The Celts are a very frustrating team. ... I always liked Delonte. ... OK, so there are a lot of fair-weather Celts fans these days. But I'd submit A.) there are many different shades of fair-weather fans. B.) Mike Bibby was wrong to say Celts fans were fair-weather in the way he meant it. The fact is that the Celts, even at the lowest of their lows, were still drawing bigger crowds than, say, oh, Bibby's Hawks. Here are the NBA attendance records. There's definitely been a fair-weather attendan...

Hard to figure out what's going on in Lebanon. But I do know one thing: Hezbollah is not engaging in 'civil disobedience.' ... Whether Hezbollah withdraws or not, I like Armchair Gen. Brigher Center's theory, as explained to me yesterday. 'It's a dress rehearsal,' he said of Iran-backed Hezbollah's challenge to the government in Lebanon. 'They want to know how far they can go. They may not win this time. But they'll be back.' ... He added that Iran is pressing on all fronts in the Middle East, p...

Yes they are. ... I'm trying to figure out how Sal gets out of this mess. Right now, the strategy seems to be a combination of pleading ignorance, sweeping it under a rug, letting a pal hang out to dry. ... ...

RE the turmoil in Lebanon: Actually, Bush has a four-header problem if you read the quote in question. But who's counting at this point? So many disasters on this administration's foreign-policy watch. ... Check out this post from Michael Totten's otherwise excellent blog. It quotes the former Middle East adviser to Vice President Cheney saying "Iran has suffered some pretty serious defeats in Iraq" and could be on the verge of suffering "a heavy blow" in Lebanon. I had to read the post twice t...

Fine. Now let's see them win on the road. Then I'll start believing. ... Bob rightly notes the second team won it for the Celts. Their stellar play was the most encouraging aspect of last night's win. First team comes out flat? Send in the second wave. Second team tires out? Send the first team back in. Wear 'em down. Overwhelm 'em with assault waves. ... Why are people picking on Doc? He's made some mistakes. But I like what he's done. And stop picking on Rondo. ... Update -- Adam has other blo...

Random thoughts: I'm not quite sure why, but the photo at the right really struck me. There's something about it that reminds me of Serbian death squads from the 1990s. Except they're Iran-backed Hezbollah thugs now in the process of seizing Lebanon. Not the type of fellows you want running a country, right? ... The Hub Blog mind then drifts to this Tom Friedman column bemoaning, among other things, our energy policy that boils down to begging Saudi Arabia to alter its oil-production policies. ....

John Ellis calls it. ... The tip-off wasn't the results. It was Hillary's plea for more money. ... Update -- More money to pay off another loan. ... ...

An ugly win. But I'll take it. Liked this observation on the Celts-Cavs game last night: But there were two ways to look at this one. Despite limiting Cleveland to 30.7 percent shooting and basically shutting down James, the C’s still managed to win by only four. On the other hand, they won despite four total points from Pierce and Allen. “If you’re Cleveland, you’re thinking you almost won with LeBron playing that way. And if you’re us, you’re thinking we won with Paul and Ray playi...

Reacting to Jon Keller's piece yesterday in the WSJ, Mickey tries to uncover the key analytic difference between Obama and Deval. A GOP source supplies an answer. ... FYI: Definition of wrang-wrang here. The Pioneer Institute's blog is pleasantly policy-wonkish and timely in general. Check it out. ... ...

I once tried Poutine and practically gagged. Maybe it was a bad batch. Never tried it again on subsequent trips to Montreal. ... Of course, I eventually developed a taste for horseshoe sandwiches, so I suppose one day I might end up liking poutine. They even look alike. Horseshoe sandwiches and Poutine: Long-lost culinary cousins? ... ...

I wouldn't equate horse racing with dog fighting. But Bob's right to start asking questions in the wake of Eight Belles's tragic death yesterday after the Kentucky Derby. Questions are already being asked, here and here, in the MSM as well. ... The Eight Belle tragedy was probably caused by many things -- but breeding should be at the top of everyone's causes list. Race horses are simply being overbred. It's not unlike the overbreeding of Labrador Retrievers. The former have delicate legs, the r...

Reader No. 1, who I met up with last night to talk politics, sports and lots of other good stuff while watching the Celts game, sent in an email this morning with a header 'The Circle Game': Two columns this morning that resonated with conversation last night and for some reason reminded me of an article you wrote many years ago about right and left being flip-flopped and often indistinguishable. If some folk can see Margaret Thatcher in Hilary Clinton, I guess anything is possible. While Carl B...

Disappointing but not surprising. So it's Game 7 tomorrow at 1 p.m. ... Disagree with Bob that tomorrow's showdown is the 'most unanticipated' Game 7 in Celts history. I'd say it's the most frustrating Game 7 in Celts history. I'm still looking forward to it. But everything else he says is spot on, starting with the first sentence: 'OK, it is now time for Celtics fans to get annoyed.' ... Lots of good stuff over at CelticsBlog. Steve: "The Scariest Part of Three Losses to the Hawks...is the fact...

More drips updates here and here. John Rogers is using Tom Finneran's old playbook to win the speakership, i.e. courting Republicans. ... Why isn't Sal cracking down on DeLeo and Rogers? Is he too nice? Is he too detached? Is he really thinking of leaving? Sal looks as vulnerable as any sitting non-indicted speaker since Tom McGee in 1984, when George Keverian ousted him in a coup. But here's the difference between then and now: Rogers and DeLeo aren't jockeying to overthrow Sal. They're jockeyi...

Talk about fighting for every last delegate. ... ...

It was: Charlie Rose and Harvard's Meghan O'Sullivan, former deputy national security adviser on Iraq. I was struck how she'd take one step forward in her arguments about Iraq, then retreat one step back. Or as one viewer wrote in the comments section: "SHE HAS MADE A CAREER OF HIDING BEHIND HER INTELLIGENCE." ... The video isn't up yet. But watch for yourself after they post it. ... Keep in mind: She was one of the brighter bulbs in the White House. ... ...

Beantown Bloggery reports that a new blog is keeping customers informed about the status of their favorite eateries in the water-logged Financial District. Great idea. .... ...

Gen. Ricardo Sanchez outlines the catastrophic mistakes of five years ago -- and how Rummy later tried to weasel out of taking responsibility. ... Notice the references to Sanchez's pension and a post-retirement DOD job offer. It's more than a little disheartening to realize that the Pentagon, in terms of securing loyalty, basically operates by hack Mass Turnpike and MBTA rules, something we got a glimpse of last week. ... Sanchez item via AS. ... ...

The IV drip cafe. ... Via Armchair Gen. Brighton Center, who adds, 'There will always be a Japan.' ... ...

John Wray is wondering whether the rest of the world is wondering if there's something unique about his native Austria that produced the likes of Josef Fritzl. Gee, well, I don't know, let me think, this is a tough one. ... 'Bunker' and threats to 'gas' victims and 'furnace' for a corpse and ... I guess this is the type of 'pat case' that Wray was talking about. ... ...