Foil in the Oven: The Return

First, I would like to apologize to our loyal readers for my absence over the past few weeks. Between now and the end of April is an extremely busy time for me, but I promise that Foil in the Oven will be returning on a weekly basis as soon as the NFL Draft hits. Furthermore, we are planning a whole slew of new features to keep you updated on all NBA playoff, MLB, and NFL pre-season action this spring and summer. In fact, I expect ROOMOFZEN to be operating this May at a higher level than ever before. But, I'm sure you're not here to read about me, so let's get moving....


I can't say enough about the way the Celtics have been playing lately. There are a few key points I want to make here. First, I had the pleasure of attending last Friday night's game against New Orleans, and the atmosphere in the Garden was electric from the moment the teams began warming up. This playoff feel persisted throughout the entire game, even once the victory seemed to be secured. If the crowd can maintain that level of energy throughout the playoffs, I can't see any team coming into Boston and winning more than one game.

Second, I have been particularly impressed by the way our bench has been playing of late. Now, I have been saying this all year long. But, these guys have all taken their game to another level over the past few weeks. The resurgence of Leon Powe has been a great story, and the additions of PJ Brown and Sam Cassell have made this team so deep that I don't see how anybody can beat them over seven games. The Suns and Hornets both played the Celts tough for three quarters last week. But, this team now has the ability to out last anybody.



Third, let's all take a moment to acknowledge what a pleasure it has been to watch Paul Pierce play over the past few months. To see him out from under the huge weight that he used to carry for this team, and playing with such excitement on both ends of the floor has been amazing. This is probably the best we've ever seen from him, particularly on defense. We've always known Pierce was great, but he never got the exposure that he deserved. It's great to see him in the limelight for a change.



Fourth, Sean Grande made a great point on the radio the other night. The Celts could finish the season with an average double digit point margin of victory. There were only three other teams to do that......they were all Chicago Bulls teams that won championships.

Fifth, can we please stop comparing this team to the Patriots? Really, I hear this on WEEI everyday and it drives me insane. First of all, I'm a Giants fan, so let me explain to you that not all Celtics fans are having a bad sports year, and this whole idea makes no sense from the perspective of a non-Patriots fan. First of all, there have been stretches this season when the Celtics have looked very ordinary. There was a Wednesday night loss to Charlotte much earlier this season. There was a Friday night near-loss to Memphis that I attended in person in which Ray Allen only had two points. They have certainly been impressive, but they have gone through rough stretches, and they seem to have come out of it better than ever. Second of all, if I'm not mistaken, the only guys on this team that have won championships before are James Posey and Sam Cassell (please correct me if I'm wrong). This team is primarily composed of hungry players that have never been to the Finals. Finally, people didn't expect this to be a 60+ win team. Even after the Garnett trade, there were skeptics everywhere. I just don't see any parallells with the Patriots aside from the fact that both teams are very good, and I certainly can not come up with any rational reason that the Patriots Super Bowl loss would have any impact whatsoever on the Celtics.

Sixth, and finally, will this team win a championship? I don't know. I'm sticking to what I've been saying for months. This team will be a disappointment if it does not reach the Conference Finals. Clearly, they have the ability to win it all. They have an outstanding starting 5, a deep bench, home-court advantage throughout (not official yet, but they will), and they've beaten every team in the NBA. But, we have to remember three things. One, anything can happen. As impressive as this team has been at the start and end of the season, they went through an equally unimpressive stretch in the middle. Two, most of these guys had never played together before this year. Third, the playoffs brings the intensity to another level. The San Antonio and Detroit that we've seen this year will not be the same San Antonio and Detroit that we see in the post-season. Really, anything can happen once we reach the conference finals. Regardless of whether or not this Celtics team wins it all, I couldn't be more grateful for what has been the most enjoyable NBA season I can remember.



Next order of business: The MVP.

I change my mind every day. The fact that the race is so close says so much about what a great season it has been. Let's run down the list real quick:

1) Chris Paul: I saw him live last week, and the guy is incredible. When the Celtics collapsed on him, he always found the open man. When they didn't, he scored and usually also wound up on the line. He was sending bounce passes through three different people and hitting cutters right in stride. There is literally nothing I can say about why he shouldn't win. Who would have ever thought that the Hornets would be the best team in the West?

2) Kevin Garnett: I've been shying away from this pick lately, mostly because I'm really trying not to be biased. Forget about stats for a second. What this guy has done to the culture in the Celtics locker room has been incredible. He has totally changed the way this team plays defense, and he been the catalyst behind this all-time greatest turnaround. Also, for those people who talk about his stats being down from previous years, just remember that he's playing about 8 minutes less a night than he ever has before.

3) Kobe Bryant: I love to watch him. The guy is one of the all-time greats and the closest thing to Michael Jordan that I've ever seen. Should have been the MVP in 2006. Steve Nash winning over him was a joke. But, for me to cast my imaginary vote for him this year would be a make-up call in my mind.

4) LeBron James:
Most people have set this up as a three-horse race. But, I have to throw King James into the mix, and frankly my gut feeling always leads me back to him whenever I throw this around in my mind. Look, the guy has taken his game to another level this year, and I think that he has passed Kobe as the best player in the NBA. He's shooting the ball better than he ever has, he's passing the ball better than he ever has, and he's even picked up his defense (although Kobe still bests him in this area). In previous seasons I have been awed by his athleticism, but also disappointed by the glaring holes in his game. I don't see those holes anymore (although he doesn't post people up. I look for him to develop a back to the basket fade-away like MJ did). He's been a pleasure to watch this year. The Cavs have been decimated by injuries (most notably Varejao, Pavlovic, and Gibson) and their move at the deadline totally changed the makeup at this team. Nevertheless, James has not missed a beat, and as long as he is healthy Cleveland is a serious threat to come out of the East.

THE VERDICT: My gut says LeBron, but my head says that CP3 should take home the hardware.



I want to end this edition of Foil in the Oven by talking about Jose Canseco. I'm sure many of you heard his interview on the Big Show yesterday (which ended abruptly when he hung up the phone). Now, I've always thought of Jose as being a despicable character, but I found this interview intriguing and frankly I don't know what to think about any of this anymore.


This is a day I'll never forget.

- First, the guy obviously has an axe to grind with Major League Baseball. This hurts his credibility, because you get the feeling that he'd do anything to take MLB down. Yet, at the same time, maybe this is just the kind of person that it takes to blow the cover off of this problem. I mean, if we're going to believe that this has been going on for a long time, most people have too much to lose by talking.

- Second, Jose certainly seems to have answers for every question. For example, it seems that he is treating Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez totally differently for no other reason than the fact that A-Rod may have slept with his wife. Furthermore, it seems like he has changed his story about Clemens rather abruptly. Yet, in the interview, he has clear sensible answers to account for all of this. He introduced A-Rod to a known steroid dealer, which is something he says he never did for Roger Clemens. And yet, some of his answers seem a little too good. It really feels more like he's trying to sell his book than help the game, how can I trust someone like this?

- Third, Canseco passed three polygraph tests in which he gives all of the information that he's given in both of his books. But, people can beat polygraphs, and I'd have to believe that he has connections to people that can teach him how. And, even if he did pass the polygraphs, the fact that he introduced A-Rod to a known steroid dealer is a far leap from A-Rod actually taking steroids.

- Fourth, this whole back-and-forth with he and Schilling. Now, people are obviously going to take Schilling's side here. But, Canseco made a valid point in the interview. If we are going to assume that this steroid problem was widespread throughout baseball and had been since the eighties, do we really believe what Schilling said before Congress when he said that the problem had been overstated? Doesn't this go against everything he had said before and after? Hasn't he been the most outspoken critic amongst players? But is Canseco any better for ratting people out? I just don't know.

- Fifth, Canseco was on the surreal life, and frankly I have a hard time taking anybody that has ever been on that show seriously (except Ron Jeremy). They all seem like they just float around in some kind of hazy alternate reality (except Ron Jeremy). I couldn't help but get that sense from Jose yesterday. He didn't even seem like he was just trying to sell his book. He seemed like he was trying to sell himself. The whole thing seemed strange, and while he was intriguing he also seemed like he was coming from a different reality than the rest of us (including Ron Jeremy). I don't know what to make of the guy.

- Finally, he was approached by Major League Baseball officials at a book signing this week and asked if he would help Major League Baseball look into these issues. This is interesting because he was basically run out of baseball and they have wanted nothing to do with him throughout this entire process. He says that he was never contacted once throughout the entire Mitchell Report, even though his book was one of the main reasons for the investigation in the first place. Perhaps MLB has decided it had better check out the A-Rod situation now so that they don't have to go through the Barry Bonds situation a second time.

I hate the fact that I got caught up in this.

Thanks to Ted for adding this link for us.

Here, take this: