BOSTON BRUINS- March is shaping up to be a terrific month for the Bruins. After their rout of Montreal on Wednesday night, the B's returned home to face the Phoenix Coyotes who were fighting to secure one of the final playoff berths out west. The Bruins did all of their scoring in the first, with Zdeno Chara and Jarome Iginla accounting for all the Boston goals before Phoenix's Lauri Korpikoski ended Tukka Rask's shutout bid about midway through the third and cut the Boston lead in half. However, the Bruins would hang on to win by a 2-1 final.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bruins would play host to the Carolina Hurricanes, who were a game over .500 and looking to get into the 8th and final playoff spot in the East with a few weeks to go in the regular season.
Milan Lucic opened up the scoring for Boston in the first with 4:32 to go after driving a Krejci rebound past 'Canes goalie Cam Ward. With just over 2 and a half minutes to go in the second, Iginla gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead. However, three minutes into the 3rd stanza, Alexander Semin made it a 1-goal game for the 'Canes when Chad Johnson couldn't corral a bouncing puck. However, the Bruins would pile on three unanswered goals later on in the 3rd (from Chris Kelly, Iginla and Torey Krug) to go on and win by a final of 5-1.
Chad Johnson stopped 29 of 30 shots faced while Iginla would have a two-goal game, scoring three goals since Thursday's contest against Phoenix. The Bruins will next host the Minnesota Wild on Monday night before embarking on a 3-game road trip that takes them to New Jersey, Colorado and Phoenix. Monday night's game will be nationally televised on NBC Sports with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:30 PM ET.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- Even with the Bruins on a hot streak, it seemed like it still wasn't enough to vault past the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Eastern Conference lead as recently as Thursday's contest against the Coyotes. However, the Bruins got a lot of help this weekend from the Flyers when they swept a home-and-away series against the Penguins. After shutting out the Penguins at home by a 4-0 final on Saturday, Philly edged the Pens by a 4-3 final at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Bruins currently sit atop the Eastern Conference with 95 points, and Pittsburgh missed an opportunity to gain any ground on Sunday and now remain three points behind.
MLB- The team with baseball's biggest payroll- the LA Dodgers- have broken camp on their spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ and are currently enroute to Australia where they will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia's largest city as well as an exhibition game against Australia's national team.
The two games (which are scheduled for March 22nd at 4 AM and 10 PM ET, respectively) mark the start of the 2014 MLB regular season while the rest of the league gets started on March 31st.
BOSTON BRUINS- Despite a lackluster start after the Olympic break, the Boston Bruins have been on a tear lately, winning three in a row after two consecutive losses coming out of the NHL's hiatus for the Sochi games.
After downing the New York Rangers by a 6-3 final at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, the Bruins returned to the Garden on Tuesday where they faced off against former teammate Tim Thomas- possibly for the last time with the March 6th NHL trade deadline looming. Thanks to a hat trick from David Krejci, the Bruins would go on to win by a 4-1 final.
While there was some activity from the Bruins around the trade deadline, it paled in comparison to some of the other moves that day [more on that later- NANESB!]. Boston obtained young defenseman Andrej Meszaros from the Philadelphia Flyers for a third round pick on the 2014 draft that will automatically shifts to a second round pick should the Bruins advance to the Eastern Conference Finals this year. The Bruins also acquired former Oilers defenseman Corey Potter off of waivers. Potter had 3 goals and an assist in 33 games with Edmonton during the strike-shortened NHL season and hadn't played in the NHL since then.
On Thursday night, the Bruins got a degree of revenge on Washington when Tukka Rask turned aside all 16 shots he faced and the Bruins would go on to win 3-0 thanks to goals by Gregory Campbell and Loui Eriksson in the second and some insurance from Brad Marchand with about 90 seconds to go in the 3rd as he cored an empty-netter. After beating Boston by a 4-2 final on Saturday, the Bruins get some revenge and outshoot the Caps 42-16.
The Bruins will next head on down to the Sunshine State to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 PM and the game will be televised on NESN.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The outdoor games for the NHL- better known as the Stadium Series- have wrapped up for the season. The month of March kicked off with the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at a snow Soldier Field in Chicago for a nationally televised night game. Patrick Sharp broke the scoreless deadlock and put Chicago on the board first with a goal with 4:25 to go in the first while Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg added to the Hawks lead to make it 3-0 in the second. Pittburgh got on the board with a James Neal goal early in the 3rd, but Chicago would add two more- including another Toews goal to make it a 5-1 game.
Meanwhile, in Vancouver the following day, the Senators faced off against the Canucks [dressed as the pre-NHL Millionaires- NANESB!] for the outdoor Heritage Classic at the BC Palace. Although the host Canucks got out to a fairly quick 2-0 lead thanks to tallies by Jason Garrison and Zack Kassian, the Senators would go on to score four unanswered goals and best the struggling Canucks by a 4-2 final in what would turn out to be Roberto Luongo's final game in a Vancouver uniform.
FLORIDA PANTHERS- Which brought us to the tantalizing possibility that the two opposing goalies from the 2011 Stanley Cup Final would be teammates. On Wednesday, it was announced that the Florida Panthers had traded netminder prospect Jakob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthais to Vancouver for Roberto Luongo and forward Steven Anthony. Although Luongo made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders in 1999, the following season he was traded to the Florida Panthers after they drafted Rick DiPietro as their goalie of the future.
While in Florida, Luongo set a franchise record for save percentage and shutouts [.931 and 7, respectively- NANESB!] during the 2003-2004 season. Two years later, Luongo set a Panthers record for career and single-season wins before being traded to Vancouver in June 2006. Despite several Vezina trophy nominations, Luongo's tenure in Vancouver will most likely be remembered with his remarks about Bruins goalie Tim Thomas Tim Thomas and 'pumping his tires'. Boston would go on to win the Stanley Cup after beating Vancouver at home in a decisive Game 7 that season.
Alas- it apparently wasn't meant to be, for the irony would've been too much for the hockey gods. Instead, within hours of the Luongo deal, Thomas was traded to the Dallas Stars for their backup goaltender, Dan Ellis. Thomas reportedly waived his no-trade clause and is widely expected to back up starting Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen.
ST LOUIS BLUES- There was plenty of wheeling and dealing that didn't involve the starting goalies from the 2011 Stanley Cup finals, however. The slumping Buffalo Sabres were widely expected to unload starting goalie Ryan Miller as the season went on- a month ago it was a question of whether or not he'd be traded from Buffalo before or after the Olympic break.
As it turned out, it was after. On Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres announced that both Ryan Miller and center Steve Ott were traded to the St Louis Blues in exchange for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first round draft pick and a conditional 2016 3rd round draft pick. Miller and Ott make the dramatic transition from one of the worst teams in the NHL to a bona-fide Stanley Cup contender.
On Sunday night, Miller made his debut with the St Louis Blues in Glendale, AZ as the Blues took on the Phoenix Coyotes. Although the Coyotes jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, the Blue scored four unanswered goals in the 3rd period to come away with the 4-2 win. Since then, the Blues have won two more games- a 4-2 home win against the Tampa Bay Lightning and 2-1 road win over the Nashville Predators- to give them a 3-0 record with Miller between the pipes.
