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Roy Hodgson

KRAKOW, Poland - His team beset by injuries after less than a month in charge, Roy Hodgson has conceded that England will struggle to beat France in their European Championship opener.

A trio of influential players has been ruled out of the tournament with injuries even before the team travels to its Polish base, while both warmup matches have produced unconvincing 1-0 victories over sides which failed to qualify for Euro 2012.

On top of that, Hodgson must cope without Wayne Rooney for the group matches against France and Sweden due to his suspension for kicking an opponent in the last qualifier, with the striker only available for the group stage finale against co-host Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the French, whose World Cup campaign was even more calamitous than England's, have been transformed in the last two years by Laurent Blanc.

"I have got a team in my head that can do very well against (France), whether we can beat them I don't know," Hodgson said. "When you have gone 21 games unbeaten (if France beat Estonia on Tuesday) you have obviously have something.

"And, what's more, you have got a lot of games behind you, and a lot of matches together with this particular team that you have believed in."

Defensive midfielder Yann M'Vila is Blanc's only major injury concern going into Euro 2012.

"He might have to replace M'Vila ... but the team takes care of itself," Hodgson said. "We can't suggest that we're in that position at the moment, not least of all because of our key figures, Rooney can't play in the first two games and of course other key figures have suddenly left us."

The prevailing sense of realism in England about the team's prospects of ending a 46-year title drought has been heightened by the string of tournament-ending injuries since Hodgson named his 23-man squad three weeks ago.

The first setback was losing third-choice goalkeeper John Ruddy to a broken finger, but key midfielders Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard, and defender Gary Cahill have also sustained injuries in the last week.

A draw against France would seem to be an accomplishment for England.

"I am happier that we are moving towards a team which I think can not only give them a good game," Hodgson said. "If we have a bit of luck on our side, who knows, perhaps we can win it.

"But I am not suggesting that we will and I don't think we'll go into the game as favourites to be frank - not in terms of what France have done in the last couple of years vis-a-vis what we have done."

While France is on a 20-game unbeaten run, England's last loss came in February against the Netherlands when Stuart Pearce was in temporary charge following Fabio Capello's resignation.

But it is not all bleak in the England camp as the country seeks to make amends for their last-16 exit at the World Cup.

Hodgson was encouraged by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's youthful energy as the 18-year-old Arsenal winger made his first start in Saturday's victory against Belgium, even if he did seem too keen to impress at times.

"It is a good fault though isn't it. We have been trying to encourage that a little bit," Hodgson said. "We have got quick players. I don't think we have got into those areas anywhere near as much as I would have liked ... but the good thing is that if we could get into those areas, the players we have got there, with their pace and ability, they can cause problems.

"Our message to the players has been that they have to be brave and show some courage. They have to try it on. If it doesn't work, we will take the responsibility. We would rather they take it on, than turn back and play the ball back again because you are worried that if you try and go by the guy and lose the ball everyone is going to criticize you."

Rooney and wife Collen

Fathers' Day: Rooney and wife Collen headed out with son Kai in the afternoon

Pretty Girl 06.01.12 - Julianne Hough

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Yeah, I couldn't believe it either.  I think I just assumed that I had posted her and started giving updates.  Anyway, here's a mega post, because I'd probably watch her eat live puppies if that was the game.

Pretty Girl Update! - Lindsay Lohan

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I much prefer this whore over, say, Paris Hilton.  All other whores should take note.

Bruins To Resign Chris Kelly

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The Boston Bruins appear close to signing Chris Kelly to a new contract. CSN's Joe Haggerty reports that both Kelly and fellow UFA Gregory Campbell are near multi-year deals, while there's been no progress in talks with Daniel Paille.

I don't really understand how the Bruins are going to fit these guys under the cap, but I am really happy Chris Kelly is back. He is a great player, and comes at a very managable price. I wish I understood the NHL cap more, because I would think the Bruins have to be close and I think they still have to resgin Rask.

Pretty Girl 11.03.11 - Kelly Kelly

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Theme song by Woody Body. ;-j

Pretty Girl Update! - Leilani Dowding

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Hat on.  Top off.  Awesome.

Red Sox @ Marlins Preview

Beckett will be getting his first start against this former team, but I really don't give a shit abotu that. What I do care about is the Red Sox are sliding again, and are 2 games under .500. Beckett, 2-2 with a 2.21 ERA in his last five starts, will next get to face a Miami team that's been outscored 43-10 during an 0-6 start to its homestand.

Going against Beckett is Josh Johnson. Johnson had a tough start to the year, but is 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA over his last six start. What is really going to be interesting is to see what kind of lineup the Red Sox throw out there. Youk hasn't been playing well, so I think I would site him play Middlebooks at 3rd, put Ortiz at 1st and A-Gon in the RF. They need a good lineup out there, because they haven't been hitting real well.

I don't have a good feeling about this game. The Sox are playing like shit, and I just don't trust Beckett.

Marlins win 7-3
Player of the Game: Johnson
Game starts at 7:10pm

Captain's Thoughts: A Sad End to a Happy Era for Celtics

In what could be the last game of the Big Three Era in Boston, the Celtics fell to the Heat 101-88. It was likely the last time that Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen were all on the same floor on the same team in a meaningful game.

It was a brutally painful end to an enjoyable 5 seasons. So even though the ending wasn't a triumphant one, and there was no ride into the sunset with an 18th NBA Championship trophy in tow, I'd argue that as a whole the story of The Big Three was happy one.

In the Big Three Era, the Celtics won 5 divisional titles, 2 Eastern Conference titles, and an NBA Championship. They won 11 playoff series (they'd won 10 between the 1986 NBA Finals and the start of the Big Three Era). They had a .693 winning percentage and won 273 regular season games. They rekindled the rivalry with LA. They won rings for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. And they made sure that the number 34 would one day hang in the rafters of the Garden with the other Celtic greats.

More important than all that, the Big Three Era made the Celtics relevant again. Before, the C's were struggling on the court and were struggling for attention in a town that had Super Bowl and World Series winning teams. The Big Three Era returned the Celtics to prominence in this town. And nationally, Boston was once again a focal point of the Basketball world.

It's been a very special 5 years.

Now, let's talk about Game 7.

The Celtics and Heat were tied 73-73 going into the 4th. The Celtics led 82-81 with 8:00 left in the 4th. Then the Heat went on a rampage and the C's cooled off. They outscored the Celtics 20-6 from that point on. The Heat executed, the Celtics didn't.

The common explanation for this is that the Celtics "had nothing left in the tank." They simply ran out of gas. That may be. And it might be part of the reason Miami was able to pull away so quickly. I'm not quite sure that's the reason, though.

This Celtics team has been very streaky all season, especially with their shooting. Hot for 10 minutes, cold for 10 minutes. They've blown several leads (and built several leads) in the postseason because of this streakiness. They were cold at the end of the 4th last night, but it didn't look much different from previous cold stretches.

And give credit to the Heat for their execution. I hate that I have to do that, but they made the big shots in the 4th last night. They made the momentum swinging plays (example: late in the 2nd Celtics had a chance to go up by 9, Pietrus turned it over, then LeBron dunked to make it a 5 point game). They played better than the Celtics, especially in the clutch.

I'm not calling the Celtics a team of chokers. You can't be both a Choker and a Champion, and you can't be a Choker if you're also the underdog. But the Celtics could have won this series if they played just a little bit better. The effort was there, but not the execution.

Earlier in the series, the Celtics got cold at a key time and let another game get away from them. Game 2, remembered mostly for bad officiating, saw the Celtics up 5 points with 3:00 left in the 4th. And they couldn't hit a shot. Miami took a lead, then the Celtics had to miraculously tie it, hope for LeBron to choke (which he did), and go to OT. Which they eventually lost, thanks in part to the refs. But the C's had that game in their hands, and didn't execute.

And that's fine. The Bruins didn't execute against the Caps. The Patriots didn't execute against the Giants. It happens. I'm not trying to lead an anti-Celtic crusade here. I'm not trying to criticize them or call them losers. It just seems like every time the Celtics lose, there's always an explanation and it never includes the phrase "didn't play well enough to win." It's either the refs, or their age, or health, or injuries, or running out of gas.

