He didn’t want to walk that tight rope again following Boston’s Game 2 115-111 overtime loss to the Heat Wednesday night.

When asked if it was tough to overcome foul and 50-50 calls not going their way, Rivers had some fun with the reporter, saving some of the cash in his wallet at the same time.

“Can you call it something else other than 50-50 calls? Can you come up with another percentage for me?” Doc joked with the reporter. “I’m not saying anything; I’d like you to say it.”

The reporter did not come up with another percentage, but understood what Doc was getting at.

But Rivers did not want to elaborate much on the percentage.

“I cannot,” he said. “Listen, it is what it is. LeBron James took 24 free throws tonight and our team took 29. Paul Pierce fouled out of a game where he was attacking the basket. It’s just tough. But listen, we just got to keep playing. I tell my guys, it doesn’t matter, we can’t get distracted. We will not get distracted in this series.”

Doc On Game 2 Officiating 

The Celtics did not lose Game 2 because of officiating, but it certainly did not help. The discrepancy was there — as it has been for opponents of the Heat all offseason – with Boston being whistled for 33 fouls, Miami 18. The Heat shot 47 free throws, with the Celtics hitting the line 33 times. Lebron James and Dwyane Wade were each tagged with just two fouls. The Celtics had three players foul out, including Paul Pierce. Greg Stiemsma nearly set an NBA record by picking up four fouls in his first three minutes on the floor. Somehow, he escaped the wrath of the whistle in his two minutes of play in the third quarter.

But what will have the Celtics fuming for some time is a no-call in overtime. With the game tied at 105-105 with 1:35 left in the extra frame, Rajon Rondo drove to the basket for a layup attempt and was hit on the head by the defending Wade. No whistle was blown, and Miami surged down the court for an easy layup. The Celtics never recovered as the Heat went on to score the next seven points.

Like Doc, Rondo did not want to say much on the officials.

“It was obvious, but I can’t comment,” he said following his 44-point, 10-assist, eight rebound performance.

Read: Rondo Shrugs Off Career Night

“We all thought he got hit,” added Ray Allen, next to Rondo at the postgame podium. “I’ll say it.”

After the game, Rivers was certain his team was thinking by the constant blowing of the whistles (or not blowing of the whistle in some cases), with very few calls going in their favor, but said they have to get over that come Friday.

“I guarantee you right now they’re distracted in the locker room. But we have to get it out of us and move on,” said Rivers. “Whatever happened happened, we just have to move on and play the next game.”

The Celtics return home for Game 3 Friday night. Maybe some home court advantage will help even things out a bit more with the officiating. But if it doesn’t, the Celtics will just have to put it behind them and continue to battle.

Are the Red Sox a playoff team? Can the Sox hang in while they wait for players to return from injury?

Was there an attitude problem with the Sox last season? How does Smoltz access the job done by Bobby Valentine so far?

Who is the team to beat this year?

John Smoltz will be joined by Bob Costas to call Friday’s Yankees at Tigers game at 7pm ET on MLB Network. Listeners can visit www.mlbnetwork.com for their local channel listing.

BOSTON (CBS) – After spending nearly five weeks on a Boston Celtics mosaic, 48 autistic students at the Joseph Lee School in Dorchester got to present their special gift to the team on Wednesday.

The school presented the C’s mascot, Lucky The Leprechaun, and director community relations and player development director Matt Meyershohn with the special mosaic Wednesday afternoon in hopes it brings the team a little extra luck as they battle the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“Hopefully this brings them some extra luck. Not that you’re going to need it but hopefully a little extra kick,” said art teacher Chris Hall, who put together the project.

“Every little bit helps,” responded Lucky.

Over 13,000 pieces of construction paper were used to construct the mosaic of the famous Celtics logo.

“This is incredible. This is one of the greatest presents I’ve seen made for the Celtics,” Lucky said of the work of art. “I’m truly blown away.”

The gift was unveiled in a special assembly, and of course, Lucky was up to his usual in-game antics. The students roared with applause as he awed them with dunks in the school’s gym, even using Hall to assist with one of them.

“They were really pumped,” Hall said of his students. “When (Lucky) was up there dunking away, this is what we had envisioned seeing when we made this.”

After Gammons let Felger and Mazz know about the use of Sabermetrics in the NBA, the guys got into the Dustin Pedroia thumb injury. How long could Pedroia be out for? Could he avoid the Disabled List?

“He should be back after the Toronto series (this weekend),” said Gammons. “He said it’s been bothering him for about three weeks… they have to make sure the swelling goes down and it’s still a ways forward, but he’s convinced he won’t be disabled and he’ll be back after they go to Toronto (this) weekend.”

The Sox turned off a lot people last September and it continued into Spring Training this year. Will last night’s win over Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tiger start to turn people back on to the Sox?

“Watching that Verlander-Nava at-bat (in the fourth inning), where it’s all 99-100 MPH and this guy that weighed 95-pounds in high school ends up hitting the ball down the left field line (for a three-run double); that’s why I’m a baseball fan. It doesn’t have to be star vs. star, but a Verlander-Nava at-bat can be one of those things you remember for a month, maybe a year.”

“I think there is a character that is developing because they have enough guys that have a chip on their shoulder,” added Gammons.

Why is Jon Lester letting the umpires get into his head?

“He gets very angry. He gets hard on himself, but he gets angry at umpires and it throws him out of his rhythm,” Gammons said of Lester’s war with the men in blue. “He gets distracted by it. I think it’s pretty clear right now his ability is till very good, but its not what we thought it would be a couple years ago when I think a lot of us thought he would win at least one Cy Young award before he was done. It doesn’t look that way at all right now.”

