Phew!!!!

Here's hoping you had a great Christmas and are on the verge of a Happy New Year...

For Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics and all their fans...there will be rejoicing, as MRI results showed that KGs leg injury, which he suffered during the Celtics loss to the Pistons on Wednesday night, are negative.

While collectively Celtics players and fans held their breath over the fear that KG reinjured his knee, today's tests show the injury was nothing more than a calf muscle strain -- and that the knee is fine.

What this means is that the Cs Title 18 hopes are still alive -- assuming Rondo makes it back. It means KG will likely be out for only "a couple of weeks," according to Danny Ainge. It also means we are looking at a couple ugly weeks of basketball for the Cs, with the Green rolling out a lineup significantly lacking bigs, and players like rookie Luke Harangody will see an increase in playing time.

Do I care that the next few weeks might be tough to watch? No. Like last year when the Celtics coasted from January on, before becoming dominant right up until the last 4 minutes of the Finals...I say keep your elders rested and healthy until the post season begins -- then turn it on.

Hopefully the end result will be different and the next banner will be hoisted to the rafters. And a rested and healthy KG and Rondo will lead the team there.

Merry Christmas

Just a quick note to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas. We've survived the eve of Christmas Eve with a puking son, and are hoping the worst is behind us...Here's hoping you and yours enjoy the holiday!

Winning Ugly

The Patriots held on tonight for a 31-27 win over the Pack, and while the win may have been ugly, it was still important. With four teams in the division tied at 10-4, the Patriots -- with the win tonight -- just need to pull off one of the next two against Buffalo or Miami to clinch the division, home field advantage through the playoffs, and a first round bye.

A loss, and the story would have been different.

So while the Pats made quite a few mistakes tonight and were charged with some questionable and some legit penalties, hopefully they will learn from this game and realize what it is going to take to win against good teams.

One of the pluses you can take out of this game is that the Pats scored 31 points against one of the league's best defenses -- one that was only giving up 14 points a game. And anyone who watched this game will surely remember this 71-yard kickoff return by O-Lineman Dan Connolly. The negative side was that their defense gave up 27 against a back up QB (who played well) and a team not known for throwing a lot of points on the board.

While the Pats walked away with the win and a 12-2 record...Coach Bill did not look happy at the post game press conference. That bodes well for the rest of the season.

Theo Makes His Move...

Don't look now, but Theo Epstein might have just pulled off the biggest and best move of his tenure as Sox GM today as he traded three prospects for San Diego first baseman, All Star, and arguably one of the top 10 players in Major League Baseball - Adrian Gonzalez.

So, if you are like me, you might not know too much about Gonzalez. Playing in San Diego for the last bunch of years, it is not like we get to see a lot of West Coast baseball. But that doesn't mean we can't dive in and learn a little more about him. So here we go.

Gonzalez is a 28-year-old, left-handed, slugging, Gold Glove first baseman. He has a lifetime average of .284, and a slugging percentage of .507. He has done this in a notoriously bad hitters park for the last four year since being traded from Texas. This is someone who should light up Fenway. He is an extremely popular player among fans, teamates and coaches alike. Best of all...he has openly said that he wants to play for the Red Sox.

Last year he batted .298, with 31 dongs, and 101 RBIs, while hurt for a good portion of the year. The Padres will get stud pitching prospect Casey Kelly, 1b Anthony Rizzo, and outfielder Reymond Fuentes. As far as I am concerned -- this is one-sided deal. This is a deal that will hurt San Diego. On the flip side, the local columnists Steve Buckley, and Bob Ryan agree: The Red Sox just became relevant again.

San Diego was in a bind. They are a smaller market team and knew they would not be able to retain him when his contract was up, so they made the move now.

While the deal is not done yet -- Gonzalez still needs to pass a physical and the Sox need to sign him to a long-term deal -- make no bones about it...Theo will get it done. He has to...he has been laying the groundwork for this deal for two-plus years...and this is the deal for which he/and all Sox fans have been waiting.

All of a sudden, Sox fans like myself who were longing for Mark Teixeira two winters ago...only to see him go to the Yankees -- will forget all about that heartbreak.

So what's next? It looks like Beltre will walk, Youk will move to third, and Theo will go to Florida and focus on Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth.

The winter is looking a whole lot brighter...wouldn't you say?

UPDATE: 12-5-10, 8:20 pm -- Apparently the deal is official, without a long-term extension -- SI.com, and Boston.com are reporting. Speculation is that the Sox and Gonzalez have agreed to the terms of the extension, but will not announce until after opening day to save a boat-load of cash (millions) in terms of luxury tax.

Also ... Jayson Werth just signed a mega-deal with the Nationals...a seven-year, $126 million deal...While Werth is a good player, this one seems a bit large for a 32 y.o., one-time all star.