LOWELL HITS THE DISABLED LIST, COREY RELEASED

Mike Lowell woke up with swelling in his injured thumb on Thursday and was subsequently placed on the 15 day disabled list. The injury may keep Lowell sidelined for 2 to 4 weeks. He'll be replaced on the 25 man roster by Jed Lowrie. In the lineup, he'll be replaced by Sean Casey, with Youkilis shifting over to third. We've also seen that Francona likes batting Youkilis 5th in the lineup with Lowell out. I'd prefer keeping Youkilis at #2, and moving Drew up to 5th, but that's me.

Mike Timlin will be activated today, and will replace Bryan Corey. Corey, who has a 14.54 ERA in 6 outings, is out of minor league options and will be designated for assignment, meaning he'll be released in 10 days.

Buchholz faces Chieng Meng Wang tonight.

Source:
Hartford Courant

LIFE AIN'T EASY FOR A TEAM NAMED SIOUX

The BC hockey team scorched North Dakota (the #3 ranked team in the country) 6-1 last night. North Dakota came into the game with the best defense in the country, the fewest goals allowed per game (about 1.76), and a goalie with the lowest GAA in the nation. But Nathan Gerbe and the Eagles had other plans.

Gerbe led the scoring with a hat trick and an assist. It was his third hat trick of the season, and the fifth time he's had 4 or more points in a game. He's simply faster than everyone else on the ice, and he knows how best to use that speed.



BC got ahead 4-0 in the first thanks to breakaway goals off North Dakota turnovers. Then it was an academic matter of keeping pressure on the Fighting Sioux, which BC did by adding two more scores. Freshman goalie Ryan Muse's shut-out bid was broken up with less than a minute and a half to go, as North Dakota salvaged some dignity from their third consecutive semi-final loss to BC.

It's an all Catholic final as Notre Dame upset Michigan 5-4 in overtime. Notre Dame has never been to the NCAA finals, this is BC's third consecutive trip to the title game. But unlike the previous two tries, BC is an overwhelming favorite. That's what has me nervous. BC always seems to lose that big game they should have easily won. See: last year's football loss to FSU, 2006 football loss to Miami, 2005 loss to Syracuse.

Source:
Associated Press

Phto Credit:
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
AP Photo/Evan Semon

FAST START SINKS BRUINS

With 21,000 screaming, high-pitched Quebecois in attendance for Game 1 of the Bruins/Canadiens series, the adrenaline was flowing pretty fast. And in the opening moments of the contest, the Bruins were shaky while the Habs were juiced.

Sergei Kostitsyn scored 34 seconds into the first period. His brother Andrei followed that up with a goal at 2:02.



But unlike previous defeats to Montreal, where early goals lead to the Bruins quitting and being blown out, the B's actually seemed to calm down after the goals and play decent hockey. Shane Hnidy cut the lead in half with a goal at 8:34 in the first and the game was still close going into the second.



Bryan Smolinski got the only goal of the second to make it 3-1 Canadiens, but the Bruins were hanging in there. They weren't getting too many more penalties, and were generating offensive opportunities.



But the B's fell apart in the third. Tom Kostopoulos got Montreal's fourth goal, and a series of Bruins penalties kept them short-handed and on their back heels for most of the third.

Despite the lopsided 4-1 score, the Bruins can take some good things out of Game 1. Apart from the fast start, the game was very close. Take away those first two goals early on, and it's a 2-1 game. The Bruins also killed every Montreal power play, including a 5 on 3 advantage. Against the best power play in the league, and a team notorious for getting lots of calls, that's a major key to winning this series. There were also quite a few holes in Montreal's defense, and if the Bruins capitalize on those holes, they'll score goals.

Game 2 is in Montreal Saturday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!

When you see a final score of 12-6, you know that the win wasn't pretty. But it was pretty enough. Only 5 innings from Wakefield, who wiggled out of jams and allowed 2 runs (1 earned). A decent relief outing by Delcarmen despite allowing a solo homer to Magglio Ordonez. A wretched display of pitching by Julian Tavarez. Then a 4 out save by Papelbon.

The Sox offense finally put together some big hits with runners on. JD Drew raised his average to .440 with a 3 for 3 night with 2 RBI, 2 walks, and a run. Sean Casey went 2 for 5, also with 3 RBI. Youkilis is still red hot, hitting a 2 run double in the 8th to give the Sox some breathing room.

Kevin Cash had another solid game behind the plate, and unlike Doug Mirabelli, hasn't been a complete black hole in the bottom of the lineup. He went 1 for 4 with an RBI single, and is hitting .286 so far. Any offense we get out of him is a bonus.

Also, there were ninjas...




Sources:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa