Celtics, Spurs Set To Meet Tonight

The team with the best record in the NBA, the (somewhat) surprising San Antonio Spurs, who sit at 29-5 will be in Boston tonight to take on the team with the second-best record in the NBA, the 26-7 Celtics.

High-level meeting – Bob Ryan hopes that tonight is an NBA Finals preview.

Tim Duncan, Spurs a likable bunch – Steve Bulpett says that it is hard to work up hate for the Spurs.

Celtics-Spurs brings buzz to Boston – Peter May is also looking forward to tonight.

Paul Pierce’s consistently improving game – Paul Flannery has the Celtics captain continuing to tweak his game.

Jason Whitlock was a guest of Dennis and Callahan this morning, and was his usual opinionated self. I actually don’t mind Whitlock much of the time, but I found his issues with Chiefs GM Scott Pioli a bit strange. Whitlock wrote yesterday:

Personally, I can’t stand Scott Pioli. It’s true. In any environment, Pioli is a low-character, self-absorbed egomaniac in love with the sound of his voice. I call him “Egoli.” I love giving sports figures nicknames. Based on the feedback I’ve received from NFL people, I’ve never come up with a more accurate nickname than Scott Egoli.

Whitlock was asked by D&C to elaborate on this, and the impression I got was simply that Pioli wouldn’t bow down to Whitlock. He made reference to Pioli taking the media out to dinner in an effort to show that there was “a new sheriff in town,” but Whitlock says that there already was a sheriff in town – referring to himself. He praised the actual job Pioli has done in rebuilding the Chiefs into a division winner, but seemed to be letting a personal beef get the better of him.

A look back into the crystal ball – Following up on a Monday column in which he held himself accountable for preseason worries about the Patriots, Mark Farinella today reviews his preseason predictions around the NFL. Mike Reiss has also done something similiar and it is refreshing to see a few media types actually owning up to their mistakes.

14 reasons not to bet against Pats – Dave D’Onofrio has a reason for each regular season win.

Patriots earn A’s, B’s and (yes) C’s – Rich Garven grades the team on the regular season.

Roster overhaul key to Patriots success – Ian Rapoport examines the Patriots makeover, (25 players on the 53-man roster for the playoff loss to Baltimore are no longer here.) and a companion piece (Revolving door to 14-2) looks at the comings and goings.

New OT rules add a twist to playoffs – Greg Bedard reviews the new playoff OT rules, and looks ahead to the four games this weekend.

Mo(o)re championship games to come for Patriots’ defender? – Glen Farley has Eric Moore hoping to play in his second pro football championship game this season.

Rodney Harrison: Young Patriots must pick it up – Karen Guregian’s notebook has the former Patriots safety with some concerns about New England’s young defense. The Globe notebook from Monique Walker has the Patriots bolstering their depleted defensive line.

If you get a chance to check out the Bill Belichick version of Sound FX on the NFL Network, it’s well worth the time. It aired last night, but will be re-shown at 3:30 this afternoon and 9:00pm tomorrow night. You get to see plenty of practice and behind-the-scenes footage of Belichick over the years, with plenty of interaction with his players.

Some media members covering the team will watch this and be even more annoyed to get further confirmation that Belichick does indeed have a personality and sense of humor, but chooses over and over not to share it with them during press conferences.