I know it surprises no one but I firmly attained my title as hockey junkie when I had nothing to watch this weekend and found myself tuning in to the NHL Network to watch the MasterCard Memorial Cup. For those who don't know that is the yearly tournament at the end of the hockey season to determine the champion of Canadian major junior hockey. It takes the champions of the three major junior leagues (the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) and a fourth qualifier and puts them in a round robin and then the upper two play for the final championship. I was watching the Drummondville Voltiguers (QMJHL champion) against the Windsor Spitfires (OHL champion). It was a great game that was like watching really good college hockey (they are all college aged kids after all). What really amused me was that the two Quebec teams (yes, I watched another game of the round robin on Sunday as well) were loaded with French-Canadiens and hearing the announcer at the rink in Rimouski, Quebec make the lineup announcements was just great. It brought a smile to my face and I actually enjoyed the hockey which I thought might take a while after watching the Bruins lose earlier in the week.
Here's to the NHL Network giving us junkies our fix!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Is the golden age over?
This weekend the Celtics finished off an abysmal week for Boston sports with a lackluster 4th quarter effort that ousted them from the playoffs. But perhaps something more than that ended last night as the buzzer sounded and the Garden goes quiet until October....
Back in April of 2001, the only championship this city had seen in 15 years was a BU hockey national title in 1995 (and we all know how I feel about that). Since then, BC has won two hockey titles (and been to 2 other national title games), the Patriots have won 3 Super Bowls (and been to a 4th), the Red Sox have won 2 World Series, the Celtics won an NBA title, and even the Revolution have been to 4 MLS Cups and won the SuperLiga and the US Open Cup. It has truly been a magical 8 years in the Hub. But there are signs this era may be ending.
Injuries have been the biggest problem that is hindering these teams and how those injuries will affect the long run will determine if this is truly the end. The Pats have to face the fact that Brady's knee injury could severely alter his career and they may only have a small one or two year window to win it all again before having to rebuild for a few years. The performance at that last Super Bowl against the Giants may not have been an aberration but a sign that some retooling must be done for them to reattain their past glory. The stalwarts of those Super Bowl champion teams (Vrabel, Bruschi, Brady, Law, Seymour) are either gone or are probably on the downside of their careers.
The Celtics reached an incredible summit last year after years of mediocrity. They looked poised to make another run this year but the injury to Garnett was just too much to overcome. Despite their incredible play against both Chicago and Orlando, in the end they just did not have enough. Knee injuries can level a man's career. Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill will both attest to how a bad knee injury will take you from a star to a role player. The Celtics need Garnett the star if they want to win.
For the Bruins, the future may not be as bad as they do not face an off-season with injury questions but instead actual roster questions abound. If the salary cap actually does go down as many have predicted, the Bruins will be obligated to cut payroll as they are currently up against it. Letting people like Mark Recchi and Manny Frenandez will help but they still have free agents that they need to keep and they are going to be faced with tough decisions in the next two years. The Kessel versus Krejci debate is already raging on many sports pages (my call is Krejci - more complete player with a bigger upside) and the chemistry that existed with this season's team may be hard to duplicate. In addition, no one is going to over look this team next year as many did early in the season. It was truly sad that such a great year had to end in such lackluster fashion with a team unable to raise their game for a home ice game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
BC hockey is looking at a complete retool year. Nothing seemed to work for them, the defense was a mess, Ben Smith and Joe Whitney took huge steps backward, and they could not score. From one source at the Frozen Four, the Rant learned that Tommy Cross was fighting a knee injury all year, Brock Bradford was not a very motivating team captain, and more than likely this injury for John Muse was not something that propped up out of nowhere. More than likely this will be a very down year but with players like Philip Sammuelsson, Steve Whitney, and Chris Kreider coming in the next two years the 2010-2011 Eagles should be back in the think of things in the national picture. We just have to wait it out.