SPRING TRAINING- Big Papi finally got off the schnide and broke an 0-8 slump on Friday as the Red Sox hosted the Atlanta Braves at Boston's Spring Training facility in Fort Meyers.
David Ortiz had a 4th inning double and Felix Doubront threw four shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out three. The Red Sox broke a 1-1 tie with a 3-run uprising against RHP Cody Martin in the bottom of the 7th was enough to give Boston the 4-1 win- only their second win since the start of Spring Training.
Saturday's schedule will lead to all sorts of confusion as they play the Orioles at home AND in Baltimore's Spring Training Facility in split-squad action. The game at the O's park in Sarasota, FL gets underway at 1:05 PM ET while the second split squad game between Baltimore and Boston gets underway at 7:05 PM ET from Fort Meyers.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED- In the closest thing we have to pin-ups these days, Sports Illustrated is out on the newsstands. Last year, it featured a fur and bikini-clad Kate Upton on the cover in Antarctica, but a photo shoot from this year's SI features the model defying gravity seven miles above the earth on a 727-200F meant to simulate weightlessness that astronauts would have to deal with in space [even in normal gravity, Upton's rack seems to defy the laws of physics, so a bikini-clad Kate Upton in zero-G probably goes above and beyond 'poetry in motion'- NANESB!].
According to a behind-the-scenes article, the weightlessness only lasts 30 seconds, but the company flying the plane can repeat these half-minute weightless intervals 11 times over a 90 minute timeframe. The aircraft hosting the shoot uses dedicated airspace off of Florida's west coast between 24,000 and 35,000 feet.
WINTER OLYMPICS- The 2014 Winter Olympiad at Sochi has come to an end, and despite the torrid start, Team USA's men's hockey team had no medal to show for it.
The much anticipated USA-Canada hockey game ended with Canada advancing to face Sweden in the gold medal game thanks to a goal from winger Jamie Benn. Despite Jonathan Quick turning aside 36 shots, Team Canada would go on to shut out the USA 1-0. This set up a USA vs Finland matchup in the bronze medal consolation game....which actually went much worse for the USA than the semifinal against Canada.
Tukka Rask turned aside all 27 shots he faced while veteran NHLer and Olympian Teemu Selanne had two goals in what was his final Olympic game as Finland cruised to the bronze medal with a 5-0 shutout of the USA. After beating the Czech Republic and Russia, the USA men's hockey team limped into a disappointing 4th place finish, losing their final two games by a combined 6-0.
Canada, on the other hand, hardly missed a beat and picked up where they left off against Sweden in the gold medal game. Canada got on the board thanks to a Johnathan Toews tally before Sweden netminder Hendrik Lunqvist gave up a one-on-one breakaway shot from Canada's Sidney Crosby to make it a 2-0 game. Team Canada's Chris Kunitz would score in the 3rd to make it a 3-0 game and put things out of reach for the Swedes.
Not only does the win over Sweden give Canada their second consecutive hockey gold medal for the second consecutive Olympiad, Team Canada swept the hockey gold with the women's come-from-behind OT win against Team USA in the gold medal game.
As the game concluded, both the NHL and IOC will deliberate over whether or not the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea will use players for the NHL. Once again, with the Winter Olympiad taking place a hemisphere away, the NHL would need to once again suspend its schedule for several weeks to accommodate players from the league to represent their respective nations in the Olympics. Prior to the Sochi Olympics, there had been talk circulating that this could be the final Olympics to feature professional hockey players.
OTHER OLYMPICS NEWS- South Korean figure skater Kim Yu Na announced that the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics would be the end of her competitive career.
Yu Na, who gained notoriety with a James Bond-inspired routine during the 2010 Vancouver garnered a gold medal for her performance. South Korean Olympic officials were hoping that Yu Na would continue skating and compete in the 2018 Winter Olympiad in Pyeongchang, essentially becoming the face of the host nation- plus she could automatically qualify as a representative of the host country in 2018.
In Sochi, Yu Na finished second to Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova, garnering the silver medal while Italy's Carolina Kostner won the bronze.
OLYMPIC MEDAL COUNT- Host nation Russia won the overall medal count- altho Gateway Pundit helpfully points out that US and South Korean 'ringers' in snowboarding and short track speed skating accounted for five of Russia's thirteen gold medals. The Russians also had 11 silver and nine bronze medals for Sochi. Like the men's hockey team, the USA came in a disappointing 4th place with nine gold medals, seven silver and a dozen bronze medals- finishing behind Norway and Canada.
MLB- After nineteen seasons with the Bronx Bombers, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter announced that the 2014 season would be his final MLB season. The Yankees captain made the announcement via Facebook on February 12th. In November, Jeter and the Yankees had agreed to a 1-year, $12 million contract. During the 2013 season, Jeter played in less than 20 games and had a batting average of less than .200.
Heading into Spring training of his final season, Jeter has a career .312 batting average with 256 homers and 1,261 runs batted in. In addition to five World Series titles, the Yankees shortstop and thirteen time All Star was also named MVP of the 2000 World Series and awarded five golden gloves. In 2009, Jeter surpassed Lou Gerhig's club record for all-time hits. Two years later, Jeter recorded career hit #3000- a home run off of Tampa Bay starter David Price in July 2011.
Heading into the 2014 season, Jeter is the last remaining Yankee player from the team's glory days of the late 1990s. Catcher Jorge Posada retired after the 2011 season while closer Mariano Rivera called it a career after the 2013 season.
RED SOX- The Red Sox and free agent Chris Capuano have agreed to terms on a one year, $2.25 million contract.
The former Dodger and W. Srpingfield, MA native went 4-7 and had an ERA of 4.26 with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. The signing was made shortly starter Ryan Dempster announced to Red Sox management that he would not be playing during the 2014 season.
NHL- After a road win against Ottawa and a split of a home and away seried against the Maple Leafs, the Bruins were in a poisition to help themselves with a head to head matchup against the Canadiens at the Garden on Wednesday.
Things got off to a less than stellar start when Boston fell into a 2-0 hole thanks to ex-Bruin Michael Ryder and PK Subban. But in the 2nd period, Boston strung together four goals from Dougie Hamilton, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton to go on top 4-2. In the third period, the Bruins maintained a two goal lead after the Habs and B's swapped goals, but could not hold onto a 5-3 lead. Brendan Gallagher made it a 1-goal game with 7:42 remaining and the Canadiens went on the power play with 1:33 in regulation after Aaron Johnson was called for delay of game. This would be pivotal as the Canadiens pulled Peter Budaj for the extra attacker and Andrei Markov scored the game-tying goal with 9 seconds left in regulation.
After a scoreless OT, Gallagher would get what would prove to be the game winner in the shootout to wrap up Montreal's late rally, giving the the 6-5 OT win. Tukka Rask turned aside 23 of 28 shots faced in regulation and OT while Montreal pulled Carey Price late in the second after allowing 4 goals on 26 shots faced. Budaj would only allow one goal on 15 shots faced for the remainder of regulation and OT.
