Magnolia State Madness Sports Grits Chowdah Update- Mississippi Blues for Aggies, Crimson Tide; Royal Flush- Kansas City Sweeps Angels to Advance to 1st ALCS Since 1985; Patriots Bounce Back Against Cincinnati.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Every once in awhile, I'll encounter a subset of football fans who are outright dismissive of college football, sneering that REAL football is played on Sundays- as though their favorite NFL player was cultivated in some magic football orchard hidden off from the rest of the world until their product was ready. On Saturday, I genuinely felt bad for those people.

Where to start? Obviously the biggest story of Saturday afternoon was the Ole Miss vs #1 Alabama game in Oxford, MS. For the first time since 2003, when Eli Manning was the Rebels QB, Ole Miss bested the Alabama Crimson Tide thanks to a 4th quarter rally. This also marks the first time since 1962 that the Rebels have gotten out to a 5-0 start.

Midway through the 4th quarter, Mississippi trailed 17-10 before pulling even on a 34 yard TD pass from Bo Wallace to WR Vance Sanders with 5 and a half minutes remaining in regulation. With the ensuing kickoff, Alabama's Christion Jones fumbled and Mississippi recovered on the Alabama 31 yard line. It didn't take long for the Rebels to capitalize, with Wallace connecting with RB Jaylen Walton for a TD catch and run to put Ole Miss up 23-17 with just under 3:00 remaining in the 4th. The Rebels attempted to go for two, but were unsuccessful, giving Alabama one last chance to pull ahead for good in the final minutes.

With just 37 seconds to go, the Tide had one last shot at the end zone, but Rebels outfielder-turned-DB Senquez Golson managed to get his hands on a Blake Sims pass attempt in the end zone and after a lengthy review was able to corral it for a galme-clinching INT.

Wallace ended up throwing for 251 total yards and 3 TDs, including two in the fourth quarter. The victory propels Ole Miss to 3 in college football polling as well.

This Saturday, the Running Rebels will travel to College Station, TX to take on #14 Texas A&M.

ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC- Saturday's stunner in Oxford was by no means the only upset in the SEC, let alone NCAA Football. The only-slightly-less-favored Aggies fell to Mississippi State in Starkville by a 48-31 final in what ended up being a track meet. Like in-state rival Ole Miss, the Mississippi State Bulldogs are out to a 5-0 start and will host #2 Auburn this weekend.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- The upsets actually began as early as Thursday night, with the Arizona Wildcats holding on against the #2 Oregon Ducks by a 31-24 final. On Firday night, the Utah State Aggies handed #18 BYU their first loss of the season, going on to win 35-20.

On Saturday, Texas Christian handed the Oklahoma Sooners their first loss in a wild one at Amon G Carter Stadium in Fort Worth that included Horned Frogs LB Paul Dawson picking off Sooners QB Trevor Knight's pass and running it back 41 yards for a TD early in the 4th quarter. On the point after attempt, it was successfully blocked before being run back for 2 points by Sooners DT Jordan Phillips to cut TCU's lead to 37-33. However, that would be the last of the scoring and #25 TCU remains undefeated and advances to #9 in the college football standings while #4 Oklahoma was handed their first loss and dropped down to #11 in the rankings.

But there was more......especially out on the West Coast. Utah ended up beating #8 UCLA by a final of 30-28 while Arizona State trailed #16 USC late in the fourth. The Sun Devils had the ball on the Trojans 46 and trailed 34-32 with just 7 seconds left in the game when this happened.



The Trojans would go on to lose by a 38-34 final, their second loss since playing Boston College at Chestnut Hill and their first loss of the season within the Pac 12 conference.

MEANWHILE IN THE ACC- The Boston College Eagles had the weekend off after their September 27th 24-21 loss to Colorado state, but will resume this weekend in Raleigh, NC as they take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 streaming.

NFL- And then there were none.

The last of the undefeated teams in the NFL this season turned out to be the Cincinnati Bengals, and that only lasted until Sunday night against New England at Gillette Stadium.

Heading into Sunday night's game there were a number of storylines- could the Pats and Brady bounce back after last week's fiasco at Arrowhead, not to mention the final remaining undefeated team in the NFL [Arizona also got out to a 3-0 start, had a bye and then lost to the Broncos earlier in the day- NANESB!]. But what really had people talking during and after the game was the Patriot's tribute to the cancer-stricken daughter of defensive lineman Devon Still in the 3rd quarter.

During a timeout in the third quarter on Sunday night, the Patriots let Still know that they were with him and his daughter during their battle. Patriots cheerleaders donned Still’s Bengals jersey as the music video played on the big screens, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated $25,000 to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Leah’s name.

Still was shown on the big screen following the music video, and got a little emotional when he received an ovation from the Gillette Stadium crowd. You could see tears stream down his face,

Reaction across Social Media was quick, with accolades for the Patriots as well as pledges of support from other NFL players and owners for Devon and Leah Still. Still was sporting a nose strip that had the hashtag #LeahStrong on the Sunday night game.

Meanwhile, on the field Brady seemed to have quieted his critics with a TD pass in the first half as well as a 1 yard Stevan Ridley TD run and 3 Gostkowski field goals to make it a 20-3 game at the half.

Cincinnati scored on their second possession of the second half with a 37 yard TD pass from QB Andy Dalton to WR Mohamed Sanu to make it a 20-10 lead for New England, but on the following possession, Brady capped an 86 yard drive with a 16 yard TD Pass to TE Rob Gronkowski to put New England up 27-10. Things only got worse for the Bengals when they fumbled the ensuing kickoff and it was recovered by Kyle Arrington on special teams and run back for the second Patriots TD in just 6 seconds of playing time.

Unlike Kansas City, the Patriots would go on to cruise to a 43-17 win, with all the scoring in the 4th quarter coming off the leg of Gostkowski. Tom Brady would go 23-35 with 292 yards and 2 TDs while Cincinnati's Andy Dalton would go 15-24 with 204 yards and 2 TDs. Stevan Ridley would lead New England's ground attack after rushing for a total of 113 yards and a TD.

This sets up only the second intra-conference matchup for New England this weekend when the Patriots travel to Orchard Park, NY to take on the Buffalo Bills, who are sporting a similar 3-2 record [but do have at least one win against an AFC East opponent this year- NANESB!]. Kickoff is at 1:00 ET and the game will be televised on CBS.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- Week 6 gets underway with a Thursday night AFC South matchup between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. Kickoff is 8:25 PM and the game will be televised on the NFL Network.

MLB PLAYOFFS For the first time since 1985, the Kansas City Royals are advancing to the American League Championship Series. This comes after the team completed a sweep of the Anaheim Angels at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday night- a sweep of the team that could boast the best regular season in MLB, no less.

The only time the favored Angels led was in the first inning when outfielder Mike Trout belted a 412 foot solo homer to deep left center off of starter James Shields- I'm not talking just game 3, but the only time in the entire American League division series. In the bottom of the 3rd, a shaky CJ Wilson ended up loading the bases with singles to Nori Aoki and Lorenzo Cain and waling Billy Butler after striking out Eric Hosmer. That brought up the home-grown Alex Gordon, who belted a 2-2 offering off of the wall in left center field to clear the bases with a 3-RBI double and give the Royals the lead back as they led it 3-1.

Halos manager Mike Socia went to the bullpen early, but that wouldn't slow down the Royals as they got two more runs in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to a 2-run Eric Hosmer homer to make it a 5-1 game. The Angels would close the gap a little thanks to a 391 foot solo homer from Albert Pujols, but the Royals would start of pull away in the 4th thanks to a Mike Moustakas solo homer and Lorenzo Cain RBI sac fly to give KC a 7-2 lead.

The Royals would go on to cruise to an 8-3 win over the Angels, sweeping the team with the best record in the Majors. This sets up a meeting with the Baltimore Orioles, who put the finishing touches on a sweep of their own, bouncing the AL Central winning Detroit Tigers from the first round of the postseason.

NLDS- Meanwhile in the National League Division series, it will be a rematch of the 2012 NLCS after the St Louis Cardinals bested the LA Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the first round while the San Francisco Giants also got by the Washington Nationals by a similar margin, including an 18 inning marathon in the nation's capital last weekend.

