Joe Ticket comments on the NBA, MBL, and even life itself.

To all the folks who wrote and called me while I was laid up with a broken collarbone (don’t worry, Lipshitz, Levine and Cohen are making sure I get my just compensation), I thank you..when your hurt (and miss work)it makes you think about how lucky it is to be unhurt , healthy , and normal. Everyone has aches and pains, I guess that’s normal, but when you have a heart attack and die at age 58 like Tim Russertthat really makes you think. So today think about taking a walk and listening to the birds sing. Think about going to a ballgame with you dad. Think about bringing home some fresh cut wildflowers to your wife. Think about how lucky you are to even have your life in this day in time, in this wonderful free country. We are all annoyed at the price of gas, at political boondogles, the lack of healthinsurance for everyone, the decline in our homes values or even the prospects of maybe losing our homes..but keep the faith, hang in there, it could be worse, you could live in a repressed society, you could be very ill.. All too often we take these days we are blessed with for granted and we bitch about traffic and curse about spilled coffee on our new shirt..big deal, get real..start thinking about what really matters. Its your relationships to your friends and family and how you treat people that you don’teven know. Its about your communications in that private space reserved for you and the lord, its about helping others and in that way you help yourself to a much richer life..what does it have to do with tickets, with sports, with music entertainment..that’s the question for you to ponder today. 

I am not going to say I told you so but the Celtics are on the verge of their 17th world championship leading LA 3-1 in the NBA finals. Doc Rivers has established himself as a top flight coach skillfully employing his deep and talented bench to take advantage of matchups and tempo all season long. Danny Ainge managed to assemble a group of players that have bought into the “Celtics “style of selfless team ball playing. One piece brought another as key contributers Eddie House, PJ Brown, Ray Allen all came to Boston at the beheast of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce who were on a mission for a ring befor the final bell sounded on their brilliant careers. The fact that Rajon Rondo emerged as a fine creative point guard capable of defending and rebounding and knocking down clutch junpers when left alone cannot be ignored. This is what happenns in championship seasons in all sports for the winning teams, things just come together perfectly. This nucleus will be back again next year, Perkins and Davis and Rondo and Tony Allen all a year more mature, so I see the Celtics and the Lakers, if Andrew Bynum regains his mobility, back at it in 09 for one more time. While Kobe Bryant is certainly great he is no Jordan, not now anyway. Obviously I am assuming that the Celtics can win one of three from Lakers and if you want to bet me otherwise please email me , I can use the extra money! Beantown is getting ready for another parade and the hits just keep on comin..Next up The Red Sox, and then The Patriots on this victorious merrygoround., Round and round she goes when it ends nobody knows..

As for baseball, the word is out that instant replay is coming soon to a ballpark near you. I am in favor of it on one condition that it not be used for balls and strikes that it only be used when the umpires have a consensus that maybe the call needs to be reviewed like on a homer down the line or a play at the plate when the ump isn’t in good position. It should not be on demand by the managers, those guys always think the ump blew the call when it goes the other way. Surprise teams The Florida Marlins and The Tampa Bay Rays continue to play exciting ball in front of sparse crowds wilst having the lowest payrolls in the game, proving that you cant buy love and happiness or guarantee victory between the lines. In a sign of the times both clubs developed superior young talent often acquired form other clubs in trades of their emerging stars who would have commanded salaries exceeding their teams capacity to pay for them. They also are signing their young players to longer contracts in essence tying them up for the extra one or two years when they will be hitting their prime..its a winning formula and to the clubs that overspend on aging, questionable talent..smarten up and yes that includes the Yankees, the Red Sox and the Mets and in fact it appears that those clubs are taking the hint. The Red Sox best production on the hill has been from Lester, Buckholz, Papelbon, etc and this kid Masterson looks real good too. On paper the Sox seem to have the best ballclub and manager Tito Francona usually knows how to play his cards by now.  JD Drew is finally comfortable at the plate and playing great all around ball in right. Coco Crisp is the best 4th outfielder in the league, Ellsbury is the real deal if .285, 70 stolen bases and an acrobatic catch a game wets your whistle and Manny is well Manny and even though Ortiz is on the shelf they wont miss a beat. I will not insult my Yankee readers( although my Sox readers want me too, ) with a beat down, lets just say SEE YA…there are a few other good ballclubs in the AL for sure- the Angels are solid as long as Vlad gimps it out and the Ozzie whipped White Sox come to mind..I still want to see the Tigers take batting practice but a theoretically thumping lineup doesn’t translate to wins. Good pitching beats good hitting in the long run. The Phillies, the Cubs and the Diamondbacks are all playing well and even though the slugging stick thin Soriano is out for 6 weeks, I see them going all the way in the National League, setting the stage for what would be a historic Championship Series between the Red Sox and the long overdue Cubbies. I for one will be trying to make it to at least one game in each city and of course with my connections I’ll in the front row as Uke would say. It will be chilly in October in Boston and Chicago but I think everyone should be sufficiently fueled up to stay warm.  But for now you can satisfy your urge to see the best baseball on the planet by going to National Ticket Agencies MBL page and clicking on your team and picking out your game…and psssst take your dad!