Was Bobby Valentine too eager in taking Daniel Bard out of last nights game? How well has Bobby Valentine adjusted to his role since Spring Training?

With Game Two tonight in Miami, being down one game, how much is riding on this game? Many people assumed that the Celtics would struggle in Game One, what can we expect to see tonight?

Will the Celtics recognize this time of crisis?

Felger and Mazz looked back on yesterday’s interview with Celtics head coach Doc Rivers. How can Pierce improve in his match up with LeBron James? How can Rajon Rondo take advantage of the match up with Mario Chalmers?

The charges stem from an incident just days before the NFL draft, in which Dennard reportedly struck an officer outside a bar in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dennard played corner for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 2008-2011 and earned Big Ten First Team honors his senior season. He was selected in the seventh round, 224th overall, by New England in April’s draft.

Read: Pats Release WR Anthony Gonzalez

The 22-year-old Dennard signed a four-year contract with the Patriots last week.

A follow-up court date has yet to be determined.

Tyler Seguin showed off his latest tattoo this week via Twitter, saying he’s trying to catch up with Ference, who’s definitely leading the team in tats.

Seguin explained the meaning behind his tattoo on Wednesday.

“Dad always told me to wear my heart on my sleeve so there’s a heart with bdates of my family connecting to my Seguin tattoo,” he said.

The Seguin tattoo he’s referencing is his name going down his left arm. That, too, was Seguin wearing the importance of his family on his arm at all times.

“Something meaningful. I always want to wear my heart on my sleeve. Family, heart, passion, all that stuff. So I decided to get it on my sleeve,” Seguin said of the original tattoo, according to Yahoo! Sports, and adding that his father got the same tattoo himself.

Seguin also got inked last summer after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, when he and Brad Marchand got “Stanley Cup Champions, Boston Bruins, 06.15.11″ on their rib cages (though Marchand’s had a minor cosmetic error).

Seguin said he’s also trying to keep up with Toronto Marlies defenseman Jesse Blacker, so this could be just the beginning of the 20-year-old’s tattoos.

New ink. Trying to catch up to @JBlacker91. http://t.co/dGhKm9DF—
Tyler Seguin (@tylerseguin92) May 29, 2012

Gresh believes that the Green need Ray Allen to be “something close to himself to have a chance to win.” Is Ray the key to the game tonight? Will his foot be an issue?

Now, Celtics fans will be able to eat his words.

In honor of Garnett and the team’s playoff run, The Living Room on Atlantic Avenue will be serving a dish called “Grits and Balls.”

The dish includes smoked turkey grits with cheddar cheese and sage turkey meatballs and will cost $5 in honor of Garnett’s No. 5.

The promotion lasts through the end of the Celtics’ playoff run.

The team is currently battling the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Bard went just 5.1 innings in Tuesday’s 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers and exited after striking out center fielder Adam Jones on his 90^th pitch of the evening in the sixth inning.

The converted reliever understands where Bobby Valentine is coming from with the early hooks, but he wants his manager to know he can go deeper.

“I understand Bobby being conservative with me the last couple [outings] because the walks have been an issue coming into this one and I see where his mind’s at,” Bard said after allowing two runs off five hits while striking out four Tigers. “I just wanted him to know that I want to be out there and be going six, seven innings a start. I’m not satisfied with this 5.1 (innings) stuff. It’s kind of weird.”

Gresh & Zo: Mitch Williams On Bard’s Comments

“My last two outings I’ve been pulled at 5.1 (innings) after a strikeout with the bases empty. And with a pitch count that’s pretty reasonable both times in the low 90s, so I get where he’s coming from and typically I have struggled as I get deeper in the game,” added Bard. “But I just told him, I made it clear as respectfully as I could that I’m ready to start finishing those innings. I don’t need to be treated like a kid anymore. He said ‘alright I want you to finish those innings’, so I think we’re on the same page.”

Read: Pedroia On Injury: ‘I Heal Quickly’

Over his last three outings, Bard has pitched just 16.1 innings, allowing 14 hits, 13 walks and eight runs over that span. He can say all he wants to Valentine, but it will ultimately be his performance, and pitch count, that dictate how long he remains in games.

He shared his thoughts about the current state of the Red Sox, including what he thinks of the job done so far, and the comments last night from Daniel Bard about not wanting to be treated like a child.

“I’m kind of on Daniel’s side here, if he’s throwing the ball well enough to stay in the game I don’t care what the pitch count is. Now if he’s getting beat up and he goes in there and says that, then he doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on.”

The guys also asked whether or not he thinks the Red Sox have the talent, when healthy, to compete for the division.

He also discussed other news and notes from around the MLB as well as his involvement with the Hilton Little League Honors as part of the Little League World Series.

Because of that drop in production, there’s been at least some murmuring of Doc Rivers and the Celtics opting to force Allen to sit out of a game in order to rest his ailing ankle.

For Ray, though, that’s not a possibility.

“Hell no,” he said Wednesday morning. “This is not the time to sit.”

Allen made just one of his seven shots in Game 1 on Monday. That make was from behind the 3-point arc, but he missed his other three long-distance attempts. Most startling of all though was Allen’s 3-for-7 performance from the free-throw line. He has hit 91.4 percent of his free throws since joining the Celtics in 2007, and he’s fourth all time with an .894 free-throw shooting percentage in his career.

Despite Allen’s struggles, he still has his teammates’ faith as the series goes on.

“He’s really being a soldier, just being out there and playing,” Celtics captain Paul Pierce said. “A lot of players wouldn’t be out there with what he’s going through. We’re just grateful to have his presence. … He’s dealing with a tough injury, and we respect him for coming out there. Even though his shots are not falling, you still have to pay attention to him. And we feel that any given moment he could explode for us.”

This postseason, Allen is averaging just 9.6 points per game. The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn tweeted Wednesday that Allen was the first Celtics player to arrive at the arena, and he spent time practicing free throws.

Ray Allen is the first one at the arena in Miami working on his free throws #celtics http://t.co/ACYeJgQe—
gary washburn (@GwashNBAGlobe) May 30, 2012

To this point, the Red Sox have had major contributions from their young players, like Will Middlebrooks and Daniel Nava after being decimated by injury.

Is this team likeable, the guys feel like they are getting there.

“Prior to this,” Zo said, “they’re an unlikable group, they’re unwatchable. The only thing you may like about this group is that the young guys are playing their asses off.”

Will the Sox be able to turn a corner, or are they still hampered by poor attitudes from some players?

“Nothing dirty, but they have to hit the deck too,” Rajon Rondo said Monday night following the Game 1 loss.

The Celtics attacked the hoop at times on Monday, but they usually ended up on their backs watching Miami run down the floor for an easy layup. Rondo simply wants to return the favor Wednesday night.

But his comments got the Heat’s attention.

“I expect to be quote, unquote ‘put on the deck’ or whatever the case may be and then you go to the free-throw line,” Lebron James said Tuesday. “I don’t need to prepare for something I already think is going to happen every game.”

“We’re men just like they’re men; we’re not going to let anyone just come and punk us,” said Dwyane Wade. “That is not our mentality, to go out there and make people hit the deck.”

So on Tuesday, Rondo also clarified his comments. Simply, the Celtics need to make it harder on the Miami stars and protect the paint.

“Nothing flagrant, nothing dirty,” Rondo said Tuesday. “When we drove, we hit the deck a lot. If we can keep them out of the paint, even better.”

“It entails not allowing them to have 19 layups,” head coach Doc Rivers echoed on Tuesday. “But that doesn’t mean physical as far as we’re going to start fouling and knocking people down. We foul on our own anyway. What we have to do is protect the paint better, play better defense.”

Doc On Felger & Mazz: No Officiating Conspiracy

“Nineteen layups is a lot of layups in a playoff game, the conference finals,” said center Kevin Garnett. “That can’t happen. You can’t win a game like that.

“I think you have to expect it to be physical,” Garnett of Game 2. “Nothing more, nothing less than that.”

The Heat scored 42 points in the paint in Game 1, and made it to the free throw line 23 times. To sum it up, it was just too easy.

“We have to show better resistance,” said captain Paul Pierce. “It was way too easy for them in Game 1, they were very comfortable. Hopefully in Game 2 we can make it more uncomfortable with them. We’re a team that really thrives on our physicality, our defense, and our half-court grind-it-out style.”

“We have to compete at a high level every possession and make them uncomfortable,” said Rondo. “They were pretty comfortable with the dribble, the pick and roll play; wherever they wanted, they got to on the floor. We have to get into the ball a little more and try to defend them better.”

With the game tied at halftime, the Celtics came out flat in the third quarter. With the game still even at 50-50 three minutes into the third, the layup line opened for Miami. They doubled the Celtics up the rest of the way, 22-11, thanks in part to four easy layups and four trips to the free throw line.

The Celtics have to do a better job closing those lanes, as most of the damage was done by Wade, who scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half. Most of those points came from attacking the basket, or getting to the line as a result.

Stopping the Heat guards from attacking the rim will be key for Boston Wednesday night.

“They really don’t have a dominant big man to drop it down to in the post. They post their guards most of the time,” said Pierce. “We have to do a better job collapsing on them, taking away their layups, and getting to their shooters, which is not an easy task. We know that it’s not easy winning, either. We know those are the things we need to do.”

Pierce will have his hands full this series, with the duties of guarding James falling on him. He and Rondo will also have to help on Wade, with a hobbled Ray Allen struggling on both ends of the floor.

But excuses aside, the Celtics wilted on Monday and Miami took full advantage. They ran in transition, giving the older Boston players little chance to catch up.  What Boston didn’t do on defense — basically get back and play defense — Miami players made sure they did. The Heat blocked 11 shots, leading to a new level of frustration for Boston.

“They’re athletic,” Rondo said of all the shots Miami swatted away. “They were also fouling too. But we’re on the road.”

Read: Celtics-Heat Game 2 Preview

What the Celtics have to do is put all of Game 1 behind them and come out in attack mode. Forget about how easy it was for the Heat to do whatever they wanted on Monday. Forget about the five technical fouls and anything else the referees did to piss you off. Just go out, and get physical. Push the Heat around, and get them out of their comfort zone. Bump Lebron and Wade, and then bump them again. Make them “hit the deck” or keep them out of the paint altogether and force bad shots.

The Celtics know they have to do it. The Heat know the Celtics are going to do it. Now just go do it.

That’s because the NBA has assigned Ken Mauer, James Capers and Tom Washington as the referees for Wednesday night’s Game 2.

The major officiating story line coming out of Game 1 was the freedom with which the officiating crew handed out technical fouls to the Celtics, particularly the ones given to Ray Allen for turning away in frustration after a call, Doc Rivers for saying “Come on, Eddie” to referee Ed Malloy, and Kevin Garnett for tapping a ball out of bounds after a made basket.

That could be the story yet again, as Mauer is the man who once called five technical fouls in 10 seconds in a game between the Timberwolves and Spurs in January 2011.

The website NBAstuffer.com says that the home team has won 66.7 percent of games officiated by Mauer this postseason, while the home team has won 71.4 percent of games officiated by Washington and 57.1 percent of games officiated by Capers.

