From the Sideline

Thoughts from a spectator's point of view

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Watching events like the British Open, or The Open as it is now known as, always brings back one of my favorite ideas.  Watching professionals get battered around the course and shoot in the high numbers makes us mediocre, backyard golfers, realize how hard the game actually is.  It makes us appreciate how good these guys and girls are to compete at the highest level while making it look so easy most of the time.

The idea that always pops into my head is one that revolves around these difficult courses.  I want to broadcast average, 10+ handicappers, attempting to play these courses.  Get a field of about 54 to 108 golfers, going off in groups of three, and film/broadcast it just like the professional level events are.  Get the commentary, and open it up for free for fans to watch in person or online/stream.

It would supply many laughs, maybe some incredible shots, and keep the audience entertained.  It would also demonstrate the difference between these professionals and the average joe.  I know I’d watch every second of it!

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In Danny We Trust

It has been a while since my last post, as things have been quite busy as of late.  However, I will always set everything aside when it comes to one of the greatest days of the year...Draft Day!  Putting the history of the NBA Draft into perspective, it is a day that will make the dreams of 60 young aspiring athletes come true.  All of their hard work, determination, and training has lead up to this moment.  Being able to hear their names called upon and the start of their NBA journeys commencing.  Once that moment has come and gone, the real work starts.

With the impact that social media has now in professional sports, this time of year is simply electric.  Everyone has an inside scoop, a source, a feeling, and an opinion.  “We should take ____; We should trade for ____...”  It is the time of year where one trade rumor sparks a fire that spreads across the world wide web and leads to both chaos and excitement, depending on which fan-base you belong to.  Ultimately, it is the time of year where, as a member of the Boston Celtics community and fan-base, we simply sit back, relax, and Trust in Danny.

With so much already happening in this past week leading up to today; Brook Lopez to LA; Paul George and Jimmy Butler rumors; Oh and of course, the #1 pick swap to Philadelphia...Things are happening quickly.  Teams are beginning to take shape and rebuild for the coming year and years to come. Will your team be a seller or a buyer?  Is your team building for the upcoming year or for a few years down the road?  Who will be the surprise pick in the draft?  Which pick will come back to haunt the teams that passed over him?

In Danny We Trust.  It is a phrase us Celtics fans have said for years and continue to follow.  Ever since we entered into a “rebuilding” phase at the end of the “Big 3 Era” in 2013, not even the diehards had them taking the #1 Seed in the Eastern Conference as early as this year.  Ainge was hired in 2003 and has been through the process of turning us into a winner (thanks KG and Ray).  He has done some things that have upset us, like letting go players that we loved (I miss you Scal), but ultimately, it has all been apart of his master plan, to dethrone the King, and build a team that can last, with enough picks to keep feeding in young talent.

Would I have liked to see Fultz alongside Thomas....Yes....However, I believe at the end of the day, that wasn’t the best fit.  Having both of them on the floor offensively is genius, defensively not so much.  What did we lack this past season?  We lacked scoring on the wing.  We need a scorer who can step up when the other teams decide to double Isaiah.  If we do indeed keep the #3 pick, which, I honestly could see us moving before the draft, I think that either Tatum or Jackson would be a great asset.  

Time to sit back, refresh my Twitter page every 20 minutes, and enjoy the chaos, drama, and excitement that the NBA Off-season is all about!

P.S. We all want Hayward, make it happen Danny.

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My seat for Game 5...Time to take Lebron out of the game psychologically...and also give Brad some advice of when to unleash the Green! 

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Hit It Hard #gripitnripit #NHGolf #loudmouthgolf #johndaly

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Step 1: Win the Lottery

Step 2: Beat the Cavs 

Step 3: Banner 18

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Game 7, Battle of the Guards...

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Why do you look like you are about to go into the Ken Bone Zone?

The Ken Bone Zone is the penultimate zone!

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Home Court Spark

Last night’s game 5 was the spark that the Celtics needed. As has been the pattern in this series, the home team won again. However, this game felt entirely different than the last few. Being at the Garden for game 1, I felt that us, the crowd, feed the Celtics the energy they needed to spark a resurgence and to ultimately win that game.

