Where the Bandwagon Happens

This one isn't for Dave Svens.

Before I get going here, a note: I've been on the bandwagon for a long time. My only evidence: Flip through some posts from last winter, when I was writing about the Celtics even when they were totally irrelevant. I do care. I do.

Now, here we go.

Hop on board, fan. There's plenty of room on the Celtics bandwagon. They're 7-0. In a week, they could have a record as good as the Patriots.

I came into the season pegging the Celts over/under win total at 50.5. I'm confident right now it will be higher than that. And I'm also excited about this team's playoff possibilities.

Here's why. Simply, seven games in, they are already playing like a cohesive team. They play good defense (last night a great example). They move the ball very well on offense, and they share the ball. So far, all the happy talk from the Pierce-Allen-Garnett trio (I won't use that term that you might see in other places. There was only one of those. Viva El Birdie) has been proven on the court. Will it last? Really, why not.

One last thing: Kevin Garnett is absolute beast. A force of nature. If nothing else, watch the Celts to watch him. He's not Pedro in 1999 or Ortiz in 2004, but if he gets this team to the Finals, that might have to be reconsidered. He's that good, that motivated, that amazing to watch.

Beyond the bench (which has played quite well so far, thank you) and the point guard (who's hanging in), the biggest question going into this year was whether or not the Pierce-Allen-Garnett trio would be able to put aside their all-star resumes and play together. So far, so very good. There's a little bit of desperation in these three -- all in their 30s, with their last chance to make It happen. They won't go 82-0, but if Doc Rivers doesn't wear them out in the regular season, these three have the potential to make a run into June.

Last night's game was an excellent sign of this team's future. It was the second night of back-to-backs, and it was against a New Jersey team that was probably itching for a win after losing to the C's at home on Saturday. The first half was ugly, but in the second half, the Celts won mainly with defense. How many games in the last five years have the Celts won mainly with defense. And not just lock-down defense, but a steals-and-turnover defense that led to some easy hoops and a couple of nice trailer threes. Good stuff.

That first Jersey win was also impressive. Any time you beat a playoff contender on the road on the back end of a back-to-back, that's impressive.

The Celts still need to some proving. I'd like to see how they handle the Texas trip (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas might be the toughest three-game stretch in the league), a tough week or two, and certainly watch to make sure Rivers doesn't wear the three big guys out.

But right now is the time to get board the Celtics bandwagon. Not only good, but entertaining. Now, if only Comcast would start televising road games in HD, we'd be all set (another rant at another time).

Speaking of bandwagons and HD, you really should be watching "Dirty Sexy Money" (ABC, Wednesdays at 10). I started this one from the beginning, and was worried after a couple of episodes that it would be this year's "Studio 60." Great potential, but completely not living up to the potential.

Potential acheived.

Great characters, good story lines, and charming humor that is, well, darling (ha, ha. If you watch it, you get it).

This show is in some trouble, because it's got only four or five episodes left due to the writers' strike. It's not exactly a ratings blockbuster (why do I pick these great shows no one watches), and whatever steam it's building is likely to get doused by this strike.

So, figure out a way to watch it. I'm guessing abc.com has some episodes available on line. The last two episodes are currently available. That should be plenty to get you going. I'll answer whatever other questions you might have. Well worth the watch.

And while we're that it, watch "Friday Night Lights." It's all part of being a good citizen.

An Important Matter

Bill Simmons is sometimes hack-ish, sometimes lazy, and sometimes relies too much on old jokes, but on this matter, he is 100 percent correct. Just do as the man says. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

Now, on to Serious Business

OK, the big news tonight is the new host of "The Price is Right" is Drew Carey. Cleveland rocks, indeed.

For a kid who grew up watching Bob Barker everyday, cheering on hikers of some Alpine slope to not make it to the top, hoping to see a contest beat the odds and hit the center stripe on Plinko, and just begging for someone hit the $10,000 on the wheel or both showcases just to hear that "whooop-whooop-whooop .... whooooooop," this is major, major business. In fact, after I was stuck with homefront duties on Barker's last day -- instead of playing a prearranged 36 holes of golf -- one of the silver linings was catching Barker's farewell.

So, is Drew Carey the right choice? Dunno, but he's not the wrong one. I like a lot more than Rosie O'Donnell, for whatever that's worth. I kind of thought maybe Dan Patrick was going to sneak in there, and that would have been intriguing.

The question now is, does TPIR need Bob Barker, or will it stand up on its own? Will the joys of the Race Game and Dice Game still be charming, or outdated? Will it be charming when a Samoan hugs Carey, or just weird? Will people still wear crazy t-shirts? In short, is the game bigger than Bob Barker, or was Bob Barker bigger than the game.

I'll be interested to find out, but I get the feeling it'll be OK.

Oh, by the way, I'm copyrighting "Carey's cuties" right now.

While I'm rambling about TV, a total outrage (shockingly) in "Friday Night Lights" being snubbed in the Emmy nominations last week. "Boston Legal?" Please. And even though I left the room on Thursday nights, the stench of "Grey's Anatomy" followed me throughout the house. "FNL" and "Lost" should have been nominated as well. Not that matters, because the triumphant last season of "The Sopranos" was nine of the best contiguous hours in TV history.

