Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu did in the Boston Celtics all afternoon and in the end he fired the final shot that sunk the Green quicker than a pyramid scheme 96-93 at the Amway Arena in Orlando FL on Sunday afternoon.

Turkoglu had a game high 27 points with 6 boards and 3 helpers in leading the Magic to their 28th win of the year. But it was Turkoglu’s final shot, a three as time expired with Paul Pierce in his face, that actually killed the Bostonians. Down by 10 after 3 quarters the Celtics came back to get the game even in the final seconds before Turkoglu’s buzzer stunner. The Magic had five players in double figures as Dwight Howard had 18 points,16 rebounds and 5 blocks, Rashard Lewis had 15 points and Maurice Evans and Brian Cook each put up 11 points.

The Celtics playing with out an injured Kevin Garnett were led by Pierce who had 24 points, 9 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals, Ray Allen chipped in 17 points, James Posey had 16 points and Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals.

Garnett, who was injured in the last game against Minnesota, missed the game with the abdominal strain.

Boston continues their Florida swing with a game in Miami against the Heat on Tuesday. Since starting the season 29-3 Boston has gone 5-5 in it’s last 10 games.

With a light snow falling in Foxboro the New England Patriots addressed several thousand fans inside Gillette Stadium prior to them leaving for Glendale AZ and Super Bowl XLII.The most notable Patriot NFL MVP Tom Brady was present and he addressed the crowd but not his foot injury. He walked free and easy, with no noticeable limp and no protective boot.

“Now this is the Foxboro faithful right here,” Brady said. “We could just play the game today.

“We’re going down there for one reason. The reason is to win and bring the trophy back to Foxboro.”

While there was no media availability on Saturday at the Patriots workout a source close to the quarterback told ESPN’s Wendi Nix that Brady was present and accounted for and was seen jogging and taking part in some drills.

The Patriots will arrive in Arizona later today, practice tomorrow and be on the field for media day on Tuesday. The Giants leave for Glendale on Monday.

Links to the video of Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau from the festivities after the jump.

Continue reading →

This video comes to us from one of my 18 cousins, Caroline. And for the record, that is not her in the video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqiw-Kqtlr0[/youtube]

And no I am not talking about Rudy Giuliani.

For those of you with ups or hops or whatever the kids are calling it these days, this is your chance to help former UConn star Rudy Gay win the NBA Slam Dunk contest in February. He will be competing against Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Jamario Moon of the Toronto Raptors and last years winner Gerald Green of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Green was a member of the Boston Celtics when he won.

All Rudy wants you to do is submit a video of a dunk which you think he could use to win the contest. If he likes your dunk, he will use it. For all the information and rules on the contest check out the video below

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3FbX-17iOY[/youtube]

And for your viewing pleasure, some of the dunks Rudy has done in his brief NBA career.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rD6UeS-ZkeI[/youtube]

No video for y’all today but a few more links than normal, some of which do have video.

Top Ten Tuesdays: You’re Uselesser Than Useless [Yankees Chick]

At Least It Wasn’t Her First Name [Center Field]

Josh Beckett pitches to Kosuke Fukudome – in 1997 [Home Run Derby]

Roger Clemens to Appear on FOX’s “The Moment of Truth”? [Oriole Post]

Prank Callers Terrorize Big East Coaches (w/ Audio!) [The Big Lead]

Take That Michelle! [Awful Announcing]

Clink, Clink, Another Drink (Dana Jacobsen vodka pictures) [Baseball Musings]

How Not to Throw A Superbowl Party [Ladies…]

Super Bowl (Waiting) Ahoy! [Townie News]

Madison Square Garden: Sort of like Italy in the 1930s [We Are the Postmen]

SUPER BOWL XLII PROPOSITION BETS [You Been Blinded]

Twins Marry Morneau [Babes Love Baseball]

Super Bowl Firsts – Group Participation [Casey’s Clipboard & Wally’s World]

This guy make Wily Mo look wimpy [Red Sox Monster]

Please take a moment to help out a fellow Red Sox blogger, The Joy of Sox, who lives north of the border in Canada as he tries to become the top sports blog in Canada.

