Nervous

Alright Celtics, let's go. What the shit is going on here? Does anyone know? Could it be the Hawks want it more than we do? Could it be the injury to Paul Pierce? Could it have been the home court advantage? Are the Celtics taking Atlanta too lightly?

OHHHHH....

Could it be the coach?

Now, I'm usually opposed to linking Bill Simmons here. I like Bill Simmons, but it's pretty cliche to link what he writes. I say that because everyone likes Simmons and I like to showcase some writers you may not have read. Also, I think some people take what he says as gospel and it gets out of hand. Either way, check out his chat wrap from today. I thought I was the only one throwing things at Doc Rivers last night.

(For the record, I'm glad David Stern was there to see the disgusting officiating in the first half.)

A relatively humorous slant on Pierce's "menacing gesture" on Boston.com's blog. While I don't condone gang violence, I think the little white kid in front of the gang picture needs to be jumped. Aside from them having guns and all, would you be afraid of any of those gang members?

New PostSecret went up the other day.

Hawks in trouble tonight

Check out the Celtics blog today. Paul Pierce has been fined for what's being called a "menacing gesture" (the clip is on the blog). So Stu Jackson is fining Pierce, but not Al Horford for being a piece of shit?

Speaking of Horford, Peter May (yes! Finally!) weighs in on Horford all of a sudden being a loudmouth. Is this really what you want to do to this Celtics team, Al?

Last bit of Celtics material here. Just an interesting take on all the talking. Also, kudos to Doc Rivers for canceling practice in favor of a film session.

Lastly, no link, but I think Rondo got screwed for Most Improved this year. Can you honestly tell me you thought this guy would perform the way he did this season? Sure, he's got three Hall of Fame players running with him, but he's attained a level of maturity and swagger unmatched for a guy his age. He's one of the best rebounding point guards in the league and a newfound sense of confidence. I hope to see #9 in a Celtics uniform for another 15 years. That said, screw the individual titles, let's get a ring!

Celts win by twenty points tonight. That's the lock of the year.

Moving to the Patriots, meet the 2008 draft class! I don't know who most of these guys are, but I also didn't know who Richard Seymour, Asante Samuel, and Logan Mankins were. Did they end up being any good?

Good article here on memoirs if you're interested and how everyone is writing them nowadays. I'm betting about 50% of these suck. Chasing Sunsets is the wave of the future ... just saying.

Lastly, I'm pretty much overwhelmed with giddiness for the National Geographic Channel to run the special on the Battle at Kruger. If you haven't seen it, you're in for the best 8 minutes of your life.

Go Celtics!

Shut out at the lake

I was shut out at the lake yesterday with the fishing rod, but check out the pictures! What a day for being in the kayak!!

Syesha Mercado

As an American Idol fan (casual, really. I tend to only watch the people on DVR that I like, which this season is only one person), I should mention that I'm in love with this woman. In fact, I can't imagine a time when she's not part of my life from 8-9 p.m. every Tuesday night.

Syesha, if you're reading, I love you.

First round of the playoffs

"I'm the only player in the playoffs who scares Matthew Osgood."

I've been neglecting the NBA playoffs (on the website, not in real life), so I've decided to share some thoughts (and some links), if you'll allow me to.

• First I must mention this because for some reason comments aren't allowed on the main page. I'm still sunburned from my fishing trip, but my brother Jeff wanted to inform the readers that a few years ago, I got very badly sunburned. Relegated to the bow of the boat with a shirt on, I "cried" because the other boaters were out on the sandbar having fun. I wanted them to be closer so I could be part of the revelry. I complained about this and haven't heard the end. (To my credit, I had just gotten dumped, but there's no excuse for my behavior.)
• Kobe's 49 points last night were sick. He was hot from the onset, but all his scoring is not what needs applauding writes J.A. Adande. An always enjoyable Daily Dime.
• The Hawks are giving them Celtics their best shots (including some cheap ones), but the Celts keep rolling. Is it about time the NBA adopts a 1-16 ranking system regardless of division? If this season doesn't do it, no season will. C'mon David Stern, do the right thing.
• Anyone else hoping for Chris Paul and Deron Williams to match up at some point during the playoffs? And is it about time we take the "best point guard in the league" title from Steve Nash and give it to Paul? Who is in charge of this? I don't care about MVP trophies or paying dues in the league or whatever your argument is. Paul is the best PG in the NBA. Williams is third. Yea, I said it.
• With the Paul-Williams matchup in mind, is there anyone in the NBA who wants to play Dwight Howard right now? 27 ppg, 21 rpg so far? Are you serious? I know it's against the Raptors, but give the man his due.
• Everyone: "The Wizards might beat the Cavs." Lebron James: "No they won't."
• What happened to the Mavericks? This is no knock on the Hornets, but seriously, what happened?
• I promise you this won't happen often, a link to anything Scoop Jackson writes.
• I drunkenly wrote a friend that the Magic could win the title last night. Upon further review, my analysis should have been this, "there are just five teams with legitimate title hopes Boston, L.A., San Antonio, Utah, and New Orleans." Yes, you read that right. As a Boston fan, I will add I'd be terrified of none of them more than New Orleans.
  