The alternate referee will be John Goble.

Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs is defended by Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on May 29, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas. (credit: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs are making this look way too easy.

Parker had 34 points and eight assists, Manu Ginobili added 20 points and the Spurs stayed perfect in the playoffs with a 120-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.

So far, the Spurs have turned a hotly anticipated matchup between the league’s top two scoring teams into a lopsided mismatch more befitting of an early round.

Game 3 is Thursday night in Oklahoma City, and the Thunder can only hope that a change of venue throws San Antonio out of its groove. The Spurs put on an offensive clinic for three quarters on Tuesday night, shooting 60 percent and building a 22-point lead.

“We like to play like that,” said Parker, who hit 16 of 21 shots. “That’s the way we play.”

The Spurs set an NBA record with their 20th consecutive victory bridging the regular season and the playoffs. They came in sharing the longest such streak with the 2000-01 Lakers, who won 19 straight before losing to Philadelphia in the first game of the finals.

Those Lakers went on to win the championship and Parker’s performance is yet another reason to think the Spurs will do the same.

“It’s great and it is a great run,” said Tim Duncan, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds. “But we are only worried about the next two wins in this series. That is all that matters, at this point.”

The Thunder made a late surge to get within six points, but Parker, Ginobili and Duncan helped San Antonio finish them off. Oklahoma City is 5-0 at home in the playoffs, but only 14 teams have come back from 2-0 deficits to win a series in NBA playoff history.

“First, we’ve got to worry about Game 3,” Thunder guard Russell Westbrook said. “Regardless of what’s going on with this last game or the next game, we’ve got to worry about Game 3 and come in with the same mindset and try to get a win.”

Kevin Durant had 31 points, Westbrook had 27 points and eight assists and James Harden rebounded from a rough Game 1 to score 30 for the Thunder, who have lost two straight for the first time since early April. Oklahoma City dropped to 15-4 in games after losses this season.

“There are no moral victories for us,” Durant said. “We were down. We dug ourselves a hole. We did what we normally do, which is fight all game, and we lost.”

San Antonio picked up where it left off from the 39-point fourth quarter that turned Game 1 on Sunday. With sharp passes and hot shooting, the Spurs jumped to a 19-9 lead after the Thunder missed six of their first seven shots and had three turnovers in the first 4 minutes.

Durant was on the bench at the start of the second quarter, and Parker and the Spurs put together a 14-4 spurt to stretch the gap to 13 points. Westbrook hammered Parker’s arm on a drive and he crumpled to the court. That didn’t faze Parker, who scored the Spurs’ next seven points to keep San Antonio rolling.

The Spurs shot 58 percent (22 of 38) and had 13 assists in the first half. They also cut down their turnovers, committing only six in the first half after giving away 14 in the first two quarters of Game 1.

“You never go out and say, `We’re going to start out fast,”‘ San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “You don’t know what is going to happen. You just want your team to be aggressive.”

After the break, the Spurs resumed picking apart Oklahoma City’s defense with precision passes, scoring on five straight possessions. The biggest cheer from the crowd came after Ginobili flipped a behind-the-back pass to Parker in the corner for another 3 and the lead ballooned to 78-58.

Late in the third quarter, the Thunder began intentionally fouling Tiago Splitter, a 32 percent free-throw shooter during the playoffs.

That backfired, too. Splitter went 5 for 10 over a 54-second span before Popovich replaced him with Duncan, and Oklahoma City trailed by the same margin — 16 — that it did when Brooks called for the “Hack-a-Splitter” strategy.

It may not have showed on the scoreboard, but the Spurs seemed to lose their edge after that.

“There’s a reason why you do it, to kill the rhythm,” Parker said. “I think it got us out of our rhythm.”

Parker, Ginobili and Duncan were on the court together at the 8-minute mark, after the Thunder cut the deficit to eight. Ginobili’s floater in the lane was only the Spurs’ third field goal of the fourth quarter and put San Antonio up 99-89.

The Thunder had the deficit down to six with just over 5 minutes remaining. The Spurs missed 12 of 15 shots during one stretch, but Parker hit an off-balance, high-arcing jumper with 3:39 left for a 107-96 lead and San Antonio controlled the game from there.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Comcast SportsNet’s Sean McAdam joined Toucher & Rich to discuss Pedroia’s injury and the performance of the fill-in guys for all those wounded Red Sox.

Read: Roche: The Dilemma With Dustin Pedroia

Pedroia has said that he wants to play through the injury. If the team agrees to let the second baseman play when could we expect him back and what are the dangers of doing so?

“Even in a best case scenario you don’t see him until, I’m going to guess, Friday. It seemed like they wanted to give it a day or two,” said McAdam. “…the downside is if he continued to play with it and it got worse, then it could require surgery.”

If Pedroia does go to the DL he could miss three to four weeks. What options would the Sox have at second base?

“If it’s only going to be three or four weeks then it doesn’t make much sense to go out and make a move for a second baseman because it’s relatively short term,” said McAdam. “So I would think some combination of (Nick) Punto and reinforcements from Pawtucket would be the way they go at second.”

The Sox have been playing relatively well despite the amount of injuries the team is dealing with. Are the guys filling in the open spots just over-performing? Can it last, or is it an accurate portrayal of the talent on this team?

Plus, does any of this affect the way the team’s stance on Kevin Youkilis?

“That’s the plan,” Pedroia said of avoiding the DL following the Red Sox 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night. “Hopefully I heal quick and I can get back out of there as soon as I can.”

