Celtics Win!

As I write this post, there is less than 3 minutes left in the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, losers of 18 straight games - and wouldn't you know it, the Celts are going to finally end the skid. They're up by, ironically, 18 as I write this.

Today is February 14th. The last time that Boston won before tonight was January 5th. Let's reflect on the time that was the Celtics' losing streak and what has changed in a little more than a month. On January 5th:

- Greg Oden was the definitive #1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft

- The Ohio State football team was an unstoppable force waiting for their coronation as champions

- You would have felt comfortable betting your 401K that Ron Rivera would get a head coaching job before Lane Kiffin

- Isaiah Thomas was still a dead man walking in New York

- Nobody gave two thoughts to the love lives of astronauts

- Peyton Manning couldn't win the big game and the Colts defense was a serious liability

- The other side of karma hadn't reared its ugly head on the Duke basketball team

- Art Monk wasn't yet in the NFL Hall of Fame....Oh wait, he's still not. (I apologize for that bitterness, but as a Redskins fan, I can't help it.)

- Chris Webber was a washed-up has-been

- The Boston Celtics were still playoff contenders (Yes, even at 12-20, which is where they stood on Jan. 5th, that was reason to hope in the Eastern Conference.)

boston celtics
greg oden
isaiah thomas
art monk
lane kiffin
chris webber

Marty Schottenheimer Fired

If a head coaching firing in the NFL can be both stunning but not unexpected at the same time, this is it. The San Diego Chargers finally decided to cut their losses with the embattled Marty Schottenheimer after 5 years as coach. The tipping point has been building in the last month ever since the juggernaut Chargers lost in the divisional playoff to the Patriots then witnessed an exodus of assistant coaches to other teams (i.e. Wade Phillips and Cam Cameron) and higher positions. An already frosty (at best) relationship between Schottenheimer and GM A.J. Smith couldn't take any more stress than it had already come under, and as a result the last thread that Marty was holding on by finally snapped.

Of course this is the logical and correct decision by San Diego in the decision of GM Smith or Coach Schottenheimer. If one of them had to go - and clearly, one did - it was going to be Schottenheimer. He was already a lame duck head coach who hasn't won a playoff game in more than a decade. And let's not forget that Smith has done an incredible job assembling a roster than many regard as the most talented in the league.

What does this mean for the Chargers? Who will they hire at this point so late in the game? Again, Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera pops out as a obvious possibility. Colts assistant Jim Caldwell, who along with Rivera interviewed last week for the Cowboys job, could also get a look. Maybe they'd try to lure Redskins offensive coordinator Al Saunders? It's hard to envision the Bolts going after a college coach - it's much too late, with National Signing Day having just wrapped up last week.

And now, what happens to Marty Schottenheimer? At 63, I'd say that he has one more coaching stint left in him. He's going to get a call from teams that need a coach next year, no doubt about it - he's too good for that not to happen. But you would think that'll be his last chance to win a Super Bowl. And considering how badly he wants to win one, I don' t think he'd take just any job. I doubt that at this point in his career, he's willing to wait around and build a team from scratch. The team he takes over will need to have some pieces in place.

For an offseason that wasn't supposed to have too many spins on the coaching carousel, this will be the seventh head coaching change of the offseason. Just par for the course in the oftentimes crazy world of the NFL.

marty schottenheimer
a.j. smith
ron rivera

I Guess This Means T.O. Is Staying

Report just coming out via AP that Bill Parcells is retiring, this time probably for good. You can say this about the man, you never really know what he's thinking. Remember how everyone said that the play of Tony Romo energized him this season? Well, didn't play out that way in the end. Romo's bobble in the playoff game against Seattle was probably the cherry on top of a maddeningly inconsistent year for Dallas, fraught with Terrell Owens-led distractions.

The really rotten thing of it all for Dallas is the fact that former Parcells assistant Sean Payton, just coming off a championship game appearance with the Saints, isn't around to fill Parcells' shoes. It'll be interesting to see who they can hire as coach this late in the game. My guess goes to Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.