The Bruins got an extra day to lick their wounds, but will have a busy weekend ahead of them with a road trip to Philadelphia on Saturday before continuing on to Buffalo for a Sunday night tilt against the Sabres. Saturday's game gets underway at 1:00 ET and will be televised on the NHL Network while Sunday's matchup takes place at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.
OTHER BRUINS NEWS-Before the game was even over, the media was paying attention to Jarome Iginla and the fact that he was a healthy scratch for the Calgary Flames, fuelling speculation that Iginla was going to be traded to Boston as defenseman Matt Bartkowski and forward Alexander Khokhlachev were scratched from the Providence Bruins lineup on Wednesday night.
However, the pundits were wrong and by 1:30 AM on Thursday the Flames had announced that Iginla had been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. By Thursday, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli called a press conference to that the two teams had reached an agreement by noon Wednesday before it went off the rails when Iginla would only waive his no-trade clause for the Penguins. The short list of teams Iginla was reportedly headed for included Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago or Los Angeles. Prior to the trade, Iginla had been with the Flames since 1996 and had been captian since the 2003-04 season. Iginla reached the 900 career points milestone in 2010 and scored his 500th career goal last season against Nashville last season.
In other Bruins news, the B's acquired LW Kaspars Daugavins after the Ottawa Senators placed him on waivers. Daugavins is perhaps best known for his unorthodox shooting method in the shootout where he secures the puck by using the toe of his stick before making his shot.
NFL- WR Wes Welker agreed to a two year $12 million contract with the Denver Broncos. The deal includes up to $150,000 in incentives should Welker catch more than 90 passes in a season. The former Patriots wide reciever was reportedly sought after the Tennessee Titans in addition to New England hoping to retain his services. Welker has had 38 touchdowns and 8,580 yards in 140 career games since his NFL debut in the 2004-2005 season. Besides a single game with the San Diego Chargers, Welker played in 14 games for the Miami Dolphins during the 2004-05 season and has been a Patriot until signing the contract with Denver.
MLB- The season hasn't even started and the New York Mets have been dealt a serious blow to their starting rotation this week when Johan Santana has likely re-torn the anterior capsule in his left shoulder and his missing the entire 2013 season is almost a foregone conclusion. The Mets reportedly owe as much as $31 million this season as part of a $137.5 contract he signed with New York in 2008.
RED SOX- The Red Sox are getting ready to wrap up Spring Training with a Saturday game against the Minnesota Twins at Ft Myers on Saturday afternoon. On Thursday, Clay Buchholz pitched four innings of one-hit ball in Boston's 6-1 win over the Twins, but the Twins bounced back on Friday and defeated Boston by an 8-5 final.
After Saturday, the Red Sox will start off the regular season in the Bronx with an April 1st daytime matchup against the NY Yankees. The regular season debut will be televised on ESPN and has Jon Lester going up against CC Sabathia with a scheduled first pitch at 1:05 ET.
BOSTON BRUINS- After a two game losing streak [which DOES add up in a shortened season- NANESB!] which included losses to Pittsburgh and Winnipeg, the Bruins continued their swing through Canada with another stopover in the Canadian capital for a tilt against the Ottawa Senators.
The last time the Bruins were in Ottawa, they fell into an early 2-0 hole. On Thursday, the Senators once again got on the board first when Kaspars Daugavins beat Anton Khudobin about five minutes into the second period (but not doing that wird toe-of-the-stick-thing he tends to do). Danny Paille got the Bruins on the board with less than two minutes to go in the second.
The game remained deadlocked into the third period when with Dennis Seidenberg got the go-ahead goal for Boston with 1:04 in regulation, deflating the crowd at the Scotiabank Center and snapping Boston's two game losing streak.
Anton Khudobin got the start in net and turned aside 27 of 28 shots on goal on Thursday night. The win keeps Boston within two points of the Canadiens in the Northeast Division. Boston's road trip continues on Saturday night in Toronto- the puck drops at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on the NHL Network.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The NHL Board of Governors approved a realignment that will move the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets to the Eastern Conference and will send the Winnipeg Jets to the Western conference. The Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will join the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in one division while four of the Original 6 teams- including the Bruins- will be in a single division that will also include Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Florida and Ottawa.
The Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche will remain in the Western Conference but will end up playing in the same conference as St Louis, Nashville, Chicago and Winnipeg to accomodate primarily Central Time zone starts.
RED SOX- Red Sox outfield prospect Ryan Westmoreland has announced his retirement from Baseball earlier this month. The 22 year old Rhode Island native underwent brain surgery in 2010 to correct an abnormal growth of blood vessels near his brain stem, and had a similar surgery done last summer.
In 2009, Westmoreland had a .296 batting average and 7 home runs in 60 games with the Lowell Spinners- the Red Sox Single A affiliate in the New York Penn League. Westmoreland passed up a scholarship to Vanderbilt after bein selected by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2008 draft.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox were shut out by the Blue Jays in Grapefruit League action on Friday in Dunedin, FL. Adam Loewen came home on a Drew Sutton fielding error and that would be all the Jays needed as Toronto won by a final of 1-0. Alfredo Aceves started for Boston and walked two batters and striking out five over five innings in the loss and the Jays Esmil Rogers came on in the 9th for a 1-2-3 save.
On Saturday, the Sox return to Fort Myers to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:35 PM ET. The game will be televised on NESN.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC- Alas, a final in the WBC was not in the cards for Team USA as they ran into the Dominican Republic buzzsaw in the second round. After a promising 7-1 win over Puerto Rico, the USA was nursing a 1-0 lead over the Dominicans thanks to a bases loaded walk in the 1st. In the 2nd inning, Hanley Ramirez tied the game up for the Dominicans with a solo homer off of R.A. Dickey. The game would remain deadlocked at 1-1 until the 9th when Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel came off the bench and was facing pinch hitter Erick Aybar with Nelson Cruz on 3rd base with one out when Aybar singled to break the tie and put the Dominicans on top. Jose Reyes then plated Aybar with an RBI single to give the Dominicans some insurance with a 3-1 lead and Fernando Rodney had a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th to close out the win for the Dominican Republic.
The loss set the stage for a USA/Puerto Rico rematch in what would be an elimination game. Puerto Rico would jump out to and early 1-0 lead over the USA in the top of the first thanks to an RBI single from former Red Sox infielder Mike Aviles while Puerto Rico starter Nelson Figuero threw six shutout innings. Meanwhile, Andy Gonzalez appeared to blow the game open for Puerto Rico with 2-RBI double with two away in the 6th inning. However, by the bottom of the 8th it looked as though Puerto Rico was going to let the lead slip away with a 4-2 lead when Ben Zobrist drew a 2 out bases loaded walk to make it a 1-run game. However, JC Romero came on in relief for Puerto Rico and got the next batter to ground out to first to end the threat and then having a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th inning to close out the win and send the USA packing from the tournament.
