Seth Rogen talks 50/50 snub

Seth Rogen talked about 50/50 being snubbed by the Academy.

Yesterday when the Academy announced this year’s nominees, it tellingly avoided giving comedy blockbuster Bridesmaids that 10th Best Picture slot in favor of a Supporting Actress nod for Melissa McCarthy and one for Original Screenplay, while the touching, poignant, critically adored 50/50 was left completely shut out. Actually, 50/50's producer-star Seth Rogen predicted just such a snub when his film’s Oscar potential was first discussed back in September. “I know for a fact that some people are appalled by the movie,” Rogen told EW.[...]

50/50 was nominated for Best Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, and Reiser won the National Board of Review’s award for Best Original Screenplay. But the film was completely snubbed at the Oscars, where Reiser was thought to have a good shot at landing a Best Original Screenplay nod.

Reiser was nominated for original screenplay by the WGA as well.

My thoughts on the Oscar snubs

The morning that the Oscar nominations are announced are one of the times of year that I look forward to. It’s tied with Selection Sunday. Why is that? Because the nominations are chosen by people within the industry.

Sometimes, like today, they don’t get it right. Other times, there are just so many great fucking performances that there just are not enough slots to be able to award everyone with a nomination.
Shailene Woodley was one such actress. Her performance in The Descendants was received with rave reviews but sadly, she was snubbed of a nomination.

In the category of best actor, both Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender were snubbed. Gosling and Fassbender opened many films in the calendar year. Gosling should have been nominated for his performance in Drive or The Ides of March. Fassbender was though to be a fucking shoe-in for his performance as a sex addict in Shame. Did the NC-17 factor turn off some votes? I don’t know.

Disney was shut out of animation this year. They released Cars 2, which was only made for the toys and shit, but Winnie the Pooh was snubbed?!? Come on, voters!

Only two songs, out of all eligible songs were nominated. The Muppets are the de facto winner even with one song making the final cut. Time to change the rules, music branch.

Both Original and Adapted screenplay saw snubs with not including 50/50, Win Win, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or The Help. Win Win would have gotten some better recognition had the film been released in the 3rd or 4th quarter of the year.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was nominated, or as most folks are calling it Extremely Awful and Incredibly Shitty. When you take into account Rotten Tomatoes, this is the worst fucking film of all time to have ever received a nomination for Best Picture. The Stephen Daldry Effect? Maybe. This film could very well see both an Oscar nomination for best picture AND a Razzie nomination for Worst Picture. Now, wouldn’t that be something!

84th Annual Academy Award Nominations

Here is the complete list of nominees for 84th Academy Awards (Oscar) ceremony.

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2 Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots Chris Miller
Rango Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
The Artist, Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo, Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris, Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Jeff Cronenweth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse

Costume Design
Lisy Christl, Anonymous
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Sandy Powell, Hugo
Michael O'Connor, Jane Eyre
Arianne Phillips, W.E.

Directing
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Documentary (Feature)
Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Pina, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
God Is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione
Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

Foreign Language Film
Bullhead Belgium
Footnote Israel
In Darkness Poland
Monsieur Lazhar Canada
A Separation Iran

Makeup
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle, Albert Nobbs
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady

Music (Original Score)
John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Howard Shore, Hugo
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams, War Horse

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture
The Artist, Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help, Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo, Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball, Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
The Tree of Life, Nominees to be determined
War Horse, Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna, Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak ,Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis, Drive
Ren Klyce, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, Hugo
Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom, War Horse

Sound Mixing
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, Hugo
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick, Moneyball
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin, Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson, War Horse

Visual Effects
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning, Hugo
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg, Real Steel
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier, Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

8

Rand Paul detained

Rand Paul was alledgedly detained by the TSA today.

The Kentucky senator triggered an alarm during routine airport screening and declined to finish the process, said a TSA official, but was “not detained at any point.” A targeted pat-down is usually used to address the alarm.

