The Race Walker

The Rich Keefe Project Podcast: UFC 160

2013 All-NBA Teams

All-NBA 2012-2013

1st Team:
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James, Miami Heat
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

2nd Team:
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

3rd Team:
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
David Lee, Golden State Warriors
Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers


Couple notes here: every player on the 1st team had a teammate make the 2nd or 3rd. 

Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Thunder, Spurs with 10 of the 15 players. 

Summer Movies: This Is The End

I'm in on this one.  Looks like all the Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, Superbad dudes got together and made an apocalypse movie where they play themselves.  Say no more.

2013 NBA Draft Order

NBA Draft Lottery took place tonight.  The Nerlens Noel Sweepstakes. No need to freeze the envelopes this year with no prize at the top of the draft like a Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan, or LeBron James.  You saw my Top 50 players and I will have a complete Mock up in the coming weeks.  But in the meantime, here is the order for June 27th's Draft night.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Orlando Magic
3. Washington Wizards
4. Charlotte Bobcats
5. Phoenix Suns
6. New Orleans Pelicans
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Portland Trail Blazers
11. Philadelphia 76ers
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Raptors)
13. Dallas Mavericks
14. Utah Jazz
15. Milwaukee Bucks
16. Boston Celtics
17. Atlanta Hawks
18. Atlanta Hawks
19. Cleveland Cavaliers
20. Chicago Bulls
21. Utah Jazz
22. Brooklyn Nets
23. Indiana Pacers
24. New York Knicks
25. Minnesota Timberwolves
26. Los Angeles Clippers
27. Denver Nuggets
28. San Antonio Spurs
29. Oklahoma City Thunder
30. Phoenix Suns
    ---ROUND 2---
31. Cavs
32. Thunder
33. Cavs
34. Rockets
35. 76ers
36. Kings
37. Wizards
38. Pistons
39. Blazers
40. Blazers
41. 76ers
42. Grizzlies
43. Bucks
44. Mavericks
45. Blazers
46. Jazz
47. Hawks
48. Hawks
49. Lakers
50. Bulls
51. Magic
52. Timberwolves
53. Pacers
54. Wizards
55. Grizzlies
56. Clippers
57. Suns
58. Spurs
59. Timberwolves
60. Grizzlies

Star Wars Filibuster

This came out over a month ago, but I just caught up with this episode On Demand. I heard about this gem from Patton Oswalt and it lived up to the hype. Do I like Star Wars? Yes. Filibusters? Yes. All the other stuff he ends up talking about? Yes.

Keefe's NBA Draft Big Board: Top 50

1. Ben McLemore, SG, Kansas
2. Otto Porter, SF, Georgetown
3. Victor Oladipo, SG, Indiana
4. C.J. McCollum, G, Lehigh
5. Nerlens Noel, C, Kentucky
6. Anthony Bennett, F, UNLV
7. Trey Burke, PG, Michigan
8. Cody Zeller, PF, Indiana
9. Shabazz Muhammad, SF, UCLA
10. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Georgia
11. Tony Mitchell, F, North Texas
12. Michael Carter-Williams, PG, Syracuse
13. Kelly Olynyk, C, Gonzaga
14. Dennis Schroeder, PG, Germany
15. Alex Len, C, Maryland
16. Tim Hardaway Jr., SG, Michigan
17. Dario Saric, SF, Croatia
18. Glen Rice, Jr., SG, NBDL (Georgia Tech)
19. Stevan Adams, C, Pittsburgh
20. Gorgui Dieng, C, Louisville
21. DeShaun Thomas, F, Ohio State
22. Mason Plumlee, PF, Duke
23. Rudy Gobert, C, France
24. Shane Larkin, PG, Miami
25. Giannis Adetokoubo, F, Greece
26. Richard Howell, PF, NC State
27. C.J. Leslie, F, NC State
28. Tony Snell, G/F, New Mexico
29. Isaiah Caanan, PG, Murray State
30. Reggie Bullock, SG, North Carolina
31. Pierre Jackson, PG, Baylor
32. Allen Crabbe, SG, California
33. Lorenzo Brown, PG, NC State
34. Jeff Withey, C, Kansas
35. Erick Green, G, Virginia Tech
36. Jamaal Franklin, G/F, San Diego State
37. Solomon Hill, SF, Arizona
38. Ray McCallum, PG, Detroit
39. Brandon Paul, SG, Illinois
40. Jackie Carmichael, PF, Illinois State
41. Nate Wolters, PG, South Dakota State
42. Andre Roberson, F, Colorado
43. Grant Jerrett, PF, Arizona
44. Myck Kabongo, PG, Texas
45. James Southerland, F, Syracuse
46. Robert Covington, F, Tennessee State
47. Adonis Thomas, SF, Memphis
48. Colton Iverson, C, Colorado State
49. Erik Murphy, PF, Florida
50. Archie Goodwin, SG, Kentucky

