Saturday, April 20, 2013

How did my NBA pre-season predictions do?

Before the season began I wrote a piece detailing how much I expected the Celtics two veteran superstars to play this year; the premise being that the careers of both Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have shown remarkable longevity.  As it turns out my estimates were just about (and in one case exactly) right.  I predicted Garnett would suit up for 71 games, and average 30.7 minutes per game.  His final numbers were 68 games played, and 29.7 MPG.  For Pierce I picked 75 games and 33.4 MPG; he took the floor 77 times, and did in fact average 33.4 minutes per game.

I also guessed that no Celtic would score 20 points a game, but that 6 would average in double figures.  Pierce led the team at 18.6 PPG, followed by Garnett's 14.8, Jeff Green's 12.8, Jason Terry's 10.1, Avery Bradley's 9.2, and Brandon Bass' 8.7 (I left out Rajon Rondo's 13.7 in 38 games, and Jordan Crawford's 9.1 over 27).

In another preseason post I said the Clippers would "overtake the Lakers for L.A. supremacy, as Howard/Gasol/Nash/Kobe never quite figure out how to play together."  When the Clip show defeated the Lakers at Staples Center a week and a half ago, they clinched their first division title in franchise history.

Also in that article I chose Lakers head coach Mike Brown as the first to be fired, and amazingly he was after just 5 games.  To be fair though I expected Knicks coach Mike Woodson to get the axe as well, but instead he guided New York to the East's second best record.  Woodson also just won April's "coach of the month" award, oddly enough along with Brown's replacement in LA, Mike D'Antoni.

  

Friday, April 19, 2013

Lockdown

I closed my post from yesterday by saying "hopefully fun and carefree blogging returns tomorrow."  That was before the last 16 hours of my life became filled with endless twitter checking, online police scanners, barely any sleep, and non-stop local TV news.  Literally non-stop; I haven't seen a commercial since before midnight.  When was the last time that happened?

Other than birds chirping (ironically it's a beautiful day in Boston weather-wise, easily the nicest of the year), the only sounds I've heard outside my window are helicopters and the occasional sirens.

Both the Red Sox and Bruins (again) aren't going to play tonight.  My work is closed today, for the second time this week.  How long can this last?

In need of a good laugh, I just came across an amazing youtube clip from 1994.  Considering the way information (and misinformation) regarding this story has traveled, it's also very relevant.  I hope it makes you smile.



Thursday, April 18, 2013

"You will run again."

So exactly what I said in my first paragraph yesterday is true once again today.  This is too powerful not to post.  Just a few hours ago (and only a few blocks from my home) the President said these words (you may have to turn your volume up):


You can watch his complete address here.  Hopefully fun and carefree blogging returns tomorrow.

  

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Well done Bruins. Well done Bruins fans.

I make a point of trying to always be new and creative on this site, and not use stuff that everyone has already seen all over the interwebs.  But the events which transpired before the Boston Bruins game tonight at the Garden were just too good not share.  First there was this:



But as touching as the Marathon tribute video was (if the twitter embed link isn't working, click here to watch it), it didn't even come close to what happened when when Rene Rancourt sang the National Anthem:





Amazing.


  

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

What do I write about today?

On Sunday morning I ran a 5K race that ended at the Boston Marathon finish line.  In this photo I'm jogging directly past the spot where the first bomb would go off on Monday.


Yesterday I was in a bar in Kenmore Square around the 25 mile mark when it happened.  For me this is going to be one of those moments that you always remember exactly where you were and what you were doing at the time.  This afternoon I walked through Boston Common, where the National Guard had set up camp.


Earlier this evening I turned on my computer for the first time since Sunday night.  I read an enormous number of "Happy Birthday!" messages on facebook, many of which were from early in the day, and said things like this:

"Happy Birthday! May Marathon Monday be sunny and bright for your bday celebrations!"

It was an incredibly weird feeling to see that now.

 

Monday, April 15, 2013

Marathon Monday.

It's my favorite day of the year.  This year it also happens to be my birthday, so it should come as no surprise that the content on this page is a little light.  Here's what I wrote to describe this day a year ago, and a photo tribute to the occasion that I posted the year before that.  And this is what I will be wearing today:


Yeah, it's kind of weird that I've used pictures of t-shirts on consecutive days, but considering the circumstances how could I not?

Sunday, April 14, 2013

LucidSportsFan t-shirt: Version 2.0

Exactly one year ago I made the first LucidSportsFan t-shirt.  In honor of that occasion I decided it was time for a second edition.  Here's what the new one looks like:


This time there is more than just one however.  In fact, there are many.  Send me an email at LucidSportsFan@gmail.com if you'd like one.  These things are going to be huge when beach weather comes around.  My early polling data already suggests that they're way more popular than the Golden State Warriors short sleeved NBA jerseys.  For the moment the t-shirts cost $20, but depending on how many people are interested the price is likely to go down.

 

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