93 Year Flashback

This past weekend our Red Sox took on the Chicago Cubs for the first time since 1918.  The Sox went into the series having won six in a row, a sweep against the Yankees, one win against Baltimore Orioles, and two wins against the Detroit Tigers.  The series between two of the oldest and most storied teams in history took place in the oldest ballpark in the nation, Fenway Park.

The series began Friday when Jon Lester took on Doug Davis.  Davis allowed seven runs on eight hits in only 3.2 innings highlighted by an Adrian Gonzalez 2-run single.  Three pitches later, but against a different pitcher, Kevin Youkilis hit a two run bomb over the Green Monster.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia added a solo shot, his 2nd of the year, in the fifth inning.  Gonzo went 4-for-6 with four rbi, Youk and Jacoby Ellsbury added three hits each.  The three of them combined to go 10-for-17 with nine rbi.  Lester pitched well, but not great.  He gave up five runs on 12 hits with two walks and only five strikeouts in six innings for the win.  Scott Atchinson pitched three hitless innings to earn the save, while striking out three batters.  The Sox won 15-5, scoring the most runs in one game this whole season.  The only bad thing about such a great win was that with Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey on the disabled list, nobody knew who was going to pitch the next two games.

Saturday night's game was on FOX and both teams wore throwback jerseys from 1918.  The Sox's jerseys were all white with just a red number on the back.  The Cubs' jerseys were all gray were dark blue pinstripes and a dark blue brim on the hat, they also say Cubs on the front of the jersey with a dark blue number on the back.  Both jerseys looked pretty sweet.  The game however was not so sweet.  Alfredo Aceves got the start for the Sox against Carlos Zambrano.  Down 1-0, Ortiz hit a 2-run homer to take the lead in the third.  Ellsbury added an rbi single in the 6th.  Dan Wheeler and Rich Hill pitched two scoreless innings, but Matt Albers allowed 6 runs, 5 earned, in the Cubs' breakout 8-run 8th inning.  It was embarassing to watch, the Sox had extremely sloppy defense, including a messed up pickle that allowed two runs to score.  Youkilis was charged with the error on the pickle, but Crawford and Lowrie also had errors in the inning.  Albers got the loss in a 9-3 game.

Sunday's night was on ESPN and Time Wakefield pitched his second game of the year.  The stroy from this game was Wakefield's performance clearly.  Wakefield only pitched 75 pitches, but pitched 6.2 innings allowing only one run on four hits, no walks, and three strikeouts.  Two sacrifice flies by Jed Lowrie and Mike Cameron gave the Sox a 2-0 lead in the fourth.  On the second pitch of the fifth inning Saltalamacchia hit his third homer of the season and second of the series to make it 3-0.  After Wake allowed his only run in the sixth, Youk hit a two run triple that sent Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson all the way to the 420 mark in dead center field.  That made it 5-1 and thats all the bullpen needed.  Papelbon and Bard combined for 2.1 innings of one-hit ball and secured Wakefield his first win of the year.  Mike Quade, the coach of the Cubs was in the Pirates system 22 years ago when Wakefield first threw his knuckleball and after the game Quade said he has a new respect for Wakefield.

The Sox face their old teammate Justin Masterson and the surprising Indians starting tonight for a three game series.  Buchholz pitches tonight, Beckett tomorrow, and Lester on Wednesday.

Bruins/Lighting Game 4 Recap

Game 4 was huge for the Bruins. They had a chance to take a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference Finals and pretty much punch their ticket for a chance at the Stanley Cup (which will most likely be against the Canucks who lead their series over the Sharks 3-1.) Instead, the Bruins blew a huge 3 goal lead after the first period and the series is now tied 2-2. The Bruins just made the series much tougher on themselves.

The first period for the Bruins was great. Mid-way through the first period Patrice Bergeron took advantage of the Lightning’s sloppy puck movement as he stole the puck deep into the Lightning zone and forced it past Roloson. With 3:30 left in the first period, Ryder used some fancy stick handling on a Bruins 2-on-1 and scored easily on a baffled Roloson. The Bruins weren’t done yet, as with 2:00 left, Bergeron stole the puck in the neutral zone and made the Lightning pay with a wrister from 30 feet out. Roloson ended up getting pulled and was replaced by Mike Smith. The Bruins looked as sharp and as confident as ever going into the second period. They looked well on their way 3-1 series lead.

With 13 minutes left in the second, the tide began to turn. First, Teddy Purcell scored on a one-timer from a play that formed from sloppy puck-handling by Tim Thomas. Shortly after, Purcell scored another goal on a wrister from the left circle, a shot that appeared to catch Thomas by surprise. The bleeding didn’t stop there as shortly after that, Sean Bergenheim scored on a wraparound goal. The game, which appeared to be a done deal, was now tied due to the four minute flurry of goals by the Lightning. Tim Thomas did not look like his dominant self. He almost looked like a completely different goalie that we saw in his Game 3 shut-out. Although the game was tied, it was no time to panic. The game was still tied and the Bruins still had an equal chance at victory.

Unfortunately, momentum played a big part of this game. Once the Lightning took the momentum from the Bruins, they never gave it back. With 13 minutes left in the game, another bad neutral-ice turnover lead to a goal from Simon Gagne who was wide open in the slot. The Bruins had a couple of close chances to tie the game, but the game became out of reach when Martin St. Louis scored an open net goal with less than 1 minute remaining.


This game was eerily similar to the Game 7 debacle that occurred last year against the Flyers. No doubt about it, the Bruins choked again. They became too satisfied with their lead and they tried finishing the game on their heels instead of continuing to play the high level of hockey that Bs fans are used to. You would think that they would learn from last year, but I guess they did not learn their lesson. Fortunately for the Bruins, this year’s choke doesn’t mean the end of the season for the Bruins. They can still make up for it as they still have a maximum of 3 games left in the series. The Bruins need to move past this loss and use the frustration from it to come out and punish the Lightning in Game 5. They can once again take control of the series, but Tim Thomas needs to go back to the form that we have become accustomed to. He has let up 14 goals in games 1, 2, and 4. Game 3 he was as solid as ever, but he has been sloppy in the other games. He needs to be more consistent and the defense needs to offer more help. There have been a lot of goals this series for the Lightning due to poor puck discipline by Bruins’ defensemen. If the Bruins can get back on track and win Game 5, they will look right on their way to the Cup Finals. If they can’t win, Bruins fans may have to start worrying.

Game 5 is May 23rd at 8:00 on Versus.

Bruins/Lighting Game 3 Recap

After the 11 goals in Game 2 and 18 games for the series, the last thing anyone would expect for Game 3 was a low-scoring defensive battle, especially with the return of Patrice Bergeron. 1:09 into the first period, Krejci scored on a rebound from a shot by Milan Lucic. Another quick goal in the beginning of the game gave fans the feeling that the floodgates just opened. On the contrary, there would be no more goals until the third.

As expected, this game included some incredible saves. Most notably, Tim Thomas had a no-look spin-o-rama save with 13 minutes left in the first period off a turnaround slapper from Vinny LeCavalier. Greg Campbell had a turnaround slapper of his own with 9 minutes left in the first that Roloson stopped in which lead to a skirmish in front of the net. It was the first major sign of fisticuffs between the two teams. Both goalies played as their teams expected them to.

Scary moment with 2 minutes left in the first. Marc-Andre Bergeron slammed David Krejci on an open-ice hit in which Krejci had his head down. Krejci looked visibly shaken and all Bruins fans held their breath. One would have to remember what happened in last years’ series against the Flyers in which Mike Richards’ very similar hit lead to a broken wrist for Krejci. The Bruins were up 3-0 in the series before the injury, then lost the next 4. The rest is very forgettable history for the Bs.
Thankfully, Krejci returned and all was well. The Bruins barely got by without Bergeron, no way could they lose Krejci too.


With 13 minutes left in the third period, Andrew Ference launched the puck from just inside the blue line, which trickled right through the 5-hole of Roloson. It was essentially the nail in the coffin for the Lightning for they would not even score for the rest of the game.

Tim Thomas played great in the shut-out, stopping a total of 31 shots. He showed who the best goalie of the playoffs really is, despite letting up 10 goals in the first two games. Now the Bruins are 2 wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals, their first since 1990. Needless to say, it has been a while since Boston has been this excited about a Bruins team. They have the parts to do something special, something that hasn’t been done in over 20 years.

Game 4 is Saturday at 1:30 PM on NBC.

Bruins/Lighting Game 2 Recap

After a disappointing Game 1 for the Bruins, Game 2 almost seemed like a must-win for them. Although coming back from a 2-0 deficit isn’t impossible (they just did it against the Canadiens), it would put the Bruins in a hole that would be extremely difficult to climb out of. The Bruins don’t match up very well against the Lightning overall, speed tends to overcome size and physicality in hockey. The Bruins held tough though and, despite letting up 5 goals, Tim Thomas still made some spectacular saves to solidify the Game 2 win for the Bs.

13 seconds into the first period, the Bruin’s turned the puck over in the neutral zone and Vinny LeCavalier raced down the ice. He shot the puck wide of the net, which took a lucky bounce off the boards and Adam Hall shot the puck past a surprised Thomas.

Here we go again.

6 minutes left into the first period, Dennis Seidenberg shot a rocket from the point that was tipped past Roloson by Nathan Horton for the Bruins’ 3rd powerplay goal in 44 chances. The lead would not last long however as, with 6.5 seconds left in the first, Steven Stamkos took a desperation turn-around shot that was tipped past Thomas by Martin St. Louis. Despite 18 shots on goal in the first period, the Bruins went into the second period with the deficit.

It wasn’t until the second period in which the real show began. 48 seconds into the period, Tyler Seguin once again showed why he didn’t belong on the bench. He busted past 2 Lightning defenders with speed and some fancy footwork, then shot the puck by a diving Roloson who never had a chance. The goal was as spectacular as the one he scored in Game 1. The Bruins, and Tyler Seguin, weren’t done. About a minute and a half after that, Krejci scored on a tip from another Dennis Seidenberg shot. 6:30 into the period, it was once again Seguin’s time to shine as he rifled the puck past Roloson on a nice feed from Nathan Horton for his second goal of the night. After a Vinny LeCavalier goal, Michael Ryder scored 2 rebound goals as the Bruins went into the locker room with a 6-3 lead after two. Seguin had 2 goals and 2 assists in that period.

The final period from the Bruins was a mess. Roloson was pulled and the Lightning’s back up goalie, Mike Smith, took his place. The Bruins, however, were too busy letting up scoring chances for the Lightning to notice. Stamkos scored early in the third on a rocket past Thomas’ shoulder and, with 6 minutes left, Dominic Moore scored in a scramble in front of the net which involved the puck bouncing off Thomas’ maskless head and into the goal. The Lightning played phenomenal in the third and could have easily tied the game on all of their scoring chances. In the end, the Bruins were able to prevail and tie the series at one game a piece.

The Good:

Holy cow is Tyler Seguin going to be good. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in two games. He has the speed and skills that the Bruins were needing in this series to combat the speed and skills of the Lightning’s Big 3. All the Bruins fans who were questioning Claude Julien’s decision to bench Seguin now appear to have every right to. The kid is on fire. If he is able to control a game like this during the playoffs at age 19, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for Bruins fans once his game matures a little bit. He is the pure scorer that the Bruins have desperately been needing since Joe Thornton. Thanks, Brian Burke, I really hope you enjoy the inconsistent play of Phil Kessel. The question now is—What do we do with Seguin when Bergy comes back? We could either go with 5 defensemen, which is a liability because of the speed of the Lightning, or we could sit a forward. My vote would be with sitting Shawn Thornton. As much as I love the guy, he really hasn’t showed up much in these playoffs. Plus, he is a liability due to his hot head. The Lightning’s powerplay is so good, we can’t risk any penalties for stupid behavior. Yesterday morning I would have suggested benching Ryder, but I think he earned a spot for the time being due to his 2 goal performance yesterday. This one is going to be a tough one for Julien, but I don’t think there is any way Seguin will be taking a seat. (Side Note: It was good to see both Bergeron and Savard yesterday attending the game, their skills are truly being missed.)

Also, I like how Roloson was pulled after only 2 periods and giving up 6 goals. That’s going to hurt his GAA and his Save %. More importantly, its going to hurt his confidence. He went into last nights game as, statistically, the best goalie in the postseason. He loses that honor as the best goalie should never let up 6 goals in 2 period, including 5 goals in one period. He has to be shaken up a little bit after that performance. This game reminded me of Game 1 against the Flyers in which Boucher let up 7 goals. Clearly, after that, he was no longer the reliable goalie that the Flyers expected from him. Hopefully, its just downhill from here for Roloson

The Bad:
The Bruin’s defense did not look sharp last night. Although they got the win, there were a lot of worrisome aspects of last nights game that the team will have to take a look at. First of all, St. LeStamkos combined for 9 points yesterday. That can’t happen if the Bruins want to advance. Secondly, the Bruins defense let up 5 breakaway opportunities to the Lightning players (all 5, by the way, were stopped by Timmy.) The Bruins defense cannot keep relying on Thomas to clean up their messes. He needs more help. The Bruins have let up 10 goals in two games against the Lightning. They need to slow down the speed of the Lightning by any means necessary. This 1-3-1 nonsense by the Lightning needs to be contained. If someone told me that the Lightning were going to score 5 goals (again) in Game 2, I would have expected a loss by the Bruins. They need to play better defensively if they are going to advance.


Game 3 is Thursday, May 19th at 8:00 on Versus.

Top 20 Boston Sports Legends-Part 4

SEE PART ONE - SEE PART TWO - SEE PART THREE

1. Bobby Orr
"Number four, Bobby Orr."  Orr was the greatest hockey player to ever live.  He revolutionized the way to play defense, making it a two way position.  Orr joined the Bruins in 1966 as a teenager at the age of 18.  In 1967 Orr was the youngest player to ever win the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year.  Starting in 1968 he went to eight straight All-Star games and won eight straight Norris trophies for defenseman of the year. He scored 915 points in 657 games and had 92 points in 74 playoff games.  Orr was also awarded two Art Ross trophies and won three straight Hart trophies.  In 1970 Orr lead the Bruins to their first champhionship since 1949, winning the Conn Smythe tropy for playoff MVP.  In 1972 Orr lead the Bruins to their second Stanley Cup in three years.  He was the first player to win two Conn Smythe trophys.  Orr retired in 1976, a little eary because of injuries.  He was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1979 and had his number 4 retired by the Bruins in the same year. 

2. Ted Williams
Ted Williams was the greatest Red Sox player in our very storied history.  Williams played with the Sox from 1939-1942 and 1946-1960.  He took a four year break to serve as a pilot in World War II for the United States.  In his 21 year career, all with the Sox, he played in 2,292 games, had 2,654 hits, 521 home runs, 1,839 rbi and a .344 career average.  Williams hit the triple crown twice, including being the last to do it, leading the AL in average, home runs, and rbi.  In 1941 he was batting .400 going into the final game of the year, he told his manager he was going to play rather than skip the game to hit .400.  He ended up batting .406 on the year.  Along with two triple crowns, Williams won two AL MVP's, the batting title six times, and went to 19 all star games.  Williams went to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1966 and his number 9 was retired in 1984 by the Red Sox in the first year numbers were retired.  He and Joe Cronin were the first two to have their numbers retired.

3. Bill Russell
Bill Russell, like most people, has ten fingers.  Russell also has 11 NBA championship rings.  Clearly, the toughest decision for him everyday is which ring not to wear.  Russell played 14 years with the Celtics, his entire career.  Starting in 1958 he played in 12 straight All Star Games, being MVP in 1963.  Russell was elected to be on the NBA All-First Team three times, in 1958, 1963, 1965.  He averaged 15.1 points per game, 22.5 rebounds per game, and 4.3 assists per game throughtout his Celtic career.  Russell won the NBA MVP nearly half his career, 5 times in 1958, 1961-1963, and 1965.  Russell was also on the 25th, 35th, and 50th Anniversary Teams.  Clearly the most amazing thing about Bill Russell was how he lead the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959-1966.  He is the only player to have 11 rings, Phil Jackson has 11 as a coach.  In 1965 he was inducted to the Hall of Fame, three years after his number 6 was retired by the Celtics.

4. Larry Bird
Larry Bird apparently hit on my girlfriend's mom years ago, or so she says.  Apparently he wasnt very good at it, but he was a damn good basketball player.  Bird began his career 14 year career with the Celtics in 1979.  In 1980 he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award.  1980 was the first of eight straight years he went to the All Star game and was a part of the All-NBA First Team.  Bird finished with 12 All Star games.  He was also awarded three straight NBA MVP's.  Bird was a part of a big rivalry between the Celtics and Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers.  Bird defeated Johnson three times in the NBA Finals and finished his career with three rings, and two NBA Finals MVP's.  Bird finished his career with 24.3 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, and 6.3 assists per game.  He was also a part of the NBA 50th Anniversary Team.  He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1998 and his number 33 was retired in 1992.

5. Tom Brady
Tom Brady is the only active player on this list, but he certainly deserves it.  After being drafted 199th overall in 2000, he sat on the bench behind Drew Bledsoe, but only for one year.  Bledsoe got hurt early in the 2001 season and Brady stepped in and lead the Pats to their first ever NFL Championship.  The combination of Brady and coach Bill Belichick is the most impressive in the 2000-2010 decade, winning three championships and only missing the playoffs once.  Brady has gone to six Pro Bowls, won NFL MVP twice, has been the Offensive Player of the Year twice, as well as being on the 2000's all decade team.  To date, he has 34,744 yards, 261 touchdowns to only 103 interceptions, and a 95.2 quarterback rating.  Brady's most impressive season came 2007 when he lead the Pats to a perfect 16-0 regular season while throwing a record breaking the touchdown record by throwing 50 touchdowns to only 8 interceptions.  Brady is ranked as the 21st player of all time by NFL.com as of the 2009 season, and he won the 2010 NFL MVP so I'm sure he only went up.  Brady is the best quarterback the Pats have ever had, and by the end of his career could be the best who ever played the game.

Top 20 Boston Sports Legends-Part 3

SEE PART ONE - SEE PART TWO


6. Ray Bourque
Ray Bourque is truly one of the best defensemen in NHL history. He currently holds the all-time record for goals, assists, and points for defensemen. He is also 9th all time in games played. Bourque spent 21 years with the Bruins and made it to 19 All-Star games. He won 5 Norris Trophies, which are awarded to the league’s best defenseman. Bourque is known for being involved with some of the most emotional moments in NHL history. The first moment would come when he takes his #7 jersey off and reveals his new number of #77 during Phil Esposito’s number retirement. The second moment he was a part of was when, after 22 NHL seasons, he finally won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. Although he did not enjoy the experience as a Bruin, Boston could not have been happier to see Bourque hoist up the cup. If anyone deserved a Stanley Cup, it was Ray Bourque.


7. Cy Young
Cy Young is known as one of the best, if not the best, pitcher of all-time. He spent 7 years with the Americans/Red Sox, compiling a 192-112 record with a 2.01 ERA and 1,341 strikeouts. He led the Americans to a World Series Championships in 1903, the first World Series to ever be played. Cy Young was so good that the award for the best pitcher for the year was named after him. Cy Young finished his career with 511 wins, almost 100 more than anyone else in MLB history. On May 5th, 1904 Young pitched a perfect game for the Red Sox, his second of three career no-hitters. Needless to say, Cy Young is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played in an era before numbers were used which is why his number was not retired by the Sox.


