And when J.D. Drew gets hurt, cause you know he will, who's your defensive specialist, eh Hermida?

David Ortiz is officially done, but you already knew that. The Boston Red Sox look great against bad teams (except for the Orioles), but you also knew that.

The Sox (13-14) beat the Angels (12-16) last night at Fenway Park, 5-1 thanks to Jon Lester's great start and Jeremy Hermida's clutch three-run double.

Ortiz? Oh he just went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and he grounded into two double plays. The second was a rare 4-2-3 DP in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, no outs and the score tied 1-1.

Luckily, Adrian Beltre kept the inning alive with a walk which set the stage for Hermida's Wall scraping double that Juan Rivera should have caught.

Lester (2-2) was a horse, throwing eight innings of one run ball, allowing five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 120 pitches and made manager Terry Francona look smart for keeping in their in the eighth when he ran into some trouble. Dustin Pedroia squelched that by getting a double play to end Lester's night and the inning.

Marco Scutaro continued to be a pleasant surprise at the top of the lineup with Jacoby Ellsbury out. He had three hits and scored the first run. He led off the bottom of the first with a double and eventually scored on Victor Martinez's groundout.

Erick Aybar tied it in the fourth when he scored on Kendry Morales' groundout.

Ervin Santana deserved better for Los Angeles. The up and down righty went seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.

John Lackey faces his old team for the first time tonight as the Red Sox try to make it three in a row over the uncharacteristically bad Angels. LA counters with former Sox pitcher Joel Pineiro.

The Red Sox played last night, really?

Last night's Red Sox game vs. the Angels had to have been Boston's lowest rated game in years.

Not only did they go up against a Bruins playoff game and a Celtics playoff game but the Sox have gotten off to a terrible start for what looks to be a very forgettable season.

I won't bore you with all the tedious details but Boston (12-14) beat Los Angeles (12-15) 17-8 at Fenway, snapping a three-game losing streak.

The Sox pounded out 20 hits, led by Mike Lowell (4 for 4, 4 RBIS), J.D. Drew (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs), Adrian Beltre (3 RBIs, 3 runs. 2 hits), Kevin Youkilis (3 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks), Bill Hall (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs).

Pedroia cranked a three-run homer, Youk had a solo shot while Hall and Beltre both collected their first home runs for Boston with two run bombs.

Clay Buchholz (3-2) didn't pitch well (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts) but that's much more than can be said for LA's Joe Saunders (1-5), who gave up seven earned runs in four innings or relievers Matt Palmer and Brian Stokes who combined to give up ten runs in three innings of work.

With the Bruins and Celtics off tonight, the spotlight will fall back onto the Red Sox. We'll see what they can do as Jon Lester faces Ervin Santana.

That's a beautiful trophy LeBron, sorry to ruin your evening

LeBron James celebrated his second straight MVP trophy last night at his home court, Quicken Loans Arena, by laying a stinker in front of the hapless Cleveland fans.

The Boston Celtics blew out the Cavs, 104-86 in Game 2 to tie the Eastern Conference Semifinals series at 1. Game 3 isn't until Friday night back at TD Garden, giving King James and his teammates plenty of time to wonder what happened as they lost the all-important home court.

Six Celtics scored in double figures, led by Rajon Rondo who tied a team playoff record (Bob Cousy) with 19 assists and 13 points. Rasheed Wallace also had his best game in a Celtics uniform, dropping 17 points on a smoking 7 of 8 shooting. Ray Allen had 22 points, Kevin Garnett added his second straight double double (18 points, 10 rebounds), Paul Pierce notched 14 points and Kendrick Perkins had 10 points and nine rebounds.

LeBron had 24 points and seven rebounds but he didn't do anything until it was too late. Boston led by as much as 23 points in the third quarter before Cleveland cut it to 10 (92-82) in the fourth quarter. Only two other Cavs scored in double figures: Antawn Jamison (16 points) and J.J. Hickson (13 points).

The Celts led 26-22 after the first quarter and 52-48 at the half. They broke it wide open with an awesome third quarter (31-12) and were able to withstand's Cleveland's inevitable fourth quarter run (26-21).

Boston shot 51.3% to Cleveland's icy 40.0%. They made five more 3-pointers (9-4), outrebounded the rugged Cavs (43-32) and spread it around much better (30-17 assists).

Nobody thought the Celts had a chance in this series but they've put themselves in great position to at least make this go six or seven games. LeBron and the Cavaliers are a bunch of frontrunners, as proven by their choke job last season in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic. It would be a beautiful thing to see the Cavs fall apart with LeBron due to become a free agent this summer.

The Bruins run Boston, wait what?

In my life, I've never been more into the Boston Bruins. This was an uninspiring team that barely made the playoffs this season but since the postseason started they've been a completely different squad. They hit, they're tough, they're clutch, they're not afraid of the big moments.

The B's got one step closer to the Eastern Conference Finals (where they haven't been since 1992) with a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 at the TD Garden last night. Boston now has a commanding 2-0 lead with Game 3 in Philly tomorrow night.

Milan Lucic scored the game-winner with 2:57 left in the third after he pounced on a loose puck and fired a low shot past Flyers goalie Brian Boucher (24 saves). David Krejci and Miroslav Satan assisted on Lucic's first goal of the 2010 playoffs.

Twice Boston led by a goal, only to blow it. Johnny Boychuk scored 5:12 into the game off an assist from Patrice Bergeron, who won the face-off right back to him. It's a shot that Boucher would probably like back since it was a long distance, screened shot that he should have stopped.

Mike Richards, the Flyers' best offensive player, tied it at 17:06 from Danny Briere and Ville Leino.

One of the biggest revelations for the Bruins in the playoffs has been Miroslav Satan. He has continued to score huge goals and turn in game-changing plays. Last night was no different as he gave Boston a 2-1 lead in the second period from Blake Wheeler and Dennis Wideman.

Briere tied it up with 25 seconds left in the second period with a snipe over Tuukka Rask's (24 saves) shoulder. Leino and Chris Pronger assisted.

Overall this series is going exactly as most expected: these teams are basically mirrors images with the big difference being in goal; Rask is a budding superstar and Boucher is a journeyman and it's starting to show. Tuukka hasn't been as good so far vs. Philly like he was against Buffalo but he hasn't had to be, Boucher is good for a soft goal every game.

Philly desperately needed last night and since they didn't get it, they'll face a must-win tomorrow night at the Wachovia Center which should be nuts. Lose and they're done, win and they're right back in the series.

Love you Theo, but what were you thinking last winter?

Since we can already say that the Boston Red Sox aren't going anywhere this season, who can we blame? Answer: GM Theo Epstein.

The Brookline native delivered two World Series championships so he's bulletproof for locals but someone has to be held responsible for the poor construction of the 2010 Red Sox.

As many things as you can make fun of the owners for, one thing that is not debatable is that they spend money. It's Theo's job (and his legion of minions) to put that money to good use and clearly they didn't in the off-season, as their obsession with statistics has led them astray.

That was a long introduction to a completely forgettable weekend in Baltimore. Boston (11-14) got swept for the first time since 1998 by the terrible Orioles (7-18), who won 3-2 in 10 innings yesterday at Camden Yards.

Ty Wigginton won it for the O's, who are 4-2 against the Sox this season, with an RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon (1-2) that scored Nick Markakis (2 hits, 2 runs, walk).

Boston wasted a strong effort from Josh Beckett: seven innings, two runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Kevin Millwood matched Beckett, going eight innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew provided the only runs with solo homers in the fifth and seventh respectively. Baltimore had jumped ahead with two runs in the fourth.

It will not get any easier for the Red Sox even though they come home for another 10-game homestand. They play the Angels, then Yankees and Blue Jays.

Clay Buchholz takes on Joe Saunders tonight.

Love it Live: the predictable NBA playoffs

It sounds strange or extremely cynical but I'm not even looking forward to the Celtics-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Semifinal series.

