Hopefully no Boston Celtics players showed up to the first day of practice assuming coach Doc Rivers was going to take it easy on them. By the time media were allowed in the gym at Salve Regina University’s Rodgers Recreation Center, guys looked flat-out exhausted — some more than others.
It was easy to understand why. Tuesday’s practice went nearly three hours.
“It was a long practice,” Rivers said.
The workout seemed to take its toll on center Shaquille O’Neal. As the team ran full-court transition offense drills near the end of practice, O’Neal was a bit slower than usual getting up and down the floor. And while other players caught the ball near the hoop and dunked it, Shaq opted for a layup each time, barely leaving the ground in the process.
“Shaq looked great,” Rivers said. “Mostly everybody made it through practice. I thought, the last hour, you could see that they had run three hours.”
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
R.I. high school football poll Week 2
Rogers, on the strength of its 34-32 victory over Burrillville on Saturday, made the biggest jump of local teams in the poll this week, moving up four spots to No. 16.
Portsmouth, which is 2-0, is now ranked No. 4, and Middletown bumped up two spots to No. 11.
This week, there's a few big showdowns. In Division III, Middletown plays No. 14 Narragansett, while Portsmouth hosts No. 5 La Salle. Rogers, meanwhile, hosts Lincoln.
Team Points Last year
1. Hendricken (7) 216 1t
2. East Providence (4) 211 1t
3. Barrington 192 6
4. Portsmouth 186 5
5. La Salle 166 3
6. Johnston 147 7
7. Cranston West 138 4
8. Mount Hope 133 8
9. Woonsocket 125 10
10. Cranston East 111 9
11. Middletown 102 13
12. Moses Brown 92 14
13. Toll Gate 72 18
14. Narragansett 55 NR
15. Shea 52 16
16. Rogers 44 20
17. Coventry 44 11
18. Central 38 NR
19. Chariho 36 NR
20. South Kingstown 29 17
Dropped from poll: Westerly (12), Ponaganset (15), Burrillville (19).
Also receiving votes: Tolman 26, Lincoln 25, Westerly 25, Exeter-West Greenwich 20, Ponaganset 10, Burrillville 6, West Warwick 2, Cumberland 1.
Portsmouth, which is 2-0, is now ranked No. 4, and Middletown bumped up two spots to No. 11.
This week, there's a few big showdowns. In Division III, Middletown plays No. 14 Narragansett, while Portsmouth hosts No. 5 La Salle. Rogers, meanwhile, hosts Lincoln.
Team Points Last year
1. Hendricken (7) 216 1t
2. East Providence (4) 211 1t
3. Barrington 192 6
4. Portsmouth 186 5
5. La Salle 166 3
6. Johnston 147 7
7. Cranston West 138 4
8. Mount Hope 133 8
9. Woonsocket 125 10
10. Cranston East 111 9
11. Middletown 102 13
12. Moses Brown 92 14
13. Toll Gate 72 18
14. Narragansett 55 NR
15. Shea 52 16
16. Rogers 44 20
17. Coventry 44 11
18. Central 38 NR
19. Chariho 36 NR
20. South Kingstown 29 17
Dropped from poll: Westerly (12), Ponaganset (15), Burrillville (19).
Also receiving votes: Tolman 26, Lincoln 25, Westerly 25, Exeter-West Greenwich 20, Ponaganset 10, Burrillville 6, West Warwick 2, Cumberland 1.
Monday, September 20, 2010
After halftime, not much went right
Looking only at the numbers, it appears New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a pretty good day Sunday against the Jets. He was 20-for-36 for 248 yards with two touchdowns. But in reality, he had a good half.
He hit his favorite targets - Wes Welker and Randy Moss - for touchdowns (Moss made a ridiculous one-handed grab for a 34-yard score) and the Patriots seemingly moved the ball at will in taking a 14-10 edge into the break.
But Brady turned the ball over three times after halftime, throwing two interceptions and fumbling on a critical drive deep in New York territory. Of those 248 yards, only 69 came in the third and fourth quarters, and none to Moss despite a number of passes thrown his way. Furthermore, Welker was non-existent in the second half.
"We couldn't do anything in the second half," Brady said. "We had a hard time gaining yards. We didn't do anything on third down. We couldn't gain anything on first or second down. We couldn't run it. We couldn't throw it.
"We just sucked. That's what it comes down to."
Hit the nail on the head there.
Mark Sanchez, Brady's counterpart at quarterback, had his coming out party (yeah, I know it's his second season and he's played in an AFC title game). He completed a career-high 21 passes for 220 yards and three scores.