My can't miss formula: watching lots of college basketball, reading lots of scouting reports and grades, watching way to much of the combine.  Based on all of that this is my list of 50 best players in the 2013 NBA Draft.  Once we get the draft order I will crank out a Mock.  No Insider Account necessary!

Best TV Comedies All-Time

The Office is coming to an end (officially) tonight.  Many would argue that the show has been done for years, but they did continue after Michael Scott left, and actually there were some decent episodes in there.  But here is my "Off-The-Top-Of-My-Head-TV-Comedy-Power Rankings."

1. Seinfeld
2. The Office
3. Arrested Development
4. South Park
5. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
6. Curb Your Enthusiasm
7. Eastbound & Down
8. Family Guy
9. The Simpsons
10. Reno 911

Honorable Mentions: 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, Fresh Prince, Cosby Show, Louie

Not eligible: Jackass, Tosh.O, Saturday Night Live, Chappelle Show, Mad TV

Bruins-Rangers Picks From Boston Radio Folks

WBZ NewsRadio1030	Walt Perkins	Bruins in 7
WBZ-TV Sports	Steve Burton	Bruins in 7
WBZ-TV Sports	Dan Roche	Bruins in 6
98.5 The Sports Hub	Dave Goucher	Bruins in 7
98.5 The Sports Hub	Bob Beers	Bruins in 7
98.5 The Sports Hub	Fred Toucher	Rangers in 6
98.5 The Sports Hub	Rich Shertenlieb	Bruins in 4
98.5 The Sports Hub	Jon Wallach	Rangers in 6
98.5 The Sports Hub	Scott Zolak	Bruins in 6
98.5 The Sports Hub	Andy Gresh	Bruins in 7
98.5 The Sports Hub	Rob “Hardy” Poole	Bruins in 4
98.5 The Sports Hub	Michael Felger	Bruins in 7
98.5 The Sports Hub	Tony Massarotti	Rangers in 5
98.5 The Sports Hub	Marc Bertrand	Bruins in 7
98.5 The Sports Hub	Rich Keefe	Rangers in 6
98.5 The Sports Hub	Mark Feldman	Bruins in 7
98.5/WBZ 1030	Adam Kaufman	Rangers in 6
CBSBoston.com	Matt Geagan	Rangers in 7
CBSBoston.com	Mike Hurley	Rangers in 6

New York Rangers Preview (NHL 95 Edition)

If I remember anything about the New York Rangers, it's that they were solid at all 3 levels.  And if you were to turn line changes off, then they mean business.  Overall rating in parenthesis.

Forwards:

MARK MESSIER - C (78)

ADAM GRAVES - LW (73)

STEVE LARMER - RW (83) or- ALEX KOVALEV (81)

Defensemen:

BRIAN LEETCH (81)

SERGEI ZUBOV (76)

Goalie:

MIKE RICHTER (78)

Look out Oates, Neely, and Bourque!

NBA All-Rookie Teams

The NBA Awards and Honors continue to come out.  Today the All-Rookie Teams were announced.  No huge surprises here.

ALL-ROOKIE 1st TEAM:

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
Dion Waiters, Cleveland Cavaliers
Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors

ALL-ROOKIE 2nd Team:

Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors
Michael Kidd-Gilcrest, Charlotte Bobcats
Kyle Singler, Detroit Pistons
Tyler Zeller, Cleveland Cavaliers

No big snubs here.  I liked Alexey Shved of the T-Wolves and Moe Harkless from the Magic, but this is a solid 10.  Lillard was the only unanimous 1st team pick, also was the Rookie of the Year. 

In the preseason I gave you Lillard, Beal, Davis, and Barnes.  I was way off on Perry Jones III and Kendall Marshall.  I liked Jared Sullinger, and he was solid before getting hurt. 

I'll pat myself on the back for saying Austin Rivers and Fab Melo would be bad.  Good for me. 

