Some athletes believe in the power of public commentary in order to light a fire under an underachieving team. Some athletes would rather keep the private stuff behind closed doors in the hopes of avoiding the prying eye of the media.
Rondo chose the former tactic earlier this week in order to express his displeasure over the fact that his team, stacked with talent from top to bottom, had lost three in a row and five of its last seven. And you can't help but believe he's lucky that immediately after the fact, the Celtics went out and earned a huge statement win over the Heat.
You can't help but believe that Rondo himself is lucky that he was Boston's offensive catalyst that night, registering 22 assists, 14 points and three steals. Because it's hard to talk a big game when you can't back it up.
Fortunately, he can. Crisis averted — and that means no postgame verbal assault from Kevin Garnett, who, in turn, made it very clear he would much rather air his grievances in private.
In other news, John Mayer offers some sage commentary on Tiger Woods' drama (and leaves nobody wondering why things with him and Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson and everyone else never worked out), Mike Milbury and Marc Savard offer candid assessments of exactly where the Bruins are at, Pau Gasol takes an unintentional cheap shot at Kobe Bryant and Chad Ochocinco becomes so desperate that you almost feel bad for him.
"In the locker room, you can feel it. You don't feel like it's the same continuity and camaraderie in the locker room as it was the first year. The first year, it was a crazy spirit in the locker room. But now it doesn't feel the same. It's not the same right now. We've got to find a way to get that back somehow, some way."
–Rajon Rondo, on ESPN.com, on the reason the Celtics have struggled after such a dominant start to the season
"When I read [Rondo's] comments, I talked to him personally because I have a lot of personal conversations. That's what it was, you know. We're not a team here that points fingers. We keep everybody accountable. Everybody knows what this is in the locker room. What needs to be said is going to be said in the close confinements of the locker room and with each other as men. I want everybody to respect that."
–Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, on NESN.com, on Rondo’s comments
"Tiger Woods' problems come from him being married. The end.”
–Singer John Mayer, in the New York Daily News, offering his take on the Tiger Woods saga
"Going south? They're in Antarctica right now."
–NESN analyst Mike Milbury on the Bruins’ nine-game losing streak
"Maybe we gotta sacrifice a chicken or a rooster or something like that to try to change our luck.”
–Bruins center Marc Savard, on NESN.com, on Boston’s struggles
"Last year, we were second in the league in scoring. This year, we're not. It's not because we said, 'Hey, we scored too much last year, let's pull back here.' We're trying to do the same thing."
–Bruins head coach Claude Julien, on NESN.com, on the team’s scoring woes
"I’m proud of him — I congratulate him. Now we can focus on winning games again."
–Lakers forward Pau Gasol, in The Orange County Register, after Kobe Bryant passed Jerry West to become L.A.’s all-time leading scorer
"ATTENTION LADIES- Louis Vuitton is having a Superbowl/Charity Event—there is just one problem, I don't have a date, free LV for my date 🙂 This event is Februrary 6th, if you are available let me know, thank you on behalf of myself and my folks at LV."
–Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, via Twitter
"The rumors have been flying all season long. What do you want me to do? Sit at home and cry?”
—Ilya Kovalchuk, in The Associated Press, on constantly hearing his name in trade rumors before being moved from Atlanta to New Jersey
"Same room. I got the same room. When I checked in and walked in the room, it was kind of like, 'OK, yeah, I kind of do remember this room,' except for the whole scene of outside with XLI [banners].”
–Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden, in The Indianapolis Star, on returning to Miami for his second Super Bowl in four years
“I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack [Nicklaus], Arnold [Palmer], Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course.”
–Tom Watson, on ESPN.com, on Tiger Woods needing to show more respect for golf
"The Beanpot is losing its luster a little bit if it's constantly going to be BU or BC winning this tournament. We dodged a bullet. These teams are real good hockey programs, Harvard and Northeastern. It's not good overall, — people are going to get tired of it. People are tired of it in some ways."
–Boston University hockey coach Jack Parker, on WEEI.com, on the boredom of seeing BC and BU win the Beanpot every year. BU beat Northeastern 2-1 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game and face BC.
"The most important thing for Melvin, being that he's 38 years old and has been playing on a sub-.500 team for many, many years, was to get to the postseason.”
—Melvin Mora’s agent Eric Goldschmidt, in The AP, on why his client left Baltimore for Colorado