However, it would be the Dominican Republic who advanced to the finals defeated the Netherlands in the opening games of the semifinals at san Francisco's AT&T Park. The Dominicans beat the Dutch by a 4-1 final in the semifinals while the final game was a rematch against Puerto Rico- Dominican Starter Samuel Deduno pitched five shutout innings and would get some early run support thanks to a 2-RBI double from Edwin Encarnacion in the first inning. It would be all the Dominicans needed as the Dominican Republic goes undefeated throughout the tournament to win their first World Baseball Classic Championship. Interestingly, this is also the first-ever WBC final that didn't feature Japan- the Japanese team had won the first two WBC titles, besting Cuba in 2006 and South Korea in 2009.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC- After a fairly unremarkable start, Pool D in the 2013 World Baseball Classic was the one everybody was talking about thanks to a game winning grand slam and an honest-to-goodness bench clearing brawl.
After having alrady lost their opening game to Mexico, team USA found themselves deadlocked 2-2 with a game Italy in the top of the second inning of game 2 in pool play in Phoenix on Saturday night. With the bases loaded, two out and David Wright in the batter's box with a 1-2 count, this happened-
Wright's grand slam would turn out to be the game-winner as Team USA got by Italy for a 6-2 final for their first win of the tournament.
But what had everybody talking was what happened between Team Canada and Mexico earlier on Saturday. With Canada already up 9-3, catcher Chris Robinson decided to bunt for a base hit in the 9th inning. Taking umbrage to the percieved breach of baseball ettiquite, infliedler Luis Cruz told pitcher Arnold Leon to hit the next batter.
After throwing two piches at Canada outfielder Rene Tosoni, Leon finally managed to hit him. Instead of taking his base, Tosoni charged the mound which led to this-
Yes- players from the country that apparently worships at the altar of soccer decided to pick a fight with players from a nation that has produced countless hockey players and- more recently- a good number of mixed martial arts fighters. Unlike most baseball brawls, there was actually some punching and tackling taking place. Red Sox reliver Alfredo Aceves was seen exchanging blows with Canada outfilder Tyson Gillies before being wrestled to the ground.
The fight spilled over into the stands as well, with Mexican fans throwing full water bottles at Team Canada's dugout- one of them hitting pitching coach Denis Boucher in the face before infielder Cale Iorg angrily threw the water bottle back into the crowd. A number of fights broke out in the highly partisan and pro-Mexico crowd of 19,581 and police came on to the field to restore order as announcements were made in English and Spanish that anybody caught throwing items on the field would be ejected.
A total of seven players- Mexico's Arnold Leon, Oliver Perez, Eduardo Arredondo, Andrew Albers and Alfredo Aceves and Canada's Pete Orr, Rene Tosoni and Jay Johnson- were ejected, although WBC officials said they were unlikely to face any additional discipline aside from the ejection. As for the percieved slight against Mexico that sparked the entire brawl, Canada wasn't simply trying to be sore winnera when they ran up the score. Since total points can factor in a a tiebreaker in the World Baseball classic and Canada had already given up 14 runs in their loss to Italy in the first game of the WBC. The win and the run differential were needed to give them a puncher's chance [no pun intended- NANESB!] of advancing out of the first round.
However, on Sunday, Canada faced a Team USA with some momentum on their side. It was win or go home for both the USA and Canada and our neighbors to the north had an early 2-0 lead when Canada outfielder Michael Suanders belted a 2 run homer into the right field seats off of USA starter Derek Holland. Team USA pulled even thanks to some a leadoff walk and some small ball starting off with a bunt by outfielder ben Zobrist that led to a throwing error from Canada 3B Taylor Green with two on- a sac fly off the bat of outfielder Adam Jones tied the contest up at 2-2.
With runners on the corners and two out for Team Canada in the bottom of the 6th, outfilder Adam Loewen drove in a run giving Team Canada the lead back. But in the top of the 8th, Jones drove in a pair of runs to make it 4-3, giving the USA their first lead of the game. Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino would add to that total and make it a 5-3 lead after bringing Jones home with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 8th and with the bases loaded for Team Canada and only one out, Adam Loewen brought a runner home with his groundout to first to make it a 1-run game, but Tim Smith grounded out to Brandon Phillips to end the Canadian rally.
After a leadoff double from the USA's Brandon Philips and an RBI single Jonathan LuCroy, The Royals' Eric Hosmer put the game out of reach for Team USA with a 2 out bases clearing double with two away in the top of the 9th inning
Team USA goes on to win by a final of 9-4, eliminating Canada from the tournament and moving on to the second round of the tournament at Miami where they will take on Puerto Rico on Tuesday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on the MLB network.
GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE- Boston's Clay Buchholz looks like he can't wait for the regular season to begin as he's now 2-0 in Spring Training. Buchholz pitched four shutout innings allowing three hits and a strikeout while Mike Napoli went 2-3 with an RBI in Boston's 5-3 win over Toronto at Dunedin, FL on Tuesday. Currently the Red Sox have a 9-9 record in Spring training.
The Red Sox will have Wednesday off and return to Fort Myers (but not to Fenway South) to take on the Minnesota Twins on Thursday at 1:05 ET.
Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand
NHL- After an impressive 3-0 home win against the Philadelphia Flyers- the first meeting between the two teams this shortened season- the Bruins hit the road once again, starting off with a Monday night contest against Ottawa from Canada's capital- one of only two games in the NHL on Monday.
The Bruins fell into an early 2-0 hole after allowing goals from Guillaume Latendresse and Kyle Turris in the first, but managed to get on the board thanks to a Shawn Thornton tally in the closing minutes of the first. Boston then managed to tie the game at the 8:53 mark of the second perior thanks to a Danny Paille tally, but after a scoreless 3rd period, both teams garnered a point as they headed for OT. However, nothing was decided in the OT [Rask turned aside 12 shots in the 3rd and overtime- NANESB!] so the game went to a shootout. Even though it was unsuccessful, Kaspars Daugavins was likely the most memorable attempt from the shootout.
However, Dravid Krejci would score on his next attempt and the Bruins would go on to win by a 3-2 final in the shootout and get to within one point of Montreal.
However, there will be no rest for the black and gold as they travel from Ottawa to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins for the first time this season on Tuesday night. The game will be televised on the NBC Sports network (formerly Versus) and this clash of Eastern Conference titans will get underway at 7:30 ET/
A two game losing streak and an inability to maintain a 3rd period lead was some cause for concern among the B's faithful, but the Bruins looked like they got some of their mojo back on Thursday night at home against Toronto.
After a 4-3 regulation loss to Montreal on Sunday and on Tuesday, Boston let a 3-0 lead over Washington evaporate in the first meeting between the two teams since the first round of last season's Stanley Cup playoffs. The Caps scored three unanswered goals to force OT and RW Eric Fehr scored 37 seconds into OT to give Washington the win.
On Thursday night, the Bruins faced off against the Maple Leafs, and although recent history was on the Bruins' side, one had to wonder if the Leafs sensed any blood in the water. Tied at 1-1 early in the second, the Bruins padded their lead late in the period with tallies form Tyler Seguin and David Krejci to give Boston a 3-1 lead.
But with less than five minutes to go, the Leafs made it a 1-goal game thanks to a goal from Jay McClement and late in the 3rd, Toronto pulled goalie Ben Scrivens for an extra attacker. However, the crowd at TD Garden heaved a collective sigh of relief when Tyler Seguin scored an empty-netter to make it a 4-2 Boston lead with 15 seconds left.