The New England defense, which stood tall against the Bengals in Week 1, couldn't gain its footing against the Jets. They gave up tons of yards on the ground to LaDainian Tomlinson and, when they got into the red zone, the defensive backfield was defenseless.
It's only one game in a long season, but this loss doesn't bode well for the Pats, who must go back and take a long look in the mirror.
He hit his favorite targets - Wes Welker and Randy Moss - for touchdowns (Moss made a ridiculous one-handed grab for a 34-yard score) and the Patriots seemingly moved the ball at will in taking a 14-10 edge into the break.
But Brady turned the ball over three times after halftime, throwing two interceptions and fumbling on a critical drive deep in New York territory. Of those 248 yards, only 69 came in the third and fourth quarters, and none to Moss despite a number of passes thrown his way. Furthermore, Welker was non-existent in the second half.
"We couldn't do anything in the second half," Brady said. "We had a hard time gaining yards. We didn't do anything on third down. We couldn't gain anything on first or second down. We couldn't run it. We couldn't throw it.
"We just sucked. That's what it comes down to."
Hit the nail on the head there.
Mark Sanchez, Brady's counterpart at quarterback, had his coming out party (yeah, I know it's his second season and he's played in an AFC title game). He completed a career-high 21 passes for 220 yards and three scores.
The New England defense, which stood tall against the Bengals in Week 1, couldn't gain its footing against the Jets. They gave up tons of yards on the ground to LaDainian Tomlinson and, when they got into the red zone, the defensive backfield was defenseless.
It's only one game in a long season, but this loss doesn't bode well for the Pats, who must go back and take a long look in the mirror.
Friday, September 17, 2010
CELTICS ARE COMING BACK
Despite Paul Pierce's suggestion that the team take its preseason training camp elsewhere, the Boston Celtics announced today that they will return to Newport for a third straight year.
The Celtics again will make Salve Regina University's Rodgers Recreation Center their home away from home for a week at the end of the month, Kristine Hendrickson, Salve's associate vice president for university relations and chief communications officer, said today.
A notable change to the Celtics' visit this year is the elimination of the intra-squad scrimmage, which was open to the public the past two years on the team's last day here. Hendrickson said there won't be a public scrimmage, and overall, the team hopes to keep the camp more low key than it has been. Other than that, the format will be roughly the same.
The Celtics again will make Salve Regina University's Rodgers Recreation Center their home away from home for a week at the end of the month, Kristine Hendrickson, Salve's associate vice president for university relations and chief communications officer, said today.
A notable change to the Celtics' visit this year is the elimination of the intra-squad scrimmage, which was open to the public the past two years on the team's last day here. Hendrickson said there won't be a public scrimmage, and overall, the team hopes to keep the camp more low key than it has been. Other than that, the format will be roughly the same.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Family value
Among the many absurd happenings in the world of sports is the claim by millionaire athletes that they need to provide for their families, and thus, need more money.
The latest to suggest that his multi-million-dollar deal just isn’t enough to pay the bills is none other than Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss. The mercurial Moss went on a 16-minute rant about his contract, or lack thereof after this season, with New England on Sunday after the Patriots' win over Cincinnati.
He backtracked, slightly, on Tuesday, but said in an interview with the Associated Press that his family is, “looking for me for financial stability. Is that fair? No. But that’s life and I accepted that and that’s where I’m coming from. Hopefully, people will understand where I’m coming from. It’s not that I’m asking for 30, 40 million a year. I’m just asking for another contract.”
I’ll admit I am not, have never been and never will be a Moss admirer, but he’s insane. He’s scheduled to make $6.4 million this year, which is the last of a three-year, $27 million deal. What family couldn’t sustain itself with an average of $9 million a year? OK, maybe Antonio Cromartie’s family, and his 42 children — I kid, he only has seven ... by six different women.
By and large, I’m sick of players who are unhappy with the contracts they sign and demand more money. But at least some man up and admit that they just want to get paid.
The whole “I have to provide for my family” garbage barely works for guys playing under their rookie contracts. They haven’t had that big payday yet, so I’ll buy the financial stability claim for a little while.
Moss, however, has made more than $55 million in the past decade. Unless his four kids each own their own pro sports teams, the Moss family should be in pretty good shape financially.
Moss already is one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL. But if he wants to cash in one last time near the end of his career, fine. He should just admit that it has less to do with his family and more to do with greed. If he were honest about it, I might respect him a little.
The latest to suggest that his multi-million-dollar deal just isn’t enough to pay the bills is none other than Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss. The mercurial Moss went on a 16-minute rant about his contract, or lack thereof after this season, with New England on Sunday after the Patriots' win over Cincinnati.
