In the unfamiliar (but welcome) position of having the last pick in each of the two rounds of the NBA draft last night, Danny Ainge made his two picks and dealt for a third, grabbing New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens in the first round trading for Kansas forward Bill Walker in the second round, and taking Semih Erden, a 7-1 project from Turkey with the final pick in the draft.

Julian Benbow says that Giddens was on Ainge’s short list for a while. Mark Murphy has the Celtics hoping that Giddens has moved on from some incidents in his past which showed him to be immature. Steve Bulpett says that Giddens is someone who can fill a need for the Celtics with his athleticism. Kevin McNamara says that Giddens is a pick to improve the team now, not just in the future. Bill Doyle has rebounding as one of Giddens’ strengths…both on and off the court. Jim Fenton has the Celtics believing that Giddens has put his troubles behind him.

Dan Shaughnessy looks back a year ago, to when Ainge’s moves were roundly mocked and criticized – by Shaughnessy himself. Bill Burt says that last night’s draft was another winner for Ainge, who capped the championship season by adding more talent to the roster. Bill Simmons has his annual draft diary for the first round last night.

Murphy’s notebook has Ainge staying busy in the second round once again. Burt’s notebook has Giddens’ happy to be a Celtic. Fenton’s notebook has the Celtics grabbing a potential lottery pick in Walker.

Red Sox

Amalie Benjamin has a minor league notebook, which looks at consistency being the message preached to the young pitchers in the organization. Steven Krasner has a look at the current status of a number of the Red Sox young pitchers. Alex Speier also looks to the minors, with a focus on Single-A power hitter Josh Reddick. Michael Silverman says that Theo Epstein has created his scouting and player development machine – but he has also created a future GM machine in the process.

Speier looks at the Sox position after finishing half of their schedule. He also looks at how it compares to recent seasons. Art Martone looks at the second half schedule, which presents many more days off than the past few years. Paul Doyle says that the Red Sox are in a different spot halfway through this season.

Joe Haggerty has Dustin Pedroia breaking himself out of his recent slump. Krasner looks at how J.D. Drew has picked up his game since David Ortiz has been sidelined. Ron Chimelis says that Manny Ramirez’s availability to play the outfield this weekend in Houston is unknown. Silverman’s notebook says that Kevin Cash’s home run on Wednesday night was a bonus.

Misc.

Robert Lee says that the fire to compete still burns in Tedy Bruschi.

David Scott reports that Laura Behnke of NECN and CSN is taking a job out in the Bay Area for San Francisco’s KNTV (NBC11). He also looks at Will Leitch’s departure from Deadspin and a few other items. Nancy Marrapese-Burrell has a look at ABC broadcaster Allen Bestwick about this weekend’s races in New Hampshire and growing up a sports fan in New England.

Kevin Paul Dupont has Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman filing for arbitration. 

Tim Wakefield (41) and Randy Johnson (44) hooked up last night in a pitching duel for and of the ages at Fenway Park. With the score 2-0 in the eighth inning, catcher Kevin Cash, who had actually been intentionally walked earlier in the game, hit a three run homer of reliever Juan Cruz to give the Red Sox the 5-0 victory.

As the Red Sox reach the halfway point of the season, Jeff Horrigan says things have gone well despite adversity for the Red Sox. Nick Cafardo says Cash is making people forget about Doug Mirabelli. Steven Krasner has Red Sox pitching shutting down the Diamondbacks in different ways last night. Joe Haggerty has Wakefield on top of his game last night. Bob Stern notes the intentional walk to Cash earlier in the night. Paul Doyle examines the contrast in styles between the starters, who share only their longevity. Ron Chimelis has Wakefield looking as good as ever last night. Paul Jarvey has the battle of the aged going to Wake.

Baxter Holmes has a closer look at the matchup between Johnson and Wakefield. Michael Silverman has Wakefield in the middle of one of his patented midseason rolls for the Red Sox. Lenny Megliola has more on the contrast between Wakefield and Johnson. Alex Speier has NASCAR drivers and Red Sox players getting to know each other’s jobs.

Stephen Harris has Cash paying dividends for the Red Sox. Joe McDonald says that Doug is forgotten around these parts. Silverman reports that David Ortiz is still weeks away from a return to the lineup. Haggerty has Ortiz saying that this is not a setback for him.

Despite his share of bad luck this season, Harris has Sean Casey feeling lucky to be with the Red Sox. Terry Nau says that Tampa Bay will continue to provide a bigger threat to the Red Sox than the Yankees do.

Silverman says that Curt Schilling may pitch again.

Kate M. Jackson examines why the Pink Hats are so despised around Boston. Jay Fitzgerald reports on the Red Sox 1912 World Series Trophy Cup going up for auction.

Cafardo’s notebook has David Ortiz feeling that his comeback is going to take a little longer than the two weeks reported yesterday. Horrigan’s notebook has Manny Ramirez getting ready to go back to the outfield this weekend in Houston. The Projo notebook has more on Ortiz.Stern’s notebook says that Ortiz is making progress. Doyle’s notebook has more on Ortiz. Chimelis’ notebook has Ortiz disappointed, yet encouraged. Jarvey’s notebook has Ortiz’s wrist still feeling weak.