With the win, Boston snaps a two game losing streak and remains just a point behind Montreal in the Northeast standings. Rask had Thursday night off and it was Khudobin who had the win for the B's, stopping 25 of 27 shots faced. Both teams went 0-2 on the power play on Thursday as well.
The Bruins' next game will be on Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers- the first meeting between the two teams this season. Puck drops at 1:00 ET and the game will be televised on the NHL Network.
OTHER BRUINS NEWS- LW Chris Bourque has been reassigned to the providence Bruins after clearing waivers this week. Bourque was waived by the B's after posting a minus 6 rating in 18 games played. The Bruins also recalled RW Jordan Caron from Providence on Friday. In 44 games with the 'Pruins' this season, Caron has had 10 goals and 5 assists.
RED SOX- The Red Sox now have a 7-7 record in Spring Training after splitting a "home and away" series with the Minnesota Twins Thursday and Friday night [really- it's more like a 7 mile drive across Ft Myers, FL- NANESB!]. After a 12-5 win over the Twins at 'Fenway South' on Thursday, the Twins blanked Boston thanks to three shutout innings from Mike Pelfrey.
Ryan Dempster went 3⅔ innings and allowed 2 runs on five hits in the losing effort.
The Red Sox will host the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway South on Saturday night. Baltimore's Dylan Bundy will make his spring training debut while Felix Doubront will start for the Red Sox. First pitch is at 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Well, the good news is that Red Sox pitching prospect Drake Britton managed to hit 111 MPH on the radar gun in Florida. The bad news was that it was during a police chase outside of Ft Myers.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox lefthander Drake Britton was clocked going 111 mph early on Saturday morning, according to police, and was arrested on multiple charges that included suspicion of drunk driving.
The team released a statement saying: “This is a matter that the Red Sox take very seriously, and it is being addressed. The club will not make further comment on this matter."
Britton, 23, was optioned to Double A Portland on Monday. A Fort Myers television station, WFTX, reported his arrest that night. Britton had been scheduled to pitch against the Yankees on Sunday but did not.
Britton was driving a black Silverado pickup truck at more than twice the posted 45 mph speed limit, according to a report by the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
Police said that Britton eluded police in pursuit by swerving between vehicles before leaving the road and driving down an incline and eventually knocking over a barbed-wire fence. Police said Britton then tried to drive through a wooded area.
Britton was charged with DUI, DUI property damage and reckless driving. Police noted that he had slurred speech, bloodshot watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol at the time he was finally stopped.
Britton represents the second DUI arrest in Red Sox spring training since 2012 when reliever Bobby Jenks was arrested for DUI, destruction of property and leaving the scene of an accident.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC- With the USA off to a disappointing start, the early favorite in the WBC's Pool D might actually turn out the be Italy. Yes- the Italians got off on the right foot in Arizona as they topped Mexico 6-5 on Thursday night and simply steamrolled Team Canada on Friday by a 14-4 final. Since the total number of points helps determine who advances in the WBC, those 14 runs have Team Italy sitting pretty at the moment.
Meanwhile, Team USA got off to a lackluster start after a 5-2 loss to Mexico on Friday. With Mexico already leading 2-0, former Red Sox 1B Adrian Gonzalez belted a 2-run homer off of knuckleballer RA Dickie in the third inning, giving Mexico a 4 run lead that Team USA could barely chip into.
Team Mexico starter Yovanni Gallardo pitched 3⅓ shutout innings for the win andSergio Romo closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Team USA will take on undefeated Italy on Saturday from Chase Field at 9:00 PM ET in what is a must-win game if the hope to advance. The contest will be televised on the MLB network.
RED SOX- Mike Napoli went 1-2 with an RBI single and a run scored his spring training debut for the Red Sox on Friday night. Starting with the first pitch, Napoli deftly fielded a bunt from Pittsburgh's Darren Ford and raced him to the bag for the first out.
Dustin Pedroia led Red Sox batters by going 2-2 with 2 RBI against a split Pittsburgh Pirates squad in Ft Myers and Jon Lester threw three shutout innings in Boston's 5-2 win. The win gives the Red Sox a 4-4 record in Grapefruit League action. For Saturday's action, the Red Sox won't even be leaving Ft Myers as they'll trek about six miles across town to take on the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium at 1:05 PM ET. Saturday also marks Clay Buchholz's Spring Training debut- he'll be starting against Minnesota prospect Kyle Gibson who will also be making his Grapefruit league debut.
BOSTON BRUINS- The Bruins took another step towards reclaiming first place in the Northeast division with an OT win against the Ottawa Sentaors on Thursday night. Nathan Horton got the Bruins on the board early with a tally in the 2nd period, but Ottawa's Jim O'Brien managed to tie the game up at 1-1 thanks to a power play goal late in the second.
With no deciding goal in the 3rd period, the game headed to OT with both Boston and Ottawa getting a point each. After the bruins had successfully killing a penalty that carried over into OT, this happened-
After a lengthy video review, Bergeron's OT goal was upheld and the Bruins were 2-1 winners, vaulting them past the Senators and within one point of Montreal in the standings. Tukka Rask stopped 30 of 31 shots faced while Ottawa's Robin Lehner turned aside 44 of 46 shots faced in the losing effort.
The Bruins will have a busy weekend coming up with a daytime tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden at 1:00 ET and then Boston will host Montreal on Sunday night at 7:30 ET. Saturday's game will be televised on NESN while Sunday's contest will be aired on the NBC Sports Network.
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.
RED SOX- After weeks of speculation and reports from the media, Red Sox captain Jason Varitek announced his retirement at a new conference in Ft. Meyers, FL on Thursday. The announcement comes less than two weeks after knuckleballer Tim Wakefield announced his retirement after 17 years with the Red Sox organization.
A graduate of Georgia Tech [where he and teammate Nomar Garciaparra won the 1994 College World Series- NANESB!], Varitek was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1994. After spending time in the Cape Cod League and the independent Northern League during the lockout, Varitek agreed to terms with the Mariners and entered their minor league system in 1995. Within two years, both 'Tek and teammate and starting pitcher Derek Lowe were traded by Seattle to Boston for releiver Heath Sloclumb. 'Tek made his big league debut in September 1997, collecting a single in his one and only at-bat that year and would go on to earn the starting spot at catcher from Scott Hatteberg in 1998.
For the Boston faithful, the most memorable Varitek moment was undoubtedly the July 24th 2004 fight between him and Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. With the Yankees leading in the 3rd inning and an errant Bronson Arroyo pitch sailing up and hitting Rodriguez on the elbow, the Yankees infielder had some choice words for Arroyo while heading off to first base. Deciding he should stop talking and take his base, 'Tek reportedly told A-rod "We don't thrown at .260 hitters" before the two came to blows, with Rodriguez shoving the Red Sox catcher while getting 'Teks mit in his face. This cleared the benches, with DH David Ortiz nearly coming to blows with Yankees reliever Tanyon Sturtze as he was trying to pull teammate Gabe Kapler out of Sturtze's headlock.
