A Trade With No Perks...

[Sorry to those who, for some reason, might've be expecting a post about Glee tonight...]

Say it Ainge so.

While most of the world was at work today, Celtics President Danny Ainge was working to...dismember the team? Wait a second. Let me try to get this straight. We ship out big man Kendrick Perkins and spark plug Nate Robinson - two proven playoff players - in exchange for a guy who has already proven not to work out for us, in Jeff Green, and a guy who's name looks like the letters I just picked up in scrabble, in Nenad Krstic. [For the record, if you haven't downloaded "Words with Friends" yet - basically a Scrabble knock-off - do it. Probably one of the most addicting games out there right now. Thank God I didn't discover this game in college.]

And as if losing Perk and Donkey wasn't enough, Danny boy ships out Semih Erden (another Scrabble player) and the Irish Cavemonster, Luke Harangody to the Cavs for...a second round pick?!?! Como say what? I mean, I've heard of making cap room, but this is straight up early spring cleaning. Why are we clearing out space for a team that can't even show up to practice without wheelchairs and crutches?

Now I'm usually a guy who tends to take the optimist side of mid-season trade involving my favorite team. I can usually understand the logistics and necessities that go into making moves through front offices and management and what-have-you. I try to look at the deal through the

GM's eyes. Heck, they must know more than I do, right? I mean, at first it was a shock, but after a while I could begin to understand why Belichick sent Randy Moss packing in exchange for a third round pick. Even the Manny Ramirez trade 3 years ago wasn't necessarily a blind-side hit. Yes, I weeped like a little girl when it happened, but it's not like I didn't see it coming.

There's only one real trade that's occurred from a Boston sports team that I never really understood or accepted. And that day was Dec. 1, 2005 when Bruins GM Mike O'Connell shipped out beloved captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau. Stupid. Stupid

stupid.

While this trade had at least some meaning in it - Jeff Green can spread out the floor and Krstic is, well, big enough - I just don't see how this trade makes the team any better. If anything, this trade was perfect for the Thunder, who needed a big presence inside like Perk. Yes, Perk has been injury-prone, but when he's healthy he's dominant. And nasty Nate is nasty Nate. You know, a guy who'll jump on your back during the playoffs. Literally.

Anyway, as I predicted, the Celtics-Nuggets game tonight was atrocious. Talk about a matchup between two teams who just look plain empty. The injury-laden Celtics barely had enough players to put out on the court (after the Big 4 - and even they didn't play a lot of minutes) and the new Melo-less Nuggets looked just as hollow. It was like watching pong. The two sides were just...there. It looked like neither team wanted to be there, and I'm pretty sure the Celtics just stopped playing after 3 quarters. 89-75 loss. Woo. Can't wait for the playoffs. Woo...

[Post-note: just found out Perkins was "very upset and emotional" about being traded. 8 years. Gone. Thanks Ainge. You meany.]

Beans, Beans, They're Good for Your Heart...

...especially on Valentine's Day.

I know it's been a little more than a full 24 hours removed since the big victory Monday night but I couldn't let another minute pass without expressing how fortunate I am to witness and be apart of a true dynasty (dare I say) in Division I college hockey. Boston College Hockey: three Beanpot Championships in four years, three Hockey East Championships in four years, and two National Championships in three years...and there's no sign of slowing down this season. Captain Whit and the boys are ranked #1 in the national standings this week and get a rematch of the recent Beanpot foe NU this coming Friday at home. Things are looking good. Again. I hate to say anything because of the fear of jinxing us, but I've never felt this confident in team to the point where I expect them to win every game since...well, a certain professional football squad in 2007. Our guys are doing some amazing things out there on the ice and that's all I really have to say.

Along the lines of the game itself, well, it wasn't the cleanest game of hockey I've seen, no. But as I said, I never lost the confidence that we would pull it off in the end. Even after the NU goal with a little over a minute left in regulation. This game had 2008 beanpot final vs. Harvard written all over it - a back-and-forth goal-laden affair with a few (un)fortunate bounces and a handful of defensive breakdowns. Throw in a few minutes of overtime and boom, 2008 beanpot deja vu - minus Nick Petrecki canoeing through center ice...

