May 17, 2009

Featured Twitpic: AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, on a sunny day



"It really is just a beautiful day to see a baseball game. No matter how vas [bad] the teams are."
Twitpic posted by @dbertie


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Game Log: Orlando Magic eliminate Boston Celtics 101-82 in Game 7

It's elimination night in the NBA. Latest victim: The defending champions Boston Celtics.

Per the Boston Globe, the Magic defeated the Celtics 101-82 Sunday night at Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to play the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Houston Rockets 89-70 to advance to the Western Conference Finals to play the Denver Nuggets. Both Game 7s today were decided by 19 points.

Not even the timeout cheers from the home crowd were enough to help the Celtics vault pass the Magic, who led most of the game: 27-17 at the end of the first, 45-38 at the half, and again after the third 66-61 despite a buzzer beater from Magic Rajon Rondo. J.J. Redick made Orlando's ninth three-pointer of the game in the third quarter, helping Orlando shoot at a 56 percent clip.


"Celtics game 7!"
Twitpic posted by @CentralSQ

Boston got off to a rocky start in the first quarter with five turnovers and only shooting at 39 percent. The Magic made 5 of 6 three-pointers and shot 72.7 percent from the floor to lead at the end of the period.

The Celtics made a few efforts to come back, including a 10-2 run in the first half and Ray Allen at 20 points at the start of the second. However, by the middle of the fourth quarter five Magic players were in double-figures, led by Hedo Turkoglu with 18 points, a playoff-career high. The Magic led by as much as 31 points with just over 6:00 left in the game. Boston closed the gap to 19 but ran out of time at the end.


"Let's go Celtics! 5:15 on the clock. They need to turn it UP!"
Twitpic posted by @glunardi

We've got Tweets from Boston back to Orlando:

  1. Gary Dubin
    G_Dubs_26 This is not boston celtics basketball...
  2. Roei H.
    siractsalot777 celtics pull it within 5 at the end of the 3rd can they pull through and win......?
  3. Phil R.
    jinzilla20 at Home: hoping the Celtics have another miracle comeback left in them... aw crap :(
  4. Jeanny
    jbottle7 BTW Celtics are slacking, someone plz step it up!.
  5. mizzkim
    mizzkim Can't even lie, Orlando deserved this one. They came out & played like they wanted to win, unlike my Celtics. So disappointed. Oh well...
  6. chrisberez
    chrisberez Bruins out. Revolution suck. Big Papi can't hit. Celtics' chances looking slim. Tyler Perry still making shows/movies. Kill me. #fb
  7. Te'Jah Browne
    tethegreat so ii was wrong about the celtics! man what happened game 7 at home and the gettin they u kno what whooped
  8. JML
    BRL08 Oh Well Looks Like The CELTICS Are Done... Go Get Yours Lebron ..
  9. Victoria Wiggins
    vickeyvale ayo im so super upset...boston is losing...this aint rockin...cavs are definitely bout to give it to the magic...


Along with some other Magic fans, ex-Magic player Shaquille O'Neal had an I-told-you-so moment:

  1. THE_REAL_SHAQ
    THE_REAL_SHAQ Orlandos gonna beat boston bye thirty tomorro, yup I said it,superman 2, bout to go to wrk,u heardat @paulpierce
  2. Clifton L
    MrPoloSwag Lakers advanced to western finals, now time for the Magic to advance to the eastern finals
  3. Shakira Hill
    missshakira Magic handled their business. Hope they're ready for Lebron
  4. Brett
    DawgCPA Can't believe the Magic are man-handing the Celtics! Gotta love it! BTW, Marv Albert is an idiot! Could he be a bigger Celtic apologist?
  5. Daniel Flores
    Dflo224 Magic up 15 with 5 to go, if they blow this lead.....well ill just laugh bc neither one of these teams beating cleveland
  6. Alan P
    sfgeek And the magic beat the defending champions by 19 points!!!


--------------------------------------------------------
At halftime, the Magic lead the Celtics 45-38.

