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Connelly’s Top Ten: Sox Streak, Celtics Close, Weather Great

1. Celtics:

* Never seen the Celtics block so many shots
* Avery Bradley is the best Celtic shot blocker from the guard position since Dennis Johnson, who used to get it from behind
* When is the NBA going to force cameramen off the baseline? – players are rolling the ankles and in danger
* Should Dick Stockton be calling Chris Webber – C Webb?
* Mike Fratello hates the Celtics – get him off their games
* Trade Rondo quickly after the season

2. Red Sox:

* In early May – Will “Crampy” Middlebrooks has 13 home runs and 40 RBI’s between Pawtucket and Boston
* Josh Reddick is a on a pace for 38 HR / 91 RBI / .291 AVG with the Oakland A’s
* Josh Beckett sitting in the dugout, at best eating seeds and at worst drinking beer, does not consider this one of his 18 days off this season (he should go work in a coal mine for a day and see how tough he is)
* Orlando Hudson of the Padres has more triples than the Sox (5 – 4)
* Pawtucket is in first place / Portland in last place
* Right now, your staff order of effectivness is Dubront, Bard, Lester, Beckett, the Necklace wearer
* What’s the odds someone had to explain the purpose of the pink gear to Bobby V?

3. Tours Players stuff:

* PGA event not the same without Tiger or Phil
* Nice run by Davey Jones (oh, that was Fowler) – he rimmed out a putt on 18 for a 32 on back nine
* The 17th island hole was relatively tame with a 3.049 average (0 eagles / 84 birdies / 268 pars / 48 bogeys / 21 doubles)
* The longest drive of the day was 359 yards by Carl Petterson

4. Kemp/Hamilton:

Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton could both win triple crown this year – how do their stats project for the season?

• Kemp: 59 HRs, 133 RBI, .365 AVG
• Hamilton: 86 HRs, 195 RBI, .402 AVG

5. Capitals:

Of the fourteen playoff game the Washington Capitals played in, 13 were decided by a one-goal differential.

6. Red Sox Prospects:

Cool site for Red Sox fans – Redsoxprospects.com

There top ten prospects right now:

1. Will “Crampy” Middlebrooks (3B) – Pawtucket / Red Sox
2. Xander Bogaerts (SS) – Salem
3. Anthony Ranaudo (P) – Salem
4. Matt Barnes (P) – Salem
5. Jose Iglesias (SS) – Pawtucket
6. Ryan Lavarnway (C) – Pawtucket
7. Ryan Kalish (OF) – Pawtucket
8. Jackie Bradley (OF) – Salem
9. Bryce Brentz (OF) – Portland
10. Brandon Jacobs (OF) – Portland

7. Amazing Stats:

Lebron won his third MVP. Of those who have won at least three, how many championships do they have?

8. Old School:

As pointed out by reader Ben C. – the value of Paul Pierce is his ability to get to the line. With that said, of the top five Celtic scorers of all time, how many of their points were from the free throw line?

• John Havlicek: 26,395 points, 5,369 from the line = 20.3%
• Paul Pierce: 22,591 points, 6,101 from the line = 27.0%
• Larry Bird: 21,791 points, 3,960 from the line = 18.1%
• Robert Parish: 18,245 points, 3,279 from the line = 17.9%
• Kevin McHale: 17,335 points, 3,634 from the line = 20.9%

9. Just a Little Bit Outside:

In honor of Mother’s Day – how about some sports mothers:

* Lebron’s mother maybe dates teammate of LeBron Delonte “Wet Willie” West
* Steve McNair’s mother arrested for DUI with his kids going to his Monday night game
* Michael Phelps mother gets more air time than the swimmer
* Ray Allen’s mother in her diamond stud Ray shirt

10. Randomocity:

* The most compelling last day in league sports history as Manchester City scored TWO goals in extra time to win the title for the first time since 1968
* As reader Jerry M. pointed out – UMass Lacrosse was #1 in the country but got a 6th seed in the tournament and then was upset by Colgate – if you want to be a national powerhouse, then you need to challenge yourself during the regular season
* Tough off-season for Arkansas Football, who was a top 5 preseason rated team: Coach goes Evil Knevil with mistress on back / starting wide receiver and tight end arrested for stealing from dorms
* Reader Jerry M. went to Pawtucket Saturday night to escape crazy, drawn-out Major Leagues and got caught watching Dice K in a 3:30 game
* There is zero chance Ochocinco is back in Foxboro…
* Jeremy Lin ready yet?
* I say this once a month, I know, but Adam Sandler is the most overrated comedian in movies of all time
* It seems like months since the Bruins played
* After watching that elbow by World Peace – that should have been a 25-game suspension

About Michael

Lifelong Boston resident who finds equal enjoyment in celebrating the local team's success as I do complaining about their failures. I have been writing the Top Ten for the last decade as well as five sports books: 26 Miles to Boston, Rebound, The President's Team, The Great Book of Boston Sports Lists and NBA List Jam.

Tags: Connelly's Top Ten, Top Ten