Am I done?!

Some great news for me today! I think I'm officially done the book.

I know, I know. I've said that same phrase about ten or eleven times in my lifetime, but I've always been candid about my "continually updating and editing," which I think is important. There were two particular passages I was never happy with and one that someone suggested I "go deeper" into. After a couple months of fine tuning, today I've incorporated them into the entire story. Next step? Read the thing (again) in it's entirety for final edits (spelling, grammar, extra details).

It's time for me to really start shopping this bad boy pretty hard before I come up with alternate solutions like self-publishing (hey, Walt Whitman did it). I will keep you posted on how I feel about my "finished" project.

I do think it's time for me to move on to another literary venture. I have a good number of pages and ideas I could start paying more attention to rather than killing myself over the Sunsets project.

Sunburned

I'm horribly sunburned from yesterday's successful fishing outing. That's the price you pay when you don't wear sunscreen. On top of that, the Bruins unsuccessfully concluded their season last night. Kudos for staying on the ice a little longer than I thought they would have. The Bruins didn't really belong on the same ice the Canadiens do yet. It will happen. Now Boston sports fans can focus solely on the Celtics drive for #17.

Sad news coming out of Cambridge today. One of only two poetry exclusive book stores in the country will be closing soon. Probably worth a last visit.

Can you sum up your life in six words? Try this addicting website where you're asked to create a story in just six words.

Good article from WoJo (who else?) today on espn.com on the "one and doners" in college basketball. Interesting points. I'm glad he offered a solution rather than just casting blame. That doesn't happen very often. Well done.

Enjoy!

First day out

The first day of the fishing year for me today. I have no links. Here's some pictures while you enjoy the game!! Go Bruins!

Postsecret

I went to Borders today and opened a book I had seen on many occasions. It's got unique packaging and that's what stands out, but I've never opened it. I'm glad I did today. The book is called "PostSecret" and it's by a guy named Frank Warren. It's an art project where people anonymously create a postcard that shares their inner most secrets. Some are poignant, some are sad, and some are hilarious.

Here's the website. Apparently, it's updated every Sunday.

There are four books out. I'm addicted already.

Check out this feature on the legacies of Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. It's good stuff. You'll be surprised at your reaction.

Quick Bruins note: last night was a great way to continue a wildly entertaining series. All the pressure is on Montreal now. All the B's have to do is play the same game they have been playing. They can afford to take chances. Let's hope for an unhappy Tuesday for Canadien fans.

Onto the NBA. The Celtics start their quest for banner #17 tonight at home against the Hawks. Bob Ryan provided the goods this morning. Did you see the Celts are -8000 to win the series against Atlanta? Has that ever happened before?

Friday update

It's official! I'm on vacation. For the past two days, I renamed my classroom "Rancho Relaxo" after the retreat on The Simpsons. So basically, I gave tests and watched movies for two straight days. But now I don't know how to feel that there is a Rancho Relaxo in Toronto. I kinda want to go there. I also want to slap them for having such an awesome idea before I did.

In honor of the Bruins game five demolition of the Canadiens, here's what we all should be singing before the game (or even put on the Jumbotron).

For as much hell as I tend to give the Red Sox, I love Manny Ramirez. I also liked Jackie MacMullen's story on his hot start.

From the Joker, a list of the top 15 steals of the NFL Draft. I'll agree with Andre Reed being snubbed by being behind Terrell Davis. I've got a great Andre Reed story in my book that should be on the site. (I'll see what I can do.)

That's all I got for today. Happy Friday everyone.

A short one today

Missed yesterday, and a short one today. I've got next week off; if I start missing updates next week THEN you can call me a slacker.