Even worse than the show being skipped was Kyle Chandler and Connie Brittan getting snubbed in their categories. Brittan is fantastic as the coach's wife, and together they are brilliant. I stand in front of the mirror practicing the icy stares that Chandler uses on both running backs and potential suitors to his daughter (I have about 8 left to get them down). For them to be skipped -- by Kiefer Sutherland in another by-the-book-but-second-worst-season-of-"24" effort of all things -- is shameful.

There you go. You can go about your life now, completely no better fulfilled than you were five minutes ago.

The Sopranos

Three disclaimers:

1. If you're a fan of the show and didn't watch the last episode, you're not going to want to read much further.

2. Yes, I understand this has nothing to do with Fitchburg politics, but I can't help myself. If you want politics, we'll be back later.

3. Yes, it's four days later. That's what happens when you resign the HBO just days before the end. If you're tired of it, feel free to tap out. But how can you be.

So here we go:

Meadow walked through the door. And that was the best finish to a TV show since Sam Malone walked out of his bar.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, and we'll probably never really know. But it was my first reaction, and I'd like to think it was no coincidence that when the change to black came, the last lyrics heard of the Journey song was "Don't stop." What's next? "Believing." I guess I optimistically think that means believing he lives. Of course, it could mean believing whatever you want, but you know, that's the beauty of it.

And that, really, is what The Sopranos was about. Believing. Either that Tony Soprano would one day get his due, or that one day he found redemption and salvation. This show wasn't a mob opera and it wasn't a homelife drama. It was a tale of the soul of Tony Soprano, and whether or not it could be saved.

He was both the show's hero and really its archvillian (this might be a good time to note that James Gandolfini was brilliant, from beginning to the very end, as Soprano. Especially this last season. Wow). The way the show was constructed, viewers were another family member (or Family member). We knew what he did, knew how he thought, but still liked him. Whether it was Carmela turning her head to his infidelities, his kids ignoring his lifestyle, or his underlings killing then paying tribute with nothing but praise, every character close to Soprano like him.

As viewers, we were in the same boat. We saw Soprano endlessly cheat on his wife, steal and rob, kill, and mentally manipulate people. What he did to Bobby in the first episode of this season was brutal. His dead-eyed killing of Christopher (and that brief smirk while he's holding his nose) was chilling. But we also saw the other side -- the quiet times when he had peace with Carmella, or the dramatic times when he pulled A.J. out of the pool and called him "baby" while patting his head. In the end, Tony Soprano should have been one of the horrific characters in television history. Instead, we wanted him to make it OK.

That dynamic was the driving force of the show. Soprano seemed to seek redemption -- he went to therapy, he had a short period where he wasn't cheating on his wife, he was a softer person after being shot -- but he never found it -- his last-season peyote-and-screwing binge in Vegas, Christopher, putting a shoe up A.J.'s ass -- kept him from it.

That's why the ending worked so well. The show was designed to make the viewer decide how he or she felt about Soprano. There was never any mandate from David Chase. I think most people liked him -- I liked him -- in spite of myself.

But that question was what made the show so great. And the ending to the show stayed true to that. There are a million reasons to think Tony met his maker Sunday night -- black represents death, his point of view throughout the scene before that show people walking through the door and the black represented his death view. There was also the flashback to the lake scene with Bobby when Tony said he thought being shot to death would be just black. But there are a million reasons to think he didn't die. He was with his family, feeling pretty good -- as so many other season finales had showed on this show -- and to me, how can he die and we adhere to the call to "Don't stop believin'."

Finally, the greatness of the finale was in the craftsmanship. If this wasn't the finest season of The Sopranos, it was right up there. I watched all nine episodes in about a week, and it was a treat to watch them all in a compact timeframe (thanks OnDemand). This was one of TV's all time great shows going out on top. It wrapped up some (but not all) loose ends, reinforced the viewers gnawing feeling that while Phil Letardo was not one to mess with, he was a buffoon (how could you not laugh at that scene -- that's what the show did to you), and kept you thinking -- th ultimate hallmark to a show.

I like movies and TV shows that make you think and elegantly think its way through something. I love "Lost," because it's becoming pretty clear that the writers had a plan from the beginning -- Season One, lay the groundwork, Season Two, ask a million questions, Season Three, start answering them -- and are executing their plan brilliantly (with a sidetrack here and there). I loved this season of the The Sopranos because it masterfully executed mob drama, family strife, and one man's internal struggles magically.

It all came together in that last scene. While Tony's mood with Carmela and A.J. is light, everyone in that diner is sinister-looking, only because we make them. Meadow's tortured parking job turned a happens-a-million-times-a-day thing into high drama. The cutting back-and-forth from Tony to the door set us up to see who was coming in the door.

And then, it was over. And now we're still writing and talking about it. The Sopranos always gave us something to think about and talk about, and in its ending, stayed true to that greatness.

So, Meadow came through the door. And that series finale was one of the all-time greats.