Congrats Yankees: So this is what a $75 million hug looks like?!

Mini One on One: New England Style!

Check out the Gretzky-like goal from 9 year old Oliver Wahlstrom of Portland, Maine.

R.I.P. Captain Lou Albano (1933-2009)

Are the Pats taking on too much?

Bill Belichick's organizational multi-tasking may be spreading his personnel too thin. This year the Patriots have Nick Caserio (a front office person) also coaching the DB's and now a unseasoned Quarterback's coach working with the Head coach on calling offensive plays! Why can't the Patriots hire a designated Offensive Coordinator or Defensive Backs coach?? I know they didn't believe in giving former Coordinators Charlie Weiss and Romeo Crennel pay raises but are the Patriots this cheap or is Belichick this much of a control freak?

Either way, it may be catch-up with him and the Patriot's are suffering because of it.

In Bill We Trust?

With Rodney Harrison and Teddy Bruschi retiring and no Josh McDaniel calling plays to help Tom Brady allude all the blitz packages and ease back from injury, the Patriots were already depleted from last year. On top of that Coach Bill Belichick traded Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Russ Hochstein and Ellis Hobbs for draft picks.
The draft pick he got from KC for Vrabel and Matt Cassel was used to pick Pat Chung who didn't play one down on defense in the embarrassing loss to the New York Jets last week. Also, for a coach who doesn't believe in looking past the next week's opponent, Belichick trades an All-Pro in Seymour for a draft pick in 2011.
I'm not sure if the Patriots are secretly rebuilding but aside from Jerod Mayo, they haven't had a lot of luck in the draft latelty (solid 3rd and 4th rounders like O’Connell and Thomas were recently let go for nothing). This is made worse by the fact that Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker are in their prime right now and the Patriots are facing one of most competitive schedules this year. On top of that, for some reason Belichick decided not to hire a pure Offensive Coordinator or even sign an experienced back-up QB this year to help Brady.
So no pass-rush or leadership on Defense and no direction and support on Offense makes me think that with all these (non) moves, the old football coach has already let Brady, Moss, and the 2009 team down.

Heart of A Champ, Bench of A Loser: Celts Can't Repeat

CLOSED: For Repairs

Now that it's still early in the Sox season, the Bruins have just lost their best chance at a Stanley Cup in 20 years with a heart-breaking overtime loss, the Celtics' title chances are virtually hanging by an exhausted thread (or tendon for that matter), and the Patriots don't open up training camp for several weeks; I think it may be a good time to take another brief hiatus from the Ol' Boston Sports Blog ...just until the wounds have healed and/or David 'Big Papi' Ortiz hits his first couple home runs of the 2009 season.

The Agony of Defeat

Even though the 2008-09 Boston Bruins had the best record in the Eastern Conference, swept Montreal in the first round, and temporarily returned everyone to the glory days in the 'Hub of Hockey', the team still could not dig itself out of a second round deficit against a playoff-savvy team like the Carolina Hurricanes.

In reality, the Bruins probably never stood a chance after going down 3 games to 1 to a team that has always lost their first playoff game in each of the last 4 series it's won, has made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in each of it's last two playoff appearances, and has a goalie in Cam Ward who has never lost a Game 7.

Yet, it was an especially bitter loss because it was in sudden-death overtime, at home, and the winning goal was deflected in by a series villain, Scott Walker, who had attacked Aaron Ward in Game 5 and had never scored a goal against the Bruins.

A Tuesday Trifecta for the Old Towne Teams!

Boston Bruins keep their composure and beat the Cane's 4-2 in Carolina to force a Game 7 in Boston!
Boston Celtics score 13 unanswered points to nip the Magic and now lead their playoff series 3 games to 2!
Boston Red Sox come from behind to beat the Angels 4-3 in Anaheim without Youkilis or Pedroia!

A Hurricane Punch Might Sucker Bruins in Game 6

The NHL ruled that Hurricane's Scott Walker will only be fined $2,500 and not suspended when he punched defenseless Bruin Aaron Ward with less than 3 minutes to go in a 4-0 Bruins' rout of Carolina in Game 5. On top of that, Jussi Jokinen wasn't even penalized after he nearly took Bruins' Captain Zdeno Chara out with a slash to the back of the left ankle near the end of the second period. It's bad enough that these cheap shots took place against two Bruins Defensemen (a position which is already depleated by injury), but for it to happen when the game was nearly out of hand and without consequence is shameful.

Now most in the 'Hub of Hockey' hope that the cheap shots and unfair rulings will only enrage and motivate the B's to a win in Game 6. However, if the Bruins focus all their effort on retaliation, then this could play right into the Hurricane's game plan. As we all know, when a team is over matched in the NHL they will often send a lesser player or 'instigator' to irritate a top player on the other team. If he doesn't spark his own team with his efforts, then he may just be able to get the more talented opposing player off the ice with a matching penalty.

As the better team, the Bruins need to be careful because should the B's Milan Lucic or Zdeno Chara seek revenge against the Cane's, then two of the Bruin's top players may be taken out of 'their game', or worse, the game. It will be hard enough for the Bruin's to climb out the series hole and win in Carolina, so let's hope the injustice done in Game 5 only motivates them to stick to their game plan in Game 6.

Down 3 Games to 2, Bruins Still Need Some Help

Did Mad Manny Mean Roid-Rage?