“Passengers, as in this case, who refuse to comply with security procedures are denied access to the secure gate area. He was escorted out of the screening area by local law enforcement,” the official said.

When I flew back from Midway last year, one time I went through the body scanner AND got patted down. The second time? Just went through the scanner and no pat down.

Bachelorette

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell produced Bachelorette, which debuts this week at Sundance.

Here's a brief synopsis of the film written and directed by Leslye Headland:

Regan is used to being first at everything. Imagine her horror and chagrin when she finds out the girl everyone called Pig Face in high school is going to tie the knot before she does! But Regan sucks it up and takes on bridesmaid duties along with her childhood pals: substance-abusing, promiscuous Gena and ditzy Katie. The single ladies are determined to put their bitterness aside and have an awesomely hedonistic bachelorette party. Armed with acerbic wit and seemingly endless supplies of coke and booze, the foul-mouthed femmes embark on one very long and emotional night filled with major wedding-dress panic, various bodily fluids, and cute ex-boyfriends.

The film has an impressive cast, too, starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, James Marsden, Adam Scott, and Kyle Bornheimer.

Book Review: Lunatics

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (January 10, 2012)

I have not laughed this hard since I watched Bridesmaids. Let me repeat. I have not laughed this hard at ANYTHING since watching Bridesmaids.

Abbott and Costello. Laurel and Hardy. Hope and Crosby. Martin and Lewis. Matthau and Lemmon. Belushi and Aykroyd. Farley and Spade. Now comes the buddy comedy team of Horkman and Peckerman.

What happens when humor writer Dave Barry writes a book with former Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel? The answer: a shitload of hilarious fun that requires the presence of food to stay no more than 20 feet away. Do you want the book to be spit on? I didn't think so.

Lunatics is described as "an outrageous, laugh-your-butt off comic masterpiece of our time" and tackles issues that very well could have been inspired by 2011's Arab Spring as both Phillip Horkman and Jeffrey Peckerman find themselves being wanted for shooting a police officer on the George Washington Bridge, sneak onto a clothing-optional cruise ship, overthrow the Cuban government, bring food to Somolia, tackle the Middle East conflict, before bringing democracy to China, and urinating on Sarah Palin. It's not just that they do all those things but in the way that they just somehow happen to be there at the right time and still feuding with each other no matter the cost.

Steve Carell is already attached to star in the movie adaptation as Phillip Horkman. For some reason, I forgot that and was reading the Jeffrey Peckerman character in my head with Carell's voice. Oh, well. It does not make a difference who he plays because if the film is done right, and I expect that it will be, it will be one of Carell's finest films by far.

Zweibel writes the character of Horkman while co-author Dave Barry pens the chapters that come from Jeffrey Peckerman's point of view. Barry describes the character of Horkman as "a big, loveable, well-meaning dork" whereas Zweibel describes Peckerman as "a loud, offensively vile creature...in other words: Mel Gibson."

Phillip Horkman is a soccer referee and owner of The Wine Shop, which, to Peckerman's dismay, does not actually sell wine but instead, sells pets. Lots and lots of pets. A few days before, Peckerman, a forensic plumber, was upset with Horkman as his 10 year old daughter is called offsides. He feuds. The action begins.

The fight between Horkman and Peckerman escalate as they soon find themselves on the run and being hunted down by the NYPD and government for being terrorists. The rest is history for America's Most Wanted Terrorists.

Throughout the book, we get NBC News reports from Brian Williams. Williams, the funniest anchor in years, should have the comic chops to play himself in the film. More so, both Williams and Tom Brokaw cover this year's GOP convention which leads to more, promised hilarity as the GOP is at a stalemate over a presidential nominee. It gets worse. After Horkman recieves the GOP nomination, Peckerman is nominated by the Democratic Party.

Horkman and Peckerman have this ability, uncanny as it seems, to show up at the right place at the right time. In doing so, they become worldwide heroes.

Grade: A+

If you want to laugh your pants off, go read this book. Stop reading this blog right now and go read this book.