The team and Pedroia are awaiting the results of an MRI he underwent Tuesday morning. They will take a day or two in hopes that the swelling goes down, and Pedroia can play as the injury heals. He may wear a brace at the plate to protect it from further damage, if he does not join the 12 other Red Sox on the disabled list.

Roche: The Dilemma With Dustin

The bright side is he will not require surgery on the thumb.

“All my ligaments and tendons are fine, it’s just the muscle. It’s the only muscle in your thumb,” Pedroia said of the injury. “I just need to see if it calms down a little bit and see if I can hit with a splint or a brace on; go from there.”

Pedroia On Thumb Injury: 

Pedroia injured the thumb roughly three weeks ago, but re-aggravated it in Monday’s 7-3 win over the Tigers.

If a brace does not work Pedroia knows he will hit the DL, and will likely be sidelined for up to a month.

“We’ve been talking about it, but I heal quick. I guess that’s a good thing. Hopefully I don’t have to go on the DL and I can help the team as fast as I can,” he said.

Stats: Red Sox Injuries

As for what he has to show the team in order to get back on the field, Pedroia said he’s played through plenty of injuries throughout his career.

“I don’t have to show them anything; I’ve played with injuries before. It’s a matter of me being able to swing with a brace on or something,” he said. “I’m going to get something made and see how it feels. If I can’t do it it’s three or four weeks. Hopefully it’s not that.”

Pedroia had started all 48 games for the Red Sox prior to Tuesday night, hitting .295 with five homers, 21 RBI.

Dustin Pedroia has a torn adductor muscle in his right thumb. The good news is that, unlike Kevin Youklis, it will not require surgery.

The dilemma is that Pedroia, the ultimate gamer, wants to play through the injury. The biggest problem is when he swings the bat. If he can have a brace made that will allow for no further damage to the thumb then he wants to go out and play.

The Red Sox are working with their doctors and outside specialists to see if he can indeed continue to play on.

Of course Pedroia wants to play. The Sox are 13-5 since May 10th and are finally a game aboove .500 following a huge win Tuesday night over Detroit and Justin Verlander at Fenway. They have seemingly righted their ship. Pedroia has been — and will always be — a big part of the Red Sox winning. We all know what he brings to the table on a daily basis.

Read: Dan Roche’s Sports Blog

So what do you do?

The answer is pretty simple.

Listen to the doctors. Bring in 50 of them and get their opinion on if the injury can 1) get any worse by playing, 2) stay the same by playing with a brace on while slowly healing, or 3) heal completely with 3-4 weeks of rest and rehab?

The answer, again, is pretty simple.

I want Dustin Pedroia when he’s able to play like Dustin Pedroia. I want a guy who has zero thoughts going through his head when he’s up at the plate. I want him to be able to swing that violent swing that squares up to the ball unlike any player his size I’ve ever seen. He needs to be able to go all out in the field and at the plate.

He hurt the thumb three weeks ago. He aggravated it Monday while swinging the bat. It sounds to me like he can aggravate it at any time, brace or no brace.

Let the tear in the adductor muscle heal. Take as much time as need be. He’s too valuable. Start with a two-week trip to the disabled list and go from there.

There is really only one goal this season for this Red Sox team: a trip to the postseason and a shot at another World Series title.

You need the best Dustin Pedroia you have to accomplish that goal.

Choose the short-term solution for the best chance of attaining the long-term goal.

Let Dustin rest…

Follow WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche on twitter @RochieWBZ

Is Doc as angry about last night’s officiating as everyone else is? What did Doc do to get that technical last night? What led up to the technical call on Doc?

“Listen, the officiating’s not why we lost the game. Obviously I had my issue and I can only say so much, but we have to play better as a team,” Rivers said. “That’s one of the things [officiating] we can’t focus on.”

Rivers did say that there was nothing else that precipitated his technical foul other than his saying, “Come on, Eddie” to referee Ed Malloy.

“I was surprised by it,” Rivers said. “Let me just put it that way.”

Rivers, though, doesn’t see Monday night’s officiating as a sign that there’s any type of conspiracy at play.

“I did TV years ago and it’s funny, every city I went into, those fans thought that there was a conspiracy,” Rivers said. “Obviously, it’s tough, it just is, so I try to stay away from the subject. But I don’t think there is.”

Regarding Ray Allen, is there more than just the ankle that is giving him problems? How tough is it for Doc to control Ray Allen’s minutes?

“He just has to try to figure it out,” Rivers said. “It’s a tough one. It’s as tough a decision you have because you’re still waiting for one [shot] to go in. But if it doesn’t go in, you have to make the choice, is he doing anything else? His spacing on the floor is terrific, he gives you that. But defensively he’s struggling as well, so every game we have to make a choice right now with Ray. … I will say this — I think 38 minutes is too much for Ray right now. We have to do a better job of managing his minutes and his minutes in a row.”

Rivers said he and the team haven’t made any decision about possibly resting Allen for a game, adding that the trainers aren’t even positive that a potential four-day rest would even help Allen heal.

How worried is Doc about the matchups against the Miami Heat? How healthy is Paul Pierce?

How comfortable are the Heat playing against the C’s? How has LeBron James changed since last season?

First, the guys got into the postgame comments from Jim Leyland following the Tigers’ 7-4 loss to the Sox yesterday. Leyland wasn’t pleased with a call by the umpire on a missed third strike call to Mike Aviles. Aviles struck out on a foul tip, and the catcher caught it, but the first base umpire ruled that it hit the ground. Does Leyland have a case?

