Also like last year I will take PayPal payments from members here. You can also send to dcinct@gmail.com. Just make sure to click thee money is for family/friends.

The entry fee is $10

Here is the NBA draft lottery process:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_draft_lottery#Process

It is worth noting that in 83% of all possible scenarios the 4th seed will get a pick in the top 5. Meanwhile 82% of the time the 7th seed will pick 7th or 8th.

Looking at this year's draft, that looks like a serious drop off in talent.

Paul Pierce wouldn’t mind rejoining the Celtics.

“Yeah, why not? Maybe play for them, maybe work for them,” the forward said Friday after the Nets lost to his former team, 91-84, at TD Garden.

Pierce played 15 seasons with the Celtics, who drafted him in 1998. His contract expires after this season and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.

He received a warm ovation from the crowd and finished with 10 points in 33 minutes, though emotions weren’t as high as in late January, when he returned to the Garden for the first time since he and Kevin Garnett were traded.

“It’s always emotional when you step into a gym you’ve spent your whole life playing in,” Pierce said. “The tribute last time made it so much more emotional and the cheers. But every time I come into this gym, because I’m always seeing friends and people who have been around all the years, it’s always going to be emotional, because you miss them from knowing them so long.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/08/celtics-vitor-faverani-has-season-ending-surgery/FegcRMfs3N0IeaqYMQYZqI/story.html

I think this is threadworthy. Of course it would be a windfall for the Celtics and Ainge would look like a hero, but is it in the best interests of the Celtics to accept him back?. Of course the huge caveat is no one knows what the makeup of next year's team will actually be.  My feeling is I would be happy to have him back if the price is right and he is OK with coming off the bench. 

As a quick and dirty look, we can start with all players under contract for 2015, cut a couple obvious veterans (Sopoaga, A. Wilson) and disregard a bunch of marginal practice squad fodder who currently have non-guaranteed deals with little to no dead money and very little chance of making the team.  Then assume Solder's 2015 option is picked up for about $7M and factor in money to sign the 2014 and 2015 draft/UDFA classes (I'm assuming that seven guys from each class make the final roster for 2015).  This leaves us with:

Flyers sending Andrej Meszaros to Boston. 3rd round pick in return.

What are some good recommendations for baseball (general) and Red Sox websites that are away from the mainstream mediots, but not just vacuous or fanboy hot air streams, there must be some good columns and websites, what would you recommend if you could indeed be arsed

Their 2 main catchers are Ross and Pierzynski.  Ross is a very good defensive catcher who played well in the World Series.  Pierzynski is still an above-average hitter, and they make a nice L-R combo behind the plate.  

But they're old.  36 and 37 years old, respectively.  They are not the future.

Many of us thought that Lavarnway was the future behind the plate.  Good power, and improving defensive skills, it does appear that he has lost the confidence of Sox' brass to be behind the plate.  He's played some at 1b this spring, which may simply be to improve his chances of being a MLB contributor (if you can play multiple positions, that's a good thing), but the reality is that they seem disinclined to pursue Lavarnway as a catching option.  

See here for an interesting article on that:  https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/04/ryan-lavarnway-taking-first-steps-first-base/hW5jT5pZbEkHpFXzY7uuJN/story.html

I don't know much about Dan Butler, but at 27, I can't see him being the future behind the plate either.  Although he did have a pretty good year in AAA in 2013:  .262/.350/.479/.829, with 14 homers in just 282 at-bats.  So he has a little pop and might end up being useful.

The future appears to be Vazquez and Swihart.  

Vazquez (2013):  345 ab, 5 hr, 48 rbi, .287/.375/.391/.766, and is a tremendous defensive catcher with a cannon for an arm. 23 yrs old.

Swihart (2013):  376 ab, 2 hr, 42 rbi, .298/.366/.428/.794, and is solid behind the plate.  21 yrs old.

Each has tremendous upside.  The question is when will they be ready for the majors?  Vazquez' defensive ability may make him ready to go as soon as 2015.  Swihart is further behind.  Could the Sox go with Ross and Pierzynski this year, and then Vazquez and another veteran (re-sign Pierzynski?) in 2015, with the idea being Vazquez and Swihart starting in 2016?  And what of Lavarnway?

 

Since the beginning of the PITCHf/x era, researchers have calculated framing in several different ways. We are presenting a new method that we will call the "Regressed Probabilistic Model" of framing (RPM for short). In brief, RPM works by calculating the combined probability (and associated run value) that each pitch will be called a strike; summing those probabilities (and run values) across opportunities; attributing those values to a player (catcher or pitcher); and regressing "career" values to the mean.

We will freely admit: If you haven't seen the results of previous framing studies, it can be tough to wrap your mind around the size of the impact of a good or bad framing catcher. These effect sizes are not out of line with what has been reported in the past, but they're still obscenely large. Everyone agrees that Mike Trout was either a deserving MVP or a deserving runner-up in each of the past two seasons, which the stats say were worth close to 10 wins apiece. Our data suggest that over the past five years, the teams that have employed good framers like Jonathan Lucroy, Brian McCann, and Jose Molina have received essentially "free" MVP-caliber seasons from framing alone. (Each of those catchers has been worth about two extra wins per season over that span). This is a staggering amount of value. Add in the fact that these wins are almost assuredly not properly priced into the free agent market, and the difference between having a good framing catcher or a bad framing catcher can make or break a cost-conscious team.

I'm dreaming of Revis. Against all logic and better judgement, it's too tantalizing to have Revis in a Pats uniform.

Restructure the big cap guys, release the obvious (Wilson), do not sign another safety, do not re-sign Talib, dock your boat on The Island.

Just need two signings this off-season: Revis and Bryant -- this defense is now a legit top-10 unit (hell it was a top 10 unit last year before the injury streak).

P.S. If someone else posted the above I'd have dismissed it pronto. Also, this seems appropriate:

But here’s what might come as a surprise: The Carleton University Ravens are good. Not just “good for a Canadian school,” but really, legitimately good. They have a point guard who would start for most any team in America and a big man who drop-steps more beautifully than most players dunk. They scored 95 in an exhibition win over Wisconsin, 10 more points than any team has scored on the Badgers all year.¹ They hung with Cincinnati on its home floor, beat TCU and Towson by 26 apiece, and they took Syracuse to overtime, playing the Orange tougher than most of the ACC.²

 

I will add the last team to beat them in championship was my old team the U of Saskatchewan. We beat them in Ottawa no less.

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=707270

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have acquired a third-round choice in the 2014 National Hockey League Entry Draft and a fifth-round selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Brandon Pirri.