Perk talks w/Chris Forsberg about surgery, trade rumors & more...

ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg just posted this short clip taken at tonight's Shamrock Foundation event. A few of the Celtics are there, and out on the Spirit of Boston. For the best and most up to date Celtics news, and other great Celtics stories, pics and video, follow Chris on Twitter here: ESPNForsberg and check out ESPNBoston here: ESPNBoston.com

Rajon Rondo 2009-10 Highlights..

My boy MuscularGandhi has put together R.R.'s best dunks, layups and dishes of the 2009-10 season.
Check out all of MG's great Celtics videos here: x MuscularGandhi x

Meet the newest members of the Boston Celtics...

Here's some footage of today's Avery Bradley/Luke Harangody presser via Celtics.com:

C's take Irish's big man Harangody with 52nd pick...

Celts wrap-up their 2010 draft by taking Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody. Career stats/info here: Harangody I really like this kid, and he is definitely the type who could quickly become a fan-favorite with his hustle, toughness and personality.

Doc speaks on Avery Bradley and if he'll be coaching the C's next year...

Hot off the press-Doc Rivers speaks on the C's 1st round pick, Avery Bradley, and answers questions on his coaching future in Boston: (courtesy of Boston Celtics' YouTube account)

Celtics select Avery Bradley at #19...

The Celtics just selected Avery Bradley from Texas University w/their 1st round pick. I know nothing about this kid, other than that he has some ridiculous hops. But if anyone knows talent, it's Doc, and he was just quoted as saying that Bradley is an "NBA defender now." Jay Bilas, ESPN's college hoops expert, says he is also a great defender. Here is some more info on Bradley courtesy of NBADraft.net: AveryBradleyInfo

We'll miss you Thibs..

Tom Thibodeau is officially the new head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Thibs was instrumental in the Celtics success over the past few seasons. Most notably, his defense helped make the 2007-08 championship squad so intimidating and daunting for opponents. I wish you the best in Chicago, and your team is in great hands Bulls fans. Good luck Mr. Thibs...

Celtics thank dedicated fans for another great year...

Been a tough week for C's fans. Losing Game 7 and now having to listen to Lakers fans gloat. (and troll all over our blogs) Well , the Celtics organization knows this and released a great "thank you" video on Celtics.com. I recognize quite a few fans that I know personally. Keep an eye out for: Aztec Gino, "Jack Black", Balcony Gino, Dancing Daylon, The Wig Dudes, "Jamie Foxx" and many more. There's also a cameo from Port Arthur Texas hip-hop star T.O.E. Watch for him during Daylon's dance routine around 1:50. Enjoy:

Interview w/NBA Superfan James Goldstein..

Even though the Finals are over, I'm still fascinated w/James Goldstein. Goldstein is the man you've seen at just about every NBA Finals game over the last decade. He's also known for his amazing house in California that he is currently adding a guest house on to. Oh yeah, and along w/the guest house, he's putting in a nightclub, tennis court, restaurant and more. Rarely do you hear him do interviews, but I was lucky enough to stumble across this one on YouTube. To see all of his incredible mansion, visit this site:GoldsteinResidence

Game 7 postgame...

These are tough to watch. Especially the T.A. one. These are courtesy of WEEI's Mike Petraglia & ESPN's Chris Forsberg:

Thank you Celtics...

Thanks for a great season Celtics. I can't really figure out what I want to say right now, as I'm too emotional. But I do know I am proud of these guys. The raising of Banner18 will have to wait one more year. Stay strong Celtics fans-this was a tough loss, but we fought on when many had counted us out...

My final post of the 2009-10 season...

1 game. 1 unit. 1 mission. Banner18.

"No regrets..."

As everyone has probably heard, Kendrick Perkins will be out for tomorrow night's Game 7. He has torn ligaments in his knee, and will have an MRI on Friday to get a more extensive diagnosis. It is tough for me as a Celtic fan and as a big Perk fan to listen to him have to say that he is in pain. But Perk does not want the focus to be on him. As you'll hear in this Q&A, his message to his teammates is very clear:

"We got our ass kicked.."

