Posted by Mike Petraglia

It is a scientific fact.

The middle of March has become the least productive time of year in corporate America. Even in these times of economic volatility and stress where’s there’s more pressure to produce, you can almost bet that every office has a pool of predictions as to who is going to advance in the NCAA Men’s Division I basketball championship.

And you can bet people are emailing, facebooking, texting and generally trash-talking each other’s teams, star players and of course, picks.

I might as well get in on the act. So here goes.

Five teams I love in this tournament:

1. Louisville. Rick Pitino knows what this time of year is about. His team was a machine at the Big East Tournament. They won 19 of 21 games this year in the best basketball conference in the country. Any questions?

2. Memphis. Yes they play in the Memphis Athletic Conference, also known as Conference USA, where they have won an amazing 61 straight games. Only Kentucky’s string of 64 versus SEC teams between 1945-50 is better. And they are on a 25-game winning streak. They ARE athletic enough to knock of No. 1 UConn in the West, if of course, they hit those pesky free throws.

3. North Carolina. Assuming Ty Lawson’s toe isn’t an issue, there’s ZERO reason to think he and Tyler Hansbrough won’t lead the Heels back to the Final Four in Detroit.

4. Villanova. These Wildcats are eight deep and it’s a quality eight. That is vital at tournament time because if one or two stars are off, someone needs to pick up the slack. As long as Scottie Reynolds doesn’t go 1-on-5 too often, they should advance to Boston.

5. Xavier. This team lost Josh Duncan, Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell and everyone figured a step back was in order. All they did was reload with C.J. Anderson, B.J. Raymond and Derrick Brown. One of the most athletic teams in the tournament.

Five teams I wouldn’t bank on heading to the Motor City:

1. Syracuse. Great story. Seven overtimes. Two Big East Tourney wins, including a victory in arguably the most epic (certainly not greatest) college basketball game of all time. What does that get you? A No. 3 seed in the same South bracket as Oklahoma, North Carolina and Gonzaga and 15 sets of tired legs. Don’t be shocked if No. 14 Stephen F. Austin pulls the upset.

2. Wake Forest. Way too up-and-down from January on. Team looked like they were going to compete for a No. 1 seed and challenge UNC for ACC supremacy when they were ranked No. 1 early on. They lost at home to Virginia Tech when they were top-ranked and haven’t been the same since.

3. Boston College. They have been truly one of the fascinating stories of the college season. Al Skinner may not receive the national coach of the year but NO ONE did more to deserve it. He took a group that was picked to finish in the lower third of the ACC and rallied them to beat unbeaten and No. 1 North Carolina. Yes, we know who they lost to just days later but they also beat Duke and should have beaten them in the ACC tourney. But the fact is, they are bracketed with Michigan State, and Louisville in the Midwest, that is if they get by red-hot USC.

4. Duke. Why the hate for the ACC, Trags? Well, if you watched Duke lose at B.C. and you watched the game on Friday night at the Georgia Dome, you realize how flawed the Blue Devils are. If you don’t let Jon Scheyer kill you, you stand a really good chance of doing what VCU did in 2007.

5. Marquette. Sorry Doc Rivers. Another great early-season story. Then Dominic James broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. Season over. Jerel McNeal is a fabulously talented player, who can score from anywhere on the court and led a ferocious comeback against Villanova in the Big East Tournament. But there aren’t enough big bodies who score to sustain him in this highly intense environment.

Trags Final Four Take:

Louisville over Memphis in one national semifinal.

Villanova over North Carolina in the other.

Trags Final Take:

Louisville over Villanova.

Also of note:

The US Basketball Writers of America announced their All-Americans on Monday:

First Team
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, F, 6-7, 265, So., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Stephen Curry, Davidson, G, 6-3, 185, Jr., Charlotte, N.C.
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, F, 6-10, 251, So., Oklahoma City, Okla.
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina, F, 6-9, 250, Sr., Poplar Bluff, Mo.
James Harden, Arizona State, G, 6-5, 218, So., Los Angeles, Calif.

Second Team
Sherron Collins, Kansas, G, 5-11, 200, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, 6-8, 255, Jr., Schererville, Ind.
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky, G, 6-4, 208, Jr., Norcross, Ga.
Jeff Teague, Wake Forest, G, 6-2, 180, So., Indianapolis, Ind.
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, 7-3, 263, Jr., Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Posted by Mike Petraglia

As first reported by WEEI.com and FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman, Boston University has fired men’s basketball coach Dennis Wolff.

