Following Monday night’s beatdown by the Celtics of the Magic at the TD Garden, most expected Orlando to come back with some pride last night at home in the rematch. They did.

For a half.

Orlando ran out to a 27 point lead last night, and then just shut down. The Celtics held the Magic to 25 points in the second and stormed back for a going-away 91-83 win.

The Celtics are not dead yet – Paul Flannery looks at  a character-building win for the Celtics. Gary Washburn says this one was a statement.

E’Twaun Moore like that, rookie – Steve Bulpett has the rookie guard forcing his way into the lineup and scoring 16 points in the win. A. Sherrod Blakely also has  look at Moore.

The skinny on beating the Giants – Greg A Bedard talks to Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, whose team beat the Giants twice this season.

Why BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a difference-maker for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI – Christopher Price thinks that the steady, sure-handed back could be the key to a Patriots win.

Mark Anderson finds niche with Patriots – Rich Garven has the former Bear finding a big role with the Patriots.

Heavy-hitting Spikes’ hashtag says it all – Hector Longo has a look at the second-year linebacker, who has become a playmaker on defense.

Sterling Moore picture of perseverance – Karen Guregian has a look at the rookie corner.

Brady true to his roots – Amalie Benjamin has the Patriots QB sticking close to his high school.

Media

CSNNE calls for blanket coverage – Chad Finn runs down all the plans from the local media outlets for Super Bowl coverage, and reports that Jenny Dell will be the replacement for Heidi Watney. I’m a little disappointed. I was rooting for the return to Boston of Erin Hawkworth.

Is Anyone Enjoying This Patriots Super Bowl Run? – In my SB Nation Boston media column, I’m wondering why so many people are miserable about the Patriots being in the Super Bowl.

Rodney Harrison on Patriots: ‘There’s still rage, there’s still anger there’ – Bill Doyle has the former Patriot, and current NBC analyst talking about Patriots/Giants.

DirecTV, Sunbeam reach agreement – Johnny Diaz in the Globe has the satellite TV provider striking a deal with the parent company of WHDH, clearing the way for the Super Bowl to be broadcast. (Not to mention the series finale of “Chuck” tonight..)

Out of Bounds featuring SI.com’s Jimmy Traina – Ryan Hadfield’s podcast for WEEI.com has SI.com’s Jimmy Traina about his Hot Clicks feature on the Extra Mustard Page. The two discuss the obscure content Traina finds, the blogosphere vs. traditional media, ESPN, Bill Simmons and some BSMW items.

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Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

21 thoughts on “Celtics Storm Back From 27 Down To Beat Magic”

  3. Bruce, I can tell you why so many people are — maybe miserable is too strong a word, but — joyless about this run. Since losing to the Giants on Nov. 6, each Patriots victory has been accompanied by a litany of negativity from the local media. It wasn't good enough that the Patriots won. This was the season of "won-but."

    They won, but:

    * Their defense sucks.

    * Their running game sucks.

    * Their schedule sucks (or, they still haven't beaten a "quality opponent").

    * Falling behind by 2-3 scores sucks.

    * Their play in the fourth quarter sucked.

    * Their receiving options after Welker/Branch suck.

    * The mishandling of Brady's prime years sucks.

    I could go on and on and on. It wasn't enough that the Patriots simply took care of business, it was the manner in which they did so. Every Monday morning, we were treated to a chorus of local media experts (save Smurals and DeOssie) telling us how terrible this team was. After a while? It gets to you.

    The question you should ask is not why are so many fans down on this season, but how so many people in the media can be so miserable about a Super Bowl-bound season.

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    1. To be fair, their defense was ranked 31st. Yes, I know. I know. They were middle of the pack in points allowed but the evidence is there to support anyone who says their defense sucks.

      And the fact they're in the SB supports anyone who said their defense can't be that bad.

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      1. It could be worse: the biggest of all fake pink hat fraud fans, Maria Menounos could start breaking trade rumors for the celtics, a la Rob Lowe.

