Boston = Titletown USA

As the Celtics prepare to take on the Lakers in the NBA Finals, there can be no doubt as to what is the greatest sports city in America now.

This sight from the Red Sox ring ceremony, featuring the Boston trophies from all four major sports, sums it all up

Every summer ESPN, the worldwide leader in aggravating product placement and overbearing, lowest common denominator programming, runs a series of special promos designed to fill the time when baseball is the only active major sport.

A few years ago it was the inane "50 States in 50 Days", then it was the sophomoric "Who's Next?", followed by the equally moronic "Who's Now?"; many presumed this summer's installment would be "Who the F- Cares?"

Instead this year the geniuses at the WWL have come up with a different country-unifying gimmick called "Titletown USA", in which the nation votes on what city or town it thinks is the best in all the land. Twenty municipalities will make the final list, and potential winners include sports hotbeds like Shelby, North Carolina, Boise, Idaho and Ottawa, Ohio.

Well don't bother voting people because after the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday night, I am hereby declaring the contest officially over.

With the 89-81 victory the Cs made it back to the finals for the first time since 1987 when Larry, Kevin and the Chief, the original Big Three, ruled the parquet at the original Gahden and played in their fourth championship of the decade.

And when you combine this stellar rebound season of the Cs with the 3 championships the Pats have earned this decade plus the two World Series titles the Sox have won in the past four years, there is no doubt that the city of Boston, located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the heart of New England, is indeed the Hub of the Sports Universe.

When Boston and LA tip off the 2008 Finals this Thursday night it will evoke a flood of memories in native New Englanders over the age of 25 like myself, who grew up in an era when all the Boston sports teams were at or near the top of the heap.

Along with the four title appearances and three championships the Celts won in the 80s the Sox went to the World Series in 1986 and made the playoffs in 1988 and 1990, the Bruins made the playoffs every year and went to the Stanley Cup Finals twice (88 & 90 also), and the Pats, although they had some rough seasons, still made the playoffs three times in the decade and played in one memorable (i.e. forgettable) Super Bowl in 1986.

In other words for Bostonian sports fans it was the "me" decade, when all of our franchises ruled the Earth, a happy, carefree time we all took for granted because we didn't know any better.

Until the 90s came.

In that decade we all began to realize that sporting success could be as fleeting as an American idol winner's career as none of the major teams made any waves in the postseason:

-In 1996 the Bs began a stretch of missing the playoffs in 6 of the next 10 seasons

-the Pats made the playoffs just three times and got spanked in another Super Bowl before ending the decade with a 1-15 debacle season

-the Sox sucked so bad that even though they made the playoffs three times they lost to the Cleveland Indians every time, a fact that pissed them off so bad they had to go and get Manny Ramirez just to exact some sort of revenge on the Tribe

-and the Celts began their downward spiral when the lost the Big Three to age and injury (Larry in '92, Kevin in '93 and Chief in '94), and the death of superstar-in- the-making Reggie Lewis to a fatal heart condition in 1993 sent the franchise into a tailspin that had continued up till this very season.

But now it's a new millennium, and so far the Boston boys are back and better than ever. Well, except for the Bs, but their time will come.

Two titles for the Sox obliterated an 86-year-old curse, three rings for Tom Brady cemented him as a legend and Hall of Famer despite his weaselly coach, and now Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the rest of the gang Green are letting us hop into our IROC Z and party like it's 1987.

So get out your Member's Only jacket, crank up your Whitesnake cassette , pop a copy of Fatal Attraction in the VCR and enjoy the ride.

Because Boston is officially Titletown again, whether the rest of the nation likes it or not.

Sorry, Shelby.

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Top 5 Best (current) Sports Rivalries

Watching the Carolina/Duke game last night made me think of what are the greatest sports rivalries going in sports today. I know every sports website in America has already weighed in with a post on this, but I thought maybe being the last will differentiate mine from the rest.

The only caveat I have that is different from some of the "established" sites is that the rivalry has to be currently relevant to the sports landscape, therefore archaic relics like Harvard/Yale are nowhere to be found.

Feel free to vehemently disagree in the comments. It's always more fun that way.

1.) Red Sox/Yankees MLB 1,744 games since 1901
I know, what a shocking first pick for a Bostonian, right?

