Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Bruins Make History on Long Island; Patriots Agree to Extension With Brady; Spring has Sprung In Fort Meyers

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

NHL- The Bruins wrapped up their road trip at Uniondale, NY and made some history in the process against the Islanders on Tuesday night. Adam McQuaid put the B's on the board in the first before Casey Cizikas tied the contest up at 1-1 later on in the period.

The Bruins took the lead for good with tallies from Brad Marchand and David Krejci less than 5 minutes apart in the second period, although the Islanders mounted a spirited counterattack in the 3rd period. However, Tukka Rask was up to the challenge and Gregory Campbell had an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining for to the 4-1 win. Rask allowed one goal on 36 shots faced

The win on Tuesday night was the Bruins best 10-game road start since the 1929-30 team had a 9-1 road start to the season. This comes despite the fact that Boston has played the fewest games in the NHL. So far for the month of February, Boston have gone 7-1-1 and will return to the Garden for Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators and Bruins each have 26 points although the Bruins have played only 16 games so far compared to the Sens 20 [currently, the Canadiens lead the Northeast Division with 29 points- NANESB!]

The puck drops at 7:00 ET for Tursday's Bruins home game and the contest will be televised on NESN.

NFL- The New England Patriots and QB Tom Brady have agreed to a three year contract extension this week. The 2-time Super Bowl MVP will receive $27 million, although with bonuses and incentives the deal reportedly could be worth as much as $33 million. The deal is also said to give the Patriots organization an additional $8 million in salary cap space.

Surprisingly [or perhaps unsurprisingly given how the most mundane things involving Tom Brady tend to draw out the spittle-flecked haters from all quarters- NANESB!] the relative bargain at which New England retained Brady's services has come under criticism from some quarters, claiming that this will be leveraged against other NFL QBs such as Joe Flacco or Aaron Rogers who are also seeking extensions.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- Former 49ers QB Alex Smith has reportedly been traded from San Francisco to Kansas City. The former 49ers starting QB missed time last season due to injury and was then benched in favor of rookie sensation Colin Kaepernick.

The move would have Smith as the latest San Francisco QB to go from the city by the bay to Kansas City, following in the footsteps of Joe Montana and Elvis Grbac. The Chiefs would reportedly relinquish a 2nd round pick in this year's NFL draft as part of the trade. Smith's arrival would displace former Patriots backup QB Matt Cassel as Kansas City's starting.

NASCAR- After a week-long buildup at Daytona that saw Danica Patrick make history and a Nationwide Series race ending in a massive wreck that injured dozens of spectators, it was Jimmie Johnson won the 2013 Daytona 500 on Sunday. The win came as no big shock to those who follow NASCAR while Danica Patrick finished a fairly respectable 8th after making history the week before by taking the pole for the Daytona 500- the first woman to do so for any NASCAR race.

RED SOX- For some reson, Spring Training kinda snuck up on me this year. Truck Day has long since come and gone and the Sox are already in Ft Meyers, FL with a 2-3 record so far.

On Thursday and Friday, the Red Sox will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in "home and away" games at Bradenton, FL and the Red Sox facility in Ft Meyers.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC- As it turns out, the WBC is almost upon us as well. For those who may have forgotten, the WBC is a little like the Baseball equivalent to the World Cup, with teams divided up by nationality playing in four pools comprised of four teams before advancing to elimination rounds.

Team USA will be playing in pool D in the Phoenix, AZ area along with Canada, Mexico and Italy beginning March 7th. Pool A gets started nearly a week earlier with Japan, PRC China, Cuba and Brazil getting started on March 2nd in Fukoka, Japan.

At least two Red Sox are scheduled to appear in the 2013 WBC- both in Pool D. Shane Victorino will be playing for Team USA while Alfredo Aceves will pitch for Mexico. The two teams will go head to head on March 8th at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update for February 23rd, 2013

AP Photo/Mike Carlson

NHL- Something rather curious happened during the Bruins fairly lengthy hiatus this week. While they've played exactly one game since Sunday, Montreal has won three out of their last four contests and the Ottawa Sentaors have won four straight during the same timeframe. The lengthy interval between games for Boston combined with the good week that both Ottawa and Montreal have had mean that the Bruins have slipped into 3rd place in the Northeast Division - despite winning two consecutive contests.

