A guy that peed on a towel, a guy that got stabbed in his calf and a Turk

It was a busy week so I only realized just now that I hadn't written anything about the NBA Draft on Thursday.

Coming off an NBA title, Boston had the last pick of the first round (#30) and the second round (#60). Fittingly, the C's basically got three guys with ability that could pan out or could do nothing. I guess you have to expect that when you're drafting so low.

With its first pick, Boston selected guard J.R. Giddens from New Mexico. The Mountain West Conference co-player of the year this past season (his senior year), the 6-foot-5, 208 pound Giddens averaged 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds (which led the league), 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks.

Giddens has plenty of talent as his numbers attest. He actually started his college career at Kansas-where he was on the Big 12 All-Freshman team-before transferring to New Mexico. He was booted out of KU after getting into a fight at a club where he was stabbed in his calf (so Paul Pierce and Giddens have at least two things in common).

Obviously, Giddens will have to mature as he tries to make the NBA but with Ray Allen not getting any younger and James Posey possibly leaving in free agency, Giddens could find a role as a scorer off the bench.

The Celts traded cash for the Wizards' 47th pick (Bill Walker). 6-foot-6 and a solid 235 pounds, if healthy Walker could be a steal. He tore his ACL his freshman season at Kansas State and redshirted. This past season, he teamed up with Michael Beasley (you might have heard of him) to create one of the most explosive duos in college hoops. He also memorably pissed on a towel on the bench during a game. Really, just look at the picture below.

Walker averaged 16.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists. With his size and speed on the open floor, he is a prototypical NBA small forward. Assuming that he continues to avoid the operating table. Walker has been a household name since high school as he played with O.J. Mayo (might have heard of him too) in high school (imagine that).

It was a low-risk move for Boston that could reap big rewards. You gotta believe that Walker will be motivated to show the talent that made him such a hyped recruit.

Finally, with the last pick the Celtics selected Turkish center Semih Erden. He's 7-foot-1 and 240 pounds but I won't pretend that I'd ever heard of him nor seen him play basketball. Who do I look like, Chad Ford? I'll be shocked if the guy 1) comes to the US, 2) survives the summer league and training camp and 3) is on the roster in the next three seasons.

Not One Minute Men

The Boston Red Sox made their first game in Houston's Minute Maid Park a memorable one, taking a 6-1 win over the Astros last night.

Dice-K was back to his early season top-notch self, improving to 9-1 after five scoreless innings. Matsuzaka gave up two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He was yanked after 87 pitches as Terry Francona didn't want to stretch him out too much in his second start for the Sox after coming back from the DL.

Kevin Youkilis had four hits, the locked in Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with two runs, one walk and an RBI while J.D. Drew (three-run homer) and Mike Lowell (two-run single) had the most important swings of the game.

The Sox (50-32) jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the third with Drew's home run. Pedroia extended the advantage to 4-0 with an RBI single in the seventh which drove in Julio Lugo.

Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen each put up scoreless innings (the sixth and seventh respectively) before the increasingly shaky Hideki Okajima gave up two hits, including a solo home run to Houston's (37-43) Reggie Abercrombie.

Jonathan Papelbon came in to strike out Lance Berkman with a nasty splitter, stranding Miguel Tejada at first.

Lowell's two-run single gave the Sox some more breathing room in the ninth and Papelbon recorded the final three outs for his 24th save of the season.

Jon Lester-who's been in a groove lately-goes for the Red Sox tonight against the Astros' Brandon Backe.

Haren outduels Beckett as D-Backs win 2-1

Since baseball is so slow-paced by nature, it gives old-timers and rock-headed announcers plenty of time to get all whimsical. No sport has as many tired sayings as America's Pastime. One of my favorites is "good pitching always beats good hitting."

For one night at least, that was prophetic as the Arizona Diamondbacks led by Dan Haren outlasted Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 last night at Fenway.

Haren (8-4) was just a little bit better than Beckett and he had luck on his side. Haren went seven innings, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out five.

Beckett (7-5) lasted eight innings but he gave up two runs on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Playing without Sean Casey (who started serving his three-game suspension), Boston (47-32) was in a pickle when Kevin Youkilis took a ball off his eye in between innings. A throw from Mike Lowell took a bad hop and struck Youk on the eye. He wasn't one of People's 50 most beautiful people to begin with but the shiner really added something to his ugly mug.

Youk had to depart so Brandon Moss came in and wouldn't you know, a big play revolved around his inexperience at first.

In the seventh, Chris Young had doubled in Conor Jackson to give Arizona (40-37) a 1-0 lead before Chris Snyder hit a grounder to first. Moss bobbled it-allowing Mark Reynolds the runner at third to score-before recovering and getting the out at first.

The Red Sox' offense finally awoke in the eighth, forcing D-Backs reliever Tony Pena to throw 26 pitches. J.D. Drew drove in Julio Lugo with a sacrifice fly to cut it to 2-1.

David Aardsma continued his fine recent work as he danced around two walks and a hit to strike out two and record a scoreless ninth.

Former Sox pitcher Brandon Lyon promptly recorded his 16th save of the season on five pitches.

Youk helps salvage one marathon game against the Cardinals

Down 2-0 going into the bottom of the seventh yesterday afternoon, the Red Sox looked like they were about to be swept by a pesky St. Louis Cardinals club at Fenway.

It took a long time to clinch it but after going ahead 3-2 in the ninth and seeing closer Jonathan Papelbon blow the save, the Red Sox (47-31) finally finished off the Cardinals (44-33) in the bottom of the 13th when Kevin Youkilis (3 RBIs, walk) hit a two-run shot over the Monster-his second homer of the day-to give Boston a 5-3 win.

After a 50-minute rain delay, the game ironically enough was a pitcher's duel between Jon Lester (7.1 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts) and former Sox bum Joel Pineiro (7 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 strikeout) before it turned into a battle of middle relievers.

Cards midget Aaron Miles was 5 for 6 (all singles) but didn't score a run. Adam Kennedy pinch hit and eventually finished 3 for 3 with an RBI.

For the Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia was 4 for 5 with a run and his eighth steal of the year (which is ridiculous because the guy is painfully slow). Mike Lowell was 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI.

Brian Barton doubled in Brendan Ryan to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the sixth. Ryan Ludwick knocked in Barton with a single.

Youk picked up his first homer in the seventh off Pineiro and the Sox tied it in the eighth when Coco Crisp (who had tripled when Rick Ankiel fell down in center field) scored on Julio Lugo's sacrifice fly. After Pedroia singled and stole second, J.D. Drew, Manny Ramirez and finally Mike Lowell each worked walks to score Pedroia.

Papelbon struck out Ankiel and Yadier Molina to start the ninth but walked Chris Duncan. Kennedy pinch hit at that point and delivered with an RBI double over Coco's head in center.

In extra innings, the teams traded perfect scoring opportunities with neither cashing in until the 13th. Boston put the lead-off man on base in each inning but couldn't push them across. St. Louis had Duncan thrown out at home by Drew in the top of the 13th with one out.

After Dice-K's disastrous start on Saturday (when he lasted 1 inning), Boston somehow got another great performance from numerous relievers yesterday. Manny Delcarmen struck out both men he faced. Hideki Okajima recorded five outs despite allowing four hits and a walk. Craig Hansen also got five outs but didn't allow a hit or walk and struck out three. Finally, Javier Lopez survived two hits to earn the win (2-0).

It was a memorable win after such a forgettable previous two games. The Sox' final interleague foe to come to Fenway this season will be the Arizona Diamondbacks. After such a hot start, the Diamondbacks have come back to earth (since they can't hit) but they still have one of the top rotations in the game. Evidence of that: Josh Beckett takes on Dan Haren tonight. Boston desperately needs Beckett to last deep into the game.

Lugo and Okajima temporarily ruin Celtics' buzz at Fenway

Other than the rain delay, everything was setting up perfectly for a nice, drunken Friday night at Fenway. The Celtics were in the building, riding around on Duck Boats and Paul Pierce comically threw out the first pitch to Jason Varitek. The Sox even honored the C's further by wearing their green jerseys.