I'll lead with this story coming out of Maine today. It's an interesting project to take part in and I'm pleased with the statistics. The 5% (you'll see what I mean) disgusts me. I can see how Mr. Bennett could be upset, but the results are encouraging.

Check out J.A. Adande on the NBA Playoffs starting this Sunday.

Also, Joker, Costello, and I have been handicapping the NBA Playoffs first round matchups for your gambling enjoyment.

Western Conference:
(1) L.A.- (8)Denver: We all pretty much agree that the Lakers will win this series in four or five games, with the lone Nuggets win coming (maybe) at home.
(2) New Orleans- (7) Dallas: A seven-game series with Chris Paul taking the point guard torch from Jason Kidd along the way.
(3) San Antonio - (6) Phoenix: An intriguing match here. The Suns have geared up all season to play the Spurs and here they are in round one. How can anyone bet against Tim Duncan even though the Suns took three of four this season?
(4) Utah - (5) Houston: We're thinking the Jazz win in five or six (only because the Jazz blow on the road and may drop a couple in Houston).

Eastern Conference:
(1) Boston- (8) Atlanta: Celtics sweep.
(2) Detroit- (7) Philly: Pistons sweep.
(3) Orlando- (6) Toronto: Magic in five or six.
(4) Cleveland- (5) Washington: Easily the best first round series in the East. We were thinking this could go seven. Cleveland should win a rematch of one of the most entertaining series from a couple years back. Don't be shocked to see the Wizards win, though. Also, don't be shocked if Lebron scores every time he gets the ball.

Obviously, the entertainment comes in the west. That's okay by me. Let the west beat each other and come to Boston for an ass-kicking.

Go Bruins!

(Sorry, no Bruins links today. A.) haven't read anything worth sharing B.) got yelled at for too much Bruins.)

Actually, not true. How can NESN possibly defend airing April baseball over playoff hockey tonight? Annoyed? Me too. Let's let them know!

More Bruins

I was inspired to look up Boston Bruins fights on youtube.com, which inevitably leads me to watching Terry O'Reilly beat people up. Here is the best one I've found. Take a good look at the clip at 2:00.

While you're at it, watch Cam Neely beat up Lindy Ruff.

And watch Bobby Orr's flying Stanley Cup winning goal.

Hockey Night in Boston

Needless to say, I'm very excited for tonight's Bruins playoffs game against the Canadiens. Hopefully, the B's can keep the momentum up from the last game. It'd be nice to see them close out at home with a win and get a chance to come back for game six. Here is what I liked today on the Bruins front.

An article on Milan Lucic by Kevin Dupont. I love the way Lucic has been playing this series. When he gets a little better shooting the puck, this kid could be something special unless we decide to trade him like the Bruins front office likes to do to good players.

Go Bruins!

On another front, I'm a huge fan of the Olympic Games, hence my being disturbed about the protests surrounding the games. I thought Jim Caple's piece today on Michael Phelps was welcoming. I'm looking forward to watching him break all sorts of records this summer.

Now, here is the first ever contest on TheMatthewOsgood. I want suggestions on who is the hottest Olympic athlete to watch out for. I don't care if the athlete stands no shot at winning a medal. I'd like to do some nominating. Let's get this going!

Yes, I am all over the place today, but I didn't like Noel Gallagher's plea to not let Jay-Z play the Glastonbury Music Festival. He seems a little out of line with this. Oasis sucks anyway.

Lastly, some (and by that, I mean just one of my students) have asked me if I was reading any new poetry for National Poetry Month (which is this month). The answer? Yes. I've been trying to read a few poems each night regardless of what I'm up to. I've been alternating between Charles Simic's new collection That Little Something and Charles Bukowski's Come On In.

Both are pretty good collections, though Bukowski does a better job providing humorous, mindless reading. I've also been writing a little more poetry lately, so I'll post when I have time to transcribe.

Enjoy the game(s) tonight!

Slow Monday

First off, how about those Bruins? Last night's game was the most intense, exciting, and nerve-wracking hockey game I've seen in a while. Not just Bruins' game, HOCKEY game. Both teams were flying up and down the ice, taking chances, and basically knocking the piss out of one another. I managed to curse Canadiens players first, then the team, then the fans, and eventually the entire country of Canada. Only in sports is this possible.

