Who is going to prolong Boston’s run of success?
Ahh, summer. If you’re not a baseball fan, it can be the slowest time of the year, the few month period where baseball is the only sport going on until NFL training camps convene and the season begins at the end of August. With the drafts now completed for the NBA and NHL, it is a time where fans who enjoy having three or four of their teams competing at the same time are forced to dwell on what could’ve been this past year and be optimistic about what is to come.

Boston fans still smarting from a Game 7 loss at the hands of the Lakers really have nothing to complain about. From 2001 to 2008, the city underwent an unprecedented run of success not just for Boston, but any sports city. We won six titles in eight finals appearances across three different teams. The Red Sox broke an 86-year string of disappointment only to repeat three years later, the Celtics won their first title since 1986, and the Patriots dynasty won the franchise’s first three Super Bowl titles. In the past decade, Boston teams have 25 combined playoff appearances, dominating other four-sport, four-team cities such as Phoenix/Arizona (13), Atlanta (13), and DC (10). Toronto has 14 and I even gave them the six postseason appearances of the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL.

These things go in cycles, of course. The nineties were a relatively down time in Boston sports with only the Bruins being a consistent playoff contender and never reaching the Stanley Cup. With the Celtics lost title, the Bruins historically embarrassing second round exit to the Flyers after being up three games to none, and the Patriots losing their first home playoff game of the Belichick/Brady era, there are ominous signs of lean years approaching. Both the Celtics and Patriots are led by aging veterans and the Bruins are starting to have the stench of perennial underachievers.

That being said, we still have a lot going for us, including four bonafide playoff teams, and as I said, ‘tis the off-season when optimism can reign supreme. The question is this: Whom am I most optimistic about for when the leaves turn orange and baseball goes into hibernation?

The case for the Patriots
First and foremost, we still have Brady and we still have Belichick. We also still have the veteran offensive line led by Logan Mankins, who may be the best interior lineman in the NFL, and rising tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, and Brandon Meriweather are Pro Bowl caliber defenders. Randy Moss is still “straight cash, homey” and the Patriots have gotten a much needed infusion of youth in the past two drafts that should hopefully start to pay dividends this season. Specifically, I’m excited about cornerback Darius Butler and rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes, who’s got the leadership and instincts reminiscent of former Pats stud Mike Vrabel.

The case against the Patriots
There have been reports that Tom Brady is no longer seeing eye to eye with the coaching staff and other veterans, causing fans to worry if he’s gone too “Hollywood” on us. Mankins has requested a trade (never a good sign), and you have to wonder when that offensive line will go from being “veteran” to “old.” We have no idea what, if anything, we’ll get from Wes Welker, and the options to replace him are the gritty but limited Julian Edelman, second-year man Brandon Tate, rookie deep threat Taylor Price, and Torry Holt, who is entering the “Babe Ruth with the Braves” portion of his career. The scheduling doesn’t do us any favors with non-division games against Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, San Diego, and Baltimore. Perhaps the biggest concern of all isn’t anything to do with the Patriots themselves, but the fact that the Jets and Dolphins have continued to get significantly better; they have better people in their front offices now than in the past, and have been huge players in the free agency market, with the Jets acquiring Antonio Cromartie, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Santonio Holmes, and the Fins picking up Karlos Dansby and Brandon Marshall. The Patriots could possibly go 10-6 again and not make the playoffs.

The case for the Bruins
Seguin! Seguin! Seguin! Thanks to the inept Maple Leafs trading two high first-round picks in successive years to the B’s for Phil Kessel, the Bruins drafted forward Tyler Seguin Friday night, one of two players in the draft to be considered star caliber. The Globe’s pre-draft coverage of Seguin detailed how following a playoff loss to number one overall pick Taylor Hall and a superior Windsor team, Seguin went into seclusion, working out and training with intense competitive fervor for sometimes ten hours a day leading up to the draft. Kid’s got moxie. The Bruins’ off-season will also look to be the most animated of the three teams; they’ve already traded playoff scapegoat Dennis Wideman, resigned hard-nosed young defender Johnny Boychuk, and acquired talented scorer Nathan Horton. Seguin’s arrival gives them a back log at center, but the kid can play some wing and the Bruins have promised more moves are on the horizon.

The case against the Bruins
How do you bounce back after coughing up a 3-0 lead in a Game 7 of a series you once led three games to none? The second round exit was a stain on the franchise and nearly wiped out the memory of the gutsy first round upset over Ryan Miller and the Sabres. In fact, it was probably the worst playoff loss after being up 3-0 since this infamous game. Scoring was the chief concern this year, and despite the talent down the middle, there is no promise that the Bruins will get enough from the wings to change that. Mark Recchi, the veteran leader, is a free agent-to-be, and there is concern about the sizeable contract of now backup goaltender Tim Thomas. At what point do we start calling former top sixteen picks Zach Hamill and Joe Colbourne busts?

