beantown power moves

Boston sports fans must be euphoric. Sox sign Eric Gagne and Celtics land Kevin Garnett in the same week. Red Sox already have the best record in the MLB and Gagne probably punches their ticket to the World Series. Gagne-Papelbon as a 1-2 punch? Once they get a lead into the 7th inning its over.

Celts are a different story. Their new big 3 of Pierce/Allen/Garnett immediately catapults them from basement dwellers to favorites in the weak East...if they can manage to share the ball (there's more concern about the Pierce-Allen dynamic as Garnett never really demanded the ball in crunch time and always looked for help in shouldering the load). Glaring problems still remain - namely lack of interior defense, depth, and inexperience at point guard. But every team in the East is flawed. Pistons are aging, Bulls are deep but lack a go-to-guy, LeBron needs more help in Cleveland and who knows how much Shaq's got left in the tank for the Heat.

That being said the Celtics won't beat anyone out West. But it will be nice to see a storied franchise reclaim some of its glory. Pro basketball has been garbage in the Northeast for a while. The Knicks should improve as well. Not so sure about my Sixers.