As he has been for most of his Red Sox career, Julio Lugo was once again a buzzkill. He was joined on the goat list last night by Hideki Okajima, who is struggling big time.

The St. Louis Cardinals (minus Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and almost any player you've ever heard of) came in and took game one, 5-4.

Tim Wakefield pitched good enough to win: four runs (three earned) on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Wakefield (4-5) departed after seven innings and turned it over to Okajima, who gave up one run on three hits in an inning of work. Yadier Molina had the big hit off Okajima-a solo home run-that made the score 5-3 and turned out to be (as they usually are) a key run.

Did you know that journeyman Kyle Lohse is having a great year? Yeah me neither. Lohse (9-2) went six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Cardinals (43-32) manager Tony LaRussa-who might or might not have been drunk-took a page out of the Joe Torre book of overworking relievers as he had closer Ryan Franklin pitch the final two innings.

Franklin used to be a starter but still he was forced to labor through 44 pitches but he did pick up his 10th save. He'll undoubtedly be unavailable today.

Lugo had a nice night at the plate-for him-but it still couldn't washout the bitter taste of his two errors in the sixth that helped St. Louis score a run.

Lugo drove in Manny Ramirez with a sacrifice fly in the second to put Boston up 1-0.

Cards catcher Jason LaRue tied it with a solo homer in the fifth. After his two errors, Lugo did hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth to tie it.

Skip Schumaker hit a two-run blast to right off Wakefield in the seventh putting the Cardinals up 4-2.

Boston (46-32) had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the seventh as Manny came up with the bases-loaded and no outs. He grounded into a double play (the second time in the game he failed to deliver with the sacks full) which scored a run.

The Sox made it interesting in the ninth as Dustin Pedroia (two hits) doubled, Manny walked and Lowell knocked in Pedroia with a single. With runners on first and third and two outs, Kevin Youkilis flew out to right.

Dice-K makes his return from the DL and rehab starts this afternoon.

Red Sox just keep truckin' on

Despite numerous injuries, the Boston Red Sox just keep winning ballgames. Boston ended its first National League road trip this season with a 7-4 win in the City of Brotherly Love yesterday afternoon.

As has been the case all June-particularly since David Ortiz went down with the wrist injury-J.D. Drew stepped up and carried the team offensively. Playing against the team that he refused to sign with after being drafted (the first time), Drew was 4 for 5 with four RBIs and two runs. He was a triple short of a cycle as he had a double, two singles and a three-run bomb.

Red Sox (46-29) rookie Justin Masterson (4-1) didn't have his best stuff by any means but he gave his team five decent innings which was good enough for the win. He's also ensured of another start before being sent down since Bartolo Colon landed on the DL with a back injury.

The Phillies (42-32) were never really in it as starter Kyle Kendrick (6-3) gave up four runs in the top of the first and Philly trailed 7-1 after four.

Oh sure, Philadelphia made it interesting with a run in the fifth and two in the seventh but Manny Delcarmen was outstanding with two scoreless innings (and two strikeouts).

Phillies star second baseman Chase Utley was 0 for 13 in the series while counterpart Dustin Pedroia seems to have found his stroke again, going 3 for 5 with two runs in the finale.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save.

The city of Boston gets to celebrate the Celtics' championship today while the Sox get a welcome day off. Boston takes on the St. Louis Cardinals tomorrow at Fenway in the start of a three-game series.

"Anything Is Possible!"

For all intents and purposes, my life as a Boston sports fan will never get better than this.

The Red Sox (twice), Patriots (three times) and now Celtics have all won titles in the last six years, coincidentally the perfect time for me as I've appreciated each title more as I get older and realize this time is fleeting, no matter how sweet.

Moving back home from college and being single with a job at night has allowed me to soak this up probably more than I will ever in the future when hopefully marriage, kids and a more time-consuming job take over my life.

In its 26th postseason game of the year (an NBA record), the Celtics completely embarrassed the Lakers, 131-92, in game 6 of the NBA Finals at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The Celts won their first championship since the glory days of 1986. It's the franchise's 17th title.

The Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen fittingly played their best game of the season while their teammates weren't too shabby either, putting up a season-high for points.