8. Carl Yazstrzemski
The man they call Yaz, Yazstrzemski spent his entire 23-year career with the Red Sox, 18 of which he was an All-Star. No other player in MLB history has spent more time with only one team. He is currently 2nd all-time in games played, 6th all-time in hits, 12th all-time in RBIs, 33rd all-time in homeruns. During his career, Yaz only played less than 100 games in a season once, which gave him the reputation as a workhorse. He was known for his ability to play through injuries. Yaz’s best season came in 1967 in which he hit .321 and had 44 homeruns 121 RBI. He won the MVP that season and it is the last season in which a player had won the Triple Crown. He was a first-ballot hall of famer and had his #8 retired by the Sox in 1989.


9. Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy is known for being one of the first great Celtics and for being one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. Cousy spent 13 years with the Celtics and lead them to 6 NBA Championships in the late 50s and early 60s. He was great at combining points with assists as he averaged 18.4 points and 7.5 assists per game for his career. He currently ranks 15th all-time in career assists. Cousy never played a season for the Celtics in which he did not make the All-Star team and he won the MVP in 1956. Cousy retired at the age of 35 in a ceremony known as the “Boston Tear Party” due to how emotional it became. Cousy was a first ballot Hall of Famer and had his #14 was retired by the Celtics in 1963.


10. Carlton Fisk
Carlton Fisk is widely regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball history. He spent 9 full seasons with the Red Sox and during that time he was selected to 9 All-Star Games and won the Rookie of the Year award in 1972. His best year came in 1977 when he hit .315 with 26 homeruns and had 102 RBI. Fisk career was almost cut short when, in 1974, a collision at home plate lead Fisk to tear several ligaments in his leg. He was told he would never play again but proved doctors wrong when he came back to play in 1975 and hit .331 for the year. Fisk’s shining moment as a Red Sox came in Game 6 of 1975 World Series when he coaxed his walk-off homerun fair in the 12th inning to force a Game 7, an image cemented into the minds of all Sox fans. Fisk had his #27 retired by the Sox and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Top 20 Boston Sports Legends-Part 2

SEE PART ONE

11. Roger Clemens
In 1984, Roger Clemens burst onto the Red Sox roster as a 22 year old stud.  Clemens became an immediate ace and big fan favorite.  1986 was arguably his best season, going 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA and 238 strikeouts.  He also won his first of three Cy Youngs in a Sox uniform and the 1986 AL MVP.  On April 29, 1986 Clemens struck out 20 batters against the Seattle Mariners.  He was the first pitcher in MLB history to do so, since then only Randy Johnson and Kerry Wood have matched the 20.  He is also the only pitcher to ever throw a second game of 20 strikeouts.  Clemens finished his Red Sox career in 1996 with a 192-111 record, 2.94 era, 2,590 k's, 100 complete games, 38 shutouts, 5 all-star games, and 3 Cy Young awards.  He is tied with Cy Young for the most wins in Red Sox history and since he left for the Toronto Blue Jays nobody on the Sox has worn number 21.

12. Phil Esposito
Phil Esposito was easily the best scorer of his time, setting records people thought would never be broken.  Espo was the first NHL player to score 100 points when he scored 126 in 1969.  He won the Hart Trophy in the 69 season.  He would hit the century mark six times in his career.  He played for the Bruins from 1967-1975, after a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.  In 1970, Espo scored a mind boggling 76 goals in that season alone.  With the help of Bobby Orr, Espo and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1970 for the first time in 28 years.  Espo lead them to another championship two years later.  He finished his 9 year Bruin career with 1,590 regular season points, 137 points in 130 playoff games, 5 Art Ross trophies, 2 Hart trophies, and 2 Lester B. Pearson awards.  He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1984 and had his number 7 retired by the Bruins, in a very emotional scene, in 1987.

13. John Havlicek
In 1962 John Havlicek was drafted by both the Boston Celtics and the NFL's Cleveland Browns and, thank god, he decided to go play some basketball.  "Hondo" played his entire 17 year career with the Celtics playing mostly as a "sixth man."  Despite playing as the sixth man, Havlicek is the Celtics all-time leader in points and games played.  He scored 26,395 points in 1,270 games, averaging 20.8 points per game.  He also averaged 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists.  He is most well known for his famous steal against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals that stopped the 76ers from even getting a chance to win the game.  Havlicek won 8 championships, he was the Finals MVP in 1974, he played in 13 all-star games, and was on the all-NBA first team four times.  He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1984.
His number 17 was retired by the C's in 1978.

14. Cam Neely
Cam Neely joined the Bruins in 1986 after a trade with the Vancouver Canucks and their awful jerseys.  Neely played for the Bruins for 10 years before injuries caught up to him and he could not play any longer.  Once he stepped on the ice for the B's he was a fan favorite.  He scored about 70 points per year and averaged 124 penalty minutes per year.  He was a scorer and a fighter, a perfect mix of two completely different styles of the game.  He is also the last Bruin to score 50 points in 50 games, in 1993 and it was actually in 44 games.  He finished his career with the B's with 694 points 1,241 penalty minutes, and 89 points in 93 playoff games.  He was such a fan favorite, he appeared in the movie "Dumb and Dumber" as a tough guy named Seabass.  His number 8 was retired by the Bruins in 2004

15. John Hannah
John Hannah was dubbed the "Best Offensive Lineman of all Time" by Sports Illustrated in 1981.  Hannah played for the New England Patriots for 13 years from 1973-1985.  Sadly, he was probably the team's lone star while the Pats struggled in Foxboro.  Hannah missed only 5 of a possible 191 games due to injury, although he did hold out for 3 games in 1977.  Hannah went to nine Pro Bowls, had ten all pro selections, was the NFLPA Offensive Lineman of the year 3 times, and was on the 1970s and 1980s all decade-team.  He had his number 73 retired although other players have used it since he retired.  He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1991.

Sweep

Our Red Sox are finally at .500, 20-20.  As underachieving as that is, it is very exciting news.  They have been the second hottest team in the last 15 days behind only the Tampa Bay Rays.  They also have moved up to third place in the A.L. East, only 3 games back of the Rays.  All this news comes after our Red Sox swept the <expletive> New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium.  This was the first Red Sox sweep of the Yankees since 2004, and we all know how that season ended up. 

Friday night, Clay Buchholz pitched 7 strong innings only allowing 2 earned runs and striking out 7.  Papelbon recorded his sixth save although he allowed one run.  Adrain Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis both homered for the Sox and Crawford added an rbi.  Final was 5-4 Sox with Buchholz getting the win.

Saturday night was quite the pitchers duel, or it should have been.  C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees ace, went against Josh Beckett.  Beckett outpitched C.C. with 6 scoreless innings only allowing 4 hits and recording 9 K's.  Gonzalez homered again, giving him four straight games with a home run.  Jacoby Ellsbury added a pair of rbi and Captain Jason Varitek had one himself as the Sox went on to win 6-0.

Sunday night, on ESPN, Jon Lester faced off against Freddy Garcia.  Lester struggled early giving up 4 runs in the first two innings, but Youkilis hit his 7th homer on the year in the top of the third to tie the game.  Lester took over from there not allowing any runs in the next six innings.  David Ortiz hit his 7th homer on the year and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (I did not look that up) hit his first homer on the year, and possibly ever, hes pretty bad.  Jed Lowrie added a sacrifice fly and the bullpen held their own as Lester won the 7-5 battle with Papelbon recording his 7th save.

One slight cause for concern is the lack of production from Dustin Pedroia.  He did have four hits, going 4-for-11, but had no rbi and left four guys on base.  Pedroia is only batting .247 with 2 homers and 10 rbi this season.  We need him to step it up before we really start celebrating about our record.  He has carried this team time and time again and not that there are other guys, like Gonzalez and a healthy Youkilis he should be able to relax a little and play like the Lazer Show that he is. 

In other Sox news, the Chicago Cubs are coming to Fenway Park for the first time in 90 years.  Two of baseball history's storied, yet cursed, ball clubs will meet in the oldest park in the nation, should be a great series.

Bruins/Lighting Game 1 Recap

“And now, an ode to that game: PFFFFFFFFFT!!! Thank you. You spell that P-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-T. Exclamation points.” –Jack Edwards

The Bruins/Lightning Game 1 did not go to plan at all. At the beginning of the first period, both teams looked sharp and both goalies looked like they came to play. It seemed like we were in store for another exciting game that would come down to the wire. Unfortunately, 10 minutes into the game, things began to tilt the Lightning’s way. The first Lightning goal came during a scramble in front of the net in which the stickless Dennis Seidenberg kicked the puck to Sean Bergenheim who then put it in the wide-open net. Seidenberg tried to clear the puck out, but instead just got an assist for the Bergenheim goal. 19 seconds later, Brett Clark carried the puck all they way up ice and backhanded one towards Thomas who let in the very soft goal. No way that should have went in. Shortly after that, Kaberle had the puck behind the net by himself and gave up an embarrassing turnover in which Teddy Purcell just took the puck away from him and slammed it past the surprised Thomas. Again, no way that one should have went in.

85 seconds, 3 goals.

4 minutes left in the first, Tyler Seguin, in his first playoff game, scored an incredible breakaway goal in which he just toyed with the defense and wristed it past Roloson. Despite the loss, Bruins fans have to be excited as to what this kid is going to bring us in the future. He really stepped up his offensive game to help out with the loss of Bergeron. The Bs were only down 2 now going into the second period, but the deficit proved too large for them to come back.

7 minutes left in the third period, Marc-Andre Bergeron scored a power play goal; a slapshot from almost the blueline that fluttered past Thomas. The score was now 4-1. Simon Gagne added another goal, an open-netter from mid-ice, to solidify the victory. The Bruins, however, added one more ricochet goal from Johnny Boychuck to make the final score 5-2.

The Bruins played absolutely awful for those 85 seconds. However, for the rest of the game the Bruins played pretty well. If not for those mental lapses, the game could have been much closer. On the bright side, things can only get better from here. Bergeron should be back soon (he skated yesterday and today) and I feel the Bruins will be able to regroup. Marchand and Recchi both need to show up for Game 2 because they were practically invisible for Game 1. It is not time to worry yet, it took the Bruins 2 games to figure out the Canadiens. Nonetheless, this series just got a lot more interesting.

Top 20 Boston Sports Legends-Part 1

16. Kevin McHale
Behind Larry Bird, Kevin McHale was the best player on the Celtics during their dominance in the 1980’s. A true Celtic, McHale spent his entire career in Boston and was able to help bring three championships to the city in 1980, 1983, and 1985. McHale averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds for his career, but his best year came in 1986 in which he average 26.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and finished 4th in the MVP voting behind Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan. McHale showed Boston that he had the heart of a lion when, in 1987, McHale averaged 38 minutes a game in the playoffs with a career threatening broken foot. The Celtics eventually lost in Game 6 to the Lakers in the Finals, but fans truly appreciated McHale’s valiant effort. Kevin McHale was had his #32 retired by the Celtics in 1994 and he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.



17. Johnny Bucyk
Johnny Bucyk, nicknamed the “Chief,” spent the final 21 years of his career with the Bruins. He was a 6-time All-Star and won 2 Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972 with the Bruins. His best season came in 1970 in which he scored 51 goals and had 65 assists at the age of 35. Bucyk currently ranks in the top 25 in goals scored, total points, and games played. Bucyk retired in 1978, but has been remained with the Bruins organization to this day. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981 and had his #9 retired by the Bruins in 1980.


18. Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx, who spent his first 11 years with the Philadelphia Athletics, spent 6 seasons with the Boston Red Sox. One of the best players of all time, Foxx is a part of the illustrious 500 Home Run Club, won 3 MVPs (including one with Boston), and ranks 8th all-time with 1,922 RBI. His best year with the Red Sox was in 1938 in which he hit .349 with 50 homeruns and 175 RBI, one of the best hitting years in the history of baseball. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. Although his tenure with the Red Sox was not very long, he still spoiled fans with his incredible talents and gave fans a glimpse of what it was like for a player to be able to do almost anything he wanted with a bat in his hand.


19. Jim Rice
Jim Rice spent his entire 16-year career with the Red Sox and he was the definition of a slugger. He hit .298 for his career with 382 homeruns and 1,451 RBI. Rice won the MVP in 1978 after hitting .315 with 46 homeruns and 139 RBI. In 2009, Rice was inducted into the Hall Of Fame and had his #14 retired by the Sox. 17 years after his retirement, Rice is still a major part of Red Sox nation. Whether he’s doing work with the Jimmy Fund, offering some analysis on NESN, or spreading his wisdom among the Red Sox clubhouse, Jim Rice truly is a Red Sock for life.


20. Wade Boggs
Wade Boggs was one of the best hitters in Red Sox history. During his 11 years with the team, Boggs accumulated .338 average with over 2,000 hits and had won 5 batting titles. Boggs was a base-hit machine with a freakish ability to get the bat on the ball and find holes in his opponents’ defense. His best year came in 1987 when he hit 24 homeruns, 81 RBIs, and had a batting average of .363. After his career with the Sox, Boggs moved on to play for the Yankees and the Devil Rays. He finished his career among the prestigious 3,000 Hit Club and became a first-ballot hall of famer in 2005.