Which brings us to the Red Sox. As mentioned in this space recently, age is catching up to the final holdovers from the championship teams (Varitek, Ortiz, and Wakefield). Varitek is largely the same as he has been (still batting in the low .200s with a little more power but unable to thrown out anyone on the basepaths), Ortiz struggles have been well documented and do not need to be rehashed here, and while Wakefield has had a strong start can a man of his age keep it up over the whole season as he has broken down late in the year recently. Cap that with the struggles of Lester and Beckett and the absolutely horrid defense at shortstop between both Lugo and Nick Green (cost the team at least three games that I can think of off the top of my head) and you have a recipe for disaster. This team is struggling and may need to make some real change and trade some players to make a difference. One thing we should all have learned since 2003 is that the Sox are willing to make those changes in order to succeed.
All these teams have serious issues facing them if they want to maintain their recent successes. They can't all keep up this level and it may make the end of Boston has the beacon of sporting success it has been for the past 8 years. I'll be sad to see it go but I certainly enjoyed it while it was here.
Back in April of 2001, the only championship this city had seen in 15 years was a BU hockey national title in 1995 (and we all know how I feel about that). Since then, BC has won two hockey titles (and been to 2 other national title games), the Patriots have won 3 Super Bowls (and been to a 4th), the Red Sox have won 2 World Series, the Celtics won an NBA title, and even the Revolution have been to 4 MLS Cups and won the SuperLiga and the US Open Cup. It has truly been a magical 8 years in the Hub. But there are signs this era may be ending.
Injuries have been the biggest problem that is hindering these teams and how those injuries will affect the long run will determine if this is truly the end. The Pats have to face the fact that Brady's knee injury could severely alter his career and they may only have a small one or two year window to win it all again before having to rebuild for a few years. The performance at that last Super Bowl against the Giants may not have been an aberration but a sign that some retooling must be done for them to reattain their past glory. The stalwarts of those Super Bowl champion teams (Vrabel, Bruschi, Brady, Law, Seymour) are either gone or are probably on the downside of their careers.
The Celtics reached an incredible summit last year after years of mediocrity. They looked poised to make another run this year but the injury to Garnett was just too much to overcome. Despite their incredible play against both Chicago and Orlando, in the end they just did not have enough. Knee injuries can level a man's career. Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill will both attest to how a bad knee injury will take you from a star to a role player. The Celtics need Garnett the star if they want to win.
For the Bruins, the future may not be as bad as they do not face an off-season with injury questions but instead actual roster questions abound. If the salary cap actually does go down as many have predicted, the Bruins will be obligated to cut payroll as they are currently up against it. Letting people like Mark Recchi and Manny Frenandez will help but they still have free agents that they need to keep and they are going to be faced with tough decisions in the next two years. The Kessel versus Krejci debate is already raging on many sports pages (my call is Krejci - more complete player with a bigger upside) and the chemistry that existed with this season's team may be hard to duplicate. In addition, no one is going to over look this team next year as many did early in the season. It was truly sad that such a great year had to end in such lackluster fashion with a team unable to raise their game for a home ice game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
BC hockey is looking at a complete retool year. Nothing seemed to work for them, the defense was a mess, Ben Smith and Joe Whitney took huge steps backward, and they could not score. From one source at the Frozen Four, the Rant learned that Tommy Cross was fighting a knee injury all year, Brock Bradford was not a very motivating team captain, and more than likely this injury for John Muse was not something that propped up out of nowhere. More than likely this will be a very down year but with players like Philip Sammuelsson, Steve Whitney, and Chris Kreider coming in the next two years the 2010-2011 Eagles should be back in the think of things in the national picture. We just have to wait it out.
Which brings us to the Red Sox. As mentioned in this space recently, age is catching up to the final holdovers from the championship teams (Varitek, Ortiz, and Wakefield). Varitek is largely the same as he has been (still batting in the low .200s with a little more power but unable to thrown out anyone on the basepaths), Ortiz struggles have been well documented and do not need to be rehashed here, and while Wakefield has had a strong start can a man of his age keep it up over the whole season as he has broken down late in the year recently. Cap that with the struggles of Lester and Beckett and the absolutely horrid defense at shortstop between both Lugo and Nick Green (cost the team at least three games that I can think of off the top of my head) and you have a recipe for disaster. This team is struggling and may need to make some real change and trade some players to make a difference. One thing we should all have learned since 2003 is that the Sox are willing to make those changes in order to succeed.