All in all, I couldn't be more proud of these guys. And at the same time, I couldn't be more proud of the BC fanbase. I don't know if it was just because this was my first time sitting 'outside' the student section portion of the bleachers but the fans looked great. A full four sections were filled, and there were plenty more overflowing just outside the main corner. It seemed like three or four years ago, there was half that number (something that still boggles my mind - who's not going to the Beanpot?). And yeah, people are going to make the argument that the place was louder when Northeastern scored then when BC did. You'd probably be right - but you have to take into consideration a couple things. A.) Any BU fans that were still there (you know who you are) were guaranteed rooting against BC (and not necessarily for NU). B.) Anyone else was either doing the same as BU fans or just rooting for NU because people who have no loyalty tend to side with the underdog - in this case, a team that hasn't won the tournament in 23 years. Can't really blame 'em, but then again, don't really feel bad for them either. As a colleague of mine likes to say, "haters gonna hate."

[Side note: I wanted to make a remark about lowly BU losing to an even lowlier Harvard in the consolation game, but to tell you the truth, I think that loss is embarrassing and humiliating enough for them. 4th place out of 4? Well, at least you can't get any worst next year, BU...]

Congratulations again to the boys for another absolutely amazing tournament victory. Two years in a row drinking out of that thing and that, my friends, is one thing that'll never get old...

Rockin' The Suburbs, Just Like Arcade Fire Did...

Finally.

I had to sit through three and a half painful hours but I finally got to see what I wanted to see: Good. Music. Rewarded.

The Academy got it right (for once) Sunday night and chose Arcade Fire's most recent album, "The Suburbs," as Album of the Year. To be honest, this was just an enormous bonus for me in general. I was just excited to watch their Grammy-debut performance,

the main reason why I had to push

myself through 3.5 hours of redundant Top 40 pop crap. The actual award (which followed the performance) was just the frosting to the anxious cake I had been baking throughout the show. And boy did it taste good in the end.

Actually, after saying that, I suppose the Grammy Award should be the cake itself and the figurative frosting would be AF's performance of "Ready to Start" that closed out the ceremonies. Because I'm not going to lie, although I do love the song "Month of May", I was a little disappointed with the performance. Were they trying to bring back BMXing? Were they trying to give me a light-induced seizure? Did they only pick that song because the lyrics suggest the process of "making an album"?.... Ehhhhh, in that case, I see what you did there, Arcade Fire...touche. Would've liked to see "We Used to Wait" but hey, we can't have our cake and eat it too...I swear that's my last cake reference.

[Which, speaking of, can we discuss real quickly how every person under the reign of God had a birthday this weekend? I'm serious, according to my trusty Facebook statistics, I was "friends" with 11 people who had a birthday on 2/13 and 8 people who had a birthday on 2/12. That just seems absurd to me. I can't even name 19 of my friends' birthdays, but chances are it was this weekend. Parents: stop getting frisky in the Month of May. Anyone see what I did there? Anyone? Bueller?]

Although I was surprised by AF's 'underdog', I can't cay that I didn't see it coming. As Grammy history would tend to suggest, the band that plays live on stage who also happens to be nominated for an award that is presented directly after their performance...usually wins. It happened tonight with Lady Antebellum - but then again, they seemed to clean house tonight anyway. [Funny, I don't know how I feel about a song that sounds like it belongs on EVERY episode of Glee winning that many Grammys but oh well...Better than Glee winning a Grammy. Wait, did they?] The funnier thing is that this didn't happen with Justine Bieby Bieby Beiby Oh! Thank god.

So, in any event, I guess I called it for AF. But then again, I did fall off my chair when they actually won. I mean, beating out the Super Overrated PopTards of Lady Gaga-bellum, Katy Perry, and Eminem (who isn't pop, but is a bit overrated) was a true underdog story. And the greatest part was that they were just as surprised as anyone as they scrambled to take the stage again (Win Butler blurting out "What the hell?") - just perfect. [And almost too perfect. Like, they must've planned it that way right? If Gaga would've won, would she have gone up there and got in her egg while the credits rolled? It only made sense that they put AF at the end of the show like that. I see what you did, Grammy Producers...]