Now, I didn't see the print edition of the Globe, but I saw the online version of it, and I also saw the print version of the Eagle-Tribune. In both, the Red Sox beating the Yankees in game #13 of a 162 game season was the lead sports story. Am I missing something here? Come on, I know the Red Sox are the #1 team around here for most people, but when you have a hockey team play the most exciting game since Cam Neely was suiting up AND it's against the Canadiens AND it's in the playoffs? Get a grip.

Either way, I liked Shaughnessy today. And I liked Kevin Dupont's story on Savard.

The only other thing I got a chance at today was Tim Keown's Greg Maddux piece in ESPN the Magazine. I guess I failed to realize how many wins Maddux has. And I've interviewed Maddux with his shirt off; he definitely didn't do steroids. In all seriousness, he's a Hall of Fame pitcher, but more importantly, he was a classy guy who gave a young journalist the time of day when other "legends" shrugged me off *ahem* Mark McGwire *ahem*

Wish I had read some Masters coverage, but I didn't. Gotta be happy for Immelman. He played great this weekend.

National Champions!

For the fifth time, Springfield College Men's Volleyball reigns atop Division III. Read about it here.

In the Springfield College vein, I updated the random musings section.

Enjoy the final round of the Masters.

Spring is here??

Finally, warm weather has come back to New England. I hope I'm not jinxing it here. I've spent a good time of my day cleaning my car - inside and out - and driving around with the windows down remembering how good The Doors are on WZLX. Good stuff.

Gotta lead with the story of Masters leader Trevor Immelman by Gene Wojchiechowski. Inspiring story, though, as I tend to think with 400-word articles, there could be so much more here. Show, don't tell!

I've got to put this up here. It's Kobe Bryant jumping over a car. Is it real? Looks it. Even still, it's a cool video.

Gotta love the Daily Dime on ESPN. I'm still pissed that people aren't mentioning KG for MVP anymore, though if there was a player more deserving, it's Chris Paul, not Kobe. Don't give Kobe an award because he's due.

Finished Pistol by Mark Kriegel earlier this morning. Incredible book. What's riveting are the circumstances concerning his premature death inasmuch as the peculiarities of what he had "predicted," most notably him saying, "I don't want to play ten years in the pros and die of a heart attack at age 40" and his last words to his dying father being, "I'll see you soon." (The latter coming just nine months before his own demise. Definitely one that I recommend for sports fans.

An old (2004) article on the six million dollar man, Tom Wolfe, from The Guardian (U.K.)

A couple days hiatus

Sorry for the couple of days off; things are pretty hectic around here, but I've managed to get some writing done recently, just not enough reading, hence no links lately.

A belated congrats and "I told you so" to the Kansas Jayhawks. For a while I was pretty convinced John Calipari knew that I had bet against him three times in a row and lost, so he kept winning. I like Coach Cal, but what did he have against me?

Anyway, the latest on the Olympics. Not very encouraging. You should know this disgusts me. I think I should write more on this. I just don't understand why people have to be mad about EVERYTHING. Thanks, Obama, for making me hate you more.

This was brought to my attention by my friend Joker. As he put it, "Can you imagine if this was your job? It's April and some guys get to spend weeks working on stupid articles like this. What a life!"

Encouraging news out of Bruins camp. It'd be nice to have Patrice back, but don't rush him. The B's only have four more games this season. Can it be made known, officially, that I hate the Montreal Canadiens?

In the same vein, here are the top ten teams I can say I hate:

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. New York Jets
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. Miami Dolphins
5. Notre Dame everything
6. Los Angeles Lakers
7. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Duke Blue Devils
9. New Jersey Nets
10. Ithaca College

Here's a good stat. Go figure. People watch the Celtics now? I hate bandwagon jumpers. If there are more than twelve people who are truly happy about the Celtics winning the championship this season, most of them will be liars about "I've been a fan forever!"

(Nope, not bitter yet.)

Thanks to all who voted in the hottest Osgood competition. I guess I should be glad that my friends are the ones visiting this site.

Final Day of College Hoops

This, of course, is a sad day for me. It hangs on me like the Monday morning football season is over. Sure, I love the NHL Playoffs and I love the NBA. But there is something about college basketball I like a lot. It's a tough run without it. I'll enjoy tonight's game tremendously.

Onto the links:

On an episode of the show Iconoclasts, the producers hooked up Sean Penn and Jon Krakauer, who is my favorite author. During the show, he mentioned research for his new book, but nothing of the subject nor the day on which it should be arriving on bookshelves. Well, I found the answer! (It's about halfway down. The book jacket is at the top of this page.)

