Cuppa Chowdah Sports Update for Dec 2nd & 3rd; Lightning Struck Once- Come up Short vs Bruins, C's Spurred to Road Win, Oregon Rose to the Occasion

Boston Herald/Matt Stone

What a week Marc Savard is having. Just over a week after returning to Bruins lineup after being out with a broken foot for over a month, Savard and the Boston Bruins agreed to a 7-year contract extension. The terms of the contract weren't immediately disclosed.

On Wednesday night, Savard put Boston on the board with the first goal of the game (a power play goal with assists from Derek Morris and Zdeno Chara) against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

(AP)

Patrice Bergeron made it 2-0 (assists from Zdeno Chara and Mark Recchi) in the first and Marco Sturm scored twice in the second period (with assists from Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi both times) to put the Bs up 3-0 before Tampa Bay got on the board with their one and only goal courtesey of Jeff Halpern in the 3rd. Tim Thomas stopped 39 of the 40 shots he faced and the Bruins went on to win 4-1 at the Garden. The win put them in first place for less than 24 hours, since the Sabres beat Montreal Thursday night and moved one point ahead of Boston in the division. The Bruins will face the Canadiens at the Molson Centre Friday night- the Habs have lost their last 4 games.

(AP)

The Celtics winning streak is now up to six consecutive games after beating the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night in Texas, 90-83. Kevin Garnett was 9-15 with 20 points while Ray Allen had 15 points, Rajon Rondo was 6-11 with 12 points and Rasheed Wallace came off the bench for 13 points and was 4-9. The C's are an NBA best 8-1 on the road so far and will try and make it seven wins in a row Friday at Oklahoma City.

Celts F Glen 'Big Baby' Davis had his cast and pins removed from his hand Thursday, but it's expected that he'll be fitted for another to wear for the next few weeks.

ELSEWHERE: The Red Sox have reached a deal with former Blue Jays and A's shortstop Marco Scutaro Thursday pending a physical. Scutaro had a .284 batting average and belted 12 home runs with 60 RBIs for Toronto in 2009- however, he missed the last two weeks of the 2009 season due to plantar fisciitis. Scutaro worked out for one of Epstein's assistants in Florida earlier this week, according to the Red Sox and The Boston Globe

Former Boston relievers Takeshii Saito and Billy Wagner signed with the Atlanta Braves this week. Wagner had earlier told various media outlets that he was considering retirement. Wagner had a 1.72 ERA for 2009- he was claimed off of waivers in August this past season by Boston. Saito was 3-3 with a 2.43 ERA in a setup role for Boston last season.

The #7 ranked Oregon Ducks punched their ticket to the Rose Bowl Thursday night in Eugene by taking care of in-state rival, 13th ranked Oregon State 37-33 in regulation. Ducks redshirt freshamn LaMichael James ran for 166 years and three touchdowns. Lagarrette Blount, who hadn't seen any playing time since his role in the fisitcuffs at Boise State on opening night, scored on a 12-yeard TD run in the 3rd quarter.

At 99 years of age, longtime Yankee stadium announcer Bob Sheppard has decided to call it a career. After a 57 year career, the Yankees PA voice told MLB.com that he has no intention of returning next season.

"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard told the Web site in a telephone interview. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do the job and do it well."

At the Winter meetings, George Steinbrenner denied firing Sheppard after learning the announcer indavertantly took home a small box of paperclips in 1981 [just kidding! Congratulations and a happy retirement to one of the few people on the Yankees payroll who I think has earned it- NANESB!]