It's true that some of the luster has been lost over the past few seasons, mainly due to the fact that they play each other a minimum of 19 times a year, if they meet in the playoffs usually tack 7 more onto that number, and the WWL and other outlets hype each one into oblivion, but there's a reason for all the hoopla:

This one is the best rivalry in the land.

The two storied franchises are in the same division of the same conference located in cities just 200+ miles apart, the denizens of each which act like their shit is the freshest smelling and believe their team is the most important sports franchise in the universe, well that's enough to spark a rivalry right there.

Throw in the fact that one team has the most championships in the game, while the other recently broke an 86-year-old title drought by capping a record-setting comeback against the other in the ALCS, then followed that crown up with a second one just three years later, and this thing only keeps getting bigger, folks.

So to all those outside "The Rivalry" who don't agree, I hate to say it but this one is the best, and it ain't gonna be any other way for a long while so you better get used to it.

2.) Duke/North Carolina NCAA Basketball 226 games since 1920
This is like the college version of Sox/Stanks--if you're not a fan of either team, no one seems to give a rat's ass about the rivalry. But if you're a true sports fan there's no denying that this blue-plated Carolina clash has classic written all over it.

Once again you've got two teams from the same conference that are located a stone's throw (8 miles) down Tobacco Road from one another, each one constantly ranked in the Top 5, with students, fans & alums who believe their team is the premiere ballclub in the history of college athletics, and a bunch of outsiders who couldn't disagree more.

But after numerous close battles, bloodied bodies and a legion of future NBA players, it's hard to say otherwise. Plus you've got the atmosphere of Cameron Indoor Stadium, the pride of being a part of an incredible academic institution and a couple of Hall Of Fame coaches (Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith) who have been behind the bench for a combined 151 of the 226 clashes.

Last night's barn-burner was no different, as the Dookies rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a late lead, then watched in horror as the Tarheels scored 10 in a row to close the game and end the regular season as the number one team in the ACC and the nation.

Just another game in the second best rivalry in sports.

3.) Michigan/Ohio State NCAA Football 104 games since 1935
This one has become the premier college football rivalry again of late, rekindling what was once the game in the sport when battle-hardened coaches Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes waged a memorable 10-year war in the late '60s to late
'70s.

Michigan dominated the rivalry in the early years, winning 20 of the first 25 meetings before the Buckeyes started to even things out over the next couple of decades. But another stretch of Wolverine whoppings (17-7 from 1976-2000) threatened to relegate this Midwestern border war to just another local annual skirmish.

And then John Cooper exited the Horseshoe and Jim Tressel, aka the Sweater Vest, took over.

Since taking the helm of the Buckeyes in 2001, Tressel has guided the team to a 6-1 mark against its hated foe, a run that included a National title in 2002, and a reign that forced the resignation of embattled Maize & Blue coach Lloyd Carr following last year's 14-3 grindfest in Ann Arbor.

They're from the same smashmouth conference (Big 10), meet at the end of the regular season every year, are located just 163 miles apart and are more often than not vying for a national championship when they do meet, with the end result usually being a memorable college football clash.

That makes it the best college football rivalry in the land, and good enough for third best on my list.

4.) Dallas Cowboys/Washington Redskins NFL 96 games since 1960
Although this once-heated NFL rivalry has cooled somewhat in recent years, thanks to the ups and downs that are a way of life in the salary-capped reality of the modern day NFL, this bitter rivalry still has a special feeling whenever these two NFC East foes meet.

Both teams have seen Hall of Fame coaches grace the sidelines, Hall of Fame players on the field, and a fair share of historic tilts, many of which have shaped the championships of the era.

But while Dallas was reeling off three straight Super Bowls in the mid-'90s, the Cowboys were also rendering this rivalry irrelevant, ripping off 10 straight wins in the series from November of 1997 to November of 2001. Then, thanks to a hard fought (are there any other in this one?) 20-14 win by the Skins in December of 02, Washington got made this one meaningful again and have since won 4 of the last 6 meetings, including a 27-6 thrashing to close out the 2007 season, a win that put the Skins in the playoffs and help cost the 'Boys home field advantage in the NFC.

Now that's what a rivalry is all about.

