Awful Officiating

I try not to blame too much of the outcome on officiating, honestly I do.  Referees are only human, they are bound to make mistakes.  It happens.  When it happens it can be a crushing blow to your team, but at times your team may be the beneficiary of a blown call.  Over time it should all even out.  It's easy for us to sit at home, with the benefit of slow motion HD replay, and point out every mistake.  It's much harder to make those calls on borderline plays in real time.  I understand that, really I do.

That being said, this Miami-Boston series is turning into a disgrace in officiating.  We're only two games in and already the storylines of this series are being overshadowed by debating the questionable officiating.

The story in Game 1 was the 5 technical fouls called on the Celtics.  Ok, so one of them was for illegal defense, that's fair.  But what about the one called on mild mannered Ray Allen?  What could he possibly have said to deserve a tech?  We know what Doc Rivers said to deserve his.  All he shouted was "C'Mon Ed!" at referee Ed Malloy in protest of a missed call.  Talk about a quick trigger.  It's amazing that a Celtics player didn't end up getting ejected from that game just for looking at a referee the wrong way.  The bogus technicals left a sour taste in the mouths of the Celtics players and fans, but it's not the reason they lost Game 1.  The Heat outplayed a Celtics team that was clearly running on fumes after wrapping up a grueling 7 game series against Philadelphia just two nights earlier.  The better team one that night, regardless of the questionable calls.

Game 2 was a different story.  This game was tightly contested to the end, which didn't end until after an overtime period was played.  The Celtics played about as well as they possibly could have, but still fell short.  Unlike in the previous game though, the questionable calls against Boston did impact the outcome of the game.  Here are just a few examples of how the officials worked against the Celtics late in the game:

Eastern Conference Finals Preview

Who could have believed the Celtics would even make it this far?  Not when they limped into the All-Star break at mid-season with a 15-17 record while clinging to their chances for a postseason spot.  Not when rumors had swirled about breaking up the team.  Pierce to New Jersey?  Ray to LA?  With Rondo's name repeatedly being heard in loud whispers around the league about being on the trading block as well?  The outlook looked bleak at the time, but Danny Ainge's bold decision to keep the team intact for what may be it's last run together has paid off with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

A strong second half surge, triggered by a revitalized Kevin Garnett's move to the center position and the emergence of Avery Bradley, pushed Boston to their 5th straight Atlantic Division title and the fourth seed in the East.  After dispatching a feisty Hawks team in round 1 and outlasting the Sixers in an ugly second round, the Celtics continue to roll toward another Conference title.

Standing in their way is the star studded Miami Heat.  In this series the Celtics will be at the disadvantage of not having the best player in the series for the first time this postseason.  With their dynamic duo of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, it's fair to say the Heat easily boast the two best players in the series and perhaps two of the top five players in the league.  This is why not many people are giving Boston a chance in this series.

What to do about Youk

The Red Sox will soon have a difficult decision on their hands.  With the impending return of Kevin Youkilis on the horizon, the question focuses on what to do with young phenom Will Middlebrooks.

Youkilis has been out since the beginning of the month with a back strain, but yesterday he began a rehab assignment with the team's AAA affiliate in Pawtucket.  He looked good in his return, serving as the DH, hitting a double, drawing a walk and scoring a run.  The team plans to have him take the field at third base today.

In his absence, Middlebrooks has shined.  He may not come with the hype of top prospects like Bryce Harper or Mike Trout, but playing with those guys in the Arizona Fall League last year gave him the confidence that he could play at their level.  In 13 games since his May 2nd call up, the rookie has a .278/.316/.593 slash line.  In only his fourth game with the big league club he belted his first career home run, a grand slam.  He followed that up the next night with a two homer game.  He became just the third player in league history to hit at least 4 HRs and drive in at least 13 RBIs in the first 10 games to start a career.  Not bad for a debut.  Especially since it game after tearing it up in Pawtucket to start the season by hitting 9 home runs and driving in 27 runs in April before getting called up to the majors.  Granted these are all small sample sizes and he won't necessarily keep up that torrid early pace.  Already he's begun slumping a bit in the past week or so as teams have started to adjust to him.  However, it's clear from what we've seen so far that this kid has a bright future. 

Seau death should be an eye opener for NFL

The tragic death of former NFL player Junior Seau sent shock waves through the league this week, while leaving behind a list of unanswered questions. While we may never know the true reason for what moved Seau to take his own life, it's reasonable to speculate that head trauma suffered during his career may have played a part. If that's the case then this tragedy should open some eyes amongst NFL officials.

Junior Seau played 20 years in the NFL with the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots.  In his younger years he was a defensive force in leading the team to a Super Bowl in 1994.  Patriots fans will remember Seau after spending the last 4 years of his career in New England.  He was part of the historic 16-0 season in 2007 and was often praised by coach Bill Belichick and his teammates for his veteran leadership.

Seau's death appears to have been the result of a self inflicted gun shot wound to the chest, which is eerily similar to the fate suffered by another former player, Dave Duerson. After his unfortunate death last year, a suicide note from Duerson was found that asked that his brain be donated to science to study the effect that brain damage caused by head trauma, such as concussions, may have had on his post-career life. It was concluded that Duerson suffered from degenerative brain disease from repeated head trauma, which can lead to depression. There have been no definitive studies linking concussions to suicide, but Duerson sure seemed to think there was. While Seau left no note behind, the fact that he copied Duerson's methods of shooting himself in the chest, to preserve the brain, sends a message in itself.