End of a (Rather Brief) Era?

Our Celtics were bested 97-87 by the Miami Heat to lose the series and subsequently will be practicing their short game on the links.  And thats more than enough about the game.

Now that our Celtics' season is over, the big storylines are whether or not Doc will return, if KG will return, if Ray will return, if Pierce will return, if Shaq wont disintegrate, and even what will happen with Rondo.  And honestly, a question nobody is asking, why is Danny Ainge still the President of Basketball Operations? Ainge traded away Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for none other than Nenad Kristic and Jeff Green this year at the trade deadline.  This trade made no sense to Celtics fans and a lot of critics.  While Oklahoma City got the big man that they needed to make a deep run to the playoffs, our Celtics lost our big man and fan favorite.  Our Celtics always had the advantage of size especially between Perkins and Garnett, and in a way Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal.  Without Perkins, we had no center, Kristic is just as much white trash as Brian Scalabrine was outside USC, where Scal averaged 25 points.  Many people claim that this Perkins trade cost us the Miami series.

Our Celtics "Big Three" are getting old and have seemed to maybe run out of gas.  Also the "Big Three" have at most three years on their contracts left.  Ray Allen's contract is up but has a $10 million player option, but he is turning 36 on July 20th.  KG has one year left and turns 35 on Thursday, May 19th.  Pierce has three more years after signing an option this past year and he turns 34 on October 13th.  I would not be surprised if Allen retired this year, but I also wouldnt be surprised if he returned.  KG better return, because without him we will not get a single defensive stop next year.  Pierce will still be called on for the next three years to blow games by doing the same drive + step-back move he always does, right before he misses the game winning/game tying shot.  One helper to Ray and KG spending more time in Boston, is Coach Doc Rivers just signed a 5 year contract extension with the Celtics, despite many rumors saying he was done in Boston.  Rondo has a good amount of years left on his contract and is only 23, and he should be back.

Danny Ainge said that, "he cannot say that the Big Three or Rondo will be back for sure."  This is probably a combination of age, contracts, and anger.  Anger toward Ainge and trading away Perkins has been made evident.  Garnett was apparently crying after he heard about the trade.  There were many comments from the entire Celtics locker room that everything felt different and wrong, and that they had lost a brother in Perkins.  Next year expect to see Doc, Pierce, KG, and Rondo on the sidelines.  Ray Allen, despite a very intriguing player option for $10 million next year, has played enough and finally surpassed Reggie Miller's record, all adding up to his retirement.  It would be very sad news for the NBA, but a good move and a smart move by Ray, who is a family man and would be able to spend time with them. Also expect next year to be KG's last, so good luck to Doc, Pierce, Rondo, and whoever they can find to fill the voids for a few years after that.

Oh, and do expect to hear that Shaquille O'Neal's bones have completely disintegrated and he is now a blob on his massive superman-style bed.

Bruins/Lightning Preview

On May 14^th, the puck will drop for game one of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Winner goes to fight for Stanley Cup glory, while the loser joins Kobe Bryant on the golf course. This is the biggest Bruins series in years; it is the deepest they have made it in the playoffs since 1992. To put it into perspective, that is the same year that Tyler Seguin was born. Needless to say, it has been a tough couple of decades for the Black and Gold and it is this group of players that show the most promise.

With an 8 day gap between the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and the The Eastern Conference Finals for the Bruins, the team will have time to recover from their bout with the Flyers. Obviously, the biggest concern for the Bruins is the health of arguably their best player, Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron suffered his third concussion of his career thanks to a hit from the Flyers’ Claude Giroux in the third period of Game 4. After missing 72 games after his first concussion and almost a month after his second concussion, Bruins fans should be worried. The team has reported that Bergeron’s concussion is “mild” and that he is showing positive signs of recovery, but he is still going to miss the first couple games of the upcoming series. Bergeron’s injury means that Tyler Seguin will get his first playoff hockey experience as he will join the Peverley/Ryder line as Chris Kelly’s impressive playoff performance has bumped him up to take Bergeron’s spot in the Recchi/ Marchand line. Clearly, the second line is taking a huge hit by losing Bergeron as the line’s success (especially Marchand’s) is due to Bergeron’s fantastic two-way play. The other injury to note for the Bruins is that of Adam McQuaid. He suffered a sprained neck on a freakish crash into the boards on a missed hit on Flyer Mike Richards in Game 2. He should be ready for the Lightning as he has practiced with the team without any limitations. If he is able to play, the Bruins will not need the services of Stephen Kampfer, who is recovering from a knee injury of his own, or the sporadic and unreliable play of Shane Hnidy.

The time off between series has also helped the Lightning, who lost both LW Simon Gagne and D Pavel Kubina in Game 1 verse the Capitals. They both suffered head injuries, with Gagne hitting the ice and Kubina hitting the boards. While Gagne is expected to be back for Game 1 of the series, Kubina is expected to miss it as he is listed under day to day. Gagne’s return is huge for the Lightning as he adds more firepower to the team’s already loaded arsenal of snipers.

Eastern Conference Finals X-Factors

1. Containing St. LeStamkos

The hardest task for the Bruins in this series is denying Tampa’s Big 3 (St. Louis, Lecavalier, Stamkos) of scoring chances. They combined for 244 points in the regular season and know how to score better than any other tandem in the eastern conference. Although Tim Thomas was a brick house against the Flyers, if the Bruins let up 54 shots on goal like they did in Game 2, the Lightning will take advantage of all of the opportunities and make the Bruins pay. The key to slowing down St. LeStamkos is controlling the pace of the game, as the Bruins did with the Flyers. By slowing down the pace, they will greatly lower the Lightning’s transition opportunities, the area in which they excel.

2. Concussion Repercussion

If Bergeron misses significant playing time, the Bruins are in trouble. Just look at what the loss of Krejci did last year’s Series that Shall Not Be Named. The Bruins won three in a row with Krejci, then lost four in a row without him. The Bruins need Bergy back ASAP if they want any chance of winning the Cup this year, Seguin is not ready to take any of the load they miss by losing Bergeron as he is truly an irreplaceable piece of this team.

3. Clash of the Grampas

The two goalies in this series, Tim “The Tank” Thomas and Dwayne “The Rock” Roloson have been the two hottest goalies in the NHL Playoffs. Thomas has been solid all year, racking up one of the best season for a goaltender in NHL history. Roloson has been decent, but has really turned his game up a notch since the playoffs. In the playoffs, Roloson has a slight advantage over Thomas with a 2.01 GAA to Thomas’ 2.03 GAA and a .941 Save % to Thomas’ .937. Thomas (37) and Roloson (41) both definitely benefited from their time off. You can expect both goalies to be well rested and both to bring their A Game in this series. It is going to be tough for both teams to score so every goal in this series is going to be huge.

