The Boston Globe reports:

The Celtics are expected to announce the signing of free agent forward Glen Davis to a contract, and have scheduled a press conference for 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Davis, a restricted free agent, agreed to a two-year contract during weekend negotiations.

What else is new?
* The Red Sox choked up a 4-game series to Satan’s spawn. I had no idea I was following so many damn Yankees fans on Twitter until this weekend. Most of them are pretty cool which makes it that much worse. Rotten bastards.  My mom tried to tell me the Sox were starting to suck about a month ago and I called her chicken little and told her to chill out. I hate it when she’s right! I blame Dice-K. No wait, J.D. Drew… Unless no – it’s Papi’s fault or that damn Bucholtz, no it’s… oh blah. 

Back like a bad penny
* Ben Wallace is returning to the Detroit Pistons for the veteran’s minimum. BDL’s Kelly Dwyer breaks it down…

Hey Sheed, welcome to Boston!

Celtics v. Hawks 104-92

Ahem. STILL not a rivalry. So let’s stop the crazy talk. The Bobcats are more of a rivalry for christsake.

Celtics v. Bobcats 111-109

Double overtime? Jesus. Shuttlesworth, to be exact. FTW!

Celtics v. Thunder 103-84

I can’t look at them anymore and not think of them as the adorable “baby Thunder” thanks to Hornets Hype. I’m sure someday, they’ll come into their own and start kicking the collective asses of good teams and I won’t think they’re so cute then. They’re probably eagerly awaiting that day. Until then, though… aren’t they precious?!

More NBA musings

• I found myself cheering for the Spurs today over the Cavs. It had nothing to do with the Celtics, I’m just slowing getting tired of Lebron and the way he’s called by the refs. Also, lately I’ve been finding myself loving Tim Duncan. Who am I? I’m scared. Hold me.
• Allen Iverson went from being the star (Philly), to the co-star (Denver), to the non-star starter (Detroit), to the non-star bench player (Detroit). Can it really be that shocking that he’s spazzing out? I think not.
• RIP Phoenix Suns. I hope this isn’t Grant Hill’s last season. He is still a great contributor and I love watching him play.

So yesterday (like all my favorite Sundays) was one long series of NBA games. Two on ABC and the final one on ESPN. Then I watched all Hefner’s babes move out on him on The Girls Next Door. Here are my thoughts on those games:

1. Pistons @ Celtics – I’m not mad that the Pistons beat the Celtics. Well, that’s not true. I was kind of mad about losing on our home court. That blows. But, these are the dog days and losses are inevitable, so I’m not going to lose sleep over this loss or anything. However, I think it’s highly suspicious that the minute AI is out of the picture (bad back, pouting, what-ev) the team suddenly comes to life and plays like the old Pistons. Actually, I don’t blame them. I would probably handle that situation the same way. The whole “flip the switch” thing is getting a little old though. They aren’t the only ones “suddenly” coming to life though, which brings me to…

2. Lakers @ Suns – The Suns are another team that suddenly got their groove back once they got their way. And again, I don’t blame them. I have sympathy for losing your coach and beloved teammates. You know who doesn’t sympathize though? Jeff Van Gundy. Holy smokes, every chance he gets, he rips the team for laying down on Terry Porter and getting him fired. He has a point too, but I don’t blame the team for Porter’s predicament. It’s got to go on Steve Kerr and the owners. Oh yeah, the game. Well, the Suns held on and won. Shaq looked fantastic. The Lakers went on a couple of runs and there were a few typical amazing plays out of Kobe Bryant that made me go, “Whoa. Not fair.”

3. Cavs @ Hawks – Ended up watching this one very sporadically, but I did see the end. Holy drama. Tied with only a teeny tiny bit of time on the clock and Lebron on the line. Misses the first shot. Makes the second. Johnson misses the go-ahead bucket. Fin. I actually like the Cavs a lot more than the Hawks, but my Celtics loyalty forced me to want the Hawks to win to help our home court situation.

Oh yeah, and not long ago we lost to the Clippers. Mmmm, yeah.

Celtics v. Mavericks 124-100

This game was over about 10 minutes into the 1st quarter. I don’t have a great basketball mind by any stretch of the imagination, but from my pedestrian observation it would appear that some trades made in the past year or so have turned out to suck major monkeyballs. The Mavs, Suns and Pistons have all gone from above average teams to below average and it’s a peculiar sight to see. I’ve only been watching the NBA in earnest for a few years, so all I have to base my assessments on is 2006 to the present. When I first started watching games and really paying attention, Steve Nash was one of the best players in the league, the Pistons were a threat to win against every team they played and the Mavs had the best record in the league. The Lakers & Celtics were both bad. The Lakers were Pacers-bad and the Celtics were Clippers-bad. My how the worm has turned.

Thoughts on the game:

1. Where’s Leon? He’s in purgatory it seems. I miss yelling “Money in the Bank!”
2. Tony Allen is the opposite of Paul Pierce when it comes to pain tolerance. Infer what you will. [1/28 - Update: Ok, I take it back for now. He's in tonight's game and is playing with an awesome aggression that I didn't think he had. I'll shut my piehole for the time being.]
3. Dirk gave Scal a concussion with some swinging German elbows and Scal got called for the foul. That hardly seems fair. [Apparently, Scal got a second concussion from a play involving Patrick O'Bryant in practice, so he'll be out for at least a week. Shamefully, I will admit that my first thought was, "More Leon!" Sorry, Scal.]

