Mr. B's Celtics Progress Report

Wow, it has been a while since I touched anything from the Celtics here at UB. But because the Celtics are halfway through the season, I felt it was necessary to give them a Progress Report so their parents know if they are excelling or slacking. I'm going to have to morph into "Mr. B" for this post, as this is "Mr. B's Celtics Progress Report."

Players will get one of four possible grades: E for exemplary, S for satisfactory, U for unsatisfactory, and I for incomplete, as the student had too many absences to be properly judged.

So enter into Mr. B.'s classroom so we can evaluate the talent. Let's start from the bottom-up, shall we?

Kendrick Perkins: I - We have yet to see Kendrick in class, as he has missed all of his games due to a knee injury sustained in last year's NBA Finals. I am certainly hoping that Kendrick can come back from this injury and return to make up all of his work.

Delonte West: I - Well, Delonte was suspended for 10 days for misbehavior, and is now at home healing a wrist injury. Though he showed signs of getting a good grade, he got injured too early after the suspension, and therefore cannot be graded.

Avery Bradley: I - Hmmm, well you'll have to talk to the D-League teacher to get a proper grasp on Avery's progress, as he is there polishing his skills. We do love his potential, but we aren't grading potential here.

Ramifications of Savard Injury

There was a time this season when Boston Bruins fans had to question whether Marc Savard would ever be back to his old self -- if he even got back on the ice at all -- after suffering a vicious head injury from a Matt Cooke hit in March of last year. After an attempt to come back during the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philadelphia last season, Savard missed a large portion of time to start this season as he battled several post-concussion symptoms. He made his anticipated return on December 2nd, but it was clear that he hadn't really found his groove yet on the ice. Linemates Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton both went ice cold, and the Savard line was suddenly, for all intents and purposes, the third line on the roster. But lately, Savvy had begun to find his stride and display his increasing comfort level. We began to see the brilliant, playmaking side of #91 that fans remembered from years past. Couple that with the Bruins success, and things were starting to become very promising once again. And then, in an instant, our uncertainty took the wheel again.

Joe's Roster Projections

Let's spice it up, ladies and gents. Here is my projected lineup, bench, starters and 'pen for the 2011 Red Sox.

Lineup:
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
J.D. Drew RF
Marco Scutaro SS

Bench:
Jed Lowrie UTL
Mike Cameron OF
Jason Varitek C
Darnell McDonald OF


Starters:
Jon Lester L
Clay Buchholz R
Josh Beckett R
John Lackey R
Daisuke Matsuzaka R

Bullpen:
Jonathan Papelbon R (C)
Daniel Bard R
Bobby Jenks R
Dan Wheeler R
Hideki Okajima L
Tim Wakefield R
Scott Atchison R

This all seems pretty obvious. These are more than likely going to be the names on the opening day roster. Let's look in detail.

Jay Cutler: Fair or Foul?

Yesterday was of course a big day for football fans, as it was the day of the conference championships in the NFL. And though both the Packers and Steelers impressed in victories (leading to Superbowl berths), the biggest story seems to revolve around the NFL's resident punching bag, Jay Cutler.

In case you missed it, Jay Cutler left the crucial game early on with an apparent leg injury. So far in his drama-filled career, Cutler has been labeled as a cry-baby, a sore-sport, and not a team player.

The notion that Cutler left the game due to him playing badly is ludicrous, however. I am not a Cutler fan really, as I think he couldn't care less about winning at times, but this instance is different. Cutler isn't the type to admit that he played poorly. Hell, after throwing four interceptions (!) to D'Angelo Hall after a game against Washington, Cutler claimed he would throw the ball to him again. Clearly, the guy has some cajones, and doesn't care what people think about him or his performance.

Now, Cutler played badly in his limited time yesterday. But that doesn't mean he was feigning injury. This is the guy who has been sacked 52 times this season, the most of any quarterback. That, on top of frigid conditions, and having to look at Clay Matthews across the way, could all contribute to an injury.

Again, Cutler is far from a model athlete. In fact, I lean more toward dis-liking him more than toward liking him. But to claim that he's not injured without any MRI results or other medical backing, is uninformed. I'm giving Cutler the benefit of the doubt here, as should others. You don't know what it's like to be battered and bruised behind a terrible offensive line for two seasons in chilly conditions.

What does the UB Faithful think? Was Cutler really hurt, thusly justified and leaving, or is he slowly morphing into Jeff George? Let us know in the comment section or in the all-new UB Forums.

Thanks to ESPN.com for the link.
  