Why the KDP will never get my money...

Since Steve Beshear signed the redistricting plans into law and could not stand up to David Williams, then the Kentucky Democratic Party will never get any of my money ever again. If KY allowed independents to vote in primaries, I'd have switched a long time ago. But no, Beshear is gutless and has no fucking spine at all.

Go read a piece at Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

he House, Senate, and Gov Beshear have passed re-districting plans that are vindictive against specific lawmakers, leave at least one incumbent lawmaker without a district to run for re-election, give constituents in another district a new senator who lives halfway across the state from the district he will now represent, and creates very oddly shaped districts that unnecessarily divide coherent communities and constituencies.

For example, Lexington's own Sen. Kathy Stein (a sponsor of KFTC’s Stream Saver Bill in the Senate), who has represented her constituents in either the House or Senate since 1997, will have the Lexington district she now represents moved to northern Kentucky. The western Kentucky district now represented by Sen. Dorsey Ridley – 200 miles away – will be moved to Lexington.

This leaves many in Lexington without an effective Senator who understands this community for the next 2 years.

A fucking shame and a digrace to Kentucky voters. Especially to those of us who voted Steve Beshear into office.

Steve Beshear does it again

A sad day has already gone to a shitty day.

Steve Beshear decided to send a "FUCK YOU" to all of us who voted for him when he decided to sign HB 1 and thus kicking State Senator Kathy Stein out of the Senate. This is not just a loss for the Lexington district she represents (they will be represented by a Western Kentucky Democrat who represents an area closer to Evansville than Lexington) but for the Democratic caucus in the State Senate.

It's already been a shitty day with the death of a friend, and then the news that Etta James died after a battle with cancer and dementia, but this is just the nail in the fucking coffin on Beshear's dwindling reputation amongst Kentucky Democrats.

At least if Jonathan Miller didn't pull out of the race, the only thing we'd be afraid of right now is Tim Tebow being named an honorary Kentucky Colonel. Miller would not have signed that bill. You can trust me on that.

In Colts news...

CBS Sports writer Gregg Doyel writes that the head coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts is the best one on the market because of the franchise quarterback factor.

Colts owner Jim Irsay made even more changes as he fired 8 assistant coaches.

Among the eight assistant coaches let go Thursday were defensive line coach John Teerlinck and his son, Bill; Frank Reich, the onetime quarterbacks coach who coached the receivers this season, and longtime conditioning coach Jon Torine. Linebackers coach Mike Murphy, who served on the staffs of Jim Mora, Tony Dungy and Caldwell and was promoted to defensive coordinator in late November, decided to retire after 27 seasons on the NFL sideline.

That's not all.

Defensive backs coach Alan Williams is leaving the Colts after 10 seasons to become the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator.

All this came despite the midseason firing of defensive coordinator Larry Coyer and the postseason firing of special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski, Caldwell's first two hires.

That leaves only nine of 20 coaches who started the season still on Indy's staff, and their fates may not be determined until the Colts hire a new head coach. The most notable holdover is offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen. Team vice chairman Bill Polian and general manager Chris Polian were both fired the day after Indy finished a 2-14 season, its worst in two decades.[...]

f they take Luck, Irsay could elect not to pay Manning a $28 million bonus and let him walk away as a free agent. Or Manning could retire.

New GM Ryan Grigson said earlier this week that he hadn't yet spoken with Manning and that the medical details would likely dictate Manning's future. Irsay has said he will pay Manning if he's healthy enough to play.

The other coaches let go Thursday were assistant Devin Fitzsimmons, offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars, special assistant to the defense Rod Perry, and quarterbacks coach Ron Turner.

Indy has reportedly sought permission to speak with Tennessee defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, New Orleans offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

As for Jim Tressel? I'm with Mike Freeman on the matter.

Finally, a look at the candidates for the head coaching job.