Run ‘n Gun is quasi comical to watch. Run down the court, jack up a 3-point shot. Rinse. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I’m not saying it’s a bad game plan for the Knicks – because it’s certainly helped them win more games – but it’s still amusing to watch sometimes. Q-Rich can play. I don’t like him, but he can play. He seemed to get the better of Paul Pierce last night. Not that it mattered. Nate Robinson is fun to watch. He had an impressive put-back last night. There was a missed shot and then little tiny Nate came flying out of nowhere for the jam (over my boyfriend. tsk tsk.) Rondo had a big game. Again. What a juggernaut. He scored a career high 26 points. Tommy Heinsohn had me ROTFL at one point because he got so pissed off about some physical play from the Knicks, that he actually put out a bounty on Nate Robinson! (First he said someone should lay out one of their “little guys” to send a message and then he said, “One of our guys should really deck Nate Robinson on the next play in retaliation [for shoving Rondo out of bounds to prevent a layup].”) Lol. Tommy’s hardcore, yo. In other news, Big Baby got in a car accident on the way to the Garden yesterday. Poor guy. Get well soon BB!

Celtics v. Bulls 126-108

The Bulls are a hot mess. They have some extremely talented players, but epitomize the mantra that it takes teamwork to win. They still don’t play together. Derrick Rose is impressive, but he’s still a rookie. I think in a year or two, they’re going to be a Hornets-esque team. Which means they’ll be good and a sexy pick, but still missing something that would get them over the hump.

Random musings

People seem surprised that the Pistons are struggling so much. Why is this surprising? I’m not a hater, but has Iverson ever made any team better? Also, if there’s any position that you can’t just “swap out,” it’s point guard, is it not? I’m not an expert on the Pistons, but they were always a team I liked and had a lot of respect for. I hated this trade when it happened and I still hate it.

Reports out today that Manny expects to be offered a 3-year deal from the Yankees. Manny expects? How does that work exactly?

Yesterday’s Patriots game was fun. What the hell was up with letting Leinart get a touchdown though? Come on now. Shutouts are so much more satisfying. The Jets lost (YES!) but the smelly Dolphins won (BOO!) so we still might not make the playoffs. Either way though, I’m happy with this season. It could’ve been better, but it really could’ve been so much worse. When Tom Brady went down in game one, I really thought we were toast. Who knew Matt Cassel was such a stud? I’ve been a USC football fan for years and even I barely had a line on this guy.

I miss Gino. The Celtics have been winning, but there’s been a decided lack of Gino on the jumbotron, at least from the home television vantage point. I want Gino!

I’m not gonna lie. I totally spaced on this game and watched the Patriots KICK JOEY PORTER’S TRASH TALKING ASS take care of business against the Miami Dolphins instead. I DVR’ed the morning re-airing, but I’m not sure if I’ll bother to watch it or not. It appears to have been a rout. Speaking of routs, I heard the Pistons got vanquished by the Timberwolves. Holy inconsistency Batman. Right around the time that they gave the Lakers their first loss of the season, I thought I was going to have to take back my initial pronouncement that the Pistons would be lost without Chauncey Billups. Hmm, guess not.

Celtics @ Timberwolves 95-78

It’s so bittersweet for me every time we play the Timberwolves. I feel like I’m watching Celtics varsity vs. Celtics jv (no offense to Big Al, who I adore). If I’m not careful, sometimes I find myself cheering for my old team. There will always be a place in my heart for Big Al, Ryan Gomes and Delonte West [when I watch the Cavs]. I miss them. Sigh.

There’s something rotten in Denmark when I have to worry more about the Celtics playing the Hawks than the Pistons. The Celtics seem to have the Pistons number though. I would’ve expected this game to be a lot closer, but it was pretty much over about halfway through. It would’ve been nice if the Pistons would’ve just conceded the win to the C’s so we could start the Lakers/Suns game early… then I would’ve actually been able to watch it.

What a comeback. Paul Pierce had 22 points in the 4th quarter. Wow. He was in a zone and completely took over the game. I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were behind most of the night and then WAM, they woke up and threw up the pressure defense and PP just went off. Un-freakin-real.

Celtics @ Pistons | 88-76

The Celtics played monster defense and ultimately won by 12 at the Palace. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Pistons. I figured they’d either looked discombobulated or AI would provide some sort of amazing energy spark that would leave the Celtics breathless. Thankfully for the Celtics, it was more of the former. I don’t like the Iverson trade for Detroit. I don’t think it’s going to work. Time will tell though.

Celtics @ Bucks Celtics v. Bucks | 101-89

This was another game that I hardly watched. Mainly because I can’t stand the design on the Bucks floor. There are certain arenas that just hurt my eyes.

NBA: Allen Iverson to the Pistons? Billups to Denver? I did not see that coming. I will have to visit my favorite Pistons blogs to see how that news is going over.

Patriots: I couldn’t watch. Based on all the post-game analysis I’ve listened to today, I’m glad I didn’t. *sigh* Also, there is just something that still frosts my cookies every time Adam V. (too lazy to Google the last name for correct spelling) kicks a game winner against the Pats. Grrrr.

Manny: Latest from the worldwide leader has spawn-of-Satan uber-agent Scott Boras sitting down with the Dodgers to haggle over Mannywood’s services. I’m still crossing my fingers for the Yankees. Something about putting Manny and A-Rod together into the utlimate haterade sandwich would just make my life complete.