All these teams have serious issues facing them if they want to maintain their recent successes. They can't all keep up this level and it may make the end of Boston has the beacon of sporting success it has been for the past 8 years. I'll be sad to see it go but I certainly enjoyed it while it was here.
Monday, May 11, 2009
No justice in the NHL
And Colin Campbell continues his history of inconsistency. One series after suspending Milan Lucic for a game for cross checking an opposing player near the face, Scott Walker receives a $2,500 fine for sucker punching Aaron Ward.
Let me get this straight. Lucic hits a guy with a his stick a little high, cause a slight cut and gets a 2 minute cross check and a match penalty and receives a one game suspension. Lapierre wasn't even hurt. Walker hits Ward when he doesn't even have his gloves dropped, gets 17 minutes in penalties, and his hit may result in lost time for Ward. Not only does he not receive a suspension for this but even the rule mandated suspension for an instigator penalty in the final 5 minutes of a game is rescinded. Where is the logic in this? How does this make any sense? And on top of it Carolina coach Paul Maurice is allowed to make light of the situation after the game last night and suggest that what happened was no big deal. This is why there will always be fighting in the NHL because if the league brass are not willing to look out for the players on the ice, then the players will just have to do it themselves. I just hope the Bruins don't get too caught up in trying to kill Scott Walker and spend their time trying to win the game first. Make no bones about it, should the game get out of hand one way or another, Shawn Thornton or Byron Bitz is going after Walker.
Let me get this straight. Lucic hits a guy with a his stick a little high, cause a slight cut and gets a 2 minute cross check and a match penalty and receives a one game suspension. Lapierre wasn't even hurt. Walker hits Ward when he doesn't even have his gloves dropped, gets 17 minutes in penalties, and his hit may result in lost time for Ward. Not only does he not receive a suspension for this but even the rule mandated suspension for an instigator penalty in the final 5 minutes of a game is rescinded. Where is the logic in this? How does this make any sense? And on top of it Carolina coach Paul Maurice is allowed to make light of the situation after the game last night and suggest that what happened was no big deal. This is why there will always be fighting in the NHL because if the league brass are not willing to look out for the players on the ice, then the players will just have to do it themselves. I just hope the Bruins don't get too caught up in trying to kill Scott Walker and spend their time trying to win the game first. Make no bones about it, should the game get out of hand one way or another, Shawn Thornton or Byron Bitz is going after Walker.
Who's in and who's out
The collective sigh of relief by Bruins fans last night when Chara came back out on to the ice has been followed by a collective groan as the cheap shot Scott Walker gave to Aaron Ward may have broke his orbital bone. Walker gets an automatic one game suspension for the instigator penalty in the last five minutes of the game but hopefully Colin Campbell will tack on a few more. The 10 games suggested by E.J. Hradek of ESPN seems more appropriate.
I have a better idea. I think that when someone intentionally does something to injure another player they should be suspended for as long as that player is injured. For example, Ulf Samuelsson would have lost years for his knee-to-thigh hit on Cam Neely. Todd Bertuzzi would have been out for good for his hit on Steve Moore. If Ward truly did have his orbital fractured and he has to sit several games or, even worse, the rest of the postseason, then Walker should have to serve a suspension of at least the same length.
I have a better idea. I think that when someone intentionally does something to injure another player they should be suspended for as long as that player is injured. For example, Ulf Samuelsson would have lost years for his knee-to-thigh hit on Cam Neely. Todd Bertuzzi would have been out for good for his hit on Steve Moore. If Ward truly did have his orbital fractured and he has to sit several games or, even worse, the rest of the postseason, then Walker should have to serve a suspension of at least the same length.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Watching the game
So we're off on another marathon session of Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox. All at the same time. Luckily for the NBA and NHL the Bruins and Celtics are on opposite home/away schedules.
8:00 pm - So far things are looking better for the Bruins. They have better energy and halfway through one they are outshooting the Canes 8-0. But we have seen this before in this series. The B's still need to put a puck in the net. Especially Phil Kessel who is goal-less in this series. If your top goal scorer can't put the puck in the net you have problems. This inability to get physical and earn goals may be why the Bruins keep David Krejci and let Kessel go when they are up for free agency.