The case for the Celtics
Out of the three, they’re coming off the most successful previous season, and the heart and soul of the team, Paul Pierce, should have a few good years left. Despite an erratic and sometimes downright puzzling finals, Rajon Rondo has established himself as one of the top five point guards in the league, and is locked up for the next five years. Rasheed Wallace, we hardly knew ye: the NBA career technical foul leader’s pending retirement, paired with some shrewd contract restructuring with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, could leave the Celtics enough money to pursue a second-tier big man, the likes of a Carlos Boozer, as well as set them up to have Pierce, Allen, and Garnett’s contracts all expire at the same time. Celtics fans will love rookie Avery Bradley—he fits the Celtics mold of an athletic, stud defender who should develop an offensive game and give Rondo (fourth in the NBA in minutes last season) and Allen (if he returns) a breather off the bench. It was only a year ago that Bradley was ranked ahead of top overall pick John Wall by ESPN scouts.

The case against the Celtics
Another year goes by, another hundred games of wear and tear on Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. I’d ask at what point the age starts to take its toll, but I think we already saw it this past season. The Celtics should still be good enough to be a top four team in the East, but their window of being a legitimate title contender may have just ended at the Staples Center last Thursday. Also, what happens with Doc Rivers? I have a feeling he’s going to leave, and it’s not easy to find quality NBA coaches. One thing that the Celtics have no control over is what the rest of the league will look like. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, David Lee, Joe Johnson…all available and possibly on the move. Personally, I think James is out of Cleveland, which will probably immediately drop them out of playoff contention. Orlando will certainly be around, and if talks to acquire Chris Paul go anywhere, they will be downright scary. But what if James joins Wade in Miami? What if he takes someone like Amare with him to Chicago to team with Derrick Rose? If he joins Jay-Z with the Nets, they go from a 12-win team to a suddenly intriguing squad with a scoring point guard in Devin Harris, two young big men with high ceilings in Brook Lopez and rookie Derrick Favors, and potentially solid role players in Terence Williams, Courtney Lee, and Yi Jianlian. Whatever happens, next season’s Eastern Conference should have a completely different look to it, and where the C’s fit in will largely depend on how they replenish themselves with youthful talent and how starting center and resident banger Kendrick Perkins comes back from knee surgery.

Ideally, I’d like to see all three teams at least continue to make the playoffs, and in truth, that’s what I expect of each. But the law of averages tells us that disappointment will eventually rear its ugly head and one or more of these teams will go through another rough stretch. So whom am I most optimistic about?

I promised myself when the Bruins were eliminated that I wouldn’t just go back to them, that they had to earn my trust back, like a friend who had lied to me. Their Game 7 loss made me want to reenact the shower and crying scene from Ace Ventura. However, I trust in Coach Claude Julien and I trust in General Manager Peter Chiarelli. I like the guys they’ve built this team around, and defensive stalwart Zdeno Chara is still in his prime. Injuries and inconsistency hurt the team this year and you got the sense that they never were operating on all cylinders.

I believe in the moves they’ve made so far, and the moves they’re going to make. I believe in Tyler Seguin. I believe in goalie Tuukka Rask. I believe that over the next few years, I will see the Bruins in their first Stanley Cup since 1990. I believe in the B’s.

*Photo of Tom Brady courtesy of Keith Allison via Creative Commons License
**Photo of Tuukka Rask courtesy of 4rilla via Creative Commons License

This is a topic that comes up pretty frequently among my friends. Fellow There’s No “I” in Blog writer Ian once asked me, “You don’t really have an NFL team, do you?” As recently as this weekend, I had to explain why I like the Colts now that I am living in Boston and am frequently faced with fervent Patriots fans. Also, I recently took a nice West Coast vacation over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, which included a trip to the Rose Garden to see the Blazers take on the 76ers and the Q&A session with the Mariners front office Joe wrote about yesterday. All of this got me thinking about my fairly scattered sports loyalties.

Like most sports fans, my fandom has been created by the places I’ve lived. I was born in Hawaii, which, as I’ve said before, is devoid of professional sports. The closest thing to pro sports in Hawaii is the University of Hawaii football team and the Pro Bowl, which is so awesome the NFL had to move it because even the players didn’t want to play in it. So, growing up there, I learned to like players more than anything, and sometimes that turned into liking the teams. It’s because of Randall Cunningham that I still like the Eagles and Vikings. I’m also a Donovan McNabb fan (though I miss his Chunky Soup afro), and Westbrook and the late Jim Johnson’s defenses always kept me hooked on the Iggles. The negative side of the Eagles is their fans. You know there’s a problem with fans that not only boo everyone out of town after an incomplete pass, but also require an in-stadium courthouse. The Vikings aren’t as fun anymore, especially with Brett Favre and his man tears. You can’t respect that. There are countless other situations like this: Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Ronnie Lott made me love the 49ers, Elway and then Jake Plummer made me like the Broncos, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed made the Bills fun (as did their ability to lose a buttload of Super Bowls). Oddly, as much as I liked Bo Jackson, the only time I liked the Raiders was in Tecmo Bowl.