That series gets underway on Saturday night and will be televised on FOX and FOX Sports One.

NHL- It's here! It's here!

The NHL regular season got underway on Wednesday night with the Bruins taking on the Flyers at the TD Garden.



Reilly Smith got the scoring started in the first with a power play tally midway through the first. Through 2 periods, Rask turned aside 13 shots from Philadelphia while Steve Mason turned aside 19 of 20 shots from the Bruins, keeping the Flyers very much in the game.

Just four minutes into the 3rd, the Flyer managed to tie the contest up at 1-1 thanks to a Sean Coutourier goal. However, Chris Kelly would notch the go-ahead goal for the B's with just a minute fifty to go. The Bruins hang on to win by a 2-1 final in their home opener and will immediately travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings for Thursday night's game.

Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 ET at Joe Louis Arena and the game will be televised on NESN.

Kansas City Smoked Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Season, Jeter's Career Wraps Up At Fenway; Rollin' Royals Eliminate Oakland, Take Game 1 of ALDS; Fail to the Chiefs- Patriots Thrashed at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night

RED SOX- The Major League Baseball regular season came to an end on Sunday and with it, the disappointing 2014 seasons for both the New York Yankees and defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Fans of the Red Sox were hoping for a more spirited defense of their 2013 title while Yankees fans wanted a postseason appearance for captain Derek Jeter's final season.

Although the Yankees had been mathematically eliminated by that point, Jeter's final home game at Yankee Stadium ended in memorable fashion as the Bronx Bomber's shortstop hit a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 9th, breaking a 5-5 tie against the AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles on September 25th.

The Yankee captain's final game on Sunday drew a national TV audience as the game was televised on TBS. The Yankees got out to an early lead in the 3rd inning, thanks to a one out, two RBI single from Ichiro Suzuki. Jeter made it a 3-0 game when he hit a high chopper up the 3rd base line that he beat out for an infield single as Suzuki made his way home. As it turned out, that would be it for Jeter. Manager Joe Girardi immediately decided to pull Jeter for pinch runner Brian McCann.

The Yankees would go on to win by a 9-5 final and would take two out of three from the Red Sox in the weekend series. The Red Sox, finishing a mere 25 games out of first place in the AL East, wrapped up the season with a 71-91 record and were increasingly unrecognizable from the 2013 squad that won the World Series. For instance, the only starting pitcher remaining from the 2013 team was Clay Buchholz after Peavy, Lackey, Lester and Doubront were traded earlier in the season.



WASHINGTON NATIONALS- The Nationals have done nothing less than quietly dominate the National League East this season. Although they were among the first to secure a playoff berth, they ended the regular season in dramatic fashion when Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman threw the Nats first no-hitter.

Heading into the top of the 9th inning, Washington had a 1-0 lead over the Miami Marlins with two away when outfielder Christian Yelich belted what looked like a sure double to not only break up the Zimmerman's no-hit bid, but put the tying run in scoring position for Miami. However, late inning defensive replacement and rookie outfielder Steven Souza, Jr made a spectacular diving catch to rob the Marlins of a base hit, ending the ballgame and sealing Zimmerman's no hitter.

The well-rested Nats will play the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS beginning Friday, October 1st. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 ET at Nationals Park and the game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS- After narrowly missing out on the AL Central pennant, the Kansas City Royals managed to secure their first postseason berth in nearly 30 years, prompting a 1-game playoff with the Oakland A's at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday Night.

With Jon Lester on the mound for Oakland, KC took a 3-2 lead with an RBI double from Lorenzo Cain and an RBI single from Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the 3rd. However, the Royals bullpen would implode in the top of the 6th, allowing a 3-run homer off the bat of Brandon Moss before an out was even recorded. The A's would get two more runs to make it a 7-3 ballgame and quiet down the crowd at Kauffman Stadium. However, the Royals would immediately start to chip away with RBI singles from Cain and Billy Butler in the bottom of the 8th along with Hosmer coming home on a wild pitch to make it a one run game. In the bottom of the 9th, pinch hitter Josh Willingham led off the inning with a single before being pulled for pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson. Dyson moved into scoring position on a sac bunt by Alcides Escobar before stealing 3rd. Dyson would then come home on a Nori Aoki sac-fly to tie the game up at 7-7 and force extra innings.

The 7-7 deadlock wouldn't be broken until the top of the 12th when Alberto Callaspo hit an RBI single for the Athletics, giving them an 8-7 lead over KC. However, Hosmer would get a 1-out triple on ball that barely stayed in the park and Christian Colon would get an RBI infield single in the bottom of the 12th, bringing Hosmer home to tie the game up once more- this time at 8-8. Alex Gordon fouled out to third for the second out, bringing up Salvador Perez, who had gone 0-5 on the night. However, Perez managed to hit a ball fair past a diving Josh Donaldson and into left field to bring home the winning run.

The win set up an ALDS matchup with another AL West team- this time the Angels- on Thursday night. Despite having the best record in all of baseball this season, the Angels never led in what would be an extra innings affair much like Tuesday night's affair. Royals 3rd baseman Mike Moustakas would turn out to be key in this one, hitting a tie-breaking solo homer to lead off the top of the 11th to make it 3-2 Kansas City. Greg Holland would come out of the Royals bullpen and get a clean 1-2-3 inning to close out game one for the Royals.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE- The Baltimore Orioles took Game 1 of their series against the Detroit Tigers after the Tigers bullpen imploded and allowed 8 unanswered runs in the bottom of the 8th in what had previously been a close game. In fact, between the bottom of the 2nd and 7th innings, it was a pitcher's duel between Max Scherzer and O's starter Chris Tillman.

The Orioles go on to win game one of their series by a 12-3 final and the series will resume almost immediately on Friday at noon.

MEANWHILE, IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE- It's actually been pretty quiet in the National League this week, with only one game since the end of the regular season on Sunday- that was the single game Wild Card playoff between the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Thursday night.

San Francisco's Brandon Crawford would hit a grand slam off of Pirates starter Edinson Volquez in the top of the 4th inning to give the Giants an early 4-0 lead. That would be all the Giants needed to get past Pittsburgh as Madison Bumgarner threw a complete-game 4-hit shutout on Thursday as San Francisco cruised to an 8-0 win. The victory earns the Giants a matchup against the Nationals inside the beltway for game one of the NLDS on Friday night.

The other NLDS matchup on Friday features the Dodgers hosting the St Louis Cardinals at Chavez Ravine on Friday night.

PATRIOTS- New England's first Monday night game of the 2014 season didn't go particularly well. Coming off a win in which the Pats seemed to just barely hold off the woeful Raiders at Foxborough, the Patriots seemed unprepared and overwhelmed by their Monday night game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs offense and QB Alex Smith seemed to move the ball at will, and while the Chiefs 17-0 lead at halftime didn't seem insurmountable, things got worse for the Patriots in the second half as Kansas City jumped out to a 27-0 lead before the Patriots finally got on the board. Believe it or not, things actually got worse for the Patriots in the 4th with the Chiefs scoring 14 quick points thanks to an Alex Smith TD and a Hussain Abdullah pick six of Tom Brady.

The only bright spot was when backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo got some playing time and managed to put New England in double-digits on a 3 minute, 81 yard drive that was capped by a 13 yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots would go on to lose by a 14-41 final.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Sweep Into Second Half With Strong Homestand Against Kansas City; C-See-Ya Sabathia, Yankees Starter to Have Season Ending Surgery

RED SOX- I'm not going to come right out and say that AJ Pierzynski was part of the problem, but Boston's record since cutting the veteran catcher should speak for itself [although with the All-Star Break, it's a relatively small sample size- NANESB!].

The series against Kansas City got off to a promising start with a come-from-behind 5-4 win against the Royals at Fenway Park on Friday night. On Saturday, the Red Sox once again trailed early but were able to tie the game at 1-1 before Mike Napoli's solo homer in the bottom of the 6th put the Red Sox up for good, as it turned out.

Heading into Sunday's game against the Royals, the Red Sox had managed to go 6-1 with a team .292 batting average (.290 with runners in scoring position) and a combined ERA of 2.57 in their last 7 games [granted some of this was padded by the 11-0 romp in Houston immediately before the All Star break- NANESB!]. In just four games with the Red Sox, C Christian Vasquez- who is splitting time at backstop with David Ross- has a .385 batting average with 5 RBI.

