NFL Draft Radio Show Special

Tune into a special NFL Draft show on 98.5 The Sports Hub tonight from 7pm-midnight. Rich Keefe is joined by NFL veterans Mike Flynn (Center on the Ravens Super Bowl winning team), and Jermaine Wiggins (Tight End on 1st Patriots Super Bowl winning team). The three will be live from the CBS Scene in Foxboro, with Scott Zolak checking in during the coverage that takes place between the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

The Patriots currently own 3 picks in the 2nd round and 2 more in the 3rd.

You can call the show: (617) 779-0985
Text: 69985
Listen online: CBSBostonSports.com

Brian Wilson Does It Again

Youtube celebrity Keenan Cahill has collaborated with a number of famous musicians, but this may be his very best, teaming up with World Series champions Brian Wilson and Cody Ross. No sign of The Machine, but I guess a kid is involved.

Below is the story of the kid, Keenan Cahill, courtesy of his website keenansroom.com

Keenan Cahill
was born in 1995 in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. He was born to two parents who would later separate. Keenan was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease at the age of one called MPS Type 6 (see full description below). Keenan underwent a bone marrow transplant in 1997 to slow down the progression of the disease, which required Keenan to live in a isolation for almost one year to prevent infection. Keenan has since had multiple surgeries including a surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. Keenan has overcome all of these obstacles to finally achieve two successes. Keenan has entered High School and is currently a freshman, second Keenan has achieved International fame with his YouTube Channel. Keenan initially started his channel as a hobby, but once he performed and recorded “Teenage Dream” and it found its way to Katy Perry, this would no longer be a hobby. Keenan has garnered international recognition for his videos and with his recent appearance on Chelsea Lately it has become a game changer for Keenan. Keenan is living each and every day hoping to show the world that talent no matter how much adversity its presented with will always overcome all obstacles.

-Keefe

Rich Reviews: Scream 4

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Well mine is probably Scream. (The original Halloween and Devil's Rejects are up there.) There is a lot I liked about the first installment, particularly the way it revitalized the horror genre. The characters in Scream were self aware, they watched movies and openly discussed them. The "what if you were in a horror movie" angle. As a bit of a film dork myself, I enjoyed all the tip-of-the-caps to previous movies, specifically legendary horror classics.

Say what you want about the original, but it was very smart. It is easy to make fun of it now, and trust me all of my friends do for liking it so much, however I think it still holds up today, 15 years after it came out. The story is solid, the characters are well developed, and most importantly for a horror movie, it's both scary and entertaining.

What about the sequels? Well at least all of the references to movies were still there. They even made a point to say in Scream 2 that sequels suck, and "by definition alone they are inferior films." I thought 2 had it's moments, some good ideas, I enjoyed it.

Scream 3 did not have the same writer (Kevin Williamson) as the first two, but it acted as the finale of a trilogy. Again, like the second film referencing other sequels, they devoted some time in 3 to describe trilogies, different rules, rare in the horror field, etc. Again, it had it's moments, but clearly the films go, A, B, C (if you're grading at home).

Alright enough about the first 3 films of the franchise, I just wanted to point out that I am a huge fan, it's my favorite franchise of horror films (beating out Halloween and Saw). So needless to say I was pumped when I heard they were making a 4th (with director Wes Craven, writer Kevin Williamson, and stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette).



I was busy opening weekend, if not I would have gone, seriously. Anyway, the girlfriend and I were 2 of I'd say 10-12 people in the audience for a Wednesday night showing at 7:30pm. That's not surprising as it made only 18.7 million in its opening weekend. Not what they were looking for. (Scream 2 made 33 million opening weekend, while Scream 3 drew 33.4.)



Scream 4 takes place 10 years after the end of Scream 3. Gail Weathers (Cox) is now Gail Riley and is married to Sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette) in Woodsboro (the original town). Sidney Prescott (Campbell) comes back to town to promote a book she wrote, and next thing you know people start getting stabbed. They introduce a bunch of new characters, lots of high school kids, some new cops, and you got yourself a cast, where not only can anyone die, but anyone can be the killer.



It's a classic "who done it/ who is doing it." I tried figuring out who did it for probably a full hour, I won't spoil anything here.

But was it good? In a word, eh. I didn't hate it, that might be the big Scream fan in me talking. For a movie that was 10 years in the making, it was a let down. You got to think, if Kevin Williamson spent 10 years on this it was going to be really good. I wonder if he spent 10 hours on it.