8:04 pm - lots of pucks crossing in front of the Carolina net but nothing going in. So far very similar to some of the past games - lots of chances but for some reason everything is just off for the Bruins and Cam Ward is making all the big saves. Time to open up Gamecast for the Celtics and Red Sox.
8:13 pm - And there is Boston's first goal. 1-0 Mark Recchi on the power play! The good start just got better. And on an ensuing Carolina power play, Thomas makes his first acrobat saves of the night. The energy is definitely better than it has been in the past three games but they need to follow it up with an even better next 43 minutes.
8:14 pm - Kessel steps up! 2-0. Maybe the luck is finally changing. But it is still early and Carolina has proven quite resilient in the series.
8:17 pm - Period one is over and the Bruins hold the 2-0 lead and a 16-7 shot advantage. This is the first time in four games they have significantly outshot Carolina in a period. Unfortunately it looks like the rough start to the season is continuing for Josh Beckett as Tampa Bay is already up 1-0 with another man on the first. The Beckett/Lester problem has got to be concerning Terry Francona because they are the bedrocks of the pitching staff and if they can't be relied upon to give consistent good starts its going to be a long season for the Sox. Though I love him to death for all he has done for the Sox over his career, when Tim Wakefield is your most reliable starter you have serious issues with your rotation.
8:40 pm - 3-0 and its Kessel again! This is the attack that we watched when the Bruins were hitting on all cylinders early in the season. Krejci is making exciting plays, Kessel is finding the back of the net, the Bruins as a whole are moving the puck smoothly and swiftly. Also, as an aside, I just want to say that I appreciate having this game on Versus so I don't have to listen to Jack Edwards. Worst hockey play-by-play man, ever. I miss Dale Arnold.
8:50 pm - Things looking better for all Boston teams. Jason Bay gets another hit and ends up scoring to tie the game at 1. He may not inspire Manny Ramirez-type fear in opposing pitchers but Bay has been clutch for the Red Sox so far this season and at least he gets to play the whole season. Celtics currently hanging tough mid-way through the second quarter and Perkins is on his way to a double-double if he stays out of foul trouble. As I mentioned in this space before, Perkins is a key for the Celtics in this series with Orlando.
9:05 pm - The beauty of P.J. Axelsson is the little things. His ability to anticipate and pick of neutral zone passes as he just did on the penalty kill are what have made him invaluable for the Bruins during his career.
9:10 pm - Jussi Jokinen just may have bought himself a spot in the Ulf Samuelsson Hall of Fame with a two handed chop to the side of Chara's ankle as the big man dropped like a stone. The Bruins faithful will be waiting with baited breath to see if Chara returns as we go to the second intermission. Winning this game will mean nothing if they lose Chara.
9:18 pm - Rajon Rondo hits a jumper just before half to give the Celtics the 48-46 halftime lead. He is one rebound from his second double-double of the series and Perkins is 2 points and one rebound from having a double-double himself. Coming into tonight you would have said that the Celtics need big things from Rondo and Perkins and that the Bruins needed contributions from Kessel and Recchi among others. So far so good for the Green and the Black & Gold.
9:29 pm - With the good comes the bad sometimes. Chara is back on the ice and the crowd is giving him a huge ovation. But Dustin Pedroia is not so lucky and after hurting himself on a swing has been taken out of the Sox game and replaced by the less than welcome Julio Lugo. The Sox need to hope they haven't lost their second MVP candidate in the last week.
9:38 pm - When will venues learn that handing out free things that can be thrown is never a good idea. As the Hurricanes continue their current march to the sin bin, the free rally towels keep raining down into the box aimed at the Carolina players. Not sure what goes through people's minds when they throw these things, do they really think a "Terrible Towel" is going to hurt someone? Do they think an opposing player is going to be so upset by a terry-cloth burn that it will get them off their game? I guess I am reading too much into the minds of the not so intelligent sports fan...
9:43 pm - The Sox take a 3-1 lead on some nice hitting by Varitek and an error by the Rays. Unfortunately, Green gets caught trying to take more on the error than he should have but I'll take the lead. Taking tonight's game would be huge after the embarrassment of yesterday. The worst part in yesterday was watching the parade of cheap, seeing-eye-singles that allowed most of the runs that drove Lester from the game.
