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Celtics Extend Streak To 14 With Win Over Pesky Sixers

December 23, 2010 By

My wife and I welcomed our second son on Tuesday morning – 21 1/2 inches and 8 lbs 3 oz. Mother and son are doing fine.

The Celtics extended their winning streak to 14 games last night with a 84-80 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.

Defense delivers 14th straight – Scott Souza has the Celtics defense getting this win for the Celtics.

Good, but not good enough for Celtics – Paul Flannery says that there were few positives to take away from this one.

Celtics grind out another win – Peter May says that good teams win games they shouldn’t, as the Celtics did last night.

O’Neal able to step up to the plate – Michael Vega has some encouragement from David Ortiz helping Shaq sink a pair of late free throws last night.

A Different Side of Ray – Alan Segal talks to Ray Allen about his Ray of Hope Foundation.

Winning streak not exactly hearts, flowers – Mark Murphy’s notebook says that this winning streak has actually been a burden to a beleaguered Celtics squad. The Globe notebook from Julian Benbow has the Celtics just trying to get and stay healthy. The Metrowest Daily News notebook from Scott Souza has Doc Rivers riding Nate Robinson hard in practice to make him more of a point guard.The CSNNE notes from Jessica Camerato has more on the Celtics grinding this streak.

The Patriots continue to get ready for the Buffalo Bills, who have played much tougher than their 4-win record would indicate.

Worry Wart – Game Fifteen At Bills – As usual, Chris Warner has some worries.

Imperfect defense steps up at critical junctures – Robert Lee notes that five times this season the opponent has had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game on their final possession, but the Patriots have stopped them all five times.

Vince Wilfork plays on – Ian Rapoport notes that the Patriots nose tackle has been on the field for 80% of the defensive snaps this year, unusual for a nose tackle, and higher than previous years for Wilfork. Steven Krasner looks at how the D-Line, led by Wilfork has been a strength of the team despite a revolving starting lineup.

Warren and Patriots: A perfect fit – Mary Paoletti looks at how Gerard Warren has become the second coming of Roman Phifer for the Patriots.

In preparation for Bills, Patriots using lessons learned against Cleveland – Christopher Price has the Patriots using the Cleveland game as a warning. Mark Farinella examines the same angle.

Odd times for Fred Taylor – Rapoport’s notebook has the veteran running back dealing with watching others play ahead of him. Shalise Manza Young says that the Patriots have ratcheted up the rhetoric in talking about their opponent this week.

Apparently this was the mandated week for three-part series on new Red Sox slugger Adrian Gonzalez.

Michael Silverman had his in the Herald:

Adrian Gonzalez ready to get going

Strong foundation put Adrian Gonzalez on road to stardom

Adrian Gonzalez a rock of faith in all facets

And Gordon Edes has a series on ESPN Boston:

Adrian Gonzalez: Special delivery

Adrian Gonzalez: A man and his word

Making Boston home away from home (Coming later today)

Claude Julien buzz makes tonight must-win – There is a lot of speculation about the Bruins and their head coach. Stephen Harris looks at why tonight is a big game for both.

So the sports media world is really obsessed with what Rex Ryan and his wife do on their own time? While the story was perfect for an outlet like Deadspin, I’m nauseated at how all media outlets are jumping on this “story.” It was even a prominent part of sports flashes on both Boston sports radio stations yesterday. Other than being a potential distraction (caused by the media) what in the world does this have to do with his coaching the New York Jets?

Look, I get it, it’s a pretty sensational story. Some of the feet jokes are funny. (Jets acquire LB Larry Foote for future considerations.)  A part of me enjoys the idea of Ryan having to squirm a bit, and explain things to his team, but for a group that proclaims themselves serious “journalists” and reporters, their obsession with this type of story puts them at the level of paparazzi.

One thing, though, if the “couples ad” proves to be actually from the Ryans, will Commissioner Goodell look into things like he publicly proclaimed he was looking to the Brandon Spikes tapes (from college) earlier in the season?

Filed Under: Morning Links
  • LJ Sandwich

    Bruce…congrats on the latest Mr. Allen…my best to you and your growing family!

  • supwithyou

    Congrats Bruce! Good luck with getting some sleep now :)

  • Lance_

    Congrats on your new junior.

    There's a clear difference in the styles of BB and Rex Ryan. It's obvious the local media would much prefer Soundbite Ryan but as a fan I'm more grateful every day to have Belichick and the Kraft's. And to be sure, if that franchise hadn't been one of the worst jokes in professional sports for so many years I'd likely not be so appreciative. And I won't hold my breath for Goodell to take any action.

  • mandb97

    Bruce, welcome back and congratulations again. I will disagree with you on the coverage of the Ryans. The problem is that the Ryans putting what they do on their own time on YouTube allows the whole world to see it as well. Any right to privacy is gone. It shows how incredibly irresponsible Rex Ryan is. We will see if it does effect his coaching. The other issue is that there is no question the players association will be looking at this very carefully. Remember, Brandon Spikes was fined $25,000 for something he did on the web before he was even drafted in the NFL. Anybody who has seen some of the Ryans chats and some of the info associated with the story, knows it is definitely NSFW. You would imagine that the players would accept nothing less than the punishment Spikes received. As Lance said, it makes you appreciate everyday having Belichick as a coach.