The first movie was so different and so smart, this movie tries to hard and comes up short. There was to much of the, "well that was how it worked then, so now it is like this, so we need to expect that, and everything is different while being the same." What? And they should have spent more time developing a true story instead of just upping the kill count and trying to fool you on who the killer(s) is/are.

In the end, it's no where near the as good as the first one, and doesn't even rival the second. I'd have to watch it again before I say for sure it's worse than 3, but I feel like I could do a solid debate on either side of 3 & 4 for which is better. If you happen to be a big fan of the series, it's worth a watch, but go in with low expectations. If you don't like these movie, you didn't read this far anyway.

When To Watch It Scale


The WTWIS is broken down to the following 4 categories...

-Theater
-Netflix
-TV
-Don't Bother

Although I was a bit disappointed, I will go with "Netflix" for Scream 4. (The TV version, unless on HBO will be edited pretty bad I imagine.)

Alright, there you have it. Hope this helps. If you saw it feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you thought or e-mail me at sportsbrief@gmail.com

-Keefe

Thoughts from the Game 1's

I watched as much as I could over the weekend, and this is what I came up with.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

#1 Bulls vs. #8 Pacers (104-99 Chicago, 1-0)

Shocking. Well as shocking as it can be without the #1 overall seed actually losing. Indiana was leading from start to almost the very end. Tyler Hansborough? Where did that come from? Looked like he was playing a Tuesday night game against Clemson for a few minutes.

I thought Danny Granger summed it up best by comparing Derrick Rose to a stalker ex-girlfriend, every time you turn around she’s there, at your door wherever. I think this game will wake up the Bulls and they will win in 4 or 5.

#2 Heat vs. #7 76ers (97-89, Miami 1-0)

Give credit to Chris Bosh, ok you don’t have too, but he played well and helped the Heat avoid a loss. For the Celtics sake let’s hope Philly can win a game, or two at home, so LeBron and company have to work rather than coast into the 2nd round. I have faith the 6ers can make them fight after watching on Saturday. Game 2 is tonight.

#3 Celtics vs. #6 Knicks (87-85, Boston 1-0)

Jermaine O'Neal! Watching that game was the first time all season when I actually had a JO in Indiana flashback. The way he narrows his body and gets all skinny when he shoots and it a pretty good shot blocker. Now I don't expect that to keep up the rest of the playoffs, but it was fun nonetheless.

The Celtics were lucky in the fact that Carmelo Anthony played well for 1 quarter, and they still nearly lost the game. Melo is going to be better, however if Billups misses a game or two or just isn't effective, it may not matter.

#4 Magic vs. #5 Hawks (103-93, Atlanta 1-0)

The Hawks don’t seem to like playing with each other and they certainly don’t enjoy coaching in general, but they stole home court from Orlando. Dwight Howard 46 points 19 rebounds… in a loss. Let the big man get his and take everyone else out. It worked once, will it work again? I’m going to stick with my pick of the Magic winning this series, the Hawks self hate will overcome.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

#1 Spurs vs. #8 Grizzlies (101-98, Memphis 1-0)

How about this one? Tony Allen starting for a contender? Ok contender is a bit aggressive, but they do present some tough match ups even without Rudy Gay. Memphis get its first playoff win in franchise history (0-12 coming in), and they follow that up by giving Zach Randolph a 4-year contract extension. And you know what? I like it. Sure he seems like the obvious, pay for play guy, 1-year, incentive deals, but go for it Memphis!

It’s the same team Chris Wallace led front office that dealt Pau Gasol for nothing (although Marc Gasol has turned out pretty nice) and drafted Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall, only to pair him with another 1st rounder to get Shane Battier… back.

Manu’s elbow could be the key to this series, however I still think San Antonio advances, but they sure seem ripe for the picking.

#2 Lakers vs. #7 Hornets (109-100, New Orleans 1-0)

I thought New Orleans was the worst Western Conference Playoff team, and the only one not capable of winning a series. Winning a game I figured would be a stretch, let alone at the Staples Center. Hats off to Chris Paul. Maybe he hasn’t been as explosive as we’ve seen earlier in his career, but can we ease up on Derrick Rose is waaaaaay better than CP3, and so is Deron Williams, maybe even Russell Westbrook. Chris Paul is still here folks.

