With the NFL season over in New England for weeks now, it was nice to turn on the TV at 1:00pm on a Sunday afternoon and see the local team dominate over another pretty talented squad. This was the case yesterday when the Celtics routed the Dallas Mavericks 124-100 at the Garden.
Kevin Henkin on the BSMW Full Court Press has his Rolling Observations of the Celtics victory.
Frank Dell’Apa has the mentally focused Celtics running out to their eighth straight win. Mark Murphy has everything going right for the Celtics yesterday. Scott Souza depicts this one as just another Sunday stroll for the Green. Bill Doyle has Kevin Garnett showcasing himself in this win – at both ends of the court. Robert Lee says that there is no question that the Celtics are back.
Steve Bulpett has the Celtics setting very high standards for themselves. Marc J. Spears has the Celtics feeling that they’re playing better now than they did during their 19 game winning streak. Tim Weisberg says that the Celtics have refocused on the defensive end – and it shows. Mike Fine has the Celtics getting their swagger back, and coming together as a team.
Dan Shaughnessy writes about how Ray Allen’s shooting routines have served him well. Paul Flannery examines how a hot Eddie House can be completely devastating to the opposition. Jessica Camerato has former Celtics first round pick Gerald Green still trying to shake the image that he is just a dunker.
Dell’Apa’s notebook has Kevin Garnett defending his All Star starting selection against critics like Gary Payton. Murphy’s notebook has Celtics teammates hoping Eddie House gets a shot at the All Star three point shootout. Jim Fenton has Garnett getting the best of Dirk Nowitzki all afternoon. Souz’s notebook has Allen making the case for House in the three point shootout. Doyle’s notebook has Tony Allen still unsure when he’ll play again. Lee’s notebook has more on the quest to get House in the contest.
Red Sox
Rob Bradford reports on the offer made to Jason Varitek, and says that it comes with a deadline. Michael Silverman has more on the offer and the desire by the Red Sox to get this settled, one way or the other.
Patriots
Chris Price has a look at the man who will likely try to fill Scott Pioli’s shoes in the front office – Nick Caserio. He also has a look at Bill O’Brien, who will be stepping into the QB coach role…and possibly more.
Robert Preer has a look at the accommodations that The Hall at Patriot Place has made for those with various disabilities.
Peter Gobis has a look at a local guy heading to Tampa as part of the Super Bowl field crew.
Mike Reiss has a look at the Steelers James Farrior, while Ron Borges looks at the past of James Harrison.
NHL/Bruins
Fluto Shinzawa and Steve Conroy recap the East’s 12-11 shootout win over the West in the NHL All Star game. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas picked up the win. Joe Haggerty has the Bruins All Stars making the highlight reel.
Glen Farley has the Bruins eager to find out how well their teammates have healed over the break.
Conroy’s notebook has Marc Savard having a blast in the game with three assists. Shinzawa’s notebook discusses the issue of NHL participation in the Olympics.
Lenny Megliola has Worcester putting its best foot forward for tonight’s AHL All Star game. Dave Nordman has Chris Bourque as one of the participants.
Boston Sports Media Watch 
I love hockey and most sports, but is there any value or necessity left to any of the All-Star games? Whether hockey, basketball, baseball, or football, interest has completely waned (aside from the people in the cities where said games are hosted). The only sport where the All-Star Game remotely matters is in baseball. But the other three could evaporate today and I don’t know whether many people would even care.
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Totally agree. NHL and NBA all star games feature no defense and no hitting/hard fouls; nfl has different rules that lead to less action. MLB is somewhat entertaining in the fact that the WS home field is determined. Yet this only matters to a handful of teams/cities.
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Exactly. The whole thing–for three of the four major sports–has turned into nothing more than a Chamber of Commerce commercial for the cities involved. Montreal ‘stacking the deck’ with their own players completely turned me off, and I didn’t even watch. The ’12-11′ final score is laughable. This was a cartoon, a charade.
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The other reason that the MLB All-star game is better than the rest is because they have to play defense. And they actually try.
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I agree with all the comments about the allstar games.
of course the reason they are all a charade now?
It’s ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. With the huge dollars these guys are making there will be hell to pay if they get seriously injured in one of these things
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Baseball has the luxury of being a non-contact sport. I don’t blame the football and hockey guys for “going easy” but I do agree that if they are not going to play all out, they might as well cancel the AS games… but keep the fun stuff like the skills challenge and slam dunk contest…
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Interleague play (and to an extent free agency) has ruined the Baseball Allstar game. Back in the day there was an air of mystery about the Baseball allstar game because other than the World Series teams, these guys never faced each other. They also took it seriously, I’m sure everyone is familure with Peter Rose running over Ray Fosse in a home plate collision…….Those days are long gone…..They could eliminate EVERY one of the Allstar games and I wouldn’t blink an eye.
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