They haven’t played anyone yet. Wait until they play the Western Conference.

Remember those words, spoken before the Celtics began a 3-game homestand against the best of the Eastern Conference and started off on their first West Coast swing? Five games into that stretch, and sporting a 4-1 record, the doubts about the Celtics are disappearing faster than parking spots in Southie.

Last night’s win over the Sonics was the second game of a back-to-back and featured Ray Allen’s emotional return to the Northwest, two factors that conspired to keep things relatively close. But while Allen wasn’t his usual efficient self, Paul Pierce picked up the slack, and in the process, revealed what the Celtics would have looked like had they drafted Kevin Durant. Think 11-16, not 24-3. (more…)

The Herald continues to bang the Daniel Tavares drum today with a story sourced by someone involved in Deval Patrick’s probe of the Department of Corrections. According to the Herald’s source, the investigation found that Tavares could have remained incarcerated due to bad behavior while he was in prison, but the DOC never followed up.

It goes without saying that the timing is not good for Romney with the Iowa caucus just one week away. (more…)

Your condensed guide to today’s daily papers. 

What’s next for Pakistan: The death of Harvard-educated Benazir Bhutto has thrown the country into chaos, as well as Washington’s plan for democracy. You get the sense there is no Plan B right now. [Globe] (more…)

Your long day of corporate drudgery is over. Get out and enjoy the city! Here are a few ideas to get you started, lovingly picked by Boston Daily

Nothing says the holidays like dinner and dancing. OK, lots of things say the holidays better than dinner and dancing, but only Upstairs on the Square has both tonight. (more…)

The news that former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today has brought back a flood of memories from those who knew her during her time in Boston. She was a student at Harvard, and also appeared on NECN while she was still in exile. (more…)

The latest news on the Roger Clemens front is that his legal team has hired a private investigator to look into the claims of his former friend, and trainer, Brian McNamee.

No, really. (more…)

Taking you around the internet for your afternoon enjoyment.

He never should have ditched the hoodie: You have to give Sports Illustrated credit for imagination, even though the end-of-the-year Bill Belichick as Santa cover doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. [SI.com] (more…)

Famed lost-girl-finder Mitt Romney zig-zags across New Hampshire today for the last time before the Iowa caucuses, and he couldn’t be leaving the state quickly enough. Just days after the Concord Monitor eviscerated Romney as a “phony” candidate driven solely by “his own ambition,” and wondered aloud “if there’s anything at all at his core” (an anti-endorsement that some Granite Staters wishfully attributed to the Monitor’s wild anti-waterboarding streak), a second paper, the Manchester Union Leader, has keyed the doors of Romney’s campaign Benz. (more…)

It’s not every day that the forces of good triumph over evil, but yesterday’s announcement by the NFL Network that everyone in our fair country will be able to watch the Patriots and Giants on Saturday was a win for the little guy. Of course the little guy will now have to listen to Bryant Gumbel’s strange impersonation of a play-by-play man, but it’s a small penalty to witness history.

Or so the story goes. (more…)

Are you stuck at work like the hard-working trolls here at Boston Daily? Lucky you. To add insult to your misery, it looks like there’s another storm a-brewing. And just in time for your drive home.

While the majority of the snowfall is expected to occur north of the city, the drive home could feature that lovely concoction known as wintry mix. (more…)