Hump Day Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Engineer Twin Killing at Fenway; Feat of Clayton, Dodgers Starter Kershaw Throws No-Hitter; Team USA Gets By Ghana in 1st Round of World Cup While Reigning Spain Mainly Plain; Bruins, Thronton Part Ways; Suprred to Action, San Antionio Wins 5th NBA Title

RED SOX- The streak-ey Red Sox followed up Rubby De LaRosa's gem on Monday night with a couple of pitcher's duels at Fenway on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, Jon Lester got run support in the form of a Pedroia RBI single in the 1st and a Bogaerts sac fly in the 3rd [Brock Holt was the runner that crossed the plate both times- NANESB!] and was able to outlast former Yankees starter Phil Hughes in Boston's 2-1 win on Tuesday night.

Wednesday was an afternoon game as the Red Sox were getting ready to leave on a west coast road trip. Twins starter Kyle Gibson confounded the Red Sox bats, ultimately striking out 8 and not allowing a hit until the bottom of the 5th. Lackey pitched nine complete shutout innings, but got no decision in the afternoon contest.

The first RBI of the game came when Twins outfielder Chris Parmalee belted a solo homer in the top of the 10th off of Koji Uehara in the top of the 10th to give the Twins the first lead of this week's series at Fenway.

However, after Minnesota reliever Casey Fein got Dustin Pedroia to fly out for the first out of the bottom of the 10th, David Ortiz managed to tie the contest up 1-1 with a solo homer that wrapped around the Pesky pole.



But the Red Sox weren't done with the extra-inning heroics....not by a longshot. Speaking of long shots, that's exactly what Mike Napoli did with an 0-2 pitch from Casey Stein that didn't come down until it reached the bleacher seats in the triangle behind deep center field. Boston wins by a 2-1 final, sweeping a surprisingly low-scoring series against Minnesota after splitting a 4-game series against Terry Francona's Indians. Despite scoring a combined total five runs over 3 days, the Red Sox are 3-0 this week. Despite allowing an uncharacteristic homer, Koji Uehara was credited with the win on Wednesday and now has a 2-1 record.

Hopefully some of this momentum will carry over to the west coast as the Red Sox will resume play on Thursday night in Oakland. Jake Peavy [1-4; 4.53 ERA] will get the start against Oakland's Scott Kazmir [8-2; 2.05 ERA] with first pitch scheduled for 10:05 ET, 7:05 PT- the game will be televised on NESN.


OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Red Sox starter Brandon Workman has lost an appeal with MLB and will begin serving a 6-game suspension for throwing at Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria last month. Despite Rays pitchers- including starter David Price- hitting three Red Sox batters, no Tampa Bays pitchers have faced any MLB sanction from the May 30 contest.

Also on Wednesday, the Red Sox released outfielder Grady Sizemore outright. In 52 games with Boston this season, Sizemore has struggled- batting .216 with 2 HR and 15 RBI. June has been particularly hard on him as he's lost playing time with the emergence of Brock Holt and has been batting .133 with only 1 RBI in 30 at-bats.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS- There have been only two no hitters in Major League baseball so far this season and both of them belong to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On Wednesday night, Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw struck out 15 in an 8-0 rout of the Colorado Rockies. The only baserunner to reach was outfielder Corey Dickerson who reached on a throwing error by infielder Hanley Ramirez in the 6th inning, costing Kershaw the chance at a perfect game. Still, Kershaw set down the rest of the batters he faced in order.

Earlier in the season, Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 25th. Interesting, Kershaw's no-hitter was the 19th called by Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully throughout his career calling games in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles- this includes no-hitters thrown against LA, the most recent of which was a combined 6-pitcher no-hitter for the Mariners against LA at Safeco field in Seattle in June 2012.


NCAA BASEBALL- The final four teams for the NCAA College world series are almost set as the Texas Longhorns got by the UC Irvine Anteaters by a 1-0 final in Omaha on Wednesday night.