Well its time to put down the pen and do my rehab in the pool down here in sunny South Florida. I should mention that the NFL season is right around the corner and tickets to all games for all teams are allready on sale and actually moving quite well. Baseball is the national pastime but football is king..at least in the ticket industry. Get your sports and concert tickets at the lowest priced ticket agency on the internet, National Ticket Agency. Cheers – and I promise to write more often as I feel up to it..

The Celtics and The NBA’s Stretch Run To The Playoffs- Eastern Conference Outlook

Although the the Hornets beat the Celtics last night one cannot argue that this last roadtrip now over was a smashing success. The Celtics smashed the Rockets streak, beat San Antonio and also the Mavericks to complete a Texas trifecta, very difficult for any club to pull off. The Celtics play team basketball in a manner and style that conjures up the Celtics teams of old and makes the ghost of their legendary coach Red Auebach smile from above. It would be obvious to say that Kevin Garnett, a perennial All Star big time, big man is the main reason but the emergence of unheralded little Rajon Rondo is equally important for without a defensive minded point guard who has elevated his offensive production what good is the rest of this club? Danny Ainge is a shoe in for executive of the year, not only did the oft maligned in the past GM trade for a franchise center, he parlayed the nucleus of Pierce and Garnett to pursued slick Ray Allan, classy guy and another lights out perennial  All Star shooting guard to join the fold. Continuing to build the depth he added sharpshooter Eddie House, team player James Posey, heady steady veteran Sam Cassell, all supported by the young front court trio of Leon Powe, Kendrick Perkins, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis. This past week they added 15 year top flight defender, rebounder PJ Brown. Who did I leave out? Oh Tony Allen, not bad eh. This is the best ballclub front to back in the NBA in years. They still may not win it all. That’s never a lock. Guys like Kobe,  T Mac, LeBron, AI, and Nowitzki can break anyone down and pile up points. Missed free throws, a twisted ankle, a bad call down the stretch etc and hey you lose, so Celtic’s fans lets not hang number 17 prematurely but this year has been alot of fun for sure. And the playoffs should be and I gaurantee will be exciting. Folks the reemergence of the Celtics, the most storied franchise in the NBA, is great for basketball here and abroad. All  Boston is revelling in pro sports success this year and at the top of the hub sportswise with the Patriots, the Red Sox, Celtics and yes even the Bruins who are on the verge of making the NHL playoffs.

Ok well as long as I am rambling on high about the Celtics, let’s take a look at the NBA Eastern Conference as a whole. While the Celtics have already clinched the number 1 spot being  equally successful at home and on the road,  the Detriot Pistons are holding steady in the second slot some 5 games behind the C’s and 5 games ahead of number three Orlando. Detriot is led by Chauncey Billups and Richard Rip Hamilton both averaging almost 18 pts per contest. The starting five rounded out by  Wallace, McDyce and Prince are really good but a pretty average bench is what seperates them from the leagues elite this year. The Orlando Magic have also clinched a spot and feature a monster in the middle in Dwight Howard who is averaging 21 pts and 14 rebounds and is a younger version of Kevin Garnett. Hedu Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis are great scorers too at 19.9 and 18.3 and Jameer Nelson is a nice point guard but then things drop off alot and the bench is weak. When I say that, it’s not demeaning because this is a great club having a fine season but it’s relative to the other top tier clubs. And BTW they have great looking cheerleaders…The Cleveland Cavaliers are  solid at number 4,  6 games behind the Magic but a lock for this spot. When LeBron James was in high school he was a man among boys. In the NBA today he is the man among men. He does what he wants on offense with strength and grace, inside and out. He also defends, rebounds, runs the court and dishes off unselfishly. He is the modern day Oscar Robertson, but better. Sorry O, it’s true. He will ultimately be on the NBA All-Time team , maybe even a starter. Zydonis Ilgauskas pardon me if I spelt it wrong , it is getting very international isn’t it, is a gret player and at 13.6 and almost 10 rebounds he compliments James well. The rest of the Cavaliers though have shortcomings and while Gibson is a good shooter and West is ok but really they only going as far as King James goes.  The order of the next 3 teams is uncertain but it is certain that they will make the playoffs. Currently the Washington Wizards led by Antawn Camison and Caron Butler are  hanging on to the number 5 slot by a thread over the Raptors and the 76ers. If Gilbert Arenas comes back this week as anticipated and can pump in 20-25 pts as is his usual they could be a surprise team. The Toronto Raptors have a sweet player in the paint in Chris Bosh, and I know that Prker, Calderon, Tj Ford and Barganani are good ballplayers but I don’t see them getting past the first round. The Philadelphia 76ersare right there record wise and definitely in the mix but again they are not going to beat a really good team in a series. Andre Iguadala and Andre Miller are both scoring well 19.8 and 17.1 respectively after that it’s a bunch of who’s that guy which either means I am not following the fantasy stats which means knowing every single player or they just haven’t made names for themselves outside of say Philly. Which brings us to the number 8 and final slot which is the one that is anyones guess between Atlanta, New Jersey, Indiana, and Chicago. These teams are 8 to 13 games below .500 so I will spare you the details.