(video courtesy of Chris Forsberg)

It will all come down to 1 game..

You just knew the Lakers were not going to roll-over on their home floor-didn't you? But I did not expect this. Celtics fall in shocking fashion to L.A. tonight, 89-67. It was all Lakers, all the time. Lakers defense was tight, Lakers won the rebounding battle, yada, yada, yada. Here are the stats if you care: C's-Lakers Game 6 boxscore I was just as excited as everyone else today, and wanted to celebrate tonight, but I got pretty pissed when people started publicly talking about "parades", "trophies" and "cigars". You just can never count out the defending champs on their home floor. But I did think the C's would come out with a bit more fire than they did. To add insult to injury, Kendrick Perkins went down in the 1st half with what the C's are calling a sprained knee. My thoughts and hopes are with big Ken and his family tonight. Hope he is ok and the injury is not too serious.

So now it comes down to what I and many others thought it would- a Game 7 for all the marbles. I can hardly stand it and the anxiety and stress will be tough. But their is one thing about our Celtics that gives me alot of hope-they are resilient. They have bounced back from games like this all postseason and played well.
This team has been through the ringer this season: injuries, trade rumors, fans booing them at home, bandwagon jumpers, doubters, media-hate, and the list goes on. These men have through too much to give up now. I have 100% faith that they will come out ready to go and ready to bring the O'Brien trophy back to Boston. Keep the faith CelticNation-do not give up on our guys when they need us most...
Tip-off on Thursday will be at 9pm.....

Ready for Game 6?

Are you ready for Game 6? Well, if you need something to get you hyped, this great video by Lakers fan MRamos4131 will definitely do the trick:

Super slo-mo Celtics....

A little something to hold you over until tomorrow night's Game 6. The master of Celtics videos, xMUSCULARGANDHIx has put together a really cool new clip. This one features highlights of the boys in green from the Finals slowed down in super slow-motion. Enjoy, and be sure to support the C's tomorrow by wearing your "Beat L.A." shirts, your green fingernail polish, Celtics jerseys, green thongs and anything else to let the world know that we are behind our C's 110%!!! UBUNTU.

1 more...

Today was a frustrating day for me. I tried and tried and tried to find an affordable ticket for tonight, but could not. But all of that is now forgotten as the Celtics beat a confused-looking Lakers team 92-86 tonight at the Garden. Kobe Bryant scored 38 points, but had no help from his teammates. Ray and Tony Allen both did a tremendous job of defending #24, and made most of his points hard-earned. The Celtics also turned the tables on the Lakers getting 7 blocked-shots to L.A.'s 1. LA had been blocking shots in record numbers early in this series. It was intense defense, wonderful teamwork, and Paul Pierce finally having a good scoring night (27) that got this win for the C's. Rondo was also fantastic again, putting together another amazing display of scoring, passing, rebounding and hustle. He finished with 18 pts, 8 assists, 5 boards, a steal and a block. Not to be forgotten of course is also another great night from the bench. Davis, Robinson and company did put up huge numbers, but they all made some clutch baskets and plays when needed. Great play on both ends of the ball tonight, and a great effort by the home-crowd (the building was raucous!) have put the C's just 1 win away from an  NBA title.

After all we have been through this year as fans, how satisfying would it be to clinch Banner18 on the floor of the Staples Center...?? But we still have work to be done. The Lakers fans will be ready on Tuesday night, and the C's can bet that Phil Jackson will be on his team for playing so poorly around Bryant. The other starting 4 for a combined 12-36 from the floor. So the C's are now off to L.A. Tip-off on Tuesday night is at 9pm...

Pumped...

I tried to explain just how much energy was in the Garden on Thursday night, but I found a picture of myself that does a better job. Watch slide 2 of the NBA's Game 4 audio slide show for a glimpse of me. I am to the right with a white "Beat L.A." shirt on. That shirt, by the way, is 3-0 in Finals appearances. Thanks to my friend Sana for the great tip. Make sure you follow her on Twitter here: @SanaBeans on Twitter

More from last night...

