Breathe in, Breathe out

I'm largely at peace with the world. Which is nice. It's never particularly easy for a Boston sports fan to be completely happy on all fronts. I mean, come on, there's just so much unnerving stuff going on at any one time for anyone to be completely at peace. But I think I'm in a pretty good place at this point. I just try to breathe in, breathe out, think about Clay Buchholz instead of Marc Savard, and let some of Boston's most storied franchises keep me happy.

The first ingredient in happiness these days is to forget about the debacle of the decade for the Bruins a few weeks ago. I know everyone knows what happened, but the Bruins blew a 3-0 lead against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Once that happened, I couldn't wait to get the taste out of my mouth by any means necessary. Unfortunately, the fact that the Flyers are still playing in the Stanley Cup finals (that could have been you, B's!!) and that they pulled even at two games a piece last night is disturbing. The way that the Bruins went down and the fact that they could have played the eight seeded Montreal Canadiens for a shot at the Stanley Cup playoffs makes the Bruins collapse all the worse.

But, like I said, I've found peace, and I'll tell you why. This Flyers team has won me over. While most teams could have pulled off the seven game series against the Canadiens, it takes real grit to skate with an offensive minded Chicago Blackhawks team in the Stanley Cup finals. This is no fluke. The Flyers elevated their game for the playoffs and have displayed an offense that any Bruins fan would slobber over. Michael Leighton has shown poise and determination in the backup goalie position and Peter Laviolette has prepared his guys very, very well.

But what happened to the Broad Street Bullies, these-guys-play-dirty mentality? Well, in my humble opinion, that sort of gameplay has not been the Flyer's strong point this Stanley Cup Finals series. Instead of Daniel Carcillo and Scott Hartnell doing horrid acting jobs and feigning finger biting (maneuvers that made me cringe when they played the Bruins) the team has relied on the pure goal-scoring skills of Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, and Mike Richards. That combined with their maintenance of a sportsmanlike physical edge has transformed them into a team that one can support in good conscience (not that Philly fans have good consciences anyway). Little joke there- I'm sure some fans have a Jiminy Cricket on their shoulder, but there is something to be said for a team that yells 'taze him, taze him!' when a guy runs on the field at a Phillie's baseball game.

So, I'm sort of at peace with the hockey world. I give the Flyers all the credit in the world for their run, and I am very happy with the series they are putting on in the Stanley Cup Finals. Peter Laviolette is a respectable coach with heart and talent as well, giving the team an added dimension.

I am not going to say that I am, or ever will be, at peace with the Bruins' blown lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The fact that the Flyers are doing so well helps and hurts the matter, for obvious reasons. The B's got beat by a team that isn't a fluke, but could have gone far if they had held on for one more game. It is crystal clear that the majority of the blame for the Bruins' collapse belongs on the Bruins' shoulders. I'm not going to go into the lay-down-and-die-when-we're-up mentality that did the Bruins in this postseason (see my previous articles). All I can say is that the combination of factors in the rest of the NHL postseason and the success of other Boston sports teams in the wake of the Bruins' tragedy have left me calmer than I was before. Which is a good thing. The Bruins will be a better team next year. If they can shift their mentality, they can really make some stuff happen. I am content to wait until then.

Before I get too mushy on Philly (maybe I'm too late), I'd like to point out that I am rooting for the Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup. Nothing personal, Flyers. of the Eastern Conference teams in the playoffs, you were one of the few I wouldn't have minded to make it all the way (over the Washington Capitals, the Canadiens, and the Pittsburgh Penguins? of course!). However, they way the Flyers beat the Bruins, albeit the Bruins' fault, leaves me with no choice but to root against them. It's great that they've revealed themselves to be a talented team that can still win while playing fair, but I'm taking Chicago.

I've always been partial to Chicago teams. Since Tedy Bruschi retired from the NFL, the Chicago Bears' Brian Urlacher has been in the running for my favorite NFL players. Stories of refrigerator Perry and 'da Bears' peaked my interest. I fell in love with the Cubs and their 100+ year drought for a world series championship. The Bulls and Michael Jordan have always been a respectable franchise, changing the game for the better, and the Blackhawks, an original six team with a drought similar to the Bruins' just deserves to be supported. Players like Dustin Byfuglien are hard workers that demand respect. Patrick Kane is a home grown star that can stick handle with the best of them. Chicago is also just a beautiful city. After Boston, if there was another city that I would live in, it would absolutely be Chicago. I am rooting for the Blackhawks all the way, and the fact that this series has just become a best of three has left me at peace with the hockey world.


On the basketball side of things, you might wonder just why I am so peaceable when the Celtics blew game one against the dreaded Lakers in game one of the NBA Finals. I'll give you the quick version, since it will sound awfully familiar. Reason number one, the Celtics are a veteran team that has made bouncing back their strong point all season long. If the Celtics get swept by the Lakers, losing each game the way they lost the first, I will be very, very surprised. They will turn it on. Glen Davis, Nate Robinson, and Tony Allen will have their big games off the bench that were lacking in game one. Paul Pierce will be able to shut down Ron Artest. Kevin Garnett will be able to shut down Kobe Bryant. Maybe it will be on and off. This Laker team is good. But, it will happen.

Reason two, the Lakers are a team this year. Two years ago, the Lakers were the antichrist of NBA basketball. They did what Kobe wanted and lost because of it (thank goodness). This year, Kobe may not be too happy about it, but he is sharing the spotlight. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom deserve plenty of credit for what the Lakers have done to this point. When they play as a team, the Lakers' brand of basketball is much more respectable.

Now, I'm not saying that the Lakers are little miss goody two shoes, here. Don't forget that their star player is a rapist, that Laker fans love their pink hats more than their basic basketball knowledge (just ask one of them what a rebound is. I dare ya) (This article says it all:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/22/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20100523

Yup, come playoff time, all Lakers fans care about is who is going to be on kiss cam during the big games. Back to the team, though, don't forget Sasha Vujacic's disgusting and immature resistance to the color green two years ago (I'd love to shove it in his face again). Basically, there is still a lot to hate about the Lakers this year, which makes this series so great, as any Lakers/Celtics series should be. Tonight, keep an eye on the big three. I expect breakout games from the three of them, and it will start with the freeing up of Rajon Rondo, the assist master. Ultimately, I have a hard time picking either team in this series, but the fact that Boston has performed so well when they have promised to perform well makes me give them the edge. I'll take Boston for banner eighteen in seven games.

There will be more intense articles about the Red Sox in the near future (when the Celtics are done), but rest assured, I am at peace with them as well. Clay Buchholz has hit his stride, and will be awarded the Cy Young award at the end of this season. Once John Lackey picks up his game, the Red Sox will be in good shape to do what they set out to do this season. After all, an 11-0 win against any team is enough to satisfy most baseball fans for at least one night.

Finally, after their second consecutive season with an America East championship and an NCAA win, this time against UMass Amherst, the premier program in the northeast, the Boston University softball team ended their season with a loss to Long Island University 5-4 last week. This team was something to be appreciated. Coming off of a season where they lost much of their talent, they rallied behind superb pitching and a deadly lineup of hitters. April Setterlund was recently named to the first team All-American, becoming the first BU softball player to achieve such honors. The results of the season were fitting for the excellent effort that the team put forth. An article on Setterlund and her accomplishment can be found here.

http://www.dailyfreepress.com/sports/setterlund-earns-all-america-first-team-honors-1.2272457

Needless to say, I am very much at peace with the success of the team, one that I followed this whole spring semester. And, of course, on the whole (haha), Boston is looking all right. I'll save my panicking for another day, because today, or at least until tip off tomorrow night, I am at peace.

C's May be Enough to Get By

After a difficult winter semester, after all of the papers, final exams, and oral presentations, the average student often finds themselves waiting with sweaty palms for their final grades before the summer can begin. In the sporting world, fans can relate. Now into the thick of the baseball season, with the smell of Italian sausage and the sound of ticket scalpers in the air, it is that time again for Boston sports fans to receive their report card. This year, B's will be hard to come by, but C's may be just enough to get by.

There is nothing like a perfectly cheesy metaphor that falls into sports writer's lap. I apologize for the report card analogy, but the fact that the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins can be abbreviated as common report card grades is just too good to pass up. And it's true. This season, Boston fans that have been starving for some B's are going to have to settle for C's instead. Beggars can't be choosers.

After the Bruins passed up a route to the Stanley Cup Finals that was served on a silver platter, it became clear which of Boston's winter teams has the right attitude in the playoffs. The Celtics' three game lead against the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals is a testament to hard work, sticktoitiveness, confidence and determination, qualities that the Bruins lacked. Both of the teams' runs into the playoffs were unexpected to most. Few expected a Bruins team that underachieved all year and carried only 91 points into the post season to go far, nor did they have much hope for a Celtic team that went 27-24 in the 2010 regular season. Both teams stumbled down the stretch, and both kicked off the dust in April.

It's a good quality to have, to be able to flick the switch and perform in the playoffs. If that is how a team expects to act however, it had better be prepared to keep it up for the long haul. If that team can't bring home the hardware at the end of the season, their late performances will have been for naught. Take the Bruins. I'll be the first to admit that I fell for the team that the Bruins put on the ice against the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers in the first one and a half rounds of the playoffs. Maybe it's because I want a Stanley Cup for Boston that badly, and maybe it's because they were up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but I was wrong about the Bruins. When a team shows, time and again, that they have a poor work ethic and attitude in times of success and failure, they cannot be trusted to have changed that attitude until they have done so for a full season.

I don't blame Boston fans for hoping that that attitude had changed during the 121 point 2008-2009 season, or the remarkable first nine games of the 2010 playoffs. They want it that badly in Boston, but the record simply shows that the Bruins will find a way to break our hearts (funny how that used to be the Red Sox' catch phrase).

The Celtics, on the other hand, should not have been doubted. Fans gave the team less of a shot than the Bruins, and look what happened: The team with the history of winning, experience, determination, and drive is still alive and kicking. A team of veterans like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen needs to be given the benefit of the doubt when they stumble down the home stretch of the regular season with the intent to rest for more important games. Like I said, I don't generally buy such a strategy, but the Celtics had a much more valid reason for it than the Bruins.

Now, having defeated one man teams in the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics are on their way to proving why basketball is Boston's failsafe right now. The NBA is a turnoff for some sports fans. Teams that are dominated by one player and games whose outcomes are so violently affected by referees and foul calls have put a bad taste in their mouths. Two years ago, the Celtics' run to the promised land was truly magical. It stunned the naysayers, revealed the futility in one-man-teams, and allowed the NBA to embrace the policy of 'Ubuntu,' or team chemistry. After last year's return to the doldrums with Kobe Bryant's run to the top, the NBA returned to it's ugly form. Things have been testier. Pink hat fans have been more pronounced, Nike commercials and highlight reel dunks have seemed more important than team chemistry, and sandpaper-dry stories like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant have stolen the spotlight. Celtics coach Doc Rivers, the guardian of ubuntu, has been noticeably tired this year, talking about retirement, as have the big three. The four of them were the afterthought, the old guys, the dead in the water team.

And just when we needed them to, the C's came to the rescue. And here's how: ubuntu regained its meaning. After two seasons without standout bench men James Posey and P.J. Brown, the Celtics team grew one dimensional, nearly as bad as the Cavs and the Lakers. From game to game, fans hoped to steal a victory on a good performance from one of the big three. The bench did not contribute like the 2007-2008 Celtic bench did. And then, at the start of the playoffs, they exploded. Enter stage right Rajon Rondo, with an in-your-face triple double in Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to slam the door in their face, enter stage left Glen Davis and Tony Allen, complete with excellent defense, even stronger passing, and just excellent chemistry, and, believe it or not, enter center stage, Rasheed Wallace, with the experience and the grit that the Celtics have needed to close out games. All of a sudden, the big three are surrounded by a team. And they have looked great.

What is so great about a well-rounded team? Two things are easy to pin down: unpredictability and team chemistry. Example: at the end of a game, it is anybody's guess what kind of play the Celtics will draw up to get the buzzerbeating basket. Maybe they will try an allyoop from KG to Tony Allen, or a back-them-down post shot from Paul Pierce, or a kick-it-out three from Sugar Ray or Sheed. The possibilities are endless. Against the Lakers or the Cavs, all any team needs to worry about is one player. No player, no matter how talented, can carry a team all the way. Multiple dimensions are essential. Example: It may not be everybody's favorite example around here, but the championship teams that Kobe Bryant has been a part of have won, not because of Kobe himself, but because of the players around him. Kobe has always needed teammates to perform as well as him to succeed. He needed Shaquille O'Neil at first, and he needs Pau Gasol now. In between those years, the Lakers have underperformed because of their lack of team chemistry.

This year, the Celtics may not have a superstar who can stand toe to toe with Kobe Bryant (maybe Rondo). As individuals, they are just past their prime. But nothing can stop a group as experienced and willing as the Celtics except themselves. It would require an attitude of supremacy, like that of the Bruins, in the face of success, to lead to a failure on the part of the Celtics. This team has earned the benefit of the doubt. Up two games heading home on Saturday night, the Celtics embarrassed the Magic 94-71 to take a 3-0 series lead. This one will not be squandered.

A recent locker-room interview with Kevin Garnett revealed this team’s thick skin and team work. Asked about what the Celtics would do with multiple days off between games two and three of the conference finals, Garnett responded by describing how the team watches film of other teams together, talking about a strategy and, “shooting the crap,” before actually practising. If that isn’t telling, I don’t know what is. Maybe I’m wrong, but you don’t just ‘shoot the crap’ with a group of people with whom you play professional basketball unless that group is pretty tight knit. Maybe all ‘shooting the crap’ denotes is water-cooler conversation that any working person can have with another, but the way KG described the locker room, it sounds an awful lot like these Celtic players are a real team that cares about winning and not pure personal gain. The discord that seemed to be taking hold as the regular season wound down was merely an illusion caused by media that needed an answer for the Celtics’ under-performance. In reality, people were panicking and giving up on an old team while they were building their chemistry and strategy for when it would really count. None of those things can be said about the Cavaliers or the Lakers. That’s for sure.

The Bruins are lucky in this way. They are getting off a lot better than they could be because of the Celtics’ success. If the Celtics had missed the post season this year, Boston would still be stuck in the mud of the Bruins’ stinker of an eastern conference semifinal. While you still hear passing remarks about the monumental collapse, they are coming in a far smaller quantity than they could be. If the Celtics can finish what they have started, C’s will look awfully good on that report card, and people will relax all the more about the B’s… until next season of course.

If there is one thing we have learned over the years in Boston, however, it is to never claim something that isn’t rightfully won until it has been won. I have not written off the Magic or either of the teams that could play the Celtics in the NBA Finals at all. The C’s will have to battle and scrap for every game until they can hoist banner number 18. The good news is simply that, like the Bruins, the Celtics have their fate in their hands. If they do not win, it will be because of a mistake on their end of the court. Keep up their recent play, and the C’s are looking at a mighty fine end to their season.

…

Very quickly now: the Red Sox are going to get a lot of coverage once the C’s are done with their run, but they do deserve a quick blurb. Here’s my take: We should have foreseen what we are getting now in the preseason. Unlike past years and other teams we have seen, the 2010 Red Sox are built on individual players, and they have suffered because of it. Newcomers Marco Scutaro, Mike Cameron, and John Lackey have not clicked into the team like Trot Nixon, Kevin Millar, and Orlando Cabrera used to. This preseason was completely quiet. That’s not indicative of a strong team, but rather a group of individuals too focused on themselves to acknowledge the team as a whole. Maybe that’s a little harsh for the situation, and I’m not trying to say that I expected such a patchwork team to fit together right away, but clubhouse drama from individual players has dominated the beginning of the season, and the Red Sox’ record has suffered. Dustin Pedroia’s ‘laser show’ quote in defense of David Ortiz was a huge step in the right direction. Pedroia single handedly took the reigns of the team and jerked them tight, putting himself on the line for a teammate. Without the Kevin Millars and the Bill Muellers of the baseball world with the Red Sox anymore, the team will need to redevelop some of that team chemistry that championship teams have enjoyed. It may be happening as we speak. Red Sox pitching may still be inconsistent, but the resurgence of Ortiz at the plate and the rallying of the team around Daisuke Matsuzaka’s near no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday are good signs that the team is coming together. They are in a difficult position, facing Philly and the Tampa Bay Rays in back to back series, but strong team-wide performances now may translate into a salvaged season later. Failure to build that team will have the Sox playing catch-up all year long.

Also, the Boston University softball team scored a 10-4 elimination game win against Northeast rival UMass Amherst. The Terriers’ spunk has carried them through bouts of injuries and has solidified a team with many new players. They have come a long way from a slow start to their season, building one of the top offenses in the country and winning the America East Championship for the second year in a row. After losing the Arizona State, BU faced UMass in a do or die game in the NCAA regional tournament. After losing twice to the Minutewomen in the regular season, the Terriers sent Freshman pitcher Whitney Tuthill to the mound against Terrorizer Sara Plourde. Plourde shut down the Terriers and most of the country all year, but this time, she only lasted one inning, allowing four runs and taking the team’s final loss of the season. What a story for a team whose head coach has never beaten the Minutewomen and their excellent program since taking over. Shawn Rychcik has built a strong team and has rallied them to strong performances. After taking out UMass when it mattered most, there is no telling what the Terriers might do next.

Big and Bad Aren't Back

My ears are still ringing. I don't know when they'll stop. It hurts. It bites deep, that's for sure. You know you are in Boston when your team can squander a three goal lead to blow what was already a mediocre and disappointing season into smithereens. They had this thing. They had this thing a while ago, but you want to talk about a microcosm of a collapse? You want to talk about a game that occurred in the most painful possible way? Haha, we got one last night, Bruins fans.

The Bruins dropped a game 7 do-or-die game to the Philadelphia Flyers in the eastern conference semifinals last night, 4-3, becoming only for fourth team in professional sports history to blow a 3-0 series lead by losing four straight. The ending was fitting for a franchise surrounded by late season slumps and heartbreak. The problem is that the game forced Bruins fans through the entire emotional roller coaster that was the 2009-2010 season all in over again in 60 minutes of hockey. You think that watching a team overperform when they are under pressure just to let off of the gas when things get easier over the course of two seasons is tough? Try watching that happen in one single game that decides whether that team will continue their season or not. This one stung. If there is one thing I've learned, if there's one thing I will take from this experience, it is to never sit back and relax when it comes to this town and it's sports. It is amazing how many people were focused purely on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens series just a week ago. Bruins fans were focused on who they were going to play next, and not on the crucial fourth win that was required to face that opponent. Who are we to pick and choose. Who are we to play the hockey Gods when they have smote us throughout our entire existence. We are but lowly Bruins fans, and we have now suffered the consequences.

The Bruins are members of an elite team of only four squads. Their accomplishment? They've all blown a 3-0 best of seven series lead. There was no way the Bruins would ruin a three goal lead deep into the third period last night, right? This was their chance to fight through adversity. But they found a way to blow it, just like they always do. They were strong in every aspect of the game through the first period, when the pressure was the greatest. Their offense was getting quality scoring chances on a playoff-rookie goalie, their defense was keeping the puck away from the net, their physical players were controlling the game, and their power-play brought tears of joy to my eyes. They were the team that beat the Buffalo Sabres and the best goalie in the world in six games. They were the team that dominated the 2008-2009 regular season, they were the team that could suck the life out of their opponents inch by inch, shot by shot, check by check. Then the clock struck midnight...

And they turned into a pumpkin. The Bruins laid down when they hit three goals. They sat their little fannies down with the lead and hoped to coast through forty more minutes of the most important hockey game of the season, and just like always, their strategy didn't work. The B's 14 shots in the first dwindled to six in the second, and five in the third. The game plan that was oh-so-effective in the first was tossed out the window as the B's did what they do best, hope for the best. They could have maintained their physicality. They could have made backup goalie Michael Leighton choke on a flurry of shots. But instead they left it up to fate, and fate bit them where it hurts the most.

It's a shame it happened this way. The Bruins showed this post season that they have the ability to play with intensity, but they also proved that their effort only appears in rough situations. We need to prove that we can play well in the 2008-2009 season? Fine. We need to play well against the Carolina Hurricanes? Meh, we're the number one seed- save your energy. We need to beat the Washington Capitals to get into the playoffs in 2010? Fine. We need to take out the best goalie in the world to advance in the playoffs? Fine. We need to beat the lackluster and injured Flyers to keep it going? Ahh, it'll take care if itself... Oh, it's game seven and we need a win to put them away? Fine. Oh, it's the second period and we're cruising with a 3-1 lead? We can afford to take a little breather. Oh, its the third period and they came back to tie the game three three? Fi- whoops, too late, we blew it.

When will they learn?

Walking down the stairs at the garden last night, I felt a range of emotions. Anger was one of them. Anger at a team that couldn't capitalize on their strongest first period of the season. Anger at a team that couldn't capitalize on their strongest first three games of a series in this postseason. I also felt tired. Tired of the heartbreak. Tired of the lackadaisical play, tired of the mentality of a team that hasn't won the big one in thirty eight years. The Bruins aren't getting out of what they've gotten themselves into either. After the Celtics won it all in 2008, the spotlight has been on the Big Bad Bruins to contribute to a revived sports town. It hasn't happened. Now, with two of their biggest rivals on to the Eastern Conference Finals, the spotlight shines even brighter on their debacles.

The 2009-2010 season was dominated by an Bruins attitude that would make any sports fan cringe. The team dominated the spotlight in situations where they were given no chance to win, and they came crashing down in places where they ought to have succeeded. It is relatively clear that underestimation has led to the Bruins' demise these past few seasons. Last year, they had the best record in the eastern conference. They were golden favorites to end the bad luck streak, and then they failed to perform against an underrated Carolina Hurricanes team. This year, they failed to finish off Buffalo in game 5 of their series, and were subject to one of the greatest collapses in sports history in their series loss the the Flyers. Leaving the garden tonight, Bruins fans' tempers smoldered all the more because of how they were sent home. After being handed a gift of a game seven with home ice advantage, the Bruins cruised to a 3-0 lead before allowing a weak goal before the end of the first period. They allowed two more goals in the second period without any offensive strikes whatsoever. They followed that with a third period in which they fought, but were too late to regain their form. The Flyers took advantage when they could, on a late power play, and ended the Bruins' season right then and there. Sound familiar?

Game seven was a microcosm of the entire series. Play well for three games and then lose focus of the finish line and get caught up looking forward in the next game. Focusing on Montreal lead to two victories for Philly. By the time Boston realized that they still needed a fourth victory to advance, the Flyers had run the series to a game seven. In it, the Flyers took advantage of the Bruins in the way that they took advantage of them all series, by weathering the storm and taking advantage of when the B's were sleeping on the ice.

The theme for the 2009-2010 Boston Bruins was Big and Bad are Back. They are not. That much is crystal clear. Big and Bad wouldn't have allowed a soft goal at the end of a dominant first period. Big and Bad wouldn't have sat back to the tune of six shots on goal in a crucial second period. Big and Bad wouldn't have stopped checking after going up 3-0 in the first. Big and Bad would have kept the pressure up. Big and Bad would not have left they Flyers for dead, they would have pummeled their dead body first. Instead. The Bruins let up. They sat back, and they got shut down. Big and Bad aren't back, and until they are, history will repeat itself, time after heartbreaking time.

Who gets the blame for preventing Big and Bad from returning? They all do. From big Z, who's 'nervousness' was hardly captain-like, to Claude Julian, whose doesn't look capable of raising his voice, to the individual players, the vast majority of whom saw their performance drop dramatically with the outset of the 2009 season.

I've had a lot of practice walking down the Garden steps from the balcony after a brutal loss. I've become pretty good at it. I can point out the dents I've made in the metal ceiling of the staircase or places I've stood at the moments of defeat. At the end of a season, the pain and the heartbreak are at the forefront of any fan's emotions. But, in Boston, when your team is as heartbreaking as only Boston teams can be, there is also a hint of excitement. Not excitement at the prospect of an injured Flyers team as the only hope against the dreaded Montreal Canadiens in the conference finals, but excitement at the prospect of a fresh start. Maybe it comes with the fact that I bleed black and gold. Maybe it comes with the dirty, dirty water. Maybe it comes with the fact that Boston is the greatest sports town in the world. Either way, there will never be a dull season in Boston sports history, and I am ready for the Bruins to enter the fray again next year, when everyone starts at 0, and when everyone has the same shot at the big prize. It sounds ridiculous, but I love following the Bruins, from their mistakes, to their successes, to their ground-breaking acheivements, and to their heartbreaking blowups. Big and Bad aren't back, but maybe they will be come October, and Boston will be ready for it.

Ionic

Boston is panicking. After the Bruins dropped a game five at home 4-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers, they should be. The B's were bad. They were 2009-2010 regular season bad, they were 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Carolina Hurricanes bad. They played like the Bruins that every Boston fan grew to love to hate over the course of the regular season this year, just consistently frustrating. It seems that whenever the Bruins have an advantage working for them, they drop the ball. Heading into this season, they were a favorite to enter the playoffs with a head of steam and with a vengeance. Instead, the Bruins struggled the whole way, getting booed for lack of consistency and effort. Just a few weeks ago, the Bruins entered a playoffs in which nobody saw them succeeding. It always seems like the Bruins flourish in these situations: where there is nothing to lose, and they can't get much further from the bottom.

And so then began the run that single-handedly got me through my Spring semester finals, the Boston watermain break, and about a month of beard-growing. The Bruins looked sharp against the Sabres and the Flyers for about a series and a half. More recently, they've lost the magic touch. Their first overtime loss of the postseason came in a game that would have clinched a sweep and about a week of extra rest heading into the Eastern Conference finals. Instead, their defense fell asleep on the ice. And they didn't wake up for game 5. For the first time this postseason, the Garden was as quiet and disappointed as it was throughout the regular season. As fans trudged down the garden steps on their way to Causeway Street after the shellacking, they had a lot to think about, so did I.

Here's a few things on my mind at this point, ranging from general team questions, to more pointed worries:

Is this team for real?
Maybe. We really don't know yet. This is the first point in the post season when the Bruins have felt real adversity, as game 5 was their first definitive loss. They will need to rebound hard if they want to get their fans and the city back on their side. It amazes me just how positive Bruins fans were just five days ago when they were talking about making a run to the finals where anything can happen. Fans are much more solemn today, talking about the possibility of having to face another second round game seven where, once again, anything can happen (see 2009 Hurricanes). I will make my judgment based on the Bruins' performance in Philadelphia tomorrow night. If they can shut down the Flyers like their did in their first game in Philly this postseason, then they will have proven their ability to rebound against what is sure to be a loud crowd, a physical team, and doubting Bostonians. Even if the Bruins lose in Philadelphia and wind up winning at home in a game seven, I will be far less impressed. This team knows that they are on the cusp of some much needed rest and that they cannot tempt fate with a game seven (see 2009 Carolina Hurricanes). With Flyer goaltender Brian Boucher out with a knee injury, they will have the even simpler job of working against backup Leighton, who hasn't started a game since March. If the Bruins continue to procrastinate, they may make it by the Flyers by an inch, but they will have proven their immaturity. They will not go far in following rounds. Instead, the Bruins need to fight like they want it every game. They need to put the Flyers away while they still have control of the series and their fans.

Can the Flyers pull off the upset?
I don't know, but it sure does seem a lot more believable now than it did two games ago, now doesn't it? I would not be surprised to see Philadelphia moving on to the Conference Finals round. They have an incredible amount of momentum right now, and they can ride it as far as they see fit. The question is whether they will receive more resistance from the Bruins than they saw in game 5, which is really the hardest question to answer. It is hard to tell if the Bruins will rebound from a tough loss like they did all regular season, with more losses, or if they will be able to return to form in the face of adversity. It is really the Bruins move at this point, and the Flyers have everything to gain from the wrong one.

What does Mayor Thomas Menino think about this?
Well, he probably thought, like everyone else, that Jason Varitek's field goal attempts were pretty pitiful and that Doug Flutie really ought to try out another hail mary pass. The Bruins will need another ionic win if they are going to advance any further. Yeah, something like that.

What happened to the O?
What a drop off. The Bruins offense that has been so much more productive this postseason than the regular season has lost their spark, at least for one game. The fact that they got blanked is brutal for a team that needs to carry offensive momentum, but the fact is that the Bruins offense has the chance to rebound. This was one of their first offensive let downs of the post season, so they deserve the chance to respond, just like the rest of the team, but, like I said, we have seen this team's offense get stuck in a rut many times this season. Don't be surprised if, for at least one game, the Bruins need to grit it out on a 1-0 or 2-1 victory. Then again, don't be surprised if they wake up and light up the scoreboard either.

What can we expect in game 5?
I don't know. As I've been suggesting, the Flyers and Bruins have thrown this series into a state of flux that no one will be able to figure out until the next game is played. Each team has the ability to maintain control going into Philadelphia, with the Flyers having the obvious advantage. Don't be surprised, however, if the Bruins pull the wool over our eyes again and pick it up right when Boston is ready to throw in the towel. Hey, it's not the prettiest way to get it done, but I'll take it.

Guys to look for in game 5 as game changers?
For Boston, keep an eye on Tuukka Rask, who must be burning after being burned so much yesterday. He will either be on top of his game or rattled- my guess is on top of his game. Also watch out for Milan Lucic, who has been on a tear as of late. If he and the Bruins can upgrade their physical play, maybe they can prove that they are not going to lay down. On offense, Recchi and Satan cannot carry the entire load since Krejci's injury. The Bruins will need Blake Wheeler to continue to step up along with Marc Savard.

For Philly, watch Leighton, as a fair portion of the Flyers' comeback will rest on his shoulders. Can he repeat his heroics of game 4? Time will tell. Also, Gagne has been on fire since returning from injury. The Bruins will need to figure out a way to quiet him down if they plan on going anywhere.

Prediction?
I was way off last night, calling that the Bruins would wake up for game 5, but I am going to go with my gut and give them the benefit of the doubt heading into game 6. I bet the Bruins pull out a 3-2 victory.

Just Checking In

A couple of quick points before I forget. I'll do a more complete update on the positions of Boston sports teams later this week:

1. Red Sox up and down at best- Barring an explosive choke-job, the Red Sox are going to be able to salvage a game against the Yankees tonight after losing 5 of their first 6 match-ups. While a win will quiet the Boston faithful a little, the Sox' Major league sellout record may be in jeopardy this week as interest continues to dwindle, pink hat fans are brought back down to Earth about this team, and the Bruins and Celtics continue to demand the spotlight. I wouldn't be surprised if an afternoon game on Wednesday saw the end of the streak. To pick this team up, the pitching needs to get better. It really is as simple as that. The offense has exceeded their expectations exponentially, hitting the 2nd most home runs in the league and driving in more than enough run support for these pitchers most games. David Ortiz's struggles may draw attention to the offense, but it is the defense that needs some work. Flip-of-the-coin players like Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Bucholz, Scott Shoenweis, Ramon Ramirez, and dare I say it, Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon, are coming up tails when the Red Sox call heads every night. Those guys need to get consistent, and quick. Otherwise, there will be a lot of nights like last night, when the Sox have a 3-2 lead early that gets blown out of the water.

2. The Bruins will win tomorrow against the Flyers, 4-1. After getting handed their first OT lost of the postseason. The B's know that they need to get back to their defense and shut down the Flyers tomorrow night. If they let the Flyers penetrate the zone like they did on Friday, they will be in big trouble. I don't think they let that happen. If they take a game off again and wind up losing a second straight, their fans will start to lose their cool, and maybe they will too. A failure to put away the Flyers tomorrow night would put the Bruins in a situation much like last season, against a team that they could clearly beat, but too high on recent success. They would find themselves back in Philly for a game six, and a loss would put them in a game seven situation that turned out horribly last season. I like the B's as underdogs (see the first round against Buffalo), and there is no reason to think that they will let being better than the Flyers ruin the series, but it has happened to teams of the past. Keep your feet under you and your head clear, Bruins, and you will be one your way to a very winnable Eastern Conference Finals (more on that in the next post).

3. The Celtics have been great. Lebron James is a premadonna. Bruised elbow my ass. Grow a pair and learn to take a loss, Lebron. As it is, no one can lay a finger on you without getting called for a foul, so you are riding the most unfair advantage a-la-Kobe that there is. You got beat because the Celtics played so well. Rajon Rondo is going to be huge, and Glen Davis and Tony Allen were excellent as well. Their creativity on offense and defense made the game exciting and refreshing in an era of awful one man teams. Keep it up C's.

4. Dallas Braden threw a perfect game against the Rays today. Ridiculous, maybe more upcoming about him and perfect games in general.

Enjoy tomorrow, sports fans. We get to see how the B's respond to their first loss in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, how Red Sox nation responds to a salvaged game against New York, and which injury Lebron James is going to say ruined his game earlier today.

Dirty, Dirty Water

Boston's water is dirtier than ever. My mother has reminded me of that fact over the course of various phone conversations between yesterday's emergency declaration and today. Yup, in a city where we blare the fact that we "love that dirty water" after most professional sports wins, someone finally listened and gave us what we love. For those of you who have been asleep or simply not effected by the emergency, a major main water break occurred yesterday in Weston that has forced people in several cities, including Boston, to sip bottled or boiled water instead of water straight from the tap. Whoop de doo, right? Well, it's actually kind of funny just how crazy communities are going over this situation.

You can't get bottled water that costs less than liquid gold anywhere, and a casual stroll down the sidewalk on a gorgeous Sunday is sure to yield multiple encounters with college students whose lives have been greatly inconvenienced by what has happened. (Grow a pair, guys). I personally have been holed up in my apartment all day getting started on a brutal 20-page paper due on Wednesday for a literature class. I won't pretend like I haven't felt the repercussions of the emergency, though.

A lack of clean tap water haschanged my normal daily routine. It was actually kind of fun to pull out the biggest pot I own, fill it with tap water, and let it boil until I was satisfied that I had fried any killer organism that may have been floating in it. Of course, dead parasites taste a lot better than live parasites, so I was in for a treat. Now I've got a pot of dead parasites sitting on my stove. Every time I'm thirsty I need to fill up a cup, stick it in the fridge, and wait until its cold enough for my sensitive palate. Brushing my teeth and taking a shower with pursed lips and closed eyes were adventures, too.

But enough of my whining. I'm honestly not too bothered by what has happened, and half of that 20-pager saved and completed is evidence for that fact. In the meantime, while I trudge into the second half of it, I can get my giggles by seeing how everyone in the facebook world is struggling (grow a pair, guys) and wondering how this shenanigan might effect the world of sports. Check it out:

Boston is home to many professional sports teams, and I'm sure that if anyone in that community is effected by the aquapocalypse, we'll know about it. For now, some hypothetical situations. The Red Sox missed the beginning of the crisis, as they were being hosted by the Baltimore Orioles when the news broke. Three losses to the abysmal team, however, may have fans wishing the Red Sox had more excuses to perform the way they did. The Red Sox look bad. When they return home tomorrow night to begin a set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, maybe they'll consider biological warfare to get a one up on their opponent. They'll need it.

The Celtics were also out of town at the outset of the emergency, enjoying a pummeling at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Cleveland. Again, when they get to return home on Friday, maybe they'll use Boston's dirty, dirty water to their advantage.

It's not very interesting to think about teams that have been out of Boston during the initial scare. They will know about the occurrence upon their return. Visiting teams will know as well, and no one is bound to be affected. Professional sports should have no problem getting bottled water for their players' water bottles, and if a player decides to suck from the tap, that's their problem, and they deserve what's coming to them.

The Bruins and the Flyers are a little more interesting, however. The teams were engaged in the first match of their eastern conference semifinal series right around the time of the break, and they may have had a greater chance of accidentally ingesting tap water before knowing about the dangers of it. Such an occurrence could be devastating to one or both teams down the stretch of these playoffs. Then again, because we haven't heard anything yet, I'm led to believe that the series will continue with it's thrills unaffected by the crisis.

Still, I can imagine a hockey fight during tomorrow's game two in which the loser has to lick the ice surface, virtually guaranteeing sickness down the road. It will be funny to see such an important game played right on top of killer parasites and Boston's frozen, dirty, dirty water.

In all likelihood, Boston's water crisis will not change anything in the professional sporting world, but it certainly could. All it would take is a lapse of memory by Flyers goalie Brian Boucher or a yawn in the shower by Bruins winger Mark Recchi to change things rather quickly. I won't hold my breath. Keep on loving that dirty water, Boston.


In other sporting news, the Canadiens shut down the Penguins en route to a 3-1 win to knot the series at one game a piece earlier today. While I can't stand either team, I am enjoying that both are displaying the fact that they can be beaten thus far. Hopefully theirs will be a long series that tires the victor, leaving them vulnerable in the Eastern Conference finals.

Speaking of the Eastern Conference finals, the Bruins inched one game closer to the series with a 5-4 overtime win against the Flyers yesterday afternoon. In a fairytale ending, Marc Savard, returning from seven weeks on the DL after a cheap shot from the Penguins' Matt Cooke, scored the OT winner late in the first OT period. His reaction and the fans' reactions sent chills down my spine, as this Bruins team's postseason has been filled with momentum and positive energy. While Marco Sturm's loss will not help in the long run (torn ACL and MCL), the B's are in a good place.

Unfortunately, reports have been made of empty seats in the TD Garden for the game. For the sake of a team that has given their all this post season, I hope that Bruins fans wake up and start supporting their team like I know they can. Boston has a great opportunity to finish the Eastern Conference Semifinals strong, head into the Finals versus a team against whom they have so many reasons to play well against, and move onto the League championship series where anything can happen. They will need fan support behind them. I am sure that Boston will pick up their team and carry them as far as they can.

Finally, I can't watch the Lakers play anymore. After today's win over the Utah Jazz, I am sickened to the point where I am wondering if I did accidentally drink from the tap. Kobe Bryant is the recipient of so many ridiculous calls from referees that it is disgusting. Instead of being called for an obvious offensive foul late in the fourth quarter and with the Lakers trailing by 2, Bryant knocked a defender flat on his ass, dribbled around him and made an easy jumper for an and 1. A minute later, the best of the worst when it comes to the Lakers, Derek Fisher, was called for an offensive foul that was less obvious than Bryant's. I can't stand the Lakers and the fact that officials are paid to give Bryant game winning shots at every turn. Opposing players are afraid to defend Bryant because of the referees backing him up, and because of it, he has risen to a stardom he never deserved. Someone needs to fill his water bottle with Boston tap water and give him a taste of his own medicine, but for now, we need to pray that the Jazz can dig deep and put Bryant and Co. out of their misery.

We've Created a Monster

Now look what you've done, B's! Well, it's not nearly as bad as it could be. In fact, most people would probably say that the Boston Bruins are in one of the best positions possible heading into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I can't say I disagree with them, but the fact that Bruins fans are becoming more and more complacent is scary. We don't want to be caught with our pants down in overtime of game seven like last year. (Imagine another stud goalie beat in OT to close out a second season in a row).

I shouldn't think negatively, I know, but at this time in the playoffs, cautious thinking can often be beneficial. So let's dissect the Bruins' situation here.

In the eastern conference, only one higher seed advanced to the second round, the Pittsburgh Penguins. They get the pleasure of playing the eighth seed, the Montreal Canadiens. Should be a breeze for them, right? Wrong. Take another look. Before the playoffs started, all I wanted was for the Bruins to secure a seed that would keep them away from the Washington Capitals. I was hoping to give one or two teams a shot at quieting the league's hottest offense before the Bruins would be forced to do so. That happened a little sooner than expected. It may be kind of a buzz kill to think about, but while the Bruins were returning to form and ousting the mighty Ryan Miller, Mr. eight seed was working a little magic across the border as well.

Tuukka Rask shone against the Buffalo Sabres in round one. He made 179 saves over six games to rack up a 2.18 GAA. The guy was standing on his head. No doubt about it. Whoops. Look who's playing the best offense in the league and standing them up! Jaroslav Halak, Montreal's goaltender for six of seven games in the series, Halak made 217 saves and posted a 2.46 GAA. Here's the problem. Halak's save percentage is .939 to Tuukka's .927.

Halak is hot, and he beat the best offense that the league has to offer over a seven game stretch. Yeah, Boston has a tough goalie, but so does Montreal. On that note, take a look at Philadelphia goalie Brian Boucher. His 1.59 GAA and .940 save percentage lead playoff goalies, and he's coming up against the Bruins next.

It is a valid point to mention that Boucher's GAA and SP are coming from a five game sample against a team that many would say is not at their best. It's true. No playoff statistics can tell the whole story because their sample size is just too small. But they must be taken into consideration. The upcoming battles against the Philadelphia Flyers will not be a walk in the park for the Bruins. And if they get to the Conference Finals, they will have an even tougher time against the reigning Stanley Cup Winners in the Pittsburgh Penguins, or a team that just shut down arguably both of the league's top offenses in the Montreal Canadiens. Look at the monster we've created for ourselves...

The problem is that monsters are inevitable in any playoffs. Any team that you are facing in the playoffs is there for a reason. In this case, the Bruins will not have to worry about the best offense in the league any more, instead, they might have to worry about the team that beat the best offense in the league. Either way, its a tough matchup, and its hard to say which is worse.

I think the Bruins are in a good position. After coming off of their strongest performances of the season, they are poised to keep their momentum rolling. At this point, they know that there is no escaping the monster, and so the best thing that they can do is keep their motivation up, and maintain their underdog spirit. I think a vast amount of the energy that fueled the Bruin's wins against the Sabres had to do with a resurgence of an underdog after a less than ideal season. Heading into the semifinals, the Bruins will face the danger of losing that mindset and slipping back into the careless "I'm better than you so I am bound to win" attitude that lost them last season's series with the Carolina Hurricanes. If they had gone on to face the Penguins, I doubt that that danger would have been much of a problem, as the B's have all sorts of reasons to fight against the cheapshotters from Pittsburgh. I don't think this year's Bruins will succumb to that danger, and I think that the crowds at the TD Garden will remind them to avoid it. If they cannot avoid the slide, however, it will be a long series.

Ultimately, the fight with the monster has only begun. The Bruins are better than the Flyers. Let's hope it doesn't go to their heads.

The Lovely Month of April

Amidst the end of the Spring semester, I find myself buried in exams, papers, and the like, which is my reason for not having posted in quite some time. Today, after putting in a solid amount of work preparing for this week's classes, I find myself with more energy to spend before bed. Ultimately, I'm sure I will regret this in the morning, but considering the events occurring on the Boston sports scene, I feel that not writing would be committing an injustice. In any case, here's a short blurb on the activities going on for Boston's four major pro teams and my take on them:



The BoSox are back in town. A lot has taken place since the Red Sox ousted the Yankees in the first game of the major league season on April 4th, 9-7. Unfortunately, not much of it has been good. Opening day was a breath of fresh air for Boston fans who were getting sick of an old, wheelchair-bound basketball team and an underperforming hockey team all Winter long. Since opening day, complete with the over-performed antics of Neil Diamond, Steven Tyler and that four-year old kid from youtube, Boston has done a 180, as the B's and C's have both been able to turn it on come playoff time. OK, so the youtube kid was pretty neat. In all honesty though, radio show hosts started making a lot of sense to me when they talked about how embarrassing some opening day antics are. Yeah, they get the kids fired up, and even I felt a little chill when that kid told the Yankees to "screw", but what was next? I half expected Andy Samberg and T-Pain to run out of the Green Monster and perform "I'm on a Boat" after the Red Sox won. Yes, it would have been awesome, but this is baseball here, folks, and at some point a line needs to be drawn.

The team has performed poorly at best. Through 19 games, the Red Sox hold an 8-11 record, with four of those wins coming against the lowly Texas Rangers, who traded away all their talent, and the even lowlier Baltimore Orioles, who have Julio Lugo in their lineup (haha- that says it all). The Red Sox are in trouble. At this point in time, the Sox are slumping at the plate mightily, and a defense that was touted as one of the best in the league has 13 errors already, good for 10th worst in the league and fourth worst in the AL.

The pitching hasn't been as great as it was supposed to be either. So far, newcomer John Lackey, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, the three aces that were supposed to come together in an orgasm of pitching gorgeousness have been inconsistent. There are no Boston pitchers in the top forty starting ERAs in MLB, which is a brutal reality for fans who were expecting air-tightness on the pitching front.

Even worse than the starting situation has been the relief. Ramon Ramirez, one of the key cogs in the Red Sox' bullpen last year and a great find, has had a brutal start, racking up a 7.56 ERA through 8.1 innings. Daniel Bard, the guy who is supposed to take over for the much appreciated but also much-more-hittable-as-of-late Jonathan Papelbon has been very unimpressive as well.

Here's the good news Sox fans. It's still April. It has been proven time and again that a long baseball season can prove to be a great equalizer. Take the (shiver) current World Series Champions of New York for example. Remember how high and mighty we felt after opening last season 8-0 against the Bronx Bombers? Remember the joy we felt as Jacoby Ellsbury slid under Jorge Posada to steal home? Now do you remember how silly we felt last September when it was the Red Sox who were blowing games against the Angels and leaving the door wide open for the Yanks to buy another Series? Yeah, it still stings, but it's true. The Sox are known for starting strong, getting hopes up, dipping severely in the Summer, and starting up the engines just in time for a playoff run. That plan of action hasn't worked out too too well for the Sox (see 86 years prior to 2004), but then again, 2004 and 2007 are the obvious counterpoints.

This year, maybe things will be different. It's hard to believe that a pitching staff lined with such talent could go the whole year carrying its current 4.61 ERA. I bet that at some point, guys will get hot, and runs against the Red Sox will be few and far between, as they should be. The defense will have to figure itself out, and then things will be as planned. Who knows, maybe the Red Sox will ride their current vibe and be majorly disappointing. But I like to believe that with the resurgence of Lester, Beckett, Matsuzaka (hopefully he can finally string together the year he's been looking for since coming to Boston), Ellsbury (once he's back from injury), and David Ortiz (this guy is going to figure it out sooner or later), the Sox will be in the running again. Pair the return of these guys with the strong play of Adrian Beltre, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis, and things are looking up.

Even with the good news I have a hard time getting my hopes up for this team. I have not been too keen on the moves they have made as of late. The age of some players has caught up to them, and because of some finicky trading, some positions have been up in the air for far too long. There are two glaring holes that I see as definite problems that need to be addressed. One is shortstop Marco Scutaro. I have no personal beef with the guy, but he's in a major slump right now (flattening a Red Sox comeback attempt this afternoon by going 0-5 and popping out to end the game). I don't have the patience with him that I can have for other guys mostly because, no matter how touted he is as a defensive shortstop who can hit the ball, he hasn't been productive on either side of the ball yet. More importantly, the shortstop position has been figured out three times since the departure of Nomar Garciaparra in 2004, and the Red Sox have failed to hang on to the right guy each of those times. I would have taken Orlando Cabrera, or Alex Gonzalez either of the times the Red Sox had him over Marco Scutaro, and arguably for less money. AGon was having a ball last year hitting at Fenway and he was one of the best defensive shortstops that I have ever seen in a Red Sox uniform. Losing him for a second time rubbed salt in a proverbial wound of mine. The acquisition of Scutaro simply wasn't going to cut it. The other glaring issue with this team is its inability to stop players from running on them. It seems like lately everyone and his brother is stealing bases from the Red Sox. It's getting really ugly out there. Something needs to be done about this and fast. There's no reason why Victor Martinez, a capable backstop in every other facet of the game, can't figure out how to throw to second in time to get a few guys.

The Red Sox will be good entertainment this year, don't get me wrong. They are not in nearly as much trouble as their stats would indicate. It will be interesting to see how they fill some gaps and holes as the season goes on, and they are sure to be in the thick of things with the Rays and the Yankees when September comes rolling around again.



Ah, the Patriots. There has been ample time for New England fans to cool off from this January's shellacking at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, especially since the New Orleans Saints held off Peyton Manning from a second super bowl victory. Things have quieted down considerably on the football front in New England since the History Derailed season. It seems the Pats have defined the meaning of the anticlamax since letting Peyton's younger, slightly less ugly brother beat them in the most important game of the year. Last season's rout at the hands of the Ravens and the Texans after a rousing romp of the Jaxonville Jaguars also left fans unsatisfied. And more recently, the Pats have been anticlimactic in the 2010 draft.

I don't know much about the players who are coming in the draft this year except a few of the quarterbacks and some other top ten picks. Needless to say, I have heard very little about any of the Patriots' picks, so this blurb promises to be short. After trading down to the dismay of many a climax-loving fan, Bill Belichick did not go out and get stud Wide Receiver Dez Bryant to fill the Patriots' most glaring hole. Instead, he drafted Rutger's cornerback Devin McCourty. There are mixed emotions about this guy. I like that he's less of a mouther than Bryant would have been, and the Pats do need a guy to hold the corner like Asante Samuel used to. It remains to be seen whether McCourty is the right guy for the job, but I must say I'm not opposed to the pick. I think wide receiver Wes Welker's injury at the end of last year scared fans into thinking that drafting a new WR was a do or die situation. While some extra depth would be nice, I don't know if someone like Dez Bryant, a top round pick, is the guy to do the job.

At Tight End, the Pats did fill up their ammunition this draft. Second round pick Rob Gronkowski will fit the bill as a strong blocker and receiver. The scary bit comes with the Patriots' inability to nab a pass-rusher, a position they longed for last season. Without Richard Seymour, they had to rely on Tully Banta-Cain as their only semi-pass rusher last year, and with only one guy, the Pats had little success getting to the quarterback- (need I remind you of the main reason for History derailed?- Offensive and defensive line).

So, where does this put the Patriots? I really don't know yet. Maybe the Pats will be poised for another great run with Brady at the helm and a strong team behind him. They are still a good team, that's for sure, and when your team is at least good, anything can happen when the season starts. Look for the emergence of linebackers Jerod Mayo and Pat Chung and Wide Receiver Julian Edelman as key contributors next year. With a somewhat-newly defined defense and an offense led by one of the best quarterbacks in the league, maybe the Pats can get back to their Bruschi-esque days of leadership and shut some teams down. In their way, however, will be the New York Jets, who took a major page out of the Yankee's offseason playbook, buying whatever free agents they could to make their team look as good as possible. It is yet to be seen whether their moves will pay off of whether such a patchwork team will rip at the seams due to lack of chemistry, but the AFC East will not be the pushovers that the Pats have experienced as of late, that's for sure.



Now we get to the good stuff, playoffs. For the third straight season, the Celtics find themselves with a postseason berth. After the 24 win abomination of 2007, this is a breath of fresh air for Celtic fans, but it would seem that the era of the Big Three could be close to being over. There's no denying that Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are old. This whole season, people have been complaining about a lack of youthful energy on the Celtics' squad, and it has shown. Lackluster games against select foes have left the Celtics with a less-than-perfect record for sure. It seemed like the C's were limping considerably heading into the end of the season, dropping contests to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Washington Wizards, and the Chicago Bulls by wide margins.

Who would have thought the C's could turn it on like they have. It looks, right now, as if the game plan of rest and cautious play towards the end of the regular season is paying off for the Celtics and the Big Three. Through the first three games of their round one series with the Miami Heat, the Celtics have dominated. KG has been solid on the defensive side of the ball, Pierce has been clutch (effortlessly and fearlessly nailing a buzzer-beater to win game three right in the face of a defender), and Allen has been good old sugar Ray again. Rondo and Perkins have kept up their side of the bargain as well, as both players have grown into strong talents that will be invaluable for the team then the Big Three are gone. And so, virtually momentumless, the Celtics flipped a switch and have returned to form against the Heat. Even without KG in game two, when he was suspended for elbowing after a silly mix up in front of the Heat bench, the Celtics dominated Miami in every facet of the game. In their most recent game, however, the Celtics looked lackluster, giving up a lopsided loss to Dwayne Wade, who scored 42 all on his own. If the Celtics really can turn their play on and off as they have shown, they may have made a big mistake by deciding to take today's game off. I didn't get to see too much of it, and maybe the Heat simply played better than the C's today, but the fact remains that Boston missed a great opportunity to close out the series early and get an extra day of rest heading into a much more difficult challenge in the next round.

I expect the Celtics to finish off the Heat. They have shown that they are too experienced at this point in a series to lose all of their momentum and blow a three game lead. The main question is how and when they will move on. They need to be at their top performance level heading into the second round, as they will be facing stronger, younger teams. I don't see the Celtics getting too far in this tournament. It's just a feeling I have. But, I wouldn't be surprised either is veteran leadership and experience brought another banner to the rafters at the TD garden.



Take a look at these guys. He Bruins are possibly the biggest shockers in an April of shocking sports developments in Boston. Defying their critics, the B's executed down the stretch of the regular season and snagged a pretty sixth seed entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Through five games in the first round against the Buffalo Sabres, things are looking bright for a team that had legions of fans hanging their heads all season long.

The Bruins hold a 3-2 series lead against stud backstop Ryan Miller and the Sabres, and can finish the series off tomorrow night at the TD Garden. While a loss would send the series to sudden death in Buffalo, somewhere the Bruins do not want to be, a win would put the Bruins in the second round of the playoffs against either the Flyers or the Penguins. Much more likely is a collision with the Penguins, last years' Stanley Cup winners. The matchup would solidify a date for the Bruins against the hated Matt Cooke, and with Marc Savard on the brink of returning to the ice, this matchup would kick the hub into a frenzy for sure.

While playing the Flyers may be safer in the long haul for the Bruins, as it would mean that the Capitals had been eliminated from competition, the matchup against the Penguins would be much more interesting. Against the Flyers, Philly would have the energy on their side, as the B's were able to steal the winter classic from them in overtime on New Year's Day. They will be looking for payback. Against Pittsburgh, the Bruins have all the momentum on their side. The Penguins are built on a strong offensive unit, and the Bruins' tip top defense and stunning goal tending have the opportunity to shut that down. With Matt Cooke stepping in the Garden again as well, we would have a great chance at seeing some fired up Bruins players skating with attitude.

That attitude is exactly what the Bruins need. There is no doubt that the B's double overtime win against the Sabres at home for a 3-1 series lead had them fired up. The crowd was exploding over the mistakes of an almost flawless Ryan Miller, and Tuukka Rask and his defense ate it up, making it only a matter of time before the Bruins could finish off the Sabres in double OT. Back in Buffalo two nights ago, and that pressure was off. The Bruins skated with less intensity. I hope that the Bruins regain their luster and their fierceness before it is too late. If they can put away the Sabres with their home crowd behind them one more time, they will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the playoffs. And if they are successful in sending a message to the Penguins, they may be able to ride that momentum all the way to the end.

In their game tomorrow tonight, keep an eye on Milan Lucic and Tuukka Rask. I expect Lucic, or another Bruins playmaker, to set the tone early by shutting down any Sabre who gets out of line. If Tuukka is psyched up for this game, we will know early. I especially will be watching for the first goal of the game. The Bruins need to defend against the early goal that the Sabres have been getting in each game in the series so far. From there, they can focus on figuring out Ryan Miller and finishing the game off. In a playoff series where unexpected players have stepped up to the plate in key moments, don't be surprised if there is an unlikely hero to tomorrow night's game.

April showers bring May flowers- Lets see if they can bring some trophies too.

Livin' on a Prayer

They blew it, really bad. You don't want to get tossed out of any hockey tournament by a score of 7-1, let alone the NCAA final four, but that's just what the Miami University Red Hawks, one of the last hopes for the sport of college hockey, did last night. They got trounced by the Eagles from the outhouse on the Hill, Boston College.

As a sophomore at Boston University, I love to down the guys over in Newton as much as possible, but all kidding aside, I need to give them the respect they are due.

They have a great college hockey team this year. They bounced back from a less-than-satisfactory year in 2008-2009 to dominate their schedule. They boast a flurry of top scorers and with their goalie, junior John Muse, returned to form, they are not a team that anyone wants to play down the stretch. They've proven their ability, beating BU for the beanpot, Maine for the Hockey East Conference Championship, and Alaske-Fairbanks, Yale, and Miami on their way to the National Championship game. They will face Wisconsin for all the marbles on April 10th, a team that crushed the living daylights out of Rochester Institute of Technology 8-1 last night as well.

BU and BC have combined for the last two national championships, making Boston the talk of the college hockey world of late. The rivalry between BU and BC is intense. I can't hate BC for the same reason that I hate other teams. They are not the New York Yankees, who buy out the free agent market every year to ruin the competition of major league baseball. They are not the Los Angeles Lakers, who employ one of the biggest villains in professional sports. They are not the Pittsburgh Penguins, who get their jollies by cheap shotting other teams' best players and sidelining them for the year. And they're not the Indianapolis Colts, whose quarterback looks like he's going to cry every time he blows it in a big situation- (most of the time).

So why hate the BC Eagles? Well, as a student at Boston University, the reasons become all the clearer. First and foremost, they encroach on our turf. Not only do they reside on the same street as the home of the Terriers, they took the name of a great city and slapped it on an institution that doesn't even want to be there. BC is indeed on Commonwealth Avenue, but they call their home Chestnut Hill, Newton, and Brighton. If anything, they should be called CHuNkyBC- Chestnut Hill using Newton kuz... yeah (oh yeah and) Brighton College. Or at least, they shouldn't be called Boston College. Every time I hear their band play Shipping Up to Boston, a sacred tune around these parts, I cringe at the lack of tonality and the disgrace that it brings to all properly allocated Universities. If you're going to take on the name of Boston, at least don't scamper to the outskirts of town and set up a pretty,-pretty-princess-castle of a University. Embrace the busy streets and hustle and bustle of the city. I could not be more proud whenever someone asks me the question, 'Don't you hate not having a campus at BU?' I do have a campus, it's the greatest city in the world.

Alright, so even the location of the school isn't all that great a reason to hate BC. But here's one that is more valid. BC has a basketball team that has made it to the sweet sixteen multiple times. Their baseball team is consistently competitive, and they have a football program that has produced multiple legends. LET US HAVE THE HOCKEY! BU has thrived on their hockey program. Their football is long gone and their basketball, although thrilling, can only fight to a spot as a 16th seed in the big dance every year, almost sure to be eliminated in the first game. Hockey is our sport. We have the history, the passion, and the drive behind it, where BC just doesn't. Superfan t-shirts that carry over from football season and jerseys that look like they came back from a time machine set to 2050 are signs of a team without a deep hockey tradition. BU's tradition goes much deeper than BC's. From Walter Brown Arena to legends who played in the miracle on ice game in 1980 to the long-time coaching of Jack Parker (the rink is already named after him and he's still going strong), hockey is what defines BU. When you think of BC, you think of Doug Flutie and Matt Ryan, not their hockey program. That alone is a valid reason for fighting to keep them down on the ice.

The Terriers did that to the best of their abilities this year. Despite losing many key players from last year's championship team, BU managed to win the highest attended college hockey game ever at Fenway park vs. BC in early January. It was a victory that some called more important than the Beanpot this year. BU beat BC on their home ice as well, and were one of three teams in Hockey East to have a winning record against the Eagles on the season. The Terriers entire season, however, was a disappointment, as inconsistent play left them without a chance to defend their nation championship title in the post season.

And so, BC found a clear path to the top. They are poised to win their fourth national title if they can beat Wisconsin. With a win, they will be one shy of the Terrier's five national title mark, the pressure will be back on for BU, and the 09 championship season for the Terriers will look a lot less appetizing sandwiched between two championship seasons for the Eagles. If they lose, BU will owe quite a bit to the Wisconsin Badgers. The Red Hawks, on the other hand, will have to head home at the hands of a Boston hockey team again. (This is the 5th straight year they have been sent home by BU or BC in the NCAA tournament.) I wouldn't want to be them.

Either way, the rivalry goes strong. Even with a win on the 10th, BC will still be looking up at BU on the hockey stage (4 national titles to 5, 15 beanpot championships to 29, and 0 Frozen Fenway wins to 1). The Terriers will come back next year with a vengeance, something to prove, and a whole lot of fight. The battle of Comm. Ave. will wage on, and the aptly names Boston University Terriers will hand it to the CHuNkyBC Eagles. Until then, go Badgers, and thank goodness for college hockey.

By the Skin of Their Teeth

Let's assess the proverbial situation here. The Boston Bruins, possibly one of biggest disappointments in the National Hockey League this 09-10 season after where they were one year ago, still have a shot to end it with an exclamation point. It's not that they deserve it, in my opinion, but somehow they've managed to hold that last spot for a bid for the Eastern Conference Playoffs and are in a position to make a run for a higher seed before the season ends with a showdown against the high and mighty Washington Capitals.

The Bruins' 2009-2010 campaign truly began as soon as Tim Thomas shot like a bullet from net to bench after Carolina Hurricane Scott Walker (now playing for those high and mighty Capitals) whacked the game and- for the Bruins- season ending goal past him in the second round of the 08-09 playoffs. It was a ridiculous series that never should have happened the way it did. In disappointing fashion, the Bruins' 116 point season, their best since 1971, was brought to a premature end.

It was difficult to watch Thomas skate back to the bench in the aftermath. Yellow towels fell from the balcony, and the silence that filled the TD Garden was as deafening as the roar that had just gripped the crowd moments before. For one season, the Bruins had forgotten how to lose, until that painful moment when the reality of a team that is encroaching on a three decade championship drought returned as the puck hit the back of the net.

It still amazes me just how different the B's look this season when compared to the 08-09 version. Their swagger is gone. Their intimidation is gone. And most importantly, their consistent will to win is gone. It is as if a team that proved that they could play like champions lost their belief in that ability, and still haven't gained it back.

So now, with six games remaining before the playoffs begin, the Bruins find themselves hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot by the skin of their teeth. And here's the crazy thing: they could do it.

Do what?, you ask. Well, a lot of things, really. Amazingly, the Bruins are in a position where they will decide their own fate, and recent sparks of life in a team that ought to have been considered dead during their dreadful January losing streak have gotten people talking again. It would be easy for the Bruins to slip out of the playoffs, losing their lead of two points to the Atlanta Thrashers or the New York Rangers, but fans are hoping that they will be able to widen their lead, maybe by overtaking current sixth and seventh seed holders Philadelphia and Montreal. What makes these final games of vital importance is that Boston, Philly, and Montreal are tied with 82 points each. While Boston loses tiebreakers to both teams, and would take the eighth seed if the season ended today, they each have six games left to play to overcome the others. Remember, one point is enough to put the B's over the Flyers or the Canadiens. And here is why the scramble is so vital: the Washington Capitals. The Caps, sitting securely with the number one seed locked up and in their pocket, are just waiting for whoever gets stuck with that last spot to come rolling into town.

I'll be frank. No one wants to play Washington in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. The team boasts the most potent offense the league has seen in some time, and Alex Ovechkin is just itching for another chance at the Stanley Cup. So for Boston, Philly, and Montreal, the task becomes not only to secure a playoff bid, but to avoid Washington for as long as possible. The idea of an opening playoff series against the Sabres, the Devils, or even the Penguins, although daunting, is far more believable than one against the Caps. The Bruins have defeated the Sabres multiple times this year, and have seen them as divisional foes enough times to be able to develop a strong game plan against them.

Similarly, the Bruins have had luck against a good New Jersey Devils team, surrendering some close games but winning their most recent one on Tuesday in overtime 1-0 behind the hot glove of Tuukka Rask. And who wouldn't like to see the Bruins get at least four do-overs of their revenge match up against the Pittsburgh cheap shotters? If the Bruins bring the energy that they should have brought in their last game against the Penguins to a playoff series with them, they will have a great shot at sending them home. It would be nice to give one or two teams a shot at upsetting or wearing down the Caps before having to face them.

So, what must the Bruins do in their last six games to give them a shot at rectifying their situation. I've identified five factors that, if met or not met, could and should determine the fate of the team. Let's hope they can string together some of the stuff that made them the force to be reckoned with that they were last year. If they can do that, there's no telling what will happen when they are catapulted into the playoffs.

1. Intimidation



Allow me to point you towards the greatest hockey introduction video ever made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxpCaJ84BIc&feature=fvw

For years, people have been talking about how the philosophy of the Big, Bad Bruins needed to return to the Garden, as that was what made the B's so great in their prime. This video will never cease to send chills up and down my spine. It demonstrates the bridging of the gap between the Big, Bad Bruins of old and the newer version that is on the ice today, led by Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton, and Co. The theme of "Big and Bad are Back" fit, and it made people really believe that this year was going to be it. Nowadays when I walk by the Garden and see the giant poster hung up proclaiming the motto to the world, I can only sigh and reminisce. The motto would have been a better fit for last year's squad, as the 09-10 version have dulled down their intimidation front considerably.

Exhibit A, of course, is their lack of action during and following the blindside hit by Penguin Matt Cooke on Bruin Marc Savard, sidelining him for an indeterminate amount of time with a concussion. The blow was devastating. Boston's best goal scorer of the season, Savard had led the power play and kept together a team of under-performing players. When he went down in such an insulting way, the Bruins should have retaliated more than they did. Their lack of immediate action against Cooke hardly incited adjectives like Big and Bad, but more like timid and lazy. Where was Milan Lucic, the Bruin's star tough guy and enforcer? Where was Shawn Thornton? It took a week of media bashing to get the Bruins to realize that they needed to retaliate, and they did... kind of. Shawn Thornton took down Matt Cooke, and Captain Zdeno Chara got in a fight of his own, but at the same time, the B's lost again to the Penguins in a 3-0 shutout on their home ice. Their 17 shots on goal for the game illustrates just how underwhelming their attack was. The intimidation factor just was not there. The B's were still going through the motions, and without much time left.

So, what does need to happen? Well, the Bruins have all the tools necessary to put the fear of God into their opponents going into the playoffs: They're a team that, at this point, has nothing to lose. They have multiple guys who have shown that they can be passionate and lay down the law in protection of their teammates and selves, and they ought to have the motivation for it.

In games like their 2-1 victory over the Rangers on the 21st of March to maintain their playoff spot, the B's established themselves intimidation-wise early on. Two fights from unlikely players led to a strong forecheck and passionate play. The Bruins nearly shut out the Rangers, and when they did give up their lone goal, it was because they lost their focus and intimidation late in the third period. New York had its longest offensive possession of the game because the Bruins were taking their two goal lead for granted. The result was a one goal game with a few minutes remaining in the game. They need to be intimidating for 60 minutes a game, every game.

If the B's can be intimidating and show that they are willing to fight for what is right in their remaining games, which should provide them enough passion to do so, they will go into the playoffs as a team with spunk and strength. The Penguins, most of all, will fear the revenge that they never received from the Bruins, this time by way of goals scored, timely saves, and retaliation if other teams get out of line. If the B's can't establish this intimidation, other teams will have a much easier time establishing their style of play, and games will be much harder to win.

2. Offense



In a shocking reversal this season, the Bruins' offense disappeared. They've been awful at scoring goals. Everyone's favorite idea to latch onto nowadays is that the B's have a hot goal tender in Tuukka Rask, and a more than capable back up in last year's Vezina trophy winner, Tim Thomas. I don't think they will be enough.

A hot goalie is important for a team to perform in the final stretches of a season, but so is a potent offense, especially in hockey. For example, the Bruins' awful looking loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this week 5-3 can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Bruin's defense. Rask played very well. A ridiculous amount of the Lightning's shots on goal went into the net, but there are types of goals scored that a goalie simply cannot defend without the help of a strong backcheck. Tampa Bay's first goal, a quick sliding pass in from the left side of the net into the middle of the crease to be banged home should never have happened the way it did. They were just 30 seconds into the game, and Rask had his angle on the attacker coming from the right side of the net perfectly. It is not his job, however, to defend against the quick pass into the crease. The Lightning forward who was able to crash the net without any resistance ought to have been stopped by a defense that was sleeping.

So, a hot goalie is great. Thomas and Rask's shutouts in recent games have proven that fact. But, when you are playing a team that can score goals in ways that cannot be defended, you will need some offensive power. The B's should have that power. Losing star winger Phil Kessel at the beginning of the season created a drama equated to a soap opera for the team, and their offense has not rebounded. Injuries have seemingly made players finicky, guys are consistently looking for the beautiful shot instead of trying to get the dirty goal, and the power play has fallen into shambles with Savard's exit. But take a look at who is shooting the puck for the Bruins.

Zdeno Chara has the fastest shot in the world. David Krejci is known for being able to make things happen, Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder used to be able to get around guys like no one else. And now, they just can't seem to put their tools together like they did last year to put the puck in the net.

However, they have everything they need. A 5-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames and an equally impressive 4-0 win against the potent Thrashers are games that speak to the Bruin's ability to score. But for some reason, they just can't consistently do it over the course of many games.

With a bolstered offense in these last games, the Bruins will have regained the third side of the game again, and will be a much more balanced team going into the playoffs. Without it, they will have to keep relying solely on Tuukka Rask, a guy who, in his Rookie season, can't be expected to do everything.

3. Star Power



What happened to Milan Lucic? In his second year, the big guy struggled with injuries early in the season, but hasn't returned fully to his fiery state as of yet. It is no secret why there are more 17s than any other number on jerseys in the crowd on any given night at a Bruins game. It's because Boston fell in love with the guy who was bringing back the Big, Bad Bruins. He made highlight reels, and will live in Bruin's history forever after that Canadiens fight in which he threw his arms up and shouted after throwing his opponent to the ground, banging on the boards to the applause of fans as he was led to the penalty box. This guy could fight, and because he could fight, he could score goals.

But this year, he's cooled down considerably. Where is his fire? We catch glimpses of it occasionally through the woodwork, and his line has played superbly in recent games, but it still isn't the Looch we saw last year. There is nothing that would energize a fan base more than if Lucic regained his old form going forward.

Of course, Lucic isn't the only guy who lost some of his spunk this season. With Kessel gone, and Chara and Krejci also losing some of their swagger, the B's turned to the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Savard, and Rask to keep the team fresh in the eyes of the public. These guys have done a good job, but with Savard out, the B's will need their rough and tumble stars to return if they are going to have a shot at anything this post season.

If this can happen, fans will be all the more rabid about this team come playoff time. If not, people will be twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the B's to be sent home from a playoff that they were lucky to get into in the first place.

4. Balls

I'm not talking about balls of the players, as I've discussed that in section one, but rather the balls of the management. People were seething at the trade deadline this year as the B's failed to make a team changing move in pursuit of the playoffs. Great players seemed to go everywhere but Boston, as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. General Manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julian need to get some balls heading into this off season. Again, its an instance where they had them before the season began, but seem to have lost them now. Julian was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy in 2009 and was known for his ability to move his guys around effectively. Chiarelli had locked up most of the Bruins top performers of last year into long term deals so that the championship that they need could be encountered.

This year, they've lost their big time decision making skills. Chiarelli has been slow to pull the trigger on any more big trades that could help the Bruins. Julian has made some poor choices at the coaching helm late in the season as well. Most notable lately was his choice to play Tim Thomas in consecutive games with the playoffs looming and Tuukka Rask as the better of the two. With the season on the line, Julian will have to bite the bullet and just let Rask play out the remaining games so that he can go into the playoffs on a streak, and Chiarelli may need to swallow his money and move some people around if he want his team to be successful next year.

5. Consistency

Plain and simple, the Bruins have lacked any form of consistency all year. They always seem to bounce from win to loss to win to loss, and cannot keep any momentum moving from game to game. All of the factors above suffer from a lack of consistency. They need to be consistently intimidating, consistently moving the puck on offense, consistently ballsy, and consistently doing things that may wind up on next year's home opening video. Without this consistency, fans feel like they are being jerked around by a team that just doesn't care all the time.

The Bruins need to care, all the time. The team has not won a Stanley Cup since 1971, and for Bruins fans, it has been far too long. After what should have been the break through season last year, the B's failed to carry their momentum and find themselves on the brink of elimination. Let's see if they can wake up and ride the skin of their teeth back to relevancy.

CBI on CBS?

Let me start off by saying that I can't stand NCAA football bowl games. Can't stand 'em. If there's one phenomenon in sports that just screams "I'm made for the sole purpose of milking as much money out of this as I can", its the Papajohns.com bowl (Rutgers over NC State 29-23). That's not to say I don't appreciate NCAA football. On the contrary, in many ways, it surpasses the NFL in my opinion (a topic for another post), but its just a shame that such a promising program ends each year the way it does.

The playoff system is what makes organized sports different from a pickup game. The idea of qualifying for a playoff is what motivates teams to play hard and what keeps long seasons flavorful. Wild card teams and at-large bids add a dimension to sports that make them all the more exciting to follow. So why is the NCAA football playoff system so awful?

Well, because it doesn't exist! Think about it. College football teams play a whole season with the hopes of qualifying for a bowl game, while there is only a limited scope of teams that could ever get there. I will always point to Florida State University football as the ultimate you-get-what-you-work-for program. A lack of success before long time head coach Bobby Bowden took over as head coach in 1976 resulted in a massive turnaround for the team. A college that was not known for its football became known for it, and it took decades of work to make it that way. Yet, FSU has only won two national titles, with their first coming in 1993! A full six years earlier, in 1987, FSU held a record of 11-1 going into the post season, one win shy of their 12-1 mark in 1993, and yet they didn't even get the chance to play for a shot at the championship game. They were banished to the Fiesta Bowl, which they won, but it must have been a painful shot for a team with such promise to not have any chance to claim top spot in the country.

FSU is a great example of what happens when teams work hard, but even in 1987, they were no Cinderella team working for the shocking upset that makes sports so interesting to watch.

All the possible Cinderella stories in college football get watered down to the point where they are playing, at best, in the who-knows-what-get-a-deal-on-your-next-tire-rotation-by-calling-this-number-# bowl. If they had qualified for the NCAA championship game, they wouldn't be considered a Cinderella team at all! The two teams that are chosen for the championship game are shoo-ins based on power conferences and season records, where in a true playoff match-up, unlimited story lines are possible. By lacking a playoff system, NCAA football becomes one dimensional at best. Instead of handing teams their destinies in one on one football combat, teams go into seasons with the blurry goal of doing well enough to be picked by a bunch of computers for a shot at a national championship.

But we're not in the midst of that painful selection process right now. Instead, we find ourselves watching No.5 Butler University knock off No.1 Syracuse University to advance to the elite eight in the ultimate playoff showdown of the year, the NCAA basketball tournament. Now, this is a playoff you can really sink your teeth into.
It has become clear this year since the 65 teams first took the floor just why it is better to be the NCAA basketball champion than the NCAA BCS championship bowl winner. It's because you know, when you're cutting down the nets after that last game, that everyone that ought to have had a shot at bringing you down got that shot, and that you turned them all aside.

So, what is the CBI, and why should it be broadcast on CBS? Well, I guess I'm exaggerating (a lot) by making this claim, but hear me out. This year marked a pivotal time for Boston University men's basketball. For a University immersed in hockey tradition, basketball has always been the secondary sport. I'm not suggesting that it shouldn't stay that way. I love hockey. But the attendance at home basketball games at BU is discouraging. The team boasted eight seniors this year, a brand new head coach fresh out of a team that knows how to win in Villanova University's old assistant coach Patrick Chambers, and what should have been a boost in fan support. If there was going to be a year, this was it. When you're a basketball team in the America East Conference, when a year was "it", it means you qualified for a No.16 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament by winning the Conference championship. Ironically, you're playing for the rights to play a team like Duke Univeristy, Syracuse, or Kentucky University in the first round. It sounds kind of anticlimactic, as you're almost guaranteed a squashing at the hands of a program that is leagues better than you, but the important thing is that you got the shot at being the biggest Cinderella story in the history of sports. The fact that nothing has come from a 16 seed in the NCAA tournament as of yet should not be discouraging, because instances like Butler's downing of Syracuse and Northern Iowa University's defeat over Kansas this year should be enough to keep hope of an upset alive.

Long story short, BU lost the AE conference championship to University of Vermont in one of the most passionate games I've ever seen played. Vermont got to dance for a night to the tune of crushing from then high-and-mighty Syracuse, and the Terriers received a berth in the College Basketball Invitational.

The CBI. It'd definitely not March Madness, but there is something to be said for the sixteen teams that get a chance to shine in NCAA basketball's tertiary postseason playoffs- after the the National Invitational Tournament. These are the teams that, like FSU's football program in 1976, could be aiming for a big turnaround over their next years. Maybe they are celebrating the careers of a bunch of long time seniors. Maybe they have a new, exciting head coach. Sound familiar?

I am sure that BU would love to put its basketball program right alongside its pristine hockey program. Lucky for them, the basketball team gets a chance at the NCAA champion title every year, unlike in football, where teams need years of success before being picked to play in the national championship game. If the basketball version of the Terriers ever get to where FSU was in 1987, they won't have to wait another year for glory, they will get their shot at it right then. This is what makes the College Basketball Invitational so important. It is not to the point where it is on par with the lowliness of the Meineke Car Care bowl, and yet it represents the teams that came so close to the big dance, but didn't make it. In other words, the CBI pits the possible Cinderella teams of next year against each other, and with great success.

In the quarterfinal round, the CBI saw three overtime game, two of which went to double overtime. BU was able to knock off Morehead State University for a trip to the semifinals against Virginia Commonwealth University. Though they lost to VCU, they stuck with them the whole game, leading them by a point at halftime. These games are for real, and they have real implications on the future of basketball. Should the CBI be broadcast on CBS? No. Does it deserve better than HDNet? Yes.

Who knows where BU basketball will be next year. Maybe they'll lose their momentum and return/remain in the land of the no-names, maybe they'll get crushed by UConn in the first round of the big dance, or maybe they'll wind up cutting down the nets in late March, talking about the biggest string of upsets the world has ever seen. No one knows what will happen, and that is what makes NCAA basketball so much juicier than NCAA football. Because at the very least, each team will know that they started neck and neck with everyone else, and that if they wanted it, all they had to do was take it.