It's okay to admit that these guys are human, and that it's tough to execute perfectly for 16 games and win an NBA Championship. If anything, I think it emphasizes how impressive their 2008 title was. The NBA Playoffs are a grind. Only a freak could play their absolute best in every single game.

Anyway, in 10 years we won't remember this game much. We'll remember the players, but not for their shooting percentages in the 4th quarter of this game. We'll remember them for what they did the 5 years they were here. They brought pride back to the Green and White, to the most storied franchise in the NBA, and to Boston.

-The Captain

Another Black Eye For Boxing

It's a sport that is dying. They have one fight left in the cards that could gain national attention, but they won't fight. Now they have to deal with yet another bogus ruling by the judges. I will say I didn't see the Pac-Man/Bradley fight, so I am going off of all the experts, but everyone seems to agree that Pac-Man won the fight and it wasn't all that close. He landed more punches, hit for a higher percentage, and landed more power punches yet lost.

I am actually hoping that someone who watched the fight will comment, because this seems outrageous. The rumor is now that the Mayweather fight vs. Pacquiao wouldn't that till next year, because Mayweather is in jail and now Bradley is going to fight Pacquiao. The sport is dying, their star don't care, the sport doesn't seem to care, so should why should we care anymore?

Euro 2012 Update

Just as a sidenote, some people in this country think that Europe is the epitome of civilization. Well, not all of it is. There have been stories out of Euro 2012 about monkey noises directed at a black Dutch player, some Russian fans were accused of racist chants during their match against the Czech Republic, and a 14 arrest brawl broke out hours before the Ireland/Croatia match (10 of the arrested were Polish, 3 were Irish, 1 was Croatian). So yeah, Europe is like here. There are jerks everywhere. Now to the matches...

Poland 1, Greece 1
Not a bad start for the host country. They'll take the 1 point. Greece was unable to convert a penalty kick against a Polish goalie who had just entered the game (he replaced the previous goalie, whose foul was the reason there was a penalty kick, for which he was also ejected).

Russia 4, Czech Republic 1

Russia look like they have some very good form for this tournament. They could dominate Group A.

Denmark 1, Netherland 0

This is a stunning upset. I picked the Netherlands to win it all, and they lose to the Danish. The Dutch should settle into a groove, though, as all the top-flight teams seem to be a bit out of step at the start of the tournament.

Germany 1, Portugal 0

The Germans dominated most of the play, but struggled to finish. It was the equivalent of an American football team not doing well in the Red Zone. Mario Gomez scored Germany's goal. I know that doesn't sound like a German name. His father was Spanish. He was born in Riedlingen, Germany. He scored a header when a ball glanced off a Portuguese elbow. That glance was Germany's best last-pass of the game.

Spain 1, Italy 1
A pair of giants met, and nothing was decided. Spain do look beatable, though. And that's new.

Croatia 3, Ireland 1

The Croats crushed any aspirations Ireland might have to advance to the next stage. And with Spain and Italy drawing, Croatia has an outside chance to advance themselves.

Today's games:
England vs. France in a rematch of about a dozen different wars. And Sweden vs. Ukraine in a battle over who gets to use blue and yellow as national colors.

-The Captain

Why Not?

Why not watch Rondo be a bitter prick until the end, and you know what he's right

Celtics Draft Needs

Who knows what the Celtics are going to do draft wise, they are fortunate to have 2 picks in the early 20s which is great in an extremely deep draft class. Their is bound to be some great talent that is around there or falls to them.

The Celtics needs are pretty obvious, Rebounding and scoring.

It seems like everyone in the national media has Royce White from Iowa state pegged as one of the potential future Celtics. Bob touched on it last week and I agree, he's a hell of a prospect and would be a top 15 pick if not for an anxiety order. Unlike other players who have legal problems or disinterested we could just chalk it up to Doc will fix that, but an anxiety order is a complete different animal. We all just have to hope he gets over it. But as for Royce White the player 6'8, 270 and can play 2-4, he dribbles like a guard, but plays power forward. Averaged close to 10 rebounds a game, but brings a complete different dimension with his skill set.

