02/25 Quickie: Oscars, Celtics, More

Let's start with a Quickie tradition: The Oscar picks.

Best Picture
Will Win: The Social Network
Should Win: Toy Story 3

Best Director:
Will/Should Win: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

Best Actor
Will/Should Win: Colin Firth (Should Win: Firth)

Best Actress
Will Win: Natalie Portman
Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)

Best Supporting Actor:
Will/Should Win: Christian Bale (Fighter)

Best Supporting Actress:
Will/Should Win: Melissa Leo (Fighter)

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NBA Trade Deadline: Here's the problem for Danny Ainge and the Celtics. Their window was this season. Not next year. Right now.

They have shown that the Heat can't possibly match them, particularly in the playoffs with its increased intensity. The Bulls aren't there yet. The Magic are cooked.

What the Celtics had to do was consider the Finals -- not the conference finals, the NBA Finals. Against the Lakers, Perkins is/was critical.

Now, the Celtics will still likely win the East -- as they would have with Perk. But once they meet the Lakers in the Finals -- or, god forbid, the Thunder -- they will be in some trouble.

I can't believe Danny Ainge panicked over winning the East. They were on track to win the East; they were on track to give the Lakers all they could handle in the Finals.

The expectations for the Celtics were clear: NBA title or bust. The only difference today is that when they inevitably fall short of that, the blame is on Ainge for trading their only legit big.

(Meanwhile, it's a coup for the Thunder, who can lock up Perkins, who makes a much more title-worthy complement to Durant and Westbrook and Ibaka than Green did.)

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NBA Last Night: I regularly gripe that the NBA regular season is largely meaningless, but last night's Heat-Bulls game had a distinct playoff feel to it. And the Bulls proved that they are unwilling to concede anything to the Heat. Bosh's 1-for-18 FG performance is foreshadowing of what will end up being an epic playoff choke (it also foreshadows the value of a healthy Joakim Noah to the Bulls' prospects -- who on the Celtics is going to stop him? KG? Then who on the Celtics guards Carlos Boozer?)

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The way the Tigers are handling the Miguel Cabrera thing is offensive and is so obviously going to implode on them, it's shameful. This isn't "imploding" like "ack, we didn't win the division." This is someone's life. And, god forbid, let's hope it doesn't involve others' lives, too. I said this when the Cabrera story broke -- this is a moment for paternalism by the Tigers and MLB. Unfortunately, the team and the league are acting like absent parents.

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College Hoops this weekend: The biggest game -- by far -- is the BYU-San Diego State rematch. BYU won in Provo; SDSU figures to be the favorite playing at hom -- and possibly for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They're the new Memphis. (If they do get it, dare I bring back the old Quickie "Boldest. Prediction. Ever." from 2006: That Memphis would be the first-ever 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed? We'll see...)

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Lovie Smith gets an extension: Won't preclude him from being fired in two years if the Bears can't sustain the playoff pace they had last season.

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Quickish is rolling today -- yesterday was on fire with the NBA Trade Deadline, but tons of great stuff today, too. Please give it a look -- and please tell your friends. (That's foreshadowing of a much much bigger "Tell your friends!" effort that is going to kick off next week with a new month.)

-- D.S.