A baserunning error by the Longhorn's Ben Johnson in the 6th inning cost Texas a run. Johnson hit the ball into the left field corner and advanced to 3rd base, but was called out after it was determined he didn't touch first base. Mark Payton then hit a single that would've easily scored Johnson to give them a 1-0 lead, however, the Anteaters ended the Longhorn threat with no runs allowed.

Instead, CJ Hinojosa got Texas on the board with a solo homer in the 7th inning to give Texas the 1-0 lead that held up thanks to the Longhorns relievers. With just the second 1-0 game in the college World Series since 1985 and only the 23rd homer in the CWS since the venue was moved to TD Ameritrade Park from Rosenblatt stadium in 2011, Texas will now advance to face Vanderbilt on Friday.

Meanwhile, Virginia awaits the winner of Thursday nights contest between the TCU Horned Frogs and Ole Miss Running Rebels. First pitch from Omaha is scheduled for 5:00 ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.

FIFA WORLD CUP- We're already a few days into the FIFA World Cup from Brazil and Team USA is off to a good start.

Rookie John Brooks was the difference-maker in Monday's match against Ghana when the substitute scored in the 86th minute to break a 1-1 deadlock. Team USA would go on to win by a 2-1 final, avenging an earlier loss to Ghana's 'Black Stars' from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. After Monday's win, the USA will have nearly a week's rest to go up against Portugal on Sunday from Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil.

For the World Cup, the USA plays in what some have called 'The Pool of Death' which includes Portugal, Ghana and Germany.

Meanwhile, it's all over for defending World Cup champion Spain. They were blown in by the Netherlands in a devastating 5-1 loss to open up the tournament with a rematch of the 2010 title game before being shut out 2-0 by Chile. For a bit of perspective, Spain allowed all of two goals during their 2010 run in South Africa.

NBA FINALS- In a rematch of the 2013 NBA title that saw Miami win it in 7 games against San Antionio, the 2014 edition was nearly all San Antonio. The Spurs closed out the series with a exclamation point, crushing Miami by a 104-87 final in Game 5, and it wasn't even that close.

Forward Kawhi Leonard was named the tournament MVP and the title was head coach Greg Popovich's fifth since starting his tenure in San Antonio in 1996.

NFL- In a ruling from the US Trademark and Patent office this week, the Washington Redskins may lose copyright protection for their name and logo after the Agency's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that the name was disparaging of Native Americans.

The Redskins organization announced that they would appeal the ruling and the team's copyrighted name and logo will still be protected during that time. While a number of Native American groups [including some of the Navajo Code Talkers from WWII- NANESB!] have said they have no issue with the Redskins name, a number of local and federal politicians- including US Senate Majority leader Harry Reid [D- NV] have called upon the organization to change names and threatening legal or legislative action to do so [because all the other problems in America- ESPECIALLY on Indian reservations- have been solved- NANESB!].

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has so far resisted pressure to change the Redskins name and mascot. The team was originally formed in 1932 as the Boston Braves and played at Fenway Park before moving to Washington DC in 1937.


BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins have decided not to re-sign defenseman Shawn Thornton. The 36 year old became a free agent at the end of the season.

Thornton, who has been with Boston since 2007 has been in two Stanley Cup finals, winning it against Vancouver in 7 games in 2011. However, at the end of the season Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli indicated that the game was moving away from the fisticuffs that Thornton specialized him and that they would make a decision about his future in Boston over the next few weeks. More recently, Thornton received a 15 suspension last season for his beatdown of Pittsburgh Penguins enforcer Brooks Orpik after Thornton blindsided him and dragged him down to the ice.

The announcement allows Thornton to pursue other offers as a free agent and a number of teams would be interested in having a veteran player with his playoff experience on the ice.