Fab Melo, you remember him from getting suspended from the Tournament for being a shit head, but he would be a perfect fit for the Celtics. Melo is 7 foot and 260. He is a very raw center that will need some time for 2 things, getting his head straight and focused, and 2 to get adjusted to basketball at this level. Melo is somewhat new to basketball and is extremely raw, this is something you can chalk up to, let Doc figure this out.

Quincy Miller. If not for an injured knee Miller could be a lottery pick. He's 19, 6'9, 200 pounds. The first thing he needs to do is hit the gym and gain muscle, but the second thing is that he needs to get his head rung to stay focused. He can score at will and has been called a poor man's Kevin Durant. Anyone who has a Kevin Durant comparison with them is a guy you should probably draft. He was on the Baylor team that was overshadowed by Perry Jones III, but I believe he can be just as effective.

Arnett Moultrie. He's a 6'11 PF from Mississippi State. I don't know if he will drop this far, but he has a chance to be a double, double machine in the NBA. He's not as defensive minded as a Fab Melo or Festus Ezuli, but can be a great big man at this level.

Obviously others to watch,
Jeremy Lamb, Terrnece Jones, Austin Rivers I would love to fall, but I don't see it.

What Now For The Boston Celtics

There is going to be a ton of speculation going forward for the Boston Celtics who will be trying to transition to a new ERA without completely sucking. To put things simply the only ones on the Roster next year are Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, JuJuan Johnson, Paul Pierce. So what's next. Dwight Howard, Deron Williams are not coming here, Rudy Gay is unlikely to be traded, Eric Gordan and OJ Mayo are restricted free agents.

I think there is something we can all agree on and that's that our PG Rajon Rondo is at the other level that people have been so critical of him not being. He is a franchise player and can be built around.

Brandon Bass has already said he is picking up his option for 4 million next year, which I'm surprised figuring I think he would make more if he declined it. So that puts us with Rondo, Bradley, Pierce, Bass, Johnson.

The next thing is I really don't see KG going anywhere, I see him either retiring, or coming back in Boston. I do think that the bond between KG, Doc, Pierce and Rondo is pretty great, and with the Celtics having unlimited cap dollars they can pretty much match any teams offer. The only thing I would be hesitant to do with Garnett is go 3 years. I would be fine with a 2 year 30 million dollar deal.

So we have Rondo, Bradley, Pierce, Bass, Johnson and KG.

Next thing up is bringing back Jeff Green. Jeff has tremendous talent and him sitting out this year with a heart issue killed the Celtics. He can run with Rondo and Bradley and can play 3-4 and is a decent shot. With him not being much of a factor in 2011 when he did play hurt us a little, but I believe with a larger role and a full training camp under his belt, he will be as good as he ever was.

So now that we got the realistic choices off the board, lets start reaching.

I don't think New Orleans would let Eric Gordon go with Anthony Davis walking through that door, but if they were, I would to get the scoring machine. He is often unhealthy, but when healthy he could easily average 23ish points. But like I said, I don't believe New Orleans will let him go.

With that being said, we will have to settle for OJ Mayo, Memphis can't afford OJ, so that means if a competitive offer sheet gets signed they most likely will let him walk. OJ Mayo was traded for Ray Allen this year, but for some reason it didn't go through. I really see OJ coming to Boston.

Also, with the Anthony Davis era starting in New Orleans, a guy like Carl Landry or Chris Kaman would be available. I would love Kaman but he will come at a price, so Landry will be cheaper and is almost like a poor mans David West. I would love for the Celtics to get this low post machine.

I would round it out with resigning Chris Wilcox, Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling, E'Twaan Moore and Greg Steimsma.

So this would be the team going forward:

Rajon, Avery Bradley, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett

Bench:
Jeff Green, OJ Mayo, Carl Landry, Chris Wilcox,Pietrus, Dooling, Moore, Stiemer, (whoever we draft)

Nationals Sweep Sox

The good news is the Sox only have 9 more games against teams from the Maryland/DC part of the country (they're 3-9 against the Orioles and Nationals). The bad news is, the Sox are below .500 again, their offense has cooled off, their bullpen looks shaky again, they can't seem to win at home (14-19 in Fenway), they're 6 games behind the Rays, 5 games out of the Wild Cards (with three teams to leapfrog over), and the Yankees are red hot.

At least the weather's been nice lately.

There is one other piece of good news, and that's the starting pitching. Jon Lester struck out 9 yesterday in a very typical Jon Lester start. He went 7 innings, allowed 3 runs, and gave the Sox a very good chance to win the game. If only they could get a hit with runners in scoring position. Which they didn't. The Sox were 0 for 8 with RISP.

David Ortiz provided the only real offense. He was 3 for 4 with a double and a homerun. The other 2 Sox runs came from groundouts. Dustin Pedroia grounded into a fielder's choice in the 3rd and Scott Podsednik had an RBI groundout in the 7th to tie the game at 3-3. Podsednik has been decent with the Sox, who lately seem to be able to find productive outfielders with their eyes closed. He's hitting .368.

Unfortunately, Alfredo Aceves blew another game. He gave up a 2 out RBI double to Roger Bernadina. Aceves went on a nice run in the middle of May, but since blowing a save against Tampa Bay on May 27th, he's 0-3, and has allowed 7 runs in 9 innings. He does not appear to be a steady, reliable Major League closer.

Jonathan Papelbon has converted 16 of 16 save opportunities and has a 2.22 ERA.

When David Ortiz called a player's meeting a month ago, part of what was discussed was that the starting pitchers need to pull their weight. They've been doing that. Lester was good yesterday. Daisuke wasn't bad (especially for a rehab start) on Saturday. Buchholz was brilliant last Thursday. Beckett was great last Wednesday. The Sox only won 1 of these games.

Now it's the lineup's turn to pull some weight. Ortiz can't do it all. Pedroia is in a 3 for 24 (.125) slump since returning from his thumb injury. Adrian Gonzalez is slugging .419, about .100 lower than he should be expected to slug. Kevin Youkilis did well when he first returned from the DL, now he's in a 4 for 25 (.160) drought. Will Middlebrooks hasn't had an extra-base hit since May.

Hopefully a trip to Miami can help turn things around. The Marlins are in 4th place, and Beckett is on the mound for the Sox tonight. He might need to hit a few homeruns to give himself a reasonable amount of run support. He faces 3-4 Josh Johnson. Adrian Gonzalez is 4 for 11 in his career against Johnson, so maybe he'll get a few hits tonight.

-The Captain

101 Heat, 88 Celtics

The Celtics had a 1 point lead with 8 minutes left to go, and then simply couldn't get over the hump. They were missing shots, taking bad shots, not rebounding, giving up offensive rebounds, and taking difficult shots, meanwhile the Heat were converting eveything. The Celtics simply couldn't get it done offensively, and the Chris Bosh led Heat was able to take over the game with his 3s. Yes, 3s, Chris Bosh decided to turn into Larry Bird and hit clutch 3 after clutch 3. To see how ridiculous Chris Bosh's 3s were he was 4-40 lifetime from the 3 range.

Although I don't want to say this. LeBron James had an incredible playoffs and is a hell of a player. He put the Heat on his back in game 6 when he scored 102809 points and didn't miss a shot. He's an incredible player. With that being said, I hope our old friend Kendrick Perkins decapitates him.

The Celtics were spread out offensively, all of their starters were in double digits, led by Rondo who of course finished with a triple double. What killed the Celtics was their bench. Their bench was bad, they only had 2 points and were completely ineffective. With the bench being ineffective it put more minutes on the starters, and the starters just couldn't get it done int he final 8 minutes.

Even with the loss, this was an incredible run. It hard to be proud of a team who lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, but I personally am. This team was great, and God knows what happens in the future, but this was the best 5 years as a Celtics fan.