Also on Friday, the Sox got into it with the Tampa Bay Rays. With first base open, Pedroia was hit by a pitch. Then in the ninth, Franklin Morales needed five pitches to hit Rays designated hitter Luke Scott. Felger and Mazz broke down comments made by Sox manager Bobby Valentine and Rays manager Joe Maddon, in regards to Pedroia and Scott getting hit by pitches. Was Luke Scott hit because he bad-mouthed Fenway Park and the fans?

Finally, the guys digest some breaking news about Sox second basemen Dustin Pedroia possibly missing up to a month with a thumb injury.

ESPN host Karl Ravech tweeted on Monday that there’s “nothing official yet but hearing Pedroia likely to miss a month.”

Manager Bobby Valentine addressed the media shortly after the report surfaced, but he said he did not yet have an update.

“There has been an MRI taken, and we need time to get those results,” Valentine said, adding that Pedroia has dealt with some sort of issue for three weeks. “He got jammed about three weeks ago, so he started wearing some protection. … I think the situation, it’s weak enough or bruised enough that if something re-occurs then maybe it could get really serious.

“I dont know how to classify it,” Valentine added. “We don’t have a diagnosis.”

Initial reports on Pedroia said that he jammed his thumb while making a diving play in the fifth inning of Monday’s win over the Tigers, but Valentine said he believes the problem arose earlier in the game when Pedroia hit an inside fastball. Valentine said after that game that it was a sprain and that Pedroia would undergo further testing. Meanwhile, Pedroia’s teammates downplayed the injury and said they didn’t expect Pedroia to even miss a day.

Pedroia, 28, has played in all 48 Red Sox games this year. He’s hitting .295 with five homers, 21 RBIs and an .800 OPS. Defensively, he’s made just one error on 231 total chances for a .996 fielding percentage, which is second-best in the majors behind Mark Ellis’ 1.000 fielding percentage.

After being limited to just 75 games in 2010 due to a broken foot, he played in 159 games for the Red Sox last season.

Nick Punto, who’s batting just .128 this season, is in the Red Sox’ lineup in place of Pedroia on Tuesday.

Ravech formerly worked alongside Valentine at ESPN for Baseball Tonight.

Punto in lineup for red sox, nothing official yet but hearing Pedroia likely to miss a month—
karl ravech (@karlravechespn) May 29, 2012

“It’s a tough call with him,” Rivers told ESPNBoston’s Jackie MacMullan Tuesday afternoon. “We’re trying to figure out a different minute rotation for him, maybe that will help him. We’re even considering sitting him for a game, getting him a longer rest and then playing him, and then sitting him for a game. We don’t know what the right thing is.”

In Boston’s Game 1 loss Monday night, Allen scored just six points on 1-for-7 shooting over 39 minutes. Allen was 1-for-4 from three-point range, and just 3-for-7 from the free throw line on Monday night.

Allen missed the final nine games of the regular season and first two of the playoffs with bone spurs in his ankle. Since his return, Allen is averaging just 9.6 points, while shooting an uncharacteristic 39-percent from the field, 27-percent from beyond the arc, and just 60-percent from the free throw line.

The 36-year-old Allen is a career 89-percent free throw shooter. The 60-percent from the line is the lowest of his playoff career since his first year in the postseason, when he shot 8-for-13 (62-percent) over three games in 1998-98 with the Milwaukee Bucks.

In addition to his offensive struggles, Allen had difficulty on the defensive end guarding Miami’s Dwayne Wade in Game 1, who finished with 22 points.

However, Rivers admits that one of the reasons he has not sat the ailing Allen already is a lack of options. With Avery Bradley out for the rest of the postseason after undergoing shoulder surgery, Rivers only has Mickael Pietrus or Keyon Dooling to take Ray’s spot.

Read: Celtics Need A Lot More From Paul Pierce

“MP (Pietrus) is going to have to be important,” Rivers told MacMullan. “Whether Ray plays or not in games, I think MP is going to be big for us, he has to be.”

Pietrus scored just one point in Game 1 in 17 minutes on the floor. Dooling played 12 minutes, knocking down one of the three three-pointers he attempted.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is Wednesday night in Miami.

Nick Punto will get the start at second as the Red Sox host the Tigers at Fenway Park. Pedroia jammed his thumb in the fifth inning of Monday’s 7-4 win while making a diving play in the field.

Manager Bobby Valentine believed Pedroia’s thumb was sprained after the game, but no update has been given as of Tuesday.

Read: Red Sox-Tigers Preview

Pedroia was hitting .295 with five homers, 14 doubles and 21 RBIs on the year, in 48 games this season.

Here is the full Red Sox lineup for Tuesday night:

1. Daniel Nava, LF

2. Ryan Sweeney, RF

3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

4. David Ortiz, DH,

5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B,

6. Jarrod Saltalamacchi, C

7. Mike Aviles, SS

8. Scott Podesednik, CF

9. Nick Punto, 2B

Roche: Red Sox Have To Keep It Rolling

Daniel Bard gets the start for Boston, opposed by Detroit ace Justin Verlander.

The 27-year-old former first-round pick signed with the Patriots in March after spending the first five years of his career with the Colts. He’s played in just 11 games in the past three seasons due to injury, though.

Gonzalez said he had hoped to leave those difficulties in his past and start fresh in New England, but that journey did not last long.

He did show promise in his first two seasons with the Colts, when he caught a combined 94 passes for 1,240 yards and seven touchdowns. In the three seasons since, he has just five catches for 67 yards and no touchdowns.

The Patriots currently have receivers Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Deion Branch, Chad Ochocinco, Julian Edelman, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, Matthew Slater, Jeremy Ebert, Britt Davis and Matt Roark on the roster. More cuts are expected before the season begins.