This made me a sort of NFL free agent fan. I loved the game, but hadn’t found the right team yet. Even after I moved to Seattle, the Seahawks never interested me. I refused to be like all the other Seahawks fans who jumped on the bandwagon after they made it to the Super Bowl. Then, while visiting my brother in Indianapolis, he brought me to a Colts game (still the only NFL game I’ve ever been to). I’ve never seen anything like that. From the top row of the 100 level seats, I could hear Peyton Manning clearly while he messed with the defense and called out routes. He had the crowd listening as intently as his receivers. Even though the Colts lost (against the Chargers in week 15 in 2005, their first loss of the season), I’ve been hooked since.

Unlike the Seahawks, I was immediately hooked on the Mariners when I moved to Seattle. I still love the Kingdome and all of its falling-apart goodness, and I went to Safeco Field’s opening game, where I sat as high and far away from the field as possible. Seriously, I was so high I could have pooped on birds. Like every M’s fan, I’ve mimicked Jay Buhner’s batting stance in a game (and struck out), I believe Edgar Martinez should be in the Hall of Fame; I will never forget Griffey under the dogpile; and I will never forgive Bill Bavasi for sucking at his job.

Yes, now that I live in Boston, I have become a Red Sox fan, much to the dismay of some of my family members. As much as I love the Mariners, I love the sports culture here much more than in Seattle, both in the stadium and in the city. Even when the Mariners won 116 games and were selling out the stadium, the place was so quiet you could easily have phone conversations. Sometimes it felt like the people that were there thought they had better things to be doing. That won’t fly in Boston. Fenway is all about the game. On big game days, everyone in Boston is a Sox fan. There’s something electric in the city that I love and that never happened while I was in Seattle. That being said, I’d still root for the Mariners over the Red Sox, and I’m very excited to see former Mariners Mike Cameron (and his kind of sideways hat) and Adrian Beltre (and his right testicle) join the Red Sox in 2010.

Living in Boston has also opened me up to the wonderful world of the NHL. I’ve always liked hockey, and it’s the only sport other than baseball that I get nostalgic about. Unlike baseball, I never played hockey, but like baseball, I watched it on television with my dad. He never seemed to care too much about basketball or football, but he always liked hockey, and I always liked watching it with him, even before we started making fun of the amazing mullets seen on Hockey Night in Canada. Now I own a Byron Bitz t-shirt and a Bruins jersey. I’ve been to a few games this season, and I cheer for Tuukka Rask because he’s good and has a ridiculously badass name. My original hockey allegiance is with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. When I eventually move to Portland, OR, I will make it my mission to get Portland and Seattle NHL teams (Portland also has a WHL team, the Winterhawks). Both cities are great sports towns and are way more deserving of an NHL team than places like Phoenix and Nashville. I’m pretty sure Portland and Seattle would draw better attendance than those teams.

I also moved to Boston in time to jump on the Celtics bandwagon for their championship season. I was a Sonics fan (and would be in the future, if that ever happens), but by now we’re all aware of how the NBA allowed Oklahoma City to steal the team and give them a stupid name (seriously, the Thunder?). As a Celtics fan, I love Rondo’s alien-like wingspan, his crazy speed, and his ability to find passing lanes that few others can find. Brian Scalabrine also brings an underrated element into each home game. No matter what the score, anytime Scal comes into a game, the crowd goes wild for his curly redhead afro and cheers like nuts any time he touches the ball. How many players can get a crowd that into a game simply by standing up? Oh yeah, those other “Big Three” guys are pretty good too.

The other NBA team I’m a fan of is the Portland Trailblazers. This comes from living in Oregon for a few years. Portland is the city I want to live in, and the city I will hopefully move to in the (hopefully not so) distant future, so there’s that connection. On top of that, I like Greg Oden’s 55-year-old expressionless face and hope for him to get and stay healthy. I think Joel Przybilla’s nickname (Vanilla Gorilla) is one of the best in sports, and love the prospect of watching LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy playing together for a long long time.

And finally, I’ll close out this post by going back to those couple of years I lived in Oregon and attended Oregon State University. That’s right, I am a die-hard Beavers fan. I own more orange clothing than any adult probably should. On the rare occasion I see someone in Boston wearing Ducks green and yellow, part of me wants to yell “GO BEAVERS” at them. I’m not sure this needs a lot of explanation. Pretty much everyone I know, sports fans and non-sports fans alike, maintain a deep-seeded loyalty to their alma mater. Plus, if you’ve ever seen this blog, you’ve probably noticed that I like the Oregon State University Beavers.

*Photo of Squatch courtesy of Funktasm via Creative Commons License