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  5. Thought your column was right on, Bruce. Personally I HAVE been enjoying this season. The key is to take EVERTHING the mediots say with a grain of salt. REMEMBER they ARE NOT IN ANY WAY football "experts" they sit on their ass's and watch the games just like the rest of us. Why they think this gives them more "football knowledge" than the rest of us is beyond me. The other key is to pick and choose. Felger,Borges,Shaugnessy and Tony Mazz should be AVOIDED at all costs. By now it should be pretty OBVIOUS their ACT is to annoy and aggravate.

    Ian Rappaport, Mike Reiss and Greg Bedard are usually very good (YES, even when they are critical of Pats) although Bedard lost points with me with that ridiculous , "inevitable loss" column which came the day after they beat the Jets for the second time. Nobody should let the media affect their enjoyment of a fine season though. Remember, one click of your remote control and it's like they don't exist.

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  6. Its the final episode of Chuck….there is no justice in this world. Sarah better get her memory back and those two crazy kids need to ride off happily into the sunset. We all have a lot emotionally invested into what happens at the Buy More. Will there ever be a Jeffster reunion concert! No more Chuck…say it ain't so, Josh!

    On to serious matters…Bruce there is less joy about this SB run because of the lack of style points. The media somehow equates 13-3, 2 playoff wins and a SB appearance with underachieving. Those of us who can think straight know this is magical and we are planning our menus even now. I also think that should the Pats win then they will have shown all of the local pundits up for being wr…wrrr…wrong about them this year which means the pundits have a vested interest in making it seem like this team is no good..on the off cahnce the Pats lose…then they can say…told ya so!

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  7. Whenever these guys say the Patriots defense 'sucks', I think of these rankings:

    Yards allowed: Patriots 31st; Giants 27th
    Rushing yds allowed: Patriots 17th; Giants 19th
    Passing yards allowed: Patriots 31st; Giants 29th
    Turnover differential: Patriots 3rd; Giants 7th
    POINTS ALLOWED: Patriots 15th Giants 25th

    Feel better? I do. Don't listen to these idiots anymore.

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    2. Tom, don't you know that Chris Carter and Troy Aikman have both said that the Pats' defense is the worst they've ever seen in all their years involved with football? That's enough "evidence" for the local media, especially for Felger and his toy poodle–so don't try to confuse the issue with statistics and facts. After all, there's an agenda to further, and those guys aren't going to let facts get in the way of said agenda.

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  8. Bruce, your article was spot on as usual. The media is a bunch of true killjoys. I especially like your take on Felger and Maz. They spend just about an entire show telling us how the Patriots are going to lose and then tell us the Patriots will win in the end. They do this as a just in case. If the patriots lose then they can say, I told you so because of all the possible ways the Patriots could lose in their opinion. They will also say, I told you so, if the Patriots win because that was their "prediction". They can't lose.

    What is going on with Bob Ryan? A spygate article, really? Felger had a pants tent, as he like to put it, when Ryan wrote the article. This allowed Felger to continue his inane talk about the scoreboard during the AFC title game. Felger said that the scoreboard might be a big issue this week. What Felger meant to say was, "Maybe I will make the scoreboard an issue."

    Another non issue is Chad Ochocinco. There is no question he has played poorly this year, but he has never embarrassed the team at all this year. So why are the media talking about him potentially being a problem? Ochocinco has given two interviews, one to NECN's Jackie Bruno and the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian. In both cases, Ochocinco came off as humble and a team guy. Again, as Bruce has written, be prepared for more miserable media takes.

    I have stated an opinion that there maybe some changes at WEEI when some of the contracts are up. If Kirk Minihane or Matt Perrault are given full-time on-air status then Entercom will again show its customer base that they could care less about what they think.

    Minihane on Saturday said he does not see any way the Patriots can beat the Giants. He said just look at the the offense and defense of both teams and you can see the Giants are better. It's just the type of deep thought and analysis you expect on sports radio. I will say it again Minihane should not be within a mile of a mic.

    Perrault who thinks he is broadcasting with string and a tin can was shouting about how much this Patriots team is hated throughout the nation. Matt then took a call from someone who thinks the Patriots will benefit from the refs because Bob Kraft is good friends with Roger Goodell and Kraft was a main reason for the end of the lockout. We are stuck with Matt here in Southern New Hampshire. Maybe he can start a sports talk station in Madawaska, ME and get off my radio.

