The Babcock Report: On The Rebound

So I have spent the week picking up the pieces of what is left of this NFL season and trying to put the SuperBowl loss into perspective. So far, I have been entirely unsuccessful at condensing any of the things I have been feeling and thinking about the Patriots into a coherent post for roomofzen. But, thats ok. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I should probably go on record now and warn all of you that in June, after a difficult Red Sox loss, I will probably slip something into a Babcock Report about the inability of Jarvis Green to pull down Eli Manning, and you will be like, "what the hell does that have to do with anything?". Thats just the way its going to be around here until the Pats step onto the field next September...

But, today the loss to the Giants didn't hurt so bad. The sun came out after a god awful week of rain and snow that really took a lot out of me physically. My mens league bball team (Dark Blue) lost a game to the White team in overtime that we should have won on Thursday night. They didn't even have any one coming off the bench! This was indicative of the type of week it was. Rain was falling but my freethrows weren't. The weather was as cold as my midrange game. But today was different...I woke up and the sun was shining...AND the Celtics were about to tip off in the biggest game of the year against the Spurs at home.

Big Baby putting in work.

I have admittedly been a little lackluster in my support of the Celtics over the past month or two, but its hard to keep your focus on the NBA when your NFL team is busy putting together the single greatest dissappointment in a 25 year olds life. But when I saw the preview for the game on TV I was excited for professional sports for the first time since the day that will henceforth be known as "the darkest of days". I looked at this matchup on the schedule back in october and knew that this would be a major major test of the Cs. But we didn't have Kevin Garnett so there was no way that we could compete with the Spurs right?

Rajon Rondo: The Real Deal

Not only did the Celtics show that they could win without Garnett, I'm pretty sure that I just saw one of the greatest games of Rajon Rondo's life, he absolutely proved that he is up to the task of going toe to toe with the NBAs best. He led all Celtics with 12 boards and 11 assists. He didn't have his first turnover until late in the second half of the game; he played great defense and distributed the ball like a seasoned veteran. Finally, the Celtics have a legitimate point guard. Today marked the coronation of Rajon as "LEGIT".

Also, today was a big day for Boston Celtics fans because I believe we can finally put to rest the heartbreaking luck that stripped us of the number 1 pick in the 1997 NBA draft. You all know that Duncan went to the Spurs, and Rick Pitino went nuts. This was the first time that the Celtics had beaten the Spurs at home in 11 years, and the first time Duncan lost in Boston. Not getting the number 1 pick in 1997 was so indicative of the kind of luck Celtics fans had had since the mid 80s. And seriously, look at the luck we have had since then...1 appearance in the conference finals where we lost to New Jersey...and basically nothing but a revolving door of mid first round draft picks and awkward characters like Marty Conlon and Walter McCarty. It has taken 11 years for this franchise to recover and become a better team than San Antonio. We have arrived.

Speaking of Pitino...I caught a little bit of the Louisville vs. Georgetown game Saturday night and Pitino is wearing this crazy all white suit. He really seems to fancy himself as a participant in organized crime. I applaud his fashion sense, I cant say that it didnt have anything to do with the Cardinals upset of the #6 Hoyas. Wow...I just commented on college Basketball, I suppose that this is a good sign that I am moving on.

Also, for no particular reason a nickname came to me for UCONNs new center Hasheem Thabeet. He will from now on be known to me only as Hasheem "Move To" Thabeet. There I did it, I mentioned college hoops twice before March. Time for a shower. This guy looks pretty good though, someone to watch for sure.

Hasheem "move to" Thabeet

A couple of other things:

Robert Horry

Is this guy a first ballot hall of famer when he retires? I think so. He has 7 rings and played on most of the dominant NBA teams of the last 20 years (Bulls, Lakers, Spurs, Rockets). Who has hit more clutch postseason shots than "Big shot Bob"? He wasn't one of the top two players on any of those teams but he played a crucial role on each of them...seven rings is seven rings. Am I alone on this?

The Rolling Stones

I have been listening to a ton of Stones tunes to help me through my post SuperBowl depression. There is nothing that makes you feel like such a huge pussy for being depressed about an NFL game than listening to a really really badass classic rock jam. It lifts the spirits. Seriously if you don't own Exile on Main St. or Sticky Fingers (my pick as their greatest Album), go out and buy them now. Seriously.

The healing continues...