On Sunday, the Red Sox got out to an early lead after back to back singles by Brock Holt and Daniel Nava off Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura opened up the bottom of the first. Holt, who moved to 3rd on Nava's single, came home after Pedroia grounded into a fielder's choice to give Boston a quick 1-0 lead.

Jon Lester, who had struggled a little bit in the first after hitting Eric Hosmer with a pitch in the top of the first, had settled down and was cruising along nicely through the Royals lineup.

In the bottom of the 3rd, David Ross led off the inning with a walk and Jackie Bradley Jr followed that up with a single. JBJ and Ross advanced to 2nd and 3rd respectively on Borck Holt's groundout, and with two runners in scoring position, Daniel Nava belted a ground-rule double to right field to make it a 3-0 Red Sox lead. Ventura then walked Pedroia, but got David Ortiz to ground out and Mike Carp to fly out to shallow center to get out of the inning.

Shane Victorino, who returned to the Red Sox lineup on Saturday, led off the bottom of the 4th with a double to left field. Although Ventura got Stephen Drew on a fly ball to center field for the first out of the inning, David Ross took a 1-1 offering from Ventura and put it into the Monster seats for a 2-run homer, making it a 5-0 game. This was followed up by back to back singles from JBJ and Brock Holt, with Bradley moving to 3rd on Holt's hit and then coming home on Daniel Nava's sac fly to deep center, making it a 6-0 game.

Meanwhile, Lester would throw 8 complete innings of shutout baseball giving up just four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. Tazawa and Mujica would come out of the pen to close out the game. The Red Sox win by a 6-0 final and compete a sweep of the Kansas City Royals to start off the second half of the season.

Up next is a big 4-game series against the Blue Jays north of the border at the Rogers Centre. John Lackey [10-6; 3.79 ERA] is scheduled to start on Monday night against the Jays' Drew Hutchinson [6-8; 4.16 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 ET and the game will be televised on NESN. Toronto just wrapped up a homestand where they took two out of three from the struggling Texas Rangers to start off their second half of the season.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia is expected to undergo season-ending surgery on his right knee this week. So far this season, Sabathia has gone 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA for New York. Earlier this month, Sabathia had a setback while in the minors on a rehab assignement after going on the Yankee's DL.

Yankee's general manager Brian Cashman seemed optimistic that Sabathia could be back with the Yankees by Spring Training in 2015.


ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The Angels have acquired closer Houston Street from the San Diego Padres for a number of prospects on Friday. Street saved 24 games in 33 appearances for the 3rd place Padres this season with a 1.09 ERA. In exchange for Street, San Diego gets prospects in the form of 2B Taylor Lindsey, pitchers Elliot Morris and Roy Alvarez and SS Jose Rondon.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Papi Clutch Once Again As Red Sox Rally Late Versus Texas; B's Fall to Wild Cards in Minnesota

Matt Stone- Boston Herald

RED SOX- After getting swept by the Brewers, the Red Sox were hoping to salvage their homestand during the three game series against Texas. Boston took Monday's Game 1 by a 5-1 final. On Tuesday night, Boston was trailing by 9-1 in the bottom of the 6th before rallying for three runs in the bottom of the 7th and three more in the bottom of the 9th- but ultimately fell short by a 10-7 final.

That set up the rubber game on Wednesday with Jake Peavy getting the start against Texas' Robbie Ross. Although Ross walked a lot of Red Sox batters, he was also able to get out of trouble by inducing a number of double-play balls. The Red Sox got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd when with one away and runners on first and second, Dustin Pedroia hit an infield single and Jackie Bradley Jr came home on Robbie Ross' throwing error to make it a 1-0 game.

However, the 1-0 lead wouldn't last and Mitch Moreland would lead off the top of the 7th with a solo homer to tie the contest up at 1-1. Peavy would get two more outs before Tazawa came out of the bullpen in relief. Elvis Andrus would lead off the top of the 8th inning with a double off of Andrew Miller before Miller got Prince Fielder to ground out to first- moving Andrus up to third. Alex Rios would then hit a sac fly to deep center to put the Rangers up 2-1.

In the bottom half of the 8th, Jackie Bradley Jr led off with a walk before AJ Pierzynski pinch hit for Jonny Gomes, getting a single off of Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando. Grady Sizemore then pinch ran for Pierzynski. Dustin Pedroia then grounded into a fielder's choice, erasing the runner at second but moving JBJ up to third base with a runner on first. With Big Papi on deck, Texas manager Ron Washington then called upon Neal Cotts to end the Red Sox rally. Instead, with two on, one out and a 1-1 count, this happened.



After a brief review and conference by the umpires, Ortiz's HR call was upheld and the Red Sox took a 4-2 lead. Koji Uehara then came on in the 9th and got all three batters he faced in order to end the ballgame and nail down Boston's first series win at home in the young 2014 season. Despite a good effort by Peavy, he got no decision after going 6 and ⅔ innings, allowing three hits, one run, four walks and striking out 8 batters. Despite giving up what was at the time the go-ahead run in the top of the 8th, Andrew Miller was credited with the win and Koji Uehara got his second save of the season. David Ortiz led all Red Sox batters on Wednesday going 2-4, including his go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th.

On Thursday, the Red Sox will travel to the Bronx for the first time this season to take on the Yankees. New York comes into Thursday night's game sporting an identical 4-5 record after dropping two out of three at Yankee Stadium to Baltimore [the Orioles also sport a 4-5 record while Toronto currently leads the AL East with a 5-4 record- NANESB!]. Clay Buchholz [0-0; 12.46 ERA] will go up against Michael Pineda [0-1; 1.50 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the MLB network.


ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Barely a week into the 2014 season, the Los Angeles Angels were dealt a blow when outfielder Josh Hamilton suffered a torn ligament in his thumb after sliding into first in an attempt to beat out a throw in Tuesday night's game against the Seattle Mariners. Hamilton got off to a scorching start in the 2014 season with a .444 batting average along with two homers and 6 RBI. Hamilton was placed on the 15 day DL and is expected to miss anywhere from six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery.

NHL- With just 3 games remaining in the regular season, the Bruins continue their road trip through the upper Midwest on Thursday night when they make their one and only trip to Winnipeg to take on the Jets. The Bruins are coming off of a 4-3 shootout loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night The Bruins were leading 3-2 in the final 90 seconds of regulation when Ryan Suter got a game-tying goal with 1:05 left in the game.

After a scoreless OT, Mikko Koivu would then get the only tally in the shootout- the two points are enough for the Wild to lead the wild card race in the west for Minnesota.

Meanwhile, the Bruins bested the Jets at the Garden by a 4-1 final in their only previous meeting this season.

The Quick and the Dead Sports Chowdah Update- Bruins Halt March of the Penguins With Sweep, Will Face Blackhawks in Stanley Cup Final; We're No Angels- Sox Face Off Against Struggling Halos at Fenway

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

BOSTON BRUINS- For the second time since 2011, the Boston Bruins are headed for the Stanley Cup finals. And like the memorable 2011 campaign, the clinching game was a 1-0 affair.

Much like Wednesday night's 2OT thriller at the Garden, this was more the kind of game I had anticipated from the Pittsburgh Penguins- low scoring and, at times, physical.

After going scoreless through the first two periods, defenseman Adam McQuaid opened (and closed, as it turns out) the scoring five minutes into the 3rd period with this:



Not bad for a guy who was hospitalized at Mass General with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome during the lockout.

There's a school of thought in the NHL that a two goal lead is actually the most difficult to maintain, the rationale being that being up by multiple goals breeds overconfidence and complacency- leading to panic, confusion and demoralization should the game once again be tied.

However, I'm willing to guess that those on the Boston Bruins roster (both this year and in 2011) will tell you that a 1-0 lead with more than 10 minutes to go in the 3rd is the most difficult lead to maintain.

With the clock ticking down, the Penguins mounting a spirited counterattack late and the crowd at the Garden chanting "We want the Cup!", Tukka Rask turned aside every shot he faced on Friday night. Perhaps the most emblematic was when the Penguins pulled Vokoun for the extra attacker late in the 3rd and with the final seconds ticking away, Rask gloved a last second shot from Pens RW Jerome Iginla as time expired. For those of you who remember, Iginla spurned a trade from Calgary to Boston at the last moment and instead opted to join the Pittsburgh Penguins as trade deadline loomed.