Last night, it felt completely opposite. The Celtics were finally able to give the crowd what they wanted; a good old fashioned beat down of the Washington Wizards. They were able to do it based on one thing that they have lacked throughout the entire series. They Played Defense! I’m not just talking about playing great defense, I mean, they were causing complete havoc and chaos on the defensive end, which in turn, lead to easy transition basketball. They were doubling guys in the corner; I don’t know how many times they got Washington to travel and panic in those traps. They played as a unit, a well oiled machine.

The other thing I noticed was that they finally used Horford correctly. Instead of handing the ball off to IT at the top of the key, he turned, faced the basket, and made some shots. That is going to be the key to winning this series and moving forward. When the other team is playing deny defense on Isaiah Thomas, it opens up some room for the big man.

Here’s to looking forward to closing this thing out tomorrow night!

P.S. I still hate you Olynyk.

P.S.S. Nice to see Zeller get in there during garbage time and represent the number 44 like the White Mamba would of!

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Updated Logo!

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Hit It Hard

The man, the myth, the legend himself, John Daly, captured his first win in the U.S. since winning the 2004 Buick Invitational on the PGA Tour.  Although the 13 year drought came to an end in dramatic Daly fashion (few bogeys in a row), you could see a high sigh of relief from John.  His first win on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, the Insperity Invitational, was everything the fan in me, and fans across the nation wanted.  The return of Long John, Wild Thing Daly.

50 years young, Daly is still out there grinding.  No longer hitting the ball quite as far, Daly is still a fan favorite with his Loudmouth Golf clothing and laid back personality.  Forever my favorite golfer, hopefully, this will get the monkey off his back and spark a resurgence of the Grip & Rip master.

“I just want a Miller Lite,” Daly said afterward. “That’s all I want.”

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EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS - GAME 2 - BOS leads 1-0

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Celtics Take Game 1

What an absolute electric atmosphere in the Garden during the first game of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals between Boston and Washington. I haven't heard the Garden that loud in a long time. The only thing that would have made the crowd go even more nuts would have been a late Scalabrine substitution followed by GenoTime! 

The Celtics went through what seemed like the stages of life throughout the course of the game. Starting off with a 16 point cushion, Washington looked like they were firing on all cylinders and made Boston look like the Toon Squad (before MJ's Secret Stuff). Gortat was simply a Monstar, grabbing every board and making his presence known to all. John Wall looked quick and Beal was knocking down open jumpers due to late switches on the defensive end by Boston. Giving up 38 points in the opening quarter definitely was going to be a test of adversary for the C's. 

The second and third quarter had Boston reminding everyone that they were the best team in the East for a reason. Olynyk and Thomas started knocking down shots, we were able to cause some havoc on defensive courtesy of Bradley and Smart. Horford was playing like he had been all playoffs, grabbing boards, dishing out assists, and knocking down every shot he took. Going from 16 down to up 15 entering into the fourth was an adrenaline-filled ride for us in the stands. I'm telling you, you should have heard the noise. Washington brought it back to a 3-point game in the fourth before the C's were able to close it out in the end, but the game had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. 

Taking in the game from the nosebleeds, which are my actual preferred seats due to the fact that you can see the breakdowns on both ends of the court, it made me realize two things that I have thought all year long. 

1.) My hate for Kelly Olynyk has never been made more clear than being able to track him on the court in person. Sure, he dropped 12 points in 18 minutes and finished with a +4, but when you see how lazy he is on defense, it really starts to grind your gears. Crash The Glass, Box Out, Do Something! 

2.) Al Horford is the man. That guy does everything. He is the glue that holds the team together. He spaces the floor, is probably the best passing big man in the game, and can knock down shots from close, mid, and three point land. You put a lot on someone when you depend on them to setup a majority of the offense, especially when they are your center. Horford handles it and then some. Pairing he and Isaiah on the same team is just Danny being Danny. (Also, can't say enough about Thomas). Can't wait to see these guys make a run, and challenge Cleveland next round!

