Another day, another trifecta in Sportstown USA. Pedro flirted with destiny again today (OK, it was the Orioles, but nobody else has managed to no-hit them yet). The B's tied it up in Montreal. Bill Belichick reached Page 34 on his list of ways to keep Drew from coming back to haunt him.

But, as you may expect, I want to talk hoops again. I've been going to Celtics games at the Fleet regularly since it opened, and it never matched the Garden. Too big, too clean, too devoid of history. Until tonight. Tonight, as the Celtics knocked the Sixers back to the ropes, the place was absolutely rocking. We all stood for the last 5 minutes, fans cheered without being cued to by Jumbotron (that in itself is an exciting development), and the crowd (I think) actually had a hand in tonight's win. To set up: the C's led through the end of the 3rd quarter, but the Sixers took a 4-point lead midway through the 4th. Then we, the fans, got serious. It was literally too loud in there to hear the PA announcer or the whistle. Philly, who's playing skittish anyway, crumbled. They let Paul Pierce get open a couple times, which is the ONE THING you don't want to do in the 4th quarter. They couldn't get the ball to Allen Iverson, and as a result, Derrick Coleman had to fling up a last-chance 3 with 45 seconds or so to go. (Side note: has Coleman ever been in the 2nd round of the playoffs? I'll look it up if I have to, but if anyone knows....)

And I can't say enough about some of the Celts tonight. Antoine Walker carried the team through the first 3 quarters while Pierce was struggling, then gave The Truth the spotlight in the 4th. Antoine, shockingly, has become the consummate team player. Walter McCarty solidified his position as the most amazing story of the playoffs, igniting the team with 10 points. Kenny Anderson and Tony Battie nailed some big shots down the stretch. And Paul Pierce...money. I'm just plain giddy.

(For the record, I got home tonight in time to catch Barkley and Kenny Smith on TNT agreeing that this series isn't coming back to Boston. Personally, I think the home crowd gives Philly the energy to take Game 3, then the Celts finish them off in 4. And Detroit is looming as a fantastic series. Beating the Nets to get to the Finals will seem anticlimactic.)