I felt that way before last night's game 1 loss by the Celtics, 101-93 at Quicken Loans Arena and I'm sure it'll only get worse.

Cleveland is a great team, although not much better than Boston. The thing about it that's so frustrating is that you know the NBA wants LeBron to win. He choked last season and now he's on the verge of free agency without any rings. In the NBA, the home team always gets the calls, especially in the playoffs. And when you have a superstar well you better believe they'll get a call on every play.

Making LeBron even more of a fraud is the fact that he does lame shit like pretending his elbow is severely hurt. All last night and I'm sure for the rest of the series, we'll have to listen to how tough he is for playing through pain, etc. Ugh, give it a rest.

Haha, sorry just had to get that off my chest since I will be thinking it for however long the C's and Cavs are playing.

Another fact of NBA playoff games is that no lead is safe, particularly if the road team has it. So while I was psyched that Boston led 26-20 after the first quarter and 54-43 at the half, I knew Cleveland would comeback and probably win.

LeBron did his thing with 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists but the player of the game for Cleveland was Mo Williams (20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) who kept their team in it during the third quarter when the Celts tried to run away with it and LeBron was on the bench.

The loss overshadowed what was a great performance by Rajon Rondo (27 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds). During the broadcast, Reggie Miller rightly said that it should be a Big Four in Boston now, not Big Three.

Kevin Garnett had 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, Ray Allen scored 14 and Paul Pierce had 13 points (but only five points after the game's first few minutes).

Cleveland took 10 more free throws (31-21) and they took it to the basket at will in the second half when they had to get points. The Cavs outscored the C's 36-24 in the third quarter and 22-15 in the fourth.

The Cavs had 26 points off the bench while the Celts only had 12. In all honestly, this was a game that Boston should have won. Cleveland and their home crowd were lifeless for much of the game and what are the odds that'll happen tomorrow night in Game 2?

If the Celts don't settle for so many jumpers (when they're ice cold like Pierce), they should be in good shape. I think the margin between these teams is much closer than the national media will tell you but you already know how it will end: with a Cavaliers series win.

This one's for you Matt Cooke (you scumbag)

After missing nearly two months of action thanks to Matt Cooke's cheap shot (that went unpunished by the NHL), Bruins center Marc Savard returned this afternoon and wrote a fairytale chapter to what has been a terrible ordeal for him.

He scored the game-winner in overtime as the B's beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 at TD Garden in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Going into the series, the one thing that seems to distinguish the two teams is that Tuukka Rask is the hottest goalie left in the NHL playoffs and Flyers goalie Brian Boucher is a journeyman scrub (despite his fine play against the Devils).

Boston choked away a pair of two-goal leads (3-1, 4-2) but that was soon forgotten as their best offensive player ended it with a turnaround shot at 13:52 from Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara.

As expected, it was a very physical game with both teams not afraid to throwing their bodies all over the ice.

Steve Begin scored his first career playoff goal 2:39 into the game from Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. Any offense from the fourth line is a big plus and to see a bum like Begin score is similar to a solar eclipse.

Bergeron doubled the lead at 12:54 of the first period with an assist from Wideman.

Ryan Parent opened the scoring for Philly at 7:38 in the second period from Mike Richards and Arron Asham.

Miroslav Satan cashed in on a power-play just over four minutes later. Johnny Boychuk and Wideman.

At 15:48 Chris Pronger got the Flyers closer (3-2) with a power play goal from Kimmo Timonen and Richards.

David Krejci made it 4-2 in the third period with assists from Satan and Milan Lucic. It looked to be over at that point but the stubborn Flyers kept the pressure on and it paid off as Richards and Daniel Briere tied it up.

Boucher (41 saves) and Rask (32 saves) made some outstanding saves in overtime, with Boucher making a bunch of A+ stops in the early going of OT. Boston outshot Philadelphia 15-4 in overtime.

The B's will try to hold serve at home in Game 2 on Monday night.