Break A Leg Sports Chowdah Update- Campbell Gone, But Bruins Take 3-0 Series Lead in Eastern Conference Finals; Big Papi Makes Rangers Pay

Steve Babineau/Getty Images

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS- To be honest, this was the kind of game I was expecting from Pittsburgh all along.

Although the Bruins got out the early 1-0 lead against Pittsburgh in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Garden on Wednesday night, this would not be a repeat of Monday night's game 2 blowout.

David Krejci put the Bruins on the board with a quick even strength goal- his 9th of the postseason- just 1:42 into the first period, the Bruins first shot of the game as it turned out. After that, getting one past Pittsburgh's Tomas Vokoun was about as easy as getting one past a brick wall.

Not quite nine minutes into the second, Chris Kunitz got the Penguins on the board with an even strength goal. With the game tied at 1-1 and the Penguins on the power play late in the second, Bruins F Greg Campbell slid down to block a Evgeni Malkin shot before getting back up and limping around for another 40 seconds- attempting to block another shot and chipping the puck out during the remainder of his shift. As it turned out, the shot broke Campbell's right leg and the forward will miss the remainder of the season.

With the game deadlocked at 1-1 and both Rask and Vokoun turning aside everything that came their way in the 3rd, the game headed to overtime. Despite a trio of power plays in the first OT, the Bruins still weren't able to get anything by Vokoun and the game remained deadlocked 1-1 heading into the second OT.

With just under five minutes remaining in the second overtime, it almost looked as though we'd be heading for a 3rd OT until this happened.

In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Patrice Bergeron ended Game 3 on a tip in that got past Vokoun to give Boston the 2-1 win and a seemingly commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

Rask turned aside 53 shots throughout the night (29 of those shots coming in the 3rd period or OT) while Vokoun stopped 38. Neither team capitalized on the power play, with the Bruins going 0-5 and the Penguins going 0-6. The Bruins have a chance to sweep the Penguins and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final with a Game 4 win on Friday night. Game 4 will get underway Friday night at 8:00 ET from the Garden with the game being televised on the NBC Sports Network and the CBC.

As an aside, let me just pose the question: How big was Wednesday night's win? Think about it- instead of Pittsburgh cutting the series lead in half with no Campbell, the Bruins are now firmly in control of their own destiny and one game away from returning to the Stanley Cup Final.

ELSWHERE IN THE NHL- A go-ahead goal from Chicago's Marian Hossa early in the 3rd period broke a 2-2 deadlock and handed the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings their first home loss of the postseason on Thursday night. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford turned aside 19 of 21 shots faced and Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell also scored for the Hawks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Like the Bruins, one more win separates the Blackhawks from a return to the Stanley Cup. Should both the Bruins and Blackhawks advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, this will be the first time since the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals that two Original Six teams will be in the Championship game.

Charles Krupa- AP Photo

RED SOX- After exploding for 17 runs on Monday, the Red Sox bats were fairly quiet against Texas starter Alexi Ogando and the Rangers bullpen on Wednesday night. Boston managed only five hits and left 8 runners on base in their 3-2 loss against the Rangers, setting up a rubber game for Thursday night.

Serving as the Rangers DH, Jeff Baker got the Rangers out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second with a shot off of Jon Lester. In the top of the 3rd inning, former Red Sox 3B Adrian Beltre would add to the Texas lead with a 1-out solo homer [the Red Sox were fortunate it wasn't a 2-run blast as 1B was thrown out attempting to stretch a single into a double to lead off the inning- NANESB!].

The Red Sox finally got on the board and cut into the Texas lead after a 2-out 2-RBI double by Dustin Pedroia off of Rangers starter Derek Holland in the bottom of the 3rd. Things would look promising for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 5th after Ellsbury belted a ground-rule double to start off the bottom half of the frame. Gomes singled to left to bring Ellsbury within 90 feet of home, but was tagged out by Texas catcher AJ Pierzynski at home when he tried scoring on a fielder's choice off the bat of Pedroia. Big Papi then hit into a double play to end the inning and seemingly kill the Red Sox momentum.