After warnings were issued, a back-and-forth game resumed with the Red Sox coming behind to win 11-10 in the bottom of the 9th thanks to a walk off homer from 3B Bill Mueller. The game was viewed a turning point in the season that saw the Red Sox win their first World Series title since 1918, and the fight in turn was seen as a pivotal turning point in that game.
I'm usually loathe to quote the Boston Globe's Dan Shaugnnessey [AKA the Curly Haired Boyfriend- NANESB!] but I think he nails it with this quote.
We have the iconic photo of Jason Varitek smashing his catcher’s mitt into the face of Alex Rodriguez. Try to find a saloon in Greater Boston that does not have this photo somewhere behind the bar.
It is the image of defiance.
It’s a memory of stepping up for yourself and for your team. It’s a Red Sox captain saying “no more’’ to the bully of eight-plus decades.
It makes Jason Varitek immortal.
Also making Varitek immortal is the fact that he is the only catcher in the history of Major League Baseball to have caught four no-hitters.
This includes the following- Hideo Nomo on April 4th, 2001 at Baltimore Derek Lowe on April 27, 2002 vs Tampa Bay Clay Buchholz on September 1, 2007 vs Baltimore Jon Lester on May 19, 2008 vs Kansas City
After being the first catcher behind the plate for four no-hitters, Varitek's cather's gear was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on May 20th, 2008.
Interestingly, 'Tek is also one of two players to have ever played in a championship game for the Little League World Series, the College World Series and the MLB World Series [former Marlin's pitcher and Arizona alum Ed Vosberg was the other- NANESB!].
Varitek retires with a career batting average of .256 with 193 home runs and 757 RBI. In addition to the two World Series titles with Boston, he also won a gold glove and silver slugger in 2005 and was named to the MLB all-star game three times. His 11 postseason home runs are the most for any catcher in MLB.
Even as 'Tek's abilities as a catcher were in decline, he still was valuable in his experience behind the plate and coaxing consistent starts from Boston's younger and inexperienced starters when they were struggling. Like Wakefield's departure, the end of the Varitek era in Boston leaves a huge hole for Saltalamacchia to fill.
OTHER RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox will open up their Grapefruit League tilt with a doubleheader against the Northeastern Huskies at 2:35 PM ET and a nightcap against the Boston College Eagles at 7:05 PM ET. The latter game will be televised on NESN.
OTHER MLB NEWS- The league announced that they were expanding the playoff format to allow two additional teams from both the AL and NL to vie for a postseason berth via a single elimination game. This means that 10 of the 30 MLB teams could get into the playoffs- still fewer than any other professional league. The new system will take effect starting this season and is the first significant change to the playoff format since 1995.
BOSTON BRUINS- After remaining fairly quiet at the trade deadline [the Bruins did pick up veteran Brian Rolston- once part of the Ray Bourque trade- from the Islanders and BC alum Mike Mattau from the Devils system on Feb 27th- NANESB!], the Bruins returned home earlier this week only to be shut out by Ottawa's sophmore goaltender Robin Lehner in a 1-0 game Tuesday night.
On Thursday night, the Bruins hosted the Devils at the Garden, wrapping up the regular season series with New Jersey. The B's got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first with goals from David Krejci and Tyler Seguin. The Bruins would have an excellent opportunity to make it 3-0 when Krejci had a shorthanded breakaway eight and a half minutes into the first, but the Devil's Brodeur.
The Devils would not only get on the board, but take the lead in the second with goals from Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and David Clarkson to go up 3-2.
Early in the 3rd, however, David Krejci would get the equalizer from a tough angle to knot things up at 3-3 and eventually send the contest into OT. With two minutes to go in OT, Krejci gave Boston the go-ahead goal good for his second career hat trick and the 4-3 Boston win [altho' New Jersey gets a point for heading into overtime- NANESB!].
Brodeur made 21 saves on 25 shots faced while Tim Thomas stopped 28 of 31 shots faced. Both teams were 0-3 on power play opportunities.
The Bruins will be busy this weekend taking on the Islanders Saturday afternoon before travelling to Madison Square Garden on Sunday to take on the NY Rangers. Saturday afternoon's game gets underway at 1:00 ET and will be televised on NESN while Sunday's game will start at 12:30 and will be broadcast on NBC.
OTHER NHL NEWS- The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Ron Wilson on Friday, tapping Randy Carlyle as his replacement. Carlyle takes over with 18 games remaining for Toronto in the 2011-2012 camapaign.
The Maple Leafs were 4-9-1 in the month of February, losing six straight before Wilson was fired.
NCAA HOCKEY- #1 Boston College secured at least a share of the regular season title with a 5-1 win over the Vermont Catamounts Friday night.
Senior Barry Alalmedia scored twice and junior netminder Parker Milner made 29 saves for the Eagles in the next-to-last game of the regular season. The Eagles face off against the Catamounts on Saturday night at 7 PM for the regular seaosn finale two points ahead of archrival BU.
NFL- After reportedly being warned the the NFL against such action, defensive players and coaches from the New Orleans Saints maintained a 'bounty' program where players awarded themselves cash prizes for knocking out and injuring opposing players. Former Vikings QB Brett Favre and Cardinals QB Kurt Warner were reportedly among the targets with payouts doubling or tripling in the playoffs according to a report from NFL security.
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the Saints and the players involved are likely to face fines or suspension and the organization may end up forefeiting a draft pick, according to an AP report.
The Washington Post is also reporting that the Redskins maintained a bounty system with defensive players while Williams was assistant coach in Washington in the mid 2000s.
NBA- The second half of the abbreviated NBA season is off to a much better star for the Celtics on Friday night as they won their third straight game since coming out of the All Star break.
Firday night's 107-94 win over the New Jersey Nets puts them above .500 once again. They have Saturday off, but will take on the New York Knicks at the TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET- the game will be televised on ABC.