Some commentary from the Orlando Sentinel:

  1. Sentinel Sports
    orlandosports @dwighthoard shots are a little easier tan those 3s, dontcha think, Reggie? #Magic #Celtics trading buckets right now
  2. Sentinel Sports
    orlandosports I hate it when @dwighthoward puts that ball on the floor. If the #Celtics get wise, they'll slough down and swipe it every time #Magic by 5
  3. Sentinel Sports
    orlandosports @dwighthoward has four dunks and the #Magic seem to be finally waking up. It's not the zoo .. FEED THE ANIMAL
  4. Sentinel Sports
    orlandosports #Magic ball movement unlike anything we've seen from them in a while, maybe even back to the #philly series
  5. Sentinel Sports
    orlandosports that's right ... if he comes in there HAMMER him. If you're going to foul him, MAJKE IT HURT #Celtics kill the #Magic from the line



"Ok I'm ready!!! Go Magic!!!"
Twitpic posted by @djchino102jamz


One Tweeter got a shot of Rajon Rondo:


"@celtics Game 7"
Twitpic posted by @lovelikejordan

Game comments from the Twitterverse:

  1. Ricky Rodriguez
    Ricarius Celtics need stops or this is going to be a long night
  2. Brandon Norfleet
    Bizzle_HD Dwight Howard, pullin' a "Lions" there... [magic/celtics]
  3. Bob Stelton
    bstelton The Celtics should be down by 25 the way they have played so far...absolute garbage!
  4. Donnie Jones
    DJHerd Magic must stat down the stretch going thru Dwight Howard don't get caught in long shots, Celtics do great job with 4 in lane most of time!
  5. Jason Dunbar
    LifeOnTheWagon it's like the Magic marched into the Garden dressed in riot gear with shields reading "submit," and the Celtics are kissing their boots
  6. Mr. Grinch
    liveguy Marbury still got that quick first step. #nba #celtics
  7. Mark Quirk
    Qbacca1974 Could the Celtics make it any more obvious that trey by Alston just totally deflated them?
  8. kezcommunittee
    kezcommunittee Hope Magic pulls a game 7 upset against the Celtics.
  9. Samuel Swain
    Swainy30 Magic take a good act into Game 7 leading Celtics at halftime... Orlando Magic 45 - Boston Celtics 38... Magic led by 14 at one point in 1st


--------------------------------------------------------

It's Sunday night and time for another Game 7!

The Lakers eliminated the Rockets earlier today, and now we'll see if the Boston Celtics or Orlando Magic will advance to play the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are perfect in post-season play.

Can Boston clinch Game 7 at home the way they did against the Chicago Bulls? Or do the Magic come onto Celtics' turf and eliminate the home team?


Twitpic posted by @karpaydm

The game begins tonight at 7 p.m. CT, but we've got some tweeting commentary already...

..in favor of the Celtics:

  1. Matt Hobbs
    MattHobbsSports I'm calling it now. Celtics win game seven...only to later be pummeled into submission by Lebron & co. See you on the TV box tomorrow @6!
  2. Mars
    MarsMcFly Lets go Celtics!! I would rather have my Cavs play them then Orlando imo...
  3. Zoe
    celtsfan25 CELTICS GAMES STARTS NOW!!! CELTS ARE GONNA WIN!!! hopefully ray allen will get his shot back and Paul Pierce will take over! GO CELTICS!!!
  4. angelic
    angie_BBY celtics game is on, hella nervous. LETS GO C'S !
  5. jtench
    jtench About to watch the Celtics. Hope they can pull this off tonight!
  6. Buddy Montalvo
    buddymontalvo I hope the Celtics don't pull a Houston Rocket no show in their game 7.