Wolff just completed his 15th season in which his team finished 17-13 (11-5 in the America East Conference). The Terriers were eliminated for its conference tournament in the quaterfinals, Saturday, losing to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Wolff finishes his career at BU with a 247-197 record.

The school issued the following statement on its website.

Dennis Wolff will not return next year as head coach of the Boston University men’s basketball team, Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch announced today.

“We greatly appreciate the contributions that Dennis has made during his 15 years at BU,” Lynch said. “To a man, his student-athletes competed hard on the court, earned their degrees in the classroom and represented BU well in the community. We wish Dennis nothing but the best in his future endeavors.

“This decision was not made quickly or easily,” Lynch added. “However, after a thorough analysis, I believe that a change in leadership is in the best interests of our men’s basketball program.”

The head coach since the 1994-95 season, Wolff posted an overall record of 247-197. The Terriers finished third in the America East Conference this year with a 17-13 record, ending their season in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

During Wolff’s tenure, BU advanced to two NCAA tournaments (1997, 2002) and made three NIT appearances (2003, 2004, 2005). The Terriers won two America East championships (1997, 2002) and captured the conference’s regular-season crown five times (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004). He coached more seasons and won more games than anyone in the program’s 100-season history.

A national search for the next head coach will begin immediately.

Posted by Mike Petraglia

Tim Thomas wants no part of further questions about the difference between a hockey goalie cage that he wears and the mask/helmet that his colleague Manny Fernandez wears.

Of course, that was all the buzz Tuesday night in Columbus when he took a jarring hit from Jiri Novotny that broke the strap that holds his chin protector in place. He was forced to wear Fernandez’s mask and he subsequently allowed a goal, the difference in a 2-0 loss to the Blue Jackets in the Buckeye State.

“It’s a mask,” Thomas said. “I don’t wear a mask. I don’t wear a mask because I can’t see, I can’t breathe and I can’t hear. Other than that, it’s ok.”

So, Tim, were you carrying an extra cage, just in case?

“No,” he answered, explaining, “At times I’ve carried an extra one but I betcha if you go through the league, probably 95 percent of the goalies don’t bring an extra one because a puck hitting your mask won’t do that to you. And in the game of hockey, I didn’t think your goalie was supposed to get hit like that. So you don’t really have to worry about the mask breaking like that because it’s not made to withstand those things. It’s made to withstand a puck to the head.”

The Raffi Torres goal was symbolic of the Bruins’ frustrations of late, and those of Thomas.

“I’m frustrated by (Tuesday) night’s game for sure,” Thomas said. “We were obviously in that game the whole. Till this morning, I didn’t know who we were playing (on Thursday) so you take it game by game.”

Posted by Mike Petraglia

Doc Rivers quipped after practice on Monday that he just worked up his best sweat since his playing days.

The former NBA point guard wasn’t joking. He just finished running Stephon Marbury through a five-man ghost drill in which Rivers called out various plays, leaving Marbury to run an offense that included the likes of Mikki Moore, Leon Powe, J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker and Gabe Pruitt.

With five players unavailable due to injury and with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen playing 45 minutes apiece the day before, the Celtics were running on a skelton practice with barely enough bodies to make it worthwhile.

Now, while he’ll have the benefit of Pierce and Allen on Wednesday when the team plays next in Miami, Marbury will have to pick up his mastery of the offense if the Celtics are to find their way on offense and not fall behind by 20 like they did on Sunday in the first half against Orlando.

“Steph ran the set, but he didn’t know what to look for or who to look for and then he’s playing at half-speed, because you could feel him thinking out there on the floor,” Rivers said. “That killed him and it killed the team as well. So, it’s just going to take time. What I’m trying to get him to do is not to press or worry about it. The first thing I told him (Sunday) night was don’t worry about, it’s going to come together.”

Even though he was clearly not playing up to the potential that Danny Ainge saw when he signed him two weeks ago, Marbury was hardly crestfallen about his chances to improve. Instead, he exhibited the kind of confidence required from a point guard of a NBA title contender.

“Yeah, I’m definitely, getting it,” Marbury said. “Today was definitely helpful. As coach said today, learning what we want out of the offense as opposed to just running the sets. As a point guard, you normally know all of the plays, you know where to go and you know what everyone is going to do.”

With Rivers saying on Monday that he foresees Rajon Rondo out for at least the next couple of games with his sprained right ankle, this will be Marbury’s team. Marbury will have a golden opportunity to show that he can pick up the offense in time to be a force for the playoffs.

“For me, asserting myself in the lineups, I need to make sure the guys get the shots who are supposed to get the shots,” Marbury said.

