Celtics won't bow to King James

We all can't be too sure about just what the next two games will bring for the Boston Celtics -- their opening round series against Atlanta should have taught everyone a lesson about looking ahead.
What can certainly be said is that Cleveland has absolutely no chance of returning to the NBA Finals if LeBron James continues to struggle like this.
I've been critical of Doc Rivers in the past, but I'll give him credit for discovering James' dirty little secret. The King's jump shot has never been very reliable, and Boston's sagging, swarming defensive scheme has prevented James from getting to the basket at all during a pair of his worst career performances.
James is a dreadful 8-for-42 from the field against the Celtics in the series, the main reason that Cleveland finds itself in an 0-2 hole heading back to Ohio. The Cavaliers simply can't win with James turning the ball over 8.5 times per game and scoring less than 17 points a night. Boston has prevented James from getting into the paint, limiting his chances to finish around the basket and keeping him off the foul line. The result has been a series of bricks from long range, 0-for-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point line and a total team offensive breakdown that has kept Cleveland from getting into the series.
Will the Cavaliers' fortunes change at home? The Hawks certainly found their own court much more to their liking, beating Boston three times to extend the quarterfinal series to seven grueling games. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and the rest of Atlanta's young athletes tormented the Celtics thanks to Rivers' foolish decision to play them one-on-one and offer little defensive help. I don't think James will be as fortunate. Cleveland will win at least one game at home, likely the next one, but this series isn't going the distance.

-- Mike D'Antoni
The New York Knicks are seriously about to offer Mike D'Antoni $30 million? The Chicago Bulls still want D'Antoni to listen to them as well? Doesn't this guy have a job in Phoenix already?
D'Antoni has two years and $9 million left on his contract with the Suns, but he wasn't hired by current general manager Steve Kerr and has been given permission to seek other opportunities. Phoenix doesn't want to be on the hook for the dough and D'Antoni doesn't want to sit out for two years. Kerr is ready to change the team from D'Antoni's offense-first principles to a little more defensive-oriented mindset, an effort to win a championship before Steve Nash's brittle back gives out.
Kerr's gamble here is a good one. Name me the last team to win an NBA title solely on the offensive end. Stop thinking -- there isn't one. Scoring is important and brings energy to a team, something that the Knicks and Bulls desperately need, but Phoenix is after a little more than a couple more points per game.

-- Spygate
Arlen Specter might not be going away any time soon, but the controversy that he has attempted to fan is about to be put to bed.
Matt Walsh, the former New England Patriots towel collector, has turned over his home videos to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and we know have a definite answer to what the Patriots were doing while filming their opponents during their Super Bowl seasons. New England was stealing sideline signals, just like head coach Bill Belichick confessed, and the alleged walkthrough tape that featured the St. Louis Rams and several of their key preparations for Super Bowl XXXVI was not among the tapes that Walsh gave to the NFL.
Specter isn't about to admit he's wrong and take a dozen eggs to the face in a very public way. United States senators very rarely acknowledge to the masses that they have done wrong, even when they are caught in a pickle like the one Specter finds himself in this evening. He's trying to spin the damage already, insisting that he still has yet to see the tapes or talk to Walsh, but public relations makes up 90 percent of politics. Look for all the hoopla, and Specter's credibility, to slowly fade away.

-- Richie Sexson
I only wish that it was Kyle Farnsworth who had fired the high fastball that touched off Thursday night's brawl between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners.
Farnsworth would have slammed Sexson to the ground for his gutless display, a pathetic charge at Texas pitcher Kason Gabbard that earned Sexson a six-game suspension and lost him any respect that he had left in the Mariner clubhouse. Sexson, a 6-foot-8 monster, overreacted to a pitch that was head-high but well out over the plate and threw his helmet at Gabbard before attempting to take him down.
Sexson went to the plate expecting to be hit after Seattle starter Felix Hernandez drilled Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler the previous inning, and he proved how ready he was by dropping his bat and sprinting toward the middle of the diamond. The fact that he's bigger and stronger than Gabbard didn't stop the overpaid first baseman from using his helmet as a weapon, making me think about how Farnsworth would have been the perfect man for the job at hand to stomp Sexson to the turf. After all, his bodyslam of Paul Wilson is still the gold standard for pitchers everywhere as an example of how to defend yourself when a hitter heads out to the mound.