Prediction: Bruins in 6.

Weeks Worth of Stuff

Been a week since I posted, sorry about that.  In the last seven games there have been two Bruins games, three Celtics games, and seven Red Sox games.  Our Bruins and Celtics were still in their heated playoff matchups, pun intended thank you very much.  The Red Sox were taking on the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins.  It was certainly a very crazy week that including a timely pinch running debut and a disgusting dislocated elbow, but well get to that.

First up, our Bruins.  Our Bruins had a 2-0 over the Philadelphia Flyers the last time I posted, and played Game 3 on May 4.  I am currently living in Virginia at college so I do not Versus, the channel the Bruins play on. I use a website to watch all Boston games and by the time I got Game 3 up it was 2-0.  Krejci and Chara scored in the first 63 seconds.  It was Krejci's fifth goal and Chara's first of the playoffs. After that it was all Bruins all the time.  Thomas was lights out just like always, giving up just one goal to Andrej Meszaros late in the second, but that was not until after Paille scored his first of the playoffs and Horton scored his fifth.  Chara added a fifth goal late into the third.  Thomas saved 37 of 38 shots to pile more stats onto his Conn Smythe resume. Our Bruins now had a 3 games to none lead, just like last year when the Flyers game back to beat us in seven at home.  The Bruins did not want to let that happen again.  Game four was played on May 6.  It was back and forth all throughout the first until Lucic scored with 8 minutes left.  Lucic was our leading scorer in the regular season with 30 goals and this was his first of the playoffs, it was also his first at home in over 20 games.  The second period was pretty sloppy by both teams, and the Flyers had the lone goal by Kris Versteeg with six and a half minutes left.  Then Boychuk scored two minutes into the third and it was all Bruins, it looked like the Bruins against a practice squad, they were just running over the Flyers.  Lucic added another goal with 5 minutes left and then, with the goalie pulled, Marchand added another with just under two minutes left.  Then coach Claue Julien put out our fourth line of Daniel Paille, Shawn Thornton, and Greg Campbell for the last minute and change trying to get fan favorite Thornton his second career playoff goal.  Thornton just missed but got the assist on Paille's second goal of the playoffs.  Our Bruins won 5-1 and made sure, quickly, that history from last year would not repeat itself.  In the words of Jack Edwards, "Oh, how sweep it is! Goodbye Flyers."  Our Bruins will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who also swept the Washington Capitals, in the Eastern Conference finals starting on the 14th.

Next up, the Celtics.  The Celtics played game 2 against the Miami Heat May 3rd in Miami.  It was just like game 1 where both teams swapped leads and were close mostly the whole time.  Our aging Celtics could not keep up with the Heat, especially LeBron who had 35 points and Wade who had 28 points.  Rondo was the only Celtic who had 20 points.  The Heat handled the Celtics late and won 102-91.  The series shifted to Boston for game 3 and it was about time we had a home game.  The Celtics were down by two at the half, but ran away with the game in the third, outscoring the Heat by 13 points.  A very scary moment happened when Rondo and Dwayne Wade got tangled with about seven minutes left and fell awkwardly and dislocated his elbow.  Rondo came back for the fourth and played literally with one arm.  He caught the ball, passed the ball, and shot the ball all only with his right hand.  At one point he stole the ball with his left hand as the whole Garden gasped for air.  The Celtics held LeBron to 15 points and Chris Bosh to only 6 points as they went on to win 97-81.  Game four was last night and the first half, the Celtics were putting on a clinic.  They overwhelmed the Heat and looked as if they were going to tie the series at two games a piece.  They kept their momentum through the third, but lost it the fourth as they only scored 13 points and they were tied with the Heat with 19 seconds remaining and one last chance to take the lead.  Coach Doc Rivers, who is a genius at drawing up game winning plays, decided to get Pierce the ball and use Garnett to screen Ray Allen's defender so Ray could get open for the game winning shot.  Ray and KG and their respective defenders just ran into each other constantly and Pierce was waiting for Ray to be open, but ran out of time and had to go left and throw up a prayer over LeBron, of course it did not go in.  It was probably the ugliest play I have ever seen and clearly cost us a chance at the win.  Watch what happened, but skip to 3:52.  The game went to overtime and the Celtics were outplayed and outscored 12-4 as the Heat took a three games to none lead.  The series goes back to Miami for game 5 on Wednesday.

Finally, the Red Sox.  Our Sox, clearly, were not in the playoffs, but did have seven home games in the last seven days.  They went 4-3 against the Angels and Twins, winning their last three straight against the Twins.  Luckily, we did not have to face the Twins' ace Francisco Liriano who threw a no hitter, the first this year.  The Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander also threw a no hitter this past week, the second of his career. Our Sox always play exciting games, especially at home, and this past week was full of them.  None were more exciting than last night's game that went into the 11th inning.  Jed Lowrie took a 5 pitch walk in the 11th and Jose Iglesias, who made his debut in the field the game before, pinch ran as Carl Crawford stepped up to the plate.  Crawford who is .211 had a walk-off on May 1st and had another oppotunity again tonight.  Iglesias took off for second as Crawford drove the ball to deep left, it went off the Green Monster and Iglesias scored from first.  Crawford jumped in excitement just after he reached second base and then was greeted by his teammates congratulating him. Our Red Sox finished their home stand with a 2-1 victory in the 11th.

It was definitely one hell of a week, and expect this next week to be just as good.  Our Celtics face the Heast tomorrow, our Sox play the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday and Wednesday then the extremely hated New York Yankees this weekend.  Our Bruins start their series against the Lightning on the 14th.  I would suggest watching game 1 of that series, as the Bruins will be without Patrice Bergeron and will be using rookie Tyler Seguin instead.  Check back soon for the Lightning series preview.

B's Up 2-0

FAIRFAX, VA - Last night our Boston Bruins took on the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly, looking to take a two games to none lead in the series.  After the game one blowout 7-3 by Boston, Philly was looking to regain at least a little respect while still being in their hometown.  OurBruins were looking for their second straight 2-0 series lead over the Flyers in two years, of course with a different result in mind.  Last year our B's had a 3-0 series lead and blew it as the Flyers won 4-3.  Game one showed the dominance our Bruins have over the Flyers, they just have to be able to finish this year.