Looking forward to next month's NBA Draft, I'll have a lot more on it in the coming weeks.

Bruins vs. Rangers Round 2 Schedule

Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4. Boston Bruins vs. 6. New York Rangers

Game 1: Thursday, May 16, 7:30pm (Boston)

Game 2: Sunday, May 19, 3:00pm (Boston)

Game 3: Tuesday, May 21, 7:30pm (New York)

Game 4: Thursday, May 23, 7:00pm (New York)

Game 5: Saturday, May 25, TBD (Boston)

Game 6: Monday, May 27, TBD (New York)

Game 7: Wednesday, May 29, TBD (Boston)

Defensive Player of the Year, Not Good Enough for 1st Team D... Again

Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year last week.  Today is was announced that he made the NBA's All-Defensive 2ND TEAM.  Sound familiar?  This happened to Knicks center Tyson Chandler.  Makes a lot of sense huh.

NBA Head Coaches vote for All-Defensive Teams while Sportswriters and Broadcasters vote for Defensive Player of the Year. 

Not only did Gasol not make the 1st Team, but it wasn't even all that close.  Clearly the coaches don't agree with all the writers and broadcasters.  Out of the 30 head coaches only 5 thought Gasol was worthy of the 1st Team and 2 felt he deserved 2nd Team honors.  So 23 coaches didn't think he was a top 2 defensive center this year. 

Throw in the fact that Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah tied for 1st team honors, it allowed Gasol to grab a spot on the 2nd team, he should of, for all intents and purposes missed the whole thing. 

What does this mean?  Not much in the grand scheme of things.  I enjoy the All-NBA teams and awards and stuff more than the average bear.  Thought it was worth noting. 

Best part of the voting actually was Mike James getting a 1st team vote.  Quick, what team did Mike James play for this year?


My ballot would have been:

1st: Tony Allen, Avery Bradley, LeBron James, Paul George, Joakim Noah

2nd: Chris Paul, Mike James, Mike Conley, Serge Ibaka, Andre Iguodala, Marc Gasol

Sports Brief MMA Rankings 5-10-13

Heavyweight:

1.      Cain Velasquez

2.      Junior Dos Santos

3.      Alistair Overeem

4.      Daniel Cormier

5.      Antonio Silva

6.      Fabricio Werdum

7.      Roy Nelson 

8.      Josh Barnett

9.      Frank Mir

10.  Mark Hunt 

Light Heavyweight:

1.      Jon Jones

2.      Lyoto Machida

3.      Dan Henderson

4.      Rashad Evans

5.      Alexander Gustafsson

6.      Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

7.      Glover Texieria

8.      Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

9.      Phil Davis

10.  Gegard Mousasi

Middleweight:

1.      Anderson Silva

2.      Chris Weidman

3.      Vitor Belfort 

4.      Chael Sonnen

5.      Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza

6.      Luke Rockhold

7.      Yushin Okami

8.      Mark Munoz

9.      Michael Bisping

10.  Hector Lombard 

Welterweight:

1.      Georges St. Pierre

2.      Johny Hendricks

3.      Carlos Condit

4.      Jake Ellenberger

5.      Rory MacDonald

6.      Nick Diaz

7.      Martin Kampmann

8.      Demian Maia

9.      Josh Koscheck

10.  Ben Askren 

Lightweight:

1.      Benson Henderson

2.      Gilbert Melendez

3.      Gray Maynard

4.      Anthony Pettis

5.      Michael Chandler

6.      Eddie Alvarez

7.      Josh Thomson

8.      Nate Diaz

9.      Pat Healy

10.  Jim Miller

Featherweight:

1.      Jose Aldo

2.      Frankie Edgar

3.      Pat Curran

4.      Ricardo Lamas

5.      Chad Mendes

6.      Cub Swanson

7.      Dennis Siver

8.      Dustin Poirier

9.      Eric Koch

10.  Chan Sung Jung 

Bantamweight:

1.      Renan Bareo

2.      Urijah Faber

3.      Michael McDonald

4.      Eddie Wineland

5.      Brad Pickett

6.      Bibiano Fernades

7.      Scott Jorgenson

8.      Eduardo Dantas

9.      Erik Perez

10.  Mike Easton

Flyweight:

1.      Demetrious Johnson

2.      Joseph Benevidez

3.      John Dodson

4.      Ian McCall

5.      John Moraga

6.      Jussier Da Silva

7.      Darrell Montague

8.      Louis Gaudinot

9.      Chris Cariaso

10.  John Lineker

Between Two Ferns + The Lonely Island = This Gem

Elway To Marino Thoughts

I recently watched the latest ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Elway to Marino.  It was great.  The film breaks down the 1983 NFL Draft with interviews from a ton of the players that were picked that year, GMs, and the most significant guy was the agent for BOTH John Elway and Dan Marino.  This dude kept notes from all his conversations back then, without him, this doc doesn't happen. 