So I'm just home from work. I don't recommend working an 8-hour shift after being up almost 24 hours straight. But it was completely worth it. My night started off ok yesterday evening. I got to the Garden at 6:45pm and waited in the rain with the rest of the "Legends" pass-holders. For those who don't know, season-ticket holders can buy an exclusive membership to the Legends Club-a high-end bar and restaurant inside the TD Garden. The best part of having the passes is access to the Garden 2 hours prior to gametime and one hour before he general public. I walked in the arena to find a gaggle of media, tech-people, celebrities, athletes and fans. James Goldstein was down by the Celtics bench talking with Scal. Marc Spears, Cedric Maxwell and Dana Barros were engaged in conversation near the Lakers bench and during the game I spotted numerous celebs and athletes including Maria Menounos, Magic Johnson, Chris Dudley, Steve Smith and Bill Walton to name a few. I went over to my seat around 8:30pm and spotted Vic the Brick, who is the wacky Lakers reporter that people in L.A. just love. Many a Lakers fan came over to either hug him, give him dap, or ask for a picture. I also met 5 totally crazy Lakers fans that came all the way to the 617 from L.A. for the game.

Once the game started, the atmosphere got even better-the fans in attendance, including myself, were loud, wild, hostile and determined to do anything possible to deter the Lakers and motivate the Celtics. There was everything from the standard "Beat LA!" chants to calling Gasol a "llama" and a "flopper" and some incredibly loud "let's go Celtics: clap, clap, clap-clap-clap" salvos. I heard people sighing and cursing at some of the C's missed free-throws and also gasps at the way Kobe was burying the 3-ball.
But by-far, the loudest. most exciting sequence all night was of course the Glen Davis and-one. I jumped up in the air and screamed so loud, I strained my ribs and blew blood-vessels in my face. I watched the whole sequence when I got home, and it just eptomizes Celtics-Lakers. The Rondo steal during the last minute was also thrilling, but the Big Baby Drool-a-thon was phenomenal.

After the game was over, I was invited by a friend of mine, Corey to wait outside the locker room in the friends and family area. There I got to catch up with the guys from PerkIsABeast.com, and congratulate Perk, Nate and Big Baby on winning Game 4. It was amazing to walk out into the player's parking lot with all the fans pushed up against the fence screaming at the players and yelling "beat L.A.!" It was also very cool to see the incredible Maybach that Rondo drives. Easily the sickest ride I've ever seen up-close.

So now we have one more game in Boston. This will be the last basketball we see at the Garden until October. Let's hope the C's can get the win on Sunday and head into L.A. with 2 chances to clinch Banner18. The ticket prices are ridiculously high, but I'm gonna do whatever I can to be there. I know the crowd will just as, if not more, fired-up. Enjoy your weekend everyone, and GO CELTICS.
(here is the incredible sequence where Farmar goes down hard, and Davis gets the bucket and the foul)

Now that's Celtics-Lakers...

Wow. That's all I can utter right now. From the moment I entered the Garden tonight, this was special. The best live sporting event I've seen. Even better than Game 6 of 2008. I will post more tomorrow, as I am just simply exhausted and have to get up for work in 5 hours. I had a great time at the game, met some very cool Celtics and Laker fans, and got to congratulate some of the players afterwards. Here is a short clip I shot before I left the Garden tonight and pics of some dedicated Lakers fans I met, and the view from my seat. Game 5 is Sunday at the Garden, and tip-off is at 8pm. Will do everything in my power to be there. Goodnight Celtics fans.....

Live pregame from the Garden on Thursday...

Tomorrow night, I will calling in to the Celtics Late Night Show's live pregame broadcast. I will be live, at the Garden, at 7:30pm talking Celtics-Lakers. Log on to Celtics Late Night Show's website at 7:30pm to listen-in. It should be alot of fun, and who knows-you may even get to hear from some special guests. I am very excited to go to my first Finals game since the Game 6 clincher in 2008. Hope you are listening tomorrow night and GO CELTICS!!!

Snuffed out....