The Flyers came out flying in the first.  The Flyers capitalized on a two on one just 29 seconds in as James van Riemsdyk (who played with a kid on my hockey team in high school).  9 minutes later van Riemsdyk scored another goal.  Our B's were getting run over and looked horrible.  It seemed like the Flyers were going to take game two and even the series.

That feeling did not last long as 12:50 into the first Chris Kelly, one of the new New Kids on the Block, scored his fourth goal of the playoffs.  The line of Kelly, Ryder, and Peverley was formed when Ryder got "demoted" because he was struggling and it has probably been our best line in these playoffs as Ryder and Kelly were huge factors in our first series versus the Montreal Canadiens.  But only 85 seconds after Kelly's goal, Bergeron fed Marchand at the top of the circles for a twisted wrister (props again to Jack Edwards) to tie the game.  Marchand won the Bruins 7th Player Award this year, a rather prestigious won voted on by the fans, and he very well could be keeping that reputation throughout these playoffs as this was his fourth goal.

A scary moment came late in the first period.  With 2:30 left in the first Adam McQuaid lunged trying to hit the Flyers Mike Richards, McQuaid missed Richards (mostly because Richards got scared and moved out of the way) and McQuaid smashed his face into the boards.  Watch what put McQuaid into the hospital.

 

The game was back and forth for the last two periods and it really was just great save after great save, especially by our goalie Tim Thomas.  The game went to overtime where the Bruins have been magical so far in these playoffs (3-0 after this game).  Overtime was also back and forth until about 6:00 left.  Braydon Coburn for the Flyers tried to clear the puck from his defensive zone but Nathan Horton cut it off and passed it to David Krejci who took a one-time slapshot that seemed to go in.  Horton, Lucic, and Krejci all put their hands up but the puck had come back out of the net and the Flyers played on.  The next whistle the referees checked the replay and called it a goal.  The Bruins had won and taken a 2-0 series lead over the Flyers.  This reaction to the goal was eerily similar to Patrick Kane's Stanley Cup winning goal last year against the Flyers, even the announcers have similar reactions.

After the 4 goal first it was all defense, well no.  It was all Tim Thomas.  Thomas let in two goals on the first six shots he faced, which did not look good for our Bruins.  After the second goal he made 46 straight saves and got the first star of the game.  While Krejci did score the game winning goal, Thomas allowed them to get that far and I say that Thomas really won the game for us.

Emotional Scenes

FAIRFAX, VA - May 1, 2011 Osama bin Laden, apparent mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was killed in Pakistan.  As word quickly spread across the country, people reacted as though it were a victory for the United States.  One huge crowd was outside the White House for several hours chanting and singing pro-USA songs.

Another crowd was at the only active sporting event that was still going on when the news was circulating the country.  Fans at Citizens Bank Park, watching their beloved Philadelphia Phillies play the New York Mets, were chanting U-S-A! The players had no idea why, but after the game many players said that it was a night they would never forget.

This got me thinking about some of the most emotional games for Boston sports. This was the top three I could come up with including an honorable mention:

Honorable Mention
Nomar's First Game Back - 07/06/09

In Nomar Garciaparra's first game back to Fenway Park since leaving our Boston Red Sox in 2004 for the Chicago Cubs via a trade, Nomar received a two minute standing ovation.  Nomar was the face of our franchise for many years and definitely a fan favorite.  He returned on July 6, 2009 as a member of the Oakland Athletics.  In the top of the second inning Nomar came up to bat and after about a minute could not hold back the tears, watch the scene.

I was luckily enough to be at this game with my dad and watch this happen and it was definitely one of the best Sox games I have been to.  I get chills everytime I watch that video.

Third Place
Ted Williams at the '99 All Star Game - 07/13/99

Our Boston Red Sox are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports as they began in 1901.  Their ballpark, Fenway Park, is the oldest ballpark that is stil in use, dating back to 1912.  Ted Williams was the best player to wear a Red Sox uniform and play in Fenway Park.  Williams played for the Sox from 1939-1960, with a five year break to serve as a pilot in World War II.  He won the AL MVP twice and the Triple Crown twice.

In 1999, our Red Sox held the annual MLB All-Star Game.  Williams was not only in attendence, he went out onto the field and was greeted by all the players.  There was also a significant standing ovation as he was announced and driven onto the field.  Williams passed away in 2002 from cardiac arrest at the age of 83.  The '99 All-Star Game was the last nationally televised time he was seen at Fenway.

"A man has to have goals—for a day, for a lifetime—and that was mine, to have people say, 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived."

Second Place

Phil Esposito's Number being Retired - 12/03/87

The Boston Bruins are also a very storied franchise.  They began in 1924 and were one of the Original Six teams.  They have had some of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates, but after Eddie Shore and Bobby Orr came Phil Esposito.  Esposito played for our Boston Bruins from 1967 to 1975.  He was the first person in NHL history to reach 100 points in one season and set the record for most goals (76) and most points (152) in a season, although these two records were beaten by Wayne Gretzky eventually.

On December 3, 1987, the 68 year old Esposito came to the Boston Garden in front a sold out crowd to have his number retired in black and gold.  The ceremony began with Ray Bourque, captain for the Bruins at the time, giving Esposito a Bruins jersey with Espo's name and number 7 on the back.  Bourque, in a surprising move, then took off his number 7 jersey revealing his new jersey with the number 77 on the back. Bourque did not tell anyone other than the Bruins General Manager at the time, Harry Sinden.  Esposito was close to tears and a big gasp came out of the full crowd as Bourque revealed his new jersey.

The whole five minute ceremony was so loud you could barely hear anyone talking into the microphone.  Esposito's number is one of ten numbers to be retired in Bruins history.

First Place

First Pats Game after 9/11 - 9/23/01

The 2001 NFL season was put on hold after the 9/11 attacks and continued again the weekend of 9/23.  Our New England Patriots took on the New York Jets in Foxboro Stadium.  Looking back on the game, the big story may have been the injury to Drew Bledsoe, which made Tom Brady the starting quarterback and the Patriots have won three Super Bowls and never looked back since that game.  The true real story was all the events that had happened in the past week and the pregame activities on the field.

The game was supposed to start at 1 p.m., but did not actually start until a little after 2 p.m.  New York firefighters, police officers, and some New Englanders who were directly affected and had lost family members in 9/11 were invited onto the field.  One of the firefighters was Patriots special teams captain, Larry Izzo's brother.  Izzo and his brother embraced each other and began to both cry.  Although the game was not actually played in New York, it had a somber atmosphere that made it feel like the attacks happened in Foxboro, MA.  Also, there was a moment of silence that lasted well past when the announcer had them stop.