As we learn that Manny Ramirez is the first high-profile MLB player to test positive for performance enhancing drugs and could be suspended for as many as 50 games, one has to wonder if the normally mellow Manny was a victim of 'Roid-Rage' when he threw down 64 year old Red Sox Traveling Secretary Jack McCormick over tickets and got into a dugout fight with Kevin Youkilis over nothing last year?

How Sweep It Is! Sox Take Yanks Again!

The Boston Blue Sox?

After many complaints, the Red Sox finally switched from blue to red socks (to go along with the recently re-added red t-shirts) under their new gray road uniforms. In a recent statement, Red Sox Chief Operating Officer Mike Dee said that initially the blue socks were not a prime consideration in the new uniform design, especially because most of the time the socks aren't visible.

Really?!? Considering the team has been known as either the 'Red Stockings' or 'Red Sox' for over 100 years, you would have to explain to me how a designer or marketing person was able to overlook including red socks in the new road uniforms. It's bad enough that the new gray uniforms look more like the LA Dodgers or remind one of the old gray uniforms the Sox wore during the heartbreaking '86 World Series, but to have the prominent color be blue and not red is ridiculous! Especially when fans never asked for the road uniforms to change and the prior road uniforms already had more red added (as ordered by Owner John Henry in 2003) and are now associated with our World Series victories in 2004 and 2007.

The Celtics Are Looking Tired...

So Brian 'Semi-Pro' Scalabrine And Celts' Defense Must Step it Up Against the Bulls this Series!

Patriots Could Be Dancing With the Stars

As predicted, the Patriots got help in the 2009 NFL Draft for their Defensive Backfield (picking-up 2 players including Darius Banks from UConn); the Offensive Line (3 players with upside), as well as, selecting a young Wide Receiver to develop. However, the Pats did not pick-up a pass-rusher which could be telling for a team that finished 26 out of 32 in the league and also traded OLB Mike Vrabel in the off-season.

This could mean that pass-rushing veteran Defensive End Jason Taylor may be leaning towards signing soon with the Patriots -Or- perhaps a trade with Carolina for Defensive End Julius Peppers could still be in play. Aside from compensation, the only concern for All-Pro Peppers becoming a Patriot is that his salary would upset the pay scale of veterans like Defensive Tackle Vince Wilfork which may be one of the reasons why the Pats selected DT Ron Brace of Boston College in the second round of the NFL Draft.

Sox Sweep Yankees & April Homestand!

Red Sox Rookies: Who Had the Best 2 years?

FRED LYNN:

1975 - .331 Avg. 21 HR 105 RBI 47 Doubles

• AL Rookie of the Year Award
• AL MVP Award
• Golden Glove Award
• All Star team

1976 - .314 10 HR 65 RBI 32 Doubles

• All Star team

NOMAR GARCIAPARRA:

1997 - .306 30 HR 98 RBI 44 Doubles

• AL Rookie of the Year Award
• Silver Slugger Award
• All Star team

1998 - .323 Avg. 35 HR 122 RBI 37 Doubles

• AL MVP Runner-up

DUSTIN PEDROIA:

2007 - .317 Avg. 8 HR 50 RBI 39 Doubles

• AL Rookie of the Year Award

2008 - .326 Avg. 17 HR 83 RBI 54 Doubles

• AL MVP Award
• Silver Slugger Award
• Gold Glove Award
• All Star team

The 2009 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots have 11 selections in the NFL Draft this weekend including 6 in the first three rounds. As in past years, Coach Bill Belichick and the Pats won't use all 11 picks and will probably either trade away a few for next year or package some to move up the draft board and aquire a player that may be dropping.

That said, after listening to all the pundits and so-called experts, here is my take on what areas the Patriots will try to target in order of priority.

1. DEFENSIVE LINE: Even though the Patriots still need Linebacker help, the feeling is that they don't view any of the famed Linebacking corps coming out of USC (Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, and Rey Maualuga) as can't miss prospects within their system as they did with Jerod Mayo last year. Plus Richard Seymour's contract will need to be renegotiated soon, so look for the Pats to select Robert Ayers with the 23rd pick in the first round. Ayers is a Defensive End from Tennesse (like J. Mayo) who could possibly be converted to a pass rushing linebacker like former Patriot Willie McGinest.
   
2. DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Just like pitching in baseball, you can never have enough Defensive Backfield depth in football. Plus Ellis Hobbs and newcomer Leigh Bodden are in their final year of their contracts, so look for the Patriots to take a stab at local product CornerBack Darius Butler from UConn with the 34th pick.


3. OFFENSIVE LINE: Whether it be the SuperBowl loss to the NY Giants 2 years ago or the first game against the KC Chiefs last year, Tom Brady returns to a line of blockers that couldn't effectively protect him the last 2 games he's played in. Also, 11 out of 14 players of this group are entering the final year of their contract. Plus, this draft year is deep in Offensive Line talent, so I could see the Patriots picking-up one or two Offensive Linemen between the second to fourth rounds.


4. RUNNING BACK/WIDE RECEIVER: With Kevin Faulk getting older, Laurence Maroney still not producing, and Fred Taylor more of a short term solution, I could see the Patriots possibly picking-up another unheralded Running Back in the middle-to-late rounds like UConn's Donald Brown. Also, the signing of Joey Galloway is another short term answer at Wide Receiver, so the Pats also may select a Wideout with upside in the middle-to-late rounds.


5. QUARTERBACK: I think the Patriots are more interested in using West Virgina Quarterback Pat White as a 'red herring' in this weekend's draft than a 'wildcat' in the upcoming season, but that doesn't mean the Pats won't try to develop another Matt Cassel with a late round pick.