ESPN.Com's take on the greatest sports franchise ...

After reading David Fleming's article over at Page 2 yesterday (sports.espn.go.com), my mind immediately jumped to those "Really!?! with Seth and Amy" skits from Weekend Update (snltranscripts.jt.org) ...

Really? You're seriously going to argue that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the greatest franchise in the history of team sports? REALLY? Wow!

Here's the part where he tries to discount the 17-time world champions and their accomplishments throughout the decades:

Are the Steelers the best sports franchise ever?

Purchased by Art Rooney Sr. in 1933, with $2,500 he supposedly won at the track (love that), the Steelers initially struggled for decades. But since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 (something Art Sr. helped orchestrate), no one's been better. No one. And now, after seven Super Bowls, 30 postseason wins, seven championship games in the past 14 years, 19 Hall of Famers and the dynasty of the 1970s that includes probably the greatest, baddest football team ever assembled ... if you factor in the popularity of the NFL and the quaint but sturdy Midwestern soul of this franchise, it's hard to argue against what the Steelers have built.

Yes, of course, I know the Montreal Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups. But if we're talking about the best-run, most successful franchise in our lifetime, the Habs are disqualified for winning only two Cups in the past 30 years. There are the defending NBA champs in Boston, of course, who have collected 17 titles, but they too were largely a non-factor for the past two decades. The Cowboys? America's Team? Please. They haven't won a playoff game in a dozen years.

Anyone else find it odd that Fleming seems to go out of his way to avoid referring to the Celtics by name?

Anyway, it would appear that ESPN's readership is not buying into his argument, as an online poll at the site currently has the Steelers ranked third in a four-team race (sports.espn.go.com) ... For the record, the Celts are in second place, right behind the - ugh - Yankees.You'll notice that all of the New England states know what the correct answer is ;)

EDIT: Total votes have now passed 25,000 (25,327 as of January 26th), and the Celts are - sadly - still a distant second ...

New York Yankees - 47%
Boston Celtics - 26%
Montreal Canadiens - 13%
Pittsburgh Steelers - 14%

Thanks to "Dino Radja Experience" (Dino don't use no articles) for the shout-out!

I'd like to thank the fine folks over at "The Dino Radja Experience" (an hilarious Celtics-centric podcast that you all should check out) for giving my old website a plug on the December 30th edition (newengland.comcastsportsnet.com) of their program ... Of course, I had only gotten around to listening to the show yesterday, which shows just how far behind I've gotten in my listening habits!

Anyway, I had first checked out the show about a month ago and was immediately hooked, so I decided to shoot them off an email with a link to my old Dino Radja fan site (archive.org); I figured only like-minded individuals such as these would truly appreciate it.

Sure enough, hosts Rich Levine and Nick Altschuler gave it a mention (fast-forward to 18:13 for the relevant part), going so far as to declare me "the man" as well as their "biggest fan" ... I don't remember actually making such a claim in my email, but I'll happily take up the mantle ;)

"Cousy looks like a dwarf ... "

The College of the Holy Cross has decided to dedicate the latest issue of the school's official magazine to one of their most famous alumni ... You might recognize the name Bob Cousy, ever heard of him?

The college has seen fit to provide several features from the magazine and make them available on their website at:

http://www.holycross.edu/magazine/

There's a lot of good stuff there for anyone's who is an admirer of the legendary Celtics point guard ... Everything from audio clips from an interview with the man himself, to a photo gallery, to a great piece written by noted sports columnist Dave Anderson (nytimes.com) which details Cousy's impact on basketball at both the college and pro levels.

If that's not enough, there's even a complete reproduction (in PDF format) of "The Bob Cousy Story", a biography in comic-book format which first appeared in the April 12th (1962) issue of "The Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact" (wrlc.org) ... Holy Cross Crusaders, Batman!

Anyone still watch the Simpsons?

If not, you might have been interested in last night's episode ... You can click here (hulu.com) for the relevant clip in case you missed it.

Betting People

Excerpt (The Burns and the Bees : s.20 : ep.8) | 01:13 | At a Billionaire's Retreat, Burns bets a million dollars and Smithers for the Austin Celtics.

Mr. Burns: I raise a million dollars! And, to sweeten the pot, my assistant Smithers!

Smithers: If you lose me, sir, may I say what an honor it's been to--

Mr. Burns: Bets don't talk. They see and raise.

Smithers: *sigh*

Rich Texan: Well, if we're bettin' people, I got a whole herd of 'em! My professional basketball team, the Austin Celtics!

Mr. Burns: Well, they're hardly worth a Smithers, but we don't have all night. Can you beat nine high?

Rich Texan: Damn! Eight high!

Mr. Burns: So, I own a basketball team, do I?

Rich Texan: Take good care of 'em, Burnsie. Don't let the forwards mix with the guards, and if they're acting sluggish, slip some steroids into their cocaine!

Burns would eventually rename the new Springfield Celtics franchise and dub them the Springfield Excitement ... So, maybe John Y. Brown wasn't so bad after all, eh?

Alternate unfunny punchline: Hey, it could've been worse. He might have renamed them the Springfield Unicorns (en.allexperts.com) ...

Ha ha, Rondo made Iverson cry!

As if last night's beatdown (sports.yahoo.com) wasn't bad enough for the Answer ...

"Leave me alone, ya big bully!"

The creepiest Jose Calderon fan ever

I noticed this scene unfolding during the game against Toronto last week (November 10th), and just knew that I had to take some snapshots for (ahem) posterity's sake.





Now, we can't know for sure what exactly this dude is staring at, but the possibilities alone are seriously freaking me out ...

Four former Celtics have their college jerseys retired (with video)

Via the Worcester Telegram and Gazette (telegram.com):

Holy Cross is proud of its basketball history, and everyone in yesterday’s sold-out Hart Center crowd would likely agree that the afternoon was yet another majestic moment to remember.

The college retired the jerseys of all-time greats George Kaftan, Bob Cousy, Togo Palazzi and Tom Heinsohn, and the 2008-09 Crusaders treated the fantastic foursome to a thrilling, 73-69 overtime victory over St. Joseph’s.

"It was beautiful," Palazzi said, summarizing the day succinctly.

TOMMY

TOGO

COOZ

KAFTAN*

* which I failed to take footage of because I dropped my camera bag and had to rummage around in the dark for five minutes to retrieve it, so I'm just linking to the T&G video instead ... D'oh!