MLB: For those of you keeping track (which I'll admit I've been doing a piss poor job of) tonight's Sox-Rays game marked Manny Ramierez's first appearance at Ft. Meyer's City of Palms Park as a Tampa Bay Ray. The former Indians, Red Sox and Dodgers slugger went 1 for 1 with two walks and scored a run on Tuesday while on the mound, 2010 AL Cy Young winner David Price outlasted John Lackey, who gave up 5 runs over 5 ⅓ innings and was hung with his first loss of the Spring training for a 2-1 record, with the Rays winning 7-4. The Red Sox have tomorrow off and will next face the Florida Marlins at Jupiter, FL on Thursday with first pitch at 1:05 ET. OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The agent for 1B Adrian Gonzalez, John Boggs, has said that his client and the Red Sox are close to agreeing on a seven year contract extension for the former San Diego infielder. In his final year with the Padres, Gonzalez hit 31 home runs and had a .298 BA while playing half his games in the very pitcher friendly PetCo Park. NHL: After Saturday's disappointing 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto, the Bruins would head home and take on the struggling New Jersey Devils. Although the Bruins came into March riding an impressive 6-game road winning streak, the B's would then go on to win only two of their next eight contests (although they would garner a point or two for losses taking place in OT or the shootout- and curiously, they have yet to relinquish 1st place in the division this month). Tuesday night's game looked as though it would be more of the same when the Devil's IlyaKovalchuck scored first to give New Jersey the 1-0 lead. Shawn Thronton would get the equalizer at the with just over four and a half minutes remaining in the first period. In the 2nd period, Zdeno Chara would put the B's up for good with a power play goal (the Bruins went 1 for 5 with the man advantage on Tuesday night) while Milan Lucic would score for Boston in the 3rd and Mark Recchi would get an empty-netter as the exclamation point in the Bruin's 4-1 win over New Jersey. Zdeno Chara came up big, for lack of a better term, coming up with the game winning goal and 2 assists on Tuesday night. Tim Thomas stopped 30 shots, not allowing a goal after Kovalchuck's power play goal in the 1st period. The win all but finishes off whatever postseason aspirations the Devils might've had to begin with. The Bruins next game will be on Thursday at home against Montreal. The 2nd place Canadiens are coming off of being shut out 2-0 by the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. OTHER NHL NEWS: The NHL has decided to hand down a suspension to enforcer Matt Cooke for not only the final 10 games of the regular season, but also the first round of the playoffs after his elbow to the head against the Ranger's Ryan McDonagh on Sunday. Dennis Savard had his 2009-2010 season ended by a concussion after taking an elbow to the head from the Penguins cheap shot artist. NBA: Like the Bruins, over the last several games the Celtics have been looking like a playoff bound team by virtue of racking up the wins earlier in the season that didn't threaten to do much once they arrived there. After starting out their most recent road trip with a 93-77 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday, the C's managed to bounce back with an 89-85 win over the New Orleans Hornets before heading to Madison Square Garden to wrap up their 3 game raod trip against the Knicks. Now, most of the time the Knicks are a punchline or laughingstock who's only claim to fame is having Spike Lee mouth off at the visiting players. Now although the recently made headlines by acquiring Carmello Anthony in a trade from Denver, the were at one game over .500 coming into Monday night's game against Boston. By halftime on Monday night's game, it looked as though Boston's March woes would continue, as the Knickerbockers headed into halftime with a fairly commanding 51-37 lead over the visitors. However, the Celtics would mount a spirited comeback in the 2nd half of what some would consider a possible playoff preview, with their defense holding the Knicks to just 35 points in the 2nd half, with Rajon Rondo putting Boston in the lead for good after hitting a jumper with just over 3 minutes left in regulation. Shortly after making the shot, Rajon and Carmello Anthony collided while 'Melo was attempting to steal a pass, resulting in a gash above Anthony's eye. Rondo came up with the ball and passed to Big Baby for a layup that but Boston up 90-86. Pierce nailed a jumper to make it a 6 point game before Ray Allen's dunk made it 94-86 with 40 seconds left in regulation before following ti up with two successful free throws. Kevin Garnett led the scoring for Boston with 24 points along with 11 rebounds on Monday night, followed by Paul Pierce's 21 points and 6 rebounds. The C's still are in first place for the Atlantic conference, although now they are a half point behind the Chicago Bulls for1st overall in the Eastern Conference. Interestingly, despite the .500 record and 3 game skid, the Knicks are still very much in the playoff hunt. The Celtics will return home on Wednesday night to take on the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:30 PM ET. NCAA HOCKEY: While everybody from the leader of the free world on down is keeping track of their March Madness brackets, just a reminder that the NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament gets underway this Friday. The schedule is as follows: Friday, March 25 3 p.m., East Region: Minnesota-Duluth vs. Union (Bridgeport, CT), ESPNU 5:30 p.m., West Region: Michigan vs. Nebraska-Omaha (St. Louis, MO), ESPN3 6:30 p.m., East Region: No. 1 Yale vs. Air Force (Bridgeport, CT), ESPNU 9 p.m., West Region: No. 1 Boston College vs. Colorado College (St. Louis, MO), ESPNU Saturday, March 26 1:30 p.m., Midwest Region: No.1 North Dakota vs. Rensselaer (Green Bay, WI), ESPN3 4 p.m., Northeast Region: No. 1 Miami vs. New Hampshire (Manchester, NH), ESPNU 5 p.m., Midwest Region: Denver vs. Western Michigan (Green Bay, WI), ESPN3 7:30 p.m., Northeast Region: Merrimack vs. Notre Dame (Manchester, NH), ESPN3NCAA HOOPS: Perhaps to nobody's surprise, Kansas had sent to BU Terriers packing in the first round last week, while UConn- the sole remaining New England team in the tournament now- bested the Cincinnati Bearcats by 30 points. This sets up a match against the San Diego State Aztecs (who need double OT to get past Temple this weekend) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on Thursday night at 7:15 PM ET, 4:15 PM Pacific.
NHL: Like it or not, all good things must come to an end. And although they wouldn't come away from Saturday night's game empty-handed, the Bruins 7-game win streak has come to a close against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After a scoreless 1st period, Zdeno Chara would get the scoring underway 7 and a half minutes into the 2nd period, beating Marc-Andre Fleury to put Boston up 1-0. However, the Penguins would come right back with a pair of goals a minute and ten seconds apart to put Pittsburgh up 2-1. David Krejci would get the equalizer with 33 seconds remaining in regulation after the Bruins pulled Thomas for an extra attacker.
However, the Pens would capitalize on a Dennis Seidenberg turnover and C Dustin Jeffery got the game winning tally 1:52 into OT for the win. Boston gets the one point for forcing OT, so their point streak continues through at least 8 games, but that's the end of their impressive 7 game win streak.
Tim Thomas stopped 36 of 39 shots while Pittsbugh's Marc Andre Fleury turned aside 29 of 31 shots faced on the night.
Boston's next game will be a rematch of last month's feisty, high scoring affair versus Montreal. This will take place at Montreal on Tuesday night, 7:30 PM ET on NESN. The Canadiens are riding a 4-game win streak coming into the Tuesday night game, having downed Tampa Bay by a 4-2 final on Saturday. NBA: After a 107-103 win against the Golden State Warriors at the Garden on Friday night, the C's embarked on a quick 1-game road trip to Milwaukee for a Sunday night game televised on ESPN.
Although trailing at the half 43-49 (including being held to only 16 points in the 2nd quarter), the C's would come back and outscore the Bucks 46-34 in the second half to win by the final of 89-83. Paul Pierce led the scoring with 23 points as well as 5 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The C's next game will be at home against the LA Clippers on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM ET on Comcast New England.
OTHER CELTICS NEWS: Interestingly, only 9 players were in uniform for Boston on Sunday night [same w/Milwaukee, but this isn't Not Another Milwaukee Sports Blog- NANESB!]. According to head coach Doc Rivers, Delonte West is likely to return in time for Wednesday's game against the Clippers, but Shaquille O'Neal's return is unlikely.
MLB: While the Red Sox were vicorious in their Friday night spring training game against the NY Yankees, the Red Sox haven't won a game since, falling to the Florida Marlings by an 11-2 margin and reaching a 4-4 deadlock with the Orioles in split squad action on Saturday and losing to the Mets 5-6 on Sunday.
