By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Believe in Green.  The most successful franchise in NBA history is back in the NBA Finals.  Was there ever any doubt? In fact there was and you can put all the blame on the Bruins.  The B’s choke job against the Flyers caused the media to start a déjà vu narrative for Boston sports fans.  They should have known better.  The Celtics are not the Bruins.  They deliver the goods.  The Celtics are a championship team with gritty, gutsy players that thrive under playoff pressure.  So while the sports world was talking about the possibility of the Celtics coughing up a 3-0 series to the Magic, the Celtics remained calm and handled their business.
This postseason run has been utterly remarkable.  The Celtics were a .500 team the final 54 games of the season.  They were terribly inconsistent.  Boston won 50 games, which gave them the 4th seed in the East.  They would only be assured home court advantage in the first round.  Well guess what? None of that mattered.
Here’s what does matter and why the Celtics are just four wins away from Banner 18.  The Celtics have never lost a playoff series with a healthy [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
Not again.
Boston fans might be a little uneasy after the Celtics failed to sweep the Magic last night. This looks a little too much like the Bruins playoff series against the Flyers, and that didn’t end well. In fact, the similarity of the paths of our two Boston teams is downright scary.
How they compare:

Both took a three game lead with advancement looking like a sure thing.
Both had a blowout in game three, the Bruins winning 4-1, the Celtics 94-71.
Both teams fell short of a sweep in game four, losing in overtime.

The rest of the Celtics story remains unwritten as Boston fans tuck their Beat LA shirts away momentarily and pray they don’t await the same fate as their Garden counterparts.
And while nobody saw the Bruins fall from glory coming, a repeat for the Celtics is unlikely. They are not the Bruins. And here are a few reasons why they won’t let this series slip away.
Why:

The Celtics are a championship team. The memories of the last time the B’s won a Stanley Cup are foggy at best, but this Celtics team has already proven they can bring home a trophy. They’re a little bit older, but [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
In some ways the NBA Finals have already begun for the Celtics and Lakers. Of course the Magic and Suns could come back from their 0-2 holes to get to the promised land, but it doesn’t seem likely.
The Celtics are going home for two games and can clinch the series by taking them both.  The Magic need to beat the Celtics 4 out of 5 and win at least 2 games in Boston to win the series.  The Celtics haven’t lost a home playoff game yet this postseason.  Meanwhile the Lakers have won 8 playoff games in a row and Phil Jackson has never lost a playoff series when he’s up 2-0.  A collapse from the Celtics and Lakers wouldn’t be at a Bruins level, but it would be very surprising.
The Celtics and Lakers are eyeing each other.  The competition has begun. Both teams want to stay hot and finish their series’ quickly.  An epic NBA Finals is on the horizon as the two best franchises in NBA history are also clearly the two best teams right now.
This is when being a fan is so great. We don’t have to pretend like the players often [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The King is still without a ring.  The King is of course LeBron James, and from the media coverage since the Cavs were eliminated from the playoffs, you’d think there was no more basketball left to play and the LeBron free agent sweepstakes are beginning this week. Well, actually, free agency won’t begin until July and there is plenty more basketball to be played.  LeBron just won’t be a part of it.  To quote Jerry Seinfeld, “that’s a shame.”
It’s not a shame for Celtics fans though.  Team Green has fully awoken from its almost season long slumber.  The Celtics knocked off the top seeded Cavs in 6 games.  They did this with unbelievable play from Rajon Rondo, great contributions from the aging trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, terrific defense, strong bench play and even coaching from Doc Rivers.  It was a total team effort.
That only seems appropriate since they will now be playing a team that also has been playing extremely well together as a unit.  The Celtics’ opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals will be the Orlando Magic.  Orlando is 27-3 since March 1. Yikes! They haven’t lost yet in [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Put away your “jump to conclusions” mats, people. This series isn’t over yet. The Bruins aren’t done–yet.
But they sure will be facing a lot of pressure tonight as they look to avoid becoming only the third team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead. It hasn’t happened since the Islanders shocked the hockey world in 1975–back when Gerald Ford was in office, the American troops were withdrawing from Vietnam and Mark Recchi was only 7 years old.
Media outlets everywhere are already handing this series to Philadelphia. Pessimism abounds in Boston; most fans have the paper bags ready, expecting the Bruins to embrace the dubious distinction of sports’
biggest chokers since, ironically, the 2004 Yankees.
And the worries aren’t unwarranted. The momentum has clearly shifted in the Flyers’ favor, and if ever there’s a situation where a game 7 puts more pressure on one team than another, this is it. The suddenly
impotent Bruins have pulled an incredible 180 since bursting out of the gate in the first three games, and all the pressure is on them to not just avoid a colossal collapse, but to prove that they are even capable of stemming the flow of Philadelphia’s relentless, physical attack.
To say that the turn of events has been shocking [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
Boston went into the 2010 playoffs with little hope. Both the Bruins and the Celtics entered the first round off of pretty disappointing seasons. The Celtics were burnt out, the Bruins couldn’t seem to score or defend. All eyes started to focus on the Red Sox, as our only hope for 2010.
But then things changed.
The Red Sox had their worst start since before anyone alive could remember. Our three aces that were supposed to be the best starting rotation in the MLB failed us. Our newly molded run prevention defense couldn’t even stop the Orioles. And our offense…well, what offense?
Then, the Bruins and the Celtics, made it past the first round. The eyebrows of Boston raised, but only slightly.
Ahead, the Celtics faced the challenge of playing the best player in the NBA, and a team that was on the shortlist for possible 2010 Champions. Miami and Dwayne Wade was one thing, but beating the Cavs and LeBron James seemed unlikely. The Bruins on the other hand, got a luckier draw. The Philadelphia Flyers were doable, but then the Bruins made them look like the turkey post-Thanksgiving dinner. Taking a quick 3-0 lead, the path to the [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Two players will forever be tied together in their NFL careers as two teammates in college playing the same position were selected back-to-back in April’s NFL Draft.
Their link may not be as popular as Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf (though not teammates in college they were two heralded quarterbacks that went first and second in the draft and are constantly compared) but Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap will now forever be linked together in terms of their football experiences.
Cunningham, a senior, and Dunlap, a junior, were both members of the Florida Gators defensive line from 2007-2009. Both are naturally gifted athletes and were big pieces on a National Championship team. Both also have checkered pasts that have come into question.
While they will answer many questions throughout their rookie year, the New England Patriots will have one big question to answer: which of these two was actually the better pick?
The Patriots took Cunningham with the 21st pick in the second round (53rd overall), while the Cincinnati Bengals made Dunlap the very next selection.
New England’s biggest need was pass rushing, from both the outside linebacker and defensive end positions. Many outsiders wonder if Cunningham will make the [...]