Notes from the Coast:

With the NFL Combine happening this week in Indianapolis, I still can't understand why USC's Rey Maualuga decided to return to school for his senior year. He has already won a National Championship at USC, had a great junior year, a monster Rose Bowl game against Illinois, and his stock may never be higher. To make matters worse, Maualuga is the pure M/ILB the Patriots need to succeed Tedy Bruschi. Also, he could've learned the nuances of the position from former USC star and current Patriot Junior Seau. Now it looks like the Pats may trade down from the 7th pick and draft a CB.

• Coco Crisp says he wants to start over Jacoby Ellsbury in CF. Crisp should understand that playing time is directly related to production. Coming over from the Indians, Crisp has dropped from .300 avg. & 16 HR's a year to .265 avg. & 6 HR's with the Red Sox. Granted Crisp is only 28 years old, but based on his stats the last two years, he is a fourth Outfielder.
• There were no moves for the Celtics before the trade deadline. No surprise since they really didn't have any pieces to deal. However, there is still a chance the Clippers could buy-out and release Sam Cassell before the play-offs.
• You can see both sides of the Curt Schilling shoulder controversy. Following last year when Schill was a free agent, he elected not to have surgery, passed his physical, and signed a contract with the Red Sox. Now he belongs to the Sox and the chances are he will not pitch this year should he have surgery now. On the other hand, Schill probably realizes that this is truly his last year in the bigs if he doesn't have surgery right now because any procedure following this season will make it even harder for him to pitch for a team next year.
• The NBA is defintely going through a revival. The Celtics and the Lakers are once again successful, the new stars in the league are both relatable and marketable, teams in the West are collecting top NBA talent in anticipation of play-off showdowns, All-Star weekend was fun again, and 20, 711 people attended the Celtics-Warriors game Wednesday night setting a record for basketball attendence in California.

Celtics Get Revenge- Beat Pistons in Round 2

Wow, what a game! Saturday night the two best teams in the NBA Eastern Conference squared-off in the second match-up of the season and this time the Boston Celtic beat the Detroit Pistons 92-85 at Auburn Hills, MI. First year player, Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis contributed 16 points down the stretch to defeat a Pistons team that won 11 straight games.

This game was not on National TV but too good to pass up, so I cancelled my HBO (luckily ‘Entourage’ doesn’t start up until June) and forked over the big bucks for the NBA Package. I never thought I would be spending any money on NBA entertainment but the 2007-08 Boston Celtics are a special team and on a record breaking pace, so every game is a must see event.

These games are fun to watch but also important for Boston GM Danny Ainge. With two open roster spots, Ainge must determine what assets are needed for the Celtics to compete for a title down the stretch. Before ‘Big Baby’ stepped up in the second half, the Celtics struggled when Kevin Garnett got into foul trouble. The challenge to back-up Garnett and to support Rajon Rondo at the point may be addressed January 10th when teams have to decide whether to guarantee contracts for the rest of the year. After that date, the Celtics may be able to pick-up a couple needed pieces that could lead to their first championship in 21 years. In the meantime, with a 29-3 record the entertainment value is well-worth the price.