Wiggy came in this afternoon and was none too pleased with the performance of the referees in last night’s Celtics loss. How much are the refs to blame for last nights loss? Jermaine presented his “Open Letter to the Commissioner.”

Did all the technical fouls that were called take the Celtics out of the game mentally?

Each week we’ll be providing you with insight into the best (and worst) baseball players to play in your fantasy baseball league.

As I turn in this week’s column, I own a three strikeout lead on my opponent in my one head-to-head league, and he still has Jonny Venters in the Sunday Night game. If I don’t turn in a column next week, it’s because the suspense has killed me.

5 UP

1. Norichika Aoki, OF, MIL: Aoki has moved into an everyday role in right field for Milwaukee, forcing their hand with his performance so far this season. Another 2-for-4 day Sunday raises his average to .313 with decent doubles power and a healthy 8.4% walk rate. He has 11 runs in 95 plate appearances and that rate should skyrocket with regular plate appearances in front of Ryan Braun. He won’t provide much in RBI or HR, and he only has one stolen base, but it can be extremely hard to find high-average guys at this point in the season and Aoki could be one.

2. Tom Wilhelmsen, RP, SEA: With Brandon League out as closer in Seattle, the Mariners are going to a committee. Expect Wilhelmsen to come out on top. The 28-year-old righty has 30 strikeouts in just 24.1 innings and is the best righty in the Mariners’ pen at this time. Don’t be fooled by his 4.44 ERA – a 3.24 FIP suggests that number will come down, and with a hot start he could entrench himself as Seattle’s closer.

3. Colby Rasmus, OF, TOR: Rasmus scorched the ball this week, going 10-for-28 (.357) with two homers, two steals and five RBI. The main scourge behind his .227/.298/.411 line remains a .260 BABIP. Owners who pick him up now likely won’t have to deal with that and can reap the benefits of hitter-friendly Rogers Centre as he heats up. He could be a sneakily cheap source of both power and steals.

4. Adam Wainwright, SP, STL: Wainwright followed up a shutout gem earlier in the week with a six inning, one run start Sunday against the Phillies, giving him just one run allowed in his last 15 innings. It’s time to buy on Wainwright. He’s seen his velocity tick up, particularly on his cutter, and that could indicate he’s returning to the form which had him competing for Cy Youngs in the latter part of the last decade.

5. Matt Moore, SP, TB: Moore’s 7 IP, 10 K, 2 ER start against the White Sox on Memorial Day was overshadowed by Chris Sale’s gem (and understandably so). But let’s not lose sight of the future ace — he now has four straight starts with at least six strikeouts and has allowed no more than three earned runs in each. He has a 30:10 K:BB ratio in those four starts (covering 22 innings) and looks like he might be turning a corner. Don’t get left behind.

5 DOWN

1. Derek Lowe, SP, CLE: Lowe was beat up in two starts this week, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits in 8.1 innings. Lowe struck out just five batters and has a swinging strike rate of just 4.6% on his career. What we saw last week is just what happens when a pitcher gives up as much contact as Lowe does – he allowed 16 hits, including a homer, and even his pristine control (just one walk) doesn’t always help with major league hitters in the batter’s box.

2. Michael Young, INF, TEX: Young has struggled mightily to open 2012, and another down week (.222/.236/.278 in 55 PA) has his overall line down to .282/.305/.379. His power is almost completely gone; he has just a .097 ISO, and at 36 there doesn’t seem to be much reason to believe it will come back. Young always seems to have fans somewhere, so a reasonable return could probably be had here, too.

3. Derek Jeter, SS, NYY: The Jeter cool-down has begun. The Captain is hitting just .250 in his last two weeks (12 games, 54 PA) despite a BABIP of .297 in that span. He’s certainly not worth giving up on – he’s probably a .280-.290 hitter with a very good run total at the end of the season – but if you can capitalize on his .338/.380/.465 start, do so and do so quickly.

4. Matt Capps, RP, MIN: Capps finally blew his first save of the season Sunday, giving up a two-run homer to Miguel Cabrera to lose the game for the Twins. The problem with Capps is that he just doesn’t miss bats any more – he has just a 4.5 K/9 and in many ways is the relief pitcher version of Lowe. He’s had exceptional control thus far, walking just one batter all year, but if he does lose track of the strike zone, it could fall apart very quickly in Minnesota for Capps.

5. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF, NYM: Nieuwenhuis was a darling early in the season as he put up a .325 average in April. May has not been so kind. The 25-year-old has just a .261 average in May, and he may not even sustain that going forward. He was 0-for-4 with a strikeout Sunday, his 53rd of the year in just 47 games. It’s almost impossible to maintain any sort of a reasonable batting average with a 30% strikeout rate or higher, and Nieuwenheis is now at 30.5% on the year. Expect him to be closer to .250 than his current .288 for the rest of the season.

Jack Moore is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in Mathematics and Economics. His work can also be found at FanGraphs.com, DisciplesOfUecker.com, RotoWire.com, AdvancedNFLStats.com and ESPN. Follow him on twitter at @jh_moore.

CBS Sports baseball insider Jon Heyman joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Gresh & Zolak on Tuesday, and believe it or not, the Tigers may be even more mediocre than the Red Sox have been this season.

“They have not even been average, and they’re in a weaker division by far,” Heyman said of the 23-25 record. “I would say Boston — and I understand .500 is average — I would say they’re probably above average. But I understand, .500 is not what you’re striving for.”

Manager Bobby Valentine has had to play musical chairs, with Adrian Gonzalez playing some right field to make sure both Kevin Youkilis and Will Middlebrooks get playing time.

Is it worth the risk to play Gonzalez in the outfield?