..And going for the Magic:

  1. Harvel Thomas
    DuvalRyda @MZTHYCKYTHYCK My dislike for the Celtics, my Florida blood, and my love for the Lakers are the reasons I'm goin for Orlando.
  2. Andrew Drummond
    CyphSB Lakers win + Celtics loss = Perfect day
  3. JessAnne
    Jesslovesmusic workin on sales reports & watching the Magic destroy the Celtics.
  4. Paul Migliore
    Miggs21 Celtics could be in for a long night ......but the world does want a Cleveland-Boston series......keep that in mind
  5. Chris Freeman
    chrisfreeman Celtics will not win tonight. just saying.
  6. Brad Gillens
    BGillens @NBATV I got the Magic winning in a close one.
  7. anide
    bklynstar GO MAGIC. !!!!!!!!!!! But honestly how good would it be at the end it was melo and lebron or dwight and kobe or kobe and lebron!!!!!!!!!!!!



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Red Wings outlast Blackhawks to take 1-0 Western Conference Finals lead

Two Original Six teams meeting in the Western Conference Finals is a special occurrence. But when those two teams happen to be the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, consider it a bonus, especially since these bitter rivals have not met this late in the season since 1995.

Those at the game or at home watching could not have asked for a more physical, fast-paced game than what was offered as the Sunday matinee in Detroit. The Red Wings won 5-2, per the Detroit Free Press, taking a 1-0 lead in the battle -- er, series.

The visiting Hawks got on the board early with a backhanded goal by Adam Burish early in the first, but the Red Wings didn't wait long as Daniel Cleary tied it up 3 minutes later with a wrister.

The veteran-laden Wings proved to be too much, opening up the game with three unanswered goals in the third period punctuated by Henrik Zetterberg's empty-netter with under a minute to play.

Red Wings fans in Detroit Tweeted and rejoiced in their team's "dominating" performance:

  1. Hannah Tegan
    madcrayons Blackhawk DOWN! GO WINGS! #redwings
  2. MC
    Insanitiki Empty Net Goal! This GAME IS OVER!!!! WOOT! #redwings
  3. Les Zaldor
    zaldor Way to go Red Wings! They win game 1 of round 3 of Stanley Cup playoffs!
  4. Tom Leyden
    TomLeyden 7 Wins to Go: Red Wings take Game One of the Western Finals 5-2. Dan Cleary, Chris Osgood and Johan Franzen my three stars.
  5. Chilly Chilton
    iChilly REDWINGS DOMINATE the blackhawks!!!

Those in Chicago were disappointed in their team's loss (as well the Cubs and White Sox), but have hope going forward. At least their Tweets said so:

  1. Ashley Dziadyk
    praying4ariot Ah well blackhawks played good...detroit was a little better...there are still more games it is best of 7 after all
  2. Mary Matz
    MAmatz The blackhawks just broke my heart :( we are dead, so close. What is wrong with Chicago sports?
  3. Mindi Capp
    MCapp22 Cubs, White Sox and Blackhawks all lost today. Not a good day for Chicago sports teams. : (
  4. pinsuda sagooleim
    pinsuda Sad... #RedWings beat up the #BlackHawks with a final score of 5-2.. We'll just have to get them in the next game!
  5. klyph
    klyph oh well, it's only 1 game. Right, #blackhawks? Next game get some more offensive pressure, mmmkay?

Blackhawks radio analyst Troy Murray (@muzz19) Tweeted his thoughts throughout the game from Joe Louis Arena.

  1. Troy Murray
    muzz19 At Joe Lewis!
  2. Troy Murray
    muzz19 Players coming out for warm ups. . .lots of BHawk fans.
  3. Troy Murray
    muzz19 Lets get ready to rumble!. . Game on!
  4. Troy Murray
    muzz19 Good first 20 mins. . Burish line had lots of energy. Best line for Hawks!
  5. Troy Murray
    muzz19 Khabby very good period. Too many mistakes in critical areas but only down by 1.

Despite the loss, one Blackhawks fan (@stevewsop) had the opportunity to meet Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, the man credited with building the storied franchise up again.


The series continues Tuesday night in Detroit at 7:30 EST. Buckle up!



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