Tuesday's Thoughts

I have to start with the World Cup, even though soccer's biggest stage may not be everyone's cup of tea. I could talk all day about the diving that goes on, or the skill that some of these guys have. But no, instead, the French have decided they want to be divas and take over the spotlight and the front page of every important blog on the internet. For those who don't remember, or never knew in the first place, France was the runner-up at the 2006 World Cup and won the damn thing in '98. They only lost due to Zidane's infamous headbutt that resulted in a Red Flag and ultimately cost his team. Apparently Zidane retired after that tournament, and even more apparent...the French are a bunch of nobody's on the World stage without him. It all started after their disappointing 0-0 draw against Uruguay in the opener, when their captain, Patrice Evra, blamed the loss on the vuvuzela's hindering their on-field communication. Then, during a team practice, they decided to "walk-out" on their coach after he disciplined one of their teammates. How much more French can you get? The entire country probably built itself up in hopes that they could win this thing! Yet they just give up and stop training because somebody got bent over the coaches knee and spanked. What a disgrace! It kind of, but not really, takes away from the legitimacy of the tournament. If one of the World's premier soccer countries just gives up, then why is the World Cup seen as such a magnificent stage? But, like I said, quitting can be expected from the French, so the legitimacy of the tourney remains. After the French figure out the whole "nuke" thing, they'll probably fuck it up and nuke themselves. When they do, we'll only remember them for their thin stripes of fried potatoes.

Moving on from that disgrace...I'm gonna have to update my Bruins Draft Preview. I had a glaring omission from the players that the Bruins should consider if they do end up keeping the #15 pick. Now, as I said in the original post, the Bruins won't be selecting anyone at #15, I'm almost sure of that. But, in the unlikely case of them keeping the pick, I would need to add Austin Watson to the group of players to be considered. I put Riley Sheahan up on the post as the two-way, gritty-type player, but that player should have been Watson. While he may never be a first-line player, Watson is viewed as the draft's best defensive forward, hardest worker, and best face-off man. The Bruins have long been a team full of soul-less players (guys like Joe Thornton, Jason Allison, Mike Ryder, and Dennis Wideman). That's not to say that those aren't skilled guys, but it takes heart to win a Stanley Cup. Watson doesn't bring the elite skillset in terms of point production, but he has the motor and the will-power that is vital in producing a championship. He would be a steal at 15 (might go in the top 10), but imagine how hard it would be to score against a line with both Watson and Patrice Bergeron on it! I said that the Bruins should consider Dylan McIlrath at the pick, but I believe that my revised stance is that the Bruins take Watson at 15 (provided they keep the pick and he's available). The Draft is a mere 3 days away! I'll have up my NHL Mock Draft on Thursday, not because you guys care, but because I want to see how close I can get!

It was about a month ago, maybe more, when I said that the Sox wouldn't be making the playoffs this year. Well, I'm almost ready to eat my words. I haven't been paying any great deal of attention toward anything baseball this year, so you can imagine my surprise when I looked at the standings the other day to see the Sox one game back of the division lead and tied with the Rays. You see, after April and the early part of May, I was thinking that this team would be lucky to call themselves a .500 club at the end of the season. For the time being, I'll admit that I was wrong. But how are they doing it!? Obviously Lester and Buchholz are having terrific years, but Beckett has had a negative effect, Lackey has been hittable, and Dice K has been Dice K (the 2009 version). I don't care how good the pitching might be (or those top 2 for that matter), how can you compete in the AL East when you start Darnell McDonald, Daniel Nava, and Bill Hall!? I'd love to know how they've managed this turnaround, because on paper...I just can't figure it out. Are they playing small-ball and winning that way? Are Lackey's numbers deceiving? Has he actually pitched better than the numbers suggest? Is Tim Donaghy umping their games? Someone fill me in!

To continue with the Sox, I caught this video on Barstool...

First off, how good of a recovery was that by the cop? It's basically the classic case of driving down the road, pretending to wave at somebody, getting them to wave back, and then just flipping down the sun-shield to check yourself out in the mirror. You try to make the other person feel as stupid as possible. That's kinda what Daniel Bard did to this guy. The cop waited to long for the fist-bump, and Bard tried to make him pay. Jokes on you Dan, this guy just absolutely destroyed you! Nothin' quite like gettin' rejected on the forearm bump and then being like "Oh, that itches, phew, much better!" Hey Bard, you're gonna have to do better than that if you want the closers role some day.

I was listening to Felger and Mazz yesterday in the car, and the Celtics offseason came up as part of their discussion. What I found surprising was when they said that fans "have to be hoping" that Pierce opts out of his contracts and signs with another team. Since I know next-to-nothing about value in the NBA or the way the cap works, I wasn't sure whether it's realistic or a pipe-dream/nightmare that this happens. Hopefully one of our NBA-savvy correspondents gives us a preview of what to expect from the Celtics this offseason. It's understood that Ray Ray likely won't be back. But beyond that, it's all foggy. Will they deal KG? Is it realistic that Pierce is done as a Celtic? Is Doc gonna retire or will he come back? Calling Ryan Wilson! Fill us in!