Dane Cook is NOT funny

We all know the truth. Dane Cook is not a comedian. He just thinks that he is. So bravo to my good friend, T.J. Miller, for giving it to Dane.

“Fucking Dane Cook is eating [shit] at the laugh factory. He bumped [Bobby Lee] and is being just mean… The hubris of this man unfortunately led to his fall, but I'm afraid he is a damaged man & well, that's about it. He [is] certainly not a comedian… Watching him try and work through his own shit on stage when he is saying, ‘Go fuck a dirty whore. That's the best therapy.’ #lord… Dane. You've been doing standup for so many years and you still believe it’s okay to bomb and talk about your issues? You. Didn't. Earn This…

I remember hearing [about] someone named 'Dane Cook' in college on Napster. I heard Harmful If Swallowed after college… Then there was a backlash (there always is, it's inevitable), but it grew. It was more than I could believe, and it was due in part to him… I liked him. His snake bit, a lot of sort of absurdist stuff. Suddenly he was on SNL, he was the 'king' of MySpace, [and] he was famous. Good Luck Chuck and Vicious Circle sealed his fate in contemporary culture.

And then last night, he got on stage and was vicious, misogynistic, cruel, and arrogant. He talked about not paying for an abortion. He talked about finding some whore to fuck to take out his anger at his ex-girlfriend. He talked about how girls would do anything for him ‘because I'm me.’ He got mad when people were texting. ‘Dane Cook is onstage,’ he said. ‘Have some fucking respect.’

Here's an idea, Dane: have some fucking respect for the audience that gave you the chance to be what you dreamed of being, and don't be mad at them because you fucked it all up from hubris and thirst for fame. Don't disrespect the people that gave you a chance. Don’t do an hour of mean-spirited trash. And Dane Cook, certainly don't ask anyone to feel sorry for you. If you are the person you were onstage last night then you are not a good person. And the way you talk about women is disgusting and pathetic, but really just hurtful. So Good Luck Chuck. [You] need all the luck in the world to realize you need to go to therapy & figure out how to not be a hateful person. Stop performing until [you] do so.”

Hat tip to the AV Club.

David Williams: GO FUCK YOURSELF!

Kentucky State Senate Dictator David Williams can go fuck himself. How dare he treat Kentucky Democrats in the State Senate with the least amount of respect is beyond me.

Instead of bringing this state forward into the 21st century by helping the senate push for a decent bill on allowing expanded gambling in this state, he would rather fucking force out Kentucky Democrats that actually give a damn about the state and its citizens.

Instead, no, David Williams is a fucking coward. If he had his own fucking way, he would be DICTATOR OF KENTUCKY. Because you know what? He fucking is already. The Kentucky State Senate has it's own motto: WHERE ALL THE BILLS FROM THE HOUSE GO TO DIE. Williams doesn't give a damn about Kentucky and yet all the Senate Republicans keep re-electing him as state dictator of the senate.

So David Williams, I say to you: GO FUCK YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING PRICK!

That's right, Dictator Williams: FUCK YOU!

Pretty cool

These are some pretty cool stats coming from Ben Roberts at Next Cats. Looking at average scoring, most of the higher scoring stats come from the freshman class of 2007-08. There are several pages so be warned. It's an excellent read.

Sundance 2012

Sundance is right around the corner and there are 10 performances to look out for. However, Seth Rogen's wife, Lauren Miller, may be on to a big year in 2012--depending on who buys the distribution rights, of course.

Lauren Miller, For A Good Time Call... (directed by Jamie Travis) – Not only does Lauren Anne Miller (50/50 and Superbad) have a producer and co-writing credit in this Sundance Premieres feature, but this may very well be her breakthrough in addition to her first starring role. Miller stars opposite Ari Graynor (also in Sundance’s Celeste & Jesse) playing college frenemies that move in together. One intrudes on the other’s late night and loud bedroom antics, discovering a dirty little secret that brings the two closer. Miller’s husband is Seth Rogen who co-stars in the film though it’s “her time to shine” say those in the know.