10 Things We Learned about the Grammys:

1. Christina Aguilera is having the worst week of her life. First she forgets the words to the

National Anthem on the nation's biggest stage, then she forgets how to walk on LA's biggest stage. Hey Christina,maybe it's time to sit a few plays out. Maybe go back into hiding for a few

more months....

2. Lady Gaga proved that she is the devil. Who came from an egg. So, I guess, that makes her a deviled egg?

3. Wait, so...Lance Bass is Lady Antebellum? I mean, I knew he was a lady and all. But who knew he teamed up with Miley Cyrus and Demetri Martin to make this supergroup. I need to start listening to these guys. Gals. Whatever.

4. Hey, Johnny Mayer. Johnny Depp called. He wants his look back....

5. Hey Katy Perry. Zooey Deschanel called. She still wants her look back.

6. Hey Cee-Lo Green, the NBC Peacock called...yeah, you get the point....

7. Did anyone else think it was ironic that they had Mick Jagger perform right after they did a montage of musicians that have died in the past year? And did I catch Bob Dylan's name come up on that list?...

8. Hey Eminem, why so serious? Seriously. When he performs, he just yells. When they show

him on camera, he just glares. When he wins a Grammy, he just doesn't care.

Hey Em, how bout you smile for once. I mean, I know your mom sucked and your wife beat you and you grew up in Detroit and whatever, but life's not all that hard for now right? Don't you have money and friends and fame and all that good stuff? Why do you always have to play the "everyone's out to get me card"? I'm white, your white, let's go to Starbucks and talk about this.

9. Saw the commercial for Little Red Riding Hood. Since when did childhood fairy tales turn into

dark, gothic psychological thrillers? I blame Sherlock Holmes...

10. ...and finally! Happy Valentine's Day from Usher + Justin Beiber. The cutest couple on the planet! That love confession tonight was one of the most homo-romantic moments on stage since Diana Ross went to second base on Lil' Kim at the VMAs.

Album of the Week: This should be obvious. Clearly, it's "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire. If you haven't had a chance to listen to this phenomenal record, get your hands on it today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqyakRmPNM8

This Is Why We Fight

So I've really been meaning to share my thoughts about the Super Bowl and the Beanpot and...Glee(?) - yeah, believe it or not, I have some things to say about that god-awful excuse for a show, but we'll hold off for now. The truth is, tonight was such a great night in sports that I felt it necessary to start there.

So let's start here...

That was by far the BEST Bruins game of the year tonight. I mean, talk about getting your money's worth if you were at the garden earlier. You got the hated Canadiens coming in to town - the B's being winless against the Habs this year - and the two teams stand between two points of each other at the top of the Northeast divisional standings. The match-up had drama written all over it from the start, and boy did it not disappoint. 14 total goals (including 8 in the 2nd period alone), 187 combined penalty minutes...and oh yeah, a goalie fight! Now although, it didn't quite seem like Thomas and Price were in it for blood, it's still always exciting when you get to see two goalies get together and drop the gloves. It's so rare these days, it's almost like seeing a safety happen in football. You know, once a team (granted not yours) gets pinned to their own 1 yard line, you feel yourself start to root for the fateful sack in the endzone, because let's be honest how weird does 2 points look on the scoreboard!?...But I digress...Such to say, no one does it quite like Patrick Roy used to do it. And so for that, I give you this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeF5XF8jxkQ and then this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2xMXXOw4M. But in all seriousness, what a fantastic game tonight. And for the B's to get the W in a sloppy game like that is twice as huge.

And speaking of fighting and coming up huge, I have to quickly defend someone right now who doesn't get a lot of credit. And that person is Mr. Andrew Ference. A lot of people wrote this guy off early in the year this year because of history of injuries and occasional lackadaisical defensive play, but I'll tell you what, I'd take this guy as my teammate any day. I mean, did anyone see him go after Travis Moen tonight, a guy who is a solid 5 inches taller than him and probably about 20-30 pounds heavier? And he stuck in there pretty well. Earlier in the year, Ference went after (bigger guy) David Backes of the STL Blues for laying out elderman Mark Recchi, and then not too long ago Ference beat the absolute living daylight out of Adam Burish of the Stars during that heavymatch on Feb. 3rd - a fight that left Burish with several broken bones in his face [see video below]. Also recently, Ference took a lot of flak from two fellow former-Bruins alum, Don Cherry and Mike Millbury, for allegedly breaking an "unwritten rule" about not talking to the press about a teammate's physical play, referring to Paille's suspension-worthy check on Raymond Sawada. While I agree on the matter at hand, I really didn't see anything in this interview that suggested that Ference was "speaking out against" his teammate. In fact, in my mind, he was only trying to sympathize with Paille and relate to him in that situation, elaborating upon the difficulty of playing physical as a backchecking forward. Ference, you're ok in my book. Campbell, I'm still warming up to you...