My biggest takeaways from Elway to Marino?  Easy.

John Elway is a dink. 

For those of you not old enough to remember the '83 draft (me) or did not see the documentary, you will realize that Elway was the original Eli Manning, but worse.  The guy who was going to be the top pick, but did not want to play for that team.  Eli didn't want San Diego and orchestrated a trade to the Giants.  Elway meanwhile was light years ahead of every other prospect in the draft (which was loaded) and he made it clear that he did not want to play for the Baltimore Colts.  This much I knew, but the film shows what an a-hole Elway was back then.  He wanted to play for basically any other team and threatened to just play for the Yankees (he was an outfielder) if the Colts picked him.

The Colts did pick him.  Good for them.  Although they got a crap deal from Denver when they dealt him.  The rumored offers for Elway were insane, just about every team in the league trying to get in. 

6 QBs were taken in the 1st round of the 1983 Draft.  And they were picked in this order...

1. John Elway, Baltimore Colts
7. Todd Blackledge, Kansas City Chiefs
14. Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills
15. Tony Eason, New England Patriots
24. Ken O'Brien, New York Jets
27. Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins

3 Hall of Famers in there, not awful.  Kelly actually played in the USFL before joining the Bills.  O'Brien was a little better than I originally thought (2-time Pro Bowler). 

But Todd Blackledge?  Jesus.  Chiefs took him ahead of Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.  What a mess.  Also the Patriots might have had a different 80s-90s with Marino over Eason, might have.

The 1st round also featured RB Eric Dickerson, OL Bruce Matthews, and CB Darrell Green.  All Hall of Famers. 

To recap...

John Elway is/was a spoiled turd.  One of my 5 least favorite athletes of all-time.  I mean look at this guy...

Todd Blackledge should be considered MUCH more of a draft bust than he is.  7th overall and 2nd QB?? Yikes.

'83 draft was loaded: Elway, Dickerson, Matthews, Kelly, Marino, Green...

Give this 30 for 30 a watch on demand.

J.A. Happ Hit In Head With Line Drive

Scary, scary stuff down in Tampa tonight when Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ was drilled in the head with a line drive. This is the worst kind of injury you're going to see in a baseball game.

Phil Kessel WILL Drop The Gloves

Every Bruin fan wants to see Phil Kessel fight Brad Marchand, or anyone for that matter. I actually like Kessel and think he gets too much crap, which is not a popular opinion around Boston. But for those saying he never fights (he doesn't) here is his first "fight." Ok, he's a goal scorer not a fighter. He is on Team USA though, so he has my support. Give em hell Phil!

Why Voting Carmelo Over LeBron Makes No Sense

By now you have all heard that Heat F LeBron James won his 4th NBA MVP Award over the weekend.  He received 120/121 1st place votes.  Today we learned that Celtics beat writer Gary Washburn, of the Boston Globe was the lone outlier.  He voted instead for Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony, preventing LeBron from being the first unanimous winner.  He wrote why he voted the way he did and has been making the rounds on local and national radio all day. 

He was wrong.  Here's why.  

No matter what your rhetoric is for MVP, LeBron James was the only choice.  Let's take a look.  

Carmelo led the league in scoring  (28.7 points per game), LeBron was 4th, less than 2 points back (26.8).  But LeBron shot a significantly better percentage from the floor (56.5 to 44.9) and from 3 (40.6 to 37.9).

One of Washburn's big reasons for voting for Carmelo was that he led the league in scoring.  Tracy McGrady led the league in scoring twice.  He finished 4th in MVP one of those years and didn't receive a SINGLE VOTE in the other.  

LeBron averaged more rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and minutes as compared to Carmelo.  The assist number was particularly lopsided (7.3 to 2.6).  Who makes their teammates better?  If you want to add the assist-points onto their scoring you get (41.4 for LeBron and 33.9 for Carmelo, and that's calculating just 2 points per assist.)

LeBron had 36 double-doubles, Carmelo had 10.