5.) Cubs/Cardinals MLB 2209 games since 1885
I know Dodgers/Giants is the more glamorous pick, but that's a left coast one now, and let's face it, no one on this side of the country cares about that one anymore except bitter old Brooklynites.

This classic hardball hatefest pits two of the games more heralded franchises against each other, just 262 miles apart down I55 but worlds apart when it comes to the fans of each. St. Louis lovers profess to be the nicest fans in sports, treating their team as an object of affection not to be mocked or scorned but worshipped like a religious artifact.

Meanwhile the Cubs fans have to deal with theirs being the sorriest franchise in sports, suffering a title drought that has now spanned nearly a century and with seemingly no end in sight. Yet the Northsiders embrace their team as much as those in St. Louie, even more so when you throw in the historic ballpark and Wrigleyville surrounding it that makes going to the game as much of a social event as a sporting one.

Although this rivalry isn't the kind where division titles are decided yearly and the winner goes on to win the World Series, this one gets the nod for the passion of the fans involved and for the love/love relationship each team has within its city.

That's my list folks. No hockey, no NBA, no cricket, no individual sports. Just good old-fashioned intensity and relevance in what are the most important sports today.

Like I said, you care to disagree, you know how to let it be known.

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Random Blogging: Birkhead, Pacman and "nappy-headed hos"

That may seem like an odd assortment of tags, but consider these stories making news right now:

New NFL commish Roger Goodell has reacted swiftly and mercilessly to the trouble- making riff-raff infecting his league; talk radio kingpin/mumbling fossil Don Imus is embroiled in another controversy thanks to his severe, incurable case of diarrhea of the mouth; and Anna Nicole's babydaddy has finally been revealed, and boy is it going to take a long time to wipe the smile of that guy's face!

Let's recap a wild and weird few days in the on the pop culture grid.

-Goodell rains punishment down on NFL troublemakers
There's a new sheriff in the League, and his name is not Reggie Hammond, it's Roger Goodell. In a few short months the man who replaced Paul Tagliabue has come down hard on a couple of oft-troubled players, quickly making the previous regime look like the Wonder Years.

The new head honcho of the NFL hasn't enacted a complete new disciplinary program yet, but he still found it within his power to suspend the Titans trouble making DB/return specialist Adam "Pacman" Jones and his oft-arrested former West Virginia teammate Chris Henry of the Bengals for a total of 24 games next season under terms of the existing conduct policy.

Jones received one of the harshest, and most expensive suspensions in league history as he was banned for the entire 2007 season following his embarrassing strip club shooting incident in Vegas this February. That fiasco, in which he allegedly "rained" $81 Gs down on a bunch of strippers, resulting in a melee where 3 people were shot and a bouncer was paralyzed, was the final straw, and he now stands to lose $1.3 million in salary.

It was Jones' 10th run-in with law enforcement in the last few years, and he fast becoming just as well-known for hanging around with "the wrong crowd", League-speak for gang bangers and dope slangers, as he is for his spectacular interception & kickoff returns.

Another trouble-magnet from the world wide leader in that department is wide receiver Chris Henry. The second-year player out of WVU has been arrested more times in the past two years than Robert Downey Jr was during the '80s, and for that he will serve an 8-game suspension next season. His hi jinks, which range from DUI to possession of a firearm, will cost him roughly $200,000; lucky he isn't a big star or it would have cost him Pacman money.

But Sheriff Goodell isn't playing games with the image of the league anymore. With so many transgressions running the gamut from possession of a small armory (Tank Johnson) to the Viking's Booze Cruise he realized he had to act swiftly to curtail this kind of counter-productive (to profits) behavior. With the Players Association's blessing and at the urging of fans & media, Goodell has hit the players where he knows it hurts the most

In the wallet.

-Don Imus latest member of the Hollywood's Bigoted & Intolerant Club
When the talk radio veteran (and his sidekick/producer) yukked it up at the expense of the players from the Rutgers women's basketball team last Wednesday, he couldn't have realized the severity of the repercussions that would follow.

Trouble was he didn't seem to care, either.

Now Imus is facing a shitstorm of epic proportions; advertisers have pulled out of his radio show & its TV simulcast on MSNBC; he has been suspended from the show for two weeks beginning next Monday; and a slew of public figures, from Al Sharpton to Barack Obama, are calling for his outright ouster from the airwaves.

The reason for all the hoopla ocurred last Wednesday when Imus was on the air talking about the young ladies from the Rutgers team which had just lost in the Women's National Championship game, but you would have thought he was referring to some crack whores living in a van down by the river. He made comments about their tattoos, producer Bernard McGuirk classified the game vs. Tennessee as the "jigaboos versus the wannabes" and then Imus infamously uttered the most unoriginal description of a black women to come around in decades, "that's some nappy headed hos."

For some reason what was merely the latest in a long line of bigoted, insensitive and just downright unfunny quotes might be the one that gets this leatherfaced windbag off the air for good. He is currently in full-fledged Mel/Kramer mode, going on a nationwide apology tour and uttering the stock phrase rolled out by all celebs with good publicists in these situations: "I'm not that kind of person."

Look, dickhead, you've made a career of making stupid comments and putting your foot in your huge mouth, but this time you didn't mean it? Then how about when you called journalist Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady", a Washington Post reporter a "beanie wearing Jewboy" or respected African American writer Bill Rhoden a "quota hire"? Did you mean those comments or not? I'm confused.

You see there's a difference between making jokes about people who do foolish things while in the public eye and just slamming innocent people because they are of a different color, religion or ethnicity.

But you're beginning to see that difference now, aren't you Don?
(sorry Mom, but I never liked this guy)

- Birkhead, not Howard K. Stern, father of Anna Nicole's daughter
After months of nauseating media coverage, innumerable potential candidates and one fucked up judge, the paternity of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn has finally been revealed:

Larry Birkhead, come on down, you're the proud possessor of a potential billion dollar lottery ticket!

When news broke that Birkhead was indeed the true father of Dannielynn, not Smith's lawyer/ lover/lackey Stern, I'm sure the first thing on his mind was the health and well-being of his little girl.

And his second though immediately after was "I'm rich, bitch!"

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Why are so many athletes dying?

I had been pondering covering this topic for days now, ever since I heard the news that former USF player Javon Camon died after a helmet-to-helmet collision in a minor league indoor football game, the latest casualty in what appears to be a depressing and accelerating trend: athletes dying suddenly under a bizarre variety of circumstances.

Obviously when an athlete or celebrity dies the story is magnified because of the public's familiarity with the person, even C-listers and minor leaguers. Therefore I thought perhaps it was just my imagination making it seem like the number of athletes to die in the past 6 months from unexpected circumstances was exceptionally high. Until I started to compile a list (morbid, I know, but inherently this is a sad subject.) Here are some of the recently deceased athletes and the reasons behind their unfortunate demise:

• Cory Lidle P, NY Yankees (private plane crash, Oct 06)
• Bryan Pata DE, Miami Hurricanes (shot in his yard, Nov 06)
• Darrent Williams CB, Denver Broncos (shot in a limo Jan 1, 07)
• Mario Danelo K, USC Trojans (fell from a cliff, Jan 07)
• Keeley Dorsey RB, USF (collapsed after workout, Jan 07)
• Damien Nash RB, Denver Broncos (collapsed at home, Feb 07)
• Javon Camon DB, World Indoor Football (game hit, Feb 07)

Seven athletes in less than six months, and I'm not even including former players like NFL DB Andre Waters from a self-inflicted gunshot wound last November or former NBA great Dennis Johnson last week after an unexplained collapse. These were all active, apparently healthy young men who fell victim to a strange assortment of unfortunate events, leaving family, friends and fans mourning and scratching their heads, wondering why.

Of course I don't have the answer to the rhetorical question I posed in the title. How could anyone have a logical explanation when the various causes of these passings range from the freakish (Lidle, Camon) to the unforeseen (Williams, Pata) to the unexplained (Nash, Danelo)? None of these players were out patrolling the clubs looking for trouble, a la Pac Man Jones, although Williams' death was reportedly the result of a nightclub altercation. The scariest part of this is that for every accident that has happened there is another accident waiting to happen, like a Tank Johnson, Stephen Jackson or with any active member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The hair is standing up on the back of my neck as I am typing this piece because a news story has just come on reporting that a bus full of college baseball players travelling through Atlanta has plunged off an overpass and crashed onto the road below, killing at least six occupants, including four young players.

And the disturbing trend continues.

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