Rask turned aside all 22 shots he faced on Firday night while Vokoun stopped all but one of the 21 shots he faced. With no more Greg Campbell for the rest of the season, the Bruins slotted in LW Kaspars Daugavins, who had two shots on goal Friday night.

The 4-game sweep of the Penguins earns the Bruins the Prince of Wales trophy and their second trip to the Stanley Cup finals since 2011....not bad for a season that almost didn't happen!

For its part, the Penguins were 0-15 on the power play throughout the series and outscored by a composite 12-2 through the four games. Some describe Pittsburgh's getting swept from the Eastern Conference finals as a 'collapse' but I think that undersells the Bruins and their accomplishments considerably. They clearly got under the Pens' collective skin in Game 1 and never let up.

Of course, there would be a little bit of a waiting game involved to see who Boston would face in the 2013 Stanley Cup finals, which leads us to..

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The Bruins and Pens weren't the only ones who had some double OT action going on in the Conference finals.

With fifteen seconds to go in the third and the defending Stanley Cup champion LA Kings down by a goal, Los Angeles pulled netminder Quick for an extra attacker. Nine times out of ten, this move NEVER works (even with a full minute remaining on the clock) but nobody bothered telling LA's Anze Kopitar or Mike Richards that.

The (almost literally) last second goal by the Kings tied the contest up at 3-3. Although that appeared to suck the life out of the crowd at Chicago's United Center it would be the Blackhawks who had the last laugh in double OT thanks to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Chicago wins the Western Conference finals in five games and the Bruins had to wait barely 24 hours to find out who they'd face in the Stanley Cup championship. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:00 ET from the United Center and will be broadcast on NBC, the CBC and XM channels 92 and 212. This will be the first time since 1979 that the Stanley Cup finals will feature two Original 6 teams going head-to-head.

MLB- After Friday night's contest against the Angels was rained out, the Sox and Halos split a doubleheader at Fenway, setting up a rubber game for Sunday afternoon. Ryan Dempster would be trying to get his second straight win while Angels starter Joe Blanton was looking for his second win of the season.

The Angels drew first blood with two away on the top of the first thanks to a two out Albert Pujols solo homer. In the bottom of the 3rd, Daniel Nava brought Jacoby Ellsbury home on a one out RBI single. Pedroia would follow that up with a single of his own, setting the stage for Big Papi to belt a 3-run homer to give Boston the 4-1 lead.

3B Alberto Callaspo would cut the Boston lead in half by leading off the 4th with a solo homer. In the bottom half of the frame, Mike Carp reached 2nd safely on Callaspo's throwing error and then advance to 3rd on a wild pitch from Blanton. Ellsbury would then bring him home with an RBI triple before the Angels got the 3rd out to make it a 5-2 Boston lead.

In the top of the 5th, Angels outfielder Mike Trout led off the inning with a double and come home on a 2-out Mark Trumbo RBI single to once again bring the Angels within two runs at 5-3. Blanton pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 5th while Dempster would get the Angels in order to start off the 6th inning.

However, the Red Sox would once again get some insurance when C Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Mike Carp led off the bottom of the 6th with back to back solo homers to make it 7-3.

The Red Sox would break the game wide open in the bottom of the 7th when Saltalmacchia belted a 3 run homer to make it 10-3. Although the Angels would get a few runs back, the Red Sox would cruise from there and go on to win by a final of 10-5.

Saltalamacchia went 2-4 with 2 homers and 4 RBI while Big Papi went 2-4 with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Dempster pitched 6 complete innings allowing six hits, three earned runs and struck out six for his fourth win of the season.

After winning sox of their last eight, the Red Sox will hit the road once again- taking on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana field on Monday night. John Lackey [3-5; 2.79 ERA] is scheduled to start against Tampa Bay's Alex Cobb [6-2; 2.39 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Let the Games Sports Chowdah Update Begin- Ciriaco Gets To Yankees; Team USA Women Get Gold, Set Records; Angels Get Greinke; 'Canes Get Semin

AP Photo

RED SOX- After a lackluster start to their road trip in which they dropped two out of three games to the Rangers earlier this week, the skid looked like it would continue with Boston dropping the opening game of their weekend series against the archrival Yankees in the Bronx thanks to a Curtis Granderson grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning to put the exclamation point on a 10-3 Yankees win.

Saturday saw the Red Sox get out to 5-run lead against the Yankees only for the Bronx Bombers to again come back in the bottom of the 8th and knot things up at 6-6 on a two run homer from Mark Texiera. However, in the top of the 9th Red Sox got a runner on board with a one out walk to Jacoby Ellbusry. This was followed up by a Pedro Ciriaco triple to deep center to give the Sox the lead before Pedroia hit an RBI sac fly to bring Ciriaco home and make it an 8-6 Red Sox lead. Alredo Aceves then closed out the game with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th to give Boston only their second win of the season against the Yankees.

For Sunday night's nationally televised game, Felix Doubront got the start against the Yankee's Hideki Kuroda. The Red Sox got on the board early with a 2-RBI double from Ryan Sweeney in the top of the first. Doubront would go 6 and a third innings, giving up four hits including a solo home run to Yankees catcher Russel Martin to pull the Yankees to within one run.

The bottom of the 8th inning would once again be problematic for the Red Sox, and more specifically Russel Martin who tied the game up with an RBI single off of Aceves to make it 2-2, forcing extra innings.

With nobody out and a runner on first in the top of the 10th, manager Bobby Valentine was ejected after arguing with the home plate over whether or not Will Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch, followed by Josh Beckett who was yelling at an umpire from the Red Sox dugout. After the umpires ruled that the ball Valentine thought had his Middlebrooks was a strike, the third baseman then singled. Sweeney then grounded into a fielder's choice, erasing Middlebrooks at second but advancing Saltalamacchia to third for Pedro Ciriaco, which led to this.



The Red Sox would take a 3-2 lead on a bloop single from SS Ciriaco before the 10th inning came to an end when Ellsbury grounded into a double play.

Still on the mound, Aceves would get the first two batters out before hitting Nick Swisher with a pitch. However, Aceves got pinch hitter Raul Ibanez to strike out and end the ballgame, giving the Red Sox their first series win over the Yankees in their three meetings this season. The win also gives the Red Sox a .500 record and muddies some of the speculation whether or not they'd be buyers or sellers by Tuesday's trade deadline. While the Red Sox are in last place in the AL East, they're only two games behind 2nd place Baltimore and conceivably within striking distance of a postseason berth under MLB's newly-expanded playoff format.

The Red Sox return to Fenway on Monday night to face the Detroit Tigers, who are currently 2nd place in the AL Central. Clay Buchholz [8-3; 4.93 ERA] will get the start against Max Scherzer [10-5; 4.49 ERA]. The game gets underway at 7:10 ET and will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Yahoo Sports columnist Jeff Passan is reporting that the Red Sox are shopping starting pitcher Josh Beckett around just prior to the trade deadline and have expressed a willingness to eat a portion of his contract as part of any trade. Although the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers have reportedly expressed interest, a trade isn't believed to be imminent.

OTHER MLB NEWS- The Milwaukee Brewers have traded starting pitcher Zach Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In return, the Brewers will get Angel's pitching prospects Ariel Pena and Johnny Hellweg in addition to shortstop Jean Segura.

Greinke made his first start with the Angles on Sunday afternoon as they hosted Tampa Bay in Orange County. Greinke went 7 complete innings, allowing two earned runs on while striking out 8. However, he was outduelled by the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson who threw 6 shutout innings, allowing just two hits in Tampa's 2-0 win.

OTHER BREWERS NEWS- Back in December 2011, ESPN reported that National League MVP Ryan Braun had tested positive for a banned substance. However, unnamed sources had claimed that while there were no traces of any performance enhancing drugs in a urine sample collected from Braun during the 2011 playoffs, there were elevated levels of testosterone, which were indicative of a banned performance enhancing drugs of growth hormone.