The Rest of the ULTYs

Originally, the plan was to announce the ULTY Awards one at a time and glorify the winners. We announced the co-champions of the first ever award -- Most Valuable Commenter -- earlier this month. Well, after all this slacking and delaying, I just want to get these awards finished. They'll be better next time. But you're all anxious to find out, so I don't want to keep you any longer. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 ULTY Winners.

Time for the Game Face

I've been on quite a hiatus lately from Ultimate Boston, and my sincere apologies go out to the faithful readership. But we've just launched a new Forums section, and I'm hoping you all start voicing your opinions on those boards. If you've ever wanted to write posts, or if your thoughts never necessarily fit into the stories we're running -- great chance to let your opinion be heard. On top of that, I've decided it's time to kick it back into gear. In all honesty, I tried to get in the door with Barstool U, which was just launched recently. But I wasn't able to garner their attention. So I figured -- screw em! This is your time! And I'm putting the game face back on. I'm not promising double digit posts a day like the old days, but I'm saying that the posts will be coming back. UB will start to rise back to its old standards. And I can't think of a better time to invite all your friends to become fans. We have a Facebook page that you can share with everyone you know. Word of mouth works too. And you can visit our pro shop and buy our sweet t-shirts too if you want. But I won't get greedy. Anyway, I'm hitting the hay. Get ready for the revival of Ultimate Boston.
 

Where'd You Go?

As with most of the UB staff, I took the Holiday break to spend time with family and friends. But I ultimately didn't have time to make an Ultimate post (get it?). And I'm back.

1) The Celtics just lost to the Washington Wizards, with a scorching 27 points in the second half. They went 9 for 11 in the first few minutes to get out to a 22-11 lead. The rest of the game? 25 for 68 (37%). Woops.

2) I'm looking for opinions on Big Baby. Mine? He's a great sixth guy. But I find that he's taking too many shots. And it wasn't just because KG was out either, although he did lead the team in shot attempts several times when Garnett was out. Thoughts?

3) Three weeks from tomorrow, Jonny Lester and Co. will be arriving in Fort Myers to begin their 8 month quest for a World Series Championship. This needs to come faster, because there are far too many people who still have an AFC Divisional Championship Hangover from last week, and they need some Sox to cure it.

That's all for now. I need to get my stuff together and trek back to New Hampshire....ugh.
  

Is That The Best You've Got?

YAHOO.com- Andruw Jones agreed Thursday to a $2 million, one-year contract with the New York Yankees, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Though I'm not even looking at ESPN, ESPN.com, or any other ESPN entity for the rest of my life, I stumbled upon the above article on Yahoo! Sports.

Anyhow, is this the best the Yankees have got? I mean, after seeing the Red Sox vastly improving their squad in the off-season, and after getting bounced from the playoffs from the Texas Rangers, one would think that the Yankees would put the foot down and make a splash. Not so fast.

I mean, is this 2005? Because I'm pretty sure that's the last time Andruw Jones was a vital part of a winning team. What are the Yankees doing? Do they want to lose to the Sox and Rays next season, because their team isn't any better than last season's squad that was bounced from the playoffs. Obviously, as a huge Sox fan, I'm always pining for the Yankees to regress, but this off-season had been baffling for any baseball fan. The Yankees ALWAYS get their man and spend good money to get him, but not so this year. They failed to get Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Jayson Werth, and now have to get lower-tier players.

Will the near-inactivity from the Yankees hurt them in the 2011 MLB season? Probably. You cannot compete against upper-level teams without improving your squad SIGNIFICANTLY in the off-season, just ask the 2010 Red Sox. Andruw Jones is a great guy and was ONCE in the upper-echelon of MLB players, but those glory days are over. And if this off-season is a foreboding sign (for Yankees fans at least), the Yankees reign of dominance over the past 15 years may be halting as well.

Through the Looking Glass

I'm not making any Lost references despite the title of this post. The only connection between Lost and last night's game -- and the whole season, for that matter -- is that things didn't add up, boggled my mind, and ended in a manner unlike the majority of the sample size. Regardless, it's time to take a step back in the aftermath and look at this Patriots season in retrospect.

It had the makings of our glory days. It wasn't like the '07 team. This team spread the ball out on offense. Made plays on defense. Protected the football. Made sound decisions. Played mistake-free football. Where did it all go on Sunday night? How could such a shocker go down in such an epically disastrous fashion? In the end, the upset that shocked America may not have been such a stunning defeat after all.

Breathe, Breathe

During a trying time like this, when grey clouds hang over Boston, it's great to see a silver lining. So breathe, New England sports fans. It WILL get better. It could be worse. At least you're not a Cleveland sports fan.