He backtracked, slightly, on Tuesday, but said in an interview with the Associated Press that his family is, “looking for me for financial stability. Is that fair? No. But that’s life and I accepted that and that’s where I’m coming from. Hopefully, people will understand where I’m coming from. It’s not that I’m asking for 30, 40 million a year. I’m just asking for another contract.”
I’ll admit I am not, have never been and never will be a Moss admirer, but he’s insane. He’s scheduled to make $6.4 million this year, which is the last of a three-year, $27 million deal. What family couldn’t sustain itself with an average of $9 million a year? OK, maybe Antonio Cromartie’s family, and his 42 children — I kid, he only has seven ... by six different women.
By and large, I’m sick of players who are unhappy with the contracts they sign and demand more money. But at least some man up and admit that they just want to get paid.
The whole “I have to provide for my family” garbage barely works for guys playing under their rookie contracts. They haven’t had that big payday yet, so I’ll buy the financial stability claim for a little while.
Moss, however, has made more than $55 million in the past decade. Unless his four kids each own their own pro sports teams, the Moss family should be in pretty good shape financially.
Moss already is one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL. But if he wants to cash in one last time near the end of his career, fine. He should just admit that it has less to do with his family and more to do with greed. If he were honest about it, I might respect him a little.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
R.I. high school football poll Week 1
The high school season kicked off last week, with three of our four teams winning, but maybe the biggest surprise was the team that lost. Rogers had La Salle Academy on the ropes into the fourth quarter before falling 14-6. The result in the poll for the Vikings was a spot in this week's top 20.
Portsmouth, on the strength of a 25-6 victory over Mount Hope, moved into the No. 5 spot, while Middletown moved up a spot to No. 13 after beating Central Falls 32-0. Tiverton, which beat Hope 30-14, is receiving votes.
Again, the number in parenthesis is first-place votes, the next number is total votes and the last number is where the team was last week.
Team Points Last week
1t. Hendricken (5) 171 2t
1t. East Providence (2) 171 2t
3. La Salle (2) 158 1
4. Cranston West 155 4
5. Portsmouth 138 8
6. Barrington 115 9
7. Johnston 102 11
8. Mount Hope 98 5
9. Cranston East 94 6
10. Woonsocket 90 7
11. Coventry 89 12
12. Westerly 88 15
13. Middletown 67 14
14. Moses Brown 65 13
15. Ponaganset 61 16
16. Shea 47 NR
17. South Kingstown 36 10
18. Toll Gate 25 NR
19. Burrillville 18 20
20. Rogers 16 NR
Dropped from poll: Exeter-West Greenwich (17), Lincoln (18), St. Raphael (19).
Also receiving votes: Narragansett 15, East Greenwich 12, West Warwick 11, St. Raphael 8, Central 6, Lincoln 6, Tiverton 6, Tolman 3, Exeter-West Greenwich 2, Cumberland 1.
Portsmouth, on the strength of a 25-6 victory over Mount Hope, moved into the No. 5 spot, while Middletown moved up a spot to No. 13 after beating Central Falls 32-0. Tiverton, which beat Hope 30-14, is receiving votes.
Again, the number in parenthesis is first-place votes, the next number is total votes and the last number is where the team was last week.
Team Points Last week
1t. Hendricken (5) 171 2t
1t. East Providence (2) 171 2t
3. La Salle (2) 158 1
4. Cranston West 155 4
5. Portsmouth 138 8
6. Barrington 115 9
7. Johnston 102 11
8. Mount Hope 98 5
9. Cranston East 94 6
10. Woonsocket 90 7
11. Coventry 89 12
12. Westerly 88 15
13. Middletown 67 14
14. Moses Brown 65 13
15. Ponaganset 61 16
16. Shea 47 NR
17. South Kingstown 36 10
18. Toll Gate 25 NR
19. Burrillville 18 20
20. Rogers 16 NR
Dropped from poll: Exeter-West Greenwich (17), Lincoln (18), St. Raphael (19).
Also receiving votes: Narragansett 15, East Greenwich 12, West Warwick 11, St. Raphael 8, Central 6, Lincoln 6, Tiverton 6, Tolman 3, Exeter-West Greenwich 2, Cumberland 1.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday's high school scores
Girls soccer
Portsmouth 7, Cranston West 0
Tiverton 0, Mount Hope 0
Girls tennis
East Greenwich 7, Portsmouth 0
Portsmouth 7, Cranston West 0
Tiverton 0, Mount Hope 0
Girls tennis
East Greenwich 7, Portsmouth 0
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