However, during Braun's appeal it was reported that the urine sample was improperly stored prior to testing, potentially rendering the sample useless. A second test of Braun yielded normal testosterone levels. After Braun's appeal, the mandatory 50-game suspension penalty was overturned, the fisrt such instance of that happening since MLB introduced their anti-doping program.

I belatedly bring this up because the sports media has been nowhere near as vocal in announcing the mishandled urine sample and other exculpatory information about Braun as they were when the positive test results were announced.

MINNESOTA TWINS- The Minnesota Twins have traded starting pitcher Francisco Liriano to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Eduardo Escobar and minor leaguer Pedro Hernandez.

Although it's somewhat unusual to trade within their own division, Liriano is in the last year of his contract with the Twins and was expected to leave a free agent at the end of the season.

SUMMER OLYMPICS: WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL- The USA Women's volleyball team managed to hold off a late rally from South Korea for their first game of the preliminary round. Although Team USA took the first two rounds, South Korea capitalized on some defensive miscues and won the third match while pressuring the USA in the following match. However, Team USA held on to win the decisive 4th round by a 21-25 final.

Destinee Hooker led the USA with 21 points while South Korea's Kim Yeong Koung had 29 points in the losing effort.

On Monday, the USA will face Brazil in a rematch of the gold medal game during the Beijing olympics.

SUMMER OLYMPICS: WOMEN'S SKEET- American Kimberly Rhode became one of the first Americans to win gold in London this year, making history in the process.

Rhode simply dominated in the gold medal round, hitting 99 out of the 100 targets she faced at the range on the grounds of the Royal Artillery Barracks on Sunday- a new Olympic record.

The California native also made history be becoming the first ever Olympian to medal in five consecutive Olympics, going back to a gold in the women's double trap event during the 1996 Atlanta games.

SUMMER OLYMPICS: SWIMMING- After failing to make the Olympic squad for the 2008 Beijing games, American swimmer Dana Vollmer won the first gold medal for Team USA women's swimming and Vollmer's first gold in an individual event.

The upstate New York native also set a new world record in the 100m butterfly, finishing in 55.98 seconds, a full second ahead of silver medal winner Lu Ying of China.

Vollmer is also expected to take part in the 4 X 200 freestlye relay later on in the Olympics.

OTHER SWIMMING NEWS- Perhaps the most surprising development in Team USA swimming is that favorite Michael Phelps, who had absolutely dominated in Beijing back in 2008, has been shut out of the gold medal count so far.

Teammate Ryan Lochte came away with the gold in the men's 400m individual medley on Sunday, with Brazil's Thiago Pereira taking Silver, Japan's Kosuke Hagino taking Bronze and Phelps finishing 4th in the event.

Phelps and Lochte did take the silver in the 4 X 100M Freestyle relay after France rallied to pull ahead in the event.

SUMMER OLYMPICS- BASKETBALL- Team USA [which is NOT the same as the 1992 'Dream Team' despite Kobe Bryant's insistence] blew by France in their opening game of the Olympics, winning by a final of 98-71. Kevin Durant led the scoring for team USA with 22 points and 9 rebounds on Sunday.

OTHER BASKETBALL NEWS- While it didn't take place in a medal game, this last-second heave by Australia's Belinda Snell should go down as the shot of the tournament.


Snell nailed the shot from half court with Australia down by 3 to France and with less than a second to go in regulation.

However, the Aussies would go on to lose to France by a 74-70 final in the overtime.

NHL- Free agent RW Alexander Semin has agreed to a 1-year $7 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Semin had 21 goals and 33 assists with the Washington Capitols during the 2011-2012 season.

Last month, the Hurricanes traded away Brandon Suter, Brian Dumoulon and their 8th overall draft pick to Pittsburgh for Jordan Staal, younger brother of Hurricanes captain Eric Staal. Jordan had 25 goals and 25 assists with the Penguins last season.

Sports Chowdah Update for 7/1- Sox Work Extras For Series Split With M's; KG Sticking With Celtics; Big Papi Going to Kansas City

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

RED SOX- Saturday night's game was something of a letdown after Beckett was cruising through the first five innings, allowing just one hit. However, after allowing a 1-out single to Ichiro Suzuki, Beckett walked the next batter he faced and a poorly played Kyle Seager fly ball dropped in to load the bases. M's catcher John Jaso would then get a 2-RBI double to put Seattle ahead 2-0.

Boston tied the game up at 2-2 in the top of the 7th thanks to a Ryan Kalish RBI groundout and Will Middlebrooks coming home from 3rd on a passed ball. Unable to break the deadlock in 9 innings, the game went to Extras. The Red Sox had already left two runners on in the 9th and did so in the top of the 10th. Seatlle would get a runner to come home from 3rd on a Chone Figgins sac-fly in the bottom of the 11th to give the Mariners the 3-2 win in extra innings. Boston could only hope for a split of the 4-game series against Seattle.

Sunday afternoon's game was a low-scoring affair with Seattle once again scoring first- Chone Figgins coming home on an Ichiro sac fly off of Doubront to make it 1-0 Seattle in the bottom of the 3rd. It was a forgettable outing for Doubront, notwowrthy in that he escaped only allowing the one run in less than 5 innings of work and issuing a career-high five walks.

But the Red Sox bullpen held the M's to just that one run. After striking out 6 in seven shutout innings, M's starter Jason Vargas got Brent Lillibridge to pop out to center before giving up a solo homer to Dustin Pedroia to tie the contest up at 1-1. Like Saturday night, nothing would get resolved in nine innings. However, the top of the 10th got off to a good start as Kalish hit a 1-out double to get himself into scoring position. Kalish would then advance to 3rd on Dustin Pedroia's single before coming home on a Big Papi RBI sac-fly to make it 2-1 Boston. Aceves would have a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th to preserve the Boston win and cement a split of the 4 game series at SafeCo.

The west coast swing continues on Monday night as the Sox head down to the East Bay area to take on the A's. Daisuke Matsuzaka [0-2; 4.91 ERA] will get the start against Oakland's Jarrod Parker [4-3; 2.57 ERA]. The game gets underway at 10:05 ET, 7:05 PT and will be televised on NESN.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The rosters for the 2012 MLB All Star game in Kansas City were announced on Sunday afternoon. For the first time in 11 seasons, only one Red Sox player will be in the midsummer classic- David Ortiz will be going as a DH for the American League [none of this first base crap this year, since its an AL ballpark- NANESB!].

The Rangers and Yankees will be well represented as far as All Star starting position players go. Texas will be sending C Mike Napoli, 3B Adrian Beltre, and OF Josh Hamilton while the Yankees will have SS Derek Jeter, OF Curtis Granderson and 2B Robinson Cano going. The Angels will be well represented too, with Jared Weaver and CJ Wilson scheduled to pitch for the AL while outfielders Mike Trout and Mark Turmbo are part of the All Star reserves.

NBA- After the NBA season, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers told Boston media that the club was interested in keeping the Big Three together as long as it was feasable.

The C's are reportedly a thrid of the way there with this week's signing of Kevin Garnett. Opting not to test the free agency waters, KG and the C's agreed to a 3 year $34 million contract this weekend.

Sports Chowdah Update- Junior Seau, 1969-2012; Dream Weaver in OC; Caps, Rangers Triple Down; Pierce Soars Against Hawks;

NFL- Former San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau was found dead in his Oceanside, CA home on Wednesday. Seau was killed by what police believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. According to a statement from Oceanside police chief, Seau's girlfriend called for help after finding him unresponsive shortly after 9:30 AM Pacific time.

Born and raised in Oceanside, Seau attended college at the University of Southern California. After sitting out his freshman year, Seau garnered the attention of pro scouts with his defensive play and he became a first round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in the 1990 NFL Draft. The locally born and raised Seau became the face of the Chargers franchise throughout the 1990s and made 12 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and was on the team for San Diego's only Super Bowl appearance- a 26-49 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Superbowl XXIX.

In 2003, Seau was traded from San Diego to the Miami Dolphins and after two season in Miami, Seau announced his retirement before the 2006 NFL season. However, within days, he was coaxed out of retirement by the New England Patriots, appearing in 10 of 11 games with the Pats before breaking his arm in a contest against the Chicago Bears in November of that year. Seau returned to the Patriots the following year, where they went 16-0 in the regular season only to lose at the last minute to the New York Giants by a 14-17 final in Super Bowl XLII. Seau returned to New England for two more seasons before announcing his second retirement  in January 2010.