On that front, Chuck Klosterman also has a new book on the way. For the Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons) fans, a friend of mine spoke with him recently. He said the book in finished and will be released probably in the Springtime in coincidence with the Angels & Demons movie.

I've enjoyed this "On My Mind" section of the Boston Globe lately. Yes, it's voyeuristic, but it's fascinating.

Mark Feeney of the Globe just won a Pulitzer for criticism. Here's a piece on solitude in Edward Hopper's artwork. I liked this piece because it was a more erudite essay than one I've been working on. (That should be up soon)

This protesting of the Olympic Torch is really frustrating me. I understand the recent transgressions in Tibet, but the Olympic spirit is about unification, not politics (hear that, Hillary?). Please, let's put these issues aside (note: I didn't say "ignore") for the spirit of the greatest sporting event in the world. Is there a way to stay unified during all this?

Funny stuff by Jim Baker on espn.com. Check out your favorite MLB team's rejected slogans.

Some Patriots news. Just a quick hit on Wes Welker.

Lastly, a Marc Spears story on Kevin Garnett. Can you tell I didn't spend much time away from The Globe and ESPN today? Regardless, some good stuff was printed today.

Kansas, my preseason National Champions, +2.5 tonight.
(I must admit, though, Memphis is scaring the hell out of me.)

Update

One of two isn't bad. I got Kansas right, but no UCLA. I guess now I can just be a fan rather than rooting for a couple thousand dollars.

No links today; I did update the poetry section though with something new.

Enjoy your Sunday.

TGIF

"Hey, I'm Andy Roddick and I'm way more handsome than my brother."

I think most people are pretty excited about the coming weekend. Isn't it like that with most weekends? For me, I was ready for this for a few days now. I'm looking forward to some relaxation. Anyway, here are some things I've found appealing in the last couple of days. Enjoy.

The end of an era. I will miss Bob Lobel and his, ahem, influenced rants at the end of Patriots games. The saddest part is the stats about the decline in viewers. Why doesn't anyone watch the news anymore?

Apparently at the end of The Office last night, they aired footage a 15-year old playing the theme song. He has since passed away, which makes the story pretty touching. Nice job, NBC.

I enjoyed this article on espn.com about Andy Roddick finally overcoming Roger Federer. I was more intrigued, though, about the picture halfway down of Roddick's older brother. Not for nothing, but I'd be pretty upset (not to mention not as supportive) if I looked like that and my brother was as handsome as Andy Roddick. Just saying. I'm straight, I promise.

Also from espn.com, this article on the top 11 football movie moments was solid. However, ranking Jerry Maquire over Rudy? C'mon. And where's Darnell Jefferson catching the game winning pass from Joe Kane in The Program screaming "We're going to a bowl game!"?

I will try my very hardest to not get political on here. However, Ann Coulter's book review on Obama's Dreams From My Father was basically what I thought. (Yes, I read it. Shit, I was a journalism major, did you expect me to not look deeply into both sides?)

I hasten to add that Pandora.com has become one of my favorite sites. Play around. Seriously. It's awesome. I'm listening to a Notorious B.I.G. playlist that borders on my favorites things of all time.

This guy's kid will always have the dad who is a complete pussy. My dad works for U.S. Tobacco. Chewing tobacco put me through college. I will never talk down to people who chew.

This goes under the "Hey science, make up your mind" category. This is not to say I'm a total disbeliever in global warming. However, I live in Massachusetts. It's always cold here. I'm actually waiting for global warming. I will be happy about having a snow-less winer.

Kudos DON'T go to the Boston Globe for staffing someone at the NIT final between UMass-Ohio State besides their regular guy. No link today for you, Globe sports! I'm protesting.

Lastly, I'm away for the weekend, but here are my picks for the weekend:

UCLA (-2) over Memphis
Kansas (+3) over UNC

At the beginning of the year, I predicted a UCLA-Kansas final. I'm thisclose to being right. I'll disclose who I had winning on Monday.

The Plight of Allison Stokke

I thought I'd give you all something special seeing how there was no update yesterday. This is posted for a reason other than the University of California pole vaulter being smoking hot.

I stumbled across this article in the Washington Post today. Good journalism here, WaPo! You lament how sad it is that people are exploiting young women by ogling them on their website for readership, then not only do you write an article (complete with pictures!) on the young lady, but you link to the websites that feature Stokke. Way to work on that credibility!

She's a tremendous athlete, by the way, look at the records broken! Look at the form on the first picture!