In the bottom of the 7th, Ellsbury once again led off the inning with a double off of Texas reliever Robbie Ross. Gomes followed that up with a single, and while Pedroia struck out, Ross walked Ortiz to load the bases. Rangers manager Ron Washington then pulled Ross for former Blue Jay Jayson Frasor, and this time Ellsbury came home to tie the game on a fielder's choice hit by Mike Napoli. Although Daniel Nava would strike out to end the inning, the Red Sox bullpen would pitch two shutout innings against Texas.

Michael Kirkman came in to pitch the bottom of the 9th for the Rangers and immediately gave up a leadoff double to the deepest part of the park to Johnny Gomes. Ron Washington then counter-intuitively had Kirkman walk Pedroia so they could pitch to Big Papi. Big Papi responded by doing this:

Instead of the Rangers running the risk of any hit from Pedroia bringing home Gomes and Texas losing by a 4-3 final, Big Papi blasts the first pitch he sees into the Texas bullpen for the 6-3 win. The Red Sox take two out of three from the AL West leaders, wrapping up the regular season series in dramatic fashion.

Despite leaving 10 runners stranded, the Red Sox had a pretty good night in the batter's box. Both Gomes and Ellsbury went 4-5 on the night and Big Papi's 3-run homer was his first hit of the evening. Neither starter factored into the decision- Andrew Bailey was credited with the win and Kirkman gets the loss.

The Red Sox will next host the Anaheim Angels over the weekend, with Felix Doubront [4-2; 4.88 ERA] will get the start against the Angels' Tommy Hanson [2-2; 4.19 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET [weather permitting- NANESB!] and the game will be televised on NESN.

NBA FINALS- Despite the advanced age of some of their marquee players and nine days off, the San Antonio Spurs showed no signs of rust in Thursday night's opening game of the 2013 NBA Finals. The last time LeBron James faced the Spurs was the 2007 NBA finals when he was still with Cleveland. Despite professing to be fifty times better, his triple double on Thursday night wasn't enough to get the Eastern Conference champs past the Spurs. San Antonio point guard Tony Parker had 21 points on the night- 10 of them coming in the 4th quarter as the Spurs rallied, but none more important than this one late in the 4th.

Parker quiets the home crowd with a late buzzer-beater to give the Spurs some insurance. San Antonio wins Game 1 of the NBA finals by a final of 92-88.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Grimm Prognosis for Rangers in Game 1 at Fenway; MLB Expected to Dish Out Suspensions Over "BALCO East" Clinic; Fit For a King- LA Shows Signs of Life in Western Conference Final

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

RED SOX- If Ryan Demptser was worried about getting some run support in pursuit of only his third win of the season, the Red Sox bats put those concerns to rest quickly on Tuesday night's home game against the Rangers.

Rookie Texas starter Justin Grimm lasted only 1⅔ innings and surrendered eight earned runs, and the Red Sox were just getting started. Among the second inning highlights was rookie Jackie Bradley Jr hitting his first career homer- a 2-run blast to make it 4-0 at the time. After Grimm gave up a single to Daniel Nava and walked Mike Carp, the Rangers starter got Dustin Pedroia to fly out before Big Papi belted a 2-RBI triple off of him into the triangle at center field. Ortiz hardly had time to catch his breath from ambling around the bases before coming home on a Mike Napoli sac fly. Grimm would then give up a double to Saltalamacchia before getting the hook from manager Ron Washington.

Boston would jump on top by an 8-0 margin in the second inning and never look back from there. After getting swept by the Rangers in Arlington last month, the Red Sox teed off on Grimm and the Texas bullpen, notching 19 hits in their 17-5 win over the Rangers. There were literally too many hits to count, but the highlights included a slumping Stephen Drew going 4-5 with a homer and 2 RBI, Mike Carp going 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI, Jackie Bradley Jr's going 1-5 and with 3 RBI- including his first career homer- and Big Papi's first triple since 2011. The 17 runs represents a season best from the Red Sox.