Posted by Mike Petraglia

Boston College senior Tyrese Rice captured All-ACC second-team honors, according to an announcement made by the Associated Press in conjunction with the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Rice was joined on the second team by Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague, Clemson’s Trevor Booker, Duke’s Kyle Singler and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez.  Rice gained All-ACC first-team honors last winter, second-team honors in 2006-07, and ACC All-Freshman Team honors in 2005-06.

The All-ACC first team was led by North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, the lone unanimous selection.  Joining Hansbrough were Florida State’s Toney Douglas, North Carolina’s Ty Lawson, Duke’s Gerald Henderson and Miami’s Jack McClinton.

Rice averaged 18.2 points, 4.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in 16 conference contests this season.  The Richmond, Va., resident ranked among league leaders in several categories (conference games only):  scoring (eighth), assists (third), free-throw percentage (third, .878) and minutes played per game (eighth, 34.4).

Boston College (21-10. 9-7 ACC) returns to action on Thursday, March 12 against Virginia in the ACC Tournament’s first round.  Game time is 9:30 p.m. in the Georgia Dome (Atlanta, Ga.).

Posted by Mike Petraglia

Please, no jokes about M*A*S*H or Doc Rivers activating himself to help out or how the trainer’s room is overcrowded.

Doc Rivers knows the deal right now.

The Celtics will not dress five players when they play the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in South Florida. Rajon Rondo and Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis were ruled out of action by head coach Doc Rivers on Monday, both sustaining sprained right ankles over weekend. They join superstar Kevin Garnett (right knee sprain), Brian Scalabrine (post-concussion syndrome) and Tony Allen (left thumb) as injured Celtics on the sidelines.

“Baby and Rondo are out, I know that,” Rivers said. “They’re out for the next couple of games, maybe the next week. Kevin will be out longer than the Milwaukee game. I’m pretty sure of that. I would say Kevin, maybe at the end of the following week at the earliest.”

In addition Rivers said his challenge will be to not repeat what he did on Sunday when he had both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen play 45 minutes apiece.

“Somebody else has to step up and the challenge for me is not doing what I did (Sunday) with Paul and Ray, that can’t happen,” Rivers said. “Obviously, that was a different circumstance because the injuries happened during the game or right before the game. It’s tough to plan for but I still want to keep their minutes down, even in a time of crisis I want to keep their minutes down. We just have to find a way to win games.”

Rondo sprained his ankle on Friday against Cleveland and Davis injured his on Sunday in a loss against the Magic. Only 10 players dressed for Monday’s practice, with Ray Allen and Pierce getting excused after 30 minutes.

“This is a growth period for our basketball team,” Rivers said. “Clearly, we want to win the games but we have an opportunity to grow our team in this little stretch and get them closer together and get them all understanding how hard the work is going to be to win a title. In the long run, I think this might make us a better team.”

Posted by Mike Petraglia

It was clear from the start that the Celtics missed Rajon Rondo. To a man, afterward, everyone was quick to give Stephon Marbury props for doing his best, but Marbury has only been in Green for nine days. It’s hard to expect someone, even of his talent, to just step in and replace Rondo, who did not dress with a sprained right ankle.

Marbury got his first start but the Celtics were out of rhythm from the start, falling behind by 20 in the first half and commiting 11 turnovers.

Ray Allen led a furious fourth-quarter comeback but it fell short in the end as his three-pointer to tie with 35 seconds remaining was off the mark and the Celtics fell, 86-79.

Marbury said these games right now are still practice for him.

Ray Allen said the team missed Rondo early.

Allen, with a game-high 32 points, tried to pick up the scoring slack.

Paul Pierce, with 16 points, talked about passing Robert Parish for third on the team’s all-time scoring list.

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said the Celtics were able to get away with physical play on Dwight Howard, starting with Kendrick Perkins’ shoves in the back.

Posted by Mike Petraglia

Before Friday’s game, Celtics assistant coach Armond Hill showed an inspirational video to the team, aimed specifically at young big men Leon Powe and Glen Davis.

No, it wasn’t Rocky or even Hoosiers. It was a film of the Celtics scoring basket after basket with their big men executing great interior passes. The result - the undermanned Celtics outscored the Cleveland Cavaliers 58-22 in the paint and rolled to a stunning 11-point win, 105-94, over the Eastern Conference leaders.

The Celtics didn’t have Kevin Garnett but they did have Leon Powe. The Celtics didn’t have Brian Scalabrine but they did have Glen Davis, at least for 17 minutes before he was ejected for a flagrant Type 2 foul with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter.