Celtics kept fighting all throughout the 4th quarter tonight, but the Lakers, particularly Derek Fisher, kept hitting their shots. The C's really needed some shots to fall tonight, and they didn't. They went from lighting it up from three-point land in Game 2 to going 2 of 15 from beyond the arc tonight. Kevin Garnett came out fired-up from the opening tip-hitting jump shots, connecting on alley-oop dunks and in the post. He led the C's tonight with 25 points. The other starting 4 for the Green combined for 31 points. Fisher's 4th quarter play was huge, and along with some tough interior defense and 29 points from Kobe Bryant, the Lakers beat the Celts 91-84 tonight at the Garden.

The Garden crowd was really intense tonight. Even though I watched from home tonight, it was very evident that the building was rocking. I will be at Game 4 on Thursday and expect nothing less. Speaking of Game 4, I will be doing a live pregame show with Nick & Brandon from Celtics Late Night Show. They will have me live on air calling from the Garden at 7:30pm. You can check it out here: PreGameW/KWAPT
Keep your heads up CelticNation-this is going to be a tough series. But I have faith....

All even...

Behind a triple-double from Rondo and a record-breaking 8 three's from Ray Allen, the Celtics beat the Lakers in L.A. tonight 103-94 to even the Finals up 1-1. On a night where KG and Paul Pierce were a combined 4 of 16 from the field, Rondo's 19, 12 & 10 and Ray's 32 points put the C's over the top. Tomorrow's headlines will be all about Rondo and Ray, but this was a great team-effort. Pierce played some great defense and KG also made some clutch shots, free-throws and passes in the final minutes. The C's also won the battle of the boards 44-39. The Lakers set a Finals record with 14 blocked shots, but the C's were equally aggressive-especially Big Baby who came in for 18 minutes of total-hustle. He was all over the floor, diving for loose balls, grabbing boards and just wreaking havoc. He had 7 boards an assist and a steal. There will be much talk about the referees tomorrow for certain. Especially a terrible call where Perk was whistled for a foul on Kobe that never happened. But we got the win, a much-needed one. We now go back to Boston tied up at one a piece.

I do not have a ticket for Game 3 yet, but will do everything in my power to get one. I am locked-in for Game 4 though.

Game 1 goes to the bad guys....

Everything went L.A.'s way tonight as the C's fall to the Lakers at Staples, 102-89. The C's had foul trouble, rebound issues and turnovers. They also missed some easy layups and had trouble getting out in transition-mostly because the Lakers shot a blistering 36 of 75 from the field, and had great games from Bryant (27 pts) and Gasol, who scored 23. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24. The Celts also struggled from 3, shooting an icy-cold 1 of 10. I promise you that will not happen 2 games in a row. Keep the faith Celtics fans. It's only 1 game, and we all know the C's will come out swinging in Game 2. The 2nd game is this Sunday in L.A. Tip-off is at 8pm. Stay strong CelticNation-this could be a 7-game series...

Do you believe.....?

So here we are-less than 24 hours away from Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics & Los Angeles Lakers. A roller coaster ride of a season has ended, we have defied the critics thus far in the postseason, and now we stand 4 wins away from Banner18. This has been a special season for me. I learned alot about resilience, passion, pride and hope from these Celtics. When I wanted to give up on these Celtics, they gave me reasons to stick by them. When I got too cocky, they showed me humbleness. When I was frustrated and wanted to boo them, I quietly waited-thinking to myself, "they'll pull through this." And they did. I listened to alot of boos, criticism, blaming and doubt from fans at the Garden all year. But the diehards, the real Celtics fans, we never gave up.

Did we get discouraged? Of course. Were we angry? Damn right. But we stuck with the team, and didn't abandon them. And now they have rewarded us. They have given us reason to root for them with everything we've got. They have showed us the true meaning of teamwork. They have given us reason to scream our lungs out, jump up and down, paint our faces, yell "Beat L.A.!" and most of all, believe. They have given us reason to believe. To believe that they can once again raise a banner to the top of those rafters at the Garden. I believe tonight folks. I really do. Do you?