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PC nabs New Jersey Recruit

Bilal Dixon, a 6-8 forward at Queen of Peace School in New Jersey, has verbally committed to play at Providence College. Dixon will sign a letter-of-intent with the Friars in November and enroll next fall.
``I told them today, after school,'' Dixon said. ``I felt comfortable at Providencd. It's the right decision.''
Dixon spent two years at famed St. Anthony's High in his hometown of Jersey City, N.J. He moved to Queen of Peace last year and blossomed into a major D-1 target. He ended up selecting Providence over UNLV, St. John's, Siena and other colleges.
Dixon fills the only available scholarship Tim Welsh is scheduled to have for the 2008-09 season. More on the signing in Wednesday's Journal.

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 6:40 PM to PC basketball | Permalink | Comments 0

Celtics hope to jel during European trip

A trip to Europe is the perfect opportunity for Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce to get to know new teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

The Celtics, who won the last of their 16 NBA titles in 1986, signed the pair over the summer to add scoring punch to a team that finished with a 24-58 record last year, the second worst in the league.

This year, with training camp to open Sunday in Rome ahead of preseason games in the Italian capital and London, Pierce is looking to return the Celtics to the top.

“Expectations around here are for a championship,” the five-time All-Star said Tuesday during a conference call.

Talking about winning the NBA title before they've even played together may be a stretch, but Pierce is hoping the six-day training camp and two games in Europe will give the Celtics some cohesiveness before the regular season starts Oct. 30.

“Just try to find a foundation, but also chemistry,” Pierce said. “Get a feel for one another on and off the court.”

The Celtics, who have won only three playoff series in Pierce's nine years with the team, will face the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 6 in Rome, and play the Minnesota Timberwolves four days later in London.

Garnett, a former MVP and 10-time All-Star, went to the Celtics from the Timberwolves in a 7-for-1 deal — the NBA's biggest trade for one player.

“Probably going to be a lot of emotion,” said Pierce, thinking of his former teammates now playing in Minnesota.

The game will pit Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge against Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale. The pair, who orchestrated the Garnett deal, were teammates with Larry Bird and Robert Parish when the Celtics last won the NBA title 21 years ago.

The games are part of NBA Europe Live, which includes the Memphis Grizzlies. The four teams will play and train in Britain, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

London recently become a hub for American sports.

Besides the Celtics-Timberwolves game, the city will host the opening two games of the NHL season this weekend when the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks play the Los Angeles Kings.

Late next month, the NFL will play a regular-season game at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium when the Miami Dolphins face the New York Giants on Oct. 28.

The NBA, which opened a European office in London this year, has often sent teams to Europe to warm up for the season. And much like the NHL, the basketball league has seen an increasing number of European players making the leap to the United States, including France star Tony Parker and Germany forward Dirk Nowitzki.

The Celtics-Timberwolves game will be the first time the NBA has played in Britain since 1993.

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 5:50 PM to Celtics | Permalink | Comments 0

Cam Neely named Bruins' Vice President

Former Boston Bruins star Cam Neely was named a vice president of the NHL team on Tuesday.

Neely, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 7, 2005, will be involved in both hockey and club matters, working with general manager Peter Chiarelli on hockey operations and executive vice president Charlie Jacobs on club issues.

Neely, a right wing who combined scoring ability and toughness, retired after the 1995-96 season, his tenth with the Bruins, because of injuries. In 525 regular season games for Boston, he had 344 goals, 246 assists and 921 penalty minutes.

He is fourth in team history in goals and ninth in points. He also was the Bruins’ top goal scorer in seven of his 10 seasons.

His 55 playoff goals are the most in Bruins history and he is seventh on the club with 87 postseason points in 86 games.

Boston obtained Neely on June 6, 1986, from Vancouver along with the Canucks first-round pick for forward Barry Pederson. With that pick, the Bruins chose defenseman Glen Wesley. Vancouver had taken Neely with the ninth pick of the 1983 draft.

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 5:13 PM to Bruins | Permalink | Comments 0

Ramirez in tonight's starting lineup

Manny Ramirez is in tonight's lineup batting second and playing left field. Here's the full Red Sox lineup:

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2b
2. Manny Ramirez, lf
3. David Ortiz, dh
4. Mike Lowell, 3b
5. J.D. Drew, rf
6. Jason Varitek, c
7. Coco Crisp, cf
8. Eric Hinske, 1b
9. Julio Lugo, ss
p. Curt Schilling

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bruins send Karsums, Rask to Providence

The Boston Bruins today assigned right wing Martins Karsums and goaltender Tuukka Rask to Providence (AHL).

Following these roster moves, the Bruins have 28 players remaining in camp.

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Postseason permutations

Head over to the SoxBlog to listen to the latest edition of projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, and read excerpts from the conversation. Today's topics: the status of Youkilis and Ramirez; where Ellsbury fits into the lineup if Ramirez returns; the offense's surprising resiliency; Wakefield's rotation spot secure; which relievers might be left off the postseason roster; Curt Schilling's chance for redemption; and the challenges posed by Oakland and Minnesota.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Baseball Today: Tuesday, September 25

Get all the news from the world of baseball on projo.com's Sox Blog.

Posted by Art Martone  at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments 1