LeBron missed 6 games all season (in the final month of the year for rest), Carmelo missed 15.

LeBron finished 2nd in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, Carmelo finished 2nd to last (can't confirm this.)

If you like PER (Player Efficiency Rating) that's also in favor of LeBron: 31.67 (1st); Carmelo: 24.83 (4th)  

If you vote based on statistics, it's obvious.  If you vote on simply best player, it's obvious.  If you want to come up with some off the wall/ I'm sick of voting for LeBron theory, then you find a way to vote for someone else.

But if your argument is, "He led the Knicks to their first division title in 19 years.  That's a long time."  What about Chris Paul?  

Chris Paul led the Clippers to their first division title in.... EVER.  First title in franchise history.  Seems more historically significant to me.  

Another "reason" to vote for Carmelo was the theory that without him the Knicks don't make the playoffs and without LeBron the Heat are still a top team.  Well it's a small sample size, but New York went 7-8 this year without Anthony.  That pace would have beat out the Bucks for the 8 spot.  

The Knicks won the division in large part because the Celtics were far worse than expected/ old/ just getting through the regular season.  Deron Williams played hurt for most of the season.  The 76ers got 0 minutes from Andrew Bynum after trading for him, and the Raptors are awful.  Now, the Heat didn't play in a world-beating division either, but to say Melo gets your vote cause he scored a lot of points and the Knicks won the division seems weak.  

LeBron has better teammates.  Fact.  They did win 12 more games and have the best record in the NBA.  The Knicks finished with the 6th most wins in the league.  

If you really want to use the, "Without him where is his team reasoning?"  Then I assume Gary had James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Zach Randolph high on his ballot.  

Fact is LeBron has already been penalized for choosing to join forces with Wade and Bosh.  He should have been the MVP in 2011 (when Derrick Rose won), and everyone knew it, except not voting for him was the only way to say they disagreed with him leaving Cleveland, "The Decision," and the perception that he was taking the easy way out to win titles.  That lasted one year and he has since won back-to-back MVPs in Miami, and 4 out of 5 overall.  

Look, I'm not a LeBron apologist.  In the words of Manti Te'o, "Far from it.  Faaarrrrr from it."  I actually like Carmelo more, but to think he was the MVP over LeBron is crazy.  Michael Jordan missed out on some MVPs simply because writers were sick of voting for him.  LeBron has raised the bar for this generation and is without question the best player in the game.  To vote for someone else when he continues to put up insane numbers, because a guy made a team relevant again, or because he was the scoring champ?  Makes no sense.  

Yes I understand that LeBron still won it this year.  But I don't understand how an NBA writer doesn't agree with that.  This wasn't a Duncan or Kidd, Duncan or KG, Dirk or Nash or Kobe type of year.  This was clear cut.  Maybe what LeBron is doing is being taken for granted... by one Boston writer anyway.

-Keefe

Podcast: Keefe & B. Robb on Celtics

Keefe and Brian Robb (CelticsHub.com) talked Celtics future this weekend. And now you can listen to it today.

May The 4th Be With You

Dork!  Don't care.  I love me some Star Wars.  And I'll even give you an upset I liked Episode III and even Episode II a bit.  Everyone trashes the prequels, and rightly so, but I celebrate the entire catalog. 

My rankings:

1. Episode V: Empire Strike Back
2. Episode IV: A New Hope
3. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4. Episode: VI: Return of the Jedi
5. Episode II: The Clone Wars
6. Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Sid The Kid Is Back

Penguins star Sidney Crosby is back tonight and already lighting it up.  His head gear look familiar?

The key is in the dude's stomach Sid!


-Keefe

Big Money Boston Parlay

I tweeted it our earlier today (@Keefe21) but didn't pull the trigger. Here it is.

BRUINS WIN over Toronto Maple Leafs
CELTICS WIN over New York Knicks
RED SOX WIN over Toronto Blue Jays

If you throw that in a parlay (all outright wins)...

$100 bet nets you $1,350

I thought about it, but like a coward didn't put my money where my tweet was.  (That a coward move?  Not important.)

As we stand right now.
Sox lead 4-0 in the 5th
Celtics up 6 at the half
Bruins 2-1 in the 2nd

Hopefully some of you out there said, "Screw it, I'll give it a shot.  Boston Parlay!"

UPDATE:

All 3 win...

Celtics 92-86
Bruins 4-1
Red Sox 10-1

The parlay that got away....