• This is going to be the biggest free agent summer in NBA history. So why shouldn’t the big names get together and discuss where they all might want to play? Well, they’re not, so says the agent of Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. So when Wade, Bosh, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson all end up playing for the Heat or the Cavaliers or the Nets, it will just be coincidence.
• In other NBA news, the finals actually start this week, just 50 days after the end of the regular season. And to get you ready for another Lakers-Celtics series, Ted Green tried to get Lakers fans to renew their hatred for everything green. And of course he failed.
• The Flyers trail the Blackhawks 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals, but it’s been Philly’s Chris Pronger who may be making the most noise. Pronger isn’t doing anything different on the ice, at least not until the end of the game, where he has scooped up the game puck and taken it with him. How dare he steal the Blackhawks memories.
• Phillies’ starter Jamie Moyer is on the verge of becoming the all-time home run king among pitchers. Home runs allowed, that is. Considering that Moyer started pitching the same year that both the Challenger and Chernobyl went boom, I’m not surprised. In fact, Moyer made his Major League debut the day before the Celtics drafted Len Bias.
• And how’s this for fast news? NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans was pulled over after driving over 100 miles per hour on Interstate-80.

Technorati Tags: Blackhawks, Chris Bosh, Chris Pronger, Dwayne Wade, Flyers, Jamie Moyer, LeBron James, NBA, Stanley Cup

• By now, everyone has heard about Steve Consalvi, the 17-year-old Phillies fan who ran onto the field during Monday night’s game and was tasered by the police. Well, it didn’t take long for another fan to see if it would happen to him. This time a 34-year-old fan ran on the field Tuesday night and was apprehended by police without the use of a Taser. He’ll be charged with defiant trespass, disorderly conduct and narcotics possession, which means he was dumb enough to run onto the field with some kind of drug in his pocket. Only in Philly.
• On a sad note, longtime Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell died on Tuesday at the age of 92.
• I doubt we’ll ever know for sure if the Bruins’ Marc Savard really did bite the Flyers’ Dan Carcillo during Game 2 of  their series Monday night. Carcillo is still upset about it, calling what Savard supposedly did cowardly. He must not remember earlier this season, when teammate Scott Hartnell was accused of biting Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang.
• There’s no place for biting in any sport, but what did Carcillo expect to happen when he went after the head of a guy who just returned from a serious concussion? He’s lucky no one else came in to take off his own melon.

Technorati Tags: Bruins, Dan Carcillo, Ernie Hartwell, Flyers, Marc Savard, Phillies

• The Bruins hold a 2-1 series lead over the Sabres after Monday night’s 2-1 win in Boston. The playoffs have brought out the best in seemingly every player, and the Bruins might even be getting one back sooner than they thought.
• Speaking of star players getting hurt, the Bruins were on the other side of it after Johnny Boychuk took out Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek in Game 2. Vanek missed Monday’s game, but the good news for the Sabres is he might not miss much time.
• Fred Hill finally agreed to a settlement that will reportedly pay him $850,000 and he is out as the men’s basketball coach at Rutgers. This comes at the same time his father – and Rutgers baseball coach Fred Hill, Sr. – won his 1,000 game.
• Rutgers will now have to move quickly to find a replacement for Hill.
• One person who isn’t leaving college basketball: Duke’s Kyle Singler. The Most Outstanding Player from this year’s Final Four will return for his senior season instead of entering the NBA draft.

Technorati Tags: Bruins, Duke, Fred Hill, Kyle Singler, NHL, Rutgers, Sabres

• The Celtics will be without the services of Kevin Garnett for Tuesday’s Game 2 against the Heat. Quentin Richardson, whom Garnett was accused of throwing an elbow at, offered up no apology for his role in the scuffle. And for some reason, Chicago’s Joakim Noah decided to throw out his opinion.
• Perhaps the scariest thing for the Celtics is that Garnett’s spot will be filled by Glen Davis. The question is, which Big Baby will show up? The one who averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in last year’s playoffs, or the one from this season, who averaged 6.3 points and wanted to be known as “Uno Uno?”
• Despite their mistakes, the Bruins return to Boston for Monday’s Game 3 tied 1-1 with Buffalo. Don’t expect the Bruins to maintain home-ice though, even though the crowd should be electric. Their 42 points at home was 25th in the NHL, and all five teams below the Bruins missed the playoffs.
• Is it too early to panic regarding the Red Sox and their offense? OK, we’ll give it a little more time.

