Boston Sports Wrap: Matt Cassel Traded, Schilling Talking Comeback, Finn on WEEI

From a major trade for the Patriots to a former Red Sox star thinking comeback to Maine getting a NBA D-League team, it was a busy few days in the world of Boston sports.

Here's your quick hit recap to get you up to speed on everything that you missed in the last five days:

- Patriots trade Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to Kansas City for 2009 second round pick: On Friday, I wrote on this very site that I'd miss Vrabel and how the trade was surprising, because it came out of nowhere.

Then on Saturday afternoon, word broke that there was another major component of that deal; that being, the former backup-turned-starting quarterback Matt Cassel heading to Kansas City along with Vrabel for the 34th pick in the draft.

On the surface, it seems like the Patriots didn't get a lot for Cassel, and there are camps on both sides of the issue. I think the Globe's Mike Reiss really put things into perspective, but ultimately it comes down to this: after last year's preseason, a lot of folks expected the underwhelming Cassel to be cut.

Less than a year later, they got a high second round pick, salary cap relief, and an unforgettable '08 out of him. Thinking positively, there's a master plan here and you have to believe in the Pats' brain trust that they know what they're doing until they show otherwise.

- The Boston Celtics opened up the Stephon Marbury era Friday night with a 104-99 feel-good win over Indiana, where Marbury was passable coming off the bench.

They followed that up with a lackluster 105-95 loss to Detroit on the parquet Sunday where Marbury looked...well...less than passable. On tap this week: New Jersey, Cleveland, and Orlando. They need Kevin Garnett back and quick.

- Curt Schilling shows interest in coming back with the Cubs or...Tampa Bay?: I guess this was inevitable, but coming off a wasted 2008, curse killer Curt Schilling is making overtures that he wants to come back to pitch in '09, mentioning either the Chicago Cubs or Tampa Bay Rays as landing spots.

The Big Schill said that he would decide in the next few weeks on whether to pursue this. You know where to find updates, if and when he does.

- The Globe's Chad Finn has stirred up the hornet's nest again. Just a few weeks after dropping his most important Red Sox column (causing my fantasy baseball message board to light up), Finn took it to WEEI and essentially called them out on the radio carpet for being...well...what they are.

It's an interesting read and of course, there have been plenty of responses (just do a Google search of 'Chad Finn weei'). Think what you will about Finn, but he does get people talking.

- Speaking of interesting columns, Bill Simmons did a really good piece on the financial status of the NBA. Deadspin called it one of his best pieces in a long time and I definitely agree.

I'm not a huge NBA guy, but I loved this. If you're an NBA fan, you're going to probably be very sad when you read it.

- Portland, ME to get NBA D-League team: Just over a week ago, I had finished a piece on the Manchester (NH) Millrats for a local magazine and part of the article focused on their interest in attracting affiliation from the Boston Celtics for an NBA-DL team.

Well, I had to do a rewrite as an ownership group in Portland, ME, announced this week that they have secured a D-League team and is expected to secure the Celtics' affiliation. The mainly western-U.S. based league is expected to announce additional East Coast clubs soon.

Being based in Manchester, I'm disappointed that this couldn't get done here, but I'm sure that there was a good reason for it. But as a former Portland resident and Maine son, I'm hopeful they'll get this right in the 207.

They'll be playing at an arena in the Portland Expo that is going to undergo some major renovations to get ready, and the city has done a great job in Boston affiliations so far with the Sea Dogs-Red Sox partnership.

This situation can definitely work, but I'm intrigued as to where these other NBDL teams are going to be located, as bus travel is expensive both in cost and fatigue to the players.

- Gabe Pruitt busted for DUI: I thought it was Marbury that was supposed to be the troublesome Celtics' point guard? The backup point guard and former USC product was busted Thursday at 3 am by Los Angeles police, while he was stopped at a green light and was later booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge.

These guys make way too much money to feel sorry for them at this point. I'm sure $20 for a cab or $100 for a private driver probably doesn't seem that bad to Pruitt now.

- Lars Anderson Ranked 17th Top Prospect by Baseball America: The Red Sox think that they have something special in first baseman Lars Anderson and so does Baseball America, naming the 6'5" Anderson their 17th best prospect in baseball in their annual rankings and first among first basemen.

While Anderson is currently in spring training with the Sox, it's widely expected that he'll start the season in Double-A Portland, where he split time last season. Anderson will be looking to improve on his 2008 numbers of .317/18 homers/80 RBI.

Josh Nason publishes and is the main writer for New England sports and media blog Small White Ball. He can be reached at josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].