In a November 2011 ceremony during a Chargers home game against the Broncos, Seau was introduced by Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Fouts to a sold-out crowd at Qualcomm stadium as the linebacker was named to the Charger's Hall of Fame.

Even before being traded to Miami, Junior Seau opened up a restaurant bearing his name in San Diego's Mission Valley. In 2009, he hosted a TV show on the Versus network called Sports Jobs With Junior Seau which documented such behind-the-scenes jobs in sports such as Indycar pit crew member or pro-golf caddy. In fact, one episode brought Seau to the TD Garden in Boston so camera crews could document the rink from a Bruins game being converted to a hardwood floor for an upcoming Celtics game on the same day.

In 2010, Seau was at the wheel when his SUV plunged off an embankment in Carlsbad, CA. He was later treated and released from a La Jolla, CA hospital. The accident came less than a day after Seau was arrested and released by Oceanside police for domestic battery charges.

MLB- As woeful a start as the Red Sox got off to in April, they seemed absolutely scorching compared to the Angels, who made perhaps the biggest off season free agent signing in Albert Pujols when he left St Louis for Orange County.

But the Angels made headlines on Wednesday night for reasons other than their shitty start after starting pitcher Jared Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins at Angels Stadium. Weaver threw 121 pitches, struck out nine and walked just one in the Angel's 9-0 win. Aside from the one walk, the only runner to reach base for Minnesota was 1B Chris Parmalee, who broke for first after a passed ball on strike three by Angels catcher Chris Ianetta.

In the top of the 8th inning, Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe came tantalizingly close to going yard before the ball hooked foul past the left field pole by a few feet.

This is the 10th no-hitter in the history of the Angels franchise and the second for the club in less than a year. On June 27 2011, Ervin Santana threw a no-no against the Cleveland Indians at Jabobs Field.

RED SOX- After an impressive 6-1 road trip through the Midwest- including an impressive 1-0 pitchers duel between Jon Lester and Jake Peavy on Chicago's South Side on Saturday- the Red Sox returned to Fenway on Monday to rout the Oakland A's by a 11-6 final.

However, after falling behind on Tuesday night, a late Boston rally fell short and the Red Sox were hung with the 5-3 loss while on Wednesday night, Oakland's Brandon McCarthy gave up only one run in 6⅔ innings in Boston's 4-2 home loss.

With Thursday off, the Red Sox will face the Baltimore Orioles who have won four out of their last five games. This will be the first regular season meeting between Baltimore and Boston since the O's ended the Red Sox season on September 28, 2011 with a walk-off Robert Andino RBI single against Jonathan Papelbon at Camden Yards. Wei Yin Chen [2-0; 2.22 ERA] goes to the mound for the O's against Jon Lester [1-2; 4.65 ERA] on Friday night at Fenway.First pitch is at 7:10 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- 3B Kevin Youkilis has been placed on the 15 day DL with what's been described as a sore lower back. The Red Sox have called up 3B Will Middlebrook and Clay Mortenson from AAA Pawtucket. Middlebrook is batting .358 with 9 homers and 27 RBI in 81 plate appearances in the International League this season.

Mortenson, who was part of the January trade that dealt Marco Scutaro to Colorado, has a 0.90 ERA batting average while with Pawtucket.

Meanwhile in AA Portland, Daisuke Matsuzaka went 4 and ⅔ innings in a rehab start for the Portland Sea Dogs, allowing 3 hits and one earned run. Matsuzaka's next scheduled start is set to take place on Monday night at McCoy stadium in Pawtucket when the PawSox host the Rochester Red Wings.

EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS- Items from Ted Williams' baseball and military career went up for auction at Fenway Park over the weekend. Some of the items included a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth for Ted Williams ($195,000), Williams' bat from the 1960 All Star Game ($81,000), Williams' Hall of Fame Ring ($109,000) and his 1949 American League MVP plaque ($299,000).

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees participated in the auction via telephone, purchasing Williams' flight logbooks from when he served as an aviator in WWII and the Korean War for $35,600. Brees said he intends to loan the items to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

NBA- A strong defensive 4th quarter proved to be the difference maker for the Celtics on Tuesday night as they held that Hawks to 14 points in the 4th quarter at downtown Atlanta's Phillips Arena.

With Rajon Rodno suspended for one game after bumping an NBA official, Paul Pierce basically torched the arena with 36 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists in Boston's 87-80 win over Atlanta. This includes going 11 for 13 from the free throw line.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds while Avery Bradley had 14 points in Game 2. The series head to the Garden and Rondo returns to the hardwood for Game 3, which is set to take place on Friday night and will be televised on ESPN. The series, which is tied at 1-1, will resume at 7:30 PM Friday Night.

NHL- Marian Gaborik broke a 1-1 deadlock between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers in the 3rd OT of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to take a 2-1 series lead. The Rangers converted on one of only four power play opportunities while Washington went 0-3. New York netminder Henrik Lunqvist turned aside 45 of 46 shots faced while Braden Holtby made 47 saves on 49 shots faced. The series between those two teams resumes on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 ET. The Rangers currently hold a 2-1 series lead.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Wednesday, Nashville shut out the Phoenix Coyotes by a 2-0 final for their first win in the Western Conference Semis.

On Thursday night, Philadelphia and New Jersey will resume their series which is knotted at 1-1 will get underway from the Prudential Center in Newark while Los Angeles and St Louis heads to the Staples Center with the Kings holding a 2-0 lead over the Blues.

Sudden Realignment Sports Chowdah For 12/8- House Subdivided, Massive NHL Shift Ahead; Go East Young Man! California, Idaho Schools To Join Big East

NHL: The Boston Bruins impressive streak of going without a regulation loss since October 29th came to an end on the frigid windswept Manitoba plains Tuesday night.

The B's were without the services of Tyler Seguin for their first trip back to Winnipeg since 1995. Seguin reportedly missed a team meeting on Tuesday morning and as a result was scratched from the lineup. Tim Thomas also had Tuesday night off, with Tukka Rask starting in goal.

The Jets got on the board first with a goal from LW Andrew Ladd late in the first. After a scoreless second, the Bruins managed to tie the game at 1-1 early in the 3rd with a tally from Shawn Thornton. However, about 90 seconds later Bryan Little would get the go-ahead goal for Winnipeg, which would turn out to be the game-winner.

Tukka Rask stopped 33 of 35 shots faced while Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec stopped 39 of 40 shots faced and both teams went 0 for 3 on the power play on Tuesday night.

Some home cooking didn't help the Bruins much on Thursday night either when they returned to the Garden for what amounts to a quickie 1-game homestand. Thursday night's game against the Southeast-leading Florida Panthers remained scoreless all the way until late in the 3rd period, when the Panthers got on the board thanks to a goal from Florida's Tomas Kopecky with 2:22 in regulation. With a little over a minute to go, the Bruins pulled Tim Thomas, but Kris Versteeg got the empty-netter to make it a 2-0 Florida lead with 52 seconds remaining.

Tim Thomas turned aside 28 of 29 shots faced while Florida goaltender Jose Theodore stopped all 40 shots he faced on the evening. Neither team scored on the Power play- with the Bruins getting 4 opportunities and the Panthers getting just one.

Since upending the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, the Bruins have lost two in a row and have been overtaken in the Eastern Conference lead by both Florida and Philadelphia (Philly took care of the Penguins in a Keystone State matchup on Thursday night).

For their next game, the Bruins will travel to Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH to take on the Blue Jackets Saturday evening. Puck drops at 7 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

Chart outlining the proposed conference realignment

NHL REALIGNMENT: The NHL Board of Governors authorized a radical new plan that would realign the entire NHL into four conferences instead of the current format of two conferences with three divisions each. The new alignment would take effect at the start of the 2012-2013 season and is pending the approval of the NHL Player's Association.

Under the proposal, the unnamed Conference the Bruins are in would resemble the current Northeast Division. Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal and Toronto would be in the same Conference, but the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning would also be added.

The new format also guarantees that each team in the league would play each other at least twice- once at home and once on the road.