Technorati Tags: Big Baby, Bruins, Celtics, Kevin Garnett, Red Sox

• The Miami Dolphins swung a deal Wednesday to get wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos, and then signed him to a contract extension. Add that to the signing and swapping the Jets have done this offseason, and winning the division may not be the slam dunk it’s been for the Patriots for most of the last decade. As of right now, New England appears to be third, at best.
• The Stanley Cup playoffs opened with three of the four games being won by the road team. While Ottawa’s win over Pittsburgh and Philadelphia’s win over New Jersey raised eyebrows, the one surprise was out West, in a game the home team won. Phoenix beat Detroit at home, while eighth-seeded Colorado knocked off top-seeded San Jose, which really is no surprise at all.
• Only in Texas would almost $60 million be spent on a high school football stadium that will seat 18,000 people. Unbelievable.
• The NCAA still hasn’t made it official that it will expand the men’s basketball tournament to 96 teams (but it will). Doesn’t matter to Joe Lunardi, who already has a 96-team bracket done for next year.
• Did anyone notice Fred Hill is still the men’s basketball coach at Rutgers? Does anyone care?

Technorati Tags: Brandon Marshall, Dolphins, Jets, NCAA, Patriots, Stanley Cup

That means Boston should end up with either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin, the two players who are projected as the best in the draft.

Edmonton, which finished with a league-worst 62 points, wound up with the top pick in the lottery held Tuesday. Whomever the Oilers don’t pick should end up being picked by the Bruins.

Technorati Tags: Bruins

And then there was the other Boston sports team that everyone knew would be there for the playoffs, ready to challenge for a title.

In January, statement No. 1 fit the Bruins, while statement No. 2 was about the Celtics.

Now?

After a 9-4-1 finish to the season – and not to mention a favorable first-round matchup – the Bruins are the team that seems to be turning it on at the right time.

As for the Celtics, well, they’re at least going to make the playoffs. That counts for something, right?

Perhaps, but when you look at where the Cs were on Christmas Day – a 23-5 record after beating the Magic 86-77 – and compare it to now, disappointing is the only word that comes to mind.

Since that win over Orlando, Boston has gone 27-25. Sure the Celtics are in the playoffs. Sure they’ve won their division. Sure it’s another 50-win season.

But is it really something to be proud of, especially given the way they’ve played this season? No one needs me to remind them of loses to the Clippers (28-52), the Warriors (25-55), the Knicks (28-52) and the Nets (12-68). But I will anyway.

Some of the losses have been maddening, considering the Celtics have led most of them at some point in the second half.

What’s even worse is the number of bad losses at home, like the one to the Nets. Throw in a 20-points loss to the Grizzlies and a baffling loss to the Wizards last Friday, and it’s a cause for concern.

Maybe the Celtics will flip the switch for the playoffs and make a run at another title, but I wouldn’t count on it.

As for the Bruins, what a turnaround this season has been. Less than a month ago, their season seemed lost.

The hot streak seemed like it would be all for not when Dennis Seidenberg went out for the year. How negatives can one team take in one season? To lose the one deadline acquisition just seemed like it was the final kick in the teeth.

And the Bruins get seven of a possible eight points in their final four games – including three of four points against the Capitals.

Given their success against Buffalo this season (4-2 overall, and 4-1 with Tuukka Rask in goal), don’t be surprised if the Bruins make it to the second round.

Given where this team was just a short while ago, the season would have to be considered a success.

That’s certainly more than you can say for the Celtics.