After such a disappointing game 5 performance, KG had a legendary showing that should silence his critics forever. He scored 26 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals. He came out on fire with 17 in the first half as Boston left little doubt that the soft Lakers would not win one (let alone two in a row) back in Boston.

Despite playing on little rest (since he'd spent time with his son in an LA hospital), Ray Allen scored 26 points with four rebounds and three steals. Ray was 7 of 9 on 3-pointers (tying a Finals record), a great ending for a guy that really found himself at the end of the Detroit series and in the Finals.

No surprise with the win that Pierce was named Finals MVP. The 10-year veteran with the C's scored 17 points and dished out 10 assists. He outplayed Kobe Bryant (22 points on 7 of 22 shooting with 1 assist and 4 turnovers)-who many think is the best player in the world-by so much in this series, it's almost surreal.

With the series over, it's clear that the three biggest things that seperate the Celtics from the Lakers (and which countless experts failed to see before the series) was 1) defense, 2) teamwork and 3) toughness.

The C's set another Finals record with 18 steals for the game while also outrebounding LA, 48-29.

Rajon Rondo picked a fine time to have one last amazing performance as he had 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals. Kendrick Perkins only had two points and four rebounds in 13 minutes but the grit he showed by playing through pain was inspirational to his teammates and the appreciative home crowd.

James Posey had another sick game with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals. Eddie House had nine points and five assists. P.J. Brown posted six points, three boards and two assists while Leon Powe notched eight points and four rebounds. All 11 Celtics that played scored, Big Baby saw his first action of the series and gave the C's three points and four rebounds. Even Tony Allen got a highlight as he threw down a ridiculous reverse alley-oop in the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter, it seemed like the refs (a source of constant chatter during the playoffs) were doing their best to get the Lakers to a game 7. Boston couldn't hit a shot in the first quarter but their hustle for loose balls and knack for making the extra pass paid off as the Celts led 24-20 after one.

The Lakers began to pack for their flight home in the second quarter as Boston blitzed them with a 34-15 frame.

Another difference between the teams is that the Celts could make big comebacks in LA, the same wasn't true for the Lakers last night (and yes I remember they almost came back in game 2).

LA and Phil Jackson were exposed for the frauds that they were. And the highly-touted Western Conference was a deeper league this season but can we agree that Boston and Detroit were the best teams? Is there any doubt the Pistons would have similarly disposed of the Lakers in six or seven games?

The third and fourth quarters were something for the soon-to-be-released Celtics championship DVD's. They couldn't miss. Boston took the third 31-25 and put up a ridiculous 42-32 final quarter of the season.

Boston made 49.4% from the floor and 13 of 26 on 3-pointers. They made 32 of 27 free throws and handed out 33 assists. They had just seven turnovers in as flawless a performance as you could ever dream about on such a big stage.

The Lakers shot 42.2% from the field and 10 of 27 on threes. They had a pathetic two offensive rebounds (Boston notched 14) and 16 assists. Los Angeles turned it over 19 times.

I feel immensely lucky to have seen such a great team all season long. Three All-Stars put their egos aside and reached their ultimate goal (in the first year) that they'd all missed by themselves. Doc Rivers showed that he's a good NBA coach. P.J. Brown came back late in the season and won his first ring in 15 NBA seasons. Eddie House and James Posey brought energy and hustle night in and night out while Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins showed how much game they have. Leon Powe, Big Baby and Tony Allen each had their moments too. You can't say Sam Cassell really did much positive after coming to Boston but it's nice to see a guy who'll probably retire get another ring.

With Andrew Bynum healthy next season, the Lakers could very well find themselves back in the Finals. I really believe that the C's have a window of two or three more seasons where they'll be in the mix as well. They have to re-sign Posey and Powe but I wouldn't count out Pierce, Garnett and Allen in the next few seasons. What better way to cement their legacies in the game than with another championship or two?

The Celtics' parade will be tomorrow in Boston, complete with Duck Boats and a ceremony at Copley Plaza. Winning championships will never get old; these are the golden days of Boston sports that we'll talk about for the rest of our lives. The Bruins might as well move since they're never going to join the fun (without dumping Uncle Scrooge, I mean owner Jeremy Jacobs).