Beat L.A.!!!

While Celtics fans were highly disappointed that Rajon Rondo and Co. couldn't "Beat LA", other Boston fans were enjoying the Red Sox sweep the Dodgers right out of Fenway. The Celtics forced a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals, but unlike 2008 they were defeated by the Lakers 83-79. Despite not winning the championship, the Celtics had a surprising playoff run which unexpectedly landed them in the finals.

The Celts were not expected to be in the finals, but every time they were put to the test, they overcame the obstacles. First they went through Dwayne Wade and the Heat easily, taking them down 4-1. Then it got tough for them as they had to face LeBron James and the #1 seeded Cavaliers, but the Celtics shocked the world as they took down King James 4-2. It only got harder for the Celtics further down the road as they prepared to face the Orlando Magic. The Magic were 8-0 in the post season before facing Boston, but once again they surprised the sports world as they took down Dwight "Superman" Howard 4-2.

The Celtics found themselves in the NBA Finals against their rivals hoping to finish their season NBA Champions, but the Lakers thought otherwise. To begin with, the series was highly affected by the referees; but at the end of the day each player has to give it 100% every game, and the Celtics failed to do so.

The same Ray Allen who won Game 2 for the Celtics by setting the NBA Finals record with eight 3pointers, also lost Game 3 as he went 0/13 from the field and only scored two points. The Celtics led the series 3-2 after a Hollywood performance in Game 4 by Shrek and Donkey (Glen Davis and Nate Robinson), and a convincing win in Game 5 led by Paul Pierce. Game 6 should have been the hardest fought game for Boston to finish off strong and win the title, but instead they played as if they weren't in the NBA Finals and lost by 22 points. Even in Game 7 the Celtics had a good chance to still win as they led the game for the first three quarters. But in the 4th quarter, unlikely hero Ron Artest led the Lakers resurgence over, which led to the Celtics losing.

After that tough ending to the season, there are a lot of questions within the Celtics organization. Will Doc Rivers return? Is either Ray Allen or Rasheed Wallace done? Will Pierce resign? Regardless of the answers to these questions, Boston can rely on Rajon Rondo to be a great leader for this team in the future. At the end of the day, the Celtics making it to the finals was a huge accomplishment, but they just couldn't "Beat L.A.".

Across town was a different scenario. The Red Sox hosted a three game series against the L.A. Dodgers, as former Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez returned to Fenway Park for the first time. Coming into the series, the Red Sox had won 14 of their last 18 games, and it definitely showed as the Red Sox offense exploded in the 5th inning. They scored seven runs which led them to a 10-6 victory over the Dodgers (not to mention Manny went 1-5).

The second game of the series was a different story. It was a tied game at the bottom of the 9th and Manny had homered earlier in the game. It looked as if that game would go to extra innings, but then Dustin Pedroia hit his first ever walk-off with a single to right field to give the Sox a 5-4 victory. Sunday the Red Sox continued their success as Clay Buchholz led Boston to a 2-0 victory and awarded all the fathers with the present of sweeping the Dodgers. The Red Sox are confident going into San Francisco because they are now 10-4 in interleague play.

The Red Sox find themselves right behind the Yankees and Rays for the #1 spot in the AL East. They have one of the best records in the MLB and finally the team is playing well with contributions from the offense and pitching. The batting lineup is playing extremely well which is why the Red Sox are the leading run scorers in the MLB with 397 runs scored. In Josh Beckett's absence due to injury, the pitching has been great as Buchholz is 10-4 with a 2.47 ERA. Jon Lester has also been doing an excellent job pitching as he is 8-3 with a 3.03 ERA. Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey have not been too impressive but they are finding a way to win as they combine for a 13-5 record with a 4.56 ERA.

The Red Sox are in a great position approaching the All-Star break and hopefully they could continue their success. As for the Celtics, there will be a lot of changes this offseason; but at least one Boston team was able to "Beat LA".