Celtics Central

Please know that I’m not done writing about the Celtics this season. But I wanted to thank Gary Rogo, Sport Editor, and the Connecticut Post for allowing me to bring news of the Boston Celtics to the fans in southwestern Connecticut by way of the Celtics Central blog on the Connpost.com website this season.

What a season it was.

I knew it would be a special ride. I never allowed myself to think it would end the way it did. Just too perfect. I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have. The Boston Celtics gave us plenty of entertainment on their magical march to a national championship. The way it was done would make Red Auerbach and Bill Russell proud. Three tremendous talents, team first, and defense always.

I tried a few different styles of writing here before settling on a combination of exposition, analysis and opinion. Different articles emphasized degrees of each. It’s been a blast.

The internet is a growing medium. One day it may supplant print entirely. That day may appear before I move on to the next world. Web content will at least become as important as the printed page in the not too distant future. My generation still reads newspapers. I just turned 55.

Those 20 years younger probably do not read newspapers regularly. Each generation after them will be more like them than they will be like me. They will get their news from TV satirical talk shows and the internet for the most part. It is an electronic generation far more than any one before them.

I feel that I am in some small way, a part of that movement.

I hope you have bookmarked this page and made it one of your regular stops each day. I tried to offer something fresh on most days. I’ve learned how hard that is to do. I hope I have succeeded more than I have failed.

I don’t expect everyone (or anyone) to agree with everything I write. They are my thoughts alone.

I did get much more serious about how I watched a game this season. The tendency of most fans is to follow the ball and pay attention to the offensive side of things. Much of what happens in a game happens away from the ball. Much of the story is what happens on the defensive end. I’ve made a real effort to see the whole play at each end of the court. I watch games so much differently now.

There were times I was so intent on ‘off the ball’ play, I had to ask someone else who just scored the basket. That’s what happens when you are keying in on a match up or two.

Player rotation and ball movement are just two of many different things you look for. I was much more aware of both.

There is an ongoing argument over whether basketball is complicated or simple. The simple answer is it is both. The complicated answer is, it depends on what you are talking about.

The best answer is that informed experts can be wrong, uninformed fans can be right…and vice a versa. Everyone has an opinion in the sports world. Step up and make your case. That is what it is all about.

I tried to be as informed as I could and I tried to ‘get it right’ as much as I possibly could. I hope I presented my thoughts in an informative and entertaining way. I hope I did a good enough job for you to want to see what I had to say on a regular basis.

This season is winding down. The 2008 NBA Draft will take the spotlight soon. Off season rumors of moves and actual moves will come to pass. The Celtics will have decisions to make and so will some players. I will keep you abreast of it all as much I can.

So…thanks to Doc Rivers and the Celtics for bringing back the Title. Thanks to the Connecticut Post and Gary Rogo for bringing detailed Celtic analysis to its readers on an almost daily basis.

Let’s do it all again next season!