The Telfair incident seems to be dominating the news today. I can see why the kid didn't want to report it. Hopefully the report in the Post is a bit reactionary and that Bassy's report is accurate and he was just a victim and the furor will die down. In spite of Doc saying that cuts would come today, it looks like we will have to wait a bit longer. I hope that Powe is safe from being cut now. If nothing else, he will push Al this season in practice to make him much tougher under the basket. Here is what is going on around the Celtics Nation today:

First of all, let's look at the links that pertain to the Telfair incident in New York. The Herald makes a point that fame and wealth make the players a target, whether they like it or not. In a separate article, they bring to attention the fact that Pierce has guns at his home because he fears for his safety at times with cars following him after games. He doesn't carry a gun when away from home though. It may end up with players needing to hire protection just to keep them safe and out of trouble. The Globe reports that Danny is standing behind Telfair and that he isn't disappointed yet, at least with the facts he knows at this time. The Patriot Ledger offers their take on the Telfair affair and has Doc and Danny's explanations.

In the Celtics Notebook in the Herald, they also report that Danny stands behind Telfair. He feels that Bassy was a victim and accepts his version of the events. Delonte West is ready to play tomorrow night and that is good news. In spite of Doc saying that he expected to make the first cuts today, Danny says he wants to hold off to look at Luke Jackson a little more. I believe that the last cut will be either Allan Ray or Luke Jackson. They have to keep Powe if they have any sense at all.

I didn't think I saw any dancers at the preseason home opener. Today's Globe reports that they will be unveiled at the regular season home opener on 11/1. It is nice to know that they aren't bimbos, but "smart and educated" ambassadors for the team.

Ok, I know I sometimes sound like a broken record about Powe and Perk but I really like these kids because of their toughness and their willingness to play defense and rebound and do the dirty work. Both kids are such hard workers and you just have to pull for them. The Patriot Ledger reports on Powe's break out game against the Nets. It is hard to show what you can do sitting on the bench, so I am glad that he finally got the chance to play. It still is amazing to me that Doc was playing Akingbala, Pittsnogle and Scal but didn't even give Powe a chance until injuries forced his hand. It seems to be a recurring theme with Doc. Play the veterans into the ground before giving a young player a chance. Then when back is to the wall, giving said young player a chance and being very surprised when they produce.

Along the same lines, The Enterprise discusses Gomes and the fact that works very hard to make the most of his opportunities. If Al and Perk didn't get hurt last season, would we still be wondering what Gomes could do? Ryan's explanation on how he rebounds as an undersized 4 is most interesting to me.

“It’s hard,” Gomes said, “to keep your body on a guy until the shot goes up, box him out and then go get the ball. So I try to give him a bump early, try to visualize where the ball is going to come off the rim and then beat him to the ball. I get a lot of rebounds off one bounce off the rim."