“For now, with Youkilis on the roster, it’s certainly their best offensive team. If Gonzalez is willing to do it, it’s too tempting not to do it to get Youkilis, Middlebrooks and them all in the lineup,” said Heyman. “Long-term they do not consider this to be the solution. But if you’re the manager, what line-up card to you write now? You want Middlebrooks playing, you obviously have to have Gonzalez playing, and you probably want Youkilis and (David) Ortiz in there too. I think it’s too tempting not to do it.”

Toucher & Rich: Peter Abraham On Gonzo In Outfield

One way to get Gonzalez back at first is to trade Youkilis. That has been a hot topic ever since Middlebrooks was called up to the majors, but is it any closer to happening?

“I do believe (Boston will) have to pay a little of the $11-million salary to do it. I’ve seen speculation about the Reds, but I think that’s only because he is from there,” Heyman said of  a potential Youkilis trade, noting the Scott Rollin may be done for Cincinnati but they have a 26-year-old third base prospect in Todd Frazier. “I don’t anticipate them rushing into anything, but it does make sense. I’ve run into Red Sox people recently and they’re not saying Adrian Gonzalez in the outfield is a long-term solution. It’s obvious Will Middlebrooks has to play somewhere; he’s that good. This is something that is going to be discussed over the next few weeks.”

While injuries have plagued Boston since before the season began, it appears some of their walking wounded are on the way back. Andrew Bailey is expected to re-join the team after the All-Star break, but will he take the job back from Alfredo Aceves?

“He has the right makeup to be the closer,” Heyman said of Aceves, “but they traded for Andrew Bailey and they gave up a lot in Josh Reddick in that multi-player trade… I would think he is going to be their closer when he is back and healthy.”

Roche: Just Keep Rolling

With Bailey’s return, that could mean Aceves is put in the starting rotation. Could that lead to Daniel Bard making his way back into the bullpen?

“It seems like that’s been hinted at all along, although Bobby won’t say that out loud,” said Heyman. “Bobby is a big pen guy; he thinks that is the key to a team and two-thirds of the games are decided when the bullpen is in there. He’s always been that way. This may be a hint that that’s what he prefers.”

Also from Heyman, what’s with all the angry old men at Fenway? From Joe Maddon to Jim Leyland, everyone seems to have a sour mood at the Fens. And where will free-agent starter Roy Oswalt finally land?

The guys also touched on the Rays bringing their own music to the pregame batting practice after Fenway gave them a taste of their own ‘silent treatment.’

BOSTON (CBS) – New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is taking his turn at comedy once again, although he isn’t really the one making the jokes this time around.

Brady appears as himself in a new FunnyorDie.com video, where he enters a sporting goods store in California in search of some Under Armour gear. Brady, an Under Armour spokesman, asks for assistance, but ends up getting made fun of for his “Boston accent.”

Brady, a California native, plays it cool for a while, but gets aggravated near the end. There are only so many “wicked” and “chowder” jokes a three-time Super Bowl champ can take.

It’s not the first time the Patriots star has showed his comedic chops. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 2004, after he had won his third Super Bowl in New England. This month, Eli Manning hosted SNL after beating Brady’s Patriots in the Super Bowl, so perhaps this video was the next best thing for Brady.

Brady has also appeared in several humorous Visa commercials and a Snickers commercial around the time of his SNL-hosting days.

Among the many disturbing sights to see from the Celtics was Pierce’s disappointing showing, which at the end of the night looked like this: 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting, two rebounds (zero offensive), three assists and zero free throws attempted in 40 minutes on the floor.

Now, Pierce was hardly the only problem for the Celtics. Ray Allen was 1-for-7, Rajon Rondo missed 12 shots and also didn’t get to the free-throw line, the refs were somewhere between atrocious and abominable, the team collectively missed 10 free throws and the C’s got almost zero contribution from the bench. It was an all-around ugly performance, and no one person is to blame for the 93-79 loss.

But this is Paul Pierce. He is the captain. In his 14 NBA seasons with Boston, there’s not much he hasn’t done. He’s risen to the biggest of moments and has proven himself to be a clutch performer, yet with his team having a chance to make an opening statement against the heavily favored Heat, he was nowhere to be found. By the second half, his offensive strategy became “fly at the rim, heave the ball toward the glass and hope to get fouled.” It didn’t work.

With Kevin Garnett maintaining his nearly unbelievable level of play, he and the Celtics desperately needed one teammate to step up and reach that level. It couldn’t be Ray Allen, not with his injury. And it couldn’t have been Brandon Bass, who may have used up all of his magic dust during his 27-point outburst last week against the Sixers.

Pierce could have and should have been that guy; instead, he was just another guy.

And don’t blame the knee issues that sprung up during the Celtics’ first-round series against the Hawks. His knee was not too much of a hindrance in the final five games against Philadelphia, when he averaged a solid 20.6 points and 8.2 rebounds in more than 39 minutes per night. There’s no doubt that he’s playing through pain, but that’s no excuse, given his performances over the past week and a half.

Admittedly, even if Pierce had a great night on Monday, there’s a good chance the Heat would have walked away with a win. For the Celtics to have a chance in this round, they’ll need a whole lot more than a better showing from Pierce. But it may have to start with him.

Of course, it’s not an easy task, keeping up with the bigger, younger and faster LeBron James on the defensive end while still contributing offensively. And it’s not easy to work through the tenacious defense of Shane Battier. But there is reason to believe Pierce should be better than he was in Game 1.

He’s done it before. He is “The Truth.” But the truth is, his performance in Game 1 wasn’t nearly good enough to have anyone in Boston worrying about making room for another banner in the Garden rafters. Not even close.

Read more from Michael by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.