The most recent win for the Bruins came on Thursday night against a team they were supposed to face off against during winter storm Nemo earlier this month- the Tampa Bay Lightning. That contest was supposed to take place on April 25th, but because of the blizzard-related state of emergency in Boston, it was postponed until April 25th, 2012.

However, the first Bruins-Lightning game of the 2013 season took place in Tampa, FL instead. Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead vs Tampa Bay thanks to goals from Nathan Horton and Patrice Bergeron before the Lightning's Steven Stamkos put Tampa Bay on the board. The Lightning would tie the contest up at 2-2 on a Cory Conacher goal in the second. However a few minutes later, the Bruins would take the lead for good on a Brad Marchand goal. Nathan Horton would give Boston some additional insurance with a goal in the 3rd to give Boston the 4-2 win.

Tukka Rask stopped 24 of 26 shots faced on Thursday night while Anders Lindback stopped 22 shots on a similar number faced by by Rask.

The Bruins swing through the Sunshine State continues on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 ET with a matchup against the Flordida Panthers. This game will be televised on both NESN and the NHL network in select markets.

NASCAR- At least 28 people were injured at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday during a massive collision on the final lap of NASCAR's junior cirucit Nationwide Series.

Saturday's wreck happened after driver Regan Smith, who was leading the race, attempted to block another driver as they were nearing the checkered flag and hit the other car, a report on NASCAR.com said.

The crash sent driver Kyle Larson's car airborne and ripped out its engine, although he climbed out of the wreckage afterward unhurt.

"I was getting pushed from behind, it felt like," Larson told ESPN after the crash.

"By the time my spotter said, 'Lift,' or to go low, I believe, it was too late and I was in the wreck. Then I felt like it was slowing down, and it looked like I could see the ground, and had some flames in the cockpit. Luckily, I was all right and could get out of the car quick," he added.

The injured were carried away on stretchers from the chaotic scene in the stands. They were taken to Halifax Health Medical Center and Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

The crash involved 10 vehicles and some of the spectators undergoing medical tratment at Daytona include a 14 year old.

WINTER OLYMPICS- Less than a week after the US Luge team's practice sleds went missing from the back of a truck, a Pennsylvania man who discovered the sleds by the side of the road contacted State Police about his discovery.

A representative from the USA Luge team had reportedly lost the sleds after failing to secure them to the truck properly during a recruiting trip to eastern Pennsylvania. The man, identified as Mike Miller from Moore Township, PA, had heard about the missing sleds in media reports and turned them over to the Pennsylvania State Police on Friday.

Pole Dancing Sports Chowdah Update- South Africa's 'Blade Runner' Accused of Killing Girlfriend; Bruins Manitoba Up in Winnipeg; Boston College Wins Record 4th Straight Beanpot; Danica Patrick Sitting Pretty For Daytona 500

NASCAR- Danica Patrick made history over the weekend by becoming the first woman to win the Daytona 500 pole on Sunday with a 196.434 MPH lap [and thus provided me with a contrived opportunity to post some swimsuit pictures of Patrick- NANESB!]. The closest anyone came to knocking Patrick off the pole was 4 time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who quipped that at least he was the fastest guy on the track that day.

Prior to her 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut, Patrick became the first woman to win a major IndyCar race after she won the Japan IndyCar 300 series in 2008.

The Daytona 500- the first race of the Sprint Cup ciruit- will get underway on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 PM ET.

TRACK AND FIELD- In all honesty I didn't pay much attention to the track and field events during the 2012 London Olympics due to a combination of being distracted by the volleyball event and my disappointment that neither bouncy Aussie hurdler Michelle Jenneke or smoldering Greek fascist fangirl Voula Papachristos.

But I did hear about South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius- dubbed the 'Blade Runner' due to his prosthetic legs. Pistorius, a double amputee, was the first amputee runner to compete in the Olympic games and was the flag bearer for the South African team during the closing ceremonies. His limbs during the competition were carbon fiber prosthetics, leaving some to claim he had an unfair advantage over able-bodied atheletes.

On Valentine's Day, Pistorius was arrested by police for the shooting death of his girlfriend in their suburban Pretoria home. The Olympian allegedly fired a handgun at his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a closed bathroom door after a heated argument. Pistorius' lawyer insist that the shooting of Steemkamp was accidental.