Texas A&M - My New Haircut

So about two weeks ago, I bet my buddy Derek that I wouldn't cut my hair until I got a streak of 10 on ESPN's Streak for the Cash. I've only reached the 10 mark twice since the contest has been running (about 2 years now) so I figured it was quite the feat, but hey, I needed to get my Justin Bieber on for Friday's premiere of "Never Say Never" [Can I just say that I literally spit out my soda when I saw the trailer for this...I just, I just have no words for it. Sickening, maybe. C'mon America. Making a documentary of Justin Bieber is probably the lowest low this country has seen since the economy. Wait, isn't he Canadian?...] In any event, I somehow managed to rack up a streak of five over the weekend, and then methodologically mapped out my steps starting this week. I won't say all of my picks here, but just know that I called the BC BBall prop bet last night (BC 3-pointers vs. Clemson Win Margin). I knew it'd prob be a close loss for BC (as we've been accustomed to), yet I also knew for a fact that BC would take their usual 30-35 three-point attempts, making about 9 or 10 of them. And wouldn't you know... 9 three's, 8-point loss. Today, I was given a gift with a G'town vs. Syracuse prop (G'town 3's vs. 'Cuse Win Margin), taking the obvious Hoya side (I probably would've even picked them straight up - not because I like G'town, 'Cuse is just playing pretty bad these days). And then, I "accidentally" picked Texas A&M straight up against Colorado on the road. It's not a bad pick, looking at the records and RPI. But I REALLY wanted to take Duke: Single-Digit Win or Loss vs. UNC, who has been playing lights-out lately. But nope, I forgot to change it before the deadline passed as I was stuck with the Aggies. Thank the Lord for ESPN3.com so I could watch probably one of the most miserably agonizing games I've seen in a while. It was like someone told the Aggies I'd have to Bieber for the rest of my life if they blew the game. At one point, A&M turned a 1-point lead into a 6-point deficit - ALL IN ONE PLAY - because Freshman Roberson dropped an elbow to a players chest after the whistle. The player was granted 4 FT's and the Buffaloes got the ball back, in which they promptly nailed a three-pointer. I almost shut the computer off and put the clippers away. And then, as if the Basketball gods descended upon that arena in suburban Colorado, BJ Holmes did his best Acie Law IV impression and sunk a Jimmer Fredette-range treyball with 1 second on the clock to tie the game. I've never cheered so hard for A&M...well maybe since the Acie Law IV days. Aggies took care of business in OT and I'll take care of Bieber tomorrow. No really, that girly little muffinmuncher is going down...Enough is enough.

Other great games tonight:

- Rutgers beat #10 ranked Villanova 77-76 after being down by a baker's dozen late in the game and hitting a quasi-buzzer-beating threeball, a la Texas A&M. Instead of rushing the court, Rutgers fans rushed to the nearest White Castle and then rolled around in the landfill that is NJ for an hour as a celebration.

- BYU Jimmer Fredette's beat Air Force 90-52. No surprise there, the kid drops bombs. You see what I did there? Bombs. Because it's the Air F....no? Ok, we'll let that one slide.

- Cleveland Cavaliers lost their 26th game in a row. Apparently playing with 5 cardboard cutouts of LeBron James doesn't quite match 1 real LeBron James. Time for Plan B. Actually, 26 losses? It's really like Plan Z then. Hurry up and win Cleveland, you're running out of letters...

That's all. I'm sick. And tired. But not necessarily sick and tired.

Album of the week - The Decemberists "The King is Dead"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoa5AL6VFk0