Dempster went 7 innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs and striking out six for just his 3rd win of the season and Jason Frasor is the only pitcher out of the Texas bullpen who didn't allow a hit on Tuesday night.

As gratifying as the win was, it still only counts as one game and the two teams will go back at it on Wednesday night. John Lackey [3-5; 2.96 ERA] is scheduled to get the start against Alexi Ogando [4-2; 3.08 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and ESPN2.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The head of a Miami-area clinic accused of supplying performance enhancing drugs to MLB players has agreed to be interviewed by the league, which will likely result in some big-name suspensions according to ESPN.

Tony Bosch, founder of the now-shuttered Biogenesis of America, reached an agreement this week to cooperate with MLB's investigation, two sources told "Outside the Lines," giving MLB the ammunition officials believe they need to suspend the players.

One source familiar with the case said the commissioner's office might seek 100-game suspensions for Rodriguez, Braun and other players, the penalty for a second doping offense. The argument, the source said, is the players' connection to Bosch constitutes one offense, and previous statements to MLB officials denying any such connection or the use of PEDs constitute another.

Sources said Bosch will meet with MLB officials in New York on Friday to begin sharing information and materials. He is expected to meet with lawyers and investigators for several days. The announcement of suspensions could follow within two weeks.

Sources said discussions between Bosch and MLB were delayed while Bosch's lawyers spoke to the U.S. Attorney's office to get a sense of what sort of legal jeopardy Bosch might face. Before he would agree to a deal, sources said, he wanted an assurance that MLB could help mitigate any criminal exposure. MLB officials promised to do what they could, but do not have the power to stop a federal criminal investigation.

Investigators have had records naming about 20 players for more than a month. But without a sworn statement from Bosch that the records are accurate and reflect illicit interactions between the players and the self-described biochemist, the documents are little more than a road map.

Besides Rodriguez and Braun, other players named in the Biogenesis client list include Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Nelson Cruz, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and many others who are identified by codename.

A spokeswoman for Yankees 2B Robinson Cano's foundation also appears on the client list, but according to MLB sources, the New York infielder is in no immediate danger of suspension.

The New York Yankees likely anticipated the news about the Biogenesis client list- at least as far as A-Rod was concerned. Over the weekend, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner made comments expressing his disappointment in the third baseman who signed a new 10-year $275 million contract in 2007. Yankees GM Brian Cashman also stated in an interview that A-Rod clearly hadn't lived up to his massive contract. It's likely these statements were made during the series against the Red Sox over the weekend to preempt any announcement from MLB regarding A-Rod's involvement in the Biogenesis labs scandal.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS- Although they fell into a quick 0-2 hole in the Western Conference finals, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings remain undefeated at home in the postseason, and Tuesday night was no different.

Like Game 1 of the western Conference Finals, the Kings got out to an early 1-0 lead. However, unlike Game 1, Los Angeles was able to maintain their lead- although it looked somewhat tenuous in the 3rd period.

Justin Williams put LA on the board just 3:21 into the game and Slava Voynov got what would prove to be the game-winner six and a half minutes into the second period. Midway through the second period, Chicago's Duncan Keith hit Jeff Carter with a high stick. Carter would leave the game and require multiple stitches while the Blackhawks are waiting on word from director of player safety Brendan Shanahan on whether or not Keith will receive a suspension.

Chicago got on the board and cut the lead in half in the closing seconds of the second period on an unassisted goal by Bryan Bickell. Kings netminder Jonathan Quick would be kept busy in the third, but Dwight King would clinch the game late for LA as he tallied an empty-netter to put the Kings on top 3-1.