Generally speaking you can still get some sort of tickets for all the teams even the Celtics for the last few games. In the old days of the Garden they had obstructed view seats which I used to score and then just wander around standing along  the rails or sneaking into a vacant seat. The arenas of today are alot nicer, cleaner (no rats) and no obstructions so even nosebleeds are ok. If you want to sit in good loge or court-side seats though and you have the dough visit National Ticket Agencywhere you’ll find all the available after market seats. These are seats that brokers own or season ticket holders have sold to brokers including National. Reality is that between the seats, say two of them, parking , food,  it will set you back 3 or 400 bucks but you are guaranteed to have a ball as in basketball. The game is exciting , the athletes are phenomenal and you should make it a point to at least attend a game or two and root for your team as we get down to the nitty gritty. If your lucky enough to have seasons tickets you will get first dibs on the playoffs and what many ticket holders do is sell off half the games to pay for the rest. It makes sense. In any event use your head and don’t over drink and drive please. it’s tempting to get caught up in the excitement but honestly it’s so not worth it to ruin your life over another couple beers. Cheers!

Next post will be on the NBA Western Conference  playoff prospects. Also the NCAA march madness will be in full swing and I will report on that as well as the windup of spring training. So much to report, it’s all about sports. Yours truly, Joe Ticket.

The Beginning of My Year End

I guess I am a day late and a dollar short to do a year end wrapup but I can still do a year end review for 2007 in the concert and sports ticketing arena or theatre of operations to use some sad overworn cliche’. As usual your going to get a Bostonian view cause I yam what I yam. Of course this is a total pleasure as ballgames, sports, tickets, concerts and music are not just keywords to boost the  SEO of National Ticket Agency but they are in fact my passion. Likewise since I am still drunk haha with joy over the successes of my Boston sports teams (which continue into 2008) I deam it appropriate to begin this discourse by talking baseball. The Red Sox who broke the curse of the Bambino in 2004 and ended 86 years of anguish by their fanatical fandom and of having to take crap  from the New Yorkers day in and day out. Year after year they reveled in rubbing it in our faces, the effin  Yankees. Well by golly the Sox did it again and brought the championship trophy back to Beantown once more. And I don’t blame the Boston fans for bragging, boasting, and  gloating. 86 years is a long time , eh? It was pretty obvious that the Sox had the best team in the American League this past season with deep pitching bolstered by the additional of 2 Japanese studs one called Dice K with 5 good pitches and the other Okijama a brilliant lefty setup man  and another lights out year from the leagues gutsiest closer Jonathan Papalbon. The emergence of a budding phenom, a legitamate leadoff threat and fearless centerfielder in Jacoby Ellsbury coupled with the usual clutch hitting from David Ortiz and a career year from Mike Lowell balanced off a sub par season from Manny Ramirez. Terry “Tito” Francona did a great job of keeping the team ready to play and GM Theo ” Boy Wonder” Epstein showed why he is a top gun in command of the Sox ship. The guy flat out knows how to build a farm system that is now rewarding the big league team and setting up possible  big trades to keep this club on top year after year. Latest word is the Sox are going to get Johan Santana the leagues best lefty starter! Did I hear myself say dynasty..oh maybe I am mumbling something in reagrds to the Patriots..oh lord I am giddy. Speaking of the Patriots , they finished the regular season 16-0 , broke alot of league and individual offensive records and are poised to go after their 4th championship in 7 years. That my friends is as close to a dyansty in sports as you are going to get. Tom Brady is now considered one of the greatest quartebacks ever by everyone, even you,  and just the whole organization from top to bottom is chalk full of confidence and abilty clearly light years ahead of every other club. The trade of last years # 1 to SF which was the 24th pick for this years SF #1 which is the 7th pick is typical. They also got a 4th last year and that allowed them to trade and get Randy Moss who breaks the TD record of Jerry Rice. Hello!! Then they get Wes Welker, all he does is lead the league in catches…Just brilliant. Guys want to play for them, players take pay cuts and rearrainge contracts to stay with them, it’s remarkable. Now I am not saying that they cannot be beat , they actually should have lost a couple games but hey the great teams find a way to win. Everyone knows though that on any given Sunday..so we shall see. My money is on the Patriots though. Spygate , shmygate Coach Belichek is easily the greatest coach in the game and a sure Hall of Famer. And who has more Hall of Famers than the Boston Celtics, notice how I changed the subject to basketball and the league leading Celtics there. Yes it’s been 21 years since the 16th championship banner rose up to the rafters at “the Gaaden” and the drought and talent gap we expereinced was exceptionally painful for we were spoiled rotten hoop miesters feesting on fade away jumpers from stars gone by like Havlichek and Bird and now I dare say it’s all coming back. The Big Three of Allen, Pierce and KG are surrounded with the most talented supporting cast assembled in the NBA. Danny Ainge you may take a bow. Red must be proud. The team concept of moving the ball around unselfishly and playing great D has always been the Celtics trademark and now they have reclaimed it. My crystal ball sees 60 wins maybe 65 in a my goodness how could this be season that will take them through to the Eastern finals where the Pistons and the Celts will duke it out in a dog fight, apologies to PETA, for the right to play probably the Spurs for the title.