Celtics

Marc J. Spears has the Celtics getting the last word on the NBA draft tonight. Bill Reynolds has the inside track on how this draft will fall. Mark Murphy has Danny Ainge keeping a deep pool of possibilities for the 30th pick. Scott Souza says that the Celtics will be looking for some luck late in the draft. Bill Doyle says that the pressure is off of Danny Ainge on this draft night.

Bill Burt says that Gabe Pruitt should be viewed as the Celtics first round draft pick. Tim Weisberg says that there are plenty of options for the Celtics in this draft. Kevin McNamara says that the Celtics will need to do a lot of waiting and hoping tonight. Jeff Howe says that even though there is a lot of uncertainty in this draft, the Celtics have options.

Steve Bulpett notes that without Ainge’s drafting skills, there would have been no championship this past season. He lists out Ainge’s top five picks. Old Buddy Thomas says that this draft has a different feel for the Celtics. Jim Fenton has the Celtics just hoping for the best tonight. Jessica Camerato wonders if Ainge will even draft a player tonight.

Murphy’s notebook has free agency coming up fast for several Celtics. Fenton’s notebook says that P.J. Brown is likely headed for retirement.

Bruins

Steve Conroy has Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli hoping to make a big move this summer. Mick Colageo has more from the Bruins GM on his summer plans. With the Celtics now becoming the third Boston team to win a championship this decade, the message is clear: You’re Up, Chiarelli.

David Brown remembers his friend and colleague, Dan Pires.

Trailing 4-1 in the eighth inning, the Red Sox slumping offense suddenly erupted for four runs, giving Boston a 5-4 lead, which Jonathan Papelbon closed out in the ninth for the win over the Red Sox first ever win over the Diamondbacks at Fenway Park.

Nick Cafardo has Jason Varitek, who was in the biggest slump of all, providing the key hit in the eighth. Michael Silverman has things finally getting back into order for the Red Sox last night. Joe McDonald has the Red Sox veterans coming through in the clutch last night. Jeff Goldberg reports on the Red Sox finally breaking through after being stymied by Doug Davis for seven innings. Eric Avidon has the Sox with a post-Neil Diamond comeback last night. Ron Chimelis has more on the eighth inning rally. Paul Jarvey and Joe Haggerty wrap up the game stories.

Rob Bradford has Mike Lowell campaigning for the Red Sox to get Varitek signed to a new contract. Sean McAdam says that perhaps the big hit last night will help Varitek get back on track. Alex Speier examines the defensive play of the outfield since Crisp, Ellsbury and Drew have been playing most of the time together out there. Mike Fine notes that the heroes of last night’s game had very different perspectives on the win.

If Curt Schilling’s career with the Red Sox is over, Lenny Megliola has no regrets. Bill Burt pleads with Schilling to just hang it up. Stephen Harris has Chris Smith picking up his first major league win last night. Maureen Mullen has more on the 27-year-old Smith finally getting that first win in the majors after being drafted in 2002 by the Red Sox. Barbara Matson also has Smith savoring that first victory.

Steven Krasner has Mike Lowell spoiling the Diamondbacks’ strategy last night. Haggerty has another look at the Drew brothers. Krasner also has Justin Masterson struggling a bit last night.

Bradford also has Manny Ramirez‘s high five to a fan in the stands in Baltimore paying off with an All Star vote – just as he wanted. McAdam has a report on the blurred vision being suffered by Kevin Youkilis after getting hit in the face with a throw Monday night. Krasner has Sean Casey lamenting the bad timing of his suspension. McAdam reports that David Ortiz is two weeks away from returning to the lineup. Krasner has a look at the stuff of Doug Davis, the Arizona starter.

Christine McConville has Red Sox owner John Henry receiving an Ernst & Young master entrepreneur award.

Silverman’s notebook has an update on Youkilis. Cafardo’s notebook has Terry Francona praising the effort of Justin Masterson last night. The Projo notebook has more on Smith picking up the win. Goldberg’s notebook has Youkilis making an appearance at first base in the ninth. Chimelis’ notebook has more on Youkilis returning to the field in the ninth inning. Jarvey’s notebook has Youkilis already on the mend.

Other

Kevin Paul Dupont and Steve Conroy have the Bruins signing defenseman Mark Stuart to a two-year extension. Douglas Flynn also reports on the signing, as well as the Bruins acquiring blueliner Jonny Boychuk from the Avalanche yesterday.

Julian Benbow has UMass guard Gary Forbes hoping to hear his named called during tomorrow night’s NBA draft. Jim Fenton says that last year’s draft is a distant memory for the Celtics. Rich Thompson has more on Hall of Famer John Havlicek, who was honored at The Tradition last night.

Mark Farinella has more tidbits from Tedy Bruschi and a number of other thoughts.

Mike Loftus looks at the upcoming NASCAR weekend up in New Hampshire. Baxter Holmes has Martin Truex Jr trying to become the new face of Dale Earnhardt Inc. after Dale Earnhardt Jr left the team last year.

WBZ-TV has posted on their website the legendary Sports Final show which featured Larry Bird, Bobby Orr and Ted Williams.