Technorati Tags: Bruins, Celtics, playoffs

• In a week when it was all Tiger, all the time, someone else actually won the Masters. Phil Mickelson won his third Masters by three strokes over Lee Westwood.  Tiger Woods finished fourth. I’m not sure what kind of story it would have been – good? bad? – if Woods had won. But it’s a much better one with Mickelson winning.
• The NHL ended its regular season on Sunday and the field is set for the Stanley Cup playoffs, which begin on Wednesday. Bruins fans have to be happy with the team’s first-round matchup with the Sabres. Boston won the season series with Buffalo, 4-2, and goalie Tuukka Rask has been lights out against the Sabres this year.
• Boston College won its fourth national championship in men’s ice hockey, defeating Wisconsin 5-0 on Saturday. Apparently this title is sweeter because a lot of these players are from New England.
• The Jets got a little bit better Sunday night, when they reportedly agreed to send a fifth-round pick to the Steelers for Santonio Holmes. The move comes with some risk for the Jets, as Holmes is expected to be suspended for part of 2010 and he’ll be a free agent after the season. But it sounds like it was better than nothing for the Steelers.

Technorati Tags: Morning Roundup

• The Pittsburgh Penguins threw a going-away party for the Mellon Arena and invited all of their friends. The oldest barn in the NHL saw its final regular-season game on Thursday, a 7-3 Penguins’ win over the Islanders. Sidney Crosby scored his 50th goal of the year, but once the game was over, he had just 49.
• In case you hadn’t noticed, the Red Sox and Yankees take forever to play head-to-head games. Umpire Joe West noticed, too, and went as far as to call it embarrassing and a disgrace. I’m not so sure of that, but I am sure that not everyone should have to suffer through a four-plus hour game, like Jonathan Papelbon thinks we should.
• The Bruins got a big win Thursday night, beating Buffalo 3-1. But who cares? It’s Red Sox season, right?
• John Calipari has his work cut out for him now that Kentucky lost five -five!?! – players to the NBA draft. For a guy who got UMass and Memphis to a Final Four (unofficially of course), Calipari should have no problem getting Kentucky to that point as well. And then he can leave for another school just before the Wildcats are forced to vacate everything they won.
• Boston College advanced to the championship game in men’s hockey with a 7-1 win over Miami (Ohio). The Eagles will play Wisconsin for the title. In all honesty, I’d forgotten the Frozen Four was still going. It’s only been about 10 days since the regionals.

Technorati Tags: Boston College, Bruins, Mellon Arena, Penguins, Red Sox, Sidney Crosby, Yankees

• The Bruins got some bad news on Wednesday when they found out defenseman Dennis Seidenberg would be out for the season. Seidenberg’s wrist was cut by a skate during the Bruins’ game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. After the wrist didn’t feel right before Monday’s game against Washington, Seidenberg was diagnosed with a lacerated tendon in his wrist, and after a successful surgery, will be out eight weeks. Just one more injury in a season full of them for Boston.
• Steve Donahue was introduced as the new men’s basketball coach for Boston College. During Wednesday’s press conference, Donahue said there was no downside to taking the BC job because of Boston’s enthusiasm for sports. Someone must not have told him that feeling doesn’t extend beyond the pro level.
• In a surprise move, Wake Forest fired men’s basketball coach Dino Gaudio after just three seasons. Coaches rumored to be on the short list of replacements are Butler’s Brad Stevens (of course) and Miami’s Frank Haith. Don’t be shocked if neither wind up at Wake. Stevens, who is also being courted by Oregon, will stay at Butler, and it would be an odd move for Haith to go from one ACC team to another.
• By the way, I love it when people do these things.
• The Red Sox prevented runs on Wednesday, but unfortunately they didn’t score any of their own, losing 3-1 to the Yankees in 10 innings. John Lackey pitched well in his debut, despite his “personal” issues. Seriously, if you’re not going to share, and it didn’t keep you from performing well, why mention it at all?
• The Celtics bounced back from a loss to the Knicks with a win over the Raptors, who were playing without Chris Bosh (broken face). Boston completed the series sweep of Toronto, no thanks to this guy.

Technorati Tags: Boston College, Bruins, Dennis Seidenberg, Red Sox, Steve Donahue