Ok tomorrow I talk a little hockey and some music as I see it’s fast approaching my bed time here on the east coast of Florida where it’s always summer time and the girls are so fine! 

JOE TICKET RIDES AGAIN

Well Happy New Year folks!

It’s the height of holiday season and time for me to crow. It is concievable that Boston could have a hat trick. No hissing. No kidding. Three championship teams in one year, actually 9 months should the Patriots sweep through underfeated and the Celtics continue to be the winningest team in the NBA. How is this possible that those maniacal fans from that liberal hippie bastion called New England are on a championship role that is unparalleled in modern day American sports history. And frankly I feel they think they deserve it! Certainly the Red Sox fans paid thier dues for years, perenial patsys they then took a risk going with a kid GM Theo Epstein who’s made a few mistakes, but overall has transformed the farm system, created a winning atmosphere throughout the organization, signed the players that he knew they needed. His efforts have directly impacted the 2 Series banners they now fly as much as the guys he put on the field. The Patriots similarly have created a winning atmosphere where the players redo contracts, the coach is, well a great coach, and they keep running in top free agents and draft picks to restock. The stuff that makes you think dynasty. It’s getting dare I say boring. The talent gap , the coaching gap and the attitudes are way ahead of any other NFL team.   So now we have a basketball team in Boston that is getting the forever spoiled, basketball snobby, Bird lovers back on thier feet at TD BankNorthGarden , still called “the gaaaden” by me. (Hey they still have a parquet floor. ) KG , Allen and Pierce complimented by a Rondo, a real point gard that can hit a J, and 5 other good role players. It’s a recipe for success. The way these guys whip the ball around unselfishly and defend unrelentingly is so Celtics, so Red Auerbach light one up, Johnny Most lose your voice, Paul Silas, Cedric Maxwell, Bailey Howell, Satch Sanders , Larry Sigfried, Bill Walton, Dave Cowens, yes Tiny Archibald and every other Celts vet from all time even Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Hank Garfinkle lol be proud again. NOTE: A special thanks goes out to Kevin McHale for playing cards with Danny Ainge and losing and having to deal us KG in order to pay up. It had to be something like that as KG is ridiculously talented and just the player in the post we have longed for since the chief Robert Parish hung them up.

So I am happy as sht and if BC beats Michigan State friday at 5 as a warm up to the Patriots trouncing the Giants sat night. I am popping the cork early! Don’t you just love how when push came to shove the NFL buckled and allowed the nation to witness this historic game.

You want mid season NBA and NHL revues. You want the NFL pre playoff analysis. You want updated concert information. Well you’ll have to wait. Joe Ticket is back in the house but he needs a day or two to warm up! Meantime go to National Ticket Agency and score nice seats to the game you want.