This was considered in part as a solution to the Thrasher's move to Winnipeg, yet still playing in the Southeast conference where the closest team is 1500 miles away. Initially, there was talk of solving this by having Winnipeg switch Divisions with Columbus or even Detroit (personally, I though trading places with Nashville would've made more sense).


ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL: Just to let you know, Paulina Gretzky's twitter account is still showing signs of life (however sporadic) after numerous media reports claimed she was deleting the account.

NCAA FOOTBALL: With only one regular season game to go [Saturday's Army/Navy game from FedEx Field in suburban Washington D.C.- NANESB!], the complete 2011-12 bowl schedule has been released this week. Perhaps the biggest surprise (or disappointment if you're not an SEC fan) is Alabama playing Louisiana State for the BCS title game in New Orleans instead of an Oklahoma State/Louisiana State matchup.

As I rather glumly and dejectedly pointed out earlier this week, none of the New England BCS schools are bowl-eligible this season. Sadly, neither Army or Navy are bowl-eligible this season. The only service academy that's going to a bowl game this season is Air Force- they have Toledo on 12/28 in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.

Without any further delay, I bring you this season's bowl-a-palooza:

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Temple vs. Wyoming
Albuquerque, N.M.
University Stadium
Dec. 17/2 p.m. ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Ohio vs. Utah State
Boise, Idaho
Bronco Stadium
Dec. 17/5:30 p.m. ESPN

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
San Diego State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
New Orleans
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Dec. 17/9 p.m. ESPN

Beef O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl
Florida International vs. Marshall
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Tropicana Field
Dec. 20/8 p.m. ESPN

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
TCU vs. Louisiana Tech
San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 21/8 p.m. ESPN

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
Arizona State vs. Boise State
Las Vegas
Sam Boyd Stadium
Dec. 22/8 p.m. ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Nevada vs. Southern Miss
Honolulu
Aloha Stadium
Dec. 24/8 p.m. ESPN

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Missouri vs. North Carolina
Shreveport, La.
Independence Stadium
Dec. 26/5 p.m. ESPN2

Little Caesars Bowl
Western Michigan vs. Purdue
Detroit
Ford Field
Dec. 274:30 p.m. ESPN

Belk Bowl
Louisville vs. NC State
Charlotte, N.C.
Bank of America Stadium
Dec. 27/8 p.m. ESPN

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman
Toledo vs. Air Force
Washington, D.C.
RFK Stadium
Dec. 28/4:30 p.m. ESPN

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
California vs. Texas
San Diego
Qualcomm Stadium
Dec. 28/8 p.m. ESPN

Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State vs. Notre Dame
Orlando, Fla.
Florida Citrus Bowl
Dec. 29/5:30 p.m. ESPN

Valero Alamo Bowl
Washington vs. Baylor
San Antonio
Alamodome
Dec. 29/9 p.m. ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
BYU vs. Tulsa
Dallas
Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Dec. 30/Noon ESPN

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Rutgers vs. Iowa State
Bronx, N.Y.
Yankee Stadium
Dec. 30/3:20 p.m. ESPN

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest
Nashville, Tenn.
LP Field
Dec. 30/6:40 p.m. ESPN

Insight Bowl
Iowa vs. Oklahoma
Tempe, Ariz.
Sun Devil Stadium
Dec. 30/10 p.m. ESPN

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl
Texas A&M vs. Northwestern
Houston
Reliant Stadium
Dec. 31/Noon ESPN

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Utah
El Paso, Texas
Sun Bowl
Dec. 31/2 p.m. CBS

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt
Memphis, Tenn.
Liberty Bowl
Dec. 31/3:30 p.m. ABC

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Illinois vs. UCLA
San Francisco
AT&T Park
Dec. 31/3:30 p.m. ESPN

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Virginia vs. Auburn
Atlanta
Georgia Dome
Dec. 31/7:30 p.m. ESPN

TicketCity Bowl
Houston vs. Penn State
Dallas
Cotton Bowl
Jan. 2/Noon ESPNU

Capital One Bowl
Nebraska vs. South Carolina
Orlando, Fla.
Florida Citrus Bowl
Jan. 2/1 p.m. ESPN

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl
Ohio State vs. Florida
Jacksonville, Fla.
EverBank Field
Jan. 2/1 p.m. ESPN2

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio
Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Pasadena, Calif.
Rose Bowl
Jan. 2/5 p.m. ESPN

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Stanford vs. Oklahoma State
Glendale, Ariz.
U. of Phoenix Stadium
Jan. 2/8:30 p.m. ESPN

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Michigan vs. Virginia Tech
New Orleans
Louisiana Superdome
Jan. 3/8:30 p.m. ESPN

Discover Orange Bowl
West Virginia vs. Clemson
Miami
Sun Life Stadium
Jan. 4/8:30 p.m. ESPN

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Kansas State vs. Arkansas
Arlington, Texas
Cowboys Stadium
Jan. 6/8 p.m. FOX

BBVA Compass Bowl
SMU vs. Pittsburgh
Birmingham, Ala.
Legion Field
Jan. 7/1 p.m. ESPN

GoDaddy.com Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois
Mobile, Ala.
Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Jan. 8/9 p.m. ESPN

Allstate BCS National Championship Game
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama
New Orleans
Louisiana Superdome
Jan. 9/8:30 p.m. ESPN

OTHER NCAA FOOTBALL NEWS: The Big East Conference announced that Boise State and San Diego State Universities will be joining them as football-only members starting in 2013. The Broncos and Aztecs will be joining them from the Mountain West conference while the Big East will also add Houston, Southern Methodist and Central Florida will be joining them from Conference USA in all athletic programs starting in 2013.

[Between the University of Massachusetts Minutemen joining the Mid America Conference and the San Diego State Aztecs joining the Big East, I can't wait until the two teams get together for the 2013 'Piss Poor Geography' Bowl- NANESB!]

AP Photo

NFL: After leaving Thursday night's Browns/Steelers game in the second quarter with what was described as a high ankle injury, it looked as though Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was done for the night, if not the next few weeks.

However, with a 7-3 lead, the Steelers were still very much in it even before Roethlisberger returned in the 2nd half. With 2:52 to go in the 4th quarter, Pittsburgh would pad their lead over the Browns thanks to a Roethlisberger pass to WR Antonio brown for a 79 yard pass and run for the end zone to make it 14-3, which also happened to be the final score.

The Steelers will have a much more difficult test next Monday when they play the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night football. San Francisco has already clinched the NFC West title.

OTHER NFL NEWS: Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Lew Bush- who was with the team during their sole Super Bowl appearence during the 1994 season- has passed away at the age of 42, dead from what the AP indicates is an apparent heart attack. A Washington State alumni, Bush played in the NFL for 9 seasons- six of them with the Chargers and the final three with the Kansas City Chiefs.

MLB: Former St Louis Cardinals 1st Baseman Albert Pujols is heading to Southern California. The Angels are said to have reached a deal with the Cardinals slugger for 10 years that's reportedly worth more than $250 million.

While many had projected the Cards star first baseman might be part of a revamped Florida Miami Marlins, Pujols decided to head west instead and joins other big money players on the Anaheim roster such as outfielders Vernon Wells or Torii Hunter.

Meanwhile, in South Beach, although the Marlins came up empty in their pursuit of Pujols, they did sign former White Sox starter Mark Buehrle to a 4 year, $58 million deal. Buehrle went 13-9 with a 3.58 ERA for the ChiSox last year. The Marlins also managed to sign former Padres closer Heath Bell and Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. Bell had 42 saves for the Padres last season with a 2.44 ERA and 51 strikeouts. Reyes had a batting average of .337 with 7 homers and 44 RBIs for the Mets last season.

Sports Chowdah Update- Are You Ready For Some Football? So Is the NFL; Ain't it Grand? Lucky #1000 For Papi, Francona

PATRIOTS: The philanthropist wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft passed away last week. Myra Kraft, 68, had been fighting cancer for an extended period of time.

The daughter of Lithuanian immigrants who settled in Worcester in the 1930s, Myra Kraft was active in the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and Boys & Girls Club of Boston and managed the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and Kraft Family Foundation. For the past two years, Myra had served as chair of the board of directors for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

In leiu of flowers, the Kraft family has asked that donations be made to the Myra & Robert Kraft Giving Back scholarship fund for the Boys & Girls Club of Boston.