The shooting death has shocked South Africans and many around the world who idolized Pistorius for overcoming adversity to become a sports champion, competing in the London Olympics last year in track besides being a Paralympian. Steenkamp, 29, was a model and law graduate who made her debut on a South African reality TV program that was broadcast on Saturday, two days after her death.

Nel said the couple had had a shouting match and Steenkamp fled to the bathroom, down a seven-yard passage from the bedroom, and locked herself in. He said the 26-year-old Pistorius got up from bed and had to put on his prosthetic legs to reach the toilet door.

Nel told the court the door was broken open after the shots were fired. Pistorius' lawyer insisted there was no evidence to substantiate a murder charge.

South African media also report that police found a bloodied cricket bat in Pistorius' home and were running tests to determine whose blood it might have been.

 

Canadian Press, Trevor Hagan

NHL- After a 2-game losing streak, including an overtime loss against the Rangers at home and their second regulation loss against Buffalo, the Boston Bruins travelled to Manitoba for the first time this season.

After the Jets got out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Alex Burmistrov tally early in the second period, Tyler Seguin knotted things up at 1-1 midway through the second period. Winnipeg briefly took a 2-1 lead late in the 2nd on an even-strength Evander Kane goal, but with just 2 seconds remaining in the period, Danny Paille evened the score at 2-2.

The Bruins got off to a good start in the 3rd after Brad Marchand drew a tripping penalty on Ron Hainsley just 9 seconds in- after the game, Marchand said he thought he should've been awarded a penalty shot. With the man advantage, it was marchand himself who scored the go-ahead goal for the Bruins 25 seconds later. However, instead of pressing their advantage the Bruins ended up defending a late onslaught from the Jets with Tukka Rask turning aside 10 shots (out of a total of 24 that he faced) successfully to preserve the 3-2 win for Boston.

The Bruins will continue their 5-game road trip on Thursday at Tampa Bay, but on Monday the team made an intermediate stop in western Connecticut before continuing to Florida.

Monday, Presidents Day, was the Bruins’ day to do what they could to lift spirits in Newtown — bringing the Stanley Cup with them for an earlier session from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Head coach Claude Julien — fresh off a plane from Winnipeg that got the team in to Boston around 3:30 a.m. — came to town along with players Chris Bourque, Andrew Ference, Hamilton, Adam McQuaid, Daniel Paille, Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin.

All wore black Bruins jerseys made specially for the occasion, with green Sandy Hook School ribbons over the right breast. They were to be donated to Newtown after the event.

In addition to the appearance in Newtown, the Bruins will honor Sandy Hook Elementary School Vice Principal Natalie Green Hammond at their game against the Montreal Canadiens March 3 at the TD Garden. Green Hammond, a lifelong Bruins fan, will drop the ceremonial first puck.

The Bruins played floor hockey with dozens of kids, signed autographs, took photos with kids and their parents and even ended the day by donning blue and gold Newtown High School Nighthawks jerseys for more photos. All around the room, people smiled a lot.

“I know that when the tragedy hit — I’m not going to lie — I cried like everybody else,” Julien said. “When you look at the faith and the strength of this town and how they bonded and support each other, that’s amazing.”

Ference, a Bruins defenseman who is the father of a 7-year-old and a 3-year-old, said that “everything that happened here ... hits close to home. ... It’s not that hard to imagine it happening to you. ... So it’s an opportunity as a sports team in New England where we can come down and obviously make a lot of kids happy and a lot of parents happy.

“So how do you not come down?” he said.

Asked what he hoped kids might get out of the visit, Ference said, “Hopefully, they’re just having fun. ... I just want the kids to have a good day and smile and have fun and hopefully have some good memories of today.”

The appearence, which was closed to the general public, also featured Bruins alumni Bobby Sweeney and Tommy Songin conducting hockey clinics along with the Bruins Youth Hockey Development team.

NCAA HOCKEY- The Boston College Eagles won their 4th consecutive Beanpot title- a first in the 61 year history of the Boston area collegiate tournament.

The final game featured the 17-7-2 Boston College Eagles against the Northeastern Huskies, who are currently dwelling in the Hockey East basement. Eagles Sophmore Johnny Gaudreau led the scoring with two goals and an assist while Senior Steven Whitney notched the game winner in Boston College's 6-3 win over the Northeastern Huskies last week.

Meanwhile, Harvard topped Boston university by a 7-4 final in a high-scoring Beanpot consolation game. The win was the Harvard Crimson's first win in nearly a month