John Lackey will get the start at City of Palms park against Baltimore (or should I say half the Orioles, since they will be doing the split-squad thing) on Monday afternoon at 1:05 PM ET.
NCAA FOOTBALL: The 2011 football schedules for both Boston College and UConn were released towards the end of February. While the dates have pretty much been settled, the game times for the overwhelming majority remain up in the air.
09/03/11 vs. Northwestern Chestnut Hill, Mass. TBA 09/10/11 at UCF Orlando, Fla. TBA 09/17/11 vs. Duke Chestnut Hill, Mass. TBA 09/24/11 vs. Massachusetts Chestnut Hill, Mass. TBA 10/01/11 vs. Wake Forest Chestnut Hill, Mass. TBA 10/08/11 at Clemson Clemson, S.C. TBA 10/22/11 at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Va. TBA 10/29/11 at Maryland College Park, Md. TBA 11/03/11 vs. Florida State Chestnut Hill, Mass. 8:00 p.m. ET 11/12/11 vs. North Carolina State Chestnut Hill, Mass. TBA 11/19/11 at Notre Dame Notre Dame, Ind. TBA 11/26/11 at Miami Miami Gardens, Fla. TBA
09/01/11 vs. Fordham Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. TBA 09/10/11 at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tenn. TBA 09/16/11 vs. Iowa State Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. 8:00 p.m. ET 09/24/11 at Buffalo UB Stadium, Buffalo, N.Y. TBA 10/01/11 vs. Western Michigan Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. TBA 10/08/11 at West Virginia Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WVa. TBA 10/15/11 vs. USF Rentscler Field, East Hartford, Conn. TBA 10/26/11 at Pittsburgh Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pa. 8:00 p.m. ET 11/05/11 vs. Syracuse Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. TBA 11/19/11 vs. Louisville Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. TBA 11/26/11 vs. Rutgers Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn. TBA 12/03/11 at Cincinnati Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio TBA
NBA: Ray Allen was looking pretty ageless on Monday in Salt Lake City, getting 25 points on the night including and a pivotal 3 pointer in Boston's 107-102 of a rejuvenated Utah Jazz. Paul Pierce had 21 points on the night while Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 14 rebounds.
The tenacious win is the Celtics 2nd in a row as they wrap up a 4-game road trip out west immediately after the NBA All Star break, going 3-1 to start off the 2nd half. The Celtics return home on Wednesday night to the Garden where they'll take on the Phoenix Suns at 7:30 PM ET.
NHL: After a pair of 3-1 wins against league leading Vancouver and a resurgent Calgary Flames club, the Bruins had to hold off a late rally to come away with a win in the capital of Alberta Sunday night.
The last-place Edmonton Oilers got on the board first against Boston with a goal from Ales Hemsky barely a minute into the game. Michael Ryder would provide the equalizer with five minutes left in the first, followed by Nathan Horton putting Boston up 2-1 with less than two minutes remaining.
New acquisition Rich Peverly would get on the board with a goal with two seconds remaining in the 2nd period to make it a 3-1 game. This would be Peverly's first tally as a Boston Bruin.
The Oilers showed signs of life in the 3rd stanza, with Gilbert Brule scoring for the Oilers about 3 minutes into the 3rd and the Bruins. TukkaRask managed to turn aside a flurry of Edmonton shots late in regulation, but Rask held on for the win, stopping 15 of 17 shots faced. The win is Boston's 5th in a row- all of them on the road.
The Bruins road trip through Canada continues into Tuesday when the Bruins head back to the Canadian capital to take on the Senators at 7:30 PM ET.
SPRING TRAINING: Some disconcerting news out of Ft. Meyers as P Josh Beckett is reportedly exhibiting mild concussion symptoms after being struck in the back of the head by a ball during batting practice at City of Palms Park.
He left the field under his own power, but was accompanied by Red Sox trainers before being sent home to rest after being examined by team doctors. The team is awaiting a more detailed report on Tuesday.
NHL- As far as the Bruins are concerned, I'm liking the road trip out west.
The B's came into Vancouver on Saturday night winners of 3 in a row. Of course, two of those wins were tallied against dysfunctional team like the NY Islanders or Ottawa Senators. Calgary was a much better test which they managed to pass, but on Saturday they were up against the league-leading Canucks.
The night before, Vancouver native Milan Lucic was honored by a local junior hockey club. The following night, he ends up scoring the game-winning goal for the B's against the NHL team with the best record.
Vancouver got on the board first with a tally from C Manny Malhotra in the 1st period before Boston would get the equalizer off the stick of Nathan Horton midway through the 2nd.
With dozens of friends and relatives watching in the stands, Lucic scored the go-ahead goal with 4:38 remaining in regulation and with just under two minutes remaining, Patrice Bergeron gave the B's some insurance with an empty netter after the Canucks pulled Roberto Luongo for the extra attacker.
This makes it four wins in a row and the 2nd consecutive game where Boston has won 3-1. Tim Thomas stopped 27 of 28 shots faced while Roberto Luongo faced 24 shots, stopping 22.
The Bruins next game is on Sunday night at Edmonton- puck drops at 5PM Pacific, 8PM Eastern.
NBA- After Thursday's 85-79 loss to a Carmello Anthony-less Denver Nuggets, the western road trip hasn't been as kind to the Celtics as it has the Bruins, but the C's managed to wrap up all of Saturday's NBA action with a win at staples Center against the Clippers.
Kendrick Perkins was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for F Jeff Green and C NenadKsrtic and the Clipper's 1st round pick in the 2012 NBA draft. Saturday night would mark the Boston debut of the two new acquisitions. Despite the sluggish and lethargic 1st half where Boston was trailing 47-40, the C's would come right back and make a game of it.
Paul Pierce led the scoring for Boston with 24 points while Ray Allen had 22, Kevin Garnett had 16 and Glen 'Big Baby' Davis came off the bench for 10. Krstic started with 9 points and 6 rebounds while Green came off the bench for 7 points and one rebound in Saturday's 99-92 win over the Clippers- G Randy Foye had a 32-point night in the losing effort for the Clippers.
The C's next game will be on Monday night against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City at 9PM Eastern- 7PM Mountain time.
MLB: Hall of Fame Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider passed away at a Southern California Convalescent hospital, according to a statement from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which released a statement on behalf of Snider's family. According to Snider's family, he had been ill for several months and was being cared for at an Escondido, CA convalescent hospital.
Snider batted a career .295 and hit 407 homeruns in a career that started in 1947 with the Brookly Dodgers and saw him win an elusive World Series Title with 'dem bums' and play his home games in Los Angeles when the Dodgers moved across the country. He finished his career in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants.
Snider retired to an avocado farm in Fallbrook, CA after his playing career. In the 1990s, he faced legal troubles because he failed to report revenue from signing autographs, appearances and memorabilia sales to the IRS.
The Dodgers retired Snider's number in 1980, the same year he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
ELSEWHERE: The Red Sox will kick off Spring Training with a 'home and away' series against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday (while, curiously enough, never leaving the city of Ft. Meyers, FL). Opening pitch is 7PM Eastern Time.
NBA- After Thursday's 85-79 loss to a 