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    1. Felger had Ryan, and that renowned football expert Steve Buckley on his Comcast Sunday night show tonight to talk about Spygate (naturally). Renowned football expert Steve Buckley informed us rubes in the TV audience that "any intelligent conversation about Belichick's career will include a discussion about Spygate." Really? So I'm unintelligent, then, if I call Spygate what it really was? An overblown joke created by a very, very impulsive, stupid ruling by a young, inexperienced commissioner who was in over his head, followed by a frantic (and predictable) reaction by a bunch of bloodthirsty media sharks who tasted the blood of their biggest enemy in the water and couldn't wait for the feeding frenzy to begin. Sorry Buck…renowned football expert that you are, I should just accept your view of what's an "intelligent" discussion about Belichick's career and leave it at that. My God, just shoot me now if today is any indication of how the media's coverage of this Super Bowl will be.

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      1. Tony I heard Buckley too. He is another one in the media who loves to pompously wag his finger at fans trying to tell us how smart he is and that fans are simpletons. He is a nondescript writer who thinks he is wordsmith. He needs to go away.

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    2. Speaking of WEEI/Entercom, did anyone see this? I don't recall it in any of the megalinks:
      http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/mediaBiz/i…

      —-

      Excerpt:

      The CEO of Entercom Communications – whose Boston radio stations include WRKO and WEEI – sent an email to employees this week boasting of his recent holiday safari as he tried to rally them to work harder this year.

      “Immersing oneself into the heart of the African bush is a soul-stirring experience,” David Field wrote in the two-page email I’ve posted below.

      Field goes on and on about his eight-day trip, telling employees the animals bring their “A” game to work everyday.

      No, I’m not making this up.

      ———-

      Gotta love when your CEO is looking as clueless and delusional as Jim Irsay is right now. What to expect next? A 12 page email that looks like something Hunter S. Thompson would pen after a 3-day meth bender?

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  9. One more thing to look forward to this week. Newsers who suddenly are thrust into sports. I can't wait for one of them to say, "Maybe the Patriots will kick a homerun against that New York team."

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    1. I tuned into the CSNNE "Pats sendoff" show at 12PM yesterday, which wound up being a simulcast of NECN's coverage. I've never watched NECN in my life nor will start, but the woman hosting it sounded like the extent of her Patriots knowledge, prior to an intern giving her a cheat sheet and what the producer typed into the prompter, was that they played football in some city in Mass named Foxboro.

      Cue the post I did before about the analysts who resort to the cliches, even with the Superbowl. Their on-air prep is reading something from ESPN.com, then mixing it with your favorite combinations of things like:

      – Get off to a fast start.
      – Setting the edge.
      – Ground and pound the rock.
      – Take the top off the defense.

      etc.

      With the wall-to-wall coverage thus far, I've actually paid attention less because of the redundancy at this point.

      Of course, this gets even worse as you get closer, culminating with the coverage that you see of the "Elite" parties when you see the most fraudulent of fraud "fans" like Maria Munoz, BIll Simmons and the rest of them show up and act like they're season ticket holders on the 50-yard line but couldn't tell you what position any player besides Tom Brady plays for the Patriots.

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  10. So, an interesting article on drafting over the past 10 years at CHFF. I know Kerry is a Patriots fan but he's on WEEI/CSNNE/TSH quite often and seen as someone "outside", so maybe it holds some credibility.

    Article summary:
    But who's really drafting well? Who gets the good grades that really matter, based off, oh, you know, stuff like actual evidence, performances and Cold, Hard Football Facts?

    We endeavored to find out.

    Using information from the great folks at pro-football-reference.com – or, as we like to call it, "The Bible" – we broke down the 10 drafts from 2001-2010 looking for an impartial answer to who was the best. Who drafted the most stars, the most longtime starters, the most promising young players? Who had the most players from their drafts active in the league last year? Who was the best?

    Care to guess who is the best? Nope, it's not the Raiders!
    http://coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_3749…

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