  • latetodinner

    Official congrats this time around. I am glad the little birdy was correct :-) .

    As for the Rex Ryan foot talk…its 3 days before Christmas and not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. They needed something to talk about. The Pats season has been dissected and analyzed to death…we are just waiting on the playoffs. The Celtics, as Bob Ryan pointed out this AM in the Doc Rivers interview, are in the midst of the quietest 14 game winning streak in the history of sports, the Bruins suck and to be honest hockey talk is excruciatingly dull, and the Sox moves have been discussed but now we are in hurry up and wait mode.

    I guess the mediots could discuss Mike Vicks yearning to get a pet dog for Xmas some more, that was titillating. Or maybe we could take Steve from Fall River's tact and complain that the Pats did not resign Asante Samuel yet again. Instead the media mocks Rex Ryan again…I kind of enjoy it…clearly he is a few ants short of a picnic. Its kind of fun watching that exposed.

    • Jon

      I agree with you except for the part about endless discussing when Claude Julien should be fired. Crap, I'm making your point.
      So I'm the only person excited about the C's winning streak? Neat.

    • Angry Old Bastard

      OR..you could look at it the OTHER WAY. We have one of the best teams in the NFL, one of the best teams in basketball, a baseball team that has made several big moves and a hockey team with a coach on the hot seat. There are plenty of things to talk about other than Ryan and his wife.

      • latetodinner

        I could look at it that way but like the program managers of both sports talkers, a bunch of on air personalities, print "professionals" and countless titillated sportsfans who really have no lives, I prefer to discuss something completely out of the ordinary than rehash these tired and beaten into the ground topics…but hey that's me…especially when it makes the Jets look even more ridiculous.

        • Angry Old Bastard

          ya know, I actually sort of agree with you but looking at it that way, just about every topic is , "tired and beaten into the ground " ….anyway, the shelf life of Ryan and his wife's feet wasn't that long. I think it's over already. Of course if this was Belichick I'm pretty sure ESPN would be having a 2 hour special. "TOEGATE: WHAT IT MEANS TO BELICHICK'S LEGACY"

  • Classless

    Belichick is a professional. Ryan is not. How can Ryan hold any authority in the locker room when he's constantly joking and smelling his wife's feet in public?

  • NSW

    As funny as the whole Ryan situation, it's actually laudable that after 23 years of marriage they are both obviously still into each other…yeah, it's a little odd, but so what? Considering all the legit scandals that involve mistreatment, abuse of power (especially from the hypocrites of ESPN), this is almost sweet.

    On the other hand, he's the public face of a billion dollar franchise…so seriously, keep it in the bedroom. The $25K fine wouldn't be for his behavior as much as the silliness of putting his employer and employees in an uncomfortable spotlight.

  • http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com Suldog

    Hey, congratulations! And continued thanks for the round-up.

  • Curtis

    Congrats on the new addition Bruce, no greater gift than that during this Holiday season! And lets see: Braylon Edwards DUI, Revis Holdout, Hamburgers at practice, Asst Coach trips a player during the game, Asst Coach avoids responsibility by making allegations against their rival and Coach is starring in a fetish film rather than breaking down his inept offense's film…..tight ship you have there, J-E-T-S, jokes, jokes, jokes..

  • crackerjack1

    "Remember, Brandon Spikes was fined $25,000 for something he did on the web before he was even drafted in the NFL."

    Link?

    • mandb97

      Cracker you got me, Spikes actually lost $60,000 from Reebok which of course has no bearing on the league. I actually saw a fine for $25,000 but it was for Randy Moss. I don't know how I screwed the two up but I sure did. I'm sorry about that. I still believe that the players will still keep a close eye on this. In my opinion, if a player did this while under contract the league would come down pretty hard.

      • crackerjack1

        No worries, I do agree with your premise, Goodell was quick to say that the league was investigating Spikes but then also quick to say that Ryan's videos were a 'private matter'. Incredibly hypocritical.

  • FanBoy Suckup

    Bruce – congratulations on the newest addition to the family. In case you haven't seen Charlie Pierce's latest blog entry, I figured I would bring it to your (and your readers') attention: http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/pierce/20…. The paragraph I particularly appreciated was:

    (A brief lexicographical note before we continue. "Objectivity" — which has its own problems as a standard of journalistic commentary, as we have seen — is not a synonym for "critical" any more than it is a synonym for "complimentary." Being hypercritical is no more "objective" than being sycophantic is. And being hypercritical simply for the sake of being hypercritical, for whatever reason, doesn't make you any more "objective" than is the average fanboi suck-up. It makes you a fake. We continue.)

    I hope the Globe doesn't fire him for violating its journalistic standards!

  • APimpNamedDaveR

    Congrats Bruce and family!

    You hit the nail on the head re: Rex Ryan. It really isn't so much a Ryan/Jets thing as it is Goodell having opened up Pandora's Box with Vick, Spikes, et al. and now having to deal with the perception that he's playing favorites when he doesn't have a knee-jerk over-reaction when it's (a) a white coach/player or (b) his former team involved in the off-field "issues".

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