Take a look at the list though.

It's the end of an era for Eastman-Kodak as they have filed for bankruptcy. They didn't jump on the digital train fast enough and now they are going under.

Rabbi Ethan Tucker pens an op-ed on Jack Lew and the Power of Shabbat.

Albert Brooks talks to The Arty Semite, a Forward blog, about how he got the role in Drive.

Meanwhile, some of the folks in Big Blue Nation were really nasty yesterday to sportswriter Jeff Pearlman. I know he said some things that we, as a whole, did not like. But is that a reason to act anti-Semitic and say you would rather read Hitler's book than read his material? I don't think so. Take a look at the email of the day that Pearlman posted yesterday on his website.

On the other hand, he did realize he was wrong in picking on only John Calipari and not other coaches who coached one-and-done players.

The myriad critics of my Kentucky Tweet were right in one regard—it’s not just Calipari, and to single him out was silly. He’s just a guy; a product of a system; a man who is hired to win, win and win at (almost) all costs. So, in that regard, I was off. I wouldn’t want my kid to play for him—or 800 others coaches.

The number one draft pick last year played for Duke. He didn't even play a full season's worth of games, too!

Now some folks argued that Jeff Pearlman is a nobody. He's not a nobody. It's just that he's not Gary Parrish, Jeff Goodman, Andy Katz, or Seth Davis. The regular folks that we know of who follow college basketball for CBS Sports, ESPN, SI, etc. Kentucky fans have probably read his work but they just didn't know it yet at the time they tweeted to him. There's something I do agree with re Pearlman. We don't like the screaming talking heads like Skip Bayless.

The reason you don’t see me screaming on ESPN or Fox or wherever is because I don’t want to scream on ESPN or Fox or wherever. The world doesn’t need another Skip or Stephen A, setting aside texture in the name of volume and airport recognition.

Ainge considering Celtics trades

Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge is considering move that would be considered ballsy with the fan base.

The Boston Globe reports:

Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said today he would consider a major move involving the Big Three if it would help foster the team's transition to the next era.[...]

"First of all it’s a different era," Ainge told the Globe. "I sat with Red (Auerbach) during a Christmas party (in the 1990s). Red was talking to Larry, Kevin, and myself and there was a lot of trade discussion at the time and Red actually shared some of the trade discussions. And I told Red what are you doing? Why are you waiting?

"He had a chance to trade Larry (to Indiana) for Chuck Person and Herb Williams and (Steve) Stipanovich and he had a chance to trade Kevin (to Dallas) for Detlef Schrempf and Sam Perkins. I was like are you kidding? I mean I feel that way now. If I were presented with those kind of deals for our aging veterans, it’s a done deal to continue the success."

Ainge said he does not want a repeat of the 1990s in Boston.

"After those guys retired, the Celtics had a long drought," he said. "But those (types of fruitful trades) aren’t presenting themselves. In today’s day and age with 30 teams in the NBA, 15 teams know they have no chance of winning a championship. They are building with young players. It’s a different era that we live in. It’s easy to say conceptually but you have to always weigh what are real opportunities."

Two tragedies happened that ruined Boston for the 1990s. One was the death of Len Bias a few days after the NBA Draft in 1986. The second was when Reggie Lewis died in 1993.

If they didn't die, the Celtics would not have been a bust during the 1990s. Would they have drafted Paul Pierce? Who knows. I definitely do not see Pierce getting moved to another team. He's a lifer although it appears there are teams interested in the Celtics forward.

evin Garnett and Ray Allen come off the books this summer, while Pierce has two years and $32 million left on his contract. No matter what you think Ainge will do, it's clear the team has plans to use the money they save on Garnett/Allen to sign a high-profile free agent. Moving Pierce for an expiring contract and a draft pick might allow them to sign more than one player to a big deal this offseason.

It's possible that Rasheed Wallace could make an NBA comeback.