NFL: Almost as an afterthought, the NFL lockout has come to an end. The final major obstacle appeared to be the implementation of a wage system for rookie players, which was cleared last week and approved by the NFL player's association.

Since then, this has set off a flurry of trades, free agent signings and transactions that had been building for months, since free agents couldn't be signed while the lockout was still in effect.

The New England Patriots acquired Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2013 draft. The Redskins signed Haynesworth to a big money contract in 2008 that included a then-NFL record $41 million in guaranteed money.

The Pats also signed flamboyant former Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco to a 3 year deal, although it wasn't immdiately disclosed what the Bengals got in return [aside from peace & quiet- NANESB!]

Other noteworthy transactions in the past couple of days include the Miami Dolphins reportedly finalizing a trade deal that would New Orleans Saints RB Reggie Bush to South Beach. Free agent quarterback Matt Hasselbeck left Seattle after signing a multi-year deal with the Tennessee Titans after they cut Vince Young.


MLB: Red Sox Manager Terry Francona notched career managerial win #1000 in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. True to form, the understated manager downplayed the milestone in the postgame press conference.

[On a personal note, I sometimes shudder to think where the Red Sox might've ended up without Francona. Not just the 2004 and 2007 World Series, but bouncing back from that atrocious 2-12 start this season- NANESB!]

The Red Sox managed to sweep the Mariners over the weekend before playing host to the Kansas City Royals. During that series, another milestone was reached.


On Wednesday's game against the Royals, David Ortiz scored his 1000th RBI with Boston in memorable fashion as he belted a Bruce Chen offering into the bullpen with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 5th to break the game wide open for Boston. The grand slam ties Papi with SS Rico Petrocelli (1963-1976) for 2nd all time in Red Sox history- Ted Williams has 17 to his name.

Dustin Pedroia also extended a career-best hitting streak to 24 games and John Lackey didn't have to worry about much in the way of run support in Wednesday night's 12-5 win over the Royals.

However, the series was bookended by close losses to Kansas City, with Monday night's 14-inning 3-1 loss and Thursday's 4-3 loss. Josh Beckett Gave up a 3-run homer to KC DH Billy Butler and an RBI double by 3B Mike Moustakas to give KC the 4-2 lead in the top of the 4th during Thursday's day game that would turn out to be the game-winner. Dustin Pedroia made it a 1-run game and kept his hitting streak alive with a solo homer in the bottom of the 8th, but Joakim Soria was able to close out the game for KC in the bottom of the 9th after giving up a 1-out single, preserving the Royal's 4-3 win.

The Red Sox will next travel to Chicago from some Sox on Sox action when they take on the White Sox Friday night. Tim Wakefield (6-3; 5.15 ERA) gets the start against Gavin Floyd (8-9; 4.11 ERA) and the game will start at 8:10 PM ET, 7:10 Central.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Former Yankees and Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead in his Southern California home on Wednesday afternoon. Irabu was billed as 'Japan's Nolan Ryan' when he signed with the Yankees in 1997. The San Diego Padres had originally purchased his contract from the Chiba Lotte Marines, but he refused to join San Diego, insisting he would only play for the Yankees.

Irabu had been playing in Japan and for Long Beach in the independent Western League after falling well short of the high expectations for him in New York. Between 2008 and 2010, Irabu was also arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and suspicion of DUI by police in both California and Japan.

ANGELS: After giving up an unearned run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 1st inning, the Angel's Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon. Santana struck out 10 and walked one (the batter in the 1st inning reached on an error) in nine no-hit innings of work. Santana pitched the 1st complete game no-hitter for the Angels since 1984 behind Mike Witt and their first no-hitter since 1990- 7 no-hit innings from Mark Langston and the final two hitless innings from Mike Witt, again.

The win was Santana's first against the Tribe in 11 starts and the first no-hitter thrown at Jacobs/Progressive Field.

NATIONAL LEAGUE: The San Francisco Giants have acquired Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran for righty prospect Zach Wheeler. Boston, Texas, Atlanta and Philadelphia were among the rumored destinations where Beltran would end up by the trade deadline, but Wednesday's trade ended that speculation.

On Thursday, the Chicago Cubs dealt outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to the Cleveland Indians for minor leaguers Abner Abreu and Carlos Smith. This season, Fukudome had a .279 batting average with three homers and 13 RBI in 87 games with the Cubs.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Former Boston College linebacker and cancer survivor Mark Herzlich was signed as an undrafted free agent by the NY Giants last week.

He was cleared to play after a routine checkup on Monday. Interestingly, Herzlich is one of 14 players to have an NFL Flims camera crew follow him as the league is documenting their transition from pre-draft workout to their first NFL game.

Spring Cleaning Sports Chowdah- Orange (County) Crushed, Sox Sweep Halos in 4; B's Negotiate Way Past Price in 2OT; C's Send Spike Lee Home Unhappy

MLB: After taking the first two games from the Angels, the Red Sox went for the 4 game sweep in Orange county. Not only did they manage to win the final 2 games of the series against the Angels, they got back-to-back shutouts from what many had considered the weakest part of Boston's 5-man rotation.

On Saturday night, Daisuke Matsuzaka brought down his ERA even further by throwing eight innings of one-hit shutout baseball and got run support from a Kevin Youkilis 2-run homer and RBI's from Varitek, Adrian Gonzalez and even Carl Crawford. After giving up a leadoff single to Erick Aybar in the bottom of the 9th (the Angels 2nd hit of the game), Daniel Bard got the next three batters in order to close out the 5-0 Red Sox win.

On Sunday, John Lackey went up against his former team and allowed 6 hits and a walk scattered throughout 8 innings of work while the Red Sox gave him some run support right out of the gate with RBI hits from Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz in the top of the first as well as another run coming in on a fielder's choice off the bat of Mike Cameron to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox would add to that lead on a Pedroia sac-fly, 2-run Carl Crawford homer and Adrian Gonzalez single to make it 7-0, and Dan Wheeler would come out in the bottom of the 9th for a 1-2-3 inning to close out the 7-0 win and sweep the long weekend series in Orange County, winning the final 2 games by a composite score of 12-0.

Boston is 5-1 on the Left Coast jaunt of their road trip and 8-2 in their last 10 games. Their road trip will bring them back a little closer to Boston on Tuesday night when they take on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Clay Buccholz (1-2; 5.31 ERA) is scheduled to get the start against Baltimore's Zach Britton (3-1; 3.16 ERA) with first pitch at 7:05 ET.


NHL: Both Tim Thomas and Carey Price were outstanding in net on for Saturday night's game in the Garden. The Bruins were unable to get anything by Price in the first two periods, but managed to take a 1-0 lead 4 and a half minutes into the 3rd on a Brad Marchand goal. With just under 6 minutes remaining in regulation, Montreal came back and found the back of the net on an even strength Jeff Halpern goal, tying the game and eventually forcing sudden death overtime.

The score would remain knotted at 1-1 through the first overtime, but with just under 11 minutes remaining in the 2nd OT, Nathan Horton would break the deadlock.
Tim Thomas stopped 44 of 45 shots faced in both regulation and OT while Carey Price faced 51 shots on Saturday, turning aside 49 of them.

The Bruins take the series lead for the first time by a margin of 3-2 and have the opportunity to close out the series on Tuesday night in Montreal. Game 6 from the Bell center will be braodcast live on NESN, the NHL Network and CBC with the puck dropping at 7:00 PM ET.


NBA: Despite the first two games not being decided until the final 20 seconds of so of regulation, the Celtics dispatched the Knicks in a particularly brutal and efficient fashion on Easter Sunday.

Even after Spike Lee's apperance in One Day at Fenway, I'm enjoying the schadenfreude. Or perhaps because of it. Either way...

The Celtics pretty handily won Game 4 by a final of 101-89 and swept the series with the Knicks.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 10 rebounds while Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 12 assists in Sunday afternoon's romp. Big Baby came off the bench for 14 points while Carmello Anthony led the Knick's scoring with 32 points in the losing effort.

After having taken care of New York so swiftly, the C's will now have to play the waiting game (unless they decide the waiting game sucks and play Hungry Hungry Hippos instead), awaiting the outcome of the Miami Heat/Philadelphia 76ers series to find out who their next opponent will be.