Patriots Talking To Gronk About Extension (UPDATED)

The Patriots and Rob Gronkowski are talking contract, but there's no word yet on whether or not the team is interested in reworking his current deal or giving the big tight end a contract extension, according to multiple reports. Gronkowski, a second-round pick out of Arizona in 2010, has two years left on a rookie deal that will pay in base salaries of $540,000 in 2012 and $575,000 in 2013, according to NFLPA documents.

I thought something like this would come up soon after we saw guys on the Patriots restructure their deals. I believe the Patriots want not only Gronk here, but Hernandez as well. It is so tough to gameplan against the Patriots because of those two guys. No other team can throw out two tight ends of that caliber. They are young, and they are going to be worth a lot of money. If the Patriots can lock these guys up to 5 years deals now and save a bit it could be a very smart idea.


***UPDATE***

Done deal. 6 years $54 million, making him the highest paid TE of all-time.

Why Not?

Why not watch a video about white people problems?

#WhiteBoyProblems - watch more funny videos

Euro 2012 Preview

It's time for the European Championship of soccer. I think I like this tournament a little bit more than the World Cup. Most of the best teams in the world are in it, and you don't have to bother with separating the wheat from the chaff. There are also some really interesting and intense rivalries that this tournament is more likely to see than the World Cup. England/Germany, Germany/Netherlands, Spain/Portugal, France/Italy, et cetera.

This year, the tournament is being hosted by Poland and the Ukraine. There are four teams in four groups. They'll play a round-robin round, with 3 points awarded for a win, 1 for a draw. The top two teams advance to the elimination stages. Here are the groups:

Group A:
Czech Republic
Greece
Poland
Russia

This is the Eastern bloc group. Greece and Russia are the highest ranked teams, according to FIFA. But the Czech Republic side isn't bad. And Poland, being a host country, is sure to be energized and also receive benefits from a few calls. I think Greece's political problems might wind up distracting their team. And Poland will take advantage. Russia wins the group with Poland squeaking through in second place.

Group B:
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
Portugal

This is the "Group of Death" for the tournament. Germany is ranked 3rd in the world, the Netherlands are ranked 4th, Denmark is 9th, Portugal is 10th. That's in the world, not just Europe. I can't not pick the Germans to win this group. They're very talented this year, and they always seem to play above their talent-level anyway. And the Dutch have so many guys that can make plays and score, it's hard to pick against them. So Germany wins this group, the Dutch come in second.

Group C:
Spain
Italy
Ireland
Croatia

Ireland is a darkhorse to advance from this group. If Spain and Italy draw each other, then one of them draws with Ireland, and maybe Croatia upsets Italy (who tend to occasionally show up to summer tournaments in lackluster form), Ireland could advance. It's possible, but unlikely. What's more likely is that the #1 team in the world (Spain) dominates this group. And Italy dominates Ireland and Croatia to finish 2nd.

Group D:
Ukraine
Sweden
France
England

This is a tough group. There's a host country, then England (#6 team in the world), France (#14), and Sweden (#17). France and England both have a history of disappointing in big tournaments. So when two chokers face each other, what happens? A draw. I don't know if the Ukraine is good enough to capitalize on some friendly officiating, but Sweden could sneak into the elimination round from this group. I think England wins the group, Sweden finishes 2nd.

Notice how only two of those girls are showing their teeth? That's England for you.

If my predictions come true, then here would be the quarterfinals:

Russia vs. Netherlands
The Dutch would roll in this one. That's a feeble joke about rolling joints.

Spain vs. Sweden
This is as big of a mismatch in soccer as it is in hockey. Spain is too good to be stopped by the Swedes.

Germany vs. Poland
The best Polish born player in the world is a German citizen named Miroslav Klose. Germany wins.

England vs. Italy
England chokes on ravioli, Italy advances.

Then the semifinals:
Spain vs. Netherlands
The Dutch upset the Spanish with some quick strike goals.

Germany vs. Italy
The Germans outwork the Italians and win in extra-time or a penalty shootout.

Then the finals:
Germany vs. Netherlands
My heart is with Germany, but I have a feeling that the Netherlands will win it all.

The tournament starts today on ESPN. I highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance. This is world class soccer, something we don't get to see much of in the US.

-The Captain