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Saw this advertising “tip” today regarding two different statistics in regards to fans of golf.  The one that drew my attention was the female audience stat; “Women are 46% more likely than other sports fans to have a net worth of more than $1 million”.  That type of mindset is something that we need to change in order to grow golf, or other sports in general, into a gender-free stereotype, even if it happens to be factual.  Having the mindset from a young age that you are unable to pursue a “wealthy-person’s” sport is what keeps hidden potential bottled up! 

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Time to Grab the Bull by the Horns

Game 3 tonight between Boston and Chicago is set to tip-off around 7:00pm est on ESPN (who still lies).  At this point, it is looking like a do or die situation for the Celtics.  Win, bring the series back to 2-1;lose, fall down to 0-3, with little to no chance of winning out.  Although, as Tom Brady and the Patriots have shown us, as well as other Boston teams in the past (2004 Red Sox), there is always a chance.

Potential series changing news came out this morning regarding the rejuvenated Rajon Rondo, who seems to have fractured his right-hand thumb during game 2, and is now listed as out indefinitely.   This is big for the Celtics, who haven’t seemed to be able to stop Rondo thus far.  This will put more pressure on Jimmy Butler to handle the rock and set his team up in the offense.  In my opinion, with the loss of Rondo, Chicago may suffer from a lack of knowing where to be on the court.  This is because Rondo, who has been playing like the #9 of old, was impacting the game in more than just his stats had portrayed.  Rondo had been setting up every play on offense, calling out the defensive traps, and really being the on-court coach.  The loss of Rajon will have a significant impact on the flow of the game for Chicago.

It is time for Boston to “grab the bull by the horns” tonight and fight there way back into the series.  It will be interesting to see how Brad Stevens will switch things up for game 3.  Last year facing Atlanta, and falling down 0-2 as well, Stevens inserted Jonas Jerebko into the starting lineup and Boston won the next 2 to even up the series.  The lack of Rondo’s up tempo game will also allow for Boston to crash the boards more on the offensive side.  If Boston can manage to scrape out a win tonight, and lure them back into the cage, Boston will have a real shot of turning this series around.

*Also, I still hate watching Kelly Olynyk.

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Big Game for Boston

The Boston Celtics square off against the Chicago Bulls tonight at 8:00pm est in the Garden for game 2 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.  Being the best of 7, this is a pivotal game for Boston, coming out of the loss from game 1, looking to avoid an 0-2 hole heading to Chicago.  Although history as shown us that Celtics fans shouldn’t panic just yet, going into game 3 all square would be a sigh of relief.

With an emotionally charged Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics got out muscled all night during the opening contest.  Being out-rebounded 65-44 and giving up 20 offensive boards gave the Bulls the edge the entire game.  Boston also gave up 44 points in the paint and at times, made Chicago look much better than their record would speak.  Factoring in the rebounds, points in the paint, and the fact that Bobby Portis went 8-10 from the field with 19 points off the bench, there was no shot Boston would prevail victorious without a miracle [which we almost saw at the end].

Tonight is a big game for Boston.  Will they continue to get pushed around on the boards all series or will they find a man when a shot goes up, and go up and grab the ball?  I want to see players out there who want the ball.  A series like this is more about who wants it more than a classic 1-seed vs 8-seed cakewalk.  Boston can set the tone for the rest of the 1st round tonight by going out there, shaking off the first blow, and showing the rest of the league that they can compete with any team.

As Kevin Garnett would say, this series is a barfight.  Who is going to land the last punch?

*Also, if I have to watch Kelly Olynyk just stand above the arc all night again and not battle for boards...I’d rather see someone like Jordan Mickey get in there and push some people around...

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With the Boston Marathon taking place today, don’t be surprised to witness an upset! 

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Opening Round of 88 to start the Season at Canterbury Woods. Ended up teeing off from the Blues instead of the Whites. Struggled early on, starting off with a Triple. Swing started to feel good heading into the turn and completely dominated my favorite part of CWCC, the back 9, shooting 4-Over, after making par on 5 straight plus my only Bird on hole 16! Overall successful outing for the first round. Once I got back in the groove with my driver, the Ping G SF Tec, everything just seemed to click. Looking forward to many rounds this season and will do a "What's In The Bag" during my next outing! Play Well.