#3 Mavericks vs. #6 Trail Blazers (89-81, Dallas 1-0)

This could be a classic case of everyone picks the “underdog,” making them not the underdog any longer, and they end up losing to the original favorite. Teams 5-8 in the West were hoping to get Dallas. Well Portland did, what can they do with them? As Bill Simmons pointed out in his recent podcast, the Mavs have the best player in this series (Dirk) but Portland might have the next 4 (Aldridge, Wallace, Miller, Camby?) It’s debatable.

Wes Mathews is a good player who had a poor Game 1. Brandon Roy is a total wild card. His injuries knocked him down from a potential Top 10 player, to the team’s 7th man.

As poor as Dirk’s supporting cast is, I believe in this series, he can win 3 games while his supporting cast can take 1. Hey J. Kidd had 24 points in Game 1. Jason Terry is capable of 30 one night, and I’m probably the only person in the country that thinks Shawn Marion could slap up a 20-12 in one of these games.

#4 Thunder vs. #5 Nuggets (107-103, OKC 1-0)

This is the series (outside of Boston-New York obviously) that I am the most interested in watching, and will find ways to be in front of the TV for every minute.

Funny how the 4 playoff teams that really changed at the deadline are involved in 2 series. The Nuggets made a franchise altering deal with the Knicks, and the Celtics shocked their own fans… and players, by trading with the Thunder. A couple months later and you get Celtics-Knicks and Thunder-Nuggets.

I like watching Perkins play. I never, ever, thought I would say that. I yelled at every moving offensive screen, every time he put it on the floor near the basket and did his infuriating “gather move.” But now that he’s gone, I’m like, “Wow look at that screen! Did you see that board? There’s the scowl!” The question remains with OKC, how far can Durant-Westbrook carry them as their only offensive options?

As for Denver, it’s amazing how they don’t have a single star player but can still go a legit 11 deep with each guy bringing their own flavor. George Karl has them meshing well, but you got to wonder if it’s just a fun regular season team that surprised, only to bow out in the playoffs.

If the first weekend is any indication of how the rest of the 2011 post season is going to be, we are in store for one of the all time greatest. I’ll be back throughout the playoffs with scattered thoughts.

NBA Awards

It’s time to hand out the regular season awards here on The Sports Brief. Everything from All-Rookie 2nd Team to the MVP is listed below. If you agree, disagree, or just want to interact, hit up the comments section below.

2nd Team All-Rookie:

Greg Monroe, Pistons
Wesley Johnson, Timberwolves
Eric Bledsoe, Clippers
Evan Turner, 76ers
Paul George, Pacers

1st Team All-Rookie:

Blake Griffin, Clippers
John Wall, Wizards
DeMarcus Cousins, Kings
Landry Fields, Knicks
Gary Neal, Spurs

Rookie of the Year:

Blake Griffin, Clippers (22.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 62 double-doubles with 1 game left to play)
Among rookies, Griffin ranks 1st in points, 1st in rebounds, 2nd in assists, and 9th in steals.

Most Improved Player:

Kevin Love, Timberwolves
14 points/ 11 rebounds in ’09-10 – 20.2/ 15.2 in ’10-11

Coach of the Year:

Tom Thibodeau, Bulls (#1 in Eastern Conference)

6th Man of the Year:

Lamar Odom, Lakers (14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3 assists)
Yes Odom did start 34 games because of Bynum’s injury, but he is truly a 6th man this season.

2nd Team All-Defense:

Andre Iguodala, 76ers
Serge Ibaka, Thunder
Tyson Chandler, Mavericks
Chris Paul, Hornets
Rajon Rondo, Celtics

1st Team All-Defense:

Kevin Garnett, Celtics
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Dwight Howard, Magic
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Josh Smith, Hawks

Defensive Player of the Year:

Dwight Howard, Magic (14.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.3 steals)

3rd Team All-NBA:

Rajon Rondo, Celtics
Russell Westbrook, Thunder
Pau Gasol, Lakers
Paul Pierce, Celtics
Blake Griffin, Clippers

2nd Team All-NBA:

Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Chris Paul, Hornets
Amare Stoudemire, Knicks
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks

1st Team All-NBA:

Derrick Rose, Bulls
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Dwight Howard, Magic
LeBron James, Heat
Kevin Durant, Thunder

MVP:

Derrick Rose, Bulls (24.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists)


Can't wait for the playoffs!

-Keefe

Podcast: Keefe & Robb on Celtics

Rich Keefe joined the head writer for CelticsHub.com and contributor to the Daily Dime on ESPN.com, Brian Robb to discuss the Celtics. They talk the state of the C's, rehash the Perk deal, and look ahead to the playoffs.