9:46 pm - The rout is on. Lucic makes it 4-0 with only 7 minutes left and the Black and Gold appear to be heading back to Raleigh for a game 6 on Tuesday. They will need this effort again on Tuesday if they want to bring it home for a game 7.
9:50 pm - Even fighting isn't working for the Hurricanes. Conboy has now gotten his clock cleaned by both Mark Stuart and Shawn Thornton. Brickley just made a great point that when the Bruins are playing their best this is type of activity you expect to see out of a passionate and physical Boston crew.
9:59 pm - The physical play is now getting chippy. Scott Walker wanted to go with Aaron Ward, Ward wanted nothing to do with him so Walker cold-cocked Ward when Ward hadn't even dropped his gloves. Luckily Ward was able to cool Lucic out before he went too nuts and got something that could have potentially cost him another suspension. Walker certainly might deserve a fine for hitting an opposing player who clearly was not going to fight him. It got him a quick 17 minutes in penalties for this game.
10:07 pm - Back to Raleigh. The Bruins come up with the dominating 4-0 victory. They beat Carolina in every aspect of this game and this will be the effort necessary to force game 7. Not sure what their chances would be. My co-worker the Frenchman and I were talking about it the other day prior to game 4 and we both agreed the worst thing for the Bruins would be to enter game 6 down 3-2 because of the way the Canes have fed off their home crowd. Celtics and Sox are holding leads at the moment but still a lot of time left in both games and Beckett is looking at bases loaded with only one out and a 3-2 lead.
10:27 pm - As ESPN shows the stats of the Tampa Bay starting rotation, Joe Morgan makes his incredible observation that the Rays have some "questions" in their starting rotation. Not a single pitcher has an ERA below 3.50 and three of them have one over 5. "Questions" Morgan says...gee...you think, Joe? The man gets paid for these deep insights. Sox still tied 3-3 but the Celts are holding a 6 point lead even with Dwight Howard putting in 21 points and getting 13 boards with 5:48 left in regulation, still a good chance for the Boston sweep.
10:44 pm - a cold night for Ray Allen may prove costly for the Celtics as they hold only a 1 point lead with 56.6 seconds left in regulation. Allen is 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
10:51 pm - And the Celtics might blow this. They have been leading almost the entire second half and have given up the lead in the final minutes and now trail by 1 with 11 seconds to play and the Magic have fouls to give. Not a good formula for victory.
10:53 pm - "Big Baby" Glen Davis makes the last second shot to pull off the victory! As Orlando prevented Pierce and Allen from getting anywhere near an open shot. Davis has a huge night and finished with 21 points on an impressive 9-for-14 shooting (even though he missed 5 of 8 field goals). Boston now 2 for 2 on the night with the Sox still tied at 3 in the 8th.
11:12 pm - Manny who? Jason Bay comes up clutch again this season and knocks in the go ahead run to give the Sox the 4-3 lead. He has quickly endeared himself to the Fenway faithful and there will certainly be a push by the media and fans in Boston to prompt Theo and the Red Sox brass to lock Bay up on a long-term contract.
11:30 pm - Bad fielding victimizes the Red Sox and now Papelbon faces 1st and 3rd with no one out and Carlos Pena at the plate. Papelbon has not been as lights out as he has in the past few seasons, it makes you wonder what is going on with the Sox pitching staff in general though they brought Daniel Bard up today for some much needed depth. And Papelbon is just barely missing the plate continually here...I sense a walk coming.
11:40 pm - After getting himself in trouble, Papelbon strikes out Pena, Upton, and Crawford to complete the save and give the Sox the 4-3 victory.
So the marathon ends with Boston teams playing three exciting games and gaining three important victories. Hero Phil Kessel finally scores and puts in two to lead the Bruins to a 4-0 win and to keep the season alive. Hero Glen David hits a clutch basket as time expires to send the Celtics to a 95-94 victory and bringing the series back to Boston tied 2-2. Finally hero Jason Bay knocks in the go ahead run in the 8th inning and Papelbon seals the 4-3 victory giving the Sox a much needed series victory over the Rays as they head out on the road. One of the more exciting nights in months for Boston sports I would just like it with a little less tension next time.
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