful for....

Here are the things I'm thankful for:
Jenny
Family
Friends
A warm apartment
The mellowing of Charlie "the computer destroying cat" Chaplin
The fact that my car works (for the most part)
Having a job
Following successful sports teams (the current abhorrent state of PC hockey and Celtic's abysmal road form in Europe notwithstanding)
Early Christmas shopping
... and finally the three or four people who actually read this blog! Thanks, and keep up the comments!

Flotsam and jetsam:

- Um, Herald? “We’re the No. 1 defense. If we play like we’ve been playing, and our offense comes around and has a good game, and we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’re going to win the game.” How does this comment by Anthony Smith of the Steelers constitute "trash talk"? If the Steelers do indeed play up to their capabilities, they will win the game. That's not a trash talk. That's just patently obvious. I understand that Mr. Smith made an ass of himself last year, but this isn't even close to trash talk.
Shouldn't the Pats be desensitized to this silliness by now, especially after Joey "the Prince of the Land of Make Believe" Porter last week?

-There's radio, bad radio and the continued devolution of the Big Show. Last week, all of the Whiner Line (and really, shame of me for listening to the Whiner Line) was dedicated to one of the producers saying that he thought Nancy Pelosi was attractive. While the comment was certainly... insane, I can't help but note that in a sports climate where the Pats, Bruins and Celtics are all competitive - if not dominant - the Big Show is wallowing in politics. Again.

-The "Dead Zone" in the sports calender is usually the days before and after the MLB All Star Game. Well, New England went through it's own Dead Zone the past two days. While I appreciate that the Celtics and Bruins do need days off, the past two sports free days have been a bit odd. Especially since the Celtics play about a fifth of their schedule in November!

-Speaking of Celtic's baffling incompetence in the Champions League, while I'm unhappy with the 17th consecutive road game without a victory, I can't help but take solace in the phrases that get used in international football (soccer to the rest of you). Celtic didn't just lose out, they "Crashed out of Europe". I might have to use that from now on. For instance, PC is in the midst of crashing out of Hockey East.
It's probably a good thing there's no relegation in college hockey, or PC would be playing UMASS Boston and Middlebury next year.

Random thoughts following the Celtic's Championship run

-I heard someone on 890 AM (ESPN's Boston affiliate) ruminate that win or lose, the Boston sports scene will be much less exciting when the NBA Finals end. They were right. I'm happy that the Red Sox have picked up momentum, but it's going to be much harder to get into the season right now. Usually, I can tell you how many games the Red Sox are in first or second (or, like two years ago third) place by. I honestly haven't been paying too much attention this year. I think part of the problem is being chased Tampa Bay instead of the Be-Pinstriped ones.

-Remember last year when the Celtics seemed to be completely luckless? They had just suffered through the worst season in recent memory (and considering the utterly horrific years with ML Carr and Rick Pitino, that says something) where the team went on a self-inflicted 18 game losing streak, only to miss out on the top pick in the draft. And now they're the Champions. Unreal.

-You'd think that this would inspire the Bruins to make a big move. Nope. It's one thing to be close to irrelevance, it's another thing to seemingly revel in it.

-Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks wearing a Celtic FC jersey to a Celtics event is clever. I've seen a few people wear the Hoops to C's events recently. I also see at least one or two green and white strips every time I'm in Fenway. I have no idea what links Celtic can have with the Red Sox save that Boston is "irish" (us being in the US) the same way Glasgow is "irish" (them being in Scotland at all).

-And being the PC homer I am, I wish Ryan Gomes was around to enjoy this. But I do appreciate his sacrifice to bring KG here.

-Speaking of the Big Ticket, I came to the conclusion during his completely inscrutable post game interview that KG is at least as crazy as Jonathan Papelbon, if not more so. I'm glad he's with us and not against us.

-Did Paul Pierce ever - in a thousand years - think THIS was going to happen? Last year he wanted out. Now he's the Finals MVP. This whole situation is completely inexplicable.

-Compared to the first time the Pat's won the Super Bowl, and the Red Sox winning in 2004, I'd have to say that I enjoyed this more. The first two titles I just mentioned put me in a state of shock: I'm still not convinced it actually happened. Because of the utter demolition of the Lakers, I had time to mentally process what was happening. The Sox never gave me that luxury in 2004. From Game Four of the ALCS onwards, they always threatened to lose.

-Speaking of the Lakers, I have no idea what to think of them. They aren't the Celtics arch rivals (that would be the 76'ers) and they only posed a threat when the C's were playing particularly incompetently. Kobe is be lot closer to LeBron than he is to Jordan and Phil Jackson spent most of the series meditating - he certainly wasn't coaching. So much for them being the superior team. Also, as irritating as the Hollywood Lakers fans are, they can't hold a candle to Evil Bizzaro New Englanders who root for the Yankees (aside from an absurd level of confidence that is now TOTALLY unfounded, what's the difference) and the violent Francophone mess that is the Canadiens fan base (rioting after a first round victory? Are you kidding me?!?), Lakers fans are rather tame.

-One final thought for tonight, the Larry O'Brien trophy looks like a hood ornament. Chalk that up as yet another reason why we need to get the Stanley Cup back to Boston.