Gibson, one of the Cavs' best perimeter shooters, left early in the fourth quarter following a collision and did not return. The team estimated he would miss one to two weeks.

The Cavaliers trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and could be eliminated Friday night.
Gibson emerged as a star in Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.

Of course, the same applies to going just about anywhere, to just about anything. So although pining for the old days is pretty useless indeed, I nonetheless got a laugh out of John Swansburg's story today on the online magazine Slate: Dispatch from The New Garden.

Here's how Swansburg starts:

BOSTON — When historians look back on these last days of American hegemony, they will perhaps point to our blunders in Iraq or the fall of the once-mighty dollar as the first signs of our impending decline. I fear, however, that future scholars may overlook an equally ominous recent development: the invention of the T-shirt cannon. This device—used to project balled-up T-shirts into the farthest reaches of sports arenas—has proliferated among the NBA franchises with alarming speed. Last night, during breaks in the action between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, Lucky, the Celtics' mascot, pranced onto the court brandishing this weapon, using its coveted ammunition to work the crowd into a lather. That he succeeded despite the fact that every ticket holder had already been given a free Celtics T-shirt seemed to this fan a clear indication that our society's best days are behind it.

Detroit coach Flip Saunders says Billups looked good enough in practice Thursday that he could have played if there was a game. Billups missed the last two games against the Orlando Magic in the second round with a strained right hamstring.

The Pistons will open the conference finals Sunday if the Boston Celtics eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 on Friday. If the Cavs extend the series to Game 7, the conference finals are expected to begin Tuesday night.

Outdoors writer Tom Meade has filed tomorrow's Fishing Report early. You can read it now: Just click this link to find out what's hot and where.

Lester is pitching in on a Dunkin' Donuts promotion that gives customers a free 16-ounce (small) iced coffee from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at participating shops nationwide.

Two customers in Warwick will win a pair of Red Sox tickets each to an upcoming Red Sox home game.

They had yesterday off as an opportunity to lick their wounds and assess their M*A*S*H issues after a disappointing 4-6 trip through Detroit, Minnesota and Baltimore that finished with four losses in a row and five in the last six games.

Tonight they will open up the interleague portion of their schedule when the Milwaukee Brewers, featuring embattled closer Eric Gagne (remember him?) and ex-Sox player and minor-league manager Gabe Kapler, will visit Fenway Park for a three-game set.

Check around the baseball world and experts still consider the Red Sox to be the class of the American League and a good bet to make it back to the World Series with a chance to claim back-to-back World Championships, even if they are a half-game behind the surprising Tampa Bay Rays in the A.L. East.

But no team is perfect. The Sox aren't going to waltz to the A.L. crown just by showing up and throwing their gloves on the field.

This interlude in the schedule provides an opportunity to discuss some concerns facing the Red Sox at the quarter-pole.

Click here to continue reading.

"We thought our story was solid. It wasn't. And we owned up to it," said the letter, signed by editor and chief Kevin Convey.

"Nevertheless, I continue to stand behind the work of the Herald sports department and John Tomase, a talented journalist who has dealt with this difficult matter professionally while continuing to do his job under intense pressure."

Click here to see Convey's full statement.