But Doc Rivers, who said at the shootaround in the morning that this would be a phenomenal win, had one of his best games of the season as head coach of the defending NBA champions. Just ask Mike Brown, his counterpart on the Cleveland bench.

Brown said the Celtics deserved all the credit for pulling together and pulling off the upset, even if it was on their home parquet.

For his part, Doc Rivers gave credit to Armond Hill for showing the video and his players for taking the lead.

Paul Pierce said Powe (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Davis (10 points) showed the depth the Celtics have.

Pierce said Davis’ ejection in the third quarter fired up the Green.

Leon Powe said he knew he was going to have to pick it up when Big Baby was thrown out.

Glen Davis said his foul of Anderson Varejao was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

LeBron James said, with or without Garnett, the Celtics are a great team.

King James said it’s hard to believe home team has won 15 straight in the series.

Posted by Mike Petraglia

As the Celtics shot around at their training facility in Waltham, everyone wanted to know what the Celtics needed to do to beat King James and the Cavaliers without last season’s defensive player of the year and the team’s heart and emotional soul in a suit for at least another week.

Coach Doc Rivers said that Kevin Garnett ran on a treadmill on Thursday for the first time since injuring his right knee on Feb. 19 and reported no problems.

“He ran yesterday, he told me, on the treadmill, which I’m sure was supervised,” Rivers said. “And he said he felt great so he’s feeling a lot better. That’s the first day he’s been able to run so we’ll take it day-to-day from that point on.”

“It’s the whole knee thing. We’re just going to take our time. I would say at least a week out and most likely, longer.”

As for tonight’s battle to end all battles, at least for the next 24 hours, Rivers, possibly looking back on last year’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semis, pointed out what it really means, especially if they could pull it off without Garnett, Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen.

“It’s a big game,” Rivers said. “Obviously, home court is at stake here. And it would be a great win for us, to beat them at their full strength and us not having Kevin, Scal and Tony, I think it would be a phenomenal win for us. We’ll be ready.”

The Celtics have allowed their last two opponents to score over 100 points while a third, Indiana scored 99 last Friday.

“We want to win, really, and we have to find a way to do that,” Rivers said. “We’ve got to improve defensively. Over the last couple of games, we have not played our defense, especially transition-wise. And if we don’t get back tonight, it’s going to be a long night. That’s what we have to improve.

“We’ve won games and we’ve lost to a couple of good teams, which I can always live with even though you never want to lose, but our defense hasn’t been consistent and for us to be a good offensive team, we have to have multiple stops and we have to get back to that.”

But maybe it was Leon Powe who provided the best perspective of all on Friday morning, a mere nine hours before tip.

“It’s real good for us because we’ve been looking forward to this game,” Powe said of the test. “If you want to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. I know the road to the championship means you’ve got to knock us off. We see them as a real threat. We’ve got to go out there and play our best and hopefully both teams put on a good show and hopefully we come out on top.”

Posted by Mike Petraglia

Well, a home ice loss to the 14th-best team in the Western conference was not exactly what Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli and coach Claude Julien had in mind when the Bruins dealt for Mark Recchi and Steve Montador on Wednesday at the NHL trade deadline.

The Bruins came out and laid a massive egg against the overhauled roster of the Phoenix Coyotes and fell 2-1 at TD Banknorth Garden.

There are a number of reasons this loss is troubling. First, it comes on the heels of a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Second it comes just a day after the team made two big deals for the stretch run. Third, the return of Milan Lucic to the lineup was expected to give the Bruins a little extra jump. That never materialized.

And finally, the New Jersey Devils are coming fast and this is another loss that brings the No. 2 seed a bit closer to being able to overtake the No. 1 Bruins, who are stuck on 93 points, just six ahead of Jersey.

It’s looking more and more like when the Bruins host the Devils on March 22 at the Garden, first place in the East could be on the line.

But before looking ahead, the Bruins must look back on what was a painful Thursday night on Causeway. And you could sense the frustration, starting with head coach Claude Julien.

Julien said his team, all of sudden, can’t finish on scoring chances.

Julien said when it comes to playing a full 60 minutes, talk is cheap.

Marc Savard said the Bruins were a little too cute on the ice with the puck.

Milan Lucic said the Bruins have to find a way to play 60 minutes.

Even as a newcomer, Steve Montador knows to expect boos when the team isn’t playing well.

Montador said the team is trying to look ahead and gain momentum.

Aaron Ward summed up the Bruins problems.

Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said his Coyotes put forth a good team effort.

Gretzky said his team had a good road effort in Boston.