I just came across on UConnHuskies.com:

University of Connecticut sophomore men’s basketball players Jerome Dyson (Rockville, Md.) and Doug Wiggins (East Hartford, Conn.) have been suspended indefinitely from the team for violation of team rules, it was announced Friday at the team hotel by head coach Jim Calhoun.

Neither player accompanied the team on its trip to Indiana, where the Huskies will play the Hoosiers Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Assembly Hall.

And this quote comes via the Hartford Courant from head coach Jim Calhoun:

“It obviously isn’t something that is making me particularly happy,” Calhoun said shortly after arriving at the team hotel Friday. “This particular suspension is mine, no one else’s. I took the action based upon what I felt was in the best interest of our basketball team and the university.”

Umm folks, this isn’t good. This comes at a bad time for the Huskies as they have been playing well lately and had a chance to beat Indiana tomorrow. Now, I’m not so sure. But I am sure Calhoun had ample reason to suspend them.

This is Wiggins second suspension this season as he was banned from the locker room for part of the preseason.

Those that accuse New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick of not having a sense of humor, have never seen or been to one of his press conferences.

This comes from Mike Reiss from the Boston Globe’s Reiss’ Piece’s blog:

Patriots coach Bill Belichick held his Thursday press conference (10:50 a.m.) at Gillette Stadium. It didn’t take long before he was asked about QB Tom Brady and his health.

“I don’t have any comment on it,” Belichick said.

Asked if Brady would have a full workload in practice, Belichick said: “We’ll go out there and I don’t know. The injury report will be out next Wednesday, and we’re excited to give that to you. I can’t wait to give that to everybody.”

That drew some laughter by those in the media workroom.

I understand he closed with “try the veal, I’ll be here all week”.

The Atlanta Falcons have named Mike Smith their new head coach replacing Bobby Petrino who fled to Arkansas after only 13 games of a four year deal.

Smith who had been the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator signed a four year contract worth between $8 million and $10 million. This is Smith’s first stint as a head coach at any level, but he is a nine-year league veteran and has served the past five seasons as the Jacksonville defensive coordinator. Under his stewardship, the Jacksonville defense was statistically ranked among the top six in the league on three occasions. Before joining coach Jack Del Rio’s staff in Jacksonville, Smith was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive line coach for three seasons, 1999-2001.

Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff says the 48-year-old Smith, a 26-year coaching veteran, “has strong experience with winning teams, a track record of success, a solid, smart approach to the game, and high character and integrity.”

Smith was one of seven candidates interviewed for the job, some prior to Dimitroff’s hiring as the general manager earlier this month. He is the third head coach hired by the Falcons since 2004.

New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker gets some touch up done on his makeup for a “Got Milk?” ad Tuesday in Mansfield MA during the Super Bowl bye week. In case you didn’t know they generally use yogurt to create the “milk” moustache.

It’s probably a good thing Wes shaved off that porn ‘stache he was growing a few weeks back, might have sent a mixed message to the kids.

Just a day after being spurned by Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, the Baltimore Ravens have named John Harbaugh their new head coach replacing Brian Billick.

Harbaugh spent last season as Philadelphia’s secondary coach after previously being their special teams coach. He has never been a head coach at any level. Harbaugh, who got a four year contract for around $8 million will be introduced on Saturday to the Baltimore media.

He replaces Billick who was fired on New Year’s eve after nine seasons as the coach, which included a Super Bowl win in 2000.

Harbaugh who also coached in the college ranks at Miami University (Ohio), Western Michigan, Pittsburgh, Morehead State and Cincinnati before joining the Eagles in 1998. He was a finalist for the UCLA coaching position last month and for the Miami Dolphins job last season.

Harbaugh is the brother of current Stanford head coach and former Raven quarterback Jim Harbaugh.

With the hiring of Harbaugh that leaves only Atlanta and Washington seeking new head coaches.