CelticsHub.com Playoff Preview Podcast by BRobb7

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley Results

Strikeforce put together one of their best cards in organization history last night. The event featured a pair of title fights and numerous Top 10 fighters. Here is a quick look at how the action went down.

MAIN CARD:

• Champ Nick Diaz def. Paul Daley via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 4:57 - to retain Strikeforce welterweight title


• Champ Gilbert Melendez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:14 - to retain Strikeforce lightweight title


• Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)


• Shinya Aoki def. Lyle Beerbohm via submission (neck crank) - Round 1, 1:32

UNDER CARD:

• Robert Peralta def. Hiroyuki Takaya via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)


• Virgil Swicker def. Brett Albee via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:46


• Joe Duarte def. Saad Awad via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 2:45


• Herman Terrado de. A.J. Matthews via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:16


• Rolando Perez def. Edgar Cardenas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)


• Casey Ryan def. Paul Song via submission (triangle choke) - Round 1, 1:39

-Keefe

The (Green) Jacket

Many of you are probably in Masters pools and goodluck to you. The greatest golf tournament is well underway on Day 1 (it's 1:30 EST as I write this) yet the TV coverage does not begin for another 90 minutes. Weak.

Keep up with the guys from The Sports Brief's picks listed below...

BESSE:

Dustin Johnson

Martin Kaymer

Martin Laird

Hunter Mahan

Phil Mickelson

Nick Watney

Bubba Watson

Lee Westwood

Mark Wilson*

Tiger Woods

*May have let his boss pick a random 10th.

KEEFE:

Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods

Lee Westwood

Martin Kaymer

Dustin Johnson

Rory McIlroy

Graeme McDowell

Bubba Watson

Ian Poulter

Matt Kuchar

NBA Awards Finalists

Before I unveil my NBA Awards for the 2010-11 season here are the finalists.

Coach of the Year:

-Doug Collins, 76ers

Did you think Philly would be the 6 seed in the East, let alone above .500? Of course you did.

-George Karl, Nuggets

Think about what George Karl has had to go through this season. Putting up with the whole will he, won’t he with his best player, only to get 80 cents on the dollar (at best), and turn it into an intriguing playoff team.

-Tom Thibodeau, Bulls

The defense-first former C’s assistant has his Bulls a top the East and fighting for the #1 overall seed heading into the playoffs. Any other year he would be a slam dunk, but Collins and Karl are stiff competition.

Defensive Player of the Year:

-Tyson Chandler, Mavericks

Much like Kevin Garnett did for the Celtics back in ’07-’08, Chandler has completely changed the defensive attitude for the Mavs this season. There’s a “D” in Dallas joke in there somewhere.

-Dwight Howard, Magic

If he wins it, he would become the 1^st player ever to be named D-Player of the Year in 3 consecutive seasons. His chances are strong, to very strong.

-Dwyane Wade, Heat

Miami was playing near .500 basketball for a good part of the beginning of the year. Their triumvirate started to get it together, having nights where they would score 90+ combined points, but perhaps the biggest change was D-Wade turning into the Glove on defense.

6^th Man of the Year:

-Jamal Crawford, Hawks

Crawford won this award last season and if he were to win it again, he would join Detlef Schrempf and Kevin McHale as the only back-to-back winners, and toss in Rickey Pierce as the only other 2-time recipient of the award.

-Lamar Odom, Lakers

Odom has basically split his time between coming off the bench and starting this season for LA. (34 starts, 42 games off the bench and counting). He probably has the biggest impact of any sub in the league.

-Jason Terry, Mavericks

JET won this award to years ago; so much the same historical significance applies from Crawford here. Terry has carved out a nice niche for himself in the NBA, great scorer off the bench. In fact he’s 2^nd on the team in scoring behind Dirk, and has allowed them to still be successful minus Caron Butler.

Rookie of the Year:

-DeMarcus Cousins, Kings

He has literally been everything the scouts thought he would be, for better or worse. 3^rd in points, 2^nd in rebounding, and 4^th in blocks among rookies, and got thrown off the team plane for fighting Donta Green and tossed out of practices for arguing with coaches. But did I mention the talent?

-Blake Griffin, Clippers

You can argue that he was technically in the league last year, but I still believe he should be eligible. He had a medical red shirt, get over it if you don’t think he’s a rookie.

-John Wall, Wizards

Terrible team, but Wall definitely showed flashes this year of why he was the #1 pick in the draft. 16.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists is nothing to sneeze at. I understand he does it in meaningless games, but those are solid numbers for anyone.

Most Improved Player Award:

-LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers

He is averaging 4 points and .6 rebounds more a game this year than last, but it’s more than just the numbers. If you watch Aldridge this year, he’s just better, no way around it. Of course I’ve always hated “Most Improved,” sounds like the guy sucked the year before. We would always make fun of the “Most Improved,” “winner” in high school and college.

-Kevin Love, Timberwolves

We all know about K-Love this year with his double-doubles and selection to the All-Star team despite being on one of the league’s worst clubs. In his 3^rd year (which would have been his senior season at UCLA), Love improved his ppg from 14 to 20.2 and his rpg from 11 to a league best 15.2. His shooting %’s are up across the board as well, making him pretty tough to beat for this “award.”

-DeMar DeRozan, Raptors

He’s also on a bad team, but DeMar improved his scoring from 8.6 points per game as a rookie to 16.8 this season. Let’s not forget he got jobbed at the dunk contest too, so maybe he deserves this as an I-O-U.

MVP:

-Kevin Durant, Thunder

The league’s leading scorer is not going to average 30 points per game like he did last season, but he deserves to be in this conversation. The Thunder are primed to host a 1^st round playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

-Dwight Howard, Magic

If there was any year for Howard to win the MVP, it’s this year. He will finish with a career high in points per game, he’s currently matching his best rebounding effort, career high in steals, all while shooting 60% from the field. Throw in adjusting to two separate supporting casts and likely another D-Player of the Year Award, and he could just do it.

-Derrick Rose, Bulls

He is about to set career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3pt %, FT%, and minutes while doing it on the best team in the Eastern Conference. With all the talk about the Heat and Celtics, Derrick Rose has led his team (through injuries, see Noah, Joakim and Boozer, Carlos) to the best record, potentially in all of basketball.

Check back next week when I unveil all of the winners for these awards and many others.

-Keefe

Mullin Joins Dream Team(mates) in Hall

Former Golden State Warrior and St. John's star Chris Mullin has been named to the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2011 (along with Dennis Rodman and others.) The lefty joins 10 of his teammates from the 1992 Olympic Team.

The Dream Team or "The Greatest Team Ever Assembled For Any Sport Of All-Time," is further proving it's greatness with a ridiculous 11 out of 12 players being honored with a spot in the Hall of Fame. Just think if Shaquille O'Neal was the college kid taken instead of Christian Laettner... or if Isiah Thomas didn't get shutout by Jordan and they went with him instead of Laettner, bringing three point guards, or if they said let's get another rebounder in bring in Dennis Rodman... they could have, and really should have had 12 Hall of Famers on one team. It's the only thing the '92 Dream Team won't be able to accomplish.

Mullin may have been the last of the 11 to get in the Hall, but he was no slouch or token white guy on the team, he was 4th on the team in Barcelona scoring 12.9 points per game, behind Barkley, Jordan, and just .1 off of Malones 13 a game. Mullin led the team in 3-point shooting going 14-26 for 53.8%.

Mullin was always one of my favorite players growing up. He had a 5-year stretch with Golden State where he put up 25+ points per season. He was All-NBA 1st team in 91-92, when there was a ton of talent in the league.

He has been retired now for 10 years and I was starting to think he might not get in. But when you look back at his entire career, with Olympics (Gold in '84 & '92), and college ('85 Player of the Year) he is definitely deserving.

Congratulations Chris Mullin.

-Keefe

Keefe21 on Twitter During Wrestlemania XXVII

Follow @Keefe21 for live updates of Wrestlemania XXVII on Sunday starting at 7:00pm.

After attending the Royal Rumble a couple months back, I am on board for my first Wrestlemania in over a decade. Old faces, new faces, Snooki, whatever. I'm in.

The Rock, HHH, The Undertaker, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels will all be involved in one way or another, so why not me? Let's do this. Follow along and interact throughout the Super Bowl of Sports Entertainment.

-Keefe

Keefe on 98.5 The Sports Hub Tonight

Rich Keefe will be hosting the DA Show tonight from 7pm-12am on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. You can listen online at www.cbsbostonsports.com. Call in at 617-779-0985 or text the show at 69985.

Topics will include: Red Sox opening day vs. Texas. Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford's Boston debuts. Jon Lester's 1st opening day start of his career. Celtics and Bruins getting closer to the playoffs and maybe even some Wrestlemania chatter.