Trading C's for B's
If an NBA season existed, it would only be just over two weeks old right now. And yet, it feels like the Celtics have been gone for years already. Even clicking onto Twitter can be depressing. At this time of year, my feed would ordinarily be overflowing with sharp, 140 character takes from all sorts of great basketball minds. Now it’s just a bunch of depressed hoops-heads with nothing better to do than try to one-up each other by naming the most esoteric players they can think of (it’s been a long time since I thought about Miracle Milt Palacio). It’s like everyone’s in a daze. I think we might need to send someone to monitor the guy who runs Celticsblog.com and make sure he’s OK.
One big issue is how to spend my nights now that I can’t just plop down on the couch to hang out with Mike and Tommy and watch the C’s. I’ve tried to get my sports fix by catching up on Friday Night Lights (highly recommended), but I’ve already blown through all five seasons (side note: I know it’s a different sport, but the Red Sox should totally hire Coach Eric Taylor as their new manager — unless, of course, the Cubs get him first). I guess I could get a life and leave my apartment more often, but, really, come on. No, there’s only one option here: become a regular-season Bruins fan. GULP.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve only tuned into the B’s when the playoffs started. I’m one of those annoying people who talks about playoff hockey being so much better than regular season hockey even though I never actually watch regular season hockey (but really, playoff hockey is so much better). But no more! I caught the end of the B’s thrilling win over the Devils the other night, and I’m in. If for no other reason than I like hearing Jack Edwards scream.
To help get myself into it, this morning I read a profile of Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli by WEEI’s Paul Flannery (a former staffer here and occasional Boston magazine contributor who I may or may not owe a beer). Flannery, of course, is ordinarily WEEI’s Celtics beat man, so I figured if he can transition to ice, maybe I can, too. The story was good stuff and left me feeling at least assured that the guy running the B’s knows what he’s doing. Flannery writes:
A better word for Chiarelli might be precise. His office at TD Garden is a testament to order. It reveals nothing, much like the whiteboard on the wall with a curtain drawn over it. Clutter has no real value here, and this is where he and his inner circle, a group that includes team president Cam Neely and assistant GMs Don Sweeney and Jim Benning, meet to discuss what Chiarelli likes to call “themes.”
A GM paranoid enough to draw a curtain over his whiteboard? I love it. Does Bill Belichick even do that? Now this is a team I can get behind!