The series will resume will LA trailing 2 games to 1 on Thursday night. Wednesday night's NHL action will feature the Game 3 of the Eastern conference finals from Boston as the Bruins look to go up 3-0 on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

NBA- After a decisive 7th game against the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat are the Eastern Conference champions. The Heat bested the Pacers by a 99-76 final in Game 7 on Monday night. Miami's LeBron James led scoring for the Heat with 32 points, 8 rebounds and four assists on the night.

The Heat will face the San Antonio Spurs, who completed a sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies a week prior to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Game one is set for Thursday night in Miami and will get underway at 9:00 ET. The game will be televised on ABC.

OTHER NBA NEWS- Point guard Jason Kidd has announced his retirement from the NBA this week. Kidd was named co-rookie of the year along with Grant Hill back in 1995 and was an all-star ten times throughout his 19 year career. In addition to leading the NBA in steals in 2002 and assists per game in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004, Kidd also won a gold medal with the US Men's Olympic basketball team during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

After playing for the Cal Golden Bears, Kidd played for the Mavericks, Suns, Nets and most recently, the New York Knicks.

Sports Chowdah Update for March 25-29- Atlanta Catching up to Beantown After Lackluster Performances; Frozen Four Matchups Set

NHL: After posting a 5-0 shutout against the Calgary Flames with Tim Thomas between the pipes on Saturday, the Bruins got a whiff of 7th place (meaning they wouldn't have to play the Washington Capitals in the 1st round) before falling to the division-leading Buffalo Sabres on Monday night by a final of 3-2.

Although David Krejci got Boston on the board in the first, Buffalo countered with goals from Tyler Myers and Paul Gaustad in that same period. Tim Kennedy would go on to score for Buffalo in the 2nd period and Ryan Miller stopped 40 shots on the night; including Marco Sturm's 1st period penalty shot and Mark Recchi's attempt from point-blank as time expired. Tim Thomas stopped 11 of 14 shots faced and was pulled for Tukka Rask after allowing the 3rd goal. Rask stopped all 19 shots he faced.

The loss knocks the Bruins back to the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference, as Philadelphia won in their Sunday game against the NJ Devils. Atlanta is now only two points behind Boston and the B's have lost 2 out of their last 3 games. The Bruins will travel to Newark, NJ to take on the Devils Tuesday night.

NBA: The Celtics didn't fare much better on Sunday's nationally televised game against San Antonio on ESPN. The Tony Parker-less Spurs simply thumped the Celtics 94-73 thanks in no small part to Manu Ginobli's 28 points. Richard Jefferson added 16 points on top of 11 rebounds in his night's work for San Antonio.

Paul Pierce had 18 points and was 10-11 from the free-throw line, but other than that, the C's offensive output was largely forgettable on Sunday night. The loss puts them in a virtual tie with the Atlanta Hawks for 3rd place in the Eastern conference (both 10 and 1/2 games behind Eastern conference-leading Cleveland). The Celtics will take on Oklahoma City on Wednesday night at the Garden.

MLB: Josh Beckett threw for 6 innings, giving up 3 runs (1 unearned), six hits and a walk to Tampa Bay while striking out eight in his last outing of the spring, a 9-3 loss to the Rays on Monday afternoon. The Red Sox will take on the Rays again at Tampa's spring training facility in Port Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon (reportedly this will be nationally televised on ESPN).

NCAA Frozen Four: For the third time in the last 4 seasons, Boston College has advanced to the NCAA's Frozen Four Men's hockey tournament by defeating Alaska-Fairbanks 3-1 on Saturday and outlasting Yale 9-7 on Sunday. This sets up a showdown with Miami of Ohio after their 3-2 win over Michigan on Sunday. The winner of the Miami (OH)/BC game will take on the winner of the North Dakota/Rochester Institute of Technology game at Detroit's Ford Field on April 